5 Ways with Rotisserie Chicken

Buying a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store can make meal preparation really easy.  You buy a whole cooked chicken, then take apart the pieces you want.  It is important to remember that some parts of the chicken are healthier than others.  The skin is going to be the least healthy part.  The skin itself contains a lot of saturated fat.  It is also where the butter and salt get laid on before the chicken is cooked.  So I always peel off the skin.  The dark meat is higher in fat than the white meat.  So when you are deciding which meat to use for which recipe, use the higher fat meat with a lower fat recipes.  

So here are some ideas on how to use the chicken meat:

Use  thigh meat for a Chicken Taco Salad

Make a salad of greens, strips of red and green bell peppers, onion.  Top with salsa, a small sprinkle of Mexican cheese, a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt, and plash of hot sauce.  Throw on the pulled chicken meat and you've got a super fast dinner.  If you don't like uncooked peppers and onions, saute them for about 5 minutes in a little canola oil and sprinkle with pepper and paprika.

Use breast meat for a Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwich

In a bowl, mix together 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion, 1 1/2 cups chopped romaine, 3 tbsp plain non-fat Greek yogurt, 3 tbsp Caesar dressing, 1 tbsp grated parmesan, pulled meat of one chicken breast, 1/4 tsp pepper.  Stir so that the dressing coats everything.  Toast a bun or roll, or use pita bread.  Recipe makes 2 sandwiches

Use thigh meat for a Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad

Make a salad of romaine and spinach.  Top with chopped green bell pepper, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, a few walnuts, and chicken meat.  Make a dressing of 1 part Dijon mustard, 2 parts olive oil, 2 parts balsamic vinegar, plus a pinch of salt and pepper.

Use breast meat for a Greek Chicken Salad Sandwich

In a food processor, chop 1 smal cucumber and 2 peeled garlic cloves.  Then in a bowl, mix together shredded chicken, the chopped cucumber, 1/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, 2 tbsp crumbled feta, 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp dried dill.  Toast a bun or roll, or use pita bread.  Recipe makes 2 sandwiches.

Use breast or tenderloin meat for a quick BBQ Chicken Pizza

Use a small spoonful of BBQ sauce to mix with the shredded chicken meat.  Spread a small amount of BBQ sauce over the inside of each half of a sandwich thin ( such as Arnold Breads), then top with thinly sliced red onion, a few thin slices of green bell pepper, and the chicken.  Sprinkle 1 tbsp of shredded mozzarella cheese on each sandwich half.  Set a toaster oven to 'Broil' on low, or a 'Pizza' setting and cook for 8 - 10 minutes.

What happened to all the cooking?!

This has been quite the crazy July and August.  In July, my fiance and I put an offer on a house and it was accepted, which is great news but it also means a lot of work tracking down old W2s and tax returns.

 In August I went to two weddings.  The first was for my co-worker, Lindy.  The Doerman office gang made our way over to Ohio State, hit up the college bars, saw Lindy in her fabulous lace wedding dress, spent the night dancing away, and had a really good bagel at an almost-famous bagel and coffee shop.  A few days later, Ben and I headed out to Seattle for his sister's wedding.  We saw Pike Place farmer's market, tasted some local beers, ate really good food, and took a beatiful ferry ride to Bainbridge Island. Teresa stunned everyone with her vintage dress. Uncle Dean stunned everyone with his mad dancing skills.  AND I got to see someone who I haven't seen in a long long time:  my roommate from while living in connecticut, Ashlee, and her fiance, Tim.  It was great to reunite with Ashlee, and meet Tim for the first time. 

Then immediately after than began the whole cooking extravaganza in preparation for my favorite sister's baby shower.  The shower was wonderful.  The food was delicious, the onesie-decorating produced the most adorable onesies.  My sister was certainly showered with lots of wonderful presents and adorable baby girl clothes.

And now,  I have been packing up to move.  Today we closed on our house!! We are officially homeowners!  We are so very excited!  We are starting to move a few things in today, and finish up this weekend. 

