Sauteed Squash - Farmer's Market

This time of year one of my favorite things to do is to go to the local Farmer's Market that is held every Sunday on the lawn of Fairhaven High School. All the produce is locally grown and extremely fresh and flavorful. This week I came across Zucchini Balls that I just had to try.  I also grabbed a couple summer squash to go with them.

I decided to saute them on the stove while my husband was busy on the grill cooking our citrus marinated chicken tenderloins. I began by slicing the squashes and heating about 3 tablespoons of oil on the oven.  Next I added the squash to the heated oil and added 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. I covered and let simmer for roughly 10 to 15 minutes checking frequently.  I then added two tablespoons of margarine and continued to cook covered for about another 10 minutes. 

You do not want to over cook the squash as it will just turn to mush.  This is why cooking time can vary depending how thickly you cut the slices, so always keep a close eye on it while cooking. We now have the perfect veggie to add to our citrus marinated chicken and garlic mashed potatoes! 

As always, ENJOY!

BBQ Chicken Wings

I have to say that after every marinade and seasoning I have used I always go back to BBQ Sauce.  There is nothing like grilled chicken wing loaded with Honey BBQ Sauce.  Also, very very simple!  All you need is chicken wings and BBQ Sauce, coat the wings in sauce and toss on the grill.  I like to flip frequently and paint on additional sauce as you go to keep them moist.  Once completely cooked take them off and add one last coat of sauce and ENJOY!

Italian Herb Chicken

 

One of my favorite meals to make is Italian Herb Chicken over Whole Grain Rice.  It is so flavorful and hearty but yet one of the most simple meals to make. Here is a list of items you will need to get started:

1-2lbs of chicken tenders

1 can of hearty tomato basil soup

1 large can of Italian style stewed tomato's

1 package of McCormick Slow Cookers Italian Herb Chicken

2 bags of boil in a bag Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Rice

 Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners

Now before you start you will find a recipe on the McCormick Seasoning package but I like to tweak it and find my version tastes much better. Now I first line my slow cooker with the most wonderful creation int he planet, a Reynolds slow cooker liner.  This will save you tons of time scrubbing once your done as I find most people leave their food in the cooker to store until its gone, not realizing how difficult it will be to clean later on.  Once the cooker is lined cut the chicken tenders in half and place in the bottom.  Combine the seasoning mix with the soup and tomato's.  Pour this mixture over the chicken.  Now you can either set it on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours depending on how far in advance you start to cook.  When there is 15minutes left prepare your rice by following the instructions on the package.  Lastly pour the Italian Herb Chicken over a bowl of rice and top with some fresh parsley to taste and ENJOY!

Fresh Summer Salad

With all this heat lately no one really feels up to cooking but you still need dinner.  I love a great salad, and no not just a bowl of lettuce, a SALAD!!  These days you can find pretty much anything in a salad and many combo's you wouldn't typically think of pairing together.  My favorite is to add some fruit  and nuts to your veggies, especially berries! Below I chose a mix of romaine and red leaf lettuce with tomato's, cucumbers, black olives, pecans and raspberries to top it all off! Add a splash of Raspberry Vinaigrette and you have yourself a nice healthy cooling summer meal! And don't forget, you can always throw a piece of chicken or some leftover chicken you may have to add some protein to your dish.

Grilled Pizza

Who wants to light the oven in the summer time?  Well I know I sure don't if it is not necessary, especially at 450 when you are cooking a pizza!  So tonight we decided to cook our pizza on the grill!  We began by preheating our pizza stone on the grill for about 10 minutes.  We lightly coated the stone with about a TBSP of EVOO before putting in on.  While the stone was heating I prepared out ingredients.  Now me and my husband have completely different tastes when it comes to pizza so we do a half and half.  You can see our choices we used below.

 

Once the ingredients were prepared it was time to roll out the dough.  You can do this with a rolling pin or by hand.  I find it easiest to do it by hand and by the time you are done you can place it right onto the heated stone and cover.  I cook it on each side for about 2 minutes per side.  Now its time for the fun.  Create your pizza with the toppings of your choice, cover and let cook for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 

I always like to do a layer of cheese right on top of the sauce and a second layer on top of the toppings to hold it all in. As you can see below the cheese on top should be melted but not browned as the heat of the grill can cause the pizza to burn easily so you want to make sure to keep a close eye on it!  Enjoy!

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Corn on the Cob

Okay everyone, here it is, the one everyone has asked for with the exact recipe on how to make it.....

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Corn on the Cob

6 Corn - Husked and cleaned
1 package hickory smoked bacon
Cajun Seasoning
***I make my own version by mixing together the below,
*2tsp salt
*2 tsp garlic powder
*2 tsp paprika
*1 tsp black pepper
*1 tsp chili powder
*1 tsp onion powder
*2 tsp dried oregano
*1 tsp Italian Seasoning
*1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
6 sheets foil

Rub Seasoning onto the cleaned corn
Wrap each piece with 2-3 pieces of bacon
Wrap in foil tightly and twist ends to tighten (can use 2 sheets if needed)
I have a charcoal grill so we cooked for 20minutes turning every 5 minutes then closed the vent so the heat wouldn't be as hot and let cook for an additional 25minutes.
Check one piece to make sure the bacon is fully cooked and enjoy (I know my husband sure did)!

Grilled Cornish Hen

As you know, today was my grandmother's birthday and after that delicious rich cake who would have thought we would ever need to eat dinner?!?!?! WELL we did and decided on Cornish Game Hens!  These hens are tricky to grill as they are small and can dry out easily.  With the food processor we created a wet stuffing consisting of mainly celery, onions and a mixture of spices.

We then used a combination of those spices to coat the outside with to give the skin that extra flavor before sending them off to the grill!

 As you can see we were so anxious to bite in that we forgot the after picture.  The meat was very flavorful and extremely moist!  I can not wait to enjoy the rest for lunch tomorrow! 

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

This delectable Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake was made for my grandmother's birthday today.  When I asked her what she would like she said "you know I love chocolate" so chocolate was what I gave her!  I began with a basic chocolate batter and swirled chocolate fudge with chocolate chunks throughout the batter.  Once cooled I added a chocolate fudge filling with milk chocolate chips for a crunchy twist.  I then Frosted the entire cake in a chocolate buttercream frosting and completed it with semi sweet chocolate chips hand placed one by one!  Now THIS is what I call a Heavenly Chocolate Cake! Happy Birthday Gramma!