Lets do some grillin'

mmmmmMMMMmmmmmm

Look at those grilled beauties. 

So this recipe called for lamb,

I had a coupon for organic lamb.

PERFECT, right?

NO!

The store didn't have the lamb that I had the coupon for. 

Because I refused to pay full price, I bought beef.

And it was still delicious. 

So you could use beef, lamb, pork, chicken, or even portabella.

The dipping sauce was amazing and the flavor from the grilled lemon totally made the dish.

I served them with an orzo salad, 

you could also grill up some veggies, potatoes or cook up some rice.  

Anything would be good with these goodies.  

ENJOY!

Lemon Garlic Lamb Kebabs

1 1/2 lbs leg of lamb, well trimmed and cut into 20 equal cubes

8 thin lemon wedges

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for grill

2 T fresh lemon juice

4 garlic cloves, minced

S&P

Feta dipping sauce (recipe below)

Heat grill to high and assemble 4 long skewers alternating 5 lamb cubes with 2 lemon wedges on each.  Arrange the skewers on a nonmetallic dish. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice and garlic.  Pour the marinade over the skewers; turn to coat.  Let stand for at least 5 min.  Season with S&P.

Lightly oil grill grates and place skewers on the grill; cover and cook, turning occasionally until grill marks are visible and the meat is cooked to desired doneness.  

1-2 min per side for med-rare.

Serve with sauce.

Serves 4.

Feta Dipping Sauce

2 oz feta cheese

1 T fresh lemon juice 

S&P

In a blender, puree the feta, lemon juice, and 2 T water.  Season with S&P.

Logan Rating: ****

Rice Bowls

Look at this beautiful plate.

I really mean the plate, its new and I love it.

Mainly i'm just proud of the fact that I bought 2 of them for $1 at a thrift store. 

No they are not plastic.

Anyway, doesn't the food look good also?

It should, because it was.

This is a healthy and delicious and very filling meal.

You will love it!

It calls for shrimp, but you could definitely sub chicken or just leave out meat all together.

Whatever floats your rice bowl.

The avocado, added such a nice creamy texture, don't skip it.  

Even Logan liked it.

You could add any kind of your favorite veggies, really.

Mix it up a bit,

and ENJOY!

Brown Rice Bowl with Shrimp, Snow Peas, and Avocado

2 cups water

1 cup long grain brown rice

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 T rice vinegar

2 tsp light brown sugar

1 T veg oil

1 lb fresh or frozen med shrimp, peeled and deveined

8 oz snow peas, stem ends and any strings removed, sliced diagonally into 1/2 in pieces

1 piece (1 in) fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks

S&P

1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into chunks

In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil.  Add rice; cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 45-50 min.  Remove from heat; let stand covered, 10 min.

Meanwhile, make sauce; stir together soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, and sugar until sugar is dissolved.

While rice is standing, heat oil in a large skillet over med-high.  Add shrimp, snow peas, and ginger; season with S&P.  Cook stirring frequently until shrimp is opaque throughout and snow peas are bright green and crisp tender, 2-3 min.

Fluff rice with a fork and divide among four bowls.  Top with shrimp mixture and avocado; serve sauce on the side.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: ***

Summer Lunch

Doesn't this look amazing and refreshing?

Oh it was, that's for sure.

This is actually the best chicken salad I have ever had.

Fresh, tangy, a little bite, crunchy, creamy...delicious.

I ate it everyday for lunch for 4 days in a row...seriously so good.

I ate it so much that Logan never even got a chance to try it, whoops.

I paired it with some lovely red grapes, which was perfect for a light summer lunch.

Any fruit would do, really.

Try this one this summer! 

ENJOY!

Chicken Salad

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 T dijon

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/2- 1 tsp hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco

4 cups shredded roasted chicken breast

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup packed fresh flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped (I omitted this)

S&P

Stir together mayo, buttermilk, mustard, lemon juice, hot pepper sauce.  Stir in chicken, celery, onion and parsley; season with S&P.   Serve in a sandwich or over salad greens. 

