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Today's post is 7 different recipes for different lunches. I have included both ingredients as well as the directions for each one.
Easy Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad:
This is a recipe that I made this past week for lunch, and it was amazing. It’s super simple and can be made even simpler by purchasing precooked and sliced chicken.
The recipe is as follows:
- Pasta; examples being farfalle, rigatoni, fusilli, or penne. You want bite size pasta pieces.
- Chicken; I cooked my chicken breasts in the oven with a simple seasoning of salt and pepper and I simply sliced it up. I wanted lots of chicken because I made this salad for a week, so I cooked 6 chicken breasts.
- Cherry Tomatoes; I sliced these in half and used about a cup and a half.
- Pesto; I purchased premade pesto and used a full 190-gram container. If you don’t like the amount of pesto, then simply reduce this.
- Zesty Italian Dressing; I used a little of this (about 2 tbsp) to simply add a different flavour. Also adds to moisture of the salad.
- Bocconcini balls; use at your preference
Directions;
Mix all together in a bowl and leave in the fridge overnight before dividing into containers for lunches.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps:
The chicken bacon ranch sandwich at subway used to be my go-to growing up, these wraps are a simply and easy way to still get that flavour without always going to subway and sometimes can be made “healthier” as well.
The recipe is as follows:
- Bacon: personally, I would use turkey bacon as I don’t eat pork. Cooked to your preference.
- Chicken: There are a couple of ways that you can do this. Either get sliced chicken lunch meat, precooked and sliced chicken, or cook your own chicken breast and shred it. Again, this is your preference choose what works best for you.
- Veggies: Lettuce and tomato are the perfect veggies for this wrap, however if you are making in advance I would suggest packing tomatoes separately and simply adding before you eat as they will make wrap soggy if done to far in advance. Add other veggies that you like as well.
- Tortillas: Get the larger tortillas in whatever flavour you desire.
- Ranch: This can be homemade ranch or just store bought, whatever is your preference. Add your preferred amount.
Directions;
Wrap up all ingredients into tortilla and then either wrap tightly in plastic wrap or put into container.
Chicken Caesar Wraps:
These are also a really easy to make lunch that doesn’t require a lot of work to get ready.
The recipe is as follows:
- Tortillas: Larger tortillas work best, any flavour.
- Lettuce: Slice up as much as you desire any way that you like it. Want big chunks of lettuce go for it, small pieces, great. Want spinach instead, go for it. Kale is more your preference, awesome.
- Caesar Dressing: Either store bought or homemade. Here is an awesome recipe for homemade dressing to try: https://itslivb.com/2019/05/01/tahini-caesar-dressing/ If you don’t want to use tahini, I have made this recipe with mayo as well.
- Chicken: Either store bought precooked and sliced chicken or grill it yourself and slice it up.
- Parmesan Cheese: This is totally optional and if you don’t want to add it don’t.
- Croutons: These are also optional, but they make a nice addition if you are eating the wraps right away otherwise, I would suggest not using them as refrigeration is just going to make these soggy.
- Add-Ins: You can also add in tomatoes, onions, or any other veggie that you like to have in your salads, make it your own.
Directions;
Mix all salad ingredients in large bowl and mix well. Roll up in tortillas like a burrito. These will store in the fridge for up to 3 days wrapped tightly in tinfoil or in a airtight container.
Adult Lunchables:
The following link has 15 different lunchable ideas for adults.
Chicken Pesto Sandwiches:
The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
- 1 large chicken breast
- salt
- pepper
- Italian seasoning
- 1 loaf ciabatta
- ⅔ cups pesto
- ½ small red onion cut in slices; if you like onions
- 1 cup massaged kale or arugula
- 1 tomato cut in slices
Directions:
- Heat a grill pan on medium high heat and brush with extra virgin olive oil. - Butterfly the chicken breast, then cut in quarters. Season well with salt, pepper, and some Italian seasoning. - Cook for about 4 minutes on each side on the grill, or until the chicken has nice grill marks and is cooked through. - Cut a loaf of ciabatta into fours, then cut each quarter open. Spread an even amount of pesto on each piece of bread. - Place a piece of chicken on each of the bottom pieces of bread, then top with the red onion, kale, and tomato, sprinkle a bit more salt and pepper as needed.
- Wrap and store in fridge.
Tip tomatoes will make your bread soggy so you can add them later if these are make ahead sandwiches.
Caesar Pasta Salad:
Ingredients;
- Caesar dressing- either store bought or homemade
- Lettuce- chopped as much as you desire
- Pasta- cooked and drained; rotini or penne work best
- Croutons- about 1 ½ cups or less if desired
Instructions;
Mix everything in a bowl and place in the fridge. If this is going to be refrigerated for a while refrain from putting croutons in until serving to keep them crunchy.
BLT Pasta Salad:
Ingredients;
- 1 pound bacon; pork or turkey both work
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound pasta; use penne, macaroni, rigatoni etc.
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- Kosher salt
- 3 medium tomatoes, cut into small wedges
- 1 avocado, diced; only if you like avocado
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
Directions;
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange the bacon on the baking sheet; season generously with black pepper. Bake until the bacon is crisp, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the pan from the oven and cool completely.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain and cool to room temperature.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.
4. In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, tomato, avocado and romaine. Crumble the bacon into the salad.
5. If serving immediately, add the dressing and toss well to coat. Or leave undressed and store in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Hopefully these recipes will make your lunches more interesting.
