Shish Kebob

Hands down, this is my favorite meal: my family's shish kebob.  Even though my dad would make this year round, it reminds me of summer.  It is my quintessential, most favorite, summertime meal.  Originally, the recipe used lamb, marinated in a garlic and lemon juice/olive oil/red wine concoction.  We had it that way for years, but the meat has to marinate overnight, and one time my mom used chicken because we didn't want to wait.  That's how I make it.  This is one of the easiest meals to make, even if you don't have a grill, this can be prepared in a 400 degree oven, and finished off under the broiler.

Shish Kebobs

Make the bbq sauce:
Mix together about 1 1/2 cups ketchup or chili sauce + 1-2 Tbs. yellow mustard + 2-3 Tbs. brown sugar, maple syrup or honey.  Add about 1 tsp. each garlic and onion powder.  Stir to blend.

Get all the stuff ready:
1 pkg. chicken breast tenders, cut into bite size pieces big enough to fit on the skewer
1 large zucchinni, cut into chunks
1 red onion, cut into wedges, seperate the layers
1 green pepper, cut into wedges like the onions
1 pkg. mushrooms, washed, stems removed
1 pkg. cherry tomatoes
1 pkg bacon, cut in half

Get everything ready to assemble, and fire up the grill about half way through the assembly of the kebobs.

Wrap a piece of chicken with a piece of bacon and put on the skewer.  Start adding the veggies, making sure each kebob gets at least one of everything.  The cherry tomatoes fit nicely with the mushroom caps, and the peppers and onions do well securing the chicken.  For some reason, I always put zucchinni on the ends.  And there are always a few random leftover kebobs at the end.  I usually make one or two of just chicken or just veggies.

Grill or bake the kebobs until the meat is done, then brush with sauce.  Cook until sauce is hot and starting to carmelize.

Eat & be happy!

- After the food is done, you've eaten every last bit of chicken, and the dishes are all put away; the grill is still warm enough for smores! Put grahm crackers on the grill and top with a chocolate bar, or in this case, a peanut butter cup, top with a marshmallow, and shut the grill.   Leave it be for a bit, and when you remember to go get it, the chocolate will be gooey and the marshmallow will be warm and squishy.  Top with another graham cracker and indulge!

Eat & be happy.

GF Flourless Carrot Cake

I love everything about this cake.  Not only is it flourless, but it uses less than one cup of sugar for the entire recipe.  This cake smelled like carrot cake long before it was even in the oven, and the taste is exactly what you would expect carrot cake to taste like; light, spiced, and sweet.  The texture is also pleasing; it's cake, made from ground almonds, and the outer crust has a delicate and nutty crunch.  I was amazed.  You can make this cake with ground walnuts or pecans, too.  Yum.

  

Flourless Carrot Cake

Heat oven to 350.

Blend together well in food processor:
1 1/2 cups ground UNsalted almonds
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
fresh lemon zest from one lemon
Set aside. 

Grate 2 cups fresh carrot and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine 4 large eggs + 1/3 cup brown sugar.  Beat with electric mixer for a good, long, time - until the mixture is thick.  Really, really thick.  Thick enough so that it forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifeted from the bowl.

Alternately add the carrot and the almond mixture until all is combined.

Pour into prepared Pans:
- To bake as cupcakes:
Spray the muffin pan with oil and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  I made ini cupcakes.  They were super yummy.

- To bake as a cake or a loaf:
Spray the baking dish well with oil and line with parchment and spray with oil again.  Use a spring-form pan if you have one.  (I made this as a cake and didn't line the pan with parchment; the cake ended up sticking to the bottom!)  Bake for 45 minutes and check.  The cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cups agave
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons cream 
Cream together until smooth and well combined.
Set in fridge to thicken, then stir again before frosting cupcakes. 

Pickled Blueberries (v)

Pickled Blueberries

2 qts. fresh whole washed blueberries
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
2 cinnamon sticks, broken, 1 tsp. whole cloves, 1 tsp. whole allspice; tie up spices in a small cheesecloth sack.

Put spice bag in a big pot with the vinegar and sugar, bring mixture to a simmer.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the berries and cook on medium low heat until they are heated through, shaking the pot every now and then to stir.  This should take about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 12 hours at room temperature.  This is when the magic happens!

Pour the blueberries into a colander that is set over a bowl.  Remove the spice bag, and transfer the berries to sterilized jars.

Return the liquid to the pot and add the sugar.  Bring to a boil, and boil briskly for about 4 minutes to thicken the syrup a bit.

Pour the hot syrup over the berries and seal the jars.  Be sure to leave 1/4" space at the top of the jar!
Water bath for 10 minutes, cool completely then store, serve, enjoy!

