Panzanella is a Tuscan bread salad that traditionally contains tomatoes, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and, yes, stale bread. The dining halls put their own spin on it by also providing us with arugula, olives, and pickled onions. When the panzanella has been prepared appropriately, the slightly dense, crusty bread is mollified by the absorption of some of the oil, vinegar, and juices from the vegetables; however, it still gives the salad some texture by retaining a bit of its chewiness.

I find it to be a lovely, well-balanced salad, but am always slightly put off by the bags of pre-cubed, mass-market bread, and also miss an integral part of my meat-loving, quotidian diet: protein. Read how I improve upon the panzanella after the jump.

To fix my stale-bread laden, protein-deficient dish, I make a sandwich. I ditch hard cubes for a warm whole-grain roll, and order a chicken breast from the grill. To my complete shock and pleasure, the last time I ordered from the grill the chicken was actually seasoned and perfectly adorned with crosshatched grill marks. Oh simple joys. Then I simply halve my roll, slice my chicken, dice my tomatoes, and mince some olives. To assemble my sandwich I layer arugula, chicken, diced tomatoes, minced olives, pickles, onions, and torn basil leaves. Finally to finish, I drizzle some of the new balsamic vinaigrette (literally 1/30 the calories of the old, gloppy variety) and crack some fresh pepper over the filling.

And there you have it. A simple reworking of the ingredients already provided by HUDS to make a fresh, fully balanced DIY D-Hall creation. Who knew college cooking could be as simple and as satisfying as unstale bread?

Delicious, and you made it yourself!

Today the dining halls were serving chicken wings (more like chicken skin) and our ever-recurring golden nuggets. Not being in the mood for these dining hall delicacies (out of fear for immediate heart attack), I opted for one of my favorite salad bar creations.

Barbeque chicken salad is just a good thing. It breaks up the monotony of simple green salad, is heartier and less frilly than other varieties, and most importantly, is incredibly easy to prepare when you’re in a dining hall rush. Read the quick and easy recipe, after the jump!

BARBEQUE RANCH CHICKEN SALAD

• Iceberg salad mix
• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Jalapeños
• Tons of corn
• And black beans if they were available

I ordered a grilled chicken, and topped it with barbeque sauce that I mixed with a generous squirt of Sriracha, an incredibly flavorful South Asian chili paste in a squirt bottle with a green cap. I lightly dressed my salad with ranch that I blended with a teaspoon of barbeque sauce.

So. Good.

This recipe is for those of us that are always complaining about HUDS foods, but don’t really do too much about it. This is fresh, fast, and flavorful – the perfect recipe for those of us (all of us) constantly on the run.