Recipe Review from 7/28/14

It was a fairly busy week work wise, plus book group for me and a Legion meeting for the Husband.  We  had a radon mitigation system installed on Tuesday, which the Husband stayed home to take care of.  He got his windshield replaced after a rock smacked it up, and while it's great the auto glass people come to you, it was one of those vague, "We'll be there after 10am..." and didn't show up till 3p.  Add in you can't drive the car for a solid hour after replacement and he was stuck at home all day.  But the task is done.

And we ended the week with a fabulous organized bike ride that I'll blog about on Wednesday! 


The Meal Plan:
Sun (L) leftovers  (S) Brats with Farmer's Market Potato Salad
Mon (yoga/bkgrp/Legion meeting)  both out
Tues - leftover brats
Wed - Chicken Kebabs and rice
Thurs (yoga) leftovers
Fri - Frittata


Farmer's Market Potato Salad (Ckng Lght, June 2010)  gluten free, vegetarian
As much as I adore 'traditional' potato salad in it's creamy mayo dressing with eggs and mustard, I also enjoy trying different kinds.  I thought this would be a nice change of taste, with corn, tomatoes, onion and zucchini complementing the potatoes.  I used dried tarragon as I just can't justify the cost of buying fresh for 2 tbsp.

Verdict?  AWESOME!  I could have skipped my brat and just had this for dinner.  The vinaigrette dressing was the perfect amount, adding that hit of "tang" to the sweet corn, onion, tomatoes and zucchini.  Everything was nicely balanced out by the earthy potatoes.  This took about 45 minutes from start to end, including washing and chopping.  Plenty of time to get the brats started and pull everything together at once.  My one complaint with this dish would be the number of dishes - I think you could actually just roast everything together and get a very similar result.  Not sure how soft that would make the zucchini though. 

• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 2 pounds fingerling potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

  

  photo from cookinglight.com

• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon (1 tsp dried)
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup vertically sliced red onion  (I used yellow onion)
• 3/4 cup diced zucchini
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Place corn and potatoes on a jelly-roll pan. Drizzle vegetables with 1 tablespoon oil; toss to coat. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Place mixture in a large bowl. Combine tarragon and next 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle potato mixture with dressing; toss gently to coat.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and zucchini to pan; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add zucchini mixture and tomatoes to potato mixture; toss gently to combine.

Yogurt Marinated Chicken and Zucchini Kebabs  (Ckng Lght, July 2014)  gluten free
These are perfect for a mid-week meal.  Assembly is super quick, a matter of cubing and skewering.  I added tomatoes to my skewers, because I love grilled tomatoes and the flavor seemed right for these kebabs.  I served over brown rice - the boil in a bag variety which took the same amount of time to cook as it did to heat the grill and grill the kebabs.  This made enough for two for two meals. 

photo from cookinglight.com

• 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt $$
• 1 tablespoon olive oil $
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut into 32 cubes)
• 32 (1/2-inch) slices zucchini
• Cooking spray
• 8 (8-inch) skewers
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh dill

1. Combine yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, ginger, coriander, and minced garlic. Add chicken; toss. Thread chicken and zucchini coated with cooking spray alternately onto skewers. Sprinkle with salt. Place skewers on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 8 minutes, turning skewers occasionally for an even char. Sprinkle with fresh dill.
2. Note: If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 20 minutes before grilling.

Zucchini and Red Pepper Fritatta  (Ckng Lght July 2014)  gluten free, vegetarian
Fritattas are, in my opinion, quiche without the crust.  Both are a baked egg dish with a medley of vegetables.  I liked the simplicity of the fritatta, and the fact that it takes about 30 minutes less to bake.  I goofed up two things - I didn't thinly slice my zucchini and I was out of any kind of milk so I subbed reconstituted powdered milk.  It worked okay.  I think milk would have definitely been better.

I also added lightly caramelized onions to the zucchini and red pepper mix.  Something about an egg dish just calls for sauted onions.  We both liked this fritatta, I would definitely make it again as it is perfect for a mid-week meal.  Any veggie mix would work making this a very versatile dish.  This made enough for two for two meals. 

photo from cookinglight.com

• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 large zucchini, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 vertically sliced onion (my addition)
• 3/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 8 minutes or until blackened. Wrap ­pepper in foil; let stand 15 minutes. Peel and slice.
3. Heat a 9-inch nonstick, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add zucchini; cook 6 minutes. Stir in bell pepper; reduce heat to medium.
4. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add to zucchini mixture; cook 2 minutes or until edges are set. Bake at 350° for 16 minutes or until center is set. Let stand 15 minutes. Cut into 6 wedges.

Mexican Quinoa Salad (Frame of Mind Blog via Pinterest)  gluten free, vegetarian
This was a very similar to a dish I made back in April.  I did deviate a bit from the recipe and I roasted the tomatoes and corn for a bit more flavor and sweetness.  I think the dressing was a bit too much as it made the dish a bit runny? If that makes sense?  I think 1/4 cup of oil would be plenty. 

I LOVED this though.  Perfect Summer picnic, potluck, lunch dish in my opinion - you get the sweetness of mid-summer corn, tomatoes and (in my case) red pepper and a protein hit from the quinoa and black beans.  I added some diced avocado on top each day in my lunch bowl.  Mmmm!  YUMMY! 


Ingredients
1 Cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups black beans (or a 15. oz. can)
1 1/2 cups corn  (I used fresh; frozen would also be fine)
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered (I used diced Romas)
1 red bell pepper, diced
5 green onions, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or more to taste)  (I skipped)
1 avocado - diced (optional, add just before serving)

Dressing
1/3 cup 1/4 cup olive oil  (I used a roasted onion and cilantro flavored EVOO)
1 tsp. cumin
1 garlic clove, minced  (skipped, don't like garlic breath at work)
Juice from 1 lime
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
Rinse and drain quinoa.  Add to pot with 2 cups water and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heart to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until water has absorbed and quinoa is tender.  In a small bowl, add dressing ingredients and whisk together  to thoroughly combine.  In a large bowl, add the cooked quinoa with all other salad ingredients.  Pour dressing over the top and toss to combine.  Can either serve immediately or chill before serving.