Grilled Summer Veggies and Couscous

I bought a ton of fresh summer vegetables this week so that I would be forced to eat light and healthy. This side dish is so colorful and so tasty, it doesn't feel like you are eating just plain ol' veggies. It's a new twist that I will be whipping up more often! You can either grill these indoors on your stove top grill or outside for a smokier flavor.

Dressing/Marinade:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and separate into two bowls. One should be large enough to toss the veggies in. The other bowl can be small, it will be the dressing you toss throughout the whole dish before serving.

Vegetable Mix:

1/2 large zucchini sliced into 1/4 inch slices or one whole small zucchini cut the same.
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 bundle of asparagus (about 8 spears) ends cut off.
1 tomato quartered and pulp removed.

Toss all vegetables in the marinade and place on the grill. You will cut them slightly smaller after you cook them but you want them to be large enough so that they do not fall through your grill rack. Once the veggies become softened and have a good amount of grill marks on them, remove them from the grill and let them cool down before you cut them. Place them back into their large bowl.

Couscous:

1 cup Israeli couscous (this is much larger pearl than regular couscous)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup water
Salt

Put all ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 min or until cooked through. If you have water left over drain the couscous, if not just toss in with the cooked and cut veggies. Pour the remaining dressing over the couscous and veggies and toss in some feta cheese and flat leaf parsley for extra flavor.

This is an excellent way to utilize the fresh and colorful veggies of summer.

What a Peach!

I am well aware of the fact that I have not blogged since I was 24. What have I been up to? Well, I have been cooking just the same, but have been the laziest bum in the universe past that point. I have lost track of dates and time as summer has swiftly moved into my life for the first time in 3 years. I do have plenty of recipes to share with you now that I have resurfaced from my June coma. This one in particular, had to be the first since it was just so darn good. Think coffee cake with a summer face-lift. It's the same cinnamon-sugar compound you are all comfy with but I added sliced peaches which took this morning favorite to a new dimension. This would be great with any fruit I think. The sour cream kept it moist and fluffy. I left a small portion without the pecans just in case the hubby wasn't in the mood for nuts. Here's what I did:

Ingredients

* 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
* 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

* You can leave the butter and the eggs out the night before so they are ready for you in the morning.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans.

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature. This could be served with vanilla ice cream for dessert or breakfast with a fresh cup of coffee. :)

Dinner for Sultans

Ever since I experienced Ali Baba's Mediterranean restaurant in Dallas, I have been trying to recreate meals from there as simply as I could. Last night's dinner was quite a fair because I finally have it down! Most people are turned off by curry because of the smell but I love it. I don't use a lot of it in this dish and despite popular belief, it doesn't make your whole house smell like curry. There is too much of the other ingredients to let that happen. I served it with some whole wheat flat bread that I heated in the oven for a bit and some store bought hummus. I love Sabra plain hummus and then I drizzle a bit of olive oil over it before I serve it. I also made a light and crisp "salad" to go with it. Eat your heart out Aladdin!

Chickpea Salad

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1/2 of a cucumber diced
• 2 sm tomatoes diced
• 1/4 c of chopped red onion
• 3 tbsp of fresh chopped parsley

Dressing:

• 1/2 tbsp of Singapore seasoning (turmeric, coriander, fennel & cumin)
• the zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Whisk all dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Toss together and chill for at least 30 min.

Curried Chicken

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1/2 an onion chopped
• 1/2 flour for dredging
• 1 tsp of yellow curry
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 c chicken stock
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 c plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt because I like the texture)

Saute garlic and onion in oil until tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the curry and the cinnamon to the onion mixture. If you think you need more curry flavor add it here. Dredge chicken in flour and add to pan. Cook until no longer pink. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper. As the chicken cooks, slowly add the chicken broth to add moisture and deglaze the pan. You don't want to create too much of a sauce here so let the chicken absorb the stock. Once the chicken is cooked through, take the pan off the heat and add the yogurt. I always serve it over Basmati rice. You can find it in the rice section ready to be steamed in the bag. It's very legit that way! :) Sprinkle with some parsley or cilantro and enjoy!

Skinny Sunday Scones

There are so many wonderful things to enjoy on Sunday. Breakfast sometimes gets overlooked at my house when we have to get ready for church, so my solution was to make scones the night before. These are super low cal and I made a delicious glaze to go over them. If you want the glaze done after they are cooked you can do that as well. The glaze will be thicker the cooler the scones are. These scones combine the sweetness of dried cranberries with the tang of lemon zest. I also used half whole wheat, half regular flour to make myself feel better! :)

Ingredients

Glaze
* 2 tbsp Splenda
* 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided

Whisk together and set aside.

Scones
* 1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
* 1/4 cup Splenda
* 1 tsp lemon zest
* 2 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 large egg
* 1 cup white flour and 1 cup whole wheat
* 1 tbsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 3 tbsp chilled butter (must be cold) cut into small pieces
* 1/2 cup dried sweet cranberries


Position rack in top third of oven; Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Make glaze by combining 2 tbsp Splenda and 1 tbsp lemon juice.

Mix buttermilk, remaining lemon juice, Splenda, lemon zest, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gently fold in cranberries. Add buttermilk mixture, stirring just until moist. (dough should be sticky)

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly four times with floured hands. Form dough into an 8-inch circle onto baking sheet, about 3/4" thick. Using a knife, cut dough into 10 wedges (do not cut all the way through). Brush lemon glaze over dough. Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Serve warm or room temperature.

