Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu

Yup, that's right - you can make Chicken Cordon Bleu on the grill.  It's fast, it's easy and it's a lot less calories without all the breading.  Did I add that it's really, really good?  I served it with my baked tomato recipe (see the June 25th post).  To make this you will need:
4 thin chicken breast cutlets
Olive Oil or Pam (let's reduce those calories some more)
Salt and Pepper (or my favorite Nature's Seasoning)
8 slices of prosciutto
1 bag of reduced fat shredded Swiss Cheese



1)  Preheat the grill to high.  Either spray the cutlets with Pam, or brush with Olive Oil.  Sprinkle the cutlets with salt and pepper.


2.)  Place the cutlets on the grill.  Cover.  Grill on each side for 4 minutes.  Once you have flipped them, place 2 slices of the Prosciutto on the top of each cutlet.  Cover with the Swiss cheese.  Cover the grill again and cook until the cheese has melted and is bubbly.  This will only take a few minutes.  Enjoy~!!!!!!

Lemon Ice Cream- Can be made Vegan!

The one piece of kitchen equipment I do not own is an ice cream machine.  This delicious little recipe showed up in my inbox.  It's not my creation.  But I tried it and I really like it.  I reduced the calories by using low fat Half and Half.  If you wanted to really reduce the calories, use Splenda instead of sugar!  So I am sharing.  Here's is the super easy Lemon Ice Cream recipe to try.  To make this you will need:
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
1 pint half and half (vegans use soy creamer)

1.)  Blend all ingredients well.  I used a mixer.  Next time I will use the blender!
2.)  Pour into a loaf pan.
3.)  Freeze for three hours.  There is no need to still, it will freeze smooth.  Take it out a few minutes before serving to be able to spoon it.  I served with fresh blueberries.  It is quite sweet, so it might go better on a slice of apple pie, or reduce the amount of sugar.  It is light and refreshing!

Stuffed, Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Peach Whiskey Beurre Blanc

This is fabulous.  I mean really fabulous.  Just don't be on a diet because this is not figure friendly.  It is a great meal to serve to company.  Or on a night that you need grilled comfort food!  I served mine with mashed turnips from our garden.  It may have a lot of ingredients, but it is pretty easy to make.  For this recipe you will need:
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

4 ounces cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 links Italian sausage, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large corn muffin

Dash of Italian seasoning

1 Pork Tenderloin

1.)  In a medium fry pan, heat up 1 tablespoon of the oil.  Add the onion, the garlic, the mushrooms and the sausage.  Keep crumbling the sausage.  Cook until the sausage is done, the mushroom and onions have wilted and are slightly sauteed.  Add salt and pepper.  Using your fingers, crumble in the corn muffin.  Add the dash of Italian seasoning.  Time for a quality control check.  Taste the stuffing to make sure it has adequate seasonings.

2.)   On a piece of was paper, butterfly the tenderloin by cutting it in half almost all the way through, but not quite.  Cover with another piece of was paper.  Using either a mallet or a rolling pin.  Roll out the tenderloin to try to make it an even flatness.  It will be about an inch thick.  Put the stuffing on the tenderloin.  Do not go all the way out to the edges.  Put any leftover stuffing in a foil packet and put on the top rack of the grill.
3.)  Start preheating the grill to high.  Secure the tenderloin with with toothpicks or butchers twine.  (I normally use butcher's twine but my husband used it to secure the flowers and the tomatoes!)  Brush the tenderloin with the other tablespoon of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
4.)  Sear the tenderloin on the grill, making sure all sides of the tenderloin are browned.  Reduce the heat to low and cover the tenderloin with foil.  Close the lid and cook for about another 15 - 20 minutes.  Grill until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees.

5.)  Remove from the grill and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Slice and serve with the Beurre Blanc sauce below.

