So it is that time again. Time to start thinking about all the food I am going to make this week! It is still hot over here so a lot of kitchen time is not on my docket;).
Monday: Pasta with Chicken and Spinach in a Butter Garlic Sauce, Buttery Rolls
Tuesday: Ribs (trying some new stuff), Grilled Zucchini, Buttery Rolls
Wednesday: Pasta Carbonara Florentine
Thursday; Pasta Bake
Friday: Chicken Kiev, Rice, Broccoli
So I found this meme over at Friday5. This isn’t always a food meme but this week’s was so I thought I would answer it over here!
So what are your favorite was to eat fruit? What ways would you like to learn how to make it?
Here we enter the beginning of the week again and it is time to come up with yet another meal plan. Why does this always challenge me so? I think because I am bored with my standards but at the same time I don’t have a ton of time to cook. Well, time may not be the issue as much as the fact it has been over 100 degrees and cooking is just hot and exhausting!
Monday: BBQ’ed Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Potato Salad, Broccoli
Tuesday: Chicken Kiev, Rice, Broccoli
Wednesday: Ribs, Buttery Rolls, Grilled Corn, Broccoli
Thursday: Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, Gravy
Friday: Homemade pizza
Corn is king! Well, at least during the summer. You can pretend it is a veggie or serve it as the grain it is. It is fresh, it is cheap and it is yummy! So why should you heat up your kitchen by boiling water when the grill is already on?
You have a couple of options when it comes to grilling your corn.
The first way is to grill it in the husk. This gives you more of a boiled taste that isn’t at all smoky. The process is quite simple. Pull back your husks and remove all the silks or they will burn and turn to ash. Then I brush some of my chili butter on it and pull the husks back up. Then I place it on the cool part (on low) for 15 to 20 minutes. Turning occasionally. Then just pull it off and brush more butter on them.
The second way gives you more of that charred grilled taste. I think it gives more flavor but NerdDad prefers the first way;). First you pull everything off the cobs, that means all the silks and the husks. Then throw it down on a medium high grill. Make sure you keep turning the cobs and monitor the color. You want some grill marks but if it has good color and isn’t fully cooked, just pull it to a cool spot on the grill and let it finish. This usually takes me10-15 minutes but closer to 10. Then when you pull it off brush with butter;).
How do you know if your corn is done? Well, with yellow corn it is easy because the kernels deepen greatly in color. But while will also change color a little. But one of the other indicators is that the kernel will plump and become softer. If you have had corn before just go for what you know;).
Leftovers are great in many recipes and also do great in the freezer. I would go ahead and cut the kernels off the cob for storage. Enjoy!
Quite a while ago I posted a Garlic Herb Butter recipe and the best way to get it in rolls and freeze it. But I have been bored lately so I have been working on a couple new things. One of which is a new compound butter! First rule of compound butter is that you can also make it with margarine. That can be a good choice when you BBQ with the butter on it because butter has a low smoke/burn point.
So for this butter I just took 1 cube of margarine, very softened. I mixed in 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper. You can use this in many ways (one of which will be one of my next posts;), including covering it and keep it in the frig. Or you can freeze for future use. Check my tutorial in house to set it up.
Aren’t they yummy looking? It is just my Super Easy Cake Mix Cookies made with mint chips!
So the big tackle for us was actually done by NerdDad! He assembled this awesome bbq! The other one still worked but the igniter was working so you had to light it by hand. I managed to singe quite a few hairs lighting it;). The other awesome thing is that we have a ton more space. We were able to actually grill our corn and burgers at the same time. I am so excited!
So I am finally home from my Savvy Blogging Summit and it is time to get back to reality. And the reality right now is that I need to come up with a Meal Plan;). I am going to do a pretty easy one this week because I gotsta clean the house and then try to apply all the great bloggy knowledge I got over the weekend. We also have a new grill so that should make this even better!
Monday: BBQ hamburgers, broccoli, Grilled corn
Tuesday: Chicken Kiev, Potato Salad, Broccoli
Wednesday: Pasta with Shrimp and Spinach in a Garlic Butter Sauce
Thursday: Grilled NY Steaks, Broccoli, Buttery Rolls
Friday: Pasta Carbonara Florentine
Fried Zucchini is a super easy and very yummy too! It is a great way to get your kids to eat more veggies. This, like many of my recipes, is more process than recipe.
Basic Ingredients:
Egg and milk: eggs lightly scrambled with just a splash of milk, I like to lightly salt and pepper this mixture too.
So seasoned bread crumbs are a must! While I am a huge panko bread crumb fan, this is not the right application for in it (at least not for me).
Zucchini cut into rounds. Yes, I am aware that a lot of people cut their zucchini in wedges but… I find that the kids can handle it better. From a cooking stand point, you are less likely to over cook the outside with rounds. You tend to have to cook thick wedges a bit longer to make sure that they are cooked all the way through.
Cooking oil: pick a low/no flavor oil like canola
Process:
First, wash and thoroughly dry your zucchini. Then cut it into rounds between 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch, depending on how cooked you like your zucchini (my kids don’t want any crisp;). Then drag your rounds through your egg and milk mixture. Then plop them right into your seasoned bread crumbs. You can see if your oil is hot enough by dropping a couple of bread crumbs and if they sizzle you are ready! Then drop your breaded rounds in your oil that is heated to medium high. Make sure that you flip them over and cook them until they are GBD (golden brown and delicious)! Then you will take the zucchini out and place it on a paper towel to dry, sprinkle with a little salt (I use sea salt) and sit for a couple of minutes. You do not want to eat these seconds out of the oil, you will burn yourself with steam!
Then enjoy!
(I listed this in Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday!)
So I was making hot dogs for dinner when NerdDad was out of town. While the kids were very happy, I was a little disappointed because I wanted Mexican food but since NerdDad was out of town on NerdBug’s birthday… So I decided to do a bit of a Mexican dog! I had made some guacamole earlier in the day so I plopped that on there. Then I just added a crumbling of queso fresco.
Quite yummy!