Lighter than air...almost

Here's what's happening this week. After pigging out all weekend on gumbo, yes...I made a gumbo that will rival yours...I decided to lighten up on things a bit. I am on YET ANOTHER quest to lose weight. But, it is just too dang hard to not cook whatever I feel like trying out. My culinary skills have blossomed and I REFUSE to let my butt size hinder that! With that being said, I have decided to move into a Summer meal session (along with the workout plan that has to counteract said sessions). I am fully aware of the fact the Florida is light years closer to the sun right now than you are but I think these could fall within your Spring time taste buds as well. For today, I stopped by the Fresh Market and bought some salmon. I had the butcher trim off the skin for this recipe. Now don't grimace, but I bought some freshly made pesto from the deli because frankly, this is a big week at work and I want to make it a bit easier! Then I grabbed a giant red heirloom tomato...here's what became of it all:

Ingredients (serves 2)
* 2 pieces of purchased puff pastry, each cut to be just larger than a piece of salmon (poke a few holes in it with a fork)
* 2 (4 to 6-ounce) pieces salmon
* 1 palm full of sliced almonds
* 1/4 cup purchased pesto
* 1 tomato sliced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
On a foil-lined baking sheet, place the 2 pieces of puff pastry. Also place the 2 pieces of salmon, being careful to make sure they are not touching. YES, it all cooks on one pan!! Sprinkle each piece of salmon with 1 tablespoon of the sliced almonds. Bake for 10 minutes.

To serve, place each piece of puff pastry on a plate. Top each puff pastry with 1 tablespoon of pesto. Top the pesto with 2 slices of tomatoes each. Top the tomatoes with the salmon and serve.

Are we there yet?

I can smell Cinco de Mayo from here. It's only three days away! It's actually sort of funny that Americans even celebrate it, however, I will not argue with a holiday that gives me an excuse to gorge myself on Mexican food and margaritas. Fish tacos are a great way to celebrate the Independence of Mexico. Fish tacos come from the influence of Baja California, Texas and Mexico. With their powers combined, we have a light, simple recipe to share with friends. I also made my very special black bean soup to wash it down with!

Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

• Corn tortillas

***Before stuffing the corn tortillas, place in a damp paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds.

Fish-

• 2 fillets of tilapia
• 2 tbs of ancho powder
• 1 tbs olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Toppings- Just go nuts and do whatever you want here. Here is what I did:

• Frozen corn, thawed and sauteed in oil until charred.
• 3 tbs Queso Fresco
• 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbs fresh lime juice
• 1/4 c chopped purple onion
• Pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds. VERY Mexican! :))



Heat oil in a saute pan until hot. Season fish with ancho poweder, salt and pepper. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and saute for 4-5 min on each side. Watch for fish to turn white and the sides will crisps. Remove from heat and place on a plate lined with paper towel.

Break fish into small pieces and add to warm corn tortillas. Add toppings to your liking and enjoy!



Black Bean Soup

• 1 tbl olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves quartered
• 1/2 c onion chopped
• 1/2 tbs cumin
• 1 8oz can black beans. Do not drain
• 1 8oz can diced tomatoes. Do not drain.
• 3 c chicken stock
• 1/4 c cilantro

Heat oil in large soup pot. Add garlic and onion until onion is transparent. Season with cumin. Add the chicken stock, beans and tomatoes. Simmer for about 20 min until flavors have combined. Add the cilantro and remove the soup from the heat. Let it cool down for about 5 min. In batches, blend or process the soup and return to pan and let simmer until ready to serve.

You can decide what sort of texture you want. You don't have to puree the soup if you like it chunky. If you want the best of both worlds, only puree about half of the soup. If you are anything like me, you can puree the whole dang pot! It's totally up to you! Just make sure that the less you puree it, the finer you have to chop your ingredients. If you puree the whole thing, it's a lot less chopping! :)

Sprinkle with Queso Fresco and cilantro.

Tortellini Soup and Parmesan Popovers

You might just popover when you eat this meal! However, I swear I will stop posting so much Italian, but just this last one. I don't know what came over me this last week, but never fret, my kitchen's passport is already on its way to Mexico in light of Cinco de Mayo. I have a few Mexican dishes coming your way so that you can get some ideas brewing for Thursday.

Back to the soup at hand...

If my soup placed an ad in the dating section of the paper it would read: S/W/F. I'm easy and must be paired up with someone rich. Contenders must love garlic!

I think you get the idea. Since the soup is so easy, I just had to add more to it so that my time in the kitchen lasted a bit longer. Does that make me crazy?

So then came the idea for Parmesan Popovers. They are so cute and "filthy rich"! The perfect pairing for a desperate housewife...I mean...the soup.

Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves chopped
• 1/2 c chopped onion
• Dash of Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 8oz can diced tomato
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 package of tortellini
• Handful of fresh spinach


Heat a large soup pot with olive oil. Add the garlic and onion until the onion is transparent. Add the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.

Add the can of tomatoes with their juice. Add chicken broth and bring the soup to a boil. Once the soup is boiling add the tortellini and reduce heat to a gentle boil. Once the tortellini puffs up and almost doubles in size, the pasta is done. Turn the heat to a low simmer and add the spinach. Once the spinach wilts, the soup is done.

Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and fresh chopped basil.


Parmesan Popovers

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
• 4 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
• 1 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan (about 5 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a Kitchen Aid mixer or blender, combine eggs, flour, salt, pepper, and herbs, milk, and cheese. Blend on medium speed.

Spray a mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

They will literally pop out of the pan on their own. :)