Tropical pasta salad

My dad gave me this bottle of Matouk's hot sauce the other day. See link -> Matouk's Hot Calypso Hot Sauce. We learned about Matouk's sauce from our family that lives in the Carribean. My dad happened to find some in a store here in the U.S., so he had to pick some up. This hot sauce is seriously YUMMMM. It has an awesome amount of spiciness but still has good flavor behind the heat.

I used it to make a pasta salad for lunch today!

This pasta salad is made with pasta that is made from brown rice and quinoa instead of flour, so it's whole grain, gluten-free, and has protein! I dressed the pasta in citrus champagne vinegar, lemon juice, Matouk's hot suace, and olive oil. I added a bunch of things that I could find in my fridge that I thought would go well with the hot sauce - I really wanted the highlight of this simple lunch to be that yummy Matouk's hot sauce. I added shrimp, bell pepper, pineapple, mango, avocado, red onion, green onion, and cilantro.

Turned out pretty yummy! Fresh tasting and totally satisfied today's craving for spicy food.

Chicken Salad-Stuffed Avocado

A friend of mine found this awesome idea somewhere online: chicken salad stuffed into half of an avocado. Low-carb, high in healthy fats, high in protein, and sounds delicious.

I decided to make my own version. Packed up the chicken salad and half an avocado to bring to work for a yummy lunch.

I dug through my fridge and pantry and made a yummy chicken salad with things I could find.

I happened to find some canned chicken breast from Costco in my pantry. The thought of canned chicken breast used to kind of disgusts me, but if you think about it, it's kind of similar to canned tuna. And I sample the Kirkland version at Costco and it wasn't bad. Definitely easy to have on hand and perfect for a simple chicken salad!

I can't stand mayo so I used a few different things to add some moisture, creaminess, flavor, and kind of bind the chunks of chicken together. One thing was Bitchin' Sauce!!

This stuff is AMAZING.  It's a San Diego company that often sells their product at farmer's markets in San Diego. I have also seen it at Whole Foods in LA! It tastes creamy, cheesy, garlicy, and has some nice spices, but is vegan, gluten-free, and made of some pretty good stuff! I use it as a veggie dip, spread, dressing, WHATEVER.

Check out their website, for nutrition info, recipes, where to buy, or order online here: Bitchin' Sauce

I mixed some Bitchin' Sauce with a little part-skim ricotta, mustard, relish, and extra virgin olive oil for my creamy, flavorful, and mayo-free base to bind the chicken together.

For spice, I added a few dashes of one of my fav hot sauces.

I discovered this hot sauce when I was visiting my brother up at Humboldt State. It's from a local company up there and it is AMAZING. Had to bring some home. I'd never heard of Te Jas-Wini peppers until I tried this hot sauce, but it has some really nice heat and a different feel on your tongue than most hot sauces. LOVE IT. Weitchpec Humboldt Green Pepper Sauces

I also mixed in some red bell pepper, celery, red onion, green onion, chopped almonds, and sliced grapes to make one of the best chicken salads I've made in a long time.

This deliciousness was amazing when stuffed into the avocado half!

San Diego SUPER CHARGERS!!

Anyone from San Diego knows what I'm singing in my head right now :)

Chargers beat the Bengals on Sunday and are advancing in the playoffs!

I usually only really enjoy live games and don't really keep up with sports on TV - I used to but I honestly just don't have the time anymore - but when the Chargers surprise you by making it into playoffs (a rare occasion), time set aside for football is necessary.

Rommel and I stayed home to watch the game with a veggie platter of cucumber, celery, bell peppers, and guacamole.

My fav guac is simple - just avocados, lime, salt, and a little bit of garlic grated on a microplane. It's perfect and really highlights the avocado. I hate when people add tomatoes, onions, cilantro, etc to guacamole - I feel like it completely takes away from the deliciousness that is avocado. In my opinion, the worst addition some people add? Sour cream... Barf. Why would you ruin avocado like that?

This weekend I will be in Vegas with family - this week I have been working out hard and eating well to make up in advance for the indulgences this weekend! My Sunday plan is run (if I can wake up early enough), indulge at an early champagne brunch at Bacchanal Buffet (seriously the best buffet), then spend the rest of the morning at a sports book. My brother plays college football and is a huge Chargers fan, so I'm pretty sure he is excited to sit and watch the game, drink, and gamble at an awesome Vegas sport sbook. I normally hate gambling, but maybe if I have enough mimosas I'll join in :)

Another quick, yummy salad

This was another quick salad I threw together this morning as I was rushing to leave for work. I honestly just threw in some things that I already had on hand that I thought might work together, but it turned out much better than I expected! I'll have to make this again for lunch sometime :)

Baby mixed lettuce, cooked quinoa, avocado, raw pepitas, nectarine, Trader Joe's light champagne vinaigrette, and a generous sprinkling of black pepper