Street Fair Sausage & Peppers - turned healthy (vegan version to follow)

If you have ever traveled to the Jersey shore or gone to a NY street festival, you have most likely eaten a Sausage, Pepper and Onion heros.  They are a tasty treat that sticks in the memory for years.  I have started to make the sandwiches at home.  A summertime favorite.  For the sandwiches you will need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
6 Italian Turkey links
2  green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 to 4 tablespoons red wine or water
6 sub rolls or crusty Italian rolls, split lengthwise

1. Place oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers, onion, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium-low and saute, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add wine or water and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 to 3 minutes. The vegetables should be thoroughly cooked and tender.
2.  Turn the grill to high.  Grill the sausages until brown (about 15-20 minutes).
3. Brush rolls with olive oil (or spray with Pam) and grill 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
4. Open 1 roll. Place 1 sausage link firmly inside. Smother with  the peppers and onions. Repeat with remaining sandwiches. Eat immediately.

Baked "Fried" Green Beans - can also be made vegan

My garden is over run with green beans.   I am a happy camper.  I love the multitude of things we can make with green beans.  This is one of my new favorites.  And it can be baked so you don't have the "fry" calories!  This recipe is very similar to my baked tomatoes, just a little bit different.  You will need:
Green beans (about a pound and a half)
Pam
1/2 cup of flour
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup of egg replacer (vegan use vegan egg replacer)
couple dashes of hot sauce
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup corn meal.
1.) Preheat the oven to 400.  Cut off the stem end of the green beans.  Put the green beans in a microwave safe dish.  Put a wet paper towel on top of the green beans.  Microwave on high for approximately 3 minutes.  You want them semi soft.  Immediately run the the beans under cold water and let them sit in the cold water while you set up your breading stations.
2.)  On a paper plate, place the flour.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a bowl put the egg replacer and mix in the hot sauce.  On another paper plate combine the Panko and the corn meal.
3.)  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with Pam.  Drain the green beans and lightly pat dry.  Using a fork, coat the beans in the flour, then the egg mixture and lastly the panko mixture.  Put on the baking sheet.  Spray the green beans with a coating of Pam.
4.)  Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes.  Turn off the oven, turn on the broiler.  Allow the beans to get brown and crispy.  Turning them frequently.  Pay attention at this point, you do not want to burn the green beans.
5.)  I served my green beans with a low calorie creamy Italian salad dressing sprinkled with crushed black pepper.  Enjoy!

Easy Paella

The list of ingredients in this dish is rather daunting, but not to worry it's relatively easy.  I do not own a wok or a Paella pan.  I used my electric fry pan, worked just fine!  Some like to add mussels and or lobster tails.  The saffron is pricey enough, I opted to use shrimp only and it was still fabulous.  To make the Paella you will need:
4 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 package chicken tenders, cubed
2 hot Italian sausages
2 boil in bags, bags of basmati rice
3 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of white wine
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 big pinch of saffron
salt and pepper to taste
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined






1.)  Heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the sausages to brown the outside.  Once browned, remove from the pan and cut into rounds. 
2.)  Add the onions, the garlic and the bell pepper.  Cook for 3-5 minutes.  Add the chicken and the sausage.  Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.  Add the
rice and cook for another few minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of the wine and let it absorb.
3.)  Stir in the other 1/2 cup of wine, the chicken stock, the thyme, and the saffron.  Add some salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
4.)  Check the rice for doneness.  You can add more stock if the rice is not soft 1/2 cup at a time.  Quality check for salt and pepper also.
5.)  Layer in the tomatoes, peas and shrimp.  Cover and let it heat through on low for about another 5 minutes.

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!