Teriyaki Chicken Thighs & Veggies

This is hands-down my new favorite dinner. I've been making it weekly and it's so easy and flavorful. 

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Recipe here

* I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I have been using skinless thighs and it's fine. I definitely trim the fat first and I made sure to do it on medium high, often with a heavy pan on top, so it really browns on the first side. I double the sauce and I add sliced green onion and sesame seeds at the end.

Stir Fry Sugar Snap Peas with Garlic & Sesame

Recipe here

* I followed the recipe except I use olive oil. I also waited a little bit to add the soy sauce and I use low sodium tamari. 

Grilled Asparagus & Green Onion

* I used asparagus plus the light green & white ends of green onion, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and then grilled on the BBQ. Also works to broil it. 

 

Garlic Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

I am obsessed with this chicken. I have probably made it more than anything else in the last 2 years. It's fast, easy, delicious and the kids love it as much as me.

When I make this for the kids, I will serve with brown rice and a vegetable. For me, I roast broccoli and make a kale caesar. Great dinner.

Garlic Terikayaki Chicken Thights

boneless skinless chicken thighs
salt & pepper
Coconut Aminos Garlic Sauce
Coconut Aminos Teriyaki Sauce

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Tonight my kids helped me make Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake. They love it for dessert. I love it for breakfast with coffee. Everyone is a winner!

Easy Grilled Mint Chicken

Another great recipe from Marion. Good for adults and kids.

Mint Chicken

Marion Richards

Chicken breast, butterflied and cut into strips

Lime juice

Lime zest

Olive oil

Tons of mint, minced

Cilantro, minced

Salt & pepper

Marinate for an hour or two, then grill on the BBQ.

Gwyneth Week Kicked Off with Barbecue-Glazed Turkey Burgers

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I was excited to read that Gwyneth Paltrow had published a new cookbook, My Father's Daughter, in the Food & Wine magazine article "A Star at the Stove". I was even more excited when I received a copy of the cookbook as a thank you gift from my friend Jennie. Already I have more than a half dozen recipes dogeared after just flipping through it quickly.

So, I thought I would kick off GP week and try several of her recipes. I decided to start with the Barbecue-Glazed Turkey Burgers from the Food & Wine article (note: this recipe is not in her cookbook). I made them tonight and my husband and I both loved them. I loved the combo of the ground turkey, BBQ sauce, Swiss cheese, pickled jalapenos and pickle chips. Instead of brioche buns I used traditional white sesame buns that I buttered and toasted. I topped that with a little Organic Vegenaise (my first time using it) and thought it worked great. The hubby said it best... "I'd eat these any night" and he also noted that you feel a lot better after eating a turkey burger than a ground beef burger. These were also the easiest burgers ever. Serve with grilled asparagus and a crisp white wine and you are set to go with a quick and delicious dinner!  I have a few more recipes planned for this week so stay tuned to hear how they turn out.

And on the topic of burgers, what's your favorite burger recipe? I'm open to recipes for turkey, chicken, beef, or veggie burgers. Please share!


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Birthday BBQ



Photo credit: Party Perfect



I know it's not BBQ weather here in Seattle but I spent most of last summer without a BBQ so the minute spring arrived (based on the calendar and clearly not the weather) I was ready to grill. We celebrated my husband's birthday Monday night and he requested barbecued flank steak and butter rice. My friend Marly tried a recipe for Beer-Marinated Flank Steak with Aji and Guacamole awhile back that got rave reviews from her guests so I decided to try it. She served the flank steak with roasted potatoes and everyone loved dipping them in the Aji Sauce. I smothered the Aji Sauce all over my chicken skewers and butter rice. Moral of the story... don't skip the sauce! It's delicious! 

This is a really easy menu to prep and if you have your act together (unlike me) you can have everything done ahead of time and just fire up the grill when the guests arrive.


