Tag Archives: grilled

02.18.14
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Why Eat a Colorful Plate of Food?

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Grilled Dinner

Having multiple colors of foods on your plate has benefits:

1. It’s visually appealing. We’re all typically more apt to enjoy things when they look nice.

2. You will include more vegetables and fruits, since they’re naturally more colorful that meat and starches.

3. Your body will get the nutrients it needs naturally. Each type of food with different colors contains different essential nutrients.

4. The meal will be more enjoyable overall.

The meal pictured here was a dinner I made with:
– pesto coated grilled chicken thighs
– grilled potato rounds
– grilled asparagus
– slaw with red cabbage, carrot, cilantro, cumin, salt, rice vinegar and olive oil
– sliced onion and yellow tomatoes

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11.10.13
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Menu for the Week of Nov. 10

Enjoy!

naanSunday:

  • Naan bread pizzas – pepperoni on top for the boys and chicken / red onion / red pepper / mushroom / goat cheese / pesto for us! Do yourself a favor and make some homemade Naan bread. It was even easier than I thought. You only have to knead it for 3 minutes. It was the best I’ve ever had and made delicious flat-bread pizza. If you don’t have time, pick up a package at the store. The trick to homemade pizza is using just enough sauce and cheese. It takes less than you think it will. That will keep it from getting soggy. Back at 400 for 8 minutes or so.
  • Salad – bibb lettuce, roma tomato chopped, half an avocado chopped,  red onion, goat cheese, red wine vinegar and olive oil drizzled on top with any of your favorite seasonings.

Monday:

Tuesday:

  • Soup night! Oh my. This Provencal Vegetable Soup from Ina Garten is amazing. I made this on Friday and it was so good! Make it up Monday evening so it’s ready to eat Tuesday. The chopping takes the longest part. It doesn’t need much time to cook. If you don’t have the time to make the “Pistou” then you can sub it with some store bought pesto and then mix in a little tomato paste. It added a great complex flavor to it.
  • Serve with some fresh bread.

Wednesday:

  • Leftovers or Take-Out

Thursday:

  • Grilled Boneless Pork Loin Chops, Brined and Honey Glazed – Easy and juicy pork chops! Two things I always want in pork chops that I cook. Serve with some Chardonnay or Riesling.
  • Roasted broccoli – Chop broccoli, drizzle a little olive oil over it, sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until it reaches your desired doneness.
  • French fries – Chop up a fresh potato or buy some Alexia brand frozen ones. Those are my go-to for quick fries.

Friday:

  • Sweet and Sour Shrimp – Yes you can make this take-out staple at home. It’s that easy! Make sure you buy Florida or Caribbean shrimp and nothing from Thailand please. You will be glad you did for both the flavor and knowing you supported good business practices.
  • White or Brown steamed rice – If you don’t have a rice cooker yet, you want one. Even people that cannot make rice can make it in one of these. In Japan, everyone uses them. You don’t have to spend much to get the job done.
10.19.13
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Chicken with Chimichurri

ImageI discovered chimichurri sauce not too long when trying to figure out what to do with a lot of extra parsley in my fridge. Then I found out you could make it with carrot tops too. It’s super fresh tasting and makes grilled meats taste amazing. Definitely roast some potatoes and dip them in it too. You’ll be glad you did!

Carrot top chimichurri – 1 bunch of carrot greens, juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 tsp. salt, dash of pepper, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tsp. dried oregano. Dump all in food proccessor and puree. (You could use cilantro or parsley in addition to the carrot greens depending on the flavor you’re going for. If you go for cilantro, omit the oregano.)

Grilled chicken – boneless skinless breasts (Publix Greenwise or other meat that has not been fed junk food). Filet the chicken pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill on each side for a few minutes until just barley done. Remove from grill and cover with foil to lock in juices. 

Roasted potatoes – These garlic roasted potatoes by Ina Garten are easy and awesome!

Grilled asparagus – drizzle some olive oil over about a pound of asparagus (washed and ends snapped). Then sprinkle some salt, pepper and garlic powder. Now use your hands and rub all to coat. Grill a few minutes per side until slightly browned all around.

Plate and enjoy!

For the kids, I used a sectioned plate with the potatoes and asparagus in their own small piles for eyes, chicken in the shape of a mouth and cut small red pepper rings for the nose. It was a hit! (can’t promise that every time)