Happy Tuesday, friends!! :) I hope today is a good one for you!
Since it's "Kitchen Tuesday", I'm gonna jump right in and give you some good recipes for this week. I'm going to include a few grilling tips too since July 4th is just around the corner. If you're like me, the grill is a great friend in the summer because it's so easy, quick and doesn't make the kitchen hot....nice!
Grilling tips first -- be sure your grill is hot before putting any meat on the grill. If you can't hold your hand over the heat for 5 seconds it's hot enough. Doing this will be sure that you sear your meat and it won't dry out.
Flipping meat too much on the grill is a no!no! -- place it on the grill -- cook a while and when it lifts easily, it's ready to turn -- if it's holding on, just wait, it will tell you when to turn it. Turn meat once and let it grill on the other side. Don't press meat, you're letting out those wonderful juices -- and don't cook meats to absolute well done on the grill -- pull them off just before they are at your favorite doneness level and let them rest covered in foil for about 5 minutes -- no worries -- it won't get cold...the meat will continue cooking and you should have a perfect piece of meat after 5 about 5 minutes.
Be sure to brush fish and shellfish as well as veggies with a little oil before placing on the grill -- otherwise you're going to have a sticky mess to clean up.
Chicken - will be juicier if you grill it bone in. Grilled filets are prone to dry out and over cook if you're not careful. I've found that closing the lid on bone-in pieces will help with cooking them all the way through -- also, don't rush the cooking process -- chicken on the bone takes longer to cook. If you grill filets, don't close the grill -- leave it open or you could have a very dry piece of chicken. Brush with marinade, oil or sauce at the beginning and end of cooking time -- too much and you'll have lots of charred sauce and a bitter taste.
Corn - yum yum!! brush with a little butter or olive oil, salt and pepper and throw the cobs on the grill -- done in NO time!! this is a house favorite!
Ok -- recipes:
Quick Corn Salad adapted from Ina Garten's recipe on www.FoodNetwork.com:
5 ears of fresh white corn - blanch in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then shock in ice water to stop cooking process.
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion or 1 shallot finely chopped
1 cup of fresh basil - julienned (roll into cigar shape and chop into fine ribbons)
1 garlic clove - chopped finely
handful of fresh cherry or grape tomatoes halved
salt, pepper to taste
1-2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar
With a very sharp knife, hold ears of corn in hole of a tubed cake pan and slice kernels off cob. Cut close to cob to remove all kernels easily. Pour into large bowl.
Slice jalapeno finely and add to corn along with cherry tomatoes, onion (or shallot) and basil.
In a small bowl whisk olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper together and pour over corn. Mix well and let sit. (if you don't like raw onion and garlic - feel free to saute' it in a little oil and toss into mixture).
This recipe is great for grilling too -- just put all ingredients except vinegar in large cast iron skillet and place on grill -- cook until lightly browned and warm -- delicious!
Here's a recipe for Roasted Crock Pot Hen that I made yesterday -- my goodness it was so good in tonight's dinner --
Wash and pat dry hen (be sure to remove giblets and neck from cavity - save for making homemade stock if you'd like to -- it's great and so easy).
Into the cavity of the hen, salt and pepper generously, and place 1 quartered lemon, 1 quartered onion (no need to peel), 4 halved garlic cloves and some fresh herbs (I use a branch of rosemary, sage, thyme and parsley). Using cooking twine, tie legs over cavity and tuck wings under breasts at the top to hide tips. (this is to aid in overall cooking quality).
In crock pot, place 1 quartered lemon, 2 or 3 quartered potatoes, 1 quartered onion (no need to peel) and about a 1/2 cup of broth, water or white wine (your choice).
Place hen on top of vegetables. Top hen with a combination of salt, pepper, red pepper, dried poultry seasoning, or some Cavender's Greek seasoning. Coat heavily. Top with lid, then cover with foil to seal top.
Cook on low for approximately 4 to 6 hours. Hen will be so tender the meat will fall off the bone!
Let the hen cool and then remove to platter. Strain the drippings and save to make dumplings, soup, stew or save for other recipes. Discard veggies from bottom.
After hen cools, it will be easier to slice -- I chilled mine to serve the next day. I was able to remove the bones so easily and was able to serve it quickly by adding the meat to a delicious pasta dish called Becker's Pasta (check out www.kellyminter.com/livingroom and click on recipes for more information) SO easy and SOOOOO good! You can make anything with this roasted chicken and serve many meals from it -- so give it a try -- most definitely another house favorite!
I'm trying to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet -- so I've gotten a little bit creative in doing so. Here's a delicious recipe for baked apples. Again, using the crock pot...easy breezy!
2 large red delicious apples - halved and cored
1 lemon halved
2 T. dried cranberries
3 T. quick cooking oatmeal
2 T. brown sugar
pinch of sea or kosher salt
1 t. each fresh nutmeg ground, and ground cinnamon
2 T. chopped pecans
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
4 t. grape or huckleberry jelly (Thanks, Becky!)
4 dried apricots, quartered
1/4 cup water
Place apple halves in crock pot, cut side up. Evenly divide cranberries into the cored area of each apple half. Quickly combine oatmeal, brown sugar, salt, spices and pecans in food processor and add pecans to rough chop. Evenly divide over each apple half. Thinly slice butter over tops of each apple half. Top each with quartered apricots and then add the jelly last. Gently pour water into bottom of crock pot. Cook on low for a couple of hours until tender. This is great with pork chops or as a light dessert when topped with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream. Yummy!! I feel sure you can cook these in the oven too -- probably on 350 F. for about 45 minutes -- just check for tenderness. I haven't tried them in the oven - only the crock pot.
Verse of the Day -- Proverbs 20:15 - "Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel."
