Grilled Asparagus

This is a super-easy and healthy side dish when you're grilling out.  Subsitute grilled asparagus for potato chips at your typcial BBQ - you still get the crunchiness and the saltiness, but on a healthier vehicle.  YUM!

serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 bunch aspargus per

1-2 tbsp EVOO

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Sea salt & Pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a covered baking dish or large ziploc bag.  Shake to coat.

After the grill has heated up, place asparagus spears perpindicular to the grill grates so they don't get stuck in between.  Flip after about 7 minutes.  Let grill for another 7 minutes and serve hot.  You can grate some lemon zest or parmesan on top if you want to be fancy!

Mex-Asian Marinated Flank Steak and Rice

This recipe started as steak fajitas on the grill, but the weather wasn't cooperating.  Since the marinade I had used was a little bit Asian-infused, I decided to go with a fusion themed creation that would keep me out of the rain while cooking.  This was a relatively cost-effective dish, and flank steak leftovers are great for all kinds of lunches (sandwiches, wraps, over salad...).  I LOVED the marinade for the steak, and still want to try it on the grill sometime soon.

Ingredients:

flank steak

Uncle Ben's "Boil-in-a-bag" rice - 2 bags

3/4 c soy sauce

1/2 c EVOO

S&P

1/4-1/3 c fajita seasoning (I use Ortega) - divided in half
1-2 bell peppers

1 jalapeno

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp butter

Directions:

About a day ahead of time:

Get your flank steak marinating in the soy sauce, EVOO, 1/2 of the fajita seasoning, and S&P in an oven-safe baking dish.  I usually dump everything on top of the steak and then turn several times to coat.  I think I did this Thursday morning and cooked Friday night.  Just make sure it is tightly covered in the refrigerator, and remove about 45 minutes before you're ready to cook so it can reach room temperature.

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and make sure your meat has time to get to room temperature out of the refrigerator.

2. Boil about 6 cups of water for your rice (use the instructions on the box).  I use 2 bags for this recipe.

3. Get a large grill or saute pan heated up over medium-high heat.  Turn your steak to coat again while waiting.  Once hot, place your flank steak on the hot pan (if hot enough, there should be a sizzle).  Cook about 3-4 minutes per side until just browned, return to the baking dish in the remaining marinade.  Plop into the oven while you finish off the rice.

4. Chop your garlic, onion, jalapeno, and bell peppers.  Melt 1 tbsp butter in the same pan used for the steak over medium to medium-high heat.  Dump your veggies in and get them all coated in the juices and butter. 

5. Drain your rice and add to the veggies.  Add the remaining fajita seasoning, S&P, and continue to toss in the pan over heat.

6.  Remove your steak and check on it (I would check on it about 10 minutes after putting into the oven).

7.  When steak has reached desired done-ness, transfer to a cutting board and slice against the grain.

8.  Pour the juices from the baking dish over the rice, remove from heat, and mix well.

9.  Serve your steak over rice, and garnish with a jalapeno slice!  You can add cheese and maybe even sour cream too, if you want to sway the dish back towards the mexican side.

Grilled Swordfish, Chili-Garlic Shrimp Kabobs and Cheesey Tin Taters

 

This week is just too beautiful to be relegated inside at the stove, so I used the opportunity to make my first kabobs of the year and try grilling my first swordfish EVER!  My two guests and I were all impressed, so I thought I'd share with you!  This recipe was the perfect amount for 3 people, leaving us thoroughly stuffed after a pretty healthy dinner (as long as you don't overdo the drawn butter dipping!).  I've adjusted the recipe here to feed 4, as that seems like a more frequent serving size.  I would definitely recommend eating outside though, as the peel-n-eat factor in the shrimp can be quite messy, but makes for a much more flavorful and moist product than using peeled shrimp.  I've separated out the recipes by item, but if you recreate the whole meal, I would recommend first getting your swordfish and shrimp in their marinades and returning to the fridge until ready to grill, and getting your potatoes on the grill at least 30 minutes before serving time on the top rack but not more than an hour.