Birthday BBQ Menu 

Beer-Marinated Flank Steak with Aji and Guacamole

Aji Sauce

Chicken Souvlaki Skewers

Butter Rice

Grilled Asparagus

Green Salad

Bananas Foster

Backyard BBQ to The Nines

My friend Jennie hosted a fabulous dinner party for our group of friends from college. We're a pretty casual bunch so she did a backyard BBQ but that didn't mean she was going to skimp on the details.

Her set-up was adorable. She set two big tables with red and white checked tablecloths topped with red and white flowers. She used little mason jars with name tags for drinks and made cute labels for everything that she attached with twine. I love the way she packaged the silverware and napkin in the little paper pocket with the "Dig In" label and rick rack ribbon. The cutest touch.... individual bags with a graham cracker, mini chocolate bar and marshmallows for s'mores. It was all too cute.

Not to mention the food was great! Everyone gobbled up the dinner and we hung out so late that we had two rounds of dessert. Sometimes casual is just better, but that doesn't mean you can't still make it fabulous! Nice work Jennie!

Appetizer Grilled peaches wrapped with prosciutto

Delicious cheese plate

Dinner

BBQ chicken burgers on white or wheat buns

Ina's Potato Salad with Bacon & Eggs

My mother-in-law's coleslaw

Fruit salad

Drinks

Mojitos

Wine

Beers

Root Beer

Perrier Lime

Dessert

Homemade lemon bars

Homemade brownies

Homemade chocolate chip cookies

Individually wrapped s'mores

Guest Blogger - Grilled Peaches over Arugula with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto

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I reached out to some friends about being guest bloggers and I love what they've been coming back with. Here is a guest blog post from my dear friend Jen. She is quite possibly the best resource for me on all things Seattle related. She is also a fan of blogs, cooking, entertaining, trying new restaurants (she's in my dinner club trio), decorating, and health and wellness topics so we hit it off when we met a few years ago. I can't wait to try her recipe this weekend when we have some friends over. (Thank you Jen!)

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Guest Blogger Jen...

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Summer is sadly coming to an end and I am in denial. Did these summer months seem to go by just as quickly for you too? I feel like unconditional happiness would abound if I could always have bare legs, open toed shoes, and the feeling of the warm sun on my shoulders when I walk out of my house every morning. Sunny days just seem to balance my world – which makes me happy. My only consolation at the end of summer (and I seriously feel like I need a consolation for just the anticipation of the long rainy months ahead) are the peaches. I love juicy, ripe peaches and, thankfully, they abound here in the Pacific Northwest at the end of summer. So, while the evenings are still warm and I can enjoy the walk around my house to our BBQ in the back yard, I am making this salad as often as possible.

OK, the picture looks a little messy, but I promise you, this is a beauty of a salad. Other upsides, you ask? Well, it’s fairly easy and it’s really low in calories, amazingly (I swear, I got this out of Cooking Light magazine!). And, keeping nicely with Colleen’s (and my) efforts to keep things “Farmer’s Market Fresh,” you should be able to get all of the major ingredients at your local farmer’s market, except for maybe the prosciutto. But that’s pretty good, right?

Grilled Peaches over Arugula with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto

1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
3 peaches, pitted and each cut into 6 wedges
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon good extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of kosher salt
10 cup trimmed arugula (about 10 ounces)
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese (I used more because I LOVE goat cheese!)
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Bring vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer until vinegar is reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in honey. Cool to room temperature.

Prepare grill to high heat. Place peach wedges on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 30 seconds on each side or until grill marks appear but peaches are still firm. Remove from grill; set aside. (My peaches took more like a minute on each side. This depends on ripeness – just be sure to monitor your peaches!)

Combine oil, pepper, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add arugula, tossing gently to coat. Arrange arugula mixture on a platter. Top with peach wedges and prosciutto. Drizzle with balsamic syrup; sprinkle with cheese.