Be blessed this day and always -- see ya tomorrow!! Amy
Since it's "Kitchen Tuesday", I'm gonna jump right in and give you some good recipes for this week. I'm going to include a few grilling tips too since July 4th is just around the corner. If you're like me, the grill is a great friend in the summer because it's so easy, quick and doesn't make the kitchen hot....nice!
Grilling tips first -- be sure your grill is hot before putting any meat on the grill. If you can't hold your hand over the heat for 5 seconds it's hot enough. Doing this will be sure that you sear your meat and it won't dry out.
Flipping meat too much on the grill is a no!no! -- place it on the grill -- cook a while and when it lifts easily, it's ready to turn -- if it's holding on, just wait, it will tell you when to turn it. Turn meat once and let it grill on the other side. Don't press meat, you're letting out those wonderful juices -- and don't cook meats to absolute well done on the grill -- pull them off just before they are at your favorite doneness level and let them rest covered in foil for about 5 minutes -- no worries -- it won't get cold...the meat will continue cooking and you should have a perfect piece of meat after 5 about 5 minutes.
Be sure to brush fish and shellfish as well as veggies with a little oil before placing on the grill -- otherwise you're going to have a sticky mess to clean up.
Chicken - will be juicier if you grill it bone in. Grilled filets are prone to dry out and over cook if you're not careful. I've found that closing the lid on bone-in pieces will help with cooking them all the way through -- also, don't rush the cooking process -- chicken on the bone takes longer to cook. If you grill filets, don't close the grill -- leave it open or you could have a very dry piece of chicken. Brush with marinade, oil or sauce at the beginning and end of cooking time -- too much and you'll have lots of charred sauce and a bitter taste.
Corn - yum yum!! brush with a little butter or olive oil, salt and pepper and throw the cobs on the grill -- done in NO time!! this is a house favorite!
Ok -- recipes:
Quick Corn Salad adapted from Ina Garten's recipe on www.FoodNetwork.com:
5 ears of fresh white corn - blanch in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then shock in ice water to stop cooking process.
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion or 1 shallot finely chopped
1 cup of fresh basil - julienned (roll into cigar shape and chop into fine ribbons)
1 garlic clove - chopped finely
handful of fresh cherry or grape tomatoes halved
salt, pepper to taste
1-2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar
With a very sharp knife, hold ears of corn in hole of a tubed cake pan and slice kernels off cob. Cut close to cob to remove all kernels easily. Pour into large bowl.
Slice jalapeno finely and add to corn along with cherry tomatoes, onion (or shallot) and basil.
In a small bowl whisk olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper together and pour over corn. Mix well and let sit. (if you don't like raw onion and garlic - feel free to saute' it in a little oil and toss into mixture).
This recipe is great for grilling too -- just put all ingredients except vinegar in large cast iron skillet and place on grill -- cook until lightly browned and warm -- delicious!
Here's a recipe for Roasted Crock Pot Hen that I made yesterday -- my goodness it was so good in tonight's dinner --
Wash and pat dry hen (be sure to remove giblets and neck from cavity - save for making homemade stock if you'd like to -- it's great and so easy).
Into the cavity of the hen, salt and pepper generously, and place 1 quartered lemon, 1 quartered onion (no need to peel), 4 halved garlic cloves and some fresh herbs (I use a branch of rosemary, sage, thyme and parsley). Using cooking twine, tie legs over cavity and tuck wings under breasts at the top to hide tips. (this is to aid in overall cooking quality).
In crock pot, place 1 quartered lemon, 2 or 3 quartered potatoes, 1 quartered onion (no need to peel) and about a 1/2 cup of broth, water or white wine (your choice).
Place hen on top of vegetables. Top hen with a combination of salt, pepper, red pepper, dried poultry seasoning, or some Cavender's Greek seasoning. Coat heavily. Top with lid, then cover with foil to seal top.
Cook on low for approximately 4 to 6 hours. Hen will be so tender the meat will fall off the bone!
Let the hen cool and then remove to platter. Strain the drippings and save to make dumplings, soup, stew or save for other recipes. Discard veggies from bottom.
After hen cools, it will be easier to slice -- I chilled mine to serve the next day. I was able to remove the bones so easily and was able to serve it quickly by adding the meat to a delicious pasta dish called Becker's Pasta (check out www.kellyminter.com/livingroom and click on recipes for more information) SO easy and SOOOOO good! You can make anything with this roasted chicken and serve many meals from it -- so give it a try -- most definitely another house favorite!
I'm trying to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet -- so I've gotten a little bit creative in doing so. Here's a delicious recipe for baked apples. Again, using the crock pot...easy breezy!
2 large red delicious apples - halved and cored
1 lemon halved
2 T. dried cranberries
3 T. quick cooking oatmeal
2 T. brown sugar
pinch of sea or kosher salt
1 t. each fresh nutmeg ground, and ground cinnamon
2 T. chopped pecans
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
4 t. grape or huckleberry jelly (Thanks, Becky!)
4 dried apricots, quartered
1/4 cup water
Place apple halves in crock pot, cut side up. Evenly divide cranberries into the cored area of each apple half. Quickly combine oatmeal, brown sugar, salt, spices and pecans in food processor and add pecans to rough chop. Evenly divide over each apple half. Thinly slice butter over tops of each apple half. Top each with quartered apricots and then add the jelly last. Gently pour water into bottom of crock pot. Cook on low for a couple of hours until tender. This is great with pork chops or as a light dessert when topped with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream. Yummy!! I feel sure you can cook these in the oven too -- probably on 350 F. for about 45 minutes -- just check for tenderness. I haven't tried them in the oven - only the crock pot.
Verse of the Day -- Proverbs 20:15 - "Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel."
Be blessed this day and always -- see ya tomorrow!! Amy
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