*You will need PAM Olive Oil Spray (or your favorite EVOO mister/non-stick cooking spray) for all 3 dishes

For the Swordfish, You Will Need...

2 lbs swordfish steak 1" thick - look for the little strip of dark meat to have some red in it, all brown=bad

4 tbsp EVOO

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp spicy mustard

S & P

Serve with a remoulade sauce or cucumber-dill salsa!

Directions:

1.  Whisk together the bottom 5 ingredients and get your swordfish marinating in there.  Return to fridge if you aren't putting on the grill yet.  I would remove about 10 minutes before grilling.  The fish shouldn't be marinated any long than an hour or two in a covered dish. 

2.  Make sure you're grill is on Med High heat and fired up at least a few minutes prior to grilling.  Spray your grill grate with non-stick cooking spray and place your swordfish on there.  For 4 pre-cut, 1" servings, grill about 5 minutes per side.  A good rule of thumb with swordfish is about 10 minutes cooking time per inch of thickness (5 min per side), so adjust as needed.  This number may increase the larger the surface area as well.  I had about a 1.5 lb piece uncut, and it took closer to 17 minutes to cook fully.  You want it to cut easily with a fork and be white throughout.

*Tip: spray the grill again as you flip to avoid sticking.
*Tip: The meat closest to the skin and spot of dark meat are the most tender and yummy, although I have to admit, I'm still turned of by actually eating the dark meat!

For the Shrimp, You Will Need...

16 Tiger shrimp, deveined, but peels-in-tact (a little more than 1 lb, depending on size)

1 tbsp EVOO

1/2 tsp lime juice

1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp chili garlic sauce (Sriracha makes a great one, small jar, lime-green top)

S & P

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp paprika
2 large bell peppers (I used chunks of bell pepper)
Skewers

1 stick butter, sea salt, and 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning for drawn butter (optional)

Directions:

1.  Whisk together bottom 7 ingredients (not the butter, etc.) in a large bowl.  This marinade will be a little more paste-like than the swordfish marinade.
2.  Toss in your unpeeled shrimp until all pieces are well coated.  Use a spatula for this - the shells and legs can be sharp, and a spatula is gentle enough to keep them in tact.  Stick back in the fridge until you're ready to make your kabobs.  These can be marinated in a sealed bag or container up to a day ahead of time.  If within a couple hours of grill time, just covered in the fridge is fine.

3.  When ready to make kabobs, chop up your bell peppers into easy-to-skewer pieces and remove your shrimp from the fridge.  Spray with EVOO mister (or toss in EVOO) with sea salt and ground black pepper.

4.  Alternate your veggies and shrimp (about 4 per skewer) for pretty kabobs!
*Tip: If you're using wooden skewers, submerge in cold water a few minutes prior to threading your shrimp and veggies to keep the skewer from charring and breaking.

5.  Spray grill with nonstick cooking spray and and grill on Med High for about 3 minutes per side.  You'll know it's time to flip when the shells become marbled with a pinkish-white hue.

6.  If serving with "drawn" butter:  Chop up your butter and place into a glass measuring cup with pourer,  Melt in the microwave (about 1 minute).  Mix in your sea salt and Old Bay seasoning and pour into ramekins for each person.
7.  Serve your kabobs!  These should be eaten the same as peel-n-eat shrimp. Google if you've never tried this - and SHAME on you!

For the Cheesy Tin Taters, You Will Need....
1.5-2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, rinsed and diced with skins on
1.5 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 c shredded cheese
2 tsp crushed red pepper
S & P

tin foil (1 sq foot piece per person)

Directions:

1.  Mix together top 5 ingredients.

2.  Spray pieces of tin foil with nonstick cooking spray on one side.  Divide potato mixture among the pieces of foil. 

3.  Fold up tightly into packets and place on grill. I like to put the packets on the top rack, where you would put things to melt cheese or keep buns warm for a steaming effect.
4. Leave undisturbed about 30 minutes - longer is okay too, but not more than an hour.  Serve 1 packet per person when it's time to eat!



