08.26.09 French toast

Dinner tonight was... breakfast. We made banana french toast from another food blog, Simmer Till Done. Our bread was a crusty italian loaf from Silvek's, we opted yes for a splash of orange juice in the egg mixture, and we added walnuts to our banana topping. Oh, and warm maple syrup of course. Sweet and delicious!

08.23.09 Skillet chicken souvlaki

Dinner on Monday was greek chicken pitas, or skillet chicken souvlaki, from Cooking Light. These sandwiches were light and fresh, and the yogurt sauce added a nice, tangy flavor. I had a hard time finding acceptable pita bread (Kroger only had wheat pita pockets and I wanted something thicker and foldable), but I finally found what I was looking for at Fresh Market.

08.19.09 North African meatballs and couscous

Dinner tonight was North African meatballs from a new Food Network show called 10 Dollar Dinners. The host of the show is the winner from The Next Food Network Star, which Robert and I watched and pulled for Melissa to win, so we were excited to try one of her recipes. The meatballs get their smoky African flavor from the spices - cumin and cinnamon. I used a combination of ground sirloin and ground pork for the meatballs, and substituted capers in lieu of olives (personal preferences). Melissa had a couscous recipe on the same show, but we used a version from my friend Elizabeth James instead: one box of Near East garlic and olive oil couscous prepared according to box directions, subbing chicken stock for the water. I brought the liquids to a boil, and added the couscous with a handful of dried cranberries. (Couscous is similar to a rice). It "cooked" in 5 minutes off the heat, then I added sliced almonds, scallions and more dried cranberries.

08.17.09 Tomato pie

(photo from Simply Recipes)

Dinner tonight was tomato pie from Simply Recipes. I've never cooked anything like this, and I could tell Robert was skeptical when I suggested it. Without meat or eggs, he was concerned this was light on protein. But I hyped it up and he consented. End result - we loved it! I used a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, and a mix of sharp cheddar and monterey jack cheeses.

(I used the picture from the website because it was prettier than mine - I didn't take the time to crimp the edges of my pie crust, and my pie didn't slice as cleanly either).

08.13.09 Oven fried chicken, corn polenta, and fried okra

Well, this dinner could be called "a plate of brown" - we broke an important food rule because everything is the same color. It may not look exciting, but it tasted great, which I guess is what really matters! Technically we had some green on the plate with the okra, but once it was breaded and fried, it blended in with everything else. :) Oven-fried chicken recipe is from Paula Deen, corny polenta from Rachael Ray, and fried okra from Paula Deen (via Chef Robert).

08.10.09 Baked snapper with chipotle butter

Dinner last night was more of Robert's red snapper caught on his deep-sea fishing trip - baked with chipotle butter, a Cooking Light recipe. The recipe was super-simple - you season the fish, bake it, then top it with a butter and chipotle pepper mixture. I usually prefer my fish fried (less fishy that way), but this was spicy and delicious!

08.04.09 Spicy pork po'boys

We had spicy pork po'boys from Annie's Eats for dinner last week. This is a simple recipe and the sandwiches were delicious. Only variance from the recipe was that I used 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 ground pork for our meatballs (just a personal preference).

Julianne's salad

My friend Julianne has a great salad and dressing recipe that Robert and I are currently addicted to. For the salad, toss romaine lettuce, crumbled bacon, sliced almonds and your choice of fruity addition - we like Craisins, mandarin oranges, blueberries, or sliced strawberries... you get the idea. For the dressing, you'll need:

1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon grated onion (optional)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

The original recipe says to combine the first 5 ingredients, then slowly add the vinegar while mixing in a blender or other type of mixer. But I just put everything in a jar and shake it up - works just fine.

08.01.09 Grilled pizza

We had another successful turn grilling pizza last weekend at the lake. We tried a new dough recipe - a thin crust from Cooking Light - that is light and crispy. Robert grilled the dough for a few minutes on each side, then we topped them and broiled them in the oven a minute to melt the cheese. The pizza on the left is like a caprese salad with dough - homemade marinara, rounds of fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves. The pizza on the right is BBQ chicken - McClard's BBQ sauce, red onion, grilled chicken basted in the BBQ sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese. Both were delicious and will be repeated soon!