Cooling off & a little comfort food

So we all know that it is ridiculously hot outside. I'm sure the last thing you want to do is cook up a hot meal in a hot kitchen.

I love salmon salad sandwiches, but had a bit of a twist on Monday. Turn a sandwich into a salad & it makes for a cool & protein-packed summer dinner.

Salmon Salad
Serves 2

1 can boneless salmon
1/4 - 1/2 cup plain yogurt
salt & pepper
garlic & onion powder

Stir the salmon & yogurt together, breaking up the larger pieces of fish. Season with spices to taste. Serve with cool cucumber slices & a handful or two of spinach.

Ohh but its summer & BBQ sandwiches are so delicious. This meal definitely qualifies as comfort food in our house!

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Serves 2

2 chicken breast cutlets
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
garlic & onion powder
salt

Heat a little spray oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions & cook with a little salt until they begin to caramelize. Add chicken & cook until browned.

Stir in BBQ sauce (the hubby loves KC Masterpiece, but Curly's is my favorite) & sprinkle on a little garlic & onion powder to taste. Cook until the chicken is done, 10-12 minutes total. If your sauce gets a bit too think for your preference, you can always add a bit of water as it cooks.

Serve your sandwiches over toasted whole wheat buns with cheesy mac. Enjoy!

Jerk Chicken & More

Finally, some jerk chicken! Jerk is a spicy Jamaican spice mix with a great kick. No jerk pit here, but a fast way to enjoy different flavors.

Jerk Chicken
Serves 3-4

1 roasting chicken
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 lime
2-3 tablespoons Jerk seasoning
olive oil

You can grill or roast your Jerk chicken. To grill, just wrap the chicken in several layers of foil & secure tightly.

Rinse the chicken & pat dry. Using kitchen shears, cut down the back of the chicken and flatten, this will speed your cooking time. Tuck his wings back & lay on the foil or in a roasting pan or dutch oven. Drizzle a little olive oil over him & rub in the Jerk seasoning. Add onions around the chicken.

Roast at 400 degrees or over medium-high heat for about an hour or until juices run clear. Squeeze the lime juice over the chicken & let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving & serving.

Such an easy & delicious dinner! Great over rice with roasted asparagus. For a little extra zing in your rice, stir in a little fresh cilantro.

The garden is coming right along & I was able to make my first pesto of the year. So delicious! It called for one of my favorite summertime sandwiches, basil & Swiss grilled chicken.

Grill up a couple of chicken breast pieces, seasoning with salt & pepper.

In a blender or food processor, add at least one good handful of fresh basil, about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese & a squeeze of lemon juice. While the machine is running, slowly add in enough olive oil to thicken, between 1/8 & 1/4 cup. If you've added too much oil, you can always toss in a bit of fresh spinach to get the right consistency.

Spread on toasted bread and top with the chicken & a piece of Swiss cheese.








Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Fourth!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope everyone is having a fun & safe holiday! You might be able to extend your celebration with some of these recipes.

Best Burgers:
Serves 3-4

2 pounds ground beef, 85-93% fat free
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 t. ground pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1/4 t. ground red pepper
1/2 t. parsley

Stir spices together in a small bowl. With your hands, mix the beef & olive oil, add spices and mix. Form 7-8 patties with your hands, handling the beef a little as possible. Lay patties in a prepared 8x8 or larger pan lined with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until the grill is ready. Grill over a medium-hot heat until desired doneness. Remember to let the burgers rest at least 10 minutes after grilling to allow the juices to redistribute.

Roasted Vegetable and Pasta Salad:
Serves 3-4

2 fresh corn cobs, buttered & wrapped in foil
1-2 small-medium onions
1 bell pepper
3 cups whole wheat pasta
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium-large carrot, chopped or julienned
garlic powder
salt & pepper

This doesn't really look like pasta salad, but it the beginning. Roast corn cobs, onion & bell pepper until charred & aromatic.

Toss the pepper in a paper bag to sweat it out for a bit. Meanwhile, cook 3 cups whole wheat pasta according to directions. In a large bowl, juice the lemon & add salt, pepper & garlic powder. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make a vinaigrette. Toss in pasta & carrot.

When the veggies are done on the grill, give them a few minutes to let them cool before chopping. Roughly chop the onion & cut the kernels from the corn. Quick tip for the corn: using a small bowl overturned in a medium bowl, stand the cob up on the smaller bowl & cut down the cob to remove the kernels. Peel the skin away from the pepper & dice. Add to pasta mix & stir to combine. Pasta salad can be served at room temp fresh from the grill or chilled.

The best part of my barbeque-swiss burger was the sauce wasn't necessary to make the burger moist. So delicious!

Keep an eye out for a jerk chicken recipe later this week!

Variations on a Pad Thai Theme

Ok, so I've posted about Pad Thai before. It sounded so delicious for dinner tonight & I had just the right ingredients for what I wanted. The fun thing about Pad Thai is that it is versatile & with a few basic ingredients, it is just about fool proof.

The recipe found here has become the basis for every Pad Thai recipe I make. If tofu isn't your thing, you can use chicken, shrimp, sliced beef, or just use more veggies. I don't always use the rice noodles, but often leftover thin spaghetti. Spring onions are going crazy in my garden right now, but I don't always remember to buy bean sprouts. Tonight I used thinly sliced yellow onion, bell pepper & carrots.

Don't be afraid to play & experiment with recipes -- often they operate more like guidelines rather than strict rules. Cooking should be fun! So enjoy yourself & some fast & delicious Pad Thai this week.