Bell of the Bowl! A Whimsical Dish...

Roasted Bell Peppers topped with Sauteed Chicken and Spinach (and Goat Cheese!)

This is a whimsical dish I came up with last night when I just wanted something light I could cook for myself pretty quickly.  It turned out even tastier than I could have hoped for!  Partially inspired by my Aunt Nancy's recent reminder on how delicious roasted bell peppers can be with just a hint of EVOO and sea salt, I decided to incorporate those into my "whimsical dish."  I also had some chicken breast, goat cheese, and spinach that wasn't otherwise spoken for, and this is what transpired!  This is by far my favorite recipe so far that utilizes no butter and no cream!

serves 1 - multiply per person

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

2 bell peppers

just enough goat cheese to decorate the top

1 heaping tsp Steak seasoning (I use Kroger brand Grill Time, Montreal Steak is fine too)

 - if you don't have any handy,use finely minced garlic or garlic salt/poweder and add extra salt and pepper

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp spicy mustard (my favorite brand is Sanwich Pals Hot & Spicy)

sea salt

black pepper

1-2 tbsp EVOO

olive oil mister (like PAM olive oil - you can just brush EVOO if you don't have a mister or spray)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper and spray or brush with EVOO

2. Finely chop your bell peppers lengthwise.  Arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet and spray or brush the peppers.  Coat generously with sea salt and black pepper.  Put in your preheated oven to roast while you finish the rest. (You can use whatever colors you have around).

3. Heat up your 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  You want just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.  WHile heating, slice up your chicken breast into small pieces that truly are bite size.  I like to get a little of everything on my fork for each bite, and keeping your chicken pieces small allow for that, as well as speeding up your cooking time.

4. Place your sliced chicken into the pan.  We're going to do all the flavoring right there in the pan.  Sprinkle on a little sea salt and move the chicken around to coat.  Next add your steak seasoning, mustard, and worcestershire.  Give it a good toss in the pan.  Keep moving around until evenly cooked.  (This shouldn't take more than 7-8 minutes if you're using small pieces).

5.  Just as the chicken is getting a a golden coating and about cooked through, take those peppers out of the oven and set aside.  Now it's time to wilt the spinach.  Add your handfuls of spinach to the pan with the chicken still in it.  Remember, spinach cooks down significantly, so overestimate the amount you'll need.  Wilting it in the same pan as the chicken allows the cooking liquid to be absorbed and maintain those flavors throughout the dish.  The wilting process should only take a minute, literally.  Keep stirring to wet and wilt all spinach.

6.  Now get it all in a bowl!  Layer your roasted peppers in first, then top with your chicken and spinach mixture.  The oils in the spinach will serve as a flavorful sauce or dressing for the dish.  I would spoon out the chicken and spinach rather than pour over to keep the dish a little less oily overall, but it's up to you!
Now just top with a pinch of goat cheese and serve!

** Some other suggestions for this dish would be to serve it over rice, or use teriyaki instead of worcestershire.  You could also improvise with whatever veggies you have in your fridge!  Or if you are not a goat cheese fan, skip it!  It was still healthy and delicious. 

"Breadcrumb" Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, and Mushrooms

This is a meal that can masquerade as healthy, for sure.  If you lessen the amounts of butter and salt, it would certainly lessen the masquerading factor, though.  I actually conceived this recipe with inspriation from my co-worker Colleen, who has perfected a weight watchers version of cornflake-breaded oven-fried chicken.  The way the chicken is done here keeps it perfectly moist, and the mashed sweet potatoes are a nice switch from your typical starches. The sauce dolloped on top was an impromptu blend of leftover guacamole ingredients the day before (light mayo, light sour cream, chopped jalapeno, chopped garlic, chopped onion, lime juice, S&P, hot sauce).  I wasn't crazy about the pairing with chicken so I didn't include the recipe on this post, but it would be delicious with swordfish or crabcakes.  I'm hoping to do a seafood dish next week to use it with and post shortly thereafter :)

serves 2-3 with leftovers

Mashed Sweet Potatoes:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced to 1/4" thick

