Keeping Easter Going

After the Easter extravaganza this weekend, we still have quite a few leftovers waiting to get eaten. While all the casseroles and mashed potatoes are almost as fantastic reheated later as they were the day of, eventually by the fourth or fifth plate the time comes to mix things up a bit.  To use up some of our remaining chicken and colored eggs, I put together two fun meals that go in very different directions.

First up is a stellar salad the likes of which gets served at great steakhouses. To start out, I carved up some of the most tender cuts of chicken and sliced one of the hard boiled eggs that was colored for our Easter celebration. To take the salad up to the next level I then cut up a variety of flavorful and colorful vegetables that were leftover from various other salads and meals earlier that week.  Below you can see all the various ingredients: the green beans give the salad a snap, the tomato adds a beautiful color, the avocado is a necessity in any serious salad, and then finally the chilli peas, green onions, and poblano chili give just a hint of heat.

Everything is layered over a bed of Italian blend, which has the traditional romaine lettuce and the more colorful and slightly bitter radicchio.

I wanted a phenomenal dressing to go with my knockout salad, but didn't want to buy something at the store for only one meal. To make a dressing worthy of this mighty mound of lettuce, I mixed up regular Italian dressing with balsamic vinegar. If you're feeling a little adventurous, you can also throw in a splash of lime or lemon juice as well.  Besides using up leftovers we needed to get rid of, this was it's own complete meal on par with a $10 restaurant salad that ended up costing mere pennies.

But hey, what's up with all the healthy stuff?  We're usually cooking up things slathered in butter and oil, after all!  Fear not, our Easter chicken also got put to use as more fattening American fare as well.  When hunger struck at a late hour I didn't want to put together something huge, but still needed something that tasted great. My idea?  A spicy sandwich with horseradish instead of mayo.  Strips of chicken are layered one side of the bread, and thin slices of hot pepper cheese go on the other.

But how to make this more like a midnight snack?  Ah-ha - a mostly empty bag of barbecue chips in the back of the pantry!

Throw a couple tomato slices on there and (should the mood strike) perhaps some avocado, and viola - the perfect late night sandwich that also uses up the remainder of our delicious chicken.