So as you can see, I have been quite busy.  I have been cooking, but not keeping track of it, or taking pictures.  Often times, it's things I've already cooked before anyway.  So I hope to be back to posting recipes next week.  Check back soon for my famous caramelized onion and proscuitto devilled eggs recipes!

Spicy Ham and Zucchini Quesadilla

Quesadillas can be really high in calories and saturated fat from all the cheese.  You can add in veggies to up the fiber, but it still had a lot cheese.  You can take out a large portion of the cheese, but it makes it hard to stick everything together.  So I tried using hummus to help food stick without using a lot of cheese.

I also used small and thinly cut veggies and meat.  This helps use less cheese and still keep all the food in the quesadilla.

Spicy Ham and Zucchini Quesadilla

What you'll need:
- 1/2 a large zucchini
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 thin slices of deli low-sodium ham, chopped
- 10" whole wheat tortilla
- 2 tbsp spicy hummus (see previous post)
- 1 tsp adobo sauce from canned chipotle pepper
- 1 oz shredded or finely diced cheese (monterey jack or cheddar)
Optional toppings:  salsa and plain Greek yogurt

What to do:
1.  Cut ends of zucchini off.  Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then lay flat and cut thin slices of half-moon shapes.  Saute zucchini and onion about 2 minutes; add in ham and saute 2 minutes.

2.  Spread hummus on one side of the tortilla.  On top of the hummus, spread half of the cheese on one half of the tortilla.  Top that with zucchini, ham, onion, and adobo sauce.  Spread the remaining cheese over the entire quesadilla.

3.  Heat a flat skillet (I used the same one I used for the zucchini and ham).  When the skillet is hot, lay the tortilla flat in it.  When the cheese is melted on the half without zucchini mixture, fold on top of zucchini mixture.  Cook until tortilla is golden brown.

Spicy Chipotle Hummus

Garbanzo beans conveniently come
in two sizes

I bought tahini (sesame seed paste) for another recipe (the sweet potato and bean veggie burger).  The tahini came in a huge container.  I know hummus uses tahini, so I figured this would be a good way to use some of it up.  I started with simple plain hummus.  I put some of that aside.  Then I added some chipotle pepper, agave nectar, more lemon juice, cumin, and paprika.  I still have a ton of tahini left, but I also have some delicious plain and spicy hummus.

Spicy Chipotle Hummus

What you'll need:
For plain hummus:
- 7.75oz can garbonzo beans
- 2 1/2 tbsp tahini
- 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil

For spicy hummus, add in:
- 2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce (or only one if you want it very mild)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp agave nectar
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp cumin

What to do:
Combine everything in a food processor and blend until silky smooth

Dip pita chips in the hummus or use it as a spread for a sandwich.  I spread the spicy hummus over the inside of a pita, then tossed in some greens, added a few slices of avocado, red onion, and cherry tomatoes.  I also used it in a quesadilla to add in spiciness and flavor. 

Mini Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake

Another thing I don't make very often: dessert.  I used to bake a lot when I was younger. I experimented with different flavors and using different substitutes for butter.  But somewhere along the way, I started to like cooking much more than baking. I also thought it more relevant to know how to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner since I make those every day and only eat dessert on occasion.

I have started liking cream cheese frosting a lot, and also lemon-flavored desserts. As an idea for my wedding cake, I wanted to combine lemon, berries, and cream cheese.

Mini Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake

Strawberry and lemon zest in blender

What you'll need:
Crust:
- 1 1/2 tbsp melted buttery spread
- 4 graham crackers, crushed
- 2 tbsp sugar
Cheesecake:
- 8oz light cream cheese
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 6 tbsp agave nectar

Strawberry mixture:

Thin layer graham crust

- 4 1/2oz strawberries (frozen or fresh)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp agave nectar


What to do:
1.  Preheat the oven to 350*F

2.  Mix together the melted butter, crushed graham crackers, and sugar.  Spread a thin layer of this mixture into 12 separate cupcake wrappers. Bake for 4 - 5 minutes

3.  Mix all ingredients for the cream cheese filling and set aside.  Combine all ingredients for the strawberry mixture in a blender and puree.

