The Finale

Yay! We finally made it to the last recipe of Ten Summer Meals in 30 Minutes or Less!! I have absolutely loved doing this summer recipe series and I hope that you have found some recipes to add into your routine. Tell me, have you tried any of the recipes yet?

So here goes, the finale!

Mango Chicken Salad

Prep Time: 8 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 Package Dole Frozen Mango (16 ounces) or 2 fresh mangoes, peeled and sliced
• 1 Package Bow Tie Pasta or Rigatoni
• 1/4 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 Yellow Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 Yellow Onion, diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 tsp All Spice
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Method:

• Boil water and add noodles – prepare as directed.
• While noodles are cooking, add onion, garlic, bell peppers and olive oil to a large skillet. Sweat these vegetables over a medium heat.
• Add the chicken and seasonings (cocoa powder, all spice and cayenne). Increase heat to high and cook the chicken thoroughly, stirring occasionally.
• After chicken is completely cooked, add the frozen mango. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer, stirring as needed to prevent burning.
• Serve over noodles OR add noodles (drained and rinsed) directly to the skillet and serve as a pasta salad – hot or cold.

We enjoyed our meal hot, over a bed of noodles.

These are my favorite bowls! I always take pictures of the food inside of them but I wanted to share the dandelion detail that is on one side. Love.

Speaking of, I got these bowls from CB2 which is one of my favorite places to find fun little serving dishes (for super cheap). CB2 is affiliated with Crate & Barrel and everything I’ve ordered from them has been great quality. Check em out!

Variations:

This meal has just a bit of spice – not so hot that it makes your mouth water but it might be too spicy for little ones so when cooking for kids keep in mind you might want to reduce, or completely avoid, the cayenne pepper.

If you want a bit sweeter taste add in a tsp or so of brown sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice with the mango. The sugar and lemon will really bring out the mango flavor and will “cool down” some of the heat as well.

Enjoy!

And, just in case you missed any of the other recipes – here is the complete list (with links to the recipes) as well as a grocery shopping list for the entire series if you plan on making all of the meals.

1. Spelt Salad
2. Margherita Pizza
3. Dill Salmon
4. Salmon Salad
5. Chinese Chicken Salad
6. Chicken Stirfry
7. Caprese Stuffed Chicken
8. Shoepeg Chicken Salad
9. Antipasto Pasta Salad
10. Mango Chicken Salad

Grocery List of All Ten Meals

Again, I really wanted this project to be useful to those of you who do meal planning or just need some fresh new ideas for quick and easy weeknight meals.

Bragging Rights

I’ll admit that I’ve missed a few workouts on my tri training schedule but last night was a different story. I had a run and a swim on tap – waiting for me when I got home. A little voice in my head all day saying, “we’re running tonight, are you ready?” or “drink that water hun, we’re runnin tonight!”

I guess all that “anticipation” paid off because when I set out on my run (do you really “set out” if its on the treadmill? whatever…) I surprised my own self!

My run was supposed to go like this: Walk 1/2 mile. Run 10 minutes. Walk 5-7 minutes. Run ten minutes. Walk 5-7 minutes.

Nick always says to me “you watch the clock too much.” And he is right. If I am doing running intervals like run 5 minutes, walk 2 or run 3 minutes, walk 1… etc.. the entire three minutes I’m watching the clock waiting for three minutes to hurry up and pass. Three minutes takes freakin forever when you are watching the seconds tick by. Nick told me that instead of doing my intervals I should just run until I can’t.

Well that doesn’t really work for me – I need a goal and something to keep me running.

BUT, I did heed his advice on last night’s run because as I was approaching the ten minute mark of my first interval I said to myself “dang, this is feeling good” and then I said “screw the intervals, I can do more than ten minutes!”

I did fifteen!!! Real runners everywhere are laughing but for me this was a big deal – and yes, I do believe it warrants bragging rights.

I busted out the rest of my walk/run/walk routine and then hit the pool where I completed 450 yards and a few drills.

I certainly have a long ways to go before race day but I’m getting stronger every day – and isn’t that the whole idea?

Now it’s your turn! What do you want to brag about? It can be something small (like mine)… Here’s your chance to brag!