Gouda & Red Salad Pizza

This week has sped by.  
Tuesday we had fast macaroni casserole
Wednesday we had your Parmesan Chicken with greens and lemon vinaigrette....(see august 18 post)  ...YUM!!!!
Thursday we had leftovers and last night we had 

Gouda & Red Salad Pizza 
(an oldie but a goodie!) 

Toss together:  
radicchio head ~ thinly sliced
1/2 red onion ~ thinly sliced
red pepper ~ thinly sliced
2 plum tomatoes ~ thinly sliced
2  1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper

Marinate about 45 minutes 
When ready to bake, drain veggies well.  
Shred 7 oz. Gouda cheese 
Mix 1 cup of cheese into drained veggies
Spread 1 cup onto a 16 oz. Boboli pizza crust
Pop that crust into preheated 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes to get hot and let cheese melt.
Cover with veggie/cheese mix
Top with remaining 1/2 cup of Gouda

Bake another 12 - 15 minutes until browned
Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.  

Asparagus-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I was in Louisville last night for the EPIC surprise for Susan Hall's 70th birthday........so much fun!!!  
Tonight I was going to grill portobello's but it was raining..........and I have lots in the fridge so here was what I came up with.   It was GOOD!!!  I had more "stuff" to put in, so just put it in a casserole and figure it can be a side sometime later this week!

Asparagus-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

• 4 large portabello mushrooms (1 to 1-1/4 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups cut fresh asparagus (about 5 ounces spears)
• 1/3 cup chopped shallots or sweet onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large plum tomato, diced (1/2 cup)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup fresh multigrain bread crumbs*
• 1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400oF.

Clean mushroom caps with a damp paper towel. Cut off stems from mushroom caps; rinse under cold water. Coarsely chop stems and set aside. Use a spoon or paring knife to scrape out and discard gills from mushroom caps. Brush 2 teaspoons of the oil over mushroom caps; place oiled sides down on a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan or baking sheet.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus, shallots, garlic and chopped mushroom stems. Cook 5 to 6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in tomato, salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into mushroom caps. Combine bread crumbs and cheese; sprinkle evenly over mushrooms. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until hot and crumbs are golden brown. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed mushroom cap).

http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000001063324,00.html

Thai Style Beef Mint Salad

Leftovers this week........and sliced tomatoes!! .......and Rob was out of town for a few nights but last night I did this salad and it was OH SO GOOD!!!!   

Dressing:  
1/2 c. fresh lime juice (about 2 limes) 
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
2 tsp vegetable oil
One 6" piece fresh lemongrass (tender center cut into 3  2" pieces)  

Mix dressing and set aside.  

One 10 oz. New York strip steak
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 c. romaine lettuce, washed, dried and sliced into 1" thick ribbons
3/4 c. fresh mint leaves, cut into ribbons
1/2 c. fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
1 hard boiled egg

Grill the steak, or do it in a cast iron skillet until medium rare.   (I actually cut it into pieces and sort of stir fried it in the skillet)   
When meat is cooked, cut into thin slices and toss with the dressing.  
Remove the steak from the dressing and sprinkle with chili powder.
Remove lemongrass pieces from the dressing. 
Now, in the same bowl, toss in the lettuce, mint and basil
Toss thoroughly and divide between 2 plates. 
Top with steak and sliced egg. 
Sprinkle with chili powder.  

Very fun and refreshing!!!   Great way to use up mint if you have it!!  

Recipe taken from The High Protein Cookbook by Linda West Eckhardt and Katherine West Defoyd  

Spinach Enchiladas

Spinach Enchiladas

 

1 T. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

10 c. fresh spinach

1 T. fresh lime juice

1/3 c. chopped cilantro

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

½ t. cumin

¼ t. chili powder

½ c. sour cream or plain greek yogurt

S & P

1 can refried beans

2 cans enchilada sauce or 1 recipe homemade, see below

Tortillas

4 c. shredded cheese

Green onion

Avocado

 

Preheat oven to 375.  In a large skillet, heat oil and add onion.  Cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more.  Add the spinach leaves and cook until they are wilted.  Stir in lime juice, cilantro, green chiles, cumin, and chili powder.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream or yogurt. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

To assemble, spread ½ can of enchilada sauce in bottom of 9 X 13 dish.  Fill each tortilla with refried beans, 1/3 c. spinach mixture and about 3 T. cheese.  Roll up and place in dish seam side down.  When all torillas are filled, pour about 1 can of enchilada sauce over them and then cheese.  Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.  Garnish with diced green onions and avocado.

 

Enchilada Sauce:

2 T. vegetable oil

2 T. flour

4 T. chili powder

½ t. garlic powder

½ t. salt

¼ t. cumin

¼ t. oregano

2 c. chicken or vegetable stock

 

Heat oil in a small sauce pan.  Add flour and stir for 1 minute.  Stir in remaining ingredients except stock.  Gradually add stock whisking to remove lumps.  Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until thick.  Keeps for 2 weeks.