Peach Whiskey Beurre Blanc

oil, for coating peaches

2 peaches, halved and pitted

7 tablespoons, cubed and chilled

1/2 onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper diced

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/4 cup whiskey

1/2 cup half and half

1.)  Lightly oil the peaches and put them on the grill for about 3-5 minutes, until they are soft and have grill marks.  Chop them into pieces.

2.)  In a saucepan put 1 tablespoon of the butter and melt.  Add the onion, the jalapeno, the ginger and the peaches.  Saute for about 5 minutes. 

3.)  Remove from heat.  Add the whiskey, return to heat and allow it to reduce by half. 

4.)  Add the half and half and let it reduce again.  Strain the sauce through a sieve.

5.)  Stir in the balance of the butter until smooth and serve over the tenderloin slices.

Summer Lasagna - Can be made Vegan!

I so enjoy this time of year with the abundance and availability of great fresh produce.  This dish is light and a total cinch to put together.  We were having chicken a few nights ago, so I just grilled an additional breast for this dish and refrigerated it until I was preparing this.  For the Lasagna you will need:
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 medium onion diced
1 small red pepper diced
1 medium russet potato, cubed
2 ears of corn, corn removed from cob
Shake of red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (vegans omit)
1/4 cup of bacon bits (vegans use the imitation bacon bits)
1 cup milk (or soy for our vegan friends)
1/2 cup veggie or chicken broth
2 cups diced chicken
Oven ready lasagna noodles
Panko breadcrumbs or mozzarella

1.)  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil.  Add the onion, the red pepper, the potato and the corn.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the red pepper flakes, the salt and pepper and the thyme.  Continue cooking stirring frequently until the vegetables are soft.
2.)  Once the vegetables are soft.  Puree half this mixture with either an immersion blender or in your blender.  Add the bacon, the milk and the broth of choice.
3.)  Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray your casserole dish with Pam and start layering.  The corn mixture is the first layer, then the lasagna noodles.  Repeat until you have used all of the corn mixture.  Sprinkle with either mozzarella or Panko breadcrumbs (I used Panko because my husband does not like cheese).  Spray with Pam if you go the breadcrumb route.  Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins - can be made Vegan!

Blueberries are in season.  They are beautiful, fat and delicious.   I make my with a cinnamon streusel on top.  It's such a nice compliment to the muffin itself.   Blueberries are quite good for your health, so grab some and let's bake.  For the muffins you will need:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon  salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg slightly beaten (Vegan use egg replacer)

1/3 cup milk (vegan use almond milk)

1 teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract

1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter (Vegan use earth balance)

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Either spray muffin cups with Pam or lines with cupcake liners.
2.) Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix together the wet ingredients. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Do not over mix, you do not want a tough muffin. Gently fold in the blueberries.

3.) Make the streusel topping by mixing together with a fork the 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, the 2 tablespoons butter (I softened the butter for 10 seconds) and the 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Sprinkle over the muffins before baking.
4.) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until tested with a toothpick for doneness.



Warm Blueberry muffins make every morning better!

Balsamic Stuffed Tomatoes - Great Garnish and Vegan too!!!

I have this one tomato plant that keeps giving me smaller tomatoes.  They are larger than a cherry or grape tomato, but not quite a big tomato.  I thought, okay what do we do with these.  Then I realized that they would make a great garnish.  And wait, let's stuff them!  Let's make the stuffing a little less traditional and make a balsamic stuffing.  To make these tasty treats you will need:
Smaller sized tomatoes (this recipe is based on 4 servings or 2 tomatoes
2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
shake of salt and pepper
healthy shake of garlic powder
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (vegans leave this out)
1 1/2 tablespoons of dried chives
Hot water
1.)  Take a teaspoon and carve the filling out of the tomatoes.  Chop this up and place it in a bowl.  To to bowl add the balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic powder.   Put in the microwave and cook for 1 1/2 minutes to 2 minutes.  You want the mixture to thicken up.
2.)  Add the Panko, Parmesan cheese and the dried chives.  Add small amounts of water at a time to make a stuffing like consistency.  Stuff the tomatoes.
3.)  As it is the summer, I put these right on the top rack of the grill for about 20 minutes.  If you do not have a top rack for your grill, put them on the warm (not hot side of the grill).  Or if using your oven, 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Every time I make these my husband (who isn't a tomato lover) gobbles them up!  And for him I also don't put in the cheese.

