Tequila Lime Marinated Chicken

It has been such a beautiful start to September that I've kept right on BBQ-ing and making salads. This past week has been a constant 30 degrees Celsius (about 86 F) so cooking is not high on my priority list-especially the use of my oven. So I was happy I got to try this recipe before it got too rainy to BBQ.

What You Need
3 Tbls olive oil
2 Tbls minced green onion
1 Tbls minced cilantro
1 Tbls chili powder
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 C tequila
4 Tbls lime juice
salt & pepper
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, except for the chicken.  Put chicken breasts in a large plastic bag and pour marinade over.  Seal bag and let sit in the fridge for 3-4 hours.  Grill on medium high heat for 4-5 minutes each side. TA DA!

This is so simple! (as long as you remember to de-frost your chicken and get it ready early so it has time to marinate!)  I found the chili powder over powered the tequila/lime flavour, so I think next time I'll just pare it down to lime, tequila, maybe a bit of cilantro and salt and pepper. 

I served it with home made yam fries and basil garlic mayo (recipe below)

Yam Fries with Basil Garlic Mayo

Peel 3-4 yams.  Slice the yams legnth wise to create discs (this is easier said than done, make sure you have a sharp kinfe!).  Then slice these discs legnth wises again to create the fries.  Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with chili power and salt.  Bake for at least 30 minutes at 400 F.  The basil garlic mayo is adapted from Giarda De Laurentiis recipe found here.  I blended 3/4 C Miracle Whip with 1 Tbls lemon juice, 2 Tbls fresh minced basil, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 clove of garlic minced.  Stir well and chill in fridge for about an hour to allow flavours to meld!  So yummy, even Ty liked it!

Now hurry up and try this before summer is gone!

Pie Irons

Some people call them Bush Pies, some call them Pie Irons. 

Some of you are looking at me like I'm a crazy person....which isn't entirely untrue!

 Pie Irons are basically sandwiches, or pies if you prefer, cooked over an open fire....when you're camping.  I made these while I was in Saskatchewan camping with Ty's family.  Y'all know I like a hearty breakfast and this is right up there on my favourite breakfast list....I think I'm turning into Ron Swanson, who also has an insatiable hunger for breakfast foods! 

Step 1). Butter the outside of your bread, like you would for grilled cheese, and place the buttered side down in the pie iron.

Step 2). Mush the middle of the bread down to make a 'divet'

Step 3).  Carefully crack an egg into the 'well'. 

It's quite shallow so I'm warning you now!

Step 4). Butter another piece of bread and push it into the other side of the pie iron.

Step 5). Add sliced ham or turkey and cheese to the non-egg side

Step 6). Add salt and pepper to taste (inset)

Step 7). CAREFULLY close the pie iron. HINT bring the ham and cheese side to the egg side, not the other way around...or else you'll be in trouble!

Step 8). Cook on an open fire.  NOTE: do not cook over flame.  Flaming fires are not cooking fires.  Essentially you want hot hot coals to cook on.  This is the most efficient method and will result in the most even cooking! You may have to pull the pie iron out and gently open it to see how it's doing.  Once you've decided it's done, take the pie iron out of the coals and let it sit. 

The egg will continue to cook without burning your toast!

Step 9). ENJOY!

This is a breakfast style Pie Iron.  You can also make pizza pie irons, with pizza sauce, salami and cheese or ham, cheese and salsa sandwiches!  You can also make dessert bush pies.  For these tasty treats, use cherry, blueberry or peach pie filling !  My family used to make dessert pie irons before going to bed when we camped.  They make a great night snack, since by the time you're ready for them the fire has died down and is ready for pie irons & s'mores!

FYI: you do need the pie iron cooker (for lack of a better word). Also, keep in mind that a cast iron version (opposed to the aluminium) will be VERY heavy and not ideal for kids....even I had a tough time grappling with the cast iron version!  Yanks, I've found these at Cabela's ,and these at Dick's Sporting Goods.  Canucks, I know you can get these at Canadian Tire and almost anywhere that sells camping goods!  I even found a Pie Iron Cookbook at Canadian Tire!  Where else!??!! 

