Grilled Portobello Vegetable Stack

If you haven't grilled vegetables before, you are seriously missing out.

4 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed (be gentle here!)
1 red pepper sliced into 1 inch strips
1 zucchini, very thinly sliced
1 red onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
4 slices Swiss cheese
2 cups cooked quinoa

Heat a grill on high. Drizzle veggies with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn the grill down to medium and lay the veggies down directly on the grill (or lay the veggies on the outside edges of a charcoal grill). Grill for three minute and then flip over and grill for another three. Place veggies on a raised rack if you have one on your grill and allow to cook for another five minutes until very soft, otherwise keep out of direct heat and check often, turning when needed. Once veggies are soft, place on of the onion slices, a couple of the red onion strips, and a few zucchini slices on a portobello and top with a slice of Swiss. Keep out of direct heat and allow the cheese to melt. Place a 1/2 cup of quinoa on a plate and top with the mushroom stack.

Sesame Chicken with Ginger Carrots

Oooh yeah.

Sesame Chicken
This is a recipe from the website AsianSupper. Go there to check out some yummy Asian inspired dishes including this one.

2 skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1 inch slices
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
vegetable oil or peanut oil for frying
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch or rice flour
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (this is pretty spicy stuff, so use less or more depending on what kind of a fire eater you are)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (I subbed in Soy Vay Garlic Hoisin because... well that's all I had)
1/8 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

In a medium bowl, marinade the chicken in the soy sauce, rice cooking wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt and pepper. The chicken needs to marinade for at least 1 hour. I like to marinade it for about 2-3 hours.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, rice flour/cornstarch. mix int he chicken so that all the chicken pieces are coated with the flour mixture.

In a heavy-bottomed pot or deep-fryer heat enough oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot. Fry the chicken, in small batches, until golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the chicken using a wire mesh strainer and drain on paper towels.

In a small sauce pan, mix together the Sriracha sauce, ketchup, honey, oyster sauce, sugar, soy sauce and water. Bring it to a slight simmer and add the chicken. Gently toss the chicken until it is evenly coated with the sauce.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the chicken. Serve with warm rice.

Again, this recipe is from http://asiansupper.com/recipe/sesame-chicken.

Ginger Carrots
This is my own little creation. I was stuck because we had used up all our almost all our veggies for the week and salad just doesn't seem right with Chinese food. Luckily we always have an abundance of carrots, so carrots it was!

4 carrots, peeled and then shaved with a peeler or sliced very thin
3 cloves of garlic, minced
about 1/2 inch of a root of fresh ginger, graded with a lemon zester or a fine cheese grader
1 tbs hoisin sauce

Heat a pan with a lid over medium-high heat and add about a tsp of olive oil. Toss in carrots and two tbs of water and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes or until water has evaporated. Add in garlic and ginger and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in hoisin and cook for a bout 3 more minutes, or until the carrots are very soft.

Serve with brown rice.

Creamy Feta Dressing for Greek Salads

So tangy and delicious!

1/4 c red wine vinegar
3 tbs olive oil
1/4 c feta cheese
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic

Blend it all together until thickened and pour over any salad. It is especially perfect with a Greek salad using cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes, feta, and lettuce (optional!).

Pasta With Fresh Tomato, Basil, and Sausage Sauce

I usually use canned crushed tomatoes to make sauce because it is quick and convenient, but there is nothing like tomato sauce made fresh. It really doesn't take much longer, you can completely control the sodium, and it is so amazingly good!

1 lb penne
2 lbs plump, firm Roma tomatoes
3 sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c fresh basil leaved, torn
salt and pepper
Parmesan

Cook the pasta according to package. In another pot, bring about 2 quarts of water to a boil. Drop in tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes or until skin begins to crack. Drain tomatoes and rinse under cold water. When they are cool enough to touch, slide the skin off the tomatoes. The skin should come off very easily.

While the water boils for the tomatoes, cook sausage in a large sauce pan over medium high heat, breaking up sausage into small chunks. Once cooked through, remove from pan and set aside. To the same pan add a little olive oil and the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onions become soft and translucent. Add in peeled tomatoes and cover. Stir occasionally and use a wooden spoon or spatula to break down the onion. Once sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes stir in sausage and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes to heat the sausage through. Remove from heat and add basil and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Perfect Oven Fries

The best. Ever.

3 or 4 medium russet or baker potatoes, sliced into sticks
Two sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from stem and roughly chopped
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp kosher or sea salt plus more to taste
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbs fresh chives, snipped

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, thyme, oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for 30 to 35 minutes, turning once. Toss potatoes with the chives and serve. YUM!

Whole Grain Blueberry Oatmeal Coffee Cake

1 1/3 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c. old fashion oats
2 tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 c non fat milk
1/4 c oil
1 c blueberries

Preheat oven to 400. Mix together flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg, milk, and oil. Mix until just blended. Stir in blueberries and pour into a greased pie pan or 8x8 square glass pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.