Trent Pheifer was celebrating. He arranged oysters and clams—lustrous, exposed on the half shell—shrimp, crabs, and four blazing-red lobsters over ice. Among the shellfish menagerie he slipped lemon wedges and three dips: mignonette, cocktail, and must…
Trent Pheifer was celebrating. He arranged oysters and clams—lustrous, exposed on the half shell—shrimp, crabs, and four blazing-red lobsters over ice. Among the shellfish menagerie he slipped lemon wedges and three dips: mignonette, cocktail, and mustard sauce. The impressive spread was to commemorate a milestone for Pheifer: Over the course of five years, he has cooked more than 1,000 of Ina Garten’s recipes. And in a little over a year from now, he’ll have cooked his way through her entire culinary oeuvre.
Pheifer began his project, Store Bought Is Fine, five years ago (October 10 is the official anniversary). In the years since its inception, he’s learned a bevy of culinary techniques, sharpened his photography skills, amassed a sizable online following, and even met his culinary idol. What began as a whim has become an all-consuming and life-altering project.
Welcome to my lunchtime fave: the fuji apple chicken salad! Made at HOME! I promise this will be the last fall salad! I mean, I almost promise. Yes, I share a ridiculous amount of fall salads, especially including apples, but they are just the best salad add-in. And this one is SO good. A year […]
Welcome to my lunchtime fave: the fuji apple chicken salad! Made at HOME!
I promise this will be the last fall salad! I mean, I almost promise. Yes, I share a ridiculous amount of fall salads, especially including apples, but they are just the best salad add-in. And this one is SO good.
A year or two ago we started getting panera once a week for lunch while working. Mostly, my kids were obsessed with different items, but I have gone through phase after phase of their salads – there are multiples that I really love!
Even though we’re cooking constantly here, sometimes the dishes aren’t ready for lunch (as in, they need to be photographed!) and lunch take out has added the best spark to the day. It also helps that the salads are fairly healthy, even when I do want to get a vat of broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl. As delicious as this is, it puts me in a food coma and I can’t work after!
A long time favorite of mine has been the fuji apple chicken salad. The apple chips, gorgonzola and vinaigrette bring so much life to the salad! I’ve recreated it almost exactly here, with a few exceptions.
Fuji apple chicken salad perfection:
I made my own apple chips, which aren’t quite as crunchy as store-bought ones. You know? They are still really good! Just never as crisp. You can either make your own or grab some from the store. I use these in salads year round, that’s how much I love them.
Also, I either broil or grill some chicken thighs or breasts. It’s delicious, but not necessary. If I was going to prep these for the week ahead, I’d probably use a rotisserie chicken for ease. Or any leftover grilled chicken!
Finally, I made a creamy champagne vinaigrette instead of a white balsamic. I modeled this after my creamy balsamic dressing in the blueberry salad this summer (which was such a hit!) and oh my word – it is SO good. I’m pretty sure panera has their dressing bottled if you just want to buy that for an extra legit salad. But mine is super close and SO good.
I mean, see that texture?! Crunchy and crisp and refreshing and satisfying and hearty! Everything a salad should be.
This fuji apple chicken salad is a copycat of the delicious version from panera! Topped with a creamy champagne vinaigrette - it's so good!
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30minutes
For the apple chips 2hours
Total Time 2hours30minutes
Servings 4people
Author How Sweet Eats
Ingredients
fuji apple chicken salad
2fuji apples,thinly sliced (or 1 to 2 cups apple chips)
½cuppecans
1tablespoonbrown sugar
pickled onions,for serving
1cupcubed or shredded chicken breast
8cupsspring greens
½cupsliced grape tomatoes
⅓cupcrumbled gorgonzola cheese
salt and pepper
creamy champagne vinaigrette
¼cupbalsamic vinegar
1garlic clove,minced
1tablespoonheavy cream
2teaspoonsdijon mustard
2teaspoonshoney
pinchof salt and pepper
½cupextra virgin olive oil
Instructions
To make the apple chips, preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Thinly slice the fuji apples and place the slices in a single layer on the sheet. Bake for 1 hour, then flip the slices and bake for 1 more hour. You can do this head of time and store them at room temp in a bag or container.
