Monthly Archives: August 2010
Peruvian Grilled Chicken
It’s almost midnight when I’m typing this and I’m watching the movie ’2012′. What is wrong with me? Well, what’s wrong is that I’ve spent the day managing a headache and the stress of a trip back to my hometown. Just the 5 kids and I. We are flying out Sunday morning so I am making a list of things to pack, a list of things needed on the plane, and every seat scenario to ensure a smooth flight. The last time I flew on my own was in 2004 when I had only 2 kids so I could really use all of the positive thoughts you all can muster up.
I have accumulated some recipes and photos to hopefully last the 2 weeks while I am away but I wanted to sneak one more up before I left. Peruvian grilled chicken made with drumsticks. I’ve grown to enjoy cumin’s strong flavour and I love how it balanced out the flavours of the soy sauce and lime juice. Don’t forget to marinate this for as long as possible! I like to buy meat in bulk and marinate it before I freeze it so the flavour is absorbed into every bit of the meat.
Peruvian Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
zest from 1 lime
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
10-12 chicken drumsticks
Directions
Whisk soy sauce, lime juice, zest, garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, and oil in a small bowl. Pour over chicken and seal in a large ziploc bag. Marinate for 8-24 hours.
Pre-heat grill to medium-high. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Grill for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.
Adapted from Epicurious.
Dilly Stuffed Potatoes
In 2005, my Mom had a recipe published in Country Woman magazine. I had no idea she was entering a contest but it was absolutely no surprise that she would win with a potato recipe. Everyone has one food that they could not live without…Mom’s is potatoes. I wanted to make some stuffed potatoes and Mom was away so I searched on the Taste of Home website. Lo and behold..there was my Mom’s recipe!!
It’s kind of odd..my Mom, who can eat just toast for supper, has an award winning recipe that’s been published in the Taste of Home cookbook. But these potatoes are awesome. And in an effort to get the kids to eat them, we made sure they were well aware that these were “Nana’s Potatoes”. I wonder if that will work with other foods… Hmmm….
Dilly Stuffed Potatoes
Makes 4
Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 teaspoon dill weed
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
Directions
Scrub and pierce potatoes. Bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. In a small skillet, saute onion in butter until tender; set aside.
When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice off the top of each and discard. Scoop out pulp into a large bowl, leaving a thin shell. Mash the pulp with cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and dill. Stir in bacon and onion mixture. Spoon back into potato shells.
Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
Spinach Salad with Mango and Roasted Beets
Beets are the reason I wish we had planted a garden this year. We had snow and frost well past the date we should have been planting. I guess we will be hitting up the farmer’s market for some garden fresh goodies!
I am fascinated by the fact that my kids didn’t complain about the spinach or beets in this salad..they were grumping over the mango. The mango?? Yeah, weird. I didn’t even tell them that the vinaigrette on the salad was full of pureed mango because they liked it. I wasn’t intentionally with holding that tidbit, they just didn’t ask.
Spinach Salad with Mango and Roasted Beets
Ingredients
10 ounces baby spinach
1/2 large mango, peeled and diced
1 large beet, roasted, peeled, and diced*
1/4 cup toasted almonds
1 large mango, peeled and cut into chunks
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon honey mustard
1 cup vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
*To roast a beet, scrub off the dirt and roast at 400 degrees for one hour. Remove from oven and cool until you can touch it. The skin will peel easily under cool water or use a paring knife to gently remove the skin.
In a food processor, puree mango with lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, sugar, rice vinegar, and honey mustard. Slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil while the food processor is running. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups of vinaigrette. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks.
In a large salad serving bowl, gently toss spinach, mango, beets, and almonds. Serve onto individual plates and drizzle mango vinaigrette over each serving.
Weekly Nibbles ~ July 25-31
Another tough week of picking 10 amazing blog entries…so I had to choose 11.
1. Bacon Pancakes @ 80 Breakfasts
2. South African Melktert @ Cook Sister
3. Chicken, Broccoli, and Blue Cheese Quiche @ Anne’s Food
4. Thai-style Chicken Flatbread @ Fake Ginger
5. Panzanella Salad @ Baked Bree
6. Snickers Cupcakes @ My Baking Addiction
7. Roasted Red Pepper Risotto Cakes @ A Cozy Kitchen
8. Peanut Butter Caramel Thumbprints @ Piece of Cake
9. Fig, Goat Cheese, and Onion Cupcakes @ Cupcake Project
10. Baked Onion Rings @ Rebel Without a Sauce
11. Peanut Brittle Ice Cream Pie @ The Church Cook
Egg Salad Muffin Melts
I am married to an egg salad junkie. Sometimes I will make egg salad for lunch and call him at work while I eat it…yes, I am that mean! I usually leave him enough to snack on after work but I think he would appreciate it if I would stop teasing him with egg salad.
What I’m saying is, he was happy to get egg salad muffin melts over the weekend. They were kind of like a creamier version of a Bacon & Egg McMuffin. Of course, I have one strange kid who doesn’t like bacon….I’m pretty sure he was switched for another baby in the hospital.
Egg Salad Muffin Melts
Makes 12
Ingredients
12 whole hard boiled eggs, peeled & chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 dashes worcestershire sauce
6 whole wheat English Muffins, split
Directions
Combine eggs, cheese, mayonnaise, bacon, dijon mustard, garlic powder, and worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight or pile it onto the English muffin halves. Broil for 3-5 minutes, until cheese is bubbling. Serve while hot!
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman.