Servings: 6

Nutritional Information

Serving size: about 1 1/3 cups arugula mixture, 3 peach wedges, about 1/3 ounce prosciutto, 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic syrup, and 1 teaspoon cheese

Calories: 100 (36% from fat)

Fat: 4g (sat 1g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.5g)
Protein: 3.9g

Carbohydrate: 13.1g
Fiber: 1.3g

Cholesterol: 7mg
Iron: 0.8mg

Sodium: 183mg
Calcium: 61mg

Farmers Market Dinner - BBQ Chicken Burgers, Corn & Salad

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Last night I made this farmers market dinner. Super easy, super good, and there was leftovers for today's lunch.

Veggie

Corn on the cob, fresh from the market right now (boiled for 3-5 minutes)

Salad

Mix of lettuces from the farmers market
Heather's Basic Balsamic Dressing
Blue cheese, crumbled (I used Bleu Des Causses)
Dried sour cherries
Good tomatoes from the market, cut into small wedges

BBQ Chicken Burgers

Marinade:
2 chicken breasts, butterflied and cut in half
1/2 - 1 lemon, juiced
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt & pepper

For the burgers:
BBQ sauce
Provolone
Hamburger buns, brioche buns or kaiser buns
Red onion, thinly sliced
Lettuce

Marinate chicken breasts for a few hours. Remove from marinade and grill on the BBQ. When you flip the chicken, top with BBQ sauce and provolone. While chicken is grilling, place buns open faced on cookie sheets. Broil for a few minutes to toast and then spread with some butter. When chicken is cooked through, serve on toasted buns with more BBQ sauce, mayo, lettuce and onion.

Farmers Market "Chickenchurri" Dinner

I really loaded up at the farmers market on Sunday so tonight we had my father-in-law over for a farmers market feast that was, in my husband's words, "blog worthy". It melts my heart when he says that.

(Everything in green was purchased at the market.)

I was craving chimichurri sauce and was inspired by my friend Lynne who serves it over grilled chicken or fish. I opted to go with some chicken breasts I bought at the market. I like well-seasoned chicken so I decided to prepare it souvlaki-style rather than grilling entire chicken breasts. I used my chicken souvlaki recipe as guidance but used parsley instead of oregano to match the flavor of the chimichurri. Recipe below.

I got these great little Maris Piper potatoes at the market and found this fabulous recipe for Parisian Potatoes from the Almost Bourdain blog. They were really easy and we all loved them. I especially liked dipping them in the chimichurri sauce.

I can't get enough of the broccoli that's in season right now. I cook it so simply - with garlic, red chili flakes, salt, pepper and olive oil. I could eat it every night for dinner and I love leftovers with brown rice for lunch.

I bought butter lettuce, romaine, sungold cherry tomatoes and cucumber at the market so I threw together my favorite salad with my mother-in-law's amazing dressing.

And for dessert we indulged in some vanilla ice cream and a marionberry pie from the market. Perfect refreshing dessert to top off our meal.

Colleen's Chickenchurri Dinner

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 lemon, juiced
¼ olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T fresh parsley, minced
½ t garlic salt
Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Prepare as early in the day as possible. (I didn't do it until the afternoon and it was fine but the longer the better). Soak skewers in water for 20 minutes so they don’t burn on the grill. Put chicken pieces on skewers and grill on the BBQ until cooked through. Serve with chimichurri sauce (recipe below).

Chimichurri Sauce
Adapted from Bon Appetite

1 1/4 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley (roughly one large bunch)
3/4 olive oil
2-3 T red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
juice from one large lemon wedge

Puree all ingredients in a food processor. Transfer to bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve over grilled steak, chicken or fish.

Happy Birthday to My "Snookies"

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My baby girl turned two. I can't believe it. Where does the time go?!

