Get Your Grill On With Thai Grilled Chicken and Spicy Sweet Dipping Sauce

With the temperatures heating up it’s time to get your grill on.  I love Thai food and this recipe didn’t disappoint.  It’s quick, easy and delicious.  When I was making the Spicy Sweet Dipping Sauce I wasn’t so sure it was going to work, but then like magic it thickened up and really compliments the grilled chicken.  You may want to double the sauce recipe.  Enjoy!

Thai Grilled Chicken with Spicy Sweet Dipping Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup coconut milk 2 tablespoons fish sauce 2 tablespoons minced garlic 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 (3 pound) chicken, cut into pieces 6 tablespoons rice vinegar 4 tablespoons water 4 tablespoons white sugar 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a shallow dish, mix together the coconut milk, fish sauce, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, cilantro, turmeric, curry powder, and white pepper. Add chicken, and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2.	Preheat grill for high heat.
3.	In a saucepan, combine vinegar, water, sugar, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, pepper flakes, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until liquid is reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir sauce from time to time. Remove from heat and allow to cool before use.
4.	Lightly oil grill grate. Discard marinade, and place chicken on the grill. Cook for 10 minutes per side, or until slightly charred and juices run clear. Brush with sauce before serving. Serve remaining sauce on the side for dipping.

Source:  Allrecipes.com

Fresh Pasta With Shrimp in Creamy Tomato Sauce

It has been a little while since I made fresh pasta and I found myself craving it.  I also had oven-roasted tomatoes left in the freezer from last year’s crop of tomatoes and thought this would  be a perfect way to use them.  This recipe turned out awesome, one of my new favorites.  I’ll be making this again, especially when my tomatoes ripen on the vine this summer!  (I can hardly wait!!)  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1 cup oven roasted tomatoes*
• 1/2 cup sliced pitted Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, drained
• 1/2-1 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1/4 Cup reserved pasta water
• 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 Pound fresh Fettuccine

*Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes – Ina Garten

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and sauté until pink, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to medium bowl. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to same pot. Add oven roasted tomatoes, olives, garlic, lemon peel, and crushed red pepper. Sauté about 4 minutes. Add canned tomatoes and some of the juice and simmer until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Mix in cream, Parmesan Cheese, and reserved pasta water.  Mix in basil. Return shrimp and any juices to sauce; stir to heat through, about 1 minute.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until tender, but still firm to bite. Drain. Add pasta to sauce. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; top with additional cheese if desired.

Adapted from:  Epicurious.com

Sage, Bacon and Cheddar Biscuits

What herbs will you be growing this year?  I planted sage last summer, discovered a new love for sage, and will be planting it again.  You cannot even begin to compare fresh sage to dried.  In my opinion, they are worlds apart.  This biscuit recipe is delicious and incorporates fresh sage.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 5 bacon slices, cooked crisp and chopped
• 3/4 cup grated Cheddar
• 3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450°F. and grease a large baking sheet.

Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir in sage and with fingertips blend in butter until mixture resembles meal. Stir in bacon and Cheddar. Add buttermilk and stir until mixture just forms a dough. Gather dough into a ball and on a lightly floured surface knead gently 8 times. Pat out dough into a 6- by 5-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 9 rectangles and arrange about 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake biscuits in middle of oven 15 minutes.
Source:  Epicurious.com

Tilapia with Pear Salsa

This is one of my favorite after work dinners.  It is quick (once you have canned the salsa and have it on hand) and really, really good.  Canning is not difficult at all, give it a try, you’ll be glad you did!  Enjoy!

Peppery Pear Salsa (Canning Recipe)

Makes six 8-ounce jars

This recipe is from “Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving” by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 8 cups coarsely chopped, cored, peeled pears
• 3 red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 3 green bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare canning pot, jars and lids.

In a large steel saucepan, combine vinegar and pears. Add red and green peppers, sugar, salt, mustard, turmeric, allspice and black pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar.

Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight. Place jars in canning pot, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process 8-ounce and pint jars for 20 minutes. Remove canning pot lid. Wait 5 minutes to remove jars.

Cool and store the salsa.

Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops with Gorgonzola and Apple

I took a gamble making this because Tim tells me  ”the only way I like pork chops is  burned on the grill”.  Ewwww!  My gamble paid off.  Tim liked the chops and they were no where near burnt, but were moist and delicious with a sauce that says “more”!