Killer Dillers (v)

This is my favorite pickle recipe.  It is a classic garlic dill, crisp and delicious.
If you have never made pickles before, try it.  It's pretty easy, you just need some equipment:  a BIG pot to boil a lot of water in, a rack to put the jars on in the pot, I just used a round metal cooling rack.  I can put 4 jars in my big pot.  You also need canning tongs, to pick up hot glass jars out of that big pot of boiling water, and you need jars, bands and lids, and of course, your ingredients.  In a nutshell, first, you sterilize the jars (boil them in the big pot), and sterilize the lids (boil in a small pan).  You want everything to be extremely clean.  After preparing the jars, fill the jars with the produce, make the brine and pour it over, then seal the jars in a water bath and boil for 15-20 minutes.  You want to pack the cucumbers into the jars, pour the brine over them, but don't fill the liquid all the way to the top of the jar.  Leave about a quarter inch of space.  Take a butter knife and slide it down into the side of the jar and press inward, pressing against the cukes to release any air bubbles.  Put the lids and bands on and give them the water bath to seal.  Cool the jars completely on wire racks on the counter.  This is when they seal.  You will hear the jars "ping" as they seal.  It's a very rewarding sound!  If you love pickles as much as I do, you will never go back to store bought pickles ever again!

KILLER DILLERS

Boil  until salt is dissolved:

2 cups water2 cups white vinegar
2 Tablespoons kosher salt

Pack into clean jars:
Pickling cucumbers whole, sliced or cut into spears.

Fresh, peeled garlic cloves, 2 or 3 per jar
fresh or dried dill, about 1-2 Tbs. per jar
a few whole peppercorns per jar

pour the brine over and fill jars to about 1/4" from top.  Seal with lids and bands and seal in a water bath for 15 minutes.
Cool on wire racks.

(Tempeh) Curried Chicken Salad (v)

This is one of my summer staples.  I love chicken salad, but I love this even more because it's healthy.  Tempeh is a fermented soybean cake.  It really doesn't have much flavor, which is great because so many things can be made with it!  I always steam or boil my tempeh first to get it moistened.  It kind of smells like bread when I'm steaming it.  You can make this plain, but I always seem to add curry to it.

Tempeh Curried Chicken Salad
Boil or steam one package of tempeh for about 5 minutes.  I usually boil or stem it whole or cut in half. 
Drain and rinse with cool water.  Chop into small pieces that resemble the texture of chicken salad.  Put into a bowl with:
1 large stalk celery, diced
1/4 cup raisins or chopped red grapes
1/4 cup yogurt or mayo
about 1/4-1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 Tablespoon pickle relish
1 Tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut
juice of half of a lime or lemon

Stir well to incorporate all ingredients and put in a covered container to chill.
salt to taste.  Delicios as a sandwich filling, on crackers, or by the forkload.

Ramen

Eggy Cheesy Ramen; This is college food, and it's damn good college food.  Ramen noodles are ramen noodles, but the addition of one egg and a slice of American cheese magically transforms this ho-hum cheap meal.

Eggy Cheesy Ramen

Cook the ramen noodles as you normally would.  Once the noodles are done, crack one egg into the pot and gently stir it around to break up the yolk.  While that cooks, prepare your soup cup.  Put one slice of American cheese into the bowl and add the noodles on top.  Stir to distribute the melting cheese and enjoy.  I never make plain ramen noodles anymore.

Ramen Dinner

Sometimes I will cook a package of ramen noodles and add fresh chopped bok choy, sliced mushrooms, green onions, and thinly sliced flat iron steak.  Delicious, a meal in a bowl.

Crab Rangoons

Asian yum yums!!

My mom and I both love rangoons.  If you love them too, go get the stuff and make them.  Beware though, it's dangerous knowing how easy these are to make.  Never again will you pay a ridiculous amount for take out rangoons ever again.  Why would you?!

Crab Rangoons

1 pkg. wonton wraps
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup real crab meat

Mix ingredients well.  To assemble, place one wonton wrapper on a flat surface.  place about a teaspoon of filling onto the wrapper.  Moisten two edges with water and fold the wonton wrapper to make a triangle.  Press the edges hard to ensure a seal.
Fry in hot oil on both sides until golden and crispy.  Drain well on paper towels and enjoy!

For a dipping sauce, I used a mixture of  1/4 cup homemade pepper jelly and and 1 Tbs. apricot jam plus a little crushed red chili flakes.  You can also use any kind of chili sauce plus apricot jam.  Thin with a little water to your desired consistency.