To toast the pecans: heat the pecans in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add in the brown sugar. Toss and stir constantly, as the pecans toast and the sugar melts. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until toasty. Remove and spread on a piece of parchment paper to cool. You can leave these whole or chop them.
To assemble the salad, toss the greens with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Top with chopped chicken, the apple chips, toasted pecans, chicken, gorgonzola, tomatoes and dressing. Toss well and serve!
creamy champagne vinaigrette
Whisk together the vinegar, garlic, cream, mustard, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stream in the olive oil while whisking until emulsified. Serve with your favorite salad! This dressing stays great in the fridge. Just shake or whisk it to combine before serving.
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Sheet pan chicken fajitas are the most perfect weeknight meal. Everything on one pan, perfectly charred and flavorful and shoved in warm tortillas with lots of lime! And cheese! And GUAC! If this isn’t the definition of my ideal meal I don’t know what is. We loooove fajitas in this house. They are a great […]
Sheet pan chicken fajitas are the most perfect weeknight meal.
Everything on one pan, perfectly charred and flavorful and shoved in warm tortillas with lots of lime! And cheese! And GUAC!
If this isn’t the definition of my ideal meal I don’t know what is.
We loooove fajitas in this house. They are a great meal to prep ahead of time (I often marinate both the meat and peppers a day or so ahead!), easy to throw together and usually provide us with a good amount of leftovers. We’re obsessed!
And that’s just the “regular” old fajitas – these sheet pan ones are even simpler!
As we enter the season of squash, where basically everything I want to eat tastes like a mixture of pumpkin and brown butter and sage, it’s so nice to occasionally have a dinner that doesn’t have those flavors. During this season I always find that having tacos or some sort of pasta tastes incredible, but the other things I’m making are so buttery and spiced.
This totally makes up for that!
Now, I do have a nacho sheet pan chicken – which is incredible. I use peppers in that too, and you can shred it and put it in tortillas, or just eat it as is.
This is basically the chicken version of my lime sheet pan shrimp fajitas that we all flip over. Lime loaded, if you will. A favorite weeknight meal. One that truly everybody loves.
To make them come together in the best way possible, I cook the peppers and onions first, allowing them to get super caramely and roasty. Then, I push them to the side and add the chicken pieces. And we roast it all together so it’s done to perfection.
This method is IDEAL for sheet pan meals. I’ve always struggled with them because items on the sheet pan rarely require the same cook time.
This solves that!
My (and Eddie’s!) favorite fajita toppings? A simple sprinkle of fresh cilantro and crumbled cotija cheese. Cotija is just the best – it’s probably one of my favorite cheeses of all time. It adds SO much to a dish.
Most of the time, I’ll add a few avocado slices or guacamole too. Eddie isn’t it to it, but the kids adore guac, so we almost always have it on hand.
My quick guacamole recipe here is one I throw together constantly. Bare bones, but tastes incredible. Skip the fancy add-ins for this guac and throw it on top of your fajitas.
Finally, a drizzle of sour cream or even mayo for that creamy favorite. A big spritz of lime.
These sheet pan chicken fajitas are the easiest weeknight meal! Loaded with lots of lime flavor and super easy to throw together.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15minutes
Cook Time 35minutes
Total Time 50minutes
Servings 4people
Author How Sweet Eats
Ingredients
1/3cupolive oil
1/4cupfreshly squeezed lime juice
2tablespoonsfresh lime zest
1tablespoonhoney
1teaspooncumin
1teaspoonchili powder
1teaspoonsmoked paprika
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonblack pepper
2garlic cloves,minced
2bell peppers,red, orange, yellow
1sweet onion
1poundchicken breasts,cut into 1-inch pieces
¼cupchopped fresh cilantro,plus more for serving
lime wedges,for serving
warm tortillas,for serving
cotija cheese,for serving
sour cream,for serving
quick guacamole
2avocados
1 to 2limes,juiced
2tablespoonsdiced onion
¼cupchopped cilantro
salt and pepper
Instructions
Note: if desired, you can marinate the peppers and chicken 24 hours ahead of time in separate bags or dishes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prep a baking sheet (line with foil or spray with nonstick spray!) to use for the recipe.