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon butter 1/2 tablespoon dried fresh thyme 1/2 1 cup chopped Granny Smith apples ground black pepper to taste 1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese at room temperature, crumbled 2 thick cut pork chops

1/2 teaspoon olive oil 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin 1/4 1/8 cup Gorgonzola cheese 3 tablespoons dry sherry 1/8 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup chicken broth apple cider salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	To make the apple stuffing: In a saute pan or skillet on medium heat, melt the butter and saute thyme, 1/2 cup chopped apples, salt and pepper together until the apples are completely softened; about 15 to 20 minutes.
2.	Place the apple mixture in a bowl and mix in 1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese. The cheese should liquefy into the stuffing within a couple of minutes.
3.	To prepare the pork chops: Butterfly the pork chops by slicing them parallel to the plane of the chop from the fat side to the bone. Stuff each one with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the apple mixture.
4.	Grill on pre-heated grill. approximately 8-10 minutes per side depending on thickness.
5.	To make the sauce: Heat the oil in a saute pan or skillet on medium heat, then saute the garlic until lightly browned and remove; saute 1/2 cup chopped apples for 10 minutes and add the cheese until slightly melting. Immediately add the sherry, let cook for a minute until combined, then add the cream and 1/4 cup of the apple cider,  and pepper. Stir until well blended. Stir occasionally and reduce the liquid on medium high heat until the sauce begins to toast/caramelize and turn darker brown. Add the remaining 1/4 cup apple cider, and continue reducing until there is just 1/4 to 1/2 cup of thick liquid remaining.

Adapted from: allrecipes.com

Pasta Princess’s Penne and Chicken in Pesto Cream Sauce

An almost empty zip lock bag of homemade pesto is staring at me in the freezer.  I’ve used a lot of pesto this year for my favorite pizza – chicken and pesto pizza with cherry tomatoes.  I’m loving this pizza so I thought why not incorporate these ingredients with pasta?  I came up with a winner that I will definitely be making again.  It is quick, easy and absolutely delicious.  Enjoy!

Pasta Princess’s Penne with Chicken and Pesto Sauce

 Ingredients:

• 1 lb penne pasta
• 1 red bell pepper
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• ¼ cup home-made pesto*
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup reserved pasta water
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese
• 2 Grilled boneless chicken breasts

Directions:

Grill chicken

While chicken is grilling cook penne according to directions.  Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water (the starch from the pasta thickens the sauce).

Dice red bell peppers, slice mushrooms and cut grilled chicken into bite size pieces.

Spray a large sauté pan with olive oil and sauté red bell peppers, and tomatoes on medium heat until peppers are tender crisp – approximately 8 minutes.  Add sliced mushrooms and chicken.  Continue to cook another 5 minutes.

Add pesto, heavy cream, reserved pasta water and parmesan cheese.  Cook until heated through.

Serve and enjoy!

 *Pesto alla Genovese

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004

Pesto Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves (packed)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts, toasted
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the basil, salt, and pepper and process for a few seconds until the basil is chopped. Add the cheese, pine nuts, and garlic and, while the processor is running, add the oil in a thin, steady stream until a mostly smooth sauce is formed. Transfer pesto to a bowl and set aside. (Note: Pesto may be made 1 day in advance and kept, refrigerated, in an airtight container, until ready to use. If making in advance, be sure to cover the top of the pesto with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent the pesto from darkening. Pesto may also be frozen in the same manner in small quantities for use at a later date.)  Note:  I freeze pesto in an ice-cube tray and then pop them into a zip lock bag.  I had almost a full bag of frozen pesto cubes from my basil this past summer.  It thaws quickly for use!

If I Plant It, It Will Grow – Growing Tomatoes From Seed and Building More Square Foot Gardens!

“If I Plant it, it will grow”.

This year I am doing something I’ve never done before – start tomatoes from seeds inside!  I saved seeds from my heirloom tomatoes last year and I also purchased several different heirloom varieties from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (their catalog is breathtaking!).  I disinfected my containers with a solution of water and bleach, moistened my seed starting mix and planted 20 tomato plants.  All went well, except for one mistake!  It is always a good idea to read through all instructions first instead of going step by step.  I only wanted 20 tomato plants in my garden.  I followed the instructions to plant 2-3 seeds per container thinking I would just cut away the tomatoes that looked to be the weaker seedling.  Well, that is not what followed in the instructions … it told me that once the “true leaves” of the tomato appear to transplant each of the tomatoes into a 4 inch pot!  Yikes!!  That would mean I’d have 60+ tomato plants (all my seeds germinated)!  I will transplant more than 20 and give some away to friends and plant less next year.  

Tim built me shelves for my plants and I bought double light fluorescent light fixtures for my plants.  The tomatoes germinated in 7 days, with my seeds that I saved germinating first!  They are thriving under the light which I leave on approximately 16 hours per day. It is fun to watch them grow and now will be ready to transplant as the first true leaves have emerged.

Tomatoes transplanted after first true leaves

I’m hoping for tomatoes like I had last year!  Grow baby grow!

It has been almost 1 month since I planted the tomato seeds and they are thriving!

Tomatoes not quite a month old!

This weekend I purchased two more square foot cedar bed kits at Home Depot (they were on sale) and added them to the existing 4×4 bed and look what we came up with!  Now I will have plenty of gardening room to plant everything I love.

Spring is really taking its time here in NE Ohio.  I looked at pictures at the same time last year (check it out here and learn more about square foot gardening) and all the leaves on the bushes and trees were out fully  by now!  I can hardly wait to start planting outside … but I think I’ll have to patient and wait a few more weeks.

Happy gardening!