I hope you'll give these a try the next time you're out camping-they are really fun and delicious.  Food is SO MUCH better when cooked outside!

Engagement Party

While Ty & I were home, we decided to throw ourselves a little party!  OK not so little.  We had about 40 people at his parents house for a big ole BBQ.  It was a potentially stressful day for me personally.  See my parents split up about 5 years ago, and things are still feeling fresh.  They are not at the point where they're ready to be friends....or even say nice things about each other.  SO needless to say I was a bit concerned about how the BBQ would go with both my parents in attendance....not to mention other family members on both sides-which only adds to the tension.  Surprisingly I didn't really feel awkward or uncomfortable.

There was SO MUCH food.

I made a huge potato salad (read all about it here). 

And my awesome soon to be sister in law made DELICIOUS whoopee pies.

And my Mum took some embarrassing photos which I will now share with you.  Excited? Yeah, me too.

Jill, Me, and my bridesmaid Ashley's mum.  She's my dance mom!

FAMILY!

My cousins with Jill, my Aunty Bea and my soon to be father in law!

Jill's Boyfriend, Amy's Hubby, and Amy !

I didn't get the memo for "no Zoolander faces" in the 2nd photo!

Black Bean Burgers

Sounds like a carnivore's nightmare. And I love meat, love me a real burger, but a couple of weeks ago Ty and I had burgers and the next day I had the worst stomach pains ever! Needless to say my red meat consumption has dropped. So I tried this recipe for black bean burgers. They are delicious, packed with protein and easy to make-really!

What You'll Need
1 can of black beans
1/2 onion, finely minced
1/2 green pepper, finely minced
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbls cumin powder
1 Tbls paprika
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used not quite a whole package of Shake & Bake.  White trash alert!!!)

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Rinse your beans and mash them in a medium sized bowl (or get your man to do this for you like I did).  Add the minced garlic, onion and green pepper. Mix well. Add spices, hot sauce and egg. Combine until well mixed and moist. Slowly add in the breadcrumbs until the mixture sticks together.

Roll into balls-I made 6 good size balls. Gently press and flatten. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Flip the patties and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove burgers from oven and put cheese slices on top (I used Monterey Jack). Return burgers to the oven for a last five minutes. Serve on fresh buns with Miracle Whip, salsa and/or guacamole.

Food Porn Time!

This yummy recipe was already posted by Jill@Envirocraftiness and click here for the original post!

LINKY LINKY

BBQing to the Bitter End

Yes, I am a BBQ-er.  I am the offspring of one "BBQ Dude" aka my Dad, who traditionally barbecued fillet on Christmas Eve in Saskatchewan.  Even if it was -30 degrees Celsius and he had to shovel his way out to the BBQ on our deck!  So even though it's a little chilly to eat outside, or light enough, I am still bbq-ing!  And tonight I made one of my favourites-BBQ Salmon!

What You'll Need
1 Boneless, Skinless salmon fillet
     I get mine at Costco
    Cut it into 2-3 portions-use 1 piece at a time
1 grilling plank
     also available at Costco
     They come in a variety of wood types
     tonight I re-used my cedar plank
4 TBL. Brown sugar
1 TSP Chili powder
1.5 TSP Garlic salt
.5 TSP Fresh Ground pepper

Thaw the salmon (if frozen).  In order to prevent flare ups, soak the grilling plank for as long as possible before grilling.  Tonight I only soaked mine for about 2 hours and that was sufficient.  If it is a new plank and I hope to re use it (yes, you can re-use grilling planks) I would try to soak it all day.