 

Parmesan Chicken with Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette

Parmesan Chicken with Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette

 

Adapted from Ina Garten and Valerie Bertinelli

 

Boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded to ¼” thickness

2 eggs

Panko breadcrumbs

Grated parmesan cheese

S & P

Butter

Olive oil

Greens, such as arugula

 

Vinaigrette:

1 ½ T. fresh lemon juice

1 T. chopped shallots

½ t. Dijon mustard

S & P

¼ c. olive oil

 

Combine breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Whisk eggs in shallow dish. Dredge chicken in egg, then breadcrumb mixture, coating well. Refrigerate chicken for 20 minutes.

 

In a large skillet, heat 1 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil. Cook chicken until browned on both sides and cooked through – about 3-4 minutes per side.  Add more butter and olive oil for each time you cook another piece of chicken.

 

Blend all vinaigrette ingredients. Place cooked chicken on plate, top with greens and drizzle vinaigrette over greens.

 

Last night I made pork sliders with the leftover pork tenderloin from last week. Slider buns, garlic mayo, fresh spinach and pork YUM!!!!!! And I made an old favorite of mine . . . fried okra . . . . ahhhh, comfort food!!!  Oh yeah, sliced tomatoes. Can we get enough sliced tomatoes as a side? I say no!!

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Whisk together
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. snipped chives
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

While whisking add
1/4 cup olive oil in a thin stream until blended

Slice 5 or 6 heirloom tomatoes (a variety of colors!) and fan onto a large platter

Season with addition chives, sea salt & pepper

Pour dressing over

Family Circle magazine
Cover photo!!!!
August 2015

Corn Chowder

Up for tonight, corn chowder and sliced tomatoes.

Corn Chowder

 

 

2T. butter

Olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only

¼ c. flour

6 c. vegetable stock

2 c. heavy cream

2 potatoes, diced

6 ears corn

S & P

¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped

 

Heat butter and 1 T. olive oil in soup pot.  Add onion, garlic and thyme.  Cook until soft 8-10 min.  Dust onion mixture with flour and stir to coat well.  Pour in stock, bring to boil.  Add cream and potatoes.  Bring to boil and boil hard @ 7 min. until potatoes break down.  Cut corn off cobb and add to soup.  Season with s & p.  Simmer until corn is soft @ 10-12 min.  Stir in parsley and drizzle with a little more olive oil.

 

Serves 8

7-6-5 Pork Tenderloin

So I originally posted, and had planned on, grilled pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes for last night's dinner. Instead of sweet potatoes, I saw a recipe for "zoodles" with homemade pesto. Noodles made out of zucchini - you know all the rage now - soooo I made that instead. Hmmmm, I liked it at first but when I sat down to dinner I didn't like it. Not sure why. Might have been consistency, might have been pesto. Sometimes pesto has too strong of a taste for my buds. But I wanted to share the 7-6-5 method for grilling pork tenderloin - it NEVER fails me.

Set grill on High and preheat. Grill tenderloin with lid closed for 7 min. Don't touch it. Then flip it and grill for 6 min. Don't touch it. Then leave lid closed and turn off grill and let tenderloin continue to "cook" for 5 min. It is perfect every time!!

Tonight Mark and I have an appointment so out to dinner we go YIPPEE!!!

Grilled Fish with Fire Roasted Onions and Peppers

Tonight's dinner with corn on the cob.

Tuesday: Grilled pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes . . . not sure how I will prepare them yet.

 

 

Grilled Fish with Fire Roasted Onions and Peppers

 

Serves 6

 

Six 6 oz. fillets of striped bass about 1” thick (I used Cod)

S & P

2 medium red onions, very thinly sliced (I used vadalia)

1 red bell pepper, very thinly sliced

12 cloves garlic, mashed

1 ½ c. white wine, divided

Olive oil

Chopped parsley

Lemon wedges to serve

 

Preheat grill to medium high.

 

Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper.  Divide the onions, peppers and garlic into 6 portions.  Place a mound of onions, pepper and garlic in center of individual sheets of foil.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place a portion of the fish on top, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley and add ¼ cup of the wine.  Fold the foil into a packet and seal it on all sides.  Repeat with remaining fish.

 

Place the packets on the grill, seam side up, and cook until the fish is opaque about 15 minutes.  Carefully open the packets and serve with lemon wedges.

Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Betty sent me this recipe and had it tonight. Used whole wheat pasta. Really good.

Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

 

 

Serves 4

 

3 T. olive oil

5 garlic cloves, sliced thin

2 t. tomato paste

S & P

1/8 t. red pepper flakes

1 ¾ lbs. cherry tomatoes

1 lb. spaghetti

½ c. coarsely chopped fresh basil

1 oz. parmesan cheese grated – extra to serve on the side

 

Preheat oven to 500. Adjust rack to middle of oven.  Line jelly roll pan with parchment paper.  Whisk 2 T. oil, garlic, tomato paste, 1 ½ t. salt, ¼ t. pepper and pepper flakes together in a large bowl.  Add tomatoes and toss to combine.

