Everyday Dinner — Rebels Just For Kicks

This is a typical lazy summer dinner for us. When it is hot and we are trying to be sort of healthy (like when we’re going to Hawaii in two days and accidentally ate giant sandwiches for lunch at 3pm) we usually end up making a giant salad with grilled chicken or shrimp on top.

I basically just chop up whatever veggies are in the fridge while Cam grills and everything is ready to go in about 20 minutes. Dicing everything small and evenly is important because it makes everything mix better in the salad so take your time. Ingredients and steps for this specific salad below but really just throw in whatever you have. Chickpeas and beans are great to add in in place of or in addition to chicken or shrimp too.

For the salad:

1 bunch kale

½ medium carrot

1 Persian cucumber

1 small bell pepper

1 cup cherry tomatoes

2 medium radishes

2 green onions

1/3 cup cotija cheese

generous sprinkle of sunflower seeds

generous sprinkle of peptias

2 small boneless skinless chicken breast

juice of 1 lemon

good olive oil

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

Dijon mustard

Red wine, sherry or champagne vinegar

Start by tearing the kale off the stems into small pieces. Wash and dry. Throw it in the both and squeeze the juice of half the lemon over top. Sprinkle on a generous pinch of salt and toss to coat the leaves. Do this first to soften up the kale a bit.

Drizzle the chicken with oil olive and sprinkle with salt and pepper and throw on the grill. Or chop up whatever protein you have left over in the fridge.

While the chicken in grilling chop the veggies. I use a mandolin for the cucumber and then cut the slices in half. I do the radishes on the mandolin too and then cut the slices into 3 or four little sticks. You can stack up all slices to do them all at once. Peel the carrot and cut in half, then in half lengthwise and then into 1/4s so you have little sticks, then dice. Chop the green onions into little rings and half the cherry tomatoes. Cotija cheese is hard and crumbly and comes in a circle about an inch thick. I cut it into thin strips and then sticks and then dice. It will crumble as you chop which is perfect. Toss everything in the bowl with the kale and top with the seeds.

Whisk the juice of the other half of your lemon with about a tablespoon of dijon, about 3 table spoons olive oil and a splash of vinegar until everything is blended. Season with lots of salt and pepper.

Dice up your chicken and add to the salad. Pour over the dressing and toss away until everything is good and mixed up. Enjoy!

This was my first time making shishito pepper but it turns out they are insanely easy to prepare. Woohoo! We both love these so I’m sure we’ll be making them all the time now. Such a good pre-dinner snack. After a quick Google it seemed the main trick was a really hot pan. I heated up a few tablespoons of canola oil in a cast iron skillet and threw in the peppers. I let them sit for minute and then stirred them around to make sure all sides would get nice and blistered. When they looked ‘done’ aka like they do when you order them at restaurants, I transferred them to a bowl, topped with lots of salt and pepper and some fresh lime juice. Perfect! Some sesame seeds would be great on top too.

I love eating outside in the summer more than anything. We just picked up some classic Dietz lanterns for some practical mood lighting. They stay lit even when there is a breeze and they burn for hours if they are filled up all the way so they are perfect for parties too.

Seen here: OXO mandolin, lemon juicer, Maldon sea salt, Lungarotti olive oil, wooden salt cellar, wooden salad bowl, chef’s knife, cutting board, Williams-Sonoma Open Kitchen cereal bowls, Williams-Sonoma Open Kitchen snack bowls, Williams-Sonoma Open Kitchen glasses, Pottery Barn flatware, glass water bottle, Dietz lanterns (similar here), Best Made match safe, Ikea pitcher, Restoration Hardware outdoor dining table