Orzo with Chicken, Corn, and Green Beans

photo from:  Everyday Food

Have you tried Orzo?  I had never made orzo or used it in any recipe before tonight.  I found this dish very easy to prepare and had lots of flavor!  The sweetness of the corn, garlic and salty flavors all compliment each other making this dish a delight!  I am a fan of orzo and will be looking for more recipes that call for it!

One tip: Have everything prepped before you start cooking!

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
  
• 1/2 pound orzo
  
• 8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed
  
• 1 whole roasted chicken, (3 pounds), skin discarded, shredded (about 3 1/2 cups)  I didn't use a whole roasted chicken, I just fried 5 chicken breast tenders in a little EVOO and cracked some salt and pepper over them while they were frying.  

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook orzo until al dente, according to package instructions; add green beans during last 6 minutes of cooking. 
   
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add corn and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.
   
3. Toss pasta and green beans with corn mixture and chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper.
   

Broccoli Tomato Salad

This is a delicious summer time salad, and a nice alternative to a pasta salad! 

Ingredients:

Serves 6

• Large bunch of broccoli
• 1 pint of little tomatoes, I've used cherry or grape both are great.
• 4 green onions sliced thinly
• Cheddar Cheese Chunks, as many as you would like.  
• 1/2 c. mayo
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Cut the broccoli flowerettes off and steam in shallow boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the boiling water immediately and place in a colander.  Rinse with cold water to get the broccoli cooled down.
2. Slice the tomatoes in half, chop the onions, and cheese.  Combine in a bowl with broccoli.
3. Put mayo, sugar, and red wine vinegar in a bowl and whisk together. 
4. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and combine.
5. Serve right away or place in the refrigerator and serve later.  I've even made it a night before and taken it to work for lunch and it still tastes fresh! 

Pennies From Heaven

I think several of the "Dinner-Belles" have made pennies from heaven, but I thought I'd include the recipe/how to do on our blog. Pennies from heaven were created by the kids I nanny, they are a lunch time favorite! I don't remember exactly how the name came about, I think while I was making them one day and I was in a silly mood and told they kids they were pennies. Natalie and Andrew were commenting on how much they LOVED the pennies, that I must have said "they are like pennies from heaven!" The name stuck and to this day they ask for pennies from heaven quite regularly!

1.  Slice your zucchini in semi-thick circles.

2.  Sometimes I chopped the zucchini circles in half, I know, they don't look like pennies anymore but they are easier to flip around in a pan.  So, whatever you prefer.

3.  Heat about 1 Tablespoon of EVOO in a larger pan over Medium-High Heat.  Coat the pan evenly, and add the zucchini.  Fry the zucchini in the pan for about 2 minutes, mixing them around getting them evenly coated with the oil.  Make sure to keep the zucchini moving in the pan our they will burn. 

4.  Add 1/4 Cup of water to the pan and cover.  Let simmer for about 1 min, no more than 2... depending on how "cooked" you like your vegetables.

5.  Serve as a side dish with a little salt cracked over them.

Skirt Steak with Cilantro Garlic Sauce

So I used to have this all the time in Arizona and since moving to Washington I've missed it a ton. Then I saw this recipe in this book that Gourmet Magazine sent me, I tried it, and it reminded me of home. It's super good and really easy too. Don't leave out the chipotle chili powder, it gives it that extra something. Try it out! - Colin

Serves 6

20 minutes, start to finish

Sauce:

1 medium garlic clove

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

1/4 ~ 1/2 tsp roasted chipotle chili powder (essential!)

Steak:

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 lb skirt steak, cut crosswise into 3-4 inch pieces

Make Sauce

1. Finely mince garlic

2. Add garlic and remaining ingredients to a blender, then blend until smooth

Grill Steak

1. Stir together cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

2. Pat steak dry, then rub all sides of each piece with cumin mixture

3. Heat grill to high heat and grill steak, turning occasionally, 2-3 minutes per side for medium-rare. (Can be done under a broiler for same length of time)

4. Let steak rest for 5-10 minutes

5. Serve steak with sauce drizzled over and enjoy.

(I put extra sauce out because some people like alot of it!)