Serves 6.

Paige Rating: ****

Not really very summery...

Granted I made this meal weeks ago, 

when the weather was surely MUCH chillier and winter like,

but I thought it deserved a warning that it probably won't be very satisfying on a hot summer evening.

I enjoyed it, but lets be honest, eggplant and chard were just not for Logan.

The recipe calls for parsnips, but my store was out, so I grabbed an eggplant.

I was trying to be healthy, but in hindsight a potato would have probably been more of a crowd pleasing choice.

And by crowd I mean Logan.

Really not much to say about this one...it was just OKAY

The chicken was very simple and kind of bland.

The chard was very good, in my opinion.

And the eggplant was good, but only to me.

So it was decent at best.

Martha and I will do better next time, I promise.

Roast Chicken and Parsnips with Swiss Chard

1 1/2 lb parsnips, peeled and quartered

3 T olive oil

S&P

4 bone in skin on chicken breast halves

1 1/2 lbs Swiss chard (2 bunches) tough stems trimmed, leaves coarsely torn and stalks sliced 1 in thick

1 T white wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 450.  On a rimmed baking sheet, toss parsnips with 1 T oil; season with salt and pepper.  Push parsnips to sides of sheet; place 4 chicken breast halves in the center.  Rub all chicken on both sides with 1 T oil and season with S&P.

Roast, tossing parsnips occasionally, until tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife and a thermometer reads 165 degrees, 30-35 min.

Meanwhile, cook chard; in a large skillet, heat remaining 1T oil over med.  Add stalks, and cook, tossing until crisp-tender, 3-4 min.  Add as many leaves to skillet as will fit;

 season with S&P and toss until wilted

Continue to add leaves in batches, tossing until wilted.  Once all chard has been added, cover and cook, tossing occasionally, until chard is tender, 3-5 min.  Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.

Serve 4 chicken breasts with parsnips and chard.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: *

:(

A little Thai food

Oh man, YUM!  

Just looking at this picture is bringing me back to this meal.

Spicy, shrimpy, fresh and delicious. 

I wish I had leftover in my fridge right now.

But I don't, because I made this forever ago.

Yup still catching up.

But you guys have to try this,

it is a really awesome staple thai recipe that is really simple.

It does take a little time, about 45 min from prep to table,

but its worth it!

The bean sprouts are such a nice touch and the cilantro adds the most amazing flavor.

And DON'T skip the anchovy paste, because it adds a nice saltiness, 

and it doesn't taste fishy, I SWEAR! 

Do you really think Logan would eat it if he could taste anchovy...no way.

DO IT,

make this!

And then tell me what you think.

ENJOY!

Shrimp Pad Thai

8 oz rice stick noodles

1/4 cup tomato based chile sauce

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

3 T soy sauce

2 T light brown sugar

1 T anchovy paste

4 T vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb peeled and deveined medium shrimp

3 cups bean sprouts

8 scallions, trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 2 inch pieces

1 large egg

Garnishes (optional)

1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

pinch of red pepper flakes (YUM)

1 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

lime wedges

Bring a large pot of water to boil; remove from the heat.  Stir in the noodles; let soak until softened (but still undercooked), 3 min.  Drain; rinse under cold water until cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together chile sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, and anchovy paste.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 T oil over med-high heat.  Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 sec. Add the shrimp; cook tossing often until just opaque throughout, about 3 min.  Transfer shrimp to a plate.

Return the skillet to med-high heat.  Add the remaining 2 T oil along with the noodles and chile sauce mixture; cook, tossing, until combined, about 1 min.

Add the bean sprouts, scallions, and shrimp.  

Pour in the egg; toss until noodles are coated and cooked through, about 2 min.

Serve topped with garnishes, if desired.

Serves 6.

Logan Rating: ****

What do you think???

Here is your chance!

