Katie Woosley

I lived in a dorm all four years of undergrad, so during that time I didn’t do much cooking. Cooking and baking is a big passion of mine, so I was very excited to move into an apartment and cook all of my meals. However, I am used to cooking for my entire family, so cooking for just myself was definitely an adjustment, especially on top of school. At first, I would cook a meal every night, but with the long days of class and studying, I found myself starting to dread cooking in the evenings. Now, I find it easiest to meal prep my lunch and supper on Sunday to eat throughout the week, and I really enjoy doing it! I know it can be difficult to come up with new ideas for meal prep, so I thought I would start to share some of my favorites! To start, here are a few things I always ask myself when I am looking for or coming up with new recipes:

1. Is it balanced? – Does it have a lean protein, a carbohydrate, a fat source and a veggie?
2. How much time do I have to cook? – Like I said, I love cooking, but I still try to take how much time I have into account when picking my meals. For example, if I have an exam on Monday or have had a busy weekend, I will pick simple meals that are quick to throw together.
3. Is it budget-friendly?
4. Will it reheat well?
5. Is it something I am going to feel good eating and want to eat all week?

The first recipe I wanted to share is this Southwest Chicken Salad I made for my lunches this week. I tend to make a lot of salads in the spring/summer because everything is in season. We also skipped right over spring here in NC, and it was in the 90s all last week, so I definitely did not want anything hot. The original recipe is from Downshiftology. If you haven’t checked out her site you are missing out! I have made and loved several of her recipes. This was my first time trying this one, and it did not disappoint. It’s also super customizable and you could change up the dressing or the veggies as you like. I made several changes, but if you’d like to see the original I linked it below!

Ingredients:

• For the marinade:
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Juice from 2 limes
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
• For the salad:
  • Mixed greens (I use the big packs of pre-packaged ones to make it simple)
  • 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 7oz can of corn, drained
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Avocado ranch dressing (I use Hidden Valley)
  • Tortilla chips, for topping

Directions:

• Mix together the marinade ingredients and place in a Ziploc bag with the chicken. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for a few hours (mine marinated about 9 hours).
• Preheat the oven to 425. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until it is golden brown. If your skillet is big enough to hold all of your chicken you can place it directly into the oven once they are seared. My skillet was too small, so I transferred it to a foil-lined baking sheet.
• Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through, until it reaches a temperature of 165. I highly recommend getting a meat thermometer if you don’t have one! It changed my cooking for the better. You don’t want to overcook it and have dry chicken!
• Let the chicken rest for a few minutes and then cut it into cubes.
• Then, it’s just a matter of assembling your salads! I did each of mine in their own container so they were ready to go. Just make sure to keep your dressing and tortilla chips in a separate container. I will also pack a side of fresh fruit to eat with it.

Original Recipe: https://downshiftology.com/recipes/southwest-chicken-salad/