Sockeye Salmon with Orange Kale Cous Cous and Sweet Potato Mash

Ingredients:

Sockeye salmon filets

1 Sweet potato per person - baked

Half a heart of romaine per person

Kale

2 cloves garlic minced

1 Minneola or Orange

A few green onions

Chicken stock

Isreali Cous Cous - cooked and kept warm

Do the sweet potatoes first because they can be held warm in a pot with cling wrap pressed down on top of it and covered with a lid.  Peel sweet potatoes and cut into1 1/2" cubes and boil in water til soft.  Drain water and mash with salt and 1 Tbs of butter.



For the kale, chop the garlic and kale and saute over med heat in a little olive oil for a few mins.  Then add a 1/4 cup of chix stock and reduce til liquid is almost gone.  Add orange zest and squeeze the juice into the pan.  Cook another few mins and add cooked couscous and sliced scallions to it and heat another minute.  Remove from heat and keep warm.



Cut romaine heart long way down the middle and spray with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Grill for a minute on each side if you can.  Otherwise heat a pan to med high or high heat and brown on each side briefly.

Season the salmon filet with S&P and any of your favorite seasonings.  Saute in olive oil flesh side down for 3 mins on Med high heat.  Turn over and turn heat down to just below med and cover partially.  Cook another 4 mins or so.

Italian Summer

Fresh basil pesto, bruschetta, Italian herb marinated chicken breast, and grilled romaine.  I was inspired today by the ripe tomatoes and basil. 

These are the ingredients for my basil pesto.  I leave the Parmesan out because you really don't miss it and if you want you can sprinkle it on top.

These are the ingredients for the bruschetta topping.  Fresh tomatoes, white onion, garlic, and fresh basil.  Don't forget the salt and pepper.  I like to leave out most of the tomato guts so it doesn't get too watery.

Play around with the toppings and make it your own.

I also marinated the chicken breasts before I grilled them.  Olive oil, garlic cloves, Tuscan herbs, S&P, and lemon juice.  Try to keep them in the marinade at least 30 mins.

I find a zip lock bag works the best because you don't have to use so much oil or ingredients for it to be effective.

Spray the bread (use a nice artisan or french loaf) with olive oil.  If you don't have a mister, just brush with olive oil.  Grind a little salt and pepper on both sides.  Bake at 350 turning once til golden brown.  I also grilled some since I was going to grill the chicken.  When you take the bread out of the oven or off the grill, cut the bottom off a garlic clove and rub both sides of the bread with it while its still warm.

Spread the pesto on the bread first, lay slices of mozzarella on top of the pesto, and then top with the 

bruschetta mixture.  I grilled the chicken breasts and the romaine.  The romaine was sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  Serve with a nice Torrontes or a Malbec.  They are both light enough for this summer meal.

Tiki Cocktail Cake

I saw a cake like this in Food Network Magazine and had to try making it.  It turned out to be a lot of fun but definitely a challenge.  I would need to make it a couple more times to perfect it.  It really helped to put a crumb layer on it before frosting it for real. (that's when you freeze it for a little while and apply a very thin layer of frosting all over and freeze again before applying the final layer.) 

I made this just like the coconut halves cake.  I used dried pineapple and papaya, a maraschino cherry, and fresh mint for the garnish.  I used two ice cream bowls to bake the cake in and put the two halves together with frosting.  After you finish frosting i,t press the toasted coconut onto the outside of it.  I think adding the coconut extract to the cake mix and the frosting really made a difference.  Everyone at work thought it tasted really good and were begging for a second piece. 

Coconut Chocolate Cake

Coconut halves are made with German chocolate cake mix.  I added coconut extract to the mix as well as the icing I made.  I made chocolate icing for the sides and white for the top.  I toasted coconut in the oven and then pressed it onto the sides. 

Slow Cook Pork Sirloin Salad

This is one of the things I do when I make pulled pork.  Its perfect over a salad because you won't need any dressing.  Its also great over rice or in a wrap/burrito.  Some times I'll serve it on toasted Pulgese bread with a good coleslaw.

Ingredients

For pork:

Whole pork sirloin

1 Onion sliced lengthwise

Chicken stock

Paprika

Fennel Seed

Spike seasoning and S&P

For Salad:

Romaine lettuce chopped

Spinach chopped

1 Tomato diced

1 Roasted red pepper (jar) diced

Jalepenos (jar) sliced/chopped

Sprouts

Heat dry sauce pan add fennel seed and toast a few mins. until you really smell the fennel.

