This past week was SO HOT. On Tuesday, it was even too hot to bbq. I picked up a deli chicken at the grocery store on the way home from work, and put it on the table with a pile of salad stuff to mix our own salads. I even shredded some cheddar cheese, put it on the table and it *melted*. Seriously.
That said, I did get back to the bbq on Wednesday.
I made dijon chicken and veggies. This was so tasty!
Mix:
1/3 cup djion mustard
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp herbes de province
1/4 cup olive oil
I had about 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs. I cut the breasts to similar size as the thighs, and tossed with about 2/3 of the marinade, and let rest for 1/2 an hour.
Meanwhile, I cut a zucchini and 2 peppers, and one red onion into chunks, and tossed with the remaining marinade.
Then I grilled it. Simple as that. My kids, who claim to hate mustard in all it's forms, inhaled it. Ha!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Pork, peaches, peppers
Am I *ever* glad that I decided to only bbq this week. The temperatures are soaring here, and our house is HOT. We don't have central air, and it's lacking in breezes, which makes for melty days.
Last night, I made a grilled pork with balsamic peach salad. It's adapted from the most recent Rachael Ray magazine. My kids ate parts of it, and my husband inhaled it. There wasn't even time to snap a pic, he was all over it. It was very colourful and pretty, and very, very tasty.
I took about a 1/3 cup of olive oil, added 4-5 tbsps of balsamic vinegar, some minced garlic and a good shake of dried thyme.
Then I chopped up 2 red peppers, half a red onion, and halved 4 peaches. Drizzled with a tbsp or two of the dressing. I sliced a pork tenderloin into 4 pieces, and tossed with a bit more of the dressing and let sit.
Meanwhile, I washed a bunch of baby spinach and a romaine lettuce.
Preheat bbq to med-high, and toss all the veggies into my bbq basket (one of my best tools in summer!), and put the pork on to the bbq. Grill until done. Then serve over the lettuce, with a drizzle of the dressing on top. So good! I really liked how the balsamic vinegar marinated the pork, and how well the peaches mixed with the peppers and onion (even though I don't eat onions, I can appreciate the flavour they add).
Last night, I made a grilled pork with balsamic peach salad. It's adapted from the most recent Rachael Ray magazine. My kids ate parts of it, and my husband inhaled it. There wasn't even time to snap a pic, he was all over it. It was very colourful and pretty, and very, very tasty.
I took about a 1/3 cup of olive oil, added 4-5 tbsps of balsamic vinegar, some minced garlic and a good shake of dried thyme.
Then I chopped up 2 red peppers, half a red onion, and halved 4 peaches. Drizzled with a tbsp or two of the dressing. I sliced a pork tenderloin into 4 pieces, and tossed with a bit more of the dressing and let sit.
Meanwhile, I washed a bunch of baby spinach and a romaine lettuce.
Preheat bbq to med-high, and toss all the veggies into my bbq basket (one of my best tools in summer!), and put the pork on to the bbq. Grill until done. Then serve over the lettuce, with a drizzle of the dressing on top. So good! I really liked how the balsamic vinegar marinated the pork, and how well the peaches mixed with the peppers and onion (even though I don't eat onions, I can appreciate the flavour they add).
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Teriyaki salmon burgers and mangotinis
Tonight's bbq/not cooking inside meal: Teriyaki salmon burgers with rice and veggies. I was planning on making salmon fillets, but didn't have any left in the freezer - doh! Thankfully, I had a 6 pack of salmon burger patties from Costco in the freezer instead.
I whipped up a teriyaki sauce from some soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic. Some of it, I tossed with a bit of olive oil and large chunks of assorted coloured peppers and zucchini to marinate them before putting them on the bbq. The rest I used to brush on the salmon burgers when I had them on the bbq. Yum. I also made rice in the rice cooker, which is an easy and fast way to make it without heating up the kitchen. I use a grill basket for my veggies on the bbq, and it really helps make prepping a side dish of veggies easy.
As a drink for the night, I made mangotinis! Cases of mangos were on sale this week, so I picked one up. I cut up a ripe mango, and pureed it in my mini-chopper. While I did that, I grated up some fresh ginger, and tossed it into a small saucepan with a 1/2 cup of water and a 1/8 cup of sugar and brought it to a boil. Let simmer a couple of minutes, then strain. Add the mango puree, and about a cup of vodka. Chill. After it's chilled, add some lime juice. When ready to serve, pour some of the mango vodka goodness into a martini glass, to about half way, add some ice, and some club soda (unless you want to knock yourself out after one glass!). So good and fresh! It paired really nicely with the salmon too.
I whipped up a teriyaki sauce from some soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic. Some of it, I tossed with a bit of olive oil and large chunks of assorted coloured peppers and zucchini to marinate them before putting them on the bbq. The rest I used to brush on the salmon burgers when I had them on the bbq. Yum. I also made rice in the rice cooker, which is an easy and fast way to make it without heating up the kitchen. I use a grill basket for my veggies on the bbq, and it really helps make prepping a side dish of veggies easy.
