The Simplest (And Prettiest) Summer Salad

Isn't that just the most gorgeous salad?  I love the vivid colors of summer tomatoes, black balsamic reduction, creamy white mozzarella, and bright green basil.  When vine ripe tomatoes are at their peak, I like to turn to Caprese Salad as a pot luck dish, or an elegant side dish for any night of the week.

I made this salad for my Mom's garden party a couple weeks ago, and I'm making it again tomorrow night when Wade and I entertain my parents and two close friends of the family during our small town's annual festival and fireworks celebration.  It's a cinch to make a few hours and advance and keep in the fridge until serving time, though it is probably best to keep the balsamic reduction in a separate container until just before serving time so that it looks nice and fresh.  Red tomatoes are beautiful in this salad, but heirloom tomatoes add a nice homey touch and visual appeal

•Approximately 2 1/2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes

•1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese

•A small handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

•1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Simmer the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat until it has reduced by about 2/2 and has a light syrup-like consistency.  Set aside.

Slice the tomatoes thickly and set aside.  Slice the mozzarella cheese into thin slices and set aside.

Layer the tomatoes and cheese slices out in a fan shape on a large serving platter, alternating cheese and tomatoes.  Drizzle with the balsamic reduction.  Sprinkle the finely chopped basil over the salad and serve.

Quick Summer Squash with Preserved Lemon

This recipe is so easy it almost isn't a recipe.  I love preserved lemons and make a quart jar every winter, but sometimes it is hard to find ways to use them.  Chicken Tagine with green olives is a favorite as is rice pilaf, but they are also great with a simple baked chicken with fresh herbs.  Preserved lemons add a nice depth to sauteed squash to help mix things up in the summer when summer squash is available in abundance.

•1 Tablespoon olive oil

•3 cloves garlic, minced

•2 large summer squash- crooked neck, yellow, or zucchini, sliced

•1/4 of a preserved lemon, rinsed and finely chopped

•1 teaspoon dried thyme

•a sprinkling of kosher salt, to taste (optional, preserved lemons are a bit salty)

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot add garlic and sauté until lightly browned.  Add the sliced squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and nicely browned in spots.  Stir in the preserved lemon, thyme, and salt, if using.  Serve immediately.

Rice Salad with Sushi Inspired Flavors- A Great Use for Leftovers

I love rice salads for quick summer suppers or side dishes.  They are filling enough to be satisfying, but not too heavy for a hot day.  With temperatures in the triple digits on a consistent basis here this summer, cold suppers really hit the spot.

The dressing for this recipe is based on the sushi ginger dressing recipe from the Quinoa Salad in Canning for a New Generation.  I used some vegetables from the fridge that are commonly found in sushi rolls- cucumber and avocado- and paired them with the complimentary flavors of green onion, wasabi, and nori.  I used leftover cold salmon as the protein, but smoked salmon, shrimp, lump crabmeat, and tuna steaks would all work nicely in this recipe. Feel free to adjust the protein and vegetables around to use what you have on hand.  Shredded carrots, thinly sliced cabbage, and edamame would all be great additions.

For the Dressing:

•1/3 cup pickling liquid from a jar of sushi ginger

•1/3 cup minced sushi ginger

•1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

•2 Tablespoons tamari, or soy sauce

•3/4 cup olive oil

•a small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

•Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, whisk together the pickling liquid from the sushi ginger, the minced ginger, and Dijon mustard.  Add the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking to combine.  Stir in the cilantro.  Season to taste with the salt and pepper.  Set aside



•3 cups cooked rice, cooled

•2 leftover cooked salmon fillets, cubed (or use 1- 1 1/2 cups shrimp, crabmeat, etc.)

•1 cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced

•4 green onions, sliced

•1 avocado, cubed

•1 teaspoon wasabi, or more, to taste

•4 sheets nori, cut into 1 inch squares

Add the rice, salmon, cucumber, green onions, avocado, and wasabi to the bowl with the dressing.  Toss very gently with a spatula taking care not to smash the avocados.  Add the nori and toss gently to combine.  Chill for at least an hour before serving to let flavors combine.

