Chicken Sandwiches

Summer is the perfect time for sandwiches. I mean, can anyone really have too many sandwiches during the summer? Plus, there are so many sandwiches to choose from--deli, burgers, veggie, pressed sandwiches, toasted, panini, shredded barbecue sandwiches, etc. Then, of course, there is our favorite cost-efficient and versatile protein of choice--chicken.

I'm not going to include a specific recipe for chicken salad sandwiches. I think the best chicken salad sandwiches come from being creative. But, if you need some ideas...start with a base of chopped or shredded cooked chicken and mayonnaise, plain yogurt, or sour cream. Add something to give it a little kick such as yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, etc. Then add a combination of some of your favorite add-in ingredients. Here are some of my favorite add-ins: dried fruit (such as dried cranberries), fresh fruit (such as sliced grapes), toasted nuts, chopped celery, chopped dill pickles (or relish), chopped onions, sliced green onions, and your favorite spices (just a dash). Be creative! Don't forget to taste as you go so that the balance is right. I've made some super tasty chicken salad sandwiches (and tuna salad sandwiches, for that matter--just follow the same guidelines) simply by throwing in a combination of ingredients that sounded good to me and that I already had on hand.

The first sandwich recipe is a sliced spicy barbecue chicken recipe topped with melted cheese (pictured above). The second recipe is a pulled chicken sandwich that is a nice change of pace from pulled pork or beef. The third recipe is a pulled buffalo chicken sandwich. The second and third recipes both use a slow cooker which is nice because then you won't heat up your kitchen too much during the heat of the summer. The fourth recipe is a cool chicken sandwich with an Asian flair. The final sandwich is a cool, summer friendly pita sandwich.

Also, if you keep frozen chicken and buns in your freezer, any of the first three sandwich recipes are great pantry recipes. You can throw them together quickly and easily if you keep your pantry and freezer stocked!

I hope you like them (come on, you've got to at least like ONE of them!)!

Honey-Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches (pictured above)

This recipe yields slow-cooked barbecue flavor in less than an hour. The sandwiches need to be broiled at the last minute, but the rest of the menu can be made ahead of time.

Yield: 4 sandwiches (serving size: 1 sandwich)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup canned tomato puree
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 (1 1/2-ounce) sandwich rolls
2 ounces Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, thinly sliced (see note below)
4 (1/8-inch-thick) slices red onion

Directions:

Combine water, 1 teaspoon cumin, 4 sliced garlic cloves, and chicken in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Drain, and place chicken on a cutting board. Cut chicken across grain into thin slices; keep warm. (See my notes below)

Remove 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from can; set aside. Remove 2 chipotle chiles from can; finely chop and set aside. Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Add 1 teaspoon cumin; sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomato puree; cook 4 minutes or until mixture thickens to a pastelike consistency, stirring constantly. Stir in reserved 2 tablespoons adobo sauce, 2 chopped chipotle chiles, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add sliced chicken to sauce; simmer for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Preheat broiler.

Split rolls in half; arrange in a single layer, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Broil 1 minute or until lightly toasted. Remove top halves of rolls from baking sheet. Divide chicken mixture evenly among bottom halves of rolls, and top chicken mixture evenly with cheese. Broil chicken-topped rolls 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; top with onion and top roll halves. Serve immediately.

CALORIES 424 (25% from fat); FAT 11.8g (sat 3.9g,mono 4.7g,poly 1.9g); IRON 3.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 78mg; CALCIUM 211mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45.1g; SODIUM 765mg; PROTEIN 34.5g; FIBER 2.6g

Cooking Light, MAY 2005

Notes: The first time I made this, I was making it for a crowd and as a result, the pan that I was cooking the chicken in was too crowded. Because of that, the chicken took forever to cook and the water quickly evaporated before the chicken was done. The second time I made this, I simply poached the chicken by putting the chicken in a pot and covering it with water (with the cumin and garlic). This solved the problem perfectly. The chicken cooked faster and more evenly and the cumin and garlic was still infused into the chicken. I didn't think that adding more water diluted the flavor at all. It just simplified things! Also, my sweet husband went grocery shopping for me and got Pepper Jack cheese (which is the kind of cheese on the sandwich in the picture above) instead of Monterey Jack cheese. Both kinds of cheeses work well for this sandwich, so go with your preference!

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

The chicken and sauce can be made up to two days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Reheat the mixture in a saucepan before serving.

Ingredients:

Chicken:

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs (for the slow cooker version, chicken breasts, or a mix of chicken thighs and breasts can also be used)
Cooking spray

Sauce:

2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses

Remaining ingredients:

8 (2-ounce) sandwich rolls, toasted
16 hamburger dill chips

Directions:

Regular Version:

Prepare grill.