We hosted a small family BBQ to celebrate. I wanted to cook but I also didn't want to take on too much and be stressed on her birthday. I feel that the best birthday gift to my daughter is to be fun and present on her birthday rather than stressed out which is how I normally get when I entertain. So to avoid some stress, I ordered the tzatziki, roasted tomatoes, Greek salad and orzo salad from a local Greek restaurant. I ordered the cake as well so all I had to make was the chicken (so easy), the Greek fries, and the appetizer. Easy prep and stress-free cooking before and during the party. I only wish I had more time with my girl and all the guests. Parties always go by too quickly in my opinion.

Appetizers

Ceci Bruschetta

Meat & Cheese Plate

Watermelon

Dinner

Chicken Souvlaki Gyro Style

- served with warmed pita, tzatziki, parsley, red onion, roasted tomatoes

Greek Village Salad (purchased from Vios Cafe in Seattle)

- tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, green pepper, kalamata olives, feta, oregano, red wine vinaigrette

Greek Orzo Salad (purchased from Vios Cafe in Seattle)

- with eggplant, olives, feta and sundried tomatoes

Greek Fries

- with garlic, herbs, lemon juice and feta cheese

Dessert

Birthday Cake (from My Sisters & Me in Seattle) & Ice Cream

- organic sour cream cake with lemon curd and raspberry filling

Chicken Souvlaki Gyro Style

I recently posted a recipe for chicken souvlaki that's great to cook in the summer because it's so easy to prep and cooks on the grill. My friend Jen took it a step further and served it like they do at the best Greek cafe in town. Vios serves the grilled meat gyro-style, wrapped in a warm pita with tzatzaki, roasted tomatoes, fresh parsley and red onion. I followed her lead this weekend and brought that to a BBQ.

I didn't want to be in the kitchen on such a beautiful day so I bought the tzatziki and roasted tomatoes at Vios (besides, they have the best of both) but if you had the time, you could certainly make these items from scratch or track them down at a grocery store.

Everyone loved the meal and not a crumb was left over. You could serve these with a great Horiatiki or Greek salad and some homemade Greek fries (fries with oregano, lemon juice and feta) and you have yourself a great dinner.

Homemade Veggie Pizza in Honor of the Flying Squirrel

Last weekend we went out for dinner to one of our favorite pizzerias in Seattle called the Flying Squirrel. I heard about it from my friend Ali Austin Scheff who is the Dining Editor of Seattle Magazine and writes the blog Eating Seattle. We've become big fans of the Flying Squirrel and battle rush-hour traffic on a regular basis to go there (it's nowhere near close to our house but we're addicted).

I'm not loving pork these days (pregnancy related) so in steering clear of sausage, peperoni, Canadian bacon, and prosciutto, I chose a vegetarian pizza called "The Farm". It was so good that I barely said a word once it arrived because I was horsing it down.

I even tried to re-create it the next night at home. Mine was delicious but Flying Squirrel definitely does it better. If you can't get there though, try this topping combo next time you make pizza. Deeeeeeeeeeeelicious!

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The Farm

Tomato sauce

Mozzarella cheese
Goat cheese

Zucchini, sliced

Mama Lil's peppers

Nicoise olives

Minced garlic

We opted to do pizza on the BBQ this time. It turned out great and is a good way to avoid using the oven on hot days. My sister-in-law introduced us to this method and here are her tips...

• Brush olive oil on the grill
• Roll out your pizza dough, then brush one side with olive oil.
• Place on the BBQ, oiled side down, for a few minutes (until it's slightly browned).
• Remove from grill and brush olive oil on the non-grilled side.
• Flip it over so the grilled side is up.
• Add sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice.
• Put back on a well-oiled BBQ grill until pizza is cooked, keeping lid closed to help heat and melt the cheese.

Here are photos of my husband and dad's pizzas using Salumi salami. They loved theirs as well. Great BBQ dinner for your family or with guests.

Halibut Dinner in 10-15 Minutes

This is literally the easiest dinner ever. It's my version of the recipe for Grilled Halibut with Pesto and Arugula from Epicurious. I just make it easier by using store-bought pesto. I also broil the fish in the oven rather than grilling on the BBQ and make an arugula salad as a side rather than serving under the fillets.