Delicious Cheese Pie

This is just like a cheese cake except rather than having a graham cracker crust it forms it's own "crust" when it bakes. Also note that this is made in a pie dish and not a spring-form pan.

Ingredients:

Bottom:
16 oz cream cheese
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice (or more if you want it more lemony)

Top:
2 cups sour cream
3 TB sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

~Beat the cream cheese unit smooth, beat in one egg at a time. Then add remaining sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and beat until creamy.
~Pour into a greased 9 inch pie pan
~Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes
~After the 50 minutes are up, take the pie out of the oven and let cool for about 30 minutes. (At this point the pie will have puffed up A LOT... don't worry, it will go down before you have to put the top on)
~While the pie is cooling mix all of the ingredients together for the top.
~After the pie is cooled (about 30 minutes) pour the mixture on top and bake at 325 degrees for another 15 minutes.
~Chill in the fridge for about 5-6 hours

This pie is great served with fresh fruit or a jam on top! Enjoy!!

Divine Sauteed Shrimp Cocktail

Well I have a new addiction-since recovering from my HGTV obsession I have moved on to the Food Network. This new infatuation is only slightly more practical in the sense that I may actually be able to do some of the things I see. This recipe is from Giada @ Home who seems to be able to make flavorful dishes with few ingredients, I happened on this one by chance but it is a keeper! Kerry and I ate it as a meal with some crusty bread but it is actually an appetizer.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled, tail left on, deveined
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard (recommended: Maille)
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves
Directions
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and herbes de Provence. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes each side.
In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, maple syrup, turmeric, and basil until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Place the yogurt mixture in a dipping bowl.
Place the bowl of dipping sauce on a serving platter with the cooked shrimp.

If you have never used herbes de Provence seasoning, or heard of it like me, it is worth the investment!! It was fabulous and easy to find and could be used for many poultry and fish dishes. I used lowfat yogurt and mayo. Don't omit anything, it all adds to the dish, however I would use a little less oil next time (and you could get away without the basil). For those of you that have a Target near by, they sell frozen, raw, peeled, deveined, tail on shrimp that is very good. The recipe makes a lot of sauce but don't worry, mix with some chicken the next day and you have a great chicken salad sandwich. Enjoy!

Sweet Potatoes: "We be yammin'!"

I'm excited about sweet potatoes. After recently tasting the scrumptious baked sweet potato fries at Au Naturale Restaurant, I knew I needed to be able to make this treat at home for a fraction of the cost. In searching for recipes and nutrition info., I learned that this homely tuber is kind of like a geode, ugly on the outside, but truly a gem on the inside--a nutritional gem. In fact, The Center for Science in the Public Interest rated it as the best vegetable you could eat. (I don't think that applies if they're smothered in brown sugar, swimming in butter, and topped with a fluffy crown of marshmallows.) If you do a "google search" there's lots of interesting nutrition facts on the web. BTW, when the orange fleshed sweet potatoes entered the market, they were called "yams" to differentiate them from the white fleshed sweet potatoes. However, they are not even in the same botanical family as true yams. Nowdays there are several varieties of sweet potatoes with various colors, so don't be confused if you can only find something labeled "yams" in the produce department. They are really sweet potatoes.

This is the recipe I tried for sweet potato fries. The basic process remains the same, but there are many seasoning combinations you could try, both sweet and savory. Keep an eye on them as they cook. They need to be turned to prevent burning. Also, don't cut them too thin.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 1-2 teaspoons italian spice blend
• 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
• sea salt
• pepper

Method:

• Wash and dry sweet potatoes (if using organics, no need to peel them--amazingly, the price at my local grocery store was the same)
• Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
• Cut potatoes in half, then cut each half into uniform sized rectangles, not too thin
• Put potatoes into a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat, sprinkle with italian seasoning, rosemary, salt and pepper and toss again
• Arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
• Bake for 30 min. turning potatoes after 15 min. (watch closely, they burn easily)
• Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes. Serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauces: (endless variations)

• Equal parts mayo and sour cream or yogurt with a minced garlic clove added
• Equal parts mayo and ketchup
• Mayo with curry powder or paste