Missing the Lazy, Crazy days of summer… already

I don’t know about you, but I already miss summer and the taste of salads.  I’m usually at home already threatened with snow, but this year I’m helping out family way south of home and have the luxury of still getting some great vegetables and making some of our favorite salads and homemade dressings.

1 large wedge romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1 small avocado, sliced
2 kiwis, skinned and sliced
1 small red onion, chopped
1 orange peeled, segmented and halved again

1/3 cup peanut oil
1/3 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons champagne vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
6 tablespoons sugar
salt & pepper to taste

  • Whisk together peanut oil, olive oil, champagne vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar, salt & pepper. Chill for several hours.
  • Prepare veggies and toss well.
  • Drizzle salad all over and toss again.
  • Enjoy!
  • This makes enough dressing for 3 large salads.

SLEEP TIGHT, DON’T LET THE BED BUGS BITE!

I received this in an email recently and I know that where we are right now, it is all over the news that there is a big problem.  So, this seemed liked a good thing to share and it seems like a bit of common sense too! I always wash everything, always have, but now I’ll just do it immediately to help alleviate any POTENTIAL problem from even occurring.  Now while I don’t know about the validity of the actual mode of transportation that the bugs are hitch hiking on to come in to America, I have checked and the process of killing the bugs is valid.  Bed bugs are truly the ultimate hitchhiker, so it just makes sense to be on the cautious side.
THE EMAIL:
A bit of information that you might like to know about.  We have friends here in our community and one of their sons is an entomologist (insect expert), and has been telling them that there is an epidemic of bed bugs now occurring in America.  Recently I have heard on the news that several stores in NYC have had to close due to bed bug problems, as well as a complete mall in New Jersey. 
 
He says that since much of our clothing, sheets, towels, etc. now comes from companies outside of America, (sad but true), even the most expensive stores sell foreign clothing from China, Indonesia, etc.  The bed bugs are coming in on the clothing as these countries do not consider them a problem.  He recommends that if you buy any new clothing, even underwear and socks, sheets, towels, etc. that you bring them into the house and put them in your clothes dryer for at least 20 minutes.  The heat will kill them and their eggs.  DO NOT PURCHASE CLOTHES AND HANG THEM IN THE CLOSET FIRST.  It does not matter what the price range is of the clothing, or if the outfit comes from the most expensive store known in the U.S.  They still get shipments from these countries and the bugs can come in a box of scarves or anything else for that matter.  That is the reason why so many stores, many of them clothing stores have had to shut down in NYC and other places.   All you need is to bring one item into the house that has bugs or eggs and you will go to hell and back trying to get rid of them.  He travels all over the country as an advisor to many of these stores, as prevention and after they have the problem.

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London Broil with Spicy Chimichurri

First, I must say thank you to Chris for asking me to guest post for him.  I was so excited when I received his email!  I love to grill…actually, love doesn’t even describe it correctly, it’s more than that…grilling is in my blood.  For me, being asked to guest post on Fire Day Friday is like a home cook being asked to star in their own show on the Food Network!!
But enough with this embarrassing gushing, let me introduce myself.  I’m Jenn from Jenn’s Food Journey.  I have a love affair with cooking and, of course, grilling.  I had no desire to cook when I was younger.  Yes, I loved to help my mom or my grandma with certain little tasks in the kitchen, but that was it, I didn’t want to do the whole shebang.  It was much later in life when I found the passion and love I have for it now. Grilling is my true love, though.  When my boyfriend and I moved into our house together, my parents gave us the best house warming gift ever: A GRILL!!  As soon we got it set up, I immediately wanted to start cooking on it.  From that point on, I grilled 6 nights a week for 3 months straight. (Seriously!)  Despite all the hours standing at the grill, I still do not claim to be a master griller (is that an actually word? who cares, I like it)…but every now and then I truly shock myself with my creations……like this one I’ll be sharing with you today…yes, I’m finally getting to why I’m really here!!
I made my first Chimichurri -an Argentinean sauce similar to pesto- back in August.  I had recently come in possession of Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue and knew his recipe for chimichurri would be one of the first ones I would try.  When Chris asked me to guest post my mind immediately started turning…what was I going to make?  I sorted through files with all kinds of grilling recipes and could not come up with a good idea.  Then it hit me.  I had a London Broil in my freezer that I had been wanting to use, why not do something with that?  (And by the way, I found out after purchasing this particular cut of meat, that London Broil is actually the way you prepare the cut of meat, not the cut itself.  London broil is broiling or grilling flank steak.  So even though the cut I bought said London Broil on the package, it’s really a cut of flank steak….I learned something new I guess!  So don’t worry if you can’t find “London Broil”, it’s really just flank steak!!)  Once I knew what kind of meat I was going to use, I started thinking about what to do with it.  Marinating?  Yes, that would be a good start.  A sauce maybe?  Well, yes, of course, I am a self proclaimed sauce lover.  But what kind???  hhhhmmmm… I have jalapenos…what about a fire roasted salsa of some kind??  DING! (that’s the light bulb going off in my head by the way)  The spicy chimichurri was born!  I am one that loves heat, you may not be, so to tone down this recipe, you can just use jalapenos, or better yet, use an Anaheim or poblano pepper instead.  Either way, this chimichurri will work fantastic on any cut of beef, chicken, or pork.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

