When He Makes Her Dinner

In our house Alex does the cooking and I do the cleaning. It works for us too. I mean I'm good at cooking, but I like baking more. Besides that, Alex has been a professional chef for over 15 years and his meals are always way better than what I can make. So last week, while I was stuffing my face with some salmon fishcakes that Alex had made us, I told him that I really needed to start photographing the dinners that he makes us, like I used too. If you're interested, I posted all of the meals on Instagram under the hashtag: #whenhemakesherdinner.

Somewhere along the way, life got busy and I stopped taking photos. Which sucks because Alex really does make the most delicious and pretty looking food. So, instead of filling up my Instagram with photos of the dinners he makes, I'm turning it into a series here on the blog. Which I'm excited about. Please say hello to, When He Makes Her Dinner.
Here's what Alex made us last week:

Featured meals: salmon fishcakes w/ mango salsa, grilled steak w/ garlic rice and veggies (w/ mango salsa), homemade guacamole and mini burger sliders topped w/ a fried egg and my homemade pickles and a side of roasted potatoes.

Oh and by the way, I completely forgot to take a photo of the pesto/alfredo fettuccine and grilled chicken that he made us last night and I'm still kicking myself. Hopefully I won't forget next time. It's just so hard because whenever he puts a plate in front of me the food looks and smells so good that I want to eat it as quickly as I can.

Homemade Mayo & Chicken Salad

I have always loved chicken salad, so much so that even when we were doing Whole30 we couldn't go without it. So, instead of using store bought mayo, which is loaded with unnecessary sugar and unwanted oils, we made our own in order to add it to our super delicious homemade chicken salad. Below you will find our recipes for both.

Homemade Mayo:

• 1 cup of oil
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• add lemon juice if desired (sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. However, if you do, add the lemon last.)

Place the whole egg in a wide mouth mason jar and add a little bit of oil. Use an immersion blender to blend. Once the mixture becomes thick, slowly add the rest of the oil to the jar. Continue to mix until the consistency is to your liking. Keep in mind, the key is to go slow and not rush the process. It takes time, but it is well worth the wait and hard effort. Now it's time to make the chicken salad!

Homemade Chicken Salad:

• 1lb cooked and chopped chicken (we cooked ours in a skillet beforehand)
• 1½ cups of seedless red grapes, halved
• 4 tablespoons of homemade mayo, using the recipe above (you can also swap out the mayo for non-fat Greek yogurt)
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
• ½ cup of chopped pecans

In a large bowl combine chopped chicken, grapes, mayo (or Greek yogurt), salt, pepper, celery and pecans. Stir until everything is generously coated. Eat and enjoy!