To prepare chicken, combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture evenly over chicken. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; cover and grill 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 180°, turning occasionally.

Let stand for 5 minutes. Shred with 2 forks.

To prepare sauce, heat canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and next 5 ingredients (through pepper); cook 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, and molasses; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on bottom halves of sandwich rolls; top each serving with 2 pickle chips and top roll half.

Slow Cooker Version:

Place chicken in a slow cooker. Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle spice mixture evenly over chicken. Cook on low for 5-7 hours. Shred with 2 forks.

To prepare sauce, heat canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and next 5 ingredients (through pepper); cook 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, and molasses; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Remove chicken from the slow cooker (or, if you prefer, drain the juices from the chicken and leave the chicken in the slow cooker). Stir half of the barbecue sauce into the chicken and reserve the other half of the sauce to serve with the sandwiches.

Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on bottom halves of sandwich rolls; top each serving with 2 pickle chips and top roll half. Top with extra barbecue sauce, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

CALORIES 365 (23% from fat); FAT 9.1g (sat 2.8g,mono 2.6g,poly 2.6g); IRON 3.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 94mg; CALCIUM 78mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.8g; SODIUM 877mg; PROTEIN 28.2g; FIBER 2g

Source: Cooking Light recipe found on Myrecipes.com

Notes: When I made this, I doubled the barbecue sauce so one batch was stirred into the drained chicken in the slow cooker and the other batch was used on top of the chicken when it was served on the sandwich rolls. I created the slow cooker version of this recipe because I thought it sounded great, but I simply didn't have time to do the version of the recipe as printed.

One final note: shredded meat is very freezer friendly. If you have extra shredded meat, put it in a freezer zip top bag, label it (what it is and the date you froze it) and pop it in the freezer. When you are ready to use it, simply defrost it in the fridge overnight and reheat it in the microwave. So easy!


Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches (Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:

6 frozen, skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided (Winger’s or Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce works well)
2 (1 ounce) packages dry ranch salad dressing mix
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

Directions:

Place the frozen chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in ¾ of the wing sauce and 1 package of ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. Mix the other ranch dressing mix with the sour cream. The ranch/sour cream mixture can be spread onto the hoagie rolls and used as a dip for carrot/celery sticks or chips. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Divinesoalce21

Notes: I made a few changes from the original recipe. Sometimes this sandwich can be pretty spicy (depending on what wing sauce you use). I have found that spreading the sandwich with a ranch spread (the sour cream/ranch dressing mixture) or blue cheese salad dressing adds just the right balance to the spiciness of the chicken. You can also add blue cheese crumbles and additional wing sauce, if you desire. This recipe is also freezer friendly (just like the pulled chicken recipe above).

Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle teriyaki marinade
6 hamburger buns

Suggested Toppings (all or a combination of):

Sliced cucumbers
Alfalfa sprouts
Sliced avocado
Sliced tomato
Pineapple rings
Favorite cheese slices
Mayonnaise

Directions:

Marinate chicken breasts in teriyaki marinade at least one hour or up to overnight in the fridge.

You can grill or broil the chicken breasts. If grilling, grill on high heat for about 6 minutes per side (or until juices run clear and the chicken is no longer pink in the middle). If broiling, broil on high heat for about 6 minutes per side (again, until juices run clear and the chicken is no longer pink in the middle).

Place chicken breasts on hamburger buns and top with toppings of your choice.

Source: My mom has been making this for years. I'm not sure if she just came up with the idea or if she saw it in a recipe book.

Notes: You might want to either consider pounding the chicken breasts to flatten them prior to cooking, cutting them into chicken cutlets (slicing the breast in half prior to cooking), or thinly slicing the chicken once it has been cooked because once you add all of your toppings to the sandwich, it is one tall sandwich (and pretty difficult to eat without everything slipping out of the bun!).

Another way to keep your toppings on would be to mash the avocado (like guacamole) and spread it on the bun.

This is a great sandwich, but it is a messy one to eat! But it's too hard to exclude some fantastic toppings. And even though it's messy, it's super tasty!

Chicken Caesar Salad Pitas

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
Bagged Caesar salad kit
Pita bread

Directions:

Cook chicken according to your own preference (you can poach it, saute it in a pan, grill it, etc.). Once the chicken is cooked, slice or cube it. You can also often find pre-cooked and sliced chicken in the refrigerated/deli section of the grocery store, if you would prefer to use that.

Prepare Caesar salad kit according to package directions. Mix in chicken.

Slice pita bread in half and open the pockets. Fill the pockets with the Caesar salad mixture and enjoy!

Source: Again, this is a recipe my mom made for us years ago. I'm not sure of its origins. The bagged salad kit is a time-saving idea, but you can also make your own Caesar salad from scratch, if you prefer.