Chili-Espresso Rubbed Steaks with Warm Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes are ripening left and right and we decided to take advantage!  Not only did the grape tomatoes come from our garden but the parsley did as well.  We actually didn’t have espresso powder on hand but the steak was very flavorful without it.

Chili-Espresso Rubbed Steaks with Warm Tomato Sauce (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 2  teaspoons  espresso powder
• 1  teaspoon  garlic salt
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1  teaspoon  chili powder
• 1  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  (12-ounce) flat-iron steaks
• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  grape tomatoes
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley
• 1  teaspoon  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1  teaspoon  sherry vinegar

1. Combine first 6 ingredients; stir well. Rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of steaks; cover and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

3. Place steaks on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from grill; let stand 10 minutes.

4. Place tomatoes and remaining ingredients in a mini chopper or blender; process until coarsely chopped. Spoon tomato mixture into a microwave-safe bowl; microwave on HIGH 1 minute. Cut steaks diagonally across grain into thin slices. Place 3 ounces steak on each of 4 plates (roughly 2/3 of cooked meat). (Reserve remaining steak for Sunday brunch.) Top each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce.

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Yolanda’s Famous Chicken

This was a GREAT chicken recipe, definitely one we will make again.  It was super easy, especially if you already have bread crumbs on hand.  I sautéed some zucchini and green beans from our garden as a side dish.  I love cooking from the garden!

Yolanda’s Famous Chicken (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 2  (1 1/2-ounce) bread slices
• 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  dried marjoram
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  tablespoon  2% reduced-fat milk
• 1  large egg
• Cooking spray
• 4  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
• 4  lemon wedges

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Tear bread into pieces. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until breadcrumbs measure about 1 3/4 cups.

3. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.

4. Place flour in a shallow dish. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a second shallow dish. Combine milk and egg in a third shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Working with 1 breast half at a time, dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Dip into egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to coat evenly on both sides. Place chicken on a large plate. Repeat procedure with remaining breast halves, flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumb mixture; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray; add 2 teaspoons olive oil, swirling to coat. Add 2 breast halves to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and remaining breast halves. Bake at 375° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°. Serve with lemon wedges.

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Spiced Chicken with Couscous Salad

This was a great summer recipe, perfect with basil and grape tomatoes from our garden!  We had to leave out the snap peas because the only ones the store had looked gross and were $6/pound.  If you like cucumber it would be a great addition to this salad.

Spiced Chicken with Couscous Salad (from Real Simple, June 2010)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 ounces each)

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

kosher salt and black pepper

3⁄4 cup couscous

3/4 pound cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

1/4 pound snap peas, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup torn fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with the paprika, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes per side; transfer to plates.

Meanwhile, place the couscous in a large bowl. Add 1 cup hot tap water, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Add the tomatoes, snap peas, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and toss to combine.  Slice the chicken and serve with the couscous.

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Frozen Pesto

Our garden is doing fabulous this year, but with 3 basil plants I have to work to stay on top of it now that they are proliferating so quickly.  I decided over the weekend to try my hand at freezing pesto, and to try the ice cube tray method for the first time, so we can better portion it.  I’ve used this pesto recipe in the past, but decided to try a different one this time, and I think I liked it better.  It froze really well too, this picture is pre-freezing, I popped them out of the tray today after running some hot water over the bottom to loosen them up a bit.  Then I put them in ziplock bags (usually 3-5 cubes per bag) and stuck them back in the freezer for later use.

Fresh Basil Pesto (from Simply Recipes)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

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Garden fresh pizza!

Well we are certainly on a garden kick now that ours is yielding all sorts of goodies.  We even have a banana pepper about ready to be picked!  I had some leftover cherry tomatoes to use up and my favorite way to eat cherry tomatoes is roasted, with some olive oil, salt and pepper.  Even better is when they are on a salad or pizza.  Mmmm pizza, my favorite food.   So I decided to get creative!  I made pesto using basil and parsley from our garden, used that as the sauce on our pizza and then topped it with cheese, chicken, and roasted tomatoes!  DELICIOUS!  I really don’t have a recipe but here’s how I threw it all together.

pillsbury thin crust pizza + mozzarella cheese + leftover grilled chicken

+ pesto: basil, parsley, EVOO, salt, pepper, parm, toasted pine nuts all mixed together in the food processor

+ roasted cherry tomatoes: drizzled with EVOO, salt and pepper, roasted at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

= ONE DELICIOUS PIZZA!

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A taste of the garden

Now that our garden is starting to yield wonderful herbs for us such as basil, parsley, and cilantro, we have been planning our meals around what we can pick in our own backyard!  I had some leftover tomatoes from a meal earlier in the week (store bought, too early for home grown tomatoes!), so I decided to whip up a batch of salsa to make use of our cilantro.  No real recipe here.  I just threw some tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, fresh lime juice, and salt and pepper into the food processor and voila!  Delicious salsa!  I can’t wait to have jalapenos and tomatoes from my garden to spice this up!

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