Meow Recipes: January 2024

Bowl with seasoned chicken, rice, cucumber salad, and a calabrian chili sauce.

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I Honestly Wake Up In The Morning Thinking About These Chicken Bowls.

Yep, still here, still talking about that air fryer chicken but this time it’s in bowl form and there’s a new sauce in town.

Tonight we had these chicken bowls for dinner, and Bjork smothered his still-warm, juicy, golden chicken strips with that spicy tangy Calabrian chile sauce and declared it the best chicken he’s ever had. And as soon as I open my eyes in the morning, one of my first waking thoughts is: “YES I get to eat that bowl again for lunch today.”

This bowl is like a little symphony – the crunch of the tomato cucumber salad, the thin slips of bitey red onion, the golden crisped air fryer chicken cut into tender little strips, a big pile of perfectly chewy Banza, and a heavy pour of tangy Calabrian chile sauce on top. I am drooling.

If you need to scale it back and make it easier with fewer elements, just go for the chicken with the sauce and the salad. Or the chicken with the sauce and the Banza.

Or, really, just the chicken with the sauce. That Calabrian chile sauce is at the heart of it all.

January is long, but this bowl, for me, has been one of those super happy meals where I’m excited to eat it AND I feel good about the actual nutrition in it. Like, one of those meals that I look forward to and it becomes the highlight of my day. Belly full, tastebuds so exceptionally happy. Hope you like it!

Make These Chicken Bowls with Me

1 Make a tomato cucumber salad.

Toys are on the counter. Kids are hovering. It’s fine. This is just cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion (extra thin slices please!) plus a bit of vinegar, olive oil, and salt.

2 Make your calabrian chile sauce.

This magic will last you for several days and give you several rounds of bowls. Or salads. Or wraps. It’s SO incredibly good.

3 Make your chicken.

Sauce is done, salad is done. Now for the air fryer chicken. Takes about 15 minutes.

4 Get some Banza in there.

Get your Banza base in there, or whatever you like for a carb. This is the tomato chipotle Banza which doesn’t make any sense with these flavors but somehow is very delicious.

5 You’re Done! Yum!

Pile it all on there. Segment some out for kids as needed with ketchup or ranch. AND NOW GET INTO IT!

Watch How To Make These Chicken Bowls

Banza Chicken Bowls with Calabrian Chili Sauce

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Author: Lindsay Ostrom
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: makes enough sauce and salad for at least 4 bowls

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Description

This bowl has it all! The crunch of the tomato cucumber salad, the thin slips of bitey red onion, the golden crisped air fryer chicken cut into tender little strips, a big pile of perfectly chewy Banza, and a dollop of tangy calabrian chile sauce on top.

Ingredients

Units

Tomato Cucumber Salad

1 English cucumber, cut into chunks (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into halves (about 1 1/2 cups)
a small chunk of red onion, thinly sliced on a mandoline
a small bundle of parsley, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Calabrian Chile Sauce

1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2–3 individual Calabrian chiles, stems discarded, smashed / minced (I use a jarred variety)
1 clove garlic, grated
a splash of castelvetrano olive brine (optional, see notes)
salt to taste

The Rest

For protein, I use a batch of this ridiculously good Air Fryer Chicken
For a carb, I love the Banza Rice Mix for this – it doesn’t really make sense but I enjoyed the tomato chipotle variety!

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Instructions

Tomato Salad: Toss the tomato cucumber salad ingredients together. Taste and adjust! (If you wanted to prep ahead, save the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion in separate containers in the fridge with no liquids added until just before serving.)
Sauce: Stir up the sauce ingredients. Taste and adjust! This keeps super well in the fridge for several days.
Chicken and Banza: Make the chicken and the banza (or whatever carb you like).
You’re Done! Yum! Assemble and serve! Gah! So good.

Notes

Olive Brine: This adds a salty, buttery effect to the sauce. It’s delightful. If you don’t have it, don’t run out to the store just for this. You can skip it and you’ll be fine. I’ve also subbed pickle brine and it’s fine, but a bit brighter since the pickle brine is tangier than the olive brine.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Dinner
Method: Air Fryer
Cuisine: American

Keywords: chicken bowls, Banza, Banza rice, air fryer chicken

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This Air Fryer Chicken Breast Is Ridiculously Good

Two things I’ve never been big on:

Air Fryers
Chicken

But my life has changed in such a big way out here in the year 2024, and I’m now making this air fryer chicken almost on the daily. It’s so juicy, so delicious, and those crispity little browned bits! Ugh.

How I got here: Bjork has been going hog wild on all things protein in the last few months. As resident cooker of all the food in our house, I decided it’s time for me to figure out a really foolproof way to make chicken – for him (#protein), and for me, so that I actually like it.

So even though I’ve resisted it for years… I bought an air fryer. Almost exclusively to make chicken. And guess what? The one recipe I keep coming back to is these thinly sliced chicken breast pieces, coated to the max in spices, plus a bit of brown sugar and cornstarch, and air fried to golden, juicy perfection. I LOVE THIS CHICKEN SO MUCH!

There’s an excessive amount of seasoning and flavor, which we obviously love, but it’s the golden crisped exterior with little edge bits that you will die for. And all the while it stays nice and juicy on the inside.

Takes 15 minutes to make and it’s such a family winner for us. I hope you love it!

How To Make This Air Fryer Chicken

1 Thinly slice the chicken.

No thank you for thick chicken breasts. I always slice the chicken breasts into thinner pieces, about half an inch or less. Goal: more even cooking, more juicy chicken, and more flavor coating surface area. (Careful for your fingers – in this picture I was trying to hold it so you can see both sides for size.)

2 Toss with spices.

Toss the chicken with your spices and the avocado oil. No piece left behind – we want every bite SUPER well-coated!

3 Air fry at 415 degrees for 11 minutes.

Preheat the air fryer; place the pieces in a single layer so they get good air flow around them (hello, browning)! Sometimes I have to do this in two batches depending on how much chicken I have. Don’t overcrowd.

4 You’re Done! Yum!

When that timer goes off, you’re done. Slice and serve! Hot, juicy, golden browned and full of flavor. *drool*