French Dip Sandwiches - Easy Crock pot recipe

Who wants to be stuck inside on a lovely day in the summer?  This is an easy dinner that you can throw all the ingredients in the crock pot in the morning and come home (or inside from playing all day) to a delicious dinner.  This is one of my son-in-law Jon's favorite all time recipes! To make this recipe you will need:
4 pounds rump roast (I have used whatever is on sale!)
Garlic Powder
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
6 French rolls
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
12 slices Pepper Jack cheese (optional)

1.)  Place the roast in the crock pot.  Sprinkle with garlic powder.  Add in the beef broth, the onion soup, and the bottle of beer.  Set the crock pot to low and cook for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
2.)  Take the meat out of the crock pot and shred the meat.  If your roast has fat, remove the fat and discard it.  Return the meat to the crock pot and cook for an additional half hour, while you prepare the rolls.
3.)  Preheat the oven to 350.  Combine the butter with the garlic.  Spread on the bread and broil for one minute.  Top the rolls with the cheese and return to the oven for the cheese to melt.  I cheated on this time and had purchased prepared garlic bread on sale, so I used that instead.
4.)  Pile the meat on the prepared rolls.  Place the au jus in bowls for dipping the sandwiches in.  Simply scrumptious!

Cashew Butter and it's Vegan!! (Delicious too!)

My husband is a big fan of Cashew and Almond butters.  The price of these items in your local market is ridiculous!  Make it yourself.  Go to either a restaurant supply store, a bulk item store or aisle or someplace that you can buy cashew or almonds inexpensively.  I also recommend making the butters in smaller batches.  Fresh taste goes a long way to happiness!  This is super easy, here we go:
You will need:
1/2 pound of either roasted cashews or almonds (blanched without skin)
small amount of vegetable oil
small amount of Agave or honey (Optional)

1.)  In the bowl of your mini food processor, place the cashews or the almonds.  Pulse continually until the nuts are quite ground.  Add the vegetable oil in very small amounts and pulse after each addition until you get the correct consistency.
2.)  If desired add a small amount of Agave or honey to taste.
3.)  Put this in a container and refrigerate.  The butter will last about 10 days, hence the reason I said to make it in small batches and truthfully, the fresher the better the taste!

Garden Fresh Green Bean Salad, and yes it's Vegan!

Growing up every summer, my Dad would plant a vegetable garden.  A big staple in that garden would be green beans.  We ate lots and lots of green beans!  My Mom found lots of different way to prepare green beans.  This recipe truly is a blast from my past and one of my all time favorites!  Thanks to my Mom and my Dad for the memory of this dish.
Since I now have my own garden, the green beans and the tomato came from my garden!  I went to my local farmer's market and bought the best spring onions. 
Enough talk, here is the very simple recipe:
4 ounces green bean, cut in 1" pieces (or make more if you like)
1/2 large garden tomato, chopped (or go to the local market)
1/2 cup diced sweet onion
Vinegarette dressing (recipe follows)

1.)  Put the green beans in a microwave safe dish.  Cover with a wet paper towel and microwave until tender (my microwave is powerful so it only took 3 minutes).  Remove paper towel and put in the freezer for about 10 minutes to allow the beans to cool.
2.)  In the meantime cut up the tomato and the onion.
3.)  Prepare the vinegarette.  In a small bowl mix together:
1 teaspoon Agave Nectar (or honey)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar (preferably white wine)
1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4.)  Once the green beans have cooled off, mix in the tomato, the onion and the vinegarette.  Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to marry!  Enjoy!