Pasta Salad

So yesterday Jared and I were supposed to go up to Athens for the day and move the rest of my stuff out. I figured since we would be gone all day, it would be nice to have a no-hassle dinner ready for us when we got back. So Sunday I made a quick and easy pasta salad and stuck it in the fridge ready for dinner the following night. It turns out we did not make it up to Athens yesterday due to one u-haul mishap after another (but we did get a lovely tour of Roswell and all their u-haul locations!) We still did enjoy the pasta salad for dinner nevertheless.

- 2 cups pasta, any kind, cooked
- Chicken (I seasoned with Italian seasoning)
- Vegetables of your choosing (I used frozen and placed them straight from the freezer into the pan with the chicken once it was cooked through)
- Italian dressing
- Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well, and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Cinnamon Apple Turkey Burgers

I was craving cinnamon apples the other day, so I decided to incorporate them into a turkey burger.

Burger:

- ~1/2lb ground turkey meat (this made 2 decent sized patties)
- 1/3 an onion (finely chopped)
- Small handful of craisins (optional)
- 1 small granny smith apple (finely chopped)
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper to taste
- Cheese, your favorite (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and shape into 2 patties. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Grill burgers on a hot, greased, grill for 5-8min per side until cook through (no pink in the middle). After the first flip, top with cheese (i used the shredded sharp cheddar) if desired.

Cinnamon-Apple topper:

- 1 small granny smith apple sliced thinly
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Water
- Butter

Cut a granny smith apple into thin slices. Toss in a bag with enough water to lightly coat. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and brown sugar. Melt a small sliver of butter in a pan of low heat. Pour the apple mixture into the pan. Cover and let cook while the turkey burger are on the grill.

Place each patty on a bun (I used wheat) and top with the cinnamon-apple mixture.

Margarita Chicken Quesadillas with Homemade Salsa

This dinner takes us south of the border for a healthier version of the quesadillas.

Chicken:

- Chicken (enough for however many you're feeding, cut into bite sized pieces)
- Tequila
- 1 Lime
- Cilantro, Salt & Pepper

Dice the chicken into bite sized pieces and place in a sealed container. Add tequila and the juice of one lime to coat the chicken thoroughly. Sprinkle with cilantro, salt & pepper to taste and leave to marinate (I left mine for 2 days since I prepped on Sunday and cooked on Tuesday--you want to leave it in long enough for the juices to marinate and tenderize the chicken, but not too long)

Salsa:

Salsa mainly just refers to any type of sauce, mainly tomato based. I just used whatever I had on hand at home to create my homemade salsa. This consisted of:
- Beans (pinto in this case)
- Diced peaches (from a can)
- Green chilies
- Diced canned tomatoes
- Corn
- Cilantro (dried)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the base of the quesadillas, I used sundried tomatoe flatouts. Only 100 calories and full of flavor! I sprinkled these with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, then layered it with the chicken and salsa mixtures followed by a final sprinkling of cheese. These were placed on a hot grill and allowed to cook for 2-4min per side until lightly browned and grill marks appeared. They were served with a spoonful of salsa on top and a side of brown rice.

Modified Caesar with Peppered Steak

A family friend of ours gave up a bottle of seasoning salt he discovered and really loved so I decided to make use of this. I generously seasoned both sides of a top sirloin with this as well as cracked black pepper and wrapped both steaks in tin foil and placed in the fridge to absorb the flavors until ready to use.

The steaks were grilled on high on a pre-heated grill for 5 min per side to a perfect medium.

They were then sliced and served over a "true blue" salad kit I bought from Publix and assembled.

The contents of the salad kit included:

-Baby arugula
-Candied almonds
-Chopped/dried dates
-Blue cheese crumbs (which I opted out of using in favor of Parmesan instead)
-Blue cheese vinaigrette

It was a nice twist on a classic Caesar salad giving it a sweet and tangy flavor profile.

Sloppy Joes...They Really Live Up to Their Name!

Plenty of napkins required for this meal!

So as I stated before, I'm trying to use up all the endless odds and ends my mom bought for our pantry. This week, I decided to make use of a can of "Manwhich" I found in there.

Meals from a can are easy--just add meat, bun, and eat! I decided to put Joe on a diet and make a skinny Sloppy Joe; all the flavor, all the mess, less fat and calories.

Instead of using ground beef, I substituted in ground turkey (I used 1/2lb since it was just me and my dad...who happens to be a Joe himself, but not as sloppy. In fact, he actually ate the Sloppy Joe with a fork and knife! Where's the fun in that?!) Additionally, I added in about 1/4 - 1/3 a cup of the frozen onion and pepper trio straight from the freezer. Once thawed out, I roughly chopped the veggies into fine pieces. Then comes the finishing touch, the sauce! Since I was cooking for 2, I just used 1/2 the can and let simmer.

Serve on a bun, napkins close by, and be messy!

Summer Fruit Pizza Cookies

On Sunday, Jared and his family had a cookout. The weather was great and the food was even better! Though I was told by Jared not to bring anything over, I love cooking and sharing my food too much not too. I wanted to make a light, refreshing summer dessert and I remembereda this from summers past. However, inside of making a giant pizza, I decided to make them into individual servings.

For the "crust," I cheated and used a sugar cookie break-n-bake package.

The frosting consisted of 4oz cream cheese (light of course!) softened and mixed with 1/4cup confectioners sugar as well as juice of 1/2 a lemon. The was spread over the cookies once they cooled.

I then arranged a mixture of fruit (fresh and frozen/thawed) on top.

The final addition was an orange glaze brushed over top. This consisted of 1/4 cup orange juice mixed with 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp. corn brought to a boil over high heat until thickened.

Once cooled (about 30min) brush the glaze over top and refrigerate.

