Southwest Steak

This steak was so yummy and I was able to make a few meals & salads with it. 

Ingredients: 

2 t. cider vinegar

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 beef top round steak (1 inch thick and about 1 1/2 lbs.)

1 T brown sugar

1 T chili powder

1 1/2 t. cumin

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

Directions: 

Mix vinegar & Worcestershire sauce. Brush over steak. 

Mix brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne until blended. Sprinkle over both sides of steak.

Grill steak, covered, over medium heat. 

Serve with potatoes, veggies, or on a salad.

Pizza on the grill

I think I have finally mastered "Pizza on the Grill"....

The key is to do everything outside.



Start with the Kitchen Aid Pizza Dough. (I doubled it and it made 7-8 mini pizzas)
Brush the grill with olive oil and turn on Low.
Make the mini pizza dough shapes, brush with olive oil and place on the grill.
Don't let the grill get too hot, I kept opening it and closing it.
Using a large spatula, turn them over after 2-3 minutes.
Keep turning every 2-3 minutes until the crust is slightly golden brown.
Gather your friends and start an assembly line! Add the toppings.
Close the lid of the grill for 1-2 minutes and allow for the cheese to melt.
Open it up until the pizzas look perfect!

Enjoy!

Grilled Portobello

One of the days over break, I saw someone on TV make a grilled portobello sandwich. I thought I would give the meatless Monday a chance! It actually turned out pretty good!

Ingredients:
2 large Portobello Mushrooms
1 medium Red Onion (cut into 1/4-inch thick slices)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Kosher Salt and freshly ground Pepper
4 ounces Swiss Cheese

Directions-
Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. 

Clean the portobellos, remove the stems and scrape out the gills using a spoon.

Brush the mushrooms and onion with the olive oil and vinegar and season liberally with salt and pepper.

Put the mushrooms and onions on the grill, and cover and cook until the mushrooms soften and the onions begin to char, about 3 minutes. 

Uncover, flip the mushrooms and onions, and cook uncovered for 1 minute. 

Top each mushroom with  cheese. 

Cook uncovered until the cheese begins to melt, about 1 minute. Serve with our without a bun.

Ruth Ann's Muskego Ave Grilled Chicken

I've been in a bit of a cooking funk, and needed something quick and easy for dinner.  I have a cabinet full of Penzey's Spices.  Every month or so, they send out a catalog with a coupon for a free spice.  I decided to try this one out in a different way. 

 I used grape seed oil, the Ruth Ann's Muskego Ave. Chicken Seasoning, and garlic.  I let it marinade for about an hour.  Then, I threw it on the grill.  The chicken turned out great! I even dipped it in Raspberry Chipotle sauce to add another layer of flavor. 

Bacon Wrapped Serrano Peppers

The Serrano peppers are going crazy in my garden. You can only make so much guacamole, so I did a little Pinterest search and found this 2 ingredient snack!

Cut the bacon in half, and wrap around the peppers.

Bacon & Serrano Peppers! 

We threw them on a skewer and threw it on the grill until the bacon was cooked.  They were yummy, but SPICY! 

This whole spread was the result of a neighborhood pot luck. We were all hungry, so we went to our fridges and brought back something. Pretty darn good! 

Slider Bar

I hosted book club after we read the book Wild.  I made these yummy sliders! I had 2 different kinds and tons of toppings. I was too busy to take a picture of the final bar, but they worked out well for a large crowd! I pre-made all of the patties and put them in layers on a cookie sheet with parchment paper in-between. 

Iowa Girl Eats has a great recipe for French Onion Burgers. I followed it exactly! 

Here is the recipe!

 

      

  The cheese in the middle makes them soo good! They cook pretty quickly, so make sure you cook them low and slow!   

 Be sure to get the slider buns too!                               

                                          

This is the other recipe I used, I just did it slider sized! 

