A nod to the mediterranean

I, and my family, love anything Greek. Add hummus to just about anything and we'll all eat it. I saw a recipe something like this a while back and figured we had to try it. It was delicious. I cut a pita in half for each kid and stuff it, while for the adults I served it on top of the pita and we used a knife to cut it into pizza-like wedges. Enjoy!

Greek Tuna Pitas

3 cans albacore, drained and flaked
10 kalamata olives, chopped finely
2 T. finely chopped red onion
1/2 can artichoke hearts, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
juice of one lemon
1 T. evoo
pepper
4 pitas
hummus (any flavor you like... I had red pepper, horseradish and garlic, so everyone chose what they wanted)
shredded romaine lettuce
feta cheese, crumbled

Combine tuna, olives, onion, artichoke hearts and celery. Squeeze lemon over mixture and add oil and pepper to taste. Spread hummus on flat pita (or inside if making "pockets") and top with lettuce, tuna mixture and crumbled feta.

I served these with hummus and pita chips. Easy and tasty!

Beautiful Weather calls for a BBQ

What a gorgeous day!! To take advantage of it fully, I thought it was time for some burgers on the grill. Unfortunately we didn't get to eat them outside... thankfully the rain held off. These were awesome. Served them with chips & salsa and corn & bean salad. Enjoy!

Poblano burgers:

Pickled onions (see recipe)
2 poblanos
1 slice bread, crumbled
1 T. milk
3 T. chopped cilantro
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. kosher salt
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. sour cream
1 T. minced shallot
1 t. lime juice
1 chipotle and 2 t. adobo sauce

Roast poblanos until the skins are charred. Put them in a ziploc for about 15 minutes, then peel and seed them. Chope them finely. In a bowl, add milk to the bread and turn it into a paste. To this paste add the chopped poblanos, 1/2 the cilantro, cumin, 1/4 t. salt and the beef. Mix well and form into patties.

Combine sour cream, shallot, lime juice, remaining cilantro and salt and chipotles/adobo sauce. Set aside.

Grill burgers about 6 minutes per side. I also grilled the buns.

Pickled red onions:

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. rice vinegar
1/2 c. water
1 jalepeno, halved
2 red onions, sliced thinly

Boil sugar, vinegar, water and jalepeno until sugar is dissolved. Add onion and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature.

Serve burgers topped with sour cream sauce and onions.

Two New Ones: One Crock Pot, one Oven

When it rains it pours. I am on a roll here with actually posting. We have a hectic night yesterday with music class and a dentist visit, so it was crock pot to the rescue part 2 this week at the McGady house. Tonight I had a little more time, but the effort was minimal and it really was something I'd serve company (even if it was only Mom and Dad). Enjoy!

Fire Roasted Tomato and Chicken Tortilla Soup:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 box chicken stock
2 c. frozen corn
1 can fire roasted tomato (I used the Trader Joe's brand with green chiles)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
6 corn tortillas, cut into squares
1 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 t. salt
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 c. chopped cilantro

Throw everything in the crock pot up to the cilantro and cook on low for 5 or so hours. Take the chicken out and shred it with 2 forks. Add it back in along with the cilantro and allow it to warm through. Can serve with tortilla chips, avacado slices and lime. Enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Onion-Fig Relish

1 package pork tenderloin, trimmed
8 dried figs (I could only find fresh... didn't seem to matter), diced
1 chopped onion
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. water
1 T. soy sauce

Salt & pepper tenderloin and pre-heat oven to 425. Take an oven-proof skillet and brown the pork on all sides. Remove it from the heat and add sauce ingredients, onions and figs. Put in the oven for about 15 minutes or until cooked to your liking (I like mine a little pink). Slice and enjoy.

I served this with Trader Joe's new orzo pilaf (two thumbs up), broccoli and a salad. Hope you enjoy!

Hiatus Over

I came out here to look up Julie's delicious rib recipe and realized how long it's been since I posted. How sad! I was telling a girlfriend about this the other night, so figured if I'm going to share the link I ought to at least be updating this. So, here goes. The first one we had last night and it was delicious. It comes from Cuisine at Home and of course I modified it a bit. Tonight's is a crock pot, hence the theme of the blog. Enjoy!

German Brat Salad:

Dressing:
1 c. bock beer
4 T. horseradish
2 T. dijon
1 T. red wine vinegar
s&p

Salad:
1 package beer brats (I used the Johnsonville ones)
1/2 head each red and green cabbage, quartered
4 slices unseeded rye bread
1 red onion, sliced

Whisk dressing together. Put each piece of cabbage on a piece of foil. Pour a little dressing on each and close the foil packet. You will grill the brats, cabbage, rye bread (I sprayed with a little evoo spray) and onion until they're done. Times vary, cabbage and brats took the longest. Once done, slice them all and toss with the rest of the dressing.