Let soften a little before serving (but not too much or they will get soggy!)

Stuffed Grilled Tomatoes

Greek food is one of my favorite cuisines, and stuffed tomatoes are a classic Greek dishes. I decided to take this classic out to the grill.

Over the weekend, I did my prep work making the stuffing to go inside the tomatoes.

Stuffing

-1/2 lb ground turkey
-Parsley, oregano, mint, basil, salt & pepper to taste
-Onions
-Bell peppers (any color--I used a trio mix from the freezer section)
-Raisins
-Chopped pistachios (optional)


Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add turkey and cook through. Add onions and bell peppers (I poured them in straight from the freezer) and allow to cook. Season with parsley, oregano, mint, basil, salt & pepper to taste until fragrant and colorful. Add raisins and chopped pistachios (if using) and allow to cook for another minute or so. Remove from heat. This is the stuffing for the tomatoes.

To assembly

Slice off the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the the insides reserving about 1/2 to combine with the turkey mixture. Stuff the tomatoes full with the mixture. Top with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Wrap loosely in tin foil and place on grill over medium heat for about 10min. Remove foil and place directly on grill and let cook another 5min.

Serve on a bed of spinach.

Chicken & Veggie Kebabs

It doesn't get much easier than this: cut kebab ingredients, thread on skewer, grill, eat.

You can use almost anything on a kebab (though, bread grills A LOT quicker than everything else and ended up burning and being thrown away in my case)

Here's what I used (mind you, I'm cooking for 2 picky eaters so I kept it pretty basic):

-Chicken
-Green bell pepper
-Onion
-Pineapple

I served this over brown rice, sprinkled on a few sundried tomatoes, and drizzled it with soy sauce.

For dessert, I decided to try my hand at grilling strawberries. So before I embarked on my mission, I browsed the internet for some ideas, tips, and tricks. Armed with my knowledge, I washed, hulled, and skewered 4 strawberries, drizzled them with some balsamic vinegar, sprinkled them with sugar, and placed them on the grill turning every minute or so.

I served this over a scoop of vanilla ice cream and sprinkled it with slivered almonds and shredded coconut.

It wasn't anything to brag over, honestly just tasted like strawberries and ice cream, but I tried....

Rootbeer Steak

Bear with me on this one people, it sounds a little (ok a lot) strange once you read the list of ingredients, but it was DELICIOUS! It yield a flavor combination of sweet, but with a tangy, spicy kick. Even Alisa (the picky one) liked it.

Any steak will do. I went with a top round because it tends to be a leaner cut of beef; however, I think it was too lean for this recipe. I need me a steak with some more fat and juice on it next time!

For the rub, no measurements were used. I just sprinkled enough of each to coat the steaks on both sides and then got down and dirty and rubbed it in.

Rub

-Coco powder
-Cinnamon
-Cayenne
-Garlic powder
-Salt & Pepper

Once the steaks were massaged, i placed them each on a square of tin foil and made "boat" out of them. In this, I poured an adequate amount of Rootbeer to cover the steaks, then sealed tightly shut. I left this to marinate for about 24 hrs.

The steaks were grilled over high heat, 5 min per side, for a perfect medium.

These were served alongside garlic & parsley mashed potatoes. (I just jazzed up a box of mashed potato flakes by adding minced garlic and chopped fresh parsley) as well as a side salad and roll.

Since I had a whole bottle of rootbeer, I decided to make a rootbeer float for dessert! I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from "work" and picked up a pint of vanilla ice cream. A scoop of ice cream topped off with rootbeer--so refreshing and different for a change!

Jared Cooks--Quesadillas

I love cooking, but it's nice every once in awhile to have someone else cook for you and that's exactly what my loving boyfriend, Jared, did for me this past Tuesday. After a "long" ;-P day of "work," I went straight to his house where he was already starting to prepare dinner and all I had to do was sit back and watch.

The chicken was seasoned perfectly (don't ask me with what) and the quesadilla's were overflowing with sauteed mushrooms, onions, and peppers. Two kinds of cheesed were used, and instead of tortillas, he was creative and used flatbread. Before grilling them, he drizzled over their beloved Trader Joes black bean and corn salsa.

This was served alongside rice and blue corn tortilla chips.

We had a nice dinner with his parents...I could get used to being cooked for!

Grilled Chicken Burger with Strawberry Sauce

So I was browsing through Women's Health magazine (...don't judge me, it just keeps coming to our house!) and stumbled across an article on "How to Make the Perfect Patty," and this particular one caught my eye.

Burger

-1 medium zucchini and 1 medium carrot, peeled, grated and chopped into small pieces
-1 lb lean ground chicken breast
-1/2 cup bread crumbs
-2 tsp. Worcheshire sauce
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-1/3 cup parsley, chopped
-Salt & pepper, to taste


Mix ingredients together in a bowl then form into 6 patties. Brush with olive/vegetable oil. Place burgers on grill and cook 4-5 min per side until cooked through

Sauce

-1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
-2 tbs. brown sugar
-2 cups strawberries, sliced
-1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar
-1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-1 tbs fresh mint, chopped (I actually just used the dry stuff and sprinkled it over without really measuring)


Warm oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft (about 4 min). Add brown sugar and continue cooking for 2 min. Add strawberries, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper and cook for 1 min. Sir in mint and remove from heat.

Assembly Toast bread (flatbread or naan--I found this neat artisan flatbread at the grocery store made by "flatout" that is like a flatbread burger roll that is connected on one seam) for 1-2 min per side until lightly browned and warm. Line flatbreads with arugula, add burgers, and top with strawberry sauce, then fold bread over burgers.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS. Per serving: 387 cal, 8g fat, 7g fiber, 27g protein