Small & Simple Discoveries

I recently discovered some things in the kitchen that everyone else probably already knows about. But just in case and so I don't forget and because this blog is all about food:

My mom put together this simple non-lettuce salad for me last summer when she was here, helping us get settled. It is so good, easy and nutrious:

Cut up one cucumber. Thinly slice some onion, just a bit for the flavor. Chop half a red pepper. Combine in a bowl. Drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat and squeeze half a lemon over veggies. Add some salt and pepper if you want. Yummy. I also substitute tomato for the red peppers when they're not on sale because those things are expensive.

I also realized recently how changing one part of a meal can spice things up considerably. For example having a regular sandwich at lunch time but using pita bread instead of regular bread is exciting enough to pretend that I'm eating out. I usually buy two loaves of bread at my biweekly shopping trip but for the summer months I think I'll buy one loaf and then a different bread item for sandwiches: pita bread, bagels, croissants. All those are breads that I usually only get when I go out to eat! What kind of bread do you use for sandwiches?

Grilled Chicken and Red Onion Quesadillas

Here's just a heads up for everyone: My husband LOVES to grill. We tend to grill out about 2 or 3 times a week during the summer, so I may be posting a lot of grilling and side recipes this summer season. :)

I think I may have found my favorite chicken marinade with this recipe. As I said in an earlier post, I am loving cilantro more and more. I know it's an odd flavor and it's not for everyone, but if you like it, you'll love this. There is a jalapeno in the marinade as well; and since it was my first time making this recipe, I seeded it. In doing that, it wasn't spicy and we just got the flavor of the pepper.


Marinating time: 3 to 4 hours
Grilling time: 20 to 25 minutes

Ingredients
For the Paste:
2 large garlic cloves
1 jalapeno chile pepper, stem removed
1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, about 8 oz. each, halved
1 large red onion, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
extra virgin olive oil
4 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (I used a Colby and Monterey Jack blend)
6 flour tortillas (10 inches)
tomato salsa

Directions

1. To make the paste: In the food processor, mince the garlic and jalapeno. Add the remaining paste ingredients and process until smooth. Coat the chicken breasts on all sides with the paste and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Lightly brush or spray the onion slices with oil. Grill the chicken and onions over direct medium heat until the chicken in opaque in the center and the onions are tender, 8 to 12 minutes, turning once. Remove the chicken and onions from the grill and allow to cool. Cut the chicken crosswise into 1/8-inch slices and onions into 1/4-inch pieces.
3. Evenly divide the chicken, onions, and cheese over half of each tortilla. Fold the empty half of each tortilla over the filling, creating a half circle, and press down firmly. Grill the quesadillas over direct medium heat until well marked and the cheese has melted, 4 to 6 minutes, turning carefully once. Allow the quesadillas to cook for a minute or 2 before cutting into wedges. Serve with salsa.

Makes 6 servings
Source: Weber's Real Grilling

Peanut Butter Pie

I have been making this recipe for a couple years now for gatherings. So I decided to make it last weekend for Memorial Day festivities. This is always a crowd pleaser, and it makes 2 pies! You can take both to the get together or take one and then have another one at home just for your family. Enjoy!

Source: Taste of Home

Servings: 2 pies (6-8 servings each).

Ingredients:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 cups Domino® or C&H® Pure Cane Powdered Sugar
• 1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 graham cracker crust (9 inches)
• Dry roasted peanuts (optional; I didn't do this)
  

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and milk until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crusts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Sprinkle with peanuts.


*Sorry no pictures this time!

Spring Time Deliciousness

I made this for lunch today after a friend made it for me last week. It's pretty darn good and healthy too.

The veggies I used:
Zucchini
Red Pepper
Yellow Pepper
Cherry Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Carrots
Cabbage
Red Onion
and Chicken

Drizzle a little olive oil, add some S&P, cover, and put over medium-low heat until everything is soft. Then Stuffed it in a warm wheat pita and you have yourself a delightful lunch (or dinner)

Chicken Cacciatore

Cacciatore is Italian for "hunter." Food prepared hunter-style traditionally includes mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and herbs.

This is a pretty good recipe. I think it's something you can make year round. Yes it's a warm meal, but the sauce is thin, so it's not a heavy dish. My husband and I are just crazy about cooked fresh mushrooms, so it was right up our alley.