I served this with a side of store-bought pierogies. Yummy!

Turkey Taco Sloppy Joes:

2 t. canola oil
2 lb. ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 t. minced garlic
1 package taco seasoning
1 T. worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. water
1 c. chili sauce
8 oz. tomato sauce

In skillet, brown onion and turkey in oil. Drain and pour into crock pot. Top with remaining ingredients. Stir together and cook on low for 5 hours. Serve on buns.

I served this with fries, fruit salad and a slaw using the leftover cabbage from above:

1/2 each red and green cabbage, shredded
1 can mandarin oranges
slivered almonds
1 green onion, diced
Newman's Own Sesame Ginger vinaigrette

Combine all ingredients. I also added chow mein noodles for a bit more crunch.

Real cooking happening again

Hello! Yes, after a month of work travel and being on spring break, alas it's time to come back to reality and start cooking again. Fortunately this week we had two good ones that I will post below. Both were crowd pleasers around here. For the cheeseburger loaf I served with fries and baked beans. For the salad, I just grilled up a bit of sesame bread with some olive oil. Enjoy! French Cheeseburger Loaf: 1 tube refrigerated french bread dough 1 lb. lean ground beef 1 green pepper, chopped 1/2 an onion, minced a couple cloves of garlic, minced 2 T. flour 2 T. dijon 1 T. ketchup 3 slices sharp cheddar cheese Brown ground beef, onion and pepper in a skillet. Add garlic when it's almost browned and cook until browned throughout. Add flour, dijon and ketchup, stir to heat through. Spread bread in thin sheet and place beef mixture down the middle. Top with cheese slices and then fold the corners in. Invert onto a greased cookie sheet and I topped with an egg wash so it would brown nicely. Put it in a 350 oven for about 25 minutes. Chicken and strawberry salad: Maple Grove Farms fat-free raspberry vinaigrette (or any fruit dressing you like) 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts herbed goat cheese log crushed pistachios 2 c. sliced strawberries 1 bag baby spring lettuce mix Marinate chicken in a little bit of the dressing, grill it and cut into bite-size pieces. Roll the goat cheese in the crushed pistachio and cut into little rounds. Mix together greens, strawberries and chicken. Toss with dressing. Serve with cheese croutons. Enjoy!

Happy St. Pat's: You CAN do it in a crock pot

My favorite meal that I only eat once a year is corned beef and cabbage. So this year, we weren't going to be together for St. Pats. I decided to make it on Saturday, and we were running all over the place, so I figured I'd give it a whirl in the crock pot. The last time I did this we were going through our kitchen remodel, so it's been a while. It works really well since this is one cut of meat that requires hours of simmering... a perfect fit for the crock pot.

One corned beef (I prefer the Niman Ranch one, but my Trader Joe's didn't have it this year so I used their house brand)
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
2 bay leaves
peppercorns
1 head cabbage
4 carrotts, peeled and cut

Place the meat and all spices that come with the meat in your crock pot. Top it with enough water that it's covered by about an inch. Cook it on low for about 10 hours. When there is about an hour left, add the cabbage and carrotts. I turned mine to high since we wanted to eat sooner, but you can leave it on low for about 30 minutes to cook the veggies through.

I served this with horseradish mashed potatoes:

3 baking potatoes, peeled and boiled
2 T. light sour cream
1 T. prepared horseradish
Dash of milk
salt & pepper

Draing boiled potatoes and mash with the rest of the ingredients. Goes really well with the corned beef.

It's Fish on Friday Time

I'm back... but wondering if anyone's been out here since my last post was so long ago. I promise to remain more faithful about posting these and hope to see some posts in return. We're into Lent now, so Friday's are vegetarian or fish around here. Tonight was particularly good so I thought I'd post. I love tilapia, and this was easy to do. I made this with broccoli, some roasted fingerling potatoes and a salad. Enjoy!

Baked Tilapia

4 tilapia fillets

3/4 c. fresh breadcrumbs

1/2 c. grated parmesan

1 t. garlic salt

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

In a shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, parmesan and garlic salt. Beat the two eggs in another shallow bowl. Dredge the fish in the milk, then the egg and then the coating. Place on a greased cookie sheet in a 425 oven for about 12 minutes or until fish flakes.