What's For Dinner: Garden Chicken

One of the best things about summer is being able to cook straight out of the garden.

I came home yesterday, picked a couple of Santa Fe peppers, a couple of Anaheim peppers, a couple of green sweet Chilean peppers and one red sweet Chilean pepper.

I chopped them, and added them to my saute pan.  I then added two diced tomatoes and some basil.

In another pan, I sauteed about a pound of chicken thighs.  Once the chicken was cooked through and the vegetables were soft, I added the vegetables to the chicken, and cooked for another 5 minutes or so.

In about 20 minutes, I went from this:

to this:

Tasty and fresh from the garden!  Love it!  What's on your table tonight?



Pin It

Menu Planning

I'm hungry and tired today (which is what I get I suppose for staying up late embroiled in Mouse Wars) which I think makes it hard to plan a menu. This is my plan for the week - let's see how we do.



Wednesday:  Chicken Murphy
Thursday:  Slow Cooker Tomato Corn Soup
Friday:  Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Pancetta Pizza
Saturday:  Grilled Lasagna
Sunday:  Dinner @ the Ballpark
Monday:  Spaghetti with Basil and Roasted Vegetable Sauce
Tuesday:  Someone Else Cooks!


Linked here:  Organizing Junkie

What's on your table this week?



Pin It

Mouse vs zentMRS and The Mr

While that darned mouse may have dealt the first blow, we are quick to retaliate!

Last night we stayed up late building these in the dark....

Screened in enclosures for our raised beds.

Hinged doors with hooks so that we can get in but Mouse can't.

Easy access to the plants.  So (assuming they can come back after the last beating from Mouse) we will be able to tend to them.

Our second shot?  Poison.  I'm not big on poisoning things in my yard.  I don't want to introduce poison into the food cycle.  We've seen predators in our yard (birds mostly and the occasional coyote) so I do know that a dead/dying mouse could be eaten.  But the other traps haven't worked.  So we're trying this poison that is supposed to not be bad for other things.  We'll see.

And we'll also hope that Mouse doesn't figure out that we have a whole (and fairly accessible) bed of peas and corn not very far away.  Let's just keep that our secret.


Pin It

In the Garden: Argh!

To quote a rather famous enemy of the mouse - "I hate those meeces to pieces!"

This is what they have done to my peas.  And I couldn't bear to take another picture of the peppers.  Too sad.  We'll try again to save them.  This time, you rotten ol' mice, we mean business.

We do have many bright spots in the garden though - the first of the cherry peppers are starting to turn red.

And this beautiful sunflower decided to pop up in the middle of the rose garden!

The roses are insane this year.  This one is nearly the height of the roof.

Insane, but pretty!

And still lots and lots of watermelon flowers.  I keep hoping to see little tiny watermelons, but so far we haven't been lucky.  Though the watermelon plants are ridiculously big and busy and I wouldn't be surprised to see a big watermelon before we even knew it was growing!

I can certainly tell you that next week will not be bringing bell peppers. Hopefully some dead mice. Grr. And maybe something else? A carrot possibly?  Check back next week to see - in the meantime, check out An Oregon Cottage for her weekly Garden Party.



Pin It

Harvest Monday: July 11, 2011

This week's harvest - more strawberries and basil, but also our first Red Chilean Sweet Pepper!

Total Harvest for the Week:  6.6 ounces
Total Harvest for the Year:  12 pounds, 4.8 ounces

The strawberries are still coming, we've got more peas to pick this week, a couple of sweet peppers, possibly some green onions and some hot peppers.  And we're still anxiously waiting for the corn and tomatoes!

Linked up with Daphne's Dandelion's Harvest Monday... hop on over and see what else is being picked this week.

Pin It

What's For Dinner: Chicken Salad With Apples and Basil

I like chicken salad that doesn't have mayo.  Not a mayo fan.

Except in tuna salad.

Apparently I am particular.  Or just odd.

Either way, this chicken salad fits the bill.  The sweet crunch of the apples mixed with the flavor burst of the fresh basil is a fresh summery delight!



Chicken Salad with Apples and Basil
Ingredients

• 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
• 1 tablespoon white wine or rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 4 scallions (white and light green parts), thinly sliced
• 2 Granny Smith apples (peeled, if desired), diced
• 1/3 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh mint
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Directions

1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Pound it to an even thinness.
2. Place the chicken in a large saucepan and add water to cover by ½ inch. Add 3 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and bring to a gentle simmer.
3. Cook until no trace of pink remains, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the lime juice, vinegar, and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the scallions and apples and toss.
5. Drain, pat dry, and dice the chicken. Add it to the apple mixture with the peanuts, mint, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
6. Toss and divide among individual plates.

Some tips:

• This can be made and refrigerated up to a day in advance.
• Need it in a hurry?  Use store-bought rotisserie chicken in place of the chicken breasts.
• Add pasta, couscous or quinoa for a more substantial meal.
• Also great served with crusty French bread!

What will you have for dinner?



Pin It

Menu Planning

I forgot to post this yesterday! I must be a day behind due to the holiday. The same as the folks who pick up trash and recycling.