In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, zest, honey, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper and garlic.
Place the peppers and onions on the baking sheet. Add half of the marinade and toss them well, until they’re all covered. Stick the sheet in the oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing once or twice during cook time.
In the meantime, place the chicken in a bowl and pour the remaining marinade over top. Let sit until the peppers are roasted.
Once the peppers are finished, toss them a few times and scoop them over to one side of the pan. Place the chicken on the sheet in a single layer. Roast the chicken for 15 more minutes or until and internet temp reads 165 degrees F.
Once the chicken is done, assemble your fajitas! Start with peppers and onions, add on the chicken. Spritz with lime, sprinkle with cotija cheese and top with sour cream, guacamole and fresh cilantro if you wish.
quick guacamole
Mash everything together in a bowl until combined!
Here’s how to make dinner better: pretzel crusted chicken salad. Oh oh yes. !!!! This pretzel crusted chicken salad is going to make an appearance in our house at least once a week for the foreseeable future. One of my favorite chicken recipes EVER is my pretzel crusted chicken with hot honey and house sauce. […]
I make the chicken fingers often for dinner and Eddie and I throw them on a salad. It’s seriously one of the best salads I’ve ever eaten. The chicken is so flavorful because the pretzels are so crunchy and salty, obviously! And it just adds so much more than you’d even expect.
So! Here we are with an ACTUAL pretzel crusted chicken salad.
Can I make this one of my faux oktoberfest recipes?!
It’s no secret I’m already a fan of this combo. Remember a few years ago when I made a hot pretzel panzanella with mustard dressing? Yes, actually chunks of soft pretzel in the salad, drizzled with mustardy vinaigrette.
I die just thinking about it. It’s SO GOOD.
This is like that, just different. Crunchy pretzel bites, hearty chicken, still the same briney and tangy dressing that I could practically drink!
I’m using full chicken breasts here instead of the tenders. I like to pound them out a bit so they are even all over in size, then coat them in the pretzels and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The result is the most flavorful, tender, crunchy chicken you’ve ever had.
You won’t be able to stop eating it!!
P.S. you can find me on instagram today showing you how to make this step-by-step.
In celebration of all things fall, I added some extra goods to this salad. Apples, because hello! ‘Tis the season. You can chop, slice or grate them. White cheddar, because it’s delicious with the pretzel flavor. Pickled onions for tanginess, cucumbers for a refreshing crunch.
And it’s all drizzled with a mustard vinaigrette. I make many mustard-y vinaigrettes, sometimes even multiple times per week! But this one is extra good because it complements the pretzels so well.
I used to live for a soft pretzel with yellow mustard when I was a kid. It has been about a million years since I’ve had one, so this combo is allowing me to relive all of that over again.
Crunchy pretzel chicken, creamy cheddar, crisp apples and tangy dressing. Literally makes the best pretzel crusted chicken salad ever.
Note: if you haven't made the pickled onions yet, make those to start. They can sit for 45 mins at room temp while you make the rest of the salad. I highly suggest making them ahead and storing in the fridge for weekly use!
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Spray the rack with nonstick spray.
Pound the chicken breasts so they are evenly thick all over. Season the chicken breasts with the salt and pepper. Place the pretzels in a food processor and blend until mostly fine crumbs remain. Place the pretzels in a bowl. Stir in the garlic powder.
In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs.
Take each chicken breast and coat it in the beaten egg. Dredge it through the pretzel crumbs, pressing gently so the crumbs adhere. Place the chicken on the rack and repeat with remaining chicken. Once all the chicken is finished, spray it with avocado or olive oil spray. This is important and really helps things get crispy and golden!
Bake the chicken for 12 to 15 minutes. Flip it gently and spray the other side with the oil spray. Bake for another 12 to 15 minutes.
While the chicken is baking, assemble the salad. Place the greens in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the chopped apples, cheddar, cucumbers and pickled onions.
Remove the chicken from the oven and slice it. Add it to the salad and drizzle on the dressing. Enjoy!
mustard vinaigrette
In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk while streaming in the olive oil. This dressing stays great in the fridge in a sealed container for about a week.
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