As a drink for the night, I made mangotinis! Cases of mangos were on sale this week, so I picked one up. I cut up a ripe mango, and pureed it in my mini-chopper. While I did that, I grated up some fresh ginger, and tossed it into a small saucepan with a 1/2 cup of water and a 1/8 cup of sugar and brought it to a boil. Let simmer a couple of minutes, then strain. Add the mango puree, and about a cup of vodka. Chill. After it's chilled, add some lime juice. When ready to serve, pour some of the mango vodka goodness into a martini glass, to about half way, add some ice, and some club soda (unless you want to knock yourself out after one glass!). So good and fresh! It paired really nicely with the salmon too.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Creme Brûlée french toast
Since Easter, we've had a few house guests. I love having house guests, and I especially love having easy, yet fancy-seeming breakfasts. This one fits the bill, for sure. It's easy to prep the night before, and bakes up quickly in the morning. It is rather decadent, but is worth it in my opinion.
First, melt a half cup of butter (margarine works too, but isn't as smooth) with a cup of brown sugar and two tablespoons of corn syrup. I use a dark brown sugar, and dark corn syrup, but I bet a commercial maple style syrup would be good too. When this is all melted and yummy looking, pour it into a greased pan. The original recipe called for a 9x13, but I found that a pair of round cake pans fits the bread better.
Then, add sliced french bread to the pans, pushing it down somewhat to get the syrupy goodness all pushed into the bread.
Then, beat 5 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a tsp or so of vanilla together, and pour overtop of the bread, making sure it all gets soaked. Cover with plastic wrap and throw in the fridge overnight. In the morning, bake it for about 20-30 minutes at 350 (the longer time is if you toss it in the oven as you turn it on, like I do). Flip the bread over as soon as you pull it out of the oven. Serve with whip cream, and fresh berries.
Honestly, it's so good, and so easy. I use a whole loaf of french bread from my local grocery store, and it's usually only $1, so it's not a pricey meal either, even with real whipped cream. I can toss it in the oven first thing when I wake up, put on the coffee, and have a quick shower all before everything is ready to eat, giving me time to set the table too. That's a win/win in my books!
First, melt a half cup of butter (margarine works too, but isn't as smooth) with a cup of brown sugar and two tablespoons of corn syrup. I use a dark brown sugar, and dark corn syrup, but I bet a commercial maple style syrup would be good too. When this is all melted and yummy looking, pour it into a greased pan. The original recipe called for a 9x13, but I found that a pair of round cake pans fits the bread better.
Then, add sliced french bread to the pans, pushing it down somewhat to get the syrupy goodness all pushed into the bread.
Then, beat 5 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a tsp or so of vanilla together, and pour overtop of the bread, making sure it all gets soaked. Cover with plastic wrap and throw in the fridge overnight. In the morning, bake it for about 20-30 minutes at 350 (the longer time is if you toss it in the oven as you turn it on, like I do). Flip the bread over as soon as you pull it out of the oven. Serve with whip cream, and fresh berries.
Honestly, it's so good, and so easy. I use a whole loaf of french bread from my local grocery store, and it's usually only $1, so it's not a pricey meal either, even with real whipped cream. I can toss it in the oven first thing when I wake up, put on the coffee, and have a quick shower all before everything is ready to eat, giving me time to set the table too. That's a win/win in my books!
SUMMER! Meal planning for hot days
Summer has arrived! It's currently hot and humid, and I'm so happy. I took my kids swimming yesterday afternoon to the pool, and as they are all big enough to swim without me joining them, I took along a notebook and meal planned. Well, truthfully, I bumped into the mom of two of my kids classmates, so I visited *and* meal planned.
In the grocery store the other week, I picked up the new EveryDay with Rachael Ray magazine, looking for inspiration. I found it :)
First off, I made the Blushing Almond cocktails for the before supper hour. My husband spent the afternoon doing yard work in the heat, and really liked this drink, with it's combination of pink lemonade, amaretto and tonic water it was refreshing and flavourful.
The Blushing Almond is 1/3 cup pink lemonade, 1/4 oz vodka, and 1/2 oz of amaretto, shaken with ice, and topped with tonic. Or use more alcohol as you see fit :)
Tonight's meal was Chicken Satay Naan on the bbq. The hubby and I really really liked it. The children enjoyed portions of it - they aren't peanut butter fans, so the sauce wasn't quite to their taste, although one of them ate it and then asked what was in it. I used chicken thighs, and bbq'ed them in a grill basket, so clean up and flipping were easier. I also made up some thai rice noodles to add in to the salad, but they weren't really needed. I'm really looking forward to leftovers from this meal for my lunch at work tomorrow.
The heat is only just starting today, and I've got a week of grilling planned!
In the grocery store the other week, I picked up the new EveryDay with Rachael Ray magazine, looking for inspiration. I found it :)
First off, I made the Blushing Almond cocktails for the before supper hour. My husband spent the afternoon doing yard work in the heat, and really liked this drink, with it's combination of pink lemonade, amaretto and tonic water it was refreshing and flavourful.
The Blushing Almond is 1/3 cup pink lemonade, 1/4 oz vodka, and 1/2 oz of amaretto, shaken with ice, and topped with tonic. Or use more alcohol as you see fit :)
Tonight's meal was Chicken Satay Naan on the bbq. The hubby and I really really liked it. The children enjoyed portions of it - they aren't peanut butter fans, so the sauce wasn't quite to their taste, although one of them ate it and then asked what was in it. I used chicken thighs, and bbq'ed them in a grill basket, so clean up and flipping were easier. I also made up some thai rice noodles to add in to the salad, but they weren't really needed. I'm really looking forward to leftovers from this meal for my lunch at work tomorrow.
The heat is only just starting today, and I've got a week of grilling planned!
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