Grilled Cauliflower

Nothing says summer like grilled veggies! And this summer we experimenting with grilling everything - it made life easy and we discovered that pretty much any veggies can be grilled. Well, except radishes... I read about grilled radishes in a magazine several months ago so I wanted to give it a shot. Big fail!

Cauliflower was one veggie that we loved on the grill. I made a foil packet, tossed the cauliflower with olive oil, salt, and pepper and tossed it on the grill for about 8 minutes. It was tender, sweet, and slightly caramelized - just delicious!

Lemon-Honey Chicken

Is anybody out there? I know it's been a while, but I hope you are sticking with me! I promise there will be a lot of yummy things coming out of my kitchen again soon.

I can't believe our baby girl is 10 weeks old already - time is flying and life is crazy, but wonderful. Believe it or not, Jon and I have done a lot of cooking since becoming a family of three. Thank goodness for the grill - Jon has been marinating and grilling like crazy, and our meals have mostly consisted of grilled meats, grilled veggies, and easy sides, like baked potatoes, orzo, pasta, rice, or noodles. I have also been cooking meals that we love from my blog, so I haven't had anything new to write about here.

The biggest change in our kitchen is that we usually have to eat one at a time, or cut our food quickly so we can hold our baby girl. Why is it that she can be sound asleep, but as soon as she hears our plates hit the table, she's awake and screaming? And it doesn't matter if we eat at 6, 7, or 8, she knows when it is dinner time.

Ok, back to the food. I did make a few new meals over the summer, one of them being this Lemon-Honey Chicken. Actually, I made it a month ago, but am just now getting around to posting! I bookmarked the recipe a while back when I saw it here on the blog Closet Cooking. I made a few changes, so my version is below.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• Flour for dredging
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 2 tbsp honey (I used 1 tbsp)
• Added: 2 small cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 c chicken stock (I used about 3/4 c)

Directions

• Season chicken with salt and pepper, coat with flour, shaking off excess
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan over high heat
• Add the chicken and cook for 2 min per side, lower heat, and cook another few minutes per side until cooked through. Transfer chicken to a dish and keep warm.
• Add 1 tbsp oil to the pan over medium high heat
• Add ginger and garlic; saute until fragrant
• Add the lemon zest, juice, honey, and stock. Bring to a simmer, reduce to thicken.
• Serve sauce over the chicken (I made this a month ago so I can't remember exactly, but I am pretty sure I returned the chicken to the pan for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking).

This dish was very fragrant, actually a bit too much for Jon's tastes (too much ginger and still too sweet, even with just 1 tbsp of the honey). I agree with him on the ginger, so next time I'll use less, but I did like the sweetness from the honey mixed with the brightness from the lemon.

Easy Peach Cobbler

This summer has been crazy hot. I knew it would be a hot summer since I was pregnant and due at the end of July - figures, right? On July 7 it was around 100 degrees and humid and I was due in 3 weeks. I had a client meeting during the day, and was exhausted that night, but craving baked peaches. I had been thinking of my grandmom's amazing peach pie for days, but no way was I up for making a pie. I did have some peaches hanging around, so I decided to make an easy peach cobbler.

I'm nuts - 100 degrees, 9 months pregnant, and turning on my oven to bake?!? And that was after tearing apart my kitchen and cleaning like crazy. Little did I know that I was nesting - I went into labor just over 24 hours after taking that cobbler out of the oven. While in the hospital waiting to have our baby girl, all I could think of was that cobbler sitting in my fridge, so the next day I had Jon bring me a piece - SO much better than hospital food!

Easy peach cobbler - recipe from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

For the peaches:

• 8 peaches, pitted and sliced. The recipe noted they should be peeled too - I didn't have the energy or patience for that and they were just fine!
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (I didn't have any and didn't miss it)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp cornstarch

For the crust:

• 1 c flour
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 c boiling water
• 3 tbsp white sugar mixed with 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• In a large bowl, combine the ingredients for the peaches. Toss to coat, then pour into a baking dish. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes.
  

• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine some of the ingredients for the crust: flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Finally, stir in the water until just combined.
• Remove the peaches from the oven and drop spoonfulls of the crust mixture over the top. Sprinkle the entire cobbler with the sugar/cinnamon mixture and bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.
  

This recipe was quick and easy, especially for someone who doesn't like to bake. It completely satisfied my craving for peach pie, although nothing will ever be as good as my grandmom's! I'm looking forward to making this in the fall with apples - Jon will love that one.

Be back soon....

I haven't been in the kitchen for the past week, but I have a good reason. Jon and I welcomed our baby girl to the world on Friday, July 9! She's amazing and we are so in love with her!

I have an easy peach cobbler, a chicken pasta dish, and a fabulous Mexican dip to blog, and I promise I'll get to it eventually. And I'm looking forward to getting back in the kitchen as soon as we are in more of a routine and not totally sleep deprived!

So stay tuned, there's much more to come!

New blog design!

South of the Border Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is the perfect addition to any barbecue or picnic menu. It is bright, zesty, and colorful, and just a little different than your traditional pasta salad. I threw this together based on my love of Mexican flavors and ingredients, and everyone loved it.

The Salad
Mix all ingredients, toss with just a touch of olive oil, and chill in the fridge until ready to dress (1 hour before serving).

• 1 lb rotini, cooked and rinsed under cold water
• Chopped bell peppers - I used 1 each of a green, red, and orange pepper
• 2 tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 c frozen corn
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• For serving: bowl of shredded Mexican blend cheese
• Optional: cilantro for topping (I completely forgot to put this out!)

The Dressing

Mix all ingredients* and chill until ready to dress. Shake well before pouring onto pasta salad.

• 3/4 c olive oil
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed

* Note, my amounts are approximate. The oil, lime juice, and garlic are exact amounts; others were added and adjusted as I mixed. I recommend you start adding ingredients slowly and taste as you go.

For another unique pasta salad, check out my antipasto pasta salad.

Saucy Broccoli and Tofu Stir Fry

I love to read recipes.. that's right, I read the ingredients, directions, and can usually tell what I think will work, how it will taste, and what changes I could make either to make it better or suit my tastes. That is until I stumbled across this recipe for Saucy Broccoli and Tofu Stir Fry (original recipe from Martin Yan's China). And that's because one of the ingredients was ketchup. But the blog author assured me that ketchup in Chinese food worked so I gave it a shot.

I'm glad I did - this was a thick and flavorful sauce that coated the tofu and broccoli nicely, ensuring I got a nice taste of sauce with every bite.

Ingredients

• 2-3 tbsp oil for cooking
• 1 block firm tofu, pressed and cut into blocks
• 2-3 cups broccoli, cut into florets
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c ketchup
• 1/4 c Chinese rice wine
• 1/4 c chicken broth (I used vegetable broth, and about 1/2 c)
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1-2 tbsp chili garlic sauce (depends on how much heat you want)
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• Squirt of toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce, more to taste

Directions

• Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat
• Add tofu and cook until browned to your liking; I cooked it for about 10 minutes.
• While the tofu is cooking, mix the ingredients for the sauce - Mix the broth and soy sauce; add the cornstarch and mix until dissolved. Add the ketchup, rice wine, chili garlic sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Whisk, and adjust any ingredients.
• Add the broccoli to the pan and cook 2-3 minutes; it will cook more once you add the sauce. Remove everything from the pan.
• Turn up the heat to high and add 1 tbsp oil. Add the garlic and saute just a few seconds, making sure it doesn't burn.
• Add the sauce mixture, and allow it to reduce/come to a simmer to thicken which will only take a few minutes.
• Return the tofu and broccoli to the pan and toss everything to coat and heat through.

