Black Bean Lime Cous Cous

This salad doesn't really have a specific recipe. It is just a combination of some ingredients I had in my refrigerator combined with some cous cous (because it sounded good). I tossed in corn, cilantro, basil, black beans, red bell pepper and scallions. I tossed it with some cous cous that I cooked in chicken broth. After it was all tossed together, I squeezed in some fresh lime juice and zest, and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I also grilled some seafood skewers and veggie skewers with grilled nectarines...so yummy! It made for a great summer meal.

Roasted Eggplant Dip

I didn't have very high hopes for this recipe, but I wanted to try it out anyway. Boy was I wrong!! This dip is so delicious! It would be great as a spread on wraps or sandwiches. It makes a great dip for fresh pita chips or veggies. I served it with spiced pita chips to go with our meal of black bean lime cous cous salad and skewers. It was a great addition and I will make it again!

Roasted Eggplant Spread

Barefoot Contessa

2 medium eggplants, peeled
1 red bell pepper, seeded
1 red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, cayenne and salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Cool slightly.
Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the lemon juice and tahini, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and add the chopped parsley. Garnish with extra parsley.

Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

This chili rub is one of the easiest most flavorful rubs I have ever used. I honestly could not believe the flavor that a couple of simple ingredients could produce. It was not spicy hot at all....just delicious. It would be great on chicken or shrimp and is also spectacular on salmon! I fed my husband the pork and I had a beautiful fresh salmon filet. It paired nicely served over brown rice, with a green salad, a fresh piece of corn on the cob, and a simple quesadilla topped with fresh mango peach salsa and olives. I found the recipe on Martha Stewart's website. When I found it, I immediately knew I HAD to try it. You shoud give this recipe a try too. I am sure you already have the ingredients in your pantry!

Chili Rub Pork Tenderloin

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grill pan
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine oil, garlic, and chili powder in a large, shallow dish. Add pork, and turn to coat evenly with chili mixture. Sprinkle pork with sesame seeds, and press seeds into meat. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat, and brush with oil. Add pork, and cook until browned and grill marks appear, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Transfer pan to oven. Roast pork to desired doneness, 17 to 18 minutes for medium. Let stand for at least 5 minutes, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve with pan juices.

Savory Peach Chicken

Thank you Ellie Kreiger!!! I love peaches, but I never thought of combining them with orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and chicken broth to make a delicious flavorful sauce for chicken. I saw Ellie Kreiger (from the Food Network) make this several months ago and have been wanting to try it for a long time. Since peaches have been on sale I decided it was finally time. This recipe will go on my "make again" list. It was so good! I served the chicken and sauce over brown rice and garnished it with scallions, cilantro, and toasted almonds. I also served it with a side of stir-fried veggies (eddamme, asparagus, red onions, zucchini). It was a wonderful meal. The recipe suggests to cook the chicken with the sauce at the end, but I actually seasoned the chicken with grill seasoning and broiled it for about 8 minutes. I think I will always prefer to do it this way.

Savory Peach Chicken


1 tablespoon canola oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 large firm-ripe peaches, cut into 1/4-inch slices, or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peaches, (about 4 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Directions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Meanwhile combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and orange juice in a small bowl and set aside. When the chicken is browned, transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, the soy sauce mixture, and the peaches to the pan. Turn the heat up to high and cook, uncovered, for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is nicely thickened and the peaches soften. Add the chicken back to the pan with the sauce, turn the heat down to moderate-low, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
In the meantime, toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Serve the chicken topped with the sauce and sprinkled with the toasted almonds.

Seared Scallops with Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese Pasta

I have been craving scallops for the past two weeks. I don't know what it is about fresh seafood, but the light and delicate flavor is so enjoyable and satisfying to me. Seafood, especially scallops, don't need many ingredients to make them taste good. For example, these scallops were simply seasoned with salt and pepper and then seared. I served a slice of lemon on the side just to bring out the flavors in the the sauteed spinach with garlic and the seared scallops. I also made a fresh batch of rosemary, sage and garlic foccacia and a creamy goat cheese and roasted vegetable pasta salad to go along with these delicious scallops. This is an excellent pasta recipe if you are in the mood for a pasta that is creamy, yet healthy and light at the same time. It gets a great tangy flavor from the goat cheese and mustard. It was a light, yet satisfying meal for a beautiful June afternoon.

Seared Scallops

Large sea scallops

salt

pepper

olive oil

Heat one-two teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet. Heat skillet. Rinse and dry scallops and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place scallops in skillet and sear on both sides until lightly golden. About 2 minutes per side.

Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 pkg. washed spinach

heat olive oil in skillet. Add sliced garlic and sautee until lightly golden. Add spinach and toss until lightly wilted. Serve seared scallops on top of spinach and serve with a slice of lemon.

Creamy Goat Cheese and Roasted Vegetable Pasta

2 tablespoons grainy mustard
4 ounces creamy goat cheese log, broken into pieces
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise into thirds

1 red bell pepper washed, seeded and chopped into large pieces

1/2 large eggplant iced

1/2 of and 8 oz. pkg. mushrooms sliced

1 zucchini diced

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill leaves
Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss chopped vegetables with olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until lightly golden, about 20 minutes.
In a small skillet over medium heat, toast pine nuts, stirring often, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook 3/4 pound fettuccine (or other thick-stranded pasta) until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water; drain.
Return pasta, roasted vegetable, and a little reserved pasta water to the pot (add as much as you need). Toss with goat cheese, mustard, dill (or other fresh herb), and toasted pine nuts. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper.

Southwest Salmon Salad

This salad is the result of not having a lot of food in the refrigerator and wanting something light, yet satisfying. This salad hit the spot! My husband liked it too! It has a great combination of flavors and is a great meal for a warm summer night. I'll admit, I had two huge plates of this salad. The best thing is that you can use any vggies you like. I would have added corn if I would have had some.....maybe next time. The salmon was juicy and tender...just the way we like it. You could also easily use chicken or shrimp instead. I served this with grilled garlic-cheese bread.

Cilantro Lime Dressing

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)

1 garlic clove

dash salt and pepper

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Blend all ingredients but oil in food processor. After ingredients are finely chopped, slowly drizzle in oil while the machine is running.

Salad:

salad greens

chopped tomatoes, avocado, red bell pepper, green onions, cucumber, olives

kidney or black beans

Roasted asparagus

Shredded cheese (I used goat cheese)

Grilled Salmon (I seasoned it with grill seasoning and a souhwest seasoning with a dash of lime juice)

Potato wedges (slice 4-5 red potatoes into wedges, place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with a variety of seasonings. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes)

Carne Asada Pizza

You may be saying to yourself...."What? Pizza again?" Yes. Pizza again. What can I say? We love homemade pizza especially my husband. Also, pizza is great because you can throw pretty much anyting on it and it tastes great! I had some cilantro pesto and some steak in the freezer that needed to be used up. I always have the ingredients to make pizza dough and we usually have a couple of different kinds of cheese. A perfect gathering of ingredients for a tastey pizza. I made one for my husband with all his favorites (steak, cheese, pesto, red onion, olives, green chilies, and roasted red peppers). I had some ricotta cheese in the refrigerator, so I experimented putting that on his pizza.....he was QUITE pleased with my decision! I made my own pizza with cilantro pesto, red onion, grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, sauteed mushroom, zucchini, olives, green chilies, and grilled peppers. I was also quite pleased with my pizza. I know that most people may not like so many toppings, but I do!!!! I am not going to write a specific recipe because I pretty much jsut threw a bunch of things together (I have already listed what I used). Maybe this will inspire you to create your own pizza!