4.  Let the graham cracker crust cool.  Spoon 2 tbsp cream cheese mixture onto each crust, then spoon 2 tsp strawberry mixture, then add another 2 tbsp layer of cream cheese.  Finally top with 3 dots (1 tsp each) of the strawberry mixture.  Use a toothpick to spread the strawberry mixture around to create designs.

Top with 3 tbsp puree

Swirl with a tooth pick

Beer Cheese Sauce

This is certainly not a typical food I make.  But it was a special occasion and the serving size is small.  I used this on burgers and on quesadillas.  You can use a small amount of cheese and then reduce the sauce so it is still thick and creamy.

Beer Cheese Sauce

Beer cheese sauce on burger, topped with green onions,
accompanied by ramen cabbage salad and avocado veggie burger

What you'll need:

- 1 tbsp butter

- 1 tbsp flour

- 6oz beer

- 4oz shredded cheddar cheese

- 2 tsp worcestershire sauce

- 1/8 tsp pepper

What to do:

1.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Once melted, add flour and whisk for about 2 minutes.  

2.  Add in the beer and continue whisking.  Let beer simmer for about 2 minutes, then add in the cheese, worcestershire, and pepper and stir.  Let simmer about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pesto Balsamic Mozzarella Panini

This was one of those days when I wasn't sure what to make for lunch, but just happened to have a group of tasty complimentary ingredients.  I usually have pesto, onion, lettuce, bread, and sun-dried tomatoes.  This day I happen to have some fresh mozzarella to tie it all together.  I would normally use whole wheat bread, but I happen to have some pesto bread from the farmer's market so I used that.  I sprinkled a little bit of balsamic vinegar on the bread for an extra touch of deliciousness.  I used a panini maker to toast it, but you can also turn the oven on to broil and turn once after about 2 minutes, then broil 1-2 more minutes.

Pesto Balsamic Mozzarella Panini

What you'll need:
- 2 tbsp pesto  (see recipe below)
- 2 pieces whole wheat bread
- 2 ounces part-skim mozzarella, sliced
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- thinly sliced red onion
- 1/4 cup spinach

Homemade Pesto
- 1/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 4 large parsley leaves (~1tsp)
- 8 fresh oregano leaves
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp each pepper and salt
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- 3 tbsp pine nuts
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend.

Southwest Salad Packable Lunch

Whenever I make salad for dinner, I always chop up a little extra of whatever veggies I am cutting and put it in my salad lunch box.  If there is extra meet, then I will throw that in a baggie and bring it to work with the salad.  This makes it super easy to make a healthy lunch for the office.

On this particular evening,  I did not have any meat to put on the salad.  But  I have eggs at all times; and I had also just bought an avocado. So I hardboiled an egg.  Below in the "What to do" is what I describe to be the perfect way to hard boil an egg.  It is important not to overcook the egg, otherwise you get that grey/green ring around the yolk.  It is also important not to add a cold egg to hot water, otherwise it is likely to crack open.

I also cut the avocado open in half lengthwise and took out the pit.  I stuck some slices of lime on top of one half to prevent browning.  Then I held them together with a rubber band.  This makes it easy to take to work and cut up some avocado without any hassle or brown spots.  I pack salsa and plain Greek yogurt in two individual small containers and put those in my salad lunch box.  It's super easy and really low in calories.   You could also add on some rinsed black beans for some added fiber and protein.

Packable Southwest Salad Lunch

What you'll need:
- 1.5 cups salad greens
- 3 tbsp chopped green peppers
- 2 tbsp sliced red onion
- 2 tbsp salsa
- 2 tbsp 2% plain Greek yogurt
- 1 hardboiled egg
- 1/2 an avocado, chopped
- 1/4 tomato, chopped
- 1/2 lime

What to do:
1. Take an egg out of the fridge 10 minutes prior to starting to allow it to come to room temperature.  Put a small pot of water on the the stove and set to medium high heat.  After the water is warm, about 2-3 minutes, add the egg gently.  Let it stay on a low boil for 10 minutes.  Remove egg and place in cold water.

2. Cut 2-3 thin slices from the lime and place on the avocado.  Wrap in rubber bands to keep together.  Keep the rest of the lime for the salad.

3.  In a sealable container, place the salad greens, green pepper, and red onion,  Sprinkle with juice from the lime. Put the salsa and greek yogurt in two separate small containers.  Put a paper towel around the egg and place in a plastic bag; separately bag the tomato.  Refrigerate overnight or during the morning and enjoy an easy low-calorie lunch. Recipe makes one serving.  I do recommend having some fruit with it for a full balanced meal.  

Nutrition Information
299 calories, 19g carbs, 9g fiber, 14g protein, 21g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 348mg sodium

Nectarine & Caramelized Onion Mini Pizza Appetizer

Fruit on pizza started becoming popular when people realized they loved the sweet-savory combo.  Regular pizza is all savory.  It's fatty and salty from the cheese and meats.  But adding in some fruit gives it a whole different character.  It can also be a good option, health-wise.   Adding fruits adds flavor without lots of calories, no saturated fat, and no sodium

This is a super easy appetizer.  I didn't even bother to make my own pizza dough.  I just used sandwich thins, which easily act as thin crust for the pizza.  I used a little bit of two different cheeses: mostly colby jack and a little parmesan.  The colby jack was just a pre-sliced piece of cheese made for sandwiches.  I used half of it.  I just tore off pieces and put it on the bread.  I caramelized the onions over very low heat for about 25 minutes. Two most important things to remember when caramelizing onions: 1. Cut them all in uniform size; 2. Do not burn the onions.  I created the pizzas, then put them in the oven set to broiler for 4 minutes.  Our broiler sets to 550*F, which is pretty high.  I would recommend a little lower about 475*F.

Nectarine & Caramelized Onion Mini Pizza Appetizer

What you'll need:
- 1/4 cup chopped white onion
- 1 whole wheat sandwich thin
- 2 tsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 0.5oz colby jack cheese, thinly sliced or shredded
- 1 small nectarine, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp parmesan cheese

What to do:
1.  Preheat the oven on a broiler setter (heat coming from the top) to 475*.

2.  Heat a skillet over medium heat; add 1 1/2 tsp olive oil.  Add onions and stir frequency.  Cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Then lower the heat to low or simmer.  Continue to stir frequently for about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

3.  Separate the sandwich thin halves.  Spread the remaining olive oil over the the insides of each; then spread the mustard on each; top with colby jack cheese, then caramelized onions, then nectarines, and finally the parmesan cheese.

4.  Place each pizza on a baking dish.  Put in the top 1/3 of the oven (but not on the very top level) and cook for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes.  Watch these carefully because they will easily burn.  Recipe makes 2 servings.

Nutrition Information
140 calories, 19g carbs, 4g fiber, 5g protein, 6g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 225mg sodium

Easy Salad with Chipotle Hash Brown, Chicken Sausage, and Cilantro Lime Dressing

I saw a recipe for chipotle cilantro latkes well over a year ago.  I saw the recipe and immediate thought it is something Ben would love.  But I never knew how to make it part of a meal.  Then with the big storm of June 29, 2012, we did not have any power.  I did an inventory of food and found that I had all right ingredients to make a salad with chipotle latkes: potatoes, salad greens, low fat plain Greek yogurt, canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, Al Fresco chicken sausage, bell peppers, onion, limes, cilantro puree in a tube.

