Grilled Island Chicken Kabobs

I've been craving something like this lately with the surprisingly good weather (June in SoCal is usually a real bummer) and even though I'm not a fan of hot pineapple it was too pretty to forego! Plus Dave likes it so he got the skewers with hot pineapple and I got all the pieces that fell off on the way to the grill ;)

One thing to note is that the chicken should be marinated for several hours if not all day.  So please don't do what I did and excitedly return from the grocery store with all of the below ingredients expecting to make these kabobs for dinner an hour later. Also, wooden skewers should be soaked for 15-30 minutes.

Ingredients:
2-4 chicken breasts, cut into large bite-size pieces
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup lemon juice (from about 1-2 lemons if want want to use fresh juice)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large red onion and 1 large green pepper, cut into large chunks
1 pineapple, cut into large chunks


Directions:
Combine vegetable oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a large ziploc bag. Place chicken in bag and make sure all pieces are covered. Put chicken in fridge and let marinate for at least 3 hours but as many as 8-12 hours
If using wooden skewers, let your skewers soak in water for at 15-30 minutes to prevent burning. Skewer chicken, onions, peppers, and pineapple on your sticks until you run out of ingredients.
Turn on grill to medium heat. Place skewers on grill and cook for 7-8 minutes per side or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle (if using a meat thermometer, make sure it registers 165 degrees).
Remove from grill and serve!

Pizza Fish

It's always hard coming home from vacation. But especially when that vacation was a total carbfest involving endless pizza and pasta (and I don't mean the zucchini crust and spaghetti squash types.) I'm not going to beat myself up over all the wine because 1) I was in ITALY and 2) It's part of my regular lifestyle. Hehe. However, I can certainly eliminate or at least significantly cut back on starch and grain.

That said I am still craving Italian style dishes so I searched for something reminiscent of the food I was eating on vacation but that wouldn't leave me feeling heavy and bloated. Which is a perfectly acceptable and even welcomed feeling when you're, say, sailing to Capri with a Peroni in hand but not so much when you're back to your "real life." Sigh.

Ingredients:
1lb white flaky fish (cod, haddock, halibut, bluefish)
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp fresh basil
1 tbsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced (or 1/2 cup shredded)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
black pepper

red pepper flakes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Place fish in a pre-greased glass baking dish
In a food processor, blend tomato paste, garlic, basil, oregano and rosemary. Add water to create the desired consistency.
Spread tomato sauce over fish evenly
Top with fresh mozzarella and parmesan
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until fish is flaky

Top with black pepper and red pepper flakes

Banana Pecan Waffles

This was a little labor intensive but completely worth it for an indulgent holiday weekend breakfast :)

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup flour (I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 small banana
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Toppings (optional): Butter, maple syrup, honey, sliced bananas, chopped pecans

Directions:
Heat nonstick Belgian or standard waffle iron.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in large bowl.
Beat together banana and eggs in medium-size bowl. Beat in butter, buttermilk, vanilla and pecans.
Make well in center of flour mixture. Add banana mixture to well, stirring quickly, just until blended
Coat waffle iron with cooking spray. Spoon slightly rounded 1/3 cup batter for each 4-inch waffle onto hot iron, quickly spreading to cover entire surface. Cook following manufacturer's instructions.
Serve waffles hot with an assortment of desired toppings.

Baked Pork Chops with Tomato and Rosemary

One of the many perks I expected when I started my new job was more free time. For the gym, cooking and, I don't know, sleeping?! While I still expect this to be the case eventually I got thrown right into the middle of a full blown production a week into the job and have been busier than I've ever been even working an overnight shift a couple days ago.

This being the case I've been sticking to quick and easy recipes which I know many of you appreciate for your own busy lives. The great thing about this one is it keeps well. I was even able to take it to set for dinner, er, whatever the meal is that you eat at 1am while working and completely sober :)

Ingredients:

pork chops, about 9oz each
rosemary and thyme sprigs
1/2 head of garlic separated into cloves (unpeeled)
sea salt and black pepper
olive oil
1 large onion (peeled and minced)
1 red bell pepper (seeded and minced)
1 red chili (seeded and minced)
7oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
14oz can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sugar


Chops:
Heat your oven to 400 F. Place the pork chops in a large, lightly oiled baking dish and scatter the thyme sprigs, rosemary leaves, garlic cloves, and salt over the top. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 20 minutes or until pork chops are cooked through. Make the sauce while your waiting.

Sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and add the onion, red bell pepper, chile, and mushrooms. Stir over high heat for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. Tip in the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and add the sugar and a splash of water. Simmer for 10-12 minutes until the onions are tender and the tomato sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Putting it all together:
Take the pork chops out of the oven and let rest in a warm place for 5 minutes. Pour any pan juices into the sauce and reheat. Ladle a generous amount of sauce over the chops to serve.

Turkey, Pear and Provolone Salad

I know I can get a little fancy with my time consuming recipes. Funny considering how little time I have to cook. But as I know that parents have even less and tend to resort to such things as microwaving "chicken" nuggets I thought I'd throw you a bone :)

Purchasing turkey breast filets will make this recipe even easier so I highly recommend it.

Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 pound turkey tenderloin
  Salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon honey mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pears, cored (optional) and sliced
4 slices provolone cheese, halved
5 ounces arugula (8 cups)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Directions
Slice turkey crosswise in eight 1-inch slices. Flatten slightly with palm of hand, then season with salt and pepper. Brush with half of the honey mustard.
In a 12-inch skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Cook turkey in even layer in hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Layer pears on turkey; top each with a half-slice of cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until cheese is melted and pears are warm.
Divide arugula among serving dishes; top with turkey slices. For sauce, whisk remaining mustard and oil along with the vinegar into pan juices in skillet; cook for 30 seconds. Drizzle sauce on each serving. Sprinkle with additional pepper.

Flank Steak with Balsamic Tomato Sauce

I was really excited to try this recipe and especially flank steak until I realized how hard it is to find! If you have the same problem skirt steak or top sirloin steak make great substitutes. And if you don't know how to "cut against the grain" it's easy to look up on the internet :)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 (1 lb) flank steak, trimmed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup torn fresh basil, divided
1/3 cup green onions, thinly sliced and divided

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil, swirl to coat. Sprinkle steak with salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Add steak to pan, and cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Transfer steak to a cutting board, let stand 5 minutes. Cut against the grain into thin slices.
Add garlic and shallot to pan; saute 1 1/2 minutes or until lightly browned.
Add vinegar, and cook 1 1/2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, 1/4 cup green onions and remaining 1/4 tsp pepper.
Cook 2 minutes or until the tomatoes soften and begin to release their liquid, stirring occasionally.
Serve tomato mixture over sliced steak. Sprinkle with remaining basil and remaining green onions.

Kale, Chicken and Beet Salad

The kale fairy aka my coworker Alicia made another appearance at the office! I've now made kale chips, kale smoothies, and kale latkes and have come full circle back to kale salads.

I'll warn you that this one is a little time consuming so you may want to save it for a special occasion. (I should have known that it would be based on that "one time" I made chicken noodle soup and vowed never to do it again!)

However, if you have the time and patience to boil chicken, cook quinoa and chop kale leaves (I bought my beets precooked, something had to give) this is a fantastic choice.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
3 beets (precooked)
1 16 oz boneless, skinless chix breast
1/4 tsp course sea salt, divided
Juice of two lemons
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp honey
1 large bunch kale, ribs removed and leaves roughly chopped
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup roasted, unsalted hazelnuts, chopped

Directions:
Cook quinoa according to package directions
Meanwhile fill a large pot with water. Add chicken and 1/8 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove chicken and let cool slightly. With two forks shred chicken.
In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, oil, honey, 1 tsp water and remaining 1/8 tsp salt until combined, set aside.
Fill a large, deep skillet with 1/2 inch water and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, add kale and cook, stirring until bright green and wilted, about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine quinoa, chicken, kale, and beets. Drizzle lemon mixture over top and toss to coat. Garnish with goat cheese and hazelnuts.