JB’s Chicken Salad by JB Bolgren
Story and Photo by Oscar Maguregui

JB Bolgren, senior political science major, has prepared a low calorie dish that is easy to make and delicious to eat.

Bolgren has many aspirations. After graduating from St. Mary’s in 2011, he hopes to “attend graduate school and acquire my master’s degree in public administration, and, if there is time, go to culinary school,” he says.

At St. Mary’s, Bolgren is involved with many organizations including Lambda Chi Alpha and the music department.

“I really enjoy the small, close-knit community of St. Mary’s where everybody knows your name,” says Bolgren.

When it comes to cooking, Bolgren’s favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, cheese cake, salad, bread, popcorn, and any and all types of Italian food. He finds that cooking not only is a great way to relieve stress, but also to stay in shape, especially when running around the kitchen trying to find ingredients.

“My favorite chefs are Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagassi. Emeril is great at cooking Italian food and I do love Italian food. As for Bobby Flay, he has good recipes for all around good means,” he says.

One dish that Bolgren enjoys preparing is his salad and chicken because “it is very easy to make, it is delicious, and it is also a great dish to make for people who are on a diet.”

He gives some tips on preparing his dish, saying, “Make sure not to overcook the chicken and, if you are not too fond of onions, don’t overload the pan when you sauté the chicken.”

Ingredients

• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 medium white onion
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic
• 2 T of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T of salt
• 1 T of pepper
• 1/2 T of garlic powder
• 1/2 T of onion powder
• 2 T of Mrs. Dash table blend
• 1 c of cooking sherry
• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• 1 cucumber (sliced)
• 1 carrot (shredded)
• 1/4 c of red cabbage
• 8 cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 2 T of your favorite dressing

Prep time: 20 minutes. Cooking time: 25 minutes. Serves: 2.

Directions

Pour olive oil into the pan and place heat on high. Once pan is hot, place the chicken breasts on the pan and sear chicken for 2 minutes on high until lightly brown. Add onion, garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Mrs. Dash blend) and cook for 8 minutes. Reduce to medium heat, add cooking and sherry cook for 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for remaining five minutes.

Plating:

Place lettuce around edge of plate and leave center open. Put chicken in center. Place tomatoes and cucumbers around edge of dish; sprinkle carrots and red cabbage over top, then drizzle salad dressing over the dish.

Filed under: Class Projects, Entrees, Recipes | Tagged: chicken salad, jb bolgren, oscar maguregui, tasteofstmu | Leave a comment »