Happy Wednesday! Hope you are thriving. If you’re in Canada, happy leftover turkey sandwich week, one of my favorite weeks of the year. Much like Ross, I’m very passionate about my leftover turkey sandwiches. And if you aren't in Canada, to avoid FOMO, feel free to skip past this next part until your Thanksgiving has past.
Sandwiches are up there in my top food categories, especially a dip-style sandwich. While I don’t have a formal recipe for it yet… (stay tuned post US thanksgiving) I will share my sandwich deets.
Ideally on a leftover white dinner roll, cold/hard butter, a LOT of cranberry sauce, warm stuffing, turkey reheated in the air fryer to crisp it up. Wrap it all up and dip it in hot gravy. Quite simple but quite delectable. The cold better melts as it soaks up the gravy, the cranberry sauce balances with a bit of tang and the stuffing brings to flavor bomb. And now I’m hungry.
Anyway, this week we only have 1 new recipe before the weekend (IM SORRY IT HAS BEEN A WEEK). But given we are in soup season in full swing I’ll share a few of my oldies but goodies below.
soup season: enjoy!
chicken parm soup (top left)
gnocchi meatball soup (top right)
pastina minestrone (bottom left)
crispy sausage bean and kale soup (bottom right)
today’s recipe: bbq chicken sweet potatoes
This recipe is very heckin easy. I know this recipe exists in the ether already but I have Zhuzh’d it up, of course. With the sweetness from the sweet potato AND the bbq sauce, there was a need for something else to balance things out. Enter my trusty favorite creamy ingredients: greek yogurt and cheese. Plus of course I had to use my new favorite topping, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy jalapenos.
These are incredibly hands off which is great for a weeknight meal, and you can absolutely prep these in advance and eat them all week. And you can play around with the toppings to switch things up all week. As always I’ve included a few tips below the recipe to make these EVEN easier. ❤️
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
SERVES: 4
Grocery List + Printable version
Chef’s knife
Cutting board (not my exact one but very similar)
Small sheet pan
Small pot with lid (1 qt saucepan with lid)
2 forks for shredding chicken
Cheese grater
Air fryer (optional)
3-4 chicken breasts
1 cup bbq sauce
4 sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (~200g)
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1 avocado
Cilantro for garnish
Pickled jalapenos for garnish
Slaw
2 cups shredded red cabbage (about 1/4)
2 tbsp mayo
2 tbsp plain greek yogurt
1 tsp white vinegar
Salt
Bake your sweet potatoes. Preheat oven or air fryer to 400F. Wash and dry sweet potatoes and use a fork to poke a few holes in each. Drizzle with a bit of oil and salt and place on baking sheet in oven. Bake for 30-60 minutes until potato is fork tender.
Make your chicken. Place chicken breasts in a small pot with 1 cup bbq sauce. Mix to coat and cover pot with lid. Place on medium heat and cook for about 20-30 minutes until internal temp hits 165F. Once cooked, shred chicken using two forks.
Prep your toppings. Grate your cheese, slice your avocado and and cilantro. Make your slaw, to a small bowl add cabbage, 2 tbsp mayo, 2 tbsp plain yogurt, 1 tsp vinegar and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
Once potatoes are baked and slightly cooled, slice down the middle and add 1 tbsp yogurt and a handful of cheese. Squish/mix into filling. Top with shredded chicken and a bit of cheese and place back into oven to melt the cheese.
Finish. Top with slaw, cilantro, avocado and pickled jalapenos. Enjoy!
What to serve it with: this in and of itself is a fabulous meal with protein, carbs and veggies. If you want to get more veggies in, serve this with your favorite salad. I’ve been on a kale salad kick lately so give this one a try and just omit the halloumi (or don’t 😉 ).
Storing + reheating: you can either complete step 4 before storing on the fridge or when you reheat. Keep the chicken in a separate container and reheat in the microwave. Keep slaw and toppings separate too. Everything keeps for about 4 days.
Simplify things: use pre-shredded cheese - normally I say to shred it fresh becasue pre-shredded has ingredients that prevent it from melting beautifully, but if you’re in a pinch and because it’s not a main component here, go for it! Use pre-shredded cabbage or even a slaw mix to save time. Use rotisserie or leftover chicken, shred it up and toss it in bbq sauce.
Make it vegan or dairy-free: sub baked beans in place of the chicken and bbq sauce, and use dairy-free yogurt and cheese.
Make it gluten-free: use a GF bbq sauce
Don’t like sweet potatoes? No problem, sub regular potatoes or rice as your base.
What bbq sauce is best: use your favorite here, it really doesn’t matter. I would stick to a more classic bbq sauce (vs a Japanese or other variety) but choose your own adventure.
Chicken breasts: use rotisserie or leftover chicken, sub turkey breast, porkchops, baked beans or shredded tofu.
Sweet potatoes: sub regular baked potatoes, rice, mashed potatoes.
Monterey Jack cheese: I like this variety best for this flavor combo but really any classic melty cheese will do (cheddar, havarti, provolone). Use what you’ve got.
Plain greek yogurt: use DF yogurt or sour cream
Shredded red cabbage: use a sturdy lettuce or massaged kale
Mayo: this adds a balance to the greek yogurt since it adds a bit of fat, you can skip just also skip the vinegar in the slaw, or sub in a splash of olive or avocado oil, just note that it will taste more like the oil so add it in slowly and taste as you go until you get a good consistency.
White vinegar: apple cider or red wine vinegar
Anything else? Drop a comment below if you have any questions, and don’t forget to let me know if you make it!
Oh I bought sweet potatoes but wasn’t sure what to do with them, great timing Rach!!
making this tonight, can't wait!