Place the salmon on the plank.  In a small bowl mix brown sugar, chili powder, garlic salt, and fresh ground pepper.  Just in case taste your rub before you put it on the fish.  Lick you finger, stick it in the rub and then lick that yummy seasoning off.  This will tell you if you need more, less, what flavour stands out the most etc etc.  Once you've adjusted the rub to the correct balance, rub over both sides of the salmon.  Since salmon is a flavourful fish it can handle more seasoning than other fishes!  Don't be stingy. 



Rub A Dub Dub!



Mostly brown sugar! mmmmm-this is great for BBQ chicken too!

That's about it for prep work!  Wasn't that easy?  Now pop the grilling plank on your pre-heated grill.  Keep heat at about medium or 400 degree Fahrenheit.  20 minutes for completely thawed salmon is a good amount of time.  I like my salmon two ways-either 100% raw sashimi style, or 100% cooked. 
There is NO in between. 
 

grill baby grill

 This salmon is great with almost anything.  Corn on the cob, pasta salad, rice pilaf, grilled asparagus....anything.  Tonight I made Knock Off Olive Garden green salad!  If you have never purchased the Olive Garden Italian salad dressing you must!  It's faboosh!  Tonight I used a pre-packaged lettuce mix (from Costco-addicted, clearly).  Then I tossed in extra veggies I had on hand including sliced mushrooms, sliced carrots, black olives, peperoncini, and croutons.  I would have preferred tomatoes and red onions with the black olives, peperoncini and croutons (to make a truly authentic Olive Garden knock off) but whatever.  Then I tossed with Olive Garden's Italian dressing *swoon*  If you hate salad buy this dressing, it will make you eat salad!

That's dinner!  Super fast and super delish! 

You really can't go wrong with this one-no matter what time of year you make it!

Linking Up To....

Mmmm, ribs. I had for ribs for lunch

So, I had bought ribs from Costco a while back and still had some left over -duh I bought them at Costco. Which for a family of 2 seems ridiculous, but it means I ALWAYS have some kind of meat in the freezer!  So I called my Mum and asked her for her rib recipe.  Which I couldn't make the last time I made ribs because this recipe requires you to marinate the ribs overnight, ideally.

Marinade:

2 Tbs grated lemon rind

1/3 C fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 C grated onion

1/4 vegetable oil (olive oil)

2 Tbs Oregano

1 1/2 tsp garlic salt/powder

2 Tbs liquid honey

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well blended.  Cut the ribs into individual pieces and put in a large Ziploc bag.  Pour marinade into bag and seal.  Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 8 hours, up to 24 hours.  When ready to cook, line the baking sheet with tinfoil and place ribs and marinade on baking sheet. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 375 and bake for 1 hour.

Turn the ribs occasionally and baste with liquid.  NOTE: make sure to line your baking pan with tinfoil!  The sugar in the honey will stick and burn onto your pan!!! Save your baking sheet!!!

Now while the ribs are cooking I decided to make roast asparagus and rice pilaf.  The asparagus is easy.  Trim the woody ends and place on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place on the top rack of the oven for the last 15-20 minutes of the ribs cooking time.  Take out and turn asparagus while cooking if desired!  You can do this same method on the BBQ in a BBQ basket!

Now for slightly more exciting rice (not that exciting, but better than regular ole white rice), I cook my Uncle Ben's in vegetable broth instead of regular water.  Towards the end of the cooking time, I throw diced celery, mushrooms and finely minced parsley into the pot to add a little something extra.  You can have any combination of veggies/herbs you like.  A great combo for fall is chopped almonds and cranberries!!!

I find that this is the best way to make plain old white rice more bearable....particularly if you don't have a juice/gravy to put on your rice.  For example, I would not do this if I was cooking curry (that's tonight.  Should I blog about this? Maybe, I do love curry). 