This is a great spring/summer dinner when the halibut is so fresh and you want a quick homemade meal. Harvest season for halibut is March to October.

Halibut with Pesto and an Arugula Salad

Buy some fresh halibut fillets. Rub a little olive oil on them, sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil in a baking pan in the oven for 3-6 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Remove and sprinkle with a touch of fresh lemon juice. Top with a great store-bought pesto.

Make the arugula salad while you broil the fish. Use the same recipe as Tuesday's post, or just toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh shaved parmesan.

Of course I also threw some asparagus under the broiler while I was finishing up the fish. Can't get enough. I love this dinner and it's super easy.

Easy Four Course Meal

I make chicken souvlaki a lot in the spring and summer months. It takes a few minutes to prep, marinates all day, and cooks really quickly on the grill.

I served it last night with butter rice, grilled asparagus and an arugula salad. It was the easiest four course meal, tasted great and I never even had to turn on the stove.

Butter rice

My mother-in-law's delicious trick. Cook white rice (I use Niko Niko Calrose Rice in a rice cooker) then toss with a few tablespoons of butter and some chicken bouillon.

Grilled Asparagus

I could eat asparagus everyday when it's in season so it's my veggie of choice right now. I don't know that I could ever get sick of it. Toss with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Cook on the BBQ for a few minutes and voila - delicious!

Arugula Salad

Also in season so I'm sucking it down on a daily basis. Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons white balsamic, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, salt & pepper in a small jar (I save old Dijon jars for this purpose). Shake really well. Toss arugula with some dressing and freshly grated parmesan. Even my daughter gobbles this up.

Chicken Souvlaki
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces *
3 or 4 lemons, juiced
¼ olive oil

5 garlic cloves, quartered and smashed a bit with the side of a large knife
2 t dried oregano
2-3 T fresh oregano, minced
½ t garlic salt
Salt and pepper

In the morning
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl or ziploc bag and let marinate all day (stirring or shaking up from time to time if you think about it).

In the evening
Soak skewers in water for 20 minutes so they don’t burn on the grill. Put chicken pieces on skewers and grill on the BBQ for 10-15 minutes.

* You can ask the guys at the meat counter if they will cut up the chicken for you. If they aren’t too busy they're generally happy to do it. It saves time and I also hate working with raw chicken so it's a nice way around it.

Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce

My friend Whitney is a great resource for easy, good food. She has a really laid back approach to cooking and rarely measures anything out. She is the mastermind behind the lentil soup with chorizo. She just whipped that up one day with whatever she had in the house and now it is one of my all-time favorite soups.

The other night she invited me over for dinner and I quickly accepted. She made BBQ chicken with a delicious homemade sauce. It wasn't your typical super-sweet BBQ sauce and it had a nice zing to it (from the Worcestershire sauce I imagine). She served it with baked beans and brown rice. I brought my favorite salad along and it was a perfect dinner.

Being the crazy person that I am, I made it for my family a few days later and we had leftovers the following night too. The beauty of this dinner is that in the time it takes you to cook the brown rice, you can make the marinade, BBQ the chicken, heat the beans and even roast some asparagus. Four courses in 45 minutes. This dinner is a keeper.

I used three chicken breasts and made two batches of the sauce - one for the chicken and one to use for drizzling. When it comes to sauce, my motto is "better too much than too little".

BBQ Chicken Dinner

2 T olive oil
1/2 cup red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup A1 steak sauce
1 1/2 T Worcestershire
1 t sage
1 t ground pepper
2 chicken breasts, cut in half

Heat olive oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Add wine, ketchup, A1, Worcestershire sauce, sage and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes. Pour all but a small amount over chicken and let sit for 5 minutes. BBQ chicken on the grill. When you flip the chicken, slather it with more sauce. Drizzle the extra sauce (not the sauce that touched the raw chicken) over rice or the chicken.

Serve with baked beans, brown rice, a grilled veggie or green salad.