Amazing Carolina style BBQ

Yes, this recipe involves REAL chicken, but feel free to sub veggie chicken if you have not come to the dark side like me. It has been over 20 years since I've eaten BBQ and I never had carolina style, so this was an experience. This recipe is simple and absolutely deeeeelicious!

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 TBS white wine vinegar, divided
1 1/2 TBS honey, divided
2 TBS water
3 TBS Trad.er Joe.s seeded Dijon mustard
1 - 2 TBS Trad.er Joe.s BBQ sauce (my alteration to the original recipe)
salt/ pepper
1 TBS butter
1 1/2 lbs skinless, bonless chicken thighs (or veggie chicken)
Buns, toasted on grill

1. Pre-heat grill to med-high heat
2. Combine sliced onion, 1 TBS vinegar and 1 1/2 tsp honey in a small bowl. Toss well. Cover and place in fridge 30 min.
3. Combine remaining vinegar, 1 TBS honey, water, mustard and 1/4 tsp pepper in a small sauce pan over med-low heat. Bring to a simmer (do not boil). Simmer 5 minutes, stir in butter, remove from heat.
4. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Grill 4 minutes on each side until done. Remove. Cool slightly. Shred chicken into bite sized pieces. Add to sauce.
5. Place on toasted bun and top with pickled onions!

Penne with Zucchini Pesto

1. Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Add zucchini to pan and saute 5 minutes or until tender and browning. Remove from pan.
2.Place 1/4 up cooked zucchini, basil, 1/4 cup cheese, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Keep mixture in processor.
3. Heat more oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add onion to pan and saute 10 minutes or until browning. Return remaining cooked zucchini to pan. Remove from heat.
4. Bring water to a boil and cook pasta until desired tenderness. Scoop out 1/3 cup pasta water before draining. Add drained pasta to veggies.
5.With processor on, add reserved water to the basil mixture and process until smooth. Add basil mix to past. Add cream, a bit of salt and pepper. Top with remaining cheese.

Cook.ing Li.ght July 2010

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken

This is NOT veggie chicken people. Nope, this is the real thing and super delicious.

1/2 cup diced roasted red bell pepper (I used jarred to make life easier)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped pitted kalamata olives
1 - 2 TBS fresh minced basil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

1. Mix together the bell pepper, cheese, olives, basil and salt/ pepper
2. Butterfly the chicken breasts to create a pocket for the mixture
3. Gently spoon the pepper mixture into the pocket of chicken breast
4. Heat pan over medium-ish heat and add chicken
5. Cook 6 or so minutes on each side until chicken is fully cooked through and a beautiful golden brown. Some of the filling will spill out when flipping, but just scoop it back in or spoon it over the top before eating.

I served this with fresh green beans sauteed with olive oil, garlic and rosemary and dinner bread.

Frozen sorbet pie

Here is a super simple and extra yummy desert that is perfect for the hot days of summer.

Frozen sorbet pie

1 pint raspberry sorbet (or strawberry or whatever flavor you like)
1 Oreo cookie pie crust
1 - 2 cups whipped topping (cool whip)
dark chocolate shavings

Soften the sorbet and whipped topping enough to be able to spread into the pie crust but make sure it is not melted

1. Smooth sorbet into the bottom of chocolate pie crust.
2. Smooