“The last time when I was on Chopped, I definitely went home with a goal of trying to be more creative and try new things,” explained Laila. “I have a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old, both of who get in the way of my creativity, because when I try something new, they don’t want to eat it. So I usually stick to basics with them. But I’m inspired again to try new and different things for my entire family, coming up with dishes that my kids would eat. I look at it as a challenge and I really get inspired. I’m currently working on a cookbook. Being on Chopped definitely makes you step out of your comfort zone. I’ve said on the show that I don’t bake, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to have baking recipes in my book. I’m inspired by recipes that we all know are already good, and then I try to make them healthier.”
Laila is taking her skills to print in her new cookbook. “It’s going to be American food with a healthy twist,” details Laila. “My food is healthy, but you don’t even know you’re eating food that’s healthy for you. I have a recipe that everyone loves — my oven-fried chicken — that people don’t even believe is not fried unless I tell them or they see me make it. They tell me it’s actually better than fried. I say, ‘No, it’s not!’ But my husband says, ‘No, babe, it really is.’ It’s hard to imagine that people who like fried chicken would like my oven-fried chicken better, but I guess it’s possible. It inspires me to take other dishes and reinvent them. The possibilities are limitless.”
Here’s Laila’s Shrimp Avocado Grape Fruit Salad recipe:
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
12 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 grapefruit
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons brown sugar (OPTIONAL: substitute brown sugar with Xylitol)
1 teaspoon chopped shallots
6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 peeled avocado, cut into 12 wedges
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add shrimp to pan; cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Remove from pan; keep warm.
- Peel and section grapefruit over a bowl, reserving 3 tablespoons juice. Combine grapefruit juice, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, tarragon, brown sugar, and shallots in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add lettuce; toss. Arrange 2 cups lettuce mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 3 avocado wedges; divide shrimp and grapefruit sections evenly among servings.