 

Transfer tomato mixture to prepared sheet and push tomatoes toward center of pan.  Bake until tomatoes are blistered and browned @ 20 min.

 

Cook pasta, reserving 1 c. of pasta water. Drain and return pasta to pot.  Add basil, roasted tomato mixture, ½ c. reserved pasta water and remaining 1 T. oil to pasta and toss to combine.  Adjust consistency with remaining reserved pasta water. Transfer to dish and top with parmesan cheese

Asparagus Salad

Wednesday was a long day - I was helping Meredith set up her classroom - very fun. Soooo, dinner needed to be easy and fast and what I had at home.

Poached egg, avocado and tomato on whole grain toast. Served fruit on the side.

Thursday - Grilled chicken breast, corn on the cob, asparagus salad (tried to replicate from a local restaurant)


Asparagus Salad

Roasted asparagus, chilled
diced tomatoes
crumble blue cheese

On a salad plate layer, asparagus, tomato, blue cheese, drizzle with vinaigrette.

Lemon Vinaigrette

 

½ t. lemon zest

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. sugar

½ t. Dijon mustard

¼ t. salt

3-4 T. olive oil

Fresh ground pepper

One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet

ONE POT CHEESY TACO SKILLET

Author: COURTNEY O'DELL

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  20 mins

Serves: 6 SERVINGS

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
• taco seasoning
• 3 cups baby kale/spinach mixture (this sounds like a lot- it cooks down to a small amount)
• 1½ cup shredded cheddar and jack cheese
• green onions, to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large pan, lightly brown ground beef and crumble well.
2. Drain excess fat.
3. Add onions and peppers, and cook until browned.
4. Add canned tomatoes, taco seasoning, and any water needed for taco seasoning to evenly coat mixture (up to 1 tbsp- the liquid from the tomatoes will help)
5. Add greens and let fully wilt.
6. Mix well.
7. Cover with shredded cheese and let cheese melt.
8. When cheese is melted, serve over a bed of lettuce, rice, or in a taco or burrito!

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving size: 1¼ cup taco meat and veg mixture

Tangy Cole Slaw

Last night we had ribs (that I slow baked in the oven), a little bit of whole wheat pasta with pesto on it and this cole slaw.

Tangy Coleslaw

1 package angel hair coleslaw (usually it’s just cabbage)

1 carrot, grated

¼ - ½ red onion, very thinly sliced and then slices quartered

Make the dressing by mixing in a small saucepan:

         ½ cup sugar

         ½ cup white vinegar

         2/3 cup vegetable oil

         ½ tsp dry mustard

         ½ tesp celery seed

Bring the sauce ingredients to a boil; pour it over the slaw.  Stir it around a little.  It will shrink.  Refrigerate for at least an hour and then serve.  


Tonight we are having quiche and sliced tomatoes!!!! (THANKS FOR THE RECIPE LAST WEEK!!)

Greek Marinated Chicken

Bethany offered to make dinner for us Sunday, the day we arrived home from vacation!!!  Isn't that sweet??
She made this delicious dish along with a pesto couscous salad:
(It was great leftovers Monday night when I had a meeting at church!)

(Recipe is from   http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/06/greek-marinated-chicken/  )


Ingredients

• 1 cup plain yogurt 
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• ½ Tbsp dried oregano 
• 1 medium lemon 
• ½ tsp salt 
• freshly cracked pepper 
• ¼ bunch fresh parsley 
• 3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces 

Instructions

1. To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about ¼ bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
2. Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
3. After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
4. To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9x13). Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Notes

This recipe is extra garlicky. If you're not into heavy garlic, try starting with two cloves instead of four.

Black Bean, Corn & Avocado Salad

SO, last week we were at the beach so there was really nothing to post but the Druebbischs hosted us all one night and the meal was spectacular!!   Great do ahead for a crowd type thing!!!   I'll be recreating it soon!!!  

Pulled Pork
Baked Beans
Tangy Cole Slaw
Tomato Salad
Cucumber Salad
Black Bean, Corn & Avocado Salad


One recipe that everyone (even Jim) requested was this one:  
It's excellent!!    And Laura had leftovers for lunch the next day and said it was good then as well!!!

Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Salad

Mix together the sauce and set aside:

            ½ cup fresh lime juice                  2 tblsp olive oil

            2 cloves minced garlic                 ½ tsp salt

            pinch sugar                                      ¼ tsp cumin

            ½ jalapeno, seed and minced

In a serving bowl, mix together:

            15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ cups white shoepeg corn (my favorite is Green Giant canned)

½ cup chopped cilantro

¼ red onion, diced

1 avocado, diced

(1 red pepper diced, if you like it)

Add the sauce to the vegetables, stir gently, chill at least 30 minutes, enjoy!

(I don’t like raw garlic too much; I slice a clove or two and let it sit in the olive oil for a little while and then just add the oil to the sauce)