1/2 stick butter

1/4 c heavy cream (you can substitute milk for a healthier version, but you may lose a little texture)

salt to taste

Chicken Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry

1 c flour

1 c cornflake breadcrumbs

1/4 Italian breadcrumbs

1 tsp Grill Time steak seasoning (this is Kroger's generic steak seasoning)

1 egg

1 dollop spicy mustard

S&P

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp EVOO

Green Beans with Mushrooms:

2 handfuls greenbeans (or 1 handful per person)

1 c sliced mushrooms

1 minced garlic clove

1/2 lemon, juice and zest

1 tbsp butter

S&P

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your overn to 425 degrees.

Start with the potatoes...

1.  Slice your sweet potatoes, and cover with water in a large pot or pan.  Bring to a boil and then down to a simmer for the remainder of your cooking time.

While simmering, move on to the chicken....

2.  Dump your flour into a large ziploc bag and add your rinsed/patted chicken breasts.  Shake to coat and transfer breasts to plate.

3.  Crack your egg into a bowl, add the dollop of spicy brown mustard, and just a touch of water to make the egg wash.  Whisk with a fork until well-blended.

4.  Add your conflake crumbs, Italian breadcrumbs, steak seasoning, and S&P to the same ziploc (it's ok if there is leftover flour in it).

5.  Coat your chicken breasts in the egg wash and place into the ziploc with the breadcrumb mixture, one-by-one.  Once all 3 are in there, shake to coat the breasts evenly.  YOu may need to manipulate the bag a little bit to make sure all surfaces are exposed to the crumb mixture.  Transfer breasts back to plate.

6.  Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp EVOO in a large skillet over Medium to Medium-High heat.

7.  Once the oil/butter mixture is hot, carefully place the chicken breast in the pan to sear.  The goal here is to brown the outsides and seal in the moisture before finishing off in the oven.  The second side always sears a little more quickly than the first, so I would advise about 3-4 minutes on the first side and 2-3 on the next.

8.  Once both sides are lightly browned, transfer to a baking dish.  I like to pour the pan drippings over the chicken to try and keep in those flavors and moisture, but you don't have to do this if the idea of it doesn't sit well.  The browned chicken should resemble the picture below.  Place the dish, uncovered in the preheated over for about 20 minutes or until slicing through the thickest part reveals no pink.

9.  The 20 minutes the chicken is baking should leave you plenty of time to finish off your potatoes and complete the green beans.  Get some water boiling next to your potatoes (I often clean out the same pan I used for chicken to minimize dishes).  While waiting, make sure your other ingredients are sliced and ready to go.  Once boiling, place the green beans in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
10.  Drain the greenbeans and run under cold water to stop the cooking (this helps keep them a little crisp). 
11.  Add tbsp butter to the same pan until melted over medium heat.  Add minced garlic and mushrooms and saute for a couple minutes.  Add green beans back to pan and toss with worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, S&P and grate a little lemon zest into the mix. Leave over
12.  Drain your potatoes (they should be fork-tender by now!).  Return to warm pot (burner off) with butter and add cream or milk little by little until reaching desired creaminess.  Add salt to taste.  Transfer to serving dish.
13.  Give your green beans another toss and transfer to a servish dish.
14.  If you haven't already, check on that chicken!!  You won't be able to judge by looks whether the chicken is cooked through, since we browned the outsides.  I swear by cutting in - I don't trust meat thermometers, but if you do, you want the heat to be at least 165 degrees.

Enjoy!

(This is my lady-sized portion, sans mushrooms.)

February showers bring.... March Flowers??

