HAWAIIAN BBQ CHICKEN WRAPS

I've had a bit of an obsession with wraps lately...have you noticed? I don't know why, they just seem like an easy summer meal. I always have plenty of tortilla's on hand...and they're just begging to be stuffed with something yummy.

My latest creation is a twist on my favorite Papa Johns pizza...all the deliciousness of the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken...tortilla style!


HAWAIIAN BBQ CHICKEN WRAPS
(Mindi Original)

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
Salt & Pepper
BBQ Sauce – Your favorite brand
4-6 slices of bacon; diced
1 small red onion; diced (or ½ of a large onion)
1 – 8 oz. can pineapple tidbits
2 Roma tomatoes; diced
1 C. shredded romaine lettuce
4-6 flour tortillas
1 C. mozzarella cheese

1. In a medium skillet cook the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and drain off the fat, leaving about 1 T. in the pan.
2. Add the onion and pineapple to the skillet, cook until the onion’s start to release their juices, about 3-4 minutes. Add the bacon back to the pan and continue cooking over medium heat until the onion’s start to caramelize.
3. In the mean time, season the chicken with salt & pepper. Grill approximately 6 minutes per side, basting with barbeque sauce as they cook. When the chicken is done, remove from the grill and allow to rest.
4. Sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella cheese on the tortilla’s and broil on high for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
5. Slice the rested chicken into thin strips.
6. Stack the wraps as follows:

Tortilla with cheese
Sliced chicken
Bacon/pineapple/onion mixture
Tomatoes
Lettuce
BBQ sauce

7. Roll up and devour! Serves 4.

BUFFALO CHICKEN WRAPS

I'm definitely of the "Friends" generation and I've pretty much seen every episode more times that I should admit. When the show was airing live...I was about the same age as the characters and me along with all my 'friends' never missed a Thursday night airing. In those days we didn't have DVR's....is it possible that life with out DVR's can already be referred to as 'back in the day', I suppose it is. And for those that may be wondering....I'm a slightly less OCD version of Monica...and slightly less skinny.

So while all the friends on "Friends" hung out at Central Perk...me and my friends hung out at Wings and Things. It was a little wing dive in downtown Salt Lake and we would often meet there after work to eat, have a drink, and sometimes play pool. Ok, so I never played pool...I suck at it...but the guys often did. Except for the one time that Nate made me try and after a few minutes of foolishness, he laughed and agreed that I suck. My self esteem is still recovering. But I digress...

It was around this time that I began my obsession with the spicy hot chicken, cool blue cheese dressing, carrots, celery combination. I still love it and it still takes me back to those days...those fun friend days when we were all trying to figure out life, struggling to make it in our careers, trying to find love, and dreaming about our futures. Those were some good days!

A couple years ago on a trip to downtown Salt Lake, I tried to take my husband to Wings and Things for a little journey down memory lane...I was sad to learn that it had closed. So this recipe is dedicated to Wings and Things and all the good memory's conjured up with the taste of spicy chicken and cool blue cheese dressing.

BUFFALO CHICKEN WRAPS
(Recipe adapted for Mindika Moments from Martha Stewart Every Day)

¼ C. crumbled blue cheese (or Gorgonzola)
½ C. sour cream (you can use low fat)
1 t. lemon juice
1 t. Bon Appétit Seasoning (If you can’t find this seasoning or don’t want to buy it, you can substitute a dash of Celery Salt, Onion Powder, Salt & Pepper)
2 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt & Pepper
1 T. butter; melted
¼ C. hot sauce (such as Franks)
carrots; shredded
celery; diced or julienned
lettuce
4 tortilla shells

1. In a small bowl, combined the blue cheese, sour cream, lemon juice and Bon Appétit seasoning. Stir to combine, set aside.
2. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces or thin strips. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a non-stick skillet cook with a little olive oil until cooked through. (Time may very depending on the thickness and size of your chicken.)
3. While the chicken is cooking combine the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl.
4. When the chicken is done, take out of the skillet and toss in the hot sauce mixture. (If you’re sensitive to heat, you can skip this step and just drizzle the hot sauce mixture over the chicken as your assembling the wrap. This will allow you to control the amount of heat.)
5. Assemble the wraps as follows:

Tortilla
Blue Cheese Dressing
Chicken
(Hot Sauce if you haven’t already coated the chicken in it)
Shredded Carrots
Celery
Lettuce

6. Roll up and devour…makes about 4 good size wraps.

CAESAR CHICKEN SALAD WRAPS

In my quest for simple, easy, light and refreshing summer dinner's, I came up with this little gem last week. There's just something about taking a salad recipe and wrapping it in a tortilla that makes it an even more fulfilling meal for the man in my life. This was a huge success. The chicken was so juicy and full of flavor. Then topped with yummy Caesar dressing...so delicious! This may become one of my "go to" summer meals.




CAESAR CHICKEN SALAD WRAPS

(Mindi Original)

For the Chicken:

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ C. lemon juice
½ C. olive oil
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. hot sauce
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
½ t. pepper

1. In a large zip-lock bag, combine the chicken and all the ingredients for the marinate. Zip up and shake well. Allow to marinate for about 1 hour (or up to 4).
2. Grill until chicken is done. Take off the grill and allow to cool. Slice into thin strips. Set aside.)

