Category: Food & Drink

One way to make everyone in my family happy at dinner time is to grill or broil a hunk of meat seasoned with salt and pepper. Steak, pork chops, any part of a chicken, you name it… if it’s crispy and salted, they will love it.

On loosey-goosey dinner nights when we don’t have the time or desire to set the table and all that jazz, I like to broil party wings.

I can usually fit an entire frozen package on one broiler pan. Simply salt and pepper the wings, broil from frozen for about 20 minutes; flip them over, salt and pepper again, and broil for another 15-20 minutes or until done.

If I serve Thai Peanut sauce with these wings, the kids will dip all sorts of raw vegetables into it: carrots, celery, snap peas, even chunks of lettuce leaves. It’s a health food miracle (wrapped in a peanut butter and brown sugar disguise).

Here’s the recipe (source unknown):

Thai Peanut Sauce

1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c lime juice
3 cloves garlic
Mix together
Add peanut butter until desired taste/consistency, at least 1/3 cup.

What’s your fast and easy people-pleasing dish?

My favorite Vietnamese dish is a vermicelli bowl, also known as a Vietnamese Noodle Salad. I first had one at the now-defunct Noodle Ranch in Belltown about twelve years ago when Bryan took me there on a date. Currently the best vermicelli bowl I know of in the area can be found at Green Leaf, also in Belltown (pictured above).

Tonight we made our own version for some friends who came over, and it was a big hit! I combined two recipes – one for the marinade and one for the dressing.

This is a chilled salad, so I can’t wait to eat this all summer long!

The marinade came from a recipe here:

• 1.5 lb pork butt or shoulder, thinly sliced just under 1/4 inch or so (not too thin as you do not want it to dry out when grilled.
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbs fish sauce
• 1 tbs ground pepper
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced (use more according to taste)
• 2-3 shallots, minced (I used green onions)
• 3 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs Yoshida’s (I used soy sauce & honey)
• 3 tbs roasted sesame
• flexible grilling basket or indoor grill

Combine the shallots, garlic, sugar, fish sauce, pepper, Yoshida’s, sesame oil. Add pork and marinade for at least 1-2 hours.

Grill the meat until nicely golden brown and slightly charred. Remove from grill onto platter or bowl and toss with roasted sesame.

The dressing recipe came from (here):

• 3 TBL fish sauce
• 3 TBL rice vinegar
• 2 TBL sugar
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 TBL freshly squeezed lime juice

Assembling the salad:

• cooked vermicelli noodles, cooled
• carrots, julienned
• green onions, chopped
• cucumbers, julienned
• shredded cabbage
• bean sprouts
• Basil
• Cilantro
• chopped peanuts

This is a chilled salad, so make sure the noodles are cooled. Combine ingredients in a bowl with the rice noodles on the bottom. Add the grilled pork, stir in the dressing, and eat!

Feeling revived by a little sun, a clean kitchen, and a good beer from a friend.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but my phone doesn’t focus.

This dinner is yummy and super easy to make. It’s also perfect for taking on a picnic because it’s an all-inclusive dish you can make ahead of time.

Added bonus for me, is my picky eater kids LOVE it.

I don’t really have a specific recipe for this one as I kind of just throw it together. The key is to get the proportions so each bite has a perfect blend of chicken, grape, and almond.

Eyeball the following ingredients together:

Curry Chicken Salad

• 3-4 chicken breasts – broiled, steamed, or fried.
• Red grapes, halved.
• Toasted almonds – sliced, slivered, or chopped.
• Mayo – 1ish cups or to taste
• Curry powder – 1sh T or to taste
• Salt to taste

Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces, add to a bowl with grapes and almonds. Mix the mayo together with the curry powder and salt, then stir into the chicken. Chill. Serve.

Other things you can add or substitute: shredded carrots, raisins, brown rice, dried cranberries.

I didn’t grow up eating brussel sprouts, and had no idea what they tasted like until a couple years ago. I’ve since discovered that how you cook a brussel sprout will determine how edible it is, so I’ve tried several different recipes.

Recently Bryan blew me away with the simplest dish – halved brussel sprouts tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and grilled directly on the grilling rack.

Tender, crispy, salty, and oh so good.

Friend: “Wow. Is that a salad or a dip?”

Bryan: “Yes.”

I brought this salad regularly to a weekly summer BBQ we attended with a small group from our church last summer. It’s intended as a salad, but as we all waited for our meat to grill the bowl disappeared along with half a bag of tortilla chips.

This summer we are hosting the weekly BBQ at our house, and about three weeks into it one of my friends mentioned the salad. As in, WHERE IS THAT BEAN SALAD YOU MAKE?

So now it’s back in rotation, and I highly recommend it. It’s quick, easy, and made with things I always have on hand.

Corn & Bean Salad with Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette

1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
2 peppers, any color, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 tomato, diced

1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 T cider vinegar
Juice of 2 limes
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
lime zest from 1/2 lime
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t garlic salt
1/4 t chili powder

• In a large bowl, combine corn, black beans, peppers, onion, and tomato.
• In heavy bottomed bowl, combine cilantro, vinegar, limes, garlic, zest, and spices.
• With a large whisk, whisk quickly as you slowly drizzle in olive oil to emulsify.
• Add dressing to salsa, toss, and serve.

I was in the bulk section at the grocery store yesterday and noticed the corn meal was 79 cents a pound, and I thought to myself: polenta! So right there I searched for “polenta” in my Allrecipes DinnerSpinner app and this yummilicious meal popped up.

I altered the recipe slightly based on what I already had on hand, plus I added chicken to make it a one-dish meal. Here’s how I did it:

Ingredients:
3 carrots, sliced
2 small zucchinis, sliced
a bunch of sliced mushrooms
1 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes w/ basil
1/2 can tomato paste
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pinch garlic salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 chicken breasts, saute’d and cut into bite sized pieces
1 (18 ounce) package prepared polenta*

*I started out by making my own polenta, and here’s how I did that.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Saute carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onion and bell pepper in a large saucepan with a small amount of olive oil. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Saute vegetables for approximately 5 minutes and pour in stewed tomatoes & tomato paste. Stir, cover and simmer until vegetables are slightly tender.
3. Slice polenta into 1/2 inch circles and season with garlic salt and pepper and layer the slices in a large casserole dish. Spoon the vegetable mixture over the polenta, top with the chicken pieces, then sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
4. Bake casserole for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

So good. So comforting. So healthy. Loved it!

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p.s. I’m testing out Google’s calendar widget for blogs, so check out my side bar to see what we’re having for dinner and also to find links to great recipes!