Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Lime Chicken Kabobs

I had been toying around with some ideas, spurred on by a couple recipes I'd seen on Pinterest.  One was for a Basil Lime Chicken, the other was for a Honey Lime Chicken… I think if you read both of those recipes, along with my recipe for the accompanying Spicy Honey Lime Yogurt Sauce, you'll see the inspiration.  I insist on giving credit to original sources even if what I come up with is very different.

Ingredients:
  20 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
  1 1/2 Limes
  1 1/2 Tbl Dijon Mustard
  1 1/2 Tbl Worcestershire Sauce
  1 1/2 Tbl Soy Sauce
  1 Garlic Clove, crushed/pressed
  Salt & Pepper
  3 Green Onions, whites & light greens chopped

Zest the Limes, chopping the zest finely, Juice the Limes.  Mix the Lime Zest & Juice with all the remaining ingredients except the Chicken - this is the Marinade.  Cube the Chicken into bite sized pieces, mix in with the Marinade, refrigerate for 1 hour.


Drain the Marinade off the Chicken, discard marinade.


Place the Chicken on Skewers for grilling.


Grill...


Serve with  Spicy Honey Lime Yogurt Sauce.


Yum!!  We had this for dinner along with my Grilled Corn, a winning combination!!

Spicy Honey Lime Yogurt Sauce

This is a creation of mine that I concocted while working on my Lime Chicken Kabobs recipe, as a sauce that would compliment the flavors of that grilled chicken recipe.  Initially I thought the sauce would simply be a part of that recipe, but it came out so tasty that I've given it a post of its own since I expect it will be used much more widely.


Ingredients:
  1 Lime
  2 Tbl Honey
  2 Tbl Dijon Mustard
  6 Green Onions, whites & light greens chopped
  2 Garlic Cloves, pressed/crushed
  2 tsp Siracha
  1 cup Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Zest the Lime, chop the zest up finely, Juice the Lime.  Mix the Zest & Juice of the Lime with the remaining ingredients… Enjoy!!

Grilled Corn

Its Sweet Corn season in Minnesota!!  This is a Summer Favorite of ours, and Super Simple!!


For each Corn Cob spread just a little Butter (2 tsp) or spray with Olive Oil.  Season with Salt & Pepper - or get creative & sprinkle with other spices/herbs.


Wrap each Corn Cob in Foil, folding the ends over so that they're well sealed.


Throw on the grill, turning every couple minutes… for about 15-20 minutes (peek if you need).


You'll end up with a slightly singed cob - that's what you want!!  You can add more butter if you like (Jeff does), or keep it lighter and just eat it as it is (that's what I like).

YUM!!

Ingredients:
  Corn Cobs
  per Cob:
     2 tsp Butter -OR- Spray Olive Oil
     Salt & Pepper to taste (or other spices/herbs)
     Foil

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Skinny Egg Muffin / Bagel

What have I been up to lately?

I'm still playing with Sorbets & Frozen Yogurts… but decided not to bore you with any of those for a while (I'll add more later)… and I've been working on a Frozen Banana-Rum-Raisin dessert, but don't have the kinks out yet, so I'm not ready to share at this time…

At the same time I've started messing about with some Breakfast ideas, with some success & admittedly some failure as well (my waffle-egg-bacon sandwich didn't pan out).

Here's the latest creation, with many ideas for variations (some of which have been tried already)…


This is not your fast-food muffin sandwich!!  Not only is it much lower in calories & fat, its much tastier as well!!

Ingredients:
  1 Light English Muffin (Village Hearth is pretty good)
  1/4 cup Egg Beaters (I use plain, you could use other types)
  Spray Canola Oil (or Pam)
  Thin Sliced lunch meat (I like Hillshire Farms Ultra Thin Sliced)
      today I used 4 slices of Pastrami, I've also used Honey Ham.
  2 Light Cheese Wedges (I like Laughing Cow and Sonoma Jacks)


You really should have an Egg/Crumpet ring or single egg frying pan to cook your egg… it will work otherwise but won't make as nice a sandwich.  I used a non-stick pancake/crumpet/egg ring & sprayed my pan & ring with a little Canola Oil.

Let the pan & ring warm a bit, on Medium to Medium-Low heat.

Put in just a tiny bit of the egg, just enough to fill the bottom of the ring and let it cook for about 1/2 minute…  this helps keep the egg from seeping under the bottom of the ring.

Add the remainder of the egg… as its cooking pop any large bubbles, a fork works well for this...

When the top is mostly dry flip the egg in its ring… a spatula is helpful for this...

Can you tell I had the temp up just a smidge too high when I started… but even at that it wasn't burnt… turn off the flame and let the egg sit in the pan for a minute just to make sure the top is cooked.

Meanwhile… while the egg is cooking you can toast up your muffin, then spread the cheese on both sides...

Add your meat...

Put the egg-less sandwich together...

Just before you're ready to add the egg, wrap the sandwich in a Paper Towel and Microwave for 10-15 seconds (this warms the meat & cheese a bit).

Add in that cooked egg, close it up…  If you (oops) get distracted and don't get to eating it for a bit (like me taking pictures) the whole thing can be wrapped/microwaved again for about 15 seconds to warm it up.  I haven't tried making these ahead & warming for breakfast another day, if anyone tries that they can let me know (in the comments) how that works out.

With a bit of fruit on the side it makes a nice balanced breakfast!!

Variations!!  This can be spiced up & spunked up to your heart's desire… Try Thomas's Bagel Thins (my favorite: Everything) instead of the english muffin… try changing up the meat or cheese variations…  try adding one or more of these to keep it interesting:
  Salt & Pepper
  Spice Mixes
  Tabasco
  Jalepeño
  Onions (raw or cooked)
  Peppers (raw or cooked)
  Tomato
  Sugar Free Maple Syrup

Its the variety that keeps it interesting… feel free to add comments if you try something crazy & its good, I'd love to hear about it!!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Ok, I know I said I wasn't going to continue on this track, but this isn't a Sorbet & it turned out so wonderful that I just had to share…


Ingredients:
  2 cups chopped ripe Strawberries (pressed down so you get the full 2 cups worth)
  1/2 cup Sugar
  1/2 cup Fat Free Plain Yogurt (I like Chobani)
  2 Tbl fresh Lemon Juice

Blend all ingredients together & process in an Ice Cream Maker.  This recipe makes 3 cups finished product… feel free to adjust quantities (I'd probably double it next time) to accommodate the capacity of your Ice Cream Maker.

The flavor was a wonderfully sweet & tart, and very Strawberry!!

Update for 8/11/12: I tried this again but with Peaches substituted in for Strawberries, and I doubled the recipe... it worked out beautifully, wonderful tart & sweet Peach Frozen Yogurt!!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Strawberry Pineapple Sorbet



I've been on a Sorbet streak for a while… so this may be the last one I'm going to post unless I come up with something truly unique or spectacular, by looking at my various Sorbet recipes you can tell the tactic I'm taking & come up with your own… modify the amount of sugar to make it more or less sweet… add or subtract herbs & spices to create interest… anyhoo…

Ingredients:
  1/2 pound fresh Pineapple
  1 cup cleaned & rough cut Strawberries (press down so you get a full cup's worth)
  1 cup Sugar
  2 Tbl Fresh Lemon Juice

Blend all ingredients together, I use an Immersion Blender… Process in an Ice Cream Maker, I do 40 minutes which is longer than the 20-30 suggested by my manufacturer for Ice Cream, it seems to work well for me… After processing place in an airtight container in the freezer for a couple hours to firm.  Yields about 4 cups of Sorbet.