Make sure as much fat is trimmed from the meat as possible.  Season pork with paprika and spike and S&P

Slice onion lengthwise.

Sear meat on all sides at med high heat and then add onion and saute til sightly translucent.

Add chicken stock until it comes half way up the meat.  Reduce to mid low heat and simmer.

Simmer a couple hours, adding a little stock now and then to keep liquid at about the same level.  Turn meat about every half hour.  When its fork tender and almost falling apart, turn off heat.  Take 2 forks and shred meat with them.  Keep meat in liquid.  Its easier to shred while its still warm.  I do it right in the sauce pan.  Serve pork on toasted buns or by it's self with some mashed potatoes or like I did below on a salad.

Combine the above listed salad ingredients or choose your own, top with pulled pork, and enjoy. 

Herb and Garlic Roasted Turkey Legs

This meal took me back to my days in Germany.  Roasted turkey legs, red potatoes with fresh dill, and an apple and fennel salad.  A crisp white wine. All I needed was an umpa band playing in the background.  There were turkey legs on sale at my local grocery store so this was a great choice. 

Ingredients

1 turkey leg per person

3 cloves of garlic

3 red potatoes per person

1 green apple

1 fennel bulb

1 orange

Fresh or dried herbs (dill, thyme, sage and rosemary)

red wine vinegar

olive oil

dry mustard

Worcesteshire sauce

Spike seasoning

S & P



 I put the legs in a big zip lock bag with olive oil, chopped garlic, pepper, dry mustard, Worcestershire, and chopped thyme, rosemary, and sage.  (you can also use any dried herbs you prefer) The picture shows horseradish but I ended up not using it.

Put it all in the zip lock and refrigerate overnight.

Before you cook these, rinse them off and pat dry with a paper towel. Spray with a little olive oil and sprinkle Spike seasoning on them.  Set in a pan with a rack and use a thermometer set to 180 degrees.  When done take out of oven and let rest 5 mins before serving. 

 

While legs are cooking, slice fennel bulb very thin lengthwise. 

Quarter apple and slice very thin.  Combine in a large bowl and grate orange zest into it.  Then squeeze all the juice from the orange into bowl and add 1 Tbs of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and S&P.  The picture shows shallot too, but after trying it, it would be better without the shallot.

Chop some of the fennel tops and add them too.

While legs are cooking, clean red potatoes and quarter them or if they are small half them.  Boil them til a fork goes through them easily.  Drain and then toss in @ 2 Tbs of butter, salt, and chopped fresh dill.

Serve with a crisp white wine.  Total time for this meal was about 30 - 40 mins.

Mexican Chicken Salad

Here's a super quick lunch that you can use either fresh sauteed chicken tenders or left over chicken.  I buy rotisserie chickens quite often and there is always left over.  Salads like these are great for getting that second meal out of your chickens!

It only takes a couple ingredients to make this delicious salad.  Not shown is the plain fat free yogurt I use instead of sour cream.  Its much more beneficial nutritionally and less calories but tastes just as good. 

Chopped Romaine

Shredded Mexican Style Cheese

Alfalfa Sprouts

Lime wedges

Tomato (diced)

Black Beans (drained and rinsed)

Chopped Jalapenos (fresh or jar)

Salsa

Plain Yogurt

Sauteed Chicken Tenders or any left over chicken cut into 1" pieces

This is some chicken tenders I used and sauteed.  Seasoned with Spike or just S&P.

MY SECRET FOR JUICY SAUTEED CHICKEN!!!

1.  Med high saute pan

2.  Add a small amount of oil

3.  Add chicken to pan and turn down to med low

4.  Cook first side with no cover while pan is still hot and will gradually cool down

5.  Turn chicken over when the juices start forming on top of chicken

@ 4 mins for tenders and @ 6 mins for breasts

6.  Cover with a lid but leave a 1/2" crack

7.  Cook a couple more mins and remove cover for the last min.

8.  Its done when you press the chicken with a fork or finger and it is still a little springy (not firm)

Remove chicken and let it rest (sit) for a few mins so the juices redistribute back into the meat.

Cut into "1 cubed pieces.

Put all ingredients into a large bowl in this order.  Romaine, black beans, sprouts, tomato, chicken, jalapenos, salsa, yogurt, and cheese . 

Finish by squeezing fresh lime juice over the salad and enjoy!