Preview

New recipes & ideas are coming soon -- keep an eye out this week! A great pile of grilled goodness is coming your way just in time for the 4th of July weekend! I can only hope pineapple is on sale.

As always, let me know what you want to see, learn about, & cook. I always love to hear your feedback!

A long time coming

What a week it has been.

We spent all of last week doing basketball camp with our church, what fun! We had a great time working with all of the kids & I always enjoy taking their pictures.

Look at these wonderful kids!

Sharing the Word. Coach Dan & Matt do an excellent job! Matt's enthusiasm is so contagious.

I did get to do a little bit of cooking this week. I used the leftover steak to make a great fast stir-fry.

6-8 oz. leftover steak
1/2 yellow pepper, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
green onions, chopped
1 cup brown rice

Cook rice according to directions.

Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet or wok. Saute onions until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add peppers and soy sauce and saute another 3-4 minutes until peppers are tender. Slice steak diagonally and add to pan to heat through, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in green onions and serve over rice.

Due to the nature of our week, we didn't eat at home much. We did, however, get some great pizza from Knolla's. They have the best meatlover's pizza!

We were also treated to a wonderful dinner Friday for our anniversary. Hooray for 3 years of marriage! Sweet Basil was our first date & we were so excited to go back. I got the Penne del Mar -- penne pasta with shrimp, scallops & great veggies with a Chardonnay sauce. It is so delicious! Hubby got the Baked Orange Roughy. Also incredibly delicious, can't go wrong with butter, right?

More to come this week!

What a weekend!

First order of business this weekend: youth party!

Totally enamored with their Rubik's cube prizes after finishing their sweet treasure hunt! 

Having a pile of fun trying to work together.
How do we get over the rope?!

Saturday's fun didn't end there. We were able to help Nickki celebrate her birthday. Hooray!
Happy Birthday Cardigan for Nickki!

And a Happy Birthday dinner at Yia Yia's!
Angel Hair Pasta with some of the best grilled chicken I've had in a while. So good!

But surely I was cooking this weekend, right?
Sunday's treat was steak!
Grilled Pepper-Lime Steaks with Steamed Veggie Packets

Marinate your steak of choice for at least 30 minutes in the juice of 3-4 limes, salt, pepper, a sprinkle or so of ground red pepper & red pepper flakes. Make your steak as spicy as you like!

Cut up some of your favorite veggies for a steam packet. Bell peppers & onions are excellent steamed on the grill. Season with a bit of salt & pepper & a spray or two canola oil & wrap in foil. Don't forget to toss in the juiced limes for extra flavor. Toss them on the grill right with your steaks.

Grill your steaks to your preference -- here is a great simple article on grilling steak. Be sure to let your steaks rest for a few minutes to let those juices do their thing before you dive right in. Empty your packets onto your plate & enjoy with your steak!

And more knitting...a sweet friend is expecting a little girl! I can't pass up the opportunity to knit for a little one. Can't wait to see Natalie Nicole in her hat!

This week: basketball camp! Dinner posts will be spare, but its all for great fun!

Kebabs!

For you, Lori!
Grilled Kebabs with the Best Corn Ever!
Serves 2

2 pieces chicken breast
1 bunch cherry tomatoes
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/2 yellow onion
2 fresh corn cobs
1 lime

Get your grill ready!

Cut the chicken, peppers & onion into about 1 inch chunks. Load the chicken, peppers, onion & tomatoes onto skewers. Season kebabs and corn with a bit of spray canola oil & salt & pepper.

Grill kebabs and corn until the chicken is cooked, about 10-12 minutes. Just before removing from the grill, squeeze lime over chicken & veggies -- make sure you get a bit on the corn, this is the best part!

Roll cobs in a bit of melted butter and serve with kebabs. Enjoy!

What's for dinner?

So after a crazy week & not buying enough chicken or shrimp or fish this week, we have a super fast vegetarian dinner.

Beans & Rice
Serves 2

2/3 cup brown rice
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 zucchini, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon oregano

Cook rice with a pinch of salt according to directions or in a rice cooker.

Heat 1 teaspoon EVOO in a pan over medium heat. Saute onion with a bit of salt until they begin to soften, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat & add beans, oregano & as much freshly ground pepper as you'd like & simmer for 10 minutes. Add zucchini & cook until some of the beans begin to break down & thicken, & the zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes more.

Serve over rice & enjoy! Remember you can always trade out black beans for any kind of bean that you'd like, and the zucchini as well for any fresh veggies that you have on hand. Make it what you like! But be sure to share!

What's for dinner?

Pizza!
I think this is our favorite meal.
Serves 2 with awesome leftovers or 3-4

The great thing about pizzas is that there is no recipe. Do what you like!

Preheat the oven to a super hot 450-500 degrees. If you don't have a pizza stone to preheat with the oven, put your baking pans in while you make your pizzas.

Start out with some flat bread wraps -- these are great, they can minimize your carbs & you can find them in whole grain & other great options. We used 4 total flat breads.

Slather on some tomato sauce. you can used a premade sauce or stir in garlic & onion powder, salt, oregano & basil into about a 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes. Top with a few spoonfuls of browned turkey, beef, chicken, or sausage of your choice. 

Add your chopped veggies, we always use peppers & onions. You can use anything you like: olives, banana peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, spinach, asparagus. 

Top with a little "glue" or mozzarella. It will get all melty & delicious & help to hold together your pizza. 

There's no way I would forget the pepperonis! We use turkey 'ronis to help cut down on the calories.

Finally, top with a good sprinkle of parmesan. 

Bake for about 10-12 minutes until nicely browned & bubbly. Let the pizza stand for a few minutes before cutting.

Enjoy your delicious pizza!