So I made the latkes, which are similar to hash browns made of shredded potato, egg, flour, and flavorings.  In culinary school we semi cooked the potatoes before shredding.  This seemed to make the potato extra sticky.  We would put them on the the skillet and they just stuck there.  We tried so many different things- more oil, less oil, hotter oil, less hot oil, but none of it worked.  I remember that being a really aggravating cooking session.  So this time I tried not cooking the potato at all.  It worked better.  It was still a little sticky, but worked much better. 

This meal can be made mild, medium, or extra spicy.  I accidentally made it just a little too spicy for me, but Ben loved it.  Ben actually loved the whole meal so much he said it was his new favorite meal.

Easy Salad with Chipotle Hash Brown, Chicken Sausage, and Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dressing

What you'll need:

For the potato hash browns

- 1 medium potato, washed

- 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

- 1 chipotle pepper, finely chopped

- 1 tsp egg white

- 1/2 tsp cilantro puree

- 1 tsp grated onion

- 1 tbsp breadcrumbs

- pinch of cumin

- pinch of salt

- 2 links chicken sausage (such as Al Fresco), skin removed, in 1/2" slices

- 4 cups salad green

- 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

- 1/4 cup thinly sliced yellow onion

- 6 grape tomatoes, halved

- 1/2 tbsp olive oil

- 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

- 1 tsp adobo sauce

- 1 tsp cilantro puree

- 2 tbsp lime juice

- pinch of salt

- 1/2 tsp agave nectar

What to do:

1.  Use a thick cheese shredder to shred the potatoes.  Rinse over a strainer and squeeze our the excess water; pat dry.  Combine with the next 8 ingredients.  Form into 4 patties and set aside.

2. The Alfresco sausage is precooked, but I reheat it in the pan and get it a little bit crispy.  If you are using raw sausage, be absolutely sure to cook it all the way through in a saute pan over medium-high heat with a little bit of olive oil.

3. Combine the Greek yogurt and the next 5 ingredients (through agave nectar) and set aside.

4. Add about 1 tbsp olive oil (enough to cover the bottom) to a flat pan and heat over medium on the stove.  Add the potato hash browns and cook about 2 minutes on each side.  Move them around a little bit frequently to make sure they do not completely stick to the pan.

5. Make two salads with the greens, bell pepper, onion, and tomato.  Sprinkle each with 1/4 tbsp olive oil.  Top each with two hash browns, chicken sausage, and cilantro lime yogurt dressing.  Recipe makes 2 servings.

Nutrition Information

381 calories, 36g carbs, 4g fiber, 28g protein, 14g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 667mg sodium

A Dietitian's Snack Food

I have two snacks pretty much every day. One snack at 10 or 11am, then again around 3:30pm. It's like clockwork for me. I realize I am hungry, and I know what time is.

One of the easiest things to bring to work with me is fruit and nuts. I get 1/4 cups nuts such as almonds or walnuts then grab an apple or nectarine or 1/2 cups of grapes or berries. It's really easy for me to eat between seeing patients without making a mess or taking a long time to eat.

Today I am eating walnuts and blueberries. This is a good combination of buttery flavor from the nuts and sweet and tangy from the blueberries. You get some healthy fats, including omega 3s, from the nuts and some fiber from both the nuts and fruit. Also, these two foods are super high in antioxidants and certainly make it onto my Super Foods list.

So you want a healthy quick no-preparation-needed snack? Grab some fruit and a healthy 1oz portion if nuts!

Mac and Cheese with Infused Milk and Zucchini

I could have sworn I wrote about infused milk while in Dubai, but I don't see the post anywhere.  So if this is a repeat, I apologize.

This recipe uses two things to try to try to make Mac and Cheese a little healthier:  infused milk and veggies.  Infused milk is easy to make and can be used for a lot of different recipes.  In school, we infused milk with red onion, bay leaf, and cloves, and then simmer about 10 to 15 minutes.  We used that to make white sauce for pasta dishes or any creamy dishes like lobster thermador.  In school we used whole milk.  I decided to try using 1% milk.  With lower fat milk, you have to be careful not to overheat the milk, otherwise it with curdle.  Infusing a low fat milk is a good way to add lots of flavor without adding fat.