Wednesday:  Chicken on the Grill
Thursday:  Pork Chops and Pesto
Friday:  Grilled Fish in Foil
Saturday:  Chicken Tikka Kabobs
Sunday:  Camp Day Dinner
Monday:  Stuffed Jumbo Shells
Tuesday:  Someone Else Cooks!


Linked here:  Organizing Junkie

What's on your table this week?



Pin It

Maybe We Are in Kansas... or Louisiana...

June gloom is over, and we are on the to lovely days of sun and moderate, dry heat that is the trademark of San Diego.

Except when we walked out of handbell practice last evening, I could have sworn we had been transported to Louisiana! Hot, humid and green skies... almost tornado weather.

Fortunately, all we got was a few raindrops and a beautiful one of these:

The rainbow kind of makes up for the hot and humid night.

Pin It

An Excellent Accompaniment

I think side dishes often get overlooked.

We focus on our main dishes, and then run out of time when it comes time for put out the side dishes.

Or we don't want anything to overshadow our main dish (the one we've slaved over and spent so much time planning) so we add a can of corn and some white rice.

(Well, maybe it is just me.)

As it turns out, the right side dishes can be both simple to make, and compliment your main dishes.  Take this Fresh Corn Salad for example.

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts
• 4 cups fresh corn kernels (from 4 ears), raw or cooked
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta (2 ounces)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool and roughly chop.
2. In a large bowl, combine the corn, jalapeños, lime juice, oil, walnuts, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle with the Feta before serving.

Tip:
When cutting corn off the cob, place your cutting board in a rimmed baking sheet to catch flying kernels and juices.


This was so good, I could have it every night!  I love the combination of sweet and salty and spicy.  What is your favorite side dish?

Pin It

In the Garden: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

OK - let's start off with "The Good"...

We harvested strawberries and peas this week!

Not a lot of either, but enough for some strawberries after dinner, a treat of which I never tire.

Total Harvest for the Week:  7.4 ounces
Total Harvest for the Year:  11 pounds, 12.2 ounces

And it looks like we'll have some variety next week.  The Chilean Sweet Peppers are just about ready...

... and a couple of jalapenos (hopefully spicy!)

The corn won't be ready for a while, but is looking fabulous!

And this pumpkin grows visibly every day - it's astonishing!

On to The Bad.  These are (or were) peas.  Before the stupid caterpillars.  We've sprayed and hopefully can salvage them.  They also got to the bell pepper plants.  Just when they were starting to come back.  Grr.  Why can't we ever get caterpillars or insects that want to eat weeds?!  That would solve quite a few problems.

And The Ugly?  Rose worm (I think) and rust.  Poor rose.  We're working on it though and, (as my FIL likes to say, roses are basically weeds anyway, so they aren't hard to grow) it will come back.  Eventually.

So there you have it.  On our way to harvest nirvana?  Gardening frustration?  A little of both?  Check back next week to see - in the meantime, check out An Oregon Cottage for her weekly Garden Party.

Also linked up with Daphne's Dandelion's Harvest Monday... hop on over and see what else is being picked this week.

Pin It

Sunday Snapshot - Water Fun, Old School

One of the things that you find out when you live near the beach, is that you don't go to the beach on holiday weekends.  Traffic is bad, it is crowded, people are rude... not much fun about those things.

That being said, what does one do for water fun on a hot summer afternoon if one doesn't go to the beach?

Slip -n- Slide of course!

Hope you all have a wonderful  holiday!

Pin It

What's For Dinner - Bobby Flay's Fra Diavlo BBQ and Steak

Wow - this sauce was amazing!  I'm glad I made extra, because I think it will make fantastic "ketchup" for burgers later in the week!

I thought it was also pretty easy to make. I put mine in my food processor before serving because I wanted it to be a bit smoother. I also used a chipotle pepper (from a can, not dried) place of the red pepper flakes. Both variations worked beautifully!

Hopefully later in the season, everything will be from the garden!


Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 3 cups canned plum tomatoes, pureed
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until thickened, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve with grilled steak - and enjoy!

Pin It

What's For Dinner: Tomato and Basil Sauce

I'm loving (!) having a ton of fresh basil!  So for dinner last night, I decided to make fresh tomato and basil sauce for our spaghetti dinner.  (well, fresh basil anyway... fresh tomatoes are a ways off... assuming we actually grow some...)

Here's how I made my sauce:


Tomato and Basil Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 14 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 - 1 cup red wine (chicken broth also works here)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups of fresh basil (about 2.5 ounces)
• pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium nonstick saucepan sprayed with cooking spray, saute the onion until soft.
2. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, and cook until heated through.
3. Add the sugar and wine and simmer for 15 minutes.  (you can add some more wine here if the consistency of the sauce is to thick for your taste)
4. Add the basil and simmer another 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and serve with your favorite pasta and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

This was super-fresh and delicious.  I cannot wait (and I hope I am not jinxing my tomato growth by saying this here) until we have fresh tomatoes out of the garden to use for this recipe!

Pin It