I served this over rice, and it made enough to have dinner, lunch the next day, and then a mid-afternoon snack.

Crispy Chicken Fingers

Last week I defrosted 1 chicken breast for myself, but had no idea what to do with it. I was tired, so something quick and easy was a must. I decided to slice the breast and bread the pieces for chicken fingers. A salad and oven baked fries and my meal was complete!

Crispiness is a must when making chicken fingers. I achieve it by doing a few things. First, repeat the process of dipping the chicken in flour then egg twice. Second, I use a mixture of panko bread crumbs and regular bread crumbs. Finally, I spray the chicken with just a touch of cooking spray and turn on the broiler at the end of the cooking time.

These chicken fingers were the crispiest, most delicious I have made. I dipped them in a bit of ranch dressing when eating htem; honey mustard, a creamy garlic dip, or a homemade barbecue sauce would work well, too.



Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast, sliced into strips and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
• First bowl: Flour - about 3 tbsp
• Second bowl: 2 eggs mixed with some light cream
• Third bowl: Bread crumbs mixed with panko. I seasoned the bread crumb mixture with a pinch of thyme, a few shakes each of onion powder, garlic powder, dry mustard, and dried parsley. I also added about a handful of shredded Parmesan cheese.

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees; put foil on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray.
• Dredge each strip of chicken in flour, dip in egg, repeat. Transfer to bowl of breading and toss around until fully coated. Place on the cookie sheet.
• Bake for about 15 minutes, or until fully cooked, flipping once. Turn on the broiler for 2 minutes at the end.

Grilled Brussels Sprouts

Jon and I love Brussels sprouts so when I saw this recipe for grilled Brussels sprouts on Cara's blog, I had to try them.

Ingredients
Like Cara, I just eyeballed the amounts -

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts
• About 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Good squirt of Dijon mustard
• 2 shakes paprika
• Touch of salt and pepper
• You will also need 3-4 skewers; metal ones work best

Directions

• Wash Brussels sprouts, trim off the ends and remove any outer leaves that are falling off.
• Put them in a pot of water and bring to a boil for 3-4 minutes.
• Remove them from the water and toss with the oil, garlic, paprika, mustard, salt, and pepper
• Once they are cool enough to handle, put them on the skewers with all sprouts facing the same way.
• Grill for 10 minutes, 5 minutes per side.

Jon took this picture once they were skewered before taking them out to the grill.

Cooking...


We loved the flavor on these from the garlic and dijon, and the smokieness from the grill was nice too. They were a touch underdone, so next time I'd boil them an extra minute or two. The biggest surprise about them was that our dog ate one that I dropped, and was stalking me for more after that! Who knew.

Garlic-Lemon-Dill Grilled Chicken

There is nothing easier than cooking on the grill. I guess I can say that because Jon does all of the grilling... But he's so good at it, so why would I interfere?

Over the weekend we decided to grill chicken and wanted light and fresh flavors for the marinade. I took my inspiration from this recipe for Garlic-Lemon Chicken Kabobs on the blog Loves to Eat. Instead of just garlic and lemon, we decided to add dill, fresh from my container garden of herbs. What a perfect addition! Some sort of yogurt dipping sauce would have been perfect with them... next time!

Ingredients

• 3 trimmed chicken breasts
• 3 cloves of garlic, put through the microplane
• 1/4 c light olive oil
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• Zest from 1/2 lemon
• 3 sprigs of dill, roughly chopped
• A few turns of freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of kosher salt

Directions

• Cut chicken into kabob sized pieces and put in a bowl
• Mix all other ingredients and pour over the chicken. Marinate for 2 hours.
• Put chicken onto skewers and grill; Jon starts with high heat and then cooks them at medium for about 15 minutes.

Here they are right off the grill -

We both really loved this chicken - the dill and lemon work so well together, and are the perfect combination for a light and fresh summer dish.

I served the chicken with grilled Brussels sprouts and potato salad.