Weigh in...

what do you think of the extreme blog makeover???

Its summery right?

Not just boring black,

quite the improvement...

RIGHT???

Leave a comment...let me know what you think!

XOXO

Burgers and Slaw

This is not my best pic, sorry!  

I'm still doing major catch up in the blogging world.  

This meal was a LONG time ago, probably a month. 

Sorry I'm so behind!

But regardless of when I made it, I can still say that it was a pretty awesome burger.

The jicama slaw was not my fave, which I was sad about because I actually LOVE jicama.

I think I just had one of those days, where cilantro was too much for me.

Logan actually really liked it, but he was not a fan of it leftover.

So we threw a lot away...darnit. 

Martha calls this her "best beef burger"

I'm not sure that its the BEST ever,

but it is pretty darn good

  and since it is summer time, 

I bet you are itching to put a slab of meat on the grill.

So do it.

ENJOY!

Best Beef Burgers

2 lbs ground chuck

1 T dijon mustard

1 T worcestershire sauce

S&P

4 hamburger buns

Suggested Accompaniments

cheese

sliced beefsteak tomatoes

red and white onions (raw or grilled)

ketchup 

mustard

pickles

mayo

boston lettuce leaves

Heat the grill to high.  In a med bowl, use a fork to gently combine the ground chuck with the dijon mustard and worcestershire sauce; season generously with salt and pepper.

Gently form with mixture into 4 1 in thick patties (woah HUGE)

(raw meat sort of grosses me out)

Place the patties on the hottest part of the grill; sear until browned, 1-2 min per side.  

Move the patties to the cooler part of the grill; continue grilling until desired doneness, 4-8 min per side.

Have your grillmaster watch over them....

This is my grill master!

Split the hamburger buns and toast on the grill if you like.  Place burger on each bun and serve with desired toppings.

Serves 4.

Jicama Slaw

1 1/2 lbs jicama, peeled and julienned 

1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

2-3 T fresh lime juice

S&P

In a medium bowl, place the jicama, onion, cilantro and lime juice.

Season with salt and pepper; toss gently to combine.  Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 6 hours.

Serves 4.  

Logan rating:

Burgers: ****

Slaw: ***

Summer Rice Salad

Ok no more party food, back to regular food again.

Do you like curry?

Then you HAVE to make this salad.

I know it sounds weird, a cold curried rice salad.

But I'm telling you it is SO good. 

I could eat it EVERY day,

but I would probably turn into a curried rice ball.

And that would just be weird.

 Please try this salad, I'm telling you its delicious. 

And don't skip the mint, because it really helps make the flavor profile complete.

I don't really know what a flavor profile is, but it sounded good, right?
I served it with a chicken breast for dinner and then ate it by itself for lunch one day.

And then it was gone...

so sad.

I will make it again soon though, and so should you!

ENJOY!

Curried Rice Salad

2 T olive oil

1 T curry powder

1 cup long grain brown rice, rinsed well

2 1/2 cups water

S&P

1/4 cup fresh lime juice 

1 cup halved red seedless grapes

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted unsalted cashews

In a med saucean, heat 1 T oil over med high.  Add curry powder; cook stirring 30 seconds.  Stir in rice and the water; season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Cover; simmer until rice is tender and has absorbed all liquid, about 1 hour.  Remove from heat; let stand, covered 10 min.

Fluff with a fork; transfer to a shallow bowl.  Stir in lime juice and remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate until cool. about 1 hour.  Just before serving, stir in grapes, mint, and cashews.

Serves 6.

Logan Rating: ***

(Paige says 5 stars)

Engagement Partay!

I love my mama!

Thanks Mom AND Dad for throwing such an amazing day of parties.

Onto the food.

So for the evening party I wanted something SUPER simple and something that could be 100% prepped ahead of time. So I decided on a taco bar.

It was perfect, everyone loved it and it was ZERO work for me after the shower. THANK GOD!

We did beef and chicken tacos.