London Broil with Spicy Chimichurri
Created by Jenn’s Food Journey
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
For Marinade:
1 cup lager beer
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1 1/4 lbs. London broil
For Spicy Chimichurri-
2 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 jalapeno peppers
1 Serrano pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup packed fresh parsley, minced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 Roma tomato, finely diced (about 1 Tbls) 

Directions:

In a resealable bag or baking dish, mix together all the marinade ingredients.  Place the London Broil in the bag, seal, and marinate for at least 4 hours, but 8-24 is recommended.
Fire roast your garlic and peppers.  For the garlic: place unpeeled cloves in a square of foil, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and seal foil around it.  Place on preheated grill for about 5 minutes, or until the garlic becomes soft.  Squeeze garlic from the skins, mash with side of knife and mince.  For the peppers: rub with a little olive oil and place directly over the fire on the grill grates.  Allow to cook until the skins are black and blistered, about 8-10 minutes.  Place peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 5 minutes.  When peppers have cooled a bit, peel skin, remove seeds, and then finely dice.
Heat grill to 350-400 degrees.  In a bowl, combine the garlic, peppers, and oregano.  Stir in the lime juice.  Add the parsley and the olive oil and mix to combine.  Fold in the tomatoes; set aside.
Remove the steak from the bag and discard the marinade.  Place the meat on the grill grate directly over the fire and close the lid.  Allow to cook for 4-10 minutes on each side, depending on your desired doneness. (Rare: 120-125 degrees; MedRare: 130-135 degrees; Medium: 140-145 degrees; MedWell: 150-155 degrees; WellDone: 160 degrees).  Remember to take the steak off about 5 degrees sooner then your desired doneness, they need to rest for at least 5 minutes and they will continue to cook.  Serve with chimichurri and enjoy!

12 WEEKS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIE CLUB – WEEK #3 ~ PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE DROPS

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE DROPS

2/3 cup Hot water
10 ounces Land of Lakes cocoa mix
2 cups JIF creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 cups C&H powdered sugar, divided 2cups + 1 cup
2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
2 cups crushed ginger snaps
72 Hershey Kisses (I like the cherry cordials)

  • Whisk together the hot water and cocoa mix until smooth.
  • Add peanut butter and corn syrup. Blend until smooth.
  • Add 2 cups powdered sugar and stir until well blended.
  • Stir in cookie crumbs until well blended.
  • Spray wax paper with PURE (these will be sticky so don’t forget this step).
  • Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto the wax paper.
  • Place the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.
  • Roll each piece of dough into a ball and dredge in powdered sugar.
  • Press your thumb into the center and fill with a Hershey’s kiss.

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Sloppy Joe Sliders on Green Onion Cilantro “Knot” Rolls

Good Morning my friends!

What a glorious last couple of weeks!  The air has a crispness, Fall is here and along with that is all the excitement of the coming seasons… 6 weeks to Thanksgiving and 10 weeks to Christmas!  I am already plotting Thanksgiving dinner, and these rolls, flavored with a Bobby Flay sauce were a successful experiment.


I posted the secret to that success over on my “real” site today (click HERE).


But the guts to these sliders are my regular sloppy Joe mix.  Don’t bother with the over salted, over processed, over chemical laced cans of goo.  This recipe is much tastier and better for you. 


1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

  • In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.
  • Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

And that’s it…. Quick, simple and tasty… what more could you want?


Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!  

 … I CAN COOK THAT! 

And so can you!
…

Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup

I love chicken soup. Actually, I love homemade chicken soup.   
I’ve made this soup a number of times and each time it seems to get better and better.
I often cook a bunch of chicken and have bags of portioned cooked, shredded chicken in the freezer.  I cooked the rice early in the day so when it came time for dinner, this was able to be thrown together very quickly.  

We ate this with a pepper jack peach quesadilla with honey lime sour cream.  It was a wonderful meal!!  Very healthy and incredibly tasty!! 

Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup Recipe
Adapted from Picky Palate
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cartons of chicken broth or 64 oz.
1 can Rotel with green chilies
2 – 4 oz. cans of green chilies
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups basmati rice, cooked
1/4 cup lime juice
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
Salt & pepper to taste
Handful of cilantro, chopped
Place onion in pan with cooking spray and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, cook for one minute.  Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, green chilies, cooked chicken, cooked rice, lime juice and seasonings.  Cook for 5 minutes, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.  Right before serving, add chopped cilantro. 
Total calories = 1162
6 servings = 194 calories per serving
Pepperjack Peach Quesadilla & Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup = 485 calorie dinner
Check out Debbi Does Dinner Healthy for more recipes!