Chicken with Tomato, Corn, & Avocado Salad

Buttermilk Dressing

• 1/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 3 T mayonnaise 
• 2 T minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 T minced shallots
• 1 t minced fresh thyme
• 1 t cider vinegar
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/8 t salt
• 1 t minced garlic

Directions: 

Combine ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Chill buttermilk mixture until ready to serve.

Corn, Tomato, & Avocado Salad

• 2 ears yellow corn, shucked & grilled* 
• 1 small red onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices, & grilled
• 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved 
• 1 sliced peeled ripe avocado

Directions: 

Combine first 4 ingredients together.  Add in avocado. Sprinkle with salt Dress with dressing or lime juice or dressing of choice.  

*I cooked my corn the day before, so it was not hot in the salad

Chicken

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 t olive oil
• 1 t onion powder
• 3/4 t ground cumin
• 3/4 t kosher salt, divided
• 1/4 t chipotle chile powder

1. Preheat grill to high heat.
2.. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Combine oil, onion powder, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and chipotle; rub evenly over chicken. Coat corn* and onion with cooking spray. Arrange chicken, corn, and onion on grill rack; grill 8 minutes or until done, turning chicken and onion once and corn occasionally. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Cut corn kernels from cobs.


Adapted from: Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light JUNE 2013

Raspberry Jalapeno Chicken

I love my Raspberry Chipotle Bean dip, and this chicken uses the same sauce. It is soo easy, I wish I would have done this sooner.  All I did was sprinkle the chicken with a little bit of salt and pepper, and popped it on the grill. Then after it was cooked, I smothered it with the raspberry jalapeno sauce!

Having been the 3rd day I grilled in a row,  I love how easy the clean up is. I also get to wait outside in the beautiful weather for the food to cook!

Ingredients: 

Chicken breasts
salt & pepper
Raspberry Jalapeno Sauce*

*The sauce can be found in the jam or marinade section of the grocery store, or at stores such as Dean & Deluca. I have also used the raspberry chipotle and the very berry, they all taste pretty much the same

Directions- 
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, grill 6 min on each side. Remove from grill and smother with raspberry sauce!

Serve with cucumber salad.

Pork Tenderloin Kabobs

I have piles and piles of cooking magazines. I decided to go to them, this week, instead of Pinterest.  Cooking Light had a recipe for pork and peppers on the grill! They were easy and delicious!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 T ketchup
• 2 t brown sugar
• 1 t Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• Red pepper- cut into 1 inch squares
• red onion- cut into large slices
• 1/4 t kosher salt

 Directions:

1. Place first 7 ingredients in a large zip lock bag. Add pork; seal bag. Refrigerate 1 hour, turning after 30 minutes.

2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

3. Remove pork from bag, and discard marinade. Thread pork evenly onto skewers; sprinkle evenly with salt. Thread peppers and onions onto skewers. Arrange skewers in a single layer on grill; grill 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
 

adapted from Cooking Light - June 2013

Fiesta Lime Chicken

Dinner tonight was so good, that I actually ate it all and didn't leave any for leftovers! (Don't worry I used the skinny chicken breasts, not the big fat ones!) This recipe is very similar to Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken. It was super easy and had really easy clean up because I used a ziplock, the grill (YAY SPRING!), and a foil lined pan!

Marinade Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 2 Teaspoons garlic
• 1 Teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 lb chicken breasts (I used the pounded out ones)

Topping Ingredients: 

• Mexican cheese
• Ro-Tel
• Spicy Ranch Dressing
• Tortilla Strips- Santa Fe Style (found by the croutons)

Directions: 

Marinade the chicken for 2 hours, in a Ziplock bag. 

Grill chicken. 

Turn broiler on High

Bring chicken inside, and put on a foil lined pan. 

Spread ranch over grilled chicken, followed by Ro-Tel, cheese, and tortilla strips. 

Put in oven on broil, till cheese is melted and slightly crispy!

This picture really doesn't do it justice, I also didn't have any side dishes with it to make it look pretty! It would be good with rice, mexi corn, or chips and salsa. It would also be good on top of a salad.