Sunday Sup

So on Sundays, I like to still keep it nice and easy for the dinner menu, but I do like to add a little more complicated dish...since I usually have alittle more time to prepare.  It is a beautiful day today so I wanted to grill outside.  Don't know how many more days I will feel like doing that.  I did look for corn on the cob in the foodstore and sadly, there wasn't any.  I guess it's good bye for the corn season.  So, tonight's meal is: grilled steak, sauted asparagus and tasty potatoes (my "complicated dish")  The potatoes came out delish!  I just boiled small yukon gold potatoes for about 40 minutes, then, on a plate, I smashed them lightly with a fork.  Then, I sauted 2 garlic cloves and 1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary, in a skillet that had some olive oil in it.  Then, salt and peppered those smashed potatoes and sauted them, both sides, in the pan with the yummy flavored oil.  When it got light brown I plated it and sprinkled some parmesan cheese over it. Rosemary and potatoes are a winning combo. I need to remember that!  Picture is below. 

I also decided to kind of map out my dinners for the rest of the week.  Now keep in mind, I have done my grocery shopping and I REFUSE to go again.  So, specifics will be determined based on what I have left.  But the outline is:
Monday-whatever night...Husband at Phillies game so I will make total kid food, like mac and cheese
Tuesdsay-chicken
Wed-pasta
Thursday-leftover using the chicken in another form to fool my family into thinking it isn't a leftover
Friday-fish

Tasty Potatoes with Rosemary

Guess the Dinner

Ok, so here's the game I play every night:  I look in the pantry/fridge/freezer and see what I have and try to come up with a yummy combination for dinner.  Here's tonight's ingredients:

                   chicken,black beans, peaches, jalepeno pepper, rice, tortilla shells 

Well, I don't know about you, but that spells chicken fajitas to me!!!
So, I made the fajitas, with sauted red peppers and onions on the side.  I invented my rice dish which I will definitely make again.  Here is the recipe:

FAJITA RICE
Brown Rice
Peach, cut up in small pieces
Jalepeno Pepper,diced
Lime Juice
Kosher Salt
Black Beans (canned)
Chipotle Pepper in Adobe Sauce
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Make the brown rice (I actually used Trader Joe's frozen brown rice.   You nuke it for 3 minutes and it is perfect every time!  I always have a box in my freezer) and put in large bowl.  Toss in the peach, jalepeno pepper, 1/2 cup black beans, sprinkle of salt,one lime's worth of juice, and 2 Teaspoons of the adobe sauce.  I'm telling you--very tasty!!!  Ole!

Fajita Rice

But at least we have the Broccoli

 One of my favorite shows EVER is The Next FoodNetwork Star.  The winner, this time around seemed to cook the best food with very interesting flavors.  So, when she won and started her own show, I couldn't wait to watch it and try one of her recipes.  Well that was what was for dinner tonight.  It was Aarti Party's "I ain't chicken chicken".  Well, I ain't liking it.  I made it because 1) I had all the ingredients (duhhhh!) and 2) the flavor combinations sounded yummy.  But I felt the dish fell flat.  Sorry Aarti, but at least we have the broccoli!
                                                  Orange Infused Broccoli

1 broccoli crown,chopped in small pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 orange
handful of walnuts
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 pat butter
couple of "peels" of parmesan cheese
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Heat pan on medium heat.   Saute garlic in the olive oil and also toast the walnuts. Add broccoli and saute until slightly soft, about 3-5 minutes. Squeeze orange juice over broccoli.  Mix up plate the broccoli.  Add the chicken stock in pan until it boils.  Put 2 orange slices in the stock.  Add the butter and stir until melted.  Press down on the orange slices so bits of it will break off and incorporate in the sauce.  Pour over the brocccoli.  Use a peeler and peel a few shards of parmesan cheese for the topping.

Orange Infused Broccoli

Quick and Easy

So today I was running around with my son, getting my excercise on....playing tennis with him.  We were out and about and didn't have a whole lot of time to make an elaborate dinner.  So tonight I grilled steaks, baked sweet potatoe fries, micro-waved corn on the cob and...goofed around with making garlic bread.  Here's what I did with the garlic bread:  I combined room temperature garlic butter (already made which I bought at Whole Foods) with a dollup (yes, a dollup) of tomatoe paste.  I like to have the tube of tomatoe paste in the fridge so if I only want a little, it keeps and I don't feel like I waste any.  Anyhow, I mixed those two ingredients then spread it lightly, over sliced french bread.  I "grilled" them on my Cuisenart Griddler (which I LOVE!)  They were quite delicious.  The tomatoe paste added a nice little surprise to it.  Here's a pix:

Grilled Garlic Bread