Save Room for Dessert…Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake

In the past 2 weeks, I’ve received 3 emails from 3 different readers requesting recipes that regular/normal/average people would make.  I replied to all three, asking for a little more clarification, as I didn’t want to assume anything.  I thought I knew what they wanted, but assuming things has gotten me into more awkward situations than I care to admit.  As it turns out, I was correct, what they would like to see are recipes that use items like cake mix, canned soup, etc.  I’m all about making my readers happy; seriously, one of the reasons I do this because I love the interaction with all of you, so I’m happy to oblige.  That said, today’s post is from the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook, published in 1999.  I know that a newer version has recently been published, but I don’t know if this recipe was included.

I love all things pumpkin, be it cake, pie, or cheesecake.  This is a cross between a cake and a pie; I particularly like the crunchy topping.  The author suggests serving it with a sweetened cream, but I think it’s perfect as is; however, I’ve included the recipe for the cream.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a copy of Steff Deschenes award-winning book, The Ice Cream Theory!  Just make a comment about your favorite ice cream and you’re entered to win!  If you tweet or post about the giveaway, you get two extra entries, just leave me the links!  Good luck!

Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake
1 yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines all-butter recipe)
1 stick butter, softened
4 large eggs
2 15-oz cans pumpkin
5 oz evaporated milk (I used half & half)
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cardamom*
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg*
4 tablespoons butter, chilled
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 13×9 baking dish.
Crust
Empty cake mix into a large mixing bowl and remove 1 cup of the cake mix and place in a medium-sized bowl; set aside (you will use this for the topping).
To the remaining cake mix, add 1 stick of butter and 1 egg.  Blend with an electric mixer until well-mixed.
Press mixture into prepared baking dish and set aside.
Filling
Combine the 2 cans of  pumpkin, half & half, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
Beat together for 3 minutes.
Pour filling onto prepared crust.
Topping
Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar to the reserved 1 cup cake mix and stir. 
Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, knead in the butter and pecans to create the topping.
Evenly distribute the topping for the filling.
Bake for 70-75 minutes at 350 degrees until the center no longer jiggle.
Allow to cool for 20 minutes.
Slice into squares and serve.
If desired, top with sweetened cream.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Sweetened Cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat cream and powdered sugar together until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
Use immediately.

**These were my additions – I love cardamom and nutmeg with pumpkin.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL????????????

We’re HUGE football fans!  Well, it’s that time of year again! Football season is already several weeks old (where does the time go?) and that means it’s time for tailgating again at the games, serious football food and game day buffets.  Bring over your best appetizers and your biggest appetite and oh don’t forget the Brewskis to go with it all.  I like mine really cold please with a side of lime!
Tailgating Time will be posted every Sunday at noon and open all week for you to add your football favorites. We’ll play each and every week until Superbowl Sunday. I can’t wait to see what you’ll be bringing!
It’s Tailgating Time!
HOSTED BY:
Martha at Seaside Simplicity 
Tamy at 3 sides of Crazy 
Lyndsey at Tiny Skillet
Would you like to be a host of Tailgating Time too? 

Leave me a comment here with your email or with Martha over at Seaside Simplicity so we can send you the code and add you to the host list – more exposure, more links, more football food!

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GLAZED SESAME CHICKEN STIR FRY

Food around here has been a little bland and colorless recently.  So, I wanted to spice things up a bit and this recipe did the trick.  Everyone dug in and had seconds too.

GLAZED SESAME CHICKEN STIR FRY
1 pound chicken breasts, poached and shredded
1 red pepper, diced
3 green onions, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broccoli florets, blanched 2-3 minutes
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 pound spaghetti noodles, prepared al dente’

  • Heat wok or skillet to medium high. 
  • Add oil and coat pan well.
  • Add bell pepper and garlic and cook until pepper is tender.
  • Whisk together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and cornstarch.
  • Add to the wok. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring well.
  • Add chicken.
  • Add broccoli tossing well.
  • Cook until sauce is slightly thickened.
  • Add noodles and toss well.

PORK FRIED RICE

This dish is best prepared in advance, there are lots of parts to prepare.

PORK FRIED RICE & ORANGE HONEY CHICKEN
4 cups cooked rice, cold
1 1/2 cups cooked pork, diced
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 red pepper, diced
3 green onions, sliced thin
2 tablespooons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons butter
  • Bring a 12 inch skillet to a medium high heat.
  • Melt butter.
  • Add peppers, carrots and onions.
  • Add the pork pieces and heat through.
  • Add the rice and stir fry until well coated.
  • Arrange the rice mixture around the outer edges of the pan.
  • Add eggs into the center quickly frying up the pieces and mixing with the rice mixture.
  • Add the soy sauce and sesame oil, blending well.
I served it with ORANGE HONEY CHICKEN and it was an awesome combo – everyone had seconds!

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