Infusing milk

To infuse milk for this recipe,  I added red onion, bay leaf, whole peppercorns, and whole garlic cloves.  Everything added is whole or in large pieces to make it easier to strain.  I then kept the milk at a lower simmer for 15 minutes.  To thicken the milk, you have to add a roux. A roux is equal parts butter and flour. The buttery spread I had in Dubai did not melt normally, so I had to skip this step.  I recommend doing it with real butter and white flour and just using small amounts. You melt the butter, whisk in the flour, then let cool slightly.  To combine the roux and the milk, one must be warm or hot, and one must be about room temperature.  They can't both be hot, or both be cold

For the zucchini, you can chop up finely by hand, grate it, or use a food processor to chop it up.  In dubai, I only had a knife, so I just made thin strips.  For the noodles, you par cook them in water, then finish cooking them in the oven in the sauce.  Do not rinse the noodles after cooking in water, to help them absorb the sauce.

Mac and Cheese with Infused Milk and Zucchini

What you'll need:
- 3 cup 1% milk
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 1/2 small red onion
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 5 whole peppercorns
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
- 1 large zucchini, grated
-  2 cups dry pasta elbows
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs

What to do:
1.  Preheat oven to 350*F.

2.  Cook pasta in a large amount of boiling water.  Cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions.  Strain, but do not rinse.

3.  In a sauce pan, heat milk with the next 4 ingredients.  Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Melt butter in a small sauce pan on low heat.  Gradually whisk in flour and cook about 2 minutes.  Take off heat, and let cool slightly.  Mixture must be at room temperature before adding in the milk.

5.  Strain milk.  Gradually add milk into the flour mixture, whisking constantly.  Bring to a boil and take off heat.  Add in ricotta cheese, gruyere, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese; add in salt and pepper and mix.  Add in cooked pasta and grated zucchini.  Transfer to a baking dish (~1 1/2 - 2" deep); top with bread crumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.  Bake in oven 12 minutes.  Makes 4 servings.

Grilled Steak and Grilled Romaine Salad

This meal is not my typical dietitian-healthy meal.  It has steak and bacon. I would normally not serve two sources of red meat in one meal, but it works with this meal.  I made grilled romaine salad for my family and they all seemed a little skeptical.  Is there any benefit to grilling the lettuce? No, but it is something different.  It has a smokey taste which ties in well with the steak.  If you use a charcoal grill, you get even more great grill flavor.  I haven't tried yet, but I would try cooking the lettuce on a cedar plank the same way you would with fish on a cedar flank.

To grill salad ingredients, you just have to make sure they don't burn or dry out.  For the onions, I wrapped them in foil.  For the romaine lettuce, lightly coat with olive oil and make sure you do not put it over the flames until the end.  Let it sit over burners that are no turned on for the first 5 minutes, then lay over low flames for 4 minutes turning once.

Grilled Steak and Grilled Romaine Salad

What you'll need:
- 2 steak tenderloins, 4oz each
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup sliced red onion
- 1 head romaine, medium sized, cut in half lengthwise
- 1/2 tomato, chopped
- 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp chopped fresh chives
- 2 pieces center cut bacon

What to do:
1.  Combine steak and the next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a bag and mix.  Let steak marinate about 30 - 40 minutes.

2.  On the stove, cook bacon in a pan over medium-high heat.  Let cool; crumble into small pieces.

3.  Heat one side of the grill to medium-high heat.

4.  Combine yogurt and the next 4 ingredients (through chives); set aside.  Wrap onion in foil.  Cook on the grill about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle steak with a pinch of salt just before grilling.  Cook steak on grill about 5 minutes each side for medium doneness.  Serve 1 steak with half the lettuce, onion, tomato, yogurt dressing, and top with bacon.