Cajun Skillet Dinner

I've been making this recipe for about a year now.  It's always a welcome meal at the end of the day and in the summer I can use a lot of garden fresh produce.  The Cajun Chicken and Shrimp that I made earlier this year is based off of this recipe.  You can mix it up with just about any meat or combinations of meat that you have on hand.

Everything comes together for this dinner in about 20 minutes, so it is great for when time is short.  I like to keep all of the ingredients on hand for nights when we are too tired/hungry to do anything else.

•1 Tablespoon olive oil
•4 large cloves garlic, minced
•1 smoked sausage ring, sliced

•1 bag frozen pepper and onion blend (I like to chop and freeze home grown peppers to keep on hand for winter- you can also use 1 onion, 1 red pepper, and one green bell pepper)

•1 16 oz. bag frozen okra
•1 pint cajun tomatoes, undrained,  or 1 can of regular diced tomatoes and 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
•1/2 cup chicken stock
•Pepper, to taste (you probably won't need salt as the sausage already has plenty)
•Hot sauce to taste, plus more for serving
•Brown or white rice for serving

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and stir for one minute, until it becomes fragrant and slightly browned.  Stir in the sausage slices and cook until they begin to brown slightly.  Add the onion and pepper blend.  Cook until almost tender.  Add the remaining ingredients, except for rice.  Simmer until heated through.  The okra will help to thicken the sauce slightly.  Serve over rice with extra hot sauce.

Super Fast Chicken and Shrimp- Cajun Style

Wade and I were able to get away for some much needed rest and relaxation the past week.  We drove down to New Mexico and went to Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell, Albuquerque, the area around the Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb was tested, Santa Fe, and Los Alamos.  Whew!

It was a great time, but there was a lot of driving.  After spending nearly eight hours in the car yesterday on our way home we were ready for a quick home-cooked meal.  It also had to be something spicy so we could try out the hot sauces we bought on the trip.

I threw together this Cajun style dish from things we had on hand that were either canned or frozen.  It was simple, filling, and spicy.

•1 Tablespoon olive oil
•a bag of frozen peppers and onions- or one chopped onion and two chopped peppers
•a bag of frozen okra
•one can of Cajun spiced tomatoes- ours were home canned, but you can use a can of diced tomatoes and some thyme, garlic, paprika, and cayenne pepper
•2 cups chicken broth
•a couple of cooked chicken breasts, cut into pieces
•1 pound shrimp, peeled
•cooked rice, for serving
•LOTS of hot sauce

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat.  Saute the peppers until they become slightly tender.  Add the okra, tomatoes, chicken broth, and chicken breasts.  Add any additional seasonings you like.  Simmer for a few minutes, until the okra is heated through. Stir in the shrimp and simmer until they are pink.  Serve over rice.  Pass the hot sauce!

Moroccan Chicken, Green Olive, and Preserved Lemon Tagine

A tagine is a slow cooked North African sort of stew that is named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked.  Often times tagines combine sweet and savory foods together with vegetables and then they are served with rice or cous cous.  Some popular combinations are lamb or chicken with a variation of prunes, dried apricots, preserved lemons, honey, raisins, and almonds.  Vegetable tagines also contain a variety of vegetables along with something sweet.

I  made this dish on a busy day last weekend between running errands, meeting with a friends, and going to a party that night.  I love it because it tastes exotic and complicated, but it couldn't be easier to make.

I mixed the chicken ingredients together in the morning and let it marinate in the fridge all day.  Then when I got home I dumped the entire tupperware full of chicken and spices into a dutch oven with the remaining ingredients and let it cook slowly on the stove while I finished up some things around the house.  You could make this in a real tagine if you have one, or maybe even a crockpot, though the texture would be different.

This recipe is adapted from the tagine recipes found here and here.

•1 whole bone in, skin on chicken, cut into serving pieces

•2 Tablespoons paprika

•1 teaspoon tumeric

•1 teaspoon cumin

•1 teaspoon cinnamon

•1 teaspoon black pepper

•3 cloves garlic, chopped

•1 inch fresh ginger, chopped

•1 whole preserved lemon, pulp removed and chopped, peel sliced and set aside (you can buy preserved lemons at specialty shops, but they usually run $6-10 a jar, so it is much, much better to make your own)

•olive oil, to drizzle

•1 can plain, unstuffed green olives

•1 large or 2 medium onions, diced finely

Combine the chicken, paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, garlic, ginger, and preserved lemon pulp together in a large bowl until thoroughly coated.  There is no salt added because the preserved lemon is rather salty.  Drizzle the chicken with a little bit of olive oil so that the spices mix in nicely.  Transfer to a container and let marinate in the fridge all day, or even overnight.