For the Caesar Dressing:

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 C. sour cream
3/4 C. olive oil
1 C. grated Parmesan
1 t. coarsely ground black pepper

1. In a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients above.
2. Pulse or blend until dressing comes together.

*If you don’t have a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients in a mixing bow and beat with a wisk until dressing forms. The dressing won’t be as creamy, but it will still taste yummy.

For the Wraps:

6 flour tortillas
6 Romaine lettuce leaves
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced chicken
Caesar dressing
Garlic Croutons

1. Layer each tortilla with sliced chicken, dressing, lettuce, tomatoes, croutons, and a little more dressing. Wrap and devour.

In memory of the Tahitian Noni Cafe...

A few months ago my good friend Lisa gave me a cooking challenge. She had a recipe for some yummy wraps that used to be served at the Tahitian Noni Cafe. When the cafe closed she and her friends asked the manager if they could get the recipe for the wraps. The manager kindly handed them the recipe, but it was written in bulk format and half the recipe was in ounces instead of traditional measurements. So Lisa asked me if I could cut the recipe down to a family serving size, as well as convert the measurements.

Well...challenge accepted, and challenge completed. It actually wasn't too hard, just required a scale and a little math. It's a good thing I have always been good at math...spelling, not so much...but math has always been a strong point.

So if you were also a fan of the Pareo Chicken Wraps at the Tahitian Noni Cafe, today's your lucky day! I hope you enjoy.

* I actually used just a regular tortilla for my wraps, but I'm sure the Tomato Basil tortillas would be awesome. Also the Chipotle Ranch dressing makes quite a bit, but I couldn't really reduce it by much more. So you will have extra, however we have been using as a dip for corn chips and veggies and it's yummy...so I'm not complaining.


PAREO CHICKEN WRAPS

6 12” Tomato Basil Tortilla
1 recipe Island Lime Rice (see below)
1 recipe Black Bean Salsa (see below)
2 C. shredded chicken
2 C. Monterey Jack Cheese- shredded
1 recipe Chipotle Ranch Dressing (see below)
2 C. shredded lettuce
2 roma tomatoes; diced

1. Lay the tortilla flat and layer ingredients as follows:

rice
black bean salsa
shredded chicken
cheese
chipotle ranch Dressing
lettuce
tomatoes

2. Wrap the tortilla tight, tucking in each end.
3. You can eat fresh or place on a George Forman grill for about 2 minutes.

ISLAND LIME RICE

1 C. Jasmine long-grain rice
1 C. cold water
½ C. chicken stock
1 T. butter
½ t. salt
¼ C. cilantro- chopped
2 T. lime juice

1. In a large sauce pan bring the water and chicken stock to a boil.
2. Add the rice, butter and salt.
3. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes.
4. When the rice is cooked, fluff then stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Mix well.

BLACK BEAN SALSA

1 Can black beans; drained and rinsed
1 C. frozen corn; thawed and drained
1 small or ½ large red pepper; diced
Zest of 1 lime
2 T. lime juice
3 T. cilantro; chopped
1 jalapeno; diced
1 t. salt
½ t. pepper

1. Mix all ingredients together to form the salsa.

CHIPOTLE RANCH DRESSING

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
½ C. mayo
½ C. sour cream
1 C. milk
1 Chipotle Pepper with 2 T. Adobo sauce (from 1 can of Chipotle Peppers packed in Adobo sauce. You can find these in the Mexican section at most supermarkets.)*

1. In a blender pour the milk and the ranch dressing powder. Mix on high until well blended.
2. Add the mayo and sour cream. Blend on high again for a few second.
3. Add 1 chipotle pepper and 2 T. of Adobo sauce from the can. Blend again until the dressing comes together.
4. Allow to set up in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

* I use these peppers as well as the Adobo sauce in quite a few recipe, so when I open a can I divide it up into small ice cube trays and freeze small potions. I never use a whole can at a time.

Another way to "wrap" up lunch...

Ok Mom's (or anyone for that matter) here's another lunch idea. This one's going to be a little more work, but the good news is...I think your kids will like it too. And I guarantee from start to finish they'll take just about as long as a box of mac & cheese. Also, feel free to leave out the chicken, if that's more work or if you simply don't eat meat. These are my husbands and little "r"'s favorite...meat or no meat. They are loaded with flavor and pretty healthy too.


HONEY LIME CHICKEN WRAPS
(Mindi Original)

¼ C. fresh cilantro; minced
¼ C. lime juice
1 t. red pepper flakes
2 T. honey
2 C. shredded chicken (2 chicken breast)
1 C. fresh or frozen corn kernels; thawed if frozen
1 can black beans; drained and rinsed
1 large avocado; diced
1 C. diced tomato
¼ t. salt
4 flour tortillas
low fat sour cream
Cheddar cheese

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cilantro, lime juice, red pepper flakes, and honey.
2. Add the shredded chicken and toss gently to coat.
3. Add the corn, black beans, avocado and tomato. Season with salt.
4. Serve wrapped in tortillas with sour cream and cheddar cheese.
5. Serves 4.