I seasoned the beef with this, and it was delicious.

The red pepper flakes added a great kick, don't ever buy packet seasoning again please!

For the chicken, I just made something up.  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?

I'm really not that kind of cook, or a t least I never have been in the past.

I think that the 1 yr + of blogging and cooking has increased my skills...at least a little.

Anyway to the chicken (which we just pulled from already cooked rotisserie chickens from the store) 

I added green chilies (from the can) along with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and S&P. 

I added some chicken stock to make the meet nice a tender and juicy as well as to allow the spice mix to stick to the chicken and not just hang at the bottom.

I guessed on the ratio of the spices but I think it was something like 1 part cumin to 2 parts chili powder then 1/4 part garlic powder...hmmm does that make sense??

Well just try it!

Ok NEXT...

I also made pico de gallo for people to put on their tacos and dip their chips in.

It was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

Nice and fresh and light, not too cilantroey...oh made up words... :)

Pico De Gallo

2 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1/2 in pieces

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

1/2 to 1 serrano chile minced

2 T fresh lime juice

1 T olive oil

2 T finely chopped cilantro

coarse salt

Combine all ingredients in a nonreactive bowl, adding 1 tsp salt; let stand 5 min.  Season with more salt to taste.

Makes 2 cups.

Guest Appearances 

So my uncle Dug made the salsa, both a medium and a hot.  He makes the BEST salsa...thanks again Dug!

My mom made her famous bean dip, which I will definitely be making again in the near future.  I'm telling you, this stuff is amazing, could eat it all day!

To round it all off, my sister in law, Lindsey made some grilled corn with cilantro lime butter.  This was a hit!  Everyone loved it!  Unfortunately I didn't get to try it, but I will definitely be making it so that I can!

Pre grilled corn, so pretty!

WOAH I know this is overload!!!!

Don't worry we only have dessert left.

So for dessert I made Mexican wedding cakes (HOW FITTING) and margarita cookies.

I found the margarita cookies here and they were delicious, but kind of a pain to make, I won't lie to you.

Mexican Wedding Cakes

1 cup pecan halves

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temp

confectioners' sugar for coating

In a food processor, pulse pecans, flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add butter and pulse until a dough forms.  Shape dough into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic; refrigerate until firm, 30-60 min.  Dough can be frozen up to 3 months.

Preheat oven to 325, with racks in upper and lower thirds.  Scoop off level tablespoons of dough and roll into balls.  Space them 1 1/2 in apart on two large baking sheets.  Bake, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until just lightly golden around edges, 20-25 min.

Cool 5 min on sheets, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Place confectioners' sugar in a bowl and roll cookies in sugar twice to coat thoroughly, tapping off excess each time.  ( be careful they are kind of fragile and can come apart easily.)

ENJOY!

Makes 24.

These were REALLY good!

Again no Logan ratings...he doesn't remember  his ratings...largely due to the Mexican beer.

The Cake!

I forgot to share with you all MY CAKE!!!!

I am so proud of this en devour.

I used this recipe.

However, when I did my practice cake,

yup I said it, practice cake.

I didn't really love the frosting for this recipe.

So I made a vanilla frosting that I got from my mom's "cake lady".

Sorry can't reveal the recipe, but it was VERY simple.

And she recommended that since it was a lemon cake, instead of vanilla flavoring I add lemon juice,

it was PERFECT!

Please don't laugh at the elementary decoration, 

this was my FIRST cake people! :)

To make the "sand", I crushed up vanilla wafers, then cut a heart out of cardboard and sprinkled the "sand" around the cardboard heart.  When I pulled up the cardboard the pretty icing made a perfect heart!

Tadah!

For those of you that don't know, 

Logan and I are getting married in Cabo.

So the shower was beach themed.

Get it?! 

The final product!

Way cuter than a store bought cake, right??

It was delicious!

And it was GONE by the end of the evening. 

So I suppose that says something.

I love making cakes...new hobby! :)