Place the entire contents of the container with chicken in a dutch oven over medium low heat.  Add the olives, onions, and the preserved lemon peels.  Cook covered for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, gently stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.  It should be very tender.  Serve with cous cous.http://kitchenprocrastination.blogspot.com/2011/12/preserved-lemons-are-just-about-easiest.html

Easy Beef Enchiladas for a Long Day

As much as I love cooking, some days I don't want to have to do much of anything in the kitchen.  Tuesday was one of those days.  Wade was off of work, so in addition to getting some work done on my thesis we worked on the yard and started replacing the gutters on the house.  

After working outside in the chilly fall air for several hours we were hungry for something hearty and easy to make.

I have been making beef enchiladas this way since high school.  Come to think of it, this is one of the first dishes I remember making when I became interested in cooking.  It has been a mainstay for cold, lazy nights for years.  

Easy Beef Enchiladas

•package of small corn or flour tortillas

•1 pound ground beef (or turkey if you prefer)

•1 small onion, chopped

•4 oz. can chopped green chilies

•16 oz can red enchilada sauce (I used some that I canned earlier in the summer from this University of Utah Extension Office recipe, but I've also used this recipe from Emeril, or just the plain canned stuff from the store)

•2 cups shredded cheddar, Monterey jack, or pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

Brown the ground beef, onions, and chilies in a large skillet till cooked through.  Drain, if there is too much fat in the pan.  Stir in about 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup of cheese.  This will help hold the beef together a bit, making it easier to roll up the enchiladas and keep them from falling apart when serving.  

Spray or brush each tortilla with a small amount of olive oil to soften.  (I use a Misto filled with olive oil),  Microwave until soft and pliable.  You could also heat some oil in a small skillet and soften them that way, but using the microwave is easier.  Perfect for a lazy evening. 

Place a few tablespoons of the beef mixture in each tortilla.  Roll up and place in a lightly greased baking dish.  Continue with the rest of the tortillas and beef mixture.  Top the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and cheese.  Bake until heated through and bubbly, about 20 minutes.  Serve with rice, beans, and sour cream.

Two New Favorites! In One Night!

Wade and I are planning a road trip to New Mexico in a few months.  We will be going to Roswell to see the UFO museum and all of the other alien-themed things in the area (because we are just dorks like that.)  We'll also go through Santa Fe, which is probably the only other place I'd ever want to live besides Colorado.Looking at all of travel information online made me really, really want some spicy Southwest food.  Right then and there.

This is the best meal that I have made in a long time. I discovered two new favorites.  The Chipotle Mayo Chicken based on the recipe from The Homesick Texan and Roasted Jalapeno Rajas are going to become part of our regular menu rotation.

Chipotle Mayo Chicken, Adapted from The Homesick Texan

•4-6 bone in, skin on chicken thighs (or a package of drumsticks)
•1/2 cup mayonnaise
•1 Tablespoon lime juice
•A handful of chopped cilantro
•2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, finely chopped (freeze the rest individually in ice cube trays.  When you need a few chilies you can just chop up as many as you need, don't bother to thaw them)
•About 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cumin
•About 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•Salt and pepper, to taste.

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix together the mayo, lime juice, cilantro, chipotles, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat thoroughly.  Place chicken pieces in a baking dish. Top with any leftover mayo mixture. Bake for about one hour, until the chicken juices run clear.

For the Rajas:

•1 Tablespoon olive oil
•1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices

•1/2 cup roasted poblanos, jalapenos, or other pepper of your choice, sliced.
•Salt and pepper to taste
•1/2 cup sour cream

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until they become partially caramelized, about 15-20 minutes.  Add the jalapenos, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Add the sour cream and heat through.  Serve with hot flour or corn tortillas.