I got this recipe from annie's eats.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 slices turkey bacon, chopped (I used regular bacon)
2 chicken breasts, butterflied in half (4 pieces total)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
12 oz. white button mushrooms, cleaned and halved
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 sprigs fresh oregano (I used dried)
3 sprigs fresh thyme (I used dried)
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and herbs

Directions:
In a deep saute pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and crisp, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon; set aside.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and brown on both sides, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a platter. Add the onion to the pan and cook until tender and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the bacon, chicken, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, thyme, red wine, chicken broth, and tomatoes (including juices) to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Williams Sonoma

**I may try and add some cornstarch next time to the sauce so it's just a tad thicker.

Potato Salad --- Mayo-free!

I whipped this up tonight in an effort to use up my potatoes before they rotted. I found a mayonnaise-free potato salad recipe in my Simply in Season cookbook (Martin and I both HATE the typical mayo-mustard potato salads) and I changed a thing here and there, resulting in a very delicate and delishus side dish!

-A handful of potatoes, new or russet
-half an onion, chopped
-garlic, minced
-balsamic vinegar
-olive oil
-sea salt
-a handful of mixed fresh oregano and basil. I'm sure dried would be just as tasty

Chop up your potatoes and boil them for awhile, then let them cool while you do everything else. Mix it all together and let it chill in the fridge for awhile. I think mine only chilled for about an hour and it was PERFECT.

We paired it with a simple tuna salad (canned tuna, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, sweet relish) and Ritz crackers. A perfect light meal for a hot summer evening!

And Dessert Alert

Just in case anyone hasn't had a chance to check in at Confabulation in the Kitchen lately, I made those Chocolate Oatmeal Chippers and oh my, are they good! I thought the batter was yummy even before it was cooked. Then the bars came out of the oven, and I thought they were delicious. I froze them in an effort to make them last longer, so of course this morning I already had a few thawing out for me to eat, and they were even better than I remembered after they thawed, so they freeze well, too! In bar form these are quick, easy and scrumptious treat!

Italian Sausage Dinner

This is my variation of a slow cooker recipe from my Fix It and Forget It daily calendar. I'm not a huge fan of Italian sausage but I thought this was pretty good. I froze our leftovers (minus the rice) so we'll see how that turns outs.

Italian Sausage Dinner

1 lb Italian sausage, cut into 3/4'' slices

2 T A1 steak sauce

28 oz can diced tomatoes

1 heaping teaspoon oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker on low until finished, about 5-6 hours.

2. Serve over cooked rice.

Spaghetti Twice Removed

I think "Frugal" is the word of the day for most of us as of late, and I'm kind of proud of myself these days as I strive to feed my family on a dime.

Last night I made spruced-up spaghetti. I boiled the pasta I had in the pantry, and used a jar of cheap-o spaghetti sauce, but I added in ground beef and some extra seasonings. It was a normal night of spaghetti from a jar. The next night I took the leftovers and dumped them in a casserole dish. I sprinkled the top with grated parmesan cheese. Then I sauteed a little bit of onion and tomato (I cut up some canned whole tomatoes, saving the juice in the can) in olive oil with salt then spread those over the cold leftovers in the dish. I mixed a little water in with the leftover tomato juice in the can and dumped that in as well, then tore up some basil leaves from my garden and sprinkled them over the top of everything. Finally, I topped it all with mozzerella cheese that we had on hand, then I baked it. And it was delicious!!

I wanted to make all the ingredients in this post BOLD, but I don't have time to do that now, as the one baby is too wiggly on my lap and the other baby is standing at the gate yelling for me and has been since I came back here.

Lemon Bars

I don't know about all of you, but lemon bars just scream SUMMER. My husband loves them, but finally told me he doesn't really care for the boxed, premixed kind; he says they're too "chalky" for him. Since we had some friends over this weekend, it was the perfect time to try these out. Luckily, all the ingredients are pantry staples, except the amount on lemons. The crust is basically a shortbread cookie...YUM! These are so easy, I know I'll never go back to the boxed mix again.

I got this recipe from Ina Garten (my favorite!)

Ingredients

For the crust:

nocoupons

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

nocoupons

• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
  
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 to 6 lemons)
• 1 cup flour
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut and dust with confectioners' sugar.