It was a great combo and a great dinner.  The ribs were lovely-tender and crispy on the outside.  My tinfoil pan did take a beating and (since I ripped the tinfoil and the juice leaked onto the actually pan) is currently sitting in the sink, soaking.  Big thanks to Ty for scrubbing at it last night!  I would have liked to have more colour in the rice, since our dinner was a little bit green, white and brown.  My high school Home Economics teacher, Mrs Ens, gave me the only practical  some advice from that class that I carry with me.  If your plate is colourful, your meal is probably healthy & you are getting a good balance of vitamins/minerals, veggies, carbs, protein etc. 

Not the best presentation, but I was hungry and didn't care what it looked like.  Next time, I promise a better presentation!  PS these are the tail ends of the ribs-riblettes?-and are quite crispy (personal preference) 

Ty had 'real' ribs, so his plate looked different than mine!

BON APPETITE!

Stove Top Cooking for Summer

So my friend Amy, actually my sister's friend but I have hijacked her a bit, is complaing that a lot of blogs have grilling recipes becuase 'it's too darn hot to cook inside'.....well that's probably true except in the Canadian Prairies, which is where she lives.  They've had ALOT of rain lately (this coming from a girl who lives on the "Wet Coast").  So this delicious (and fast) recipe is for her.

The original recipe is from the America's Test Kitchen Cook Book, I have made a few changes and variations.  I'm one of those 'cooks' who never follows the quantities, so my quantities in this recipe are guidelines for how I like to make it.  For example, I like mushrooms, so I put alot of mushrooms in it.  Likewise if you don't like mushrooms, put something else in.  PS: This cook book is THE BOMB!  It has substitution charts and conversion charts.  It's SO practical, even if you've been cooking a long time.

BUSY MUMS READ THIS PART
this meal literally takes 20 minutes. 
I make it for my fiance before he jets off to play hockey (carbs & protein=good), or if I just have no clue what to make.  It's easy, delicous and has a nice combo of protein, carbs and vegetables for growing bodies.

"Fake It Tuna" Casserole

What You'll Need:
     1 medium onion, finely chopped
     2 cups fresh sliced musrooms
     egg noodles
     1 Cup whipping cream/heavy cream
     2 cups chicken/vegetable broth
     2 cans (170 g can) flaked white tuna (the regular stubby cans)
     1-2 Cups frozen peas (or fresh peas!!!mmmm )
     salt & pepper to taste
     lemon wedges

How To Make It:
In an electric kettle, boil at least 2 cups water for broth.  Once water is boiling make broth in a seperate bowl.  I usually do this step while the mushrooms and onions are cooking

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms and onions until soft.  Transfer to bowl.

Place raw noodles in skillet and pour heavy cream and broth over noodles.  Simmer until noodles are at desired tenderness.  I usually cover the noodles, but be careful not to let it boil over (like I do).  Stir occaisionally.

Stir in tuna and peas and heat.  Add salt and pepper.  Stir in mushroom and onion mixture and heat through.  TA DA!  You're done.  Serve in a bowl (in front of the TV?).  I like to add extra salt and pepper to my individual bowl as well as fresh squeezed lemon (1 wedge's worth of juice).  Lemon and tuna just complement each other nicely.

I wish I had a photo of this recipe.  It really is delicious.  I recently made it with whole wheat rotini noodles and canned crab meat since we didn't have any tuna in the house.  It was great.

This is a No Cook Salad that is DELICIOUS AND WAY TOO EASY.... I had to post it

Tabouleh Salad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabbouleh

What You'll Need
1 cup bulghur wheat
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup good olive oil
3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup minced green onions, white and green parts
1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves 
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 
1 cucumber, medium-diced
2 cups chopped tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper




How To Make It:
Place the bulghur in a large bowl, pour in the boiling water, and add the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir, then allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Add the green onions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper; mix well. Season, to taste, and serve or cover and refrigerate. The flavor will improve if the tabbouleh sits for a few hours.

I am going to make this tonight I think, but instead of bulghar wheat, I'm going to use chick peas!!!  If I stick to my guns and actually make that for dinner, I will post it tomorrow :)