A Flowery Sunrise

This breakfast is a quick way to use up that bell pepper, half-package of bacon, one or two random eggs, and citrus from your fruit basket that's begging to be utilized.  I saw a similar picture on pinterest of an egg fried in a bell pepper ring to replicate a "flower" and  be kid-friendly.  I wish I could give credit to the source, but I didn't click through since the recipe seemed pretty self-explanatory.  Anyway - thank you, whoever "you" are!  Kids or no kids, that's a brilliant way to keep my eggs separate in the pan and appear creative!  I also had to add cheese and scallions - it's a hard bargain for me to enjoy eating just plain egg.  This was the perfect quick and rather healthy breakfast for a Saturday morning.  Certainly, you could healthify it a little more by nixing the cheese, substituting turkey bacon, and using egg whites only.

for 6 servings, as pictured above

Ingredients:

1 bell pepper (will make about 6 rings per pepper - maybe more - need 1 ring per egg)

1/2 package of bacon

2 oranges fruit

6 eggs

1/2 c cheddar cheese

handful of chopped scallions

1 pat butter

S&P

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet on medium heat.  I like to cut my bacon in half length-wise for easier pieces to manage.  Place strips in the heated pan and continue to turn each time the bacon bubbles until reaching desired done-ness.

2.  While my bacon is cooking, I slice the pepper rings, fruit, and scallions.  To slice the pepper rings, slice off the top part where the stem is.  Reach in and pull out the white parts and any remaining seeds.  Slice parallel to original cut, about 1/2-1cm in thickness.  Other slicing self-explanatory:)

3.  As bacon finishes, place strips on a plate lined with paper towels to drain the grease.  Because the eggs don't take very long, and unattended bacon is never good, I like to get it out of the way before focusing on my eggs. 

4.  Melt butter in a separate skillet.  Place pepper rings in pan (don't overcrowd, or flipping wiill be tough!).  Crack an egg into each ring.  Sprinkle each with salt and pepper.  Once you see the white hardening around the yolk about 2-3 minutes, carefully flip!

5. Top each with a bit of shredded cheese, and cover for about 30 seconds to melt cheese nicely.

6.  Transfer to a plate and top with chopped scallions and a litle S&P. Serve with a couple of pieces of bacon and sliced fruit! 

YUM!!!

Meaty Pasta

This meaty past is super-easy to make and just as easy on the wallet - many of the ingredients typical (at least for me) to have around the kitchen.  I always cook with the intention of having leftovers, and this recipe was more than enough for 4 people.  Serve with a simple tossed salad to balance out the carbs a bit!  I used cellentali pasta, but will probably use something else next time.  A linguini or macaroni would be easier to get all the great flavors in one bite.  Angel hair is my absolute favorite with a hearty sauce, but I don't get away with it too often.

serves at least 4, 30 min cooking time

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork/sausage - I like Italian

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 med-large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

1 box pasta

1 jar Ragu pasta sauce

upto 1 c heavy whipping cream

1 tsp oregano

S&P

1 tbsp butter

1-2 tbsp EVOO

Shredded parmesan for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Put your butter and EVOO in a large sauce pan on medium heat.  You want the bottom of the pan to be covered once the butter melts.  Once melted into the EVOO, add your onions and garlic.  While they are simmering, get your sausage ready to go.  After about 2 minutes, add your sausage to the pan and brown, breaking up into little bits as you cook.  I usually turn my burner up a smidge for this part towards Med-High.



2. Put on a pot of water large enough for the pasta, add salt to the water and put over high heat to get it boiling while you're finishing up the sauce.

3.  Once the sausage is thoroughly browned, add your jar of Ragu and 1/2 c heavy cream and stir.  You can add more cream little by little until you reach your desired consistency, but I wouldn't start off too heavy.  Bring to a boil (this shouldn't take long), then turn off heat, but leave on the warm burner. Cover, and allow to simmer while you finish off everything else.  If you haven't gotten the pasta into the boiling water yet, do that now. *Tip: add a tbsp of EVOO to the water to help the pasta keep from sticking together

4.  Once pasta is ready, drain it, and give the sauce a good stir. Season with oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Up to you whether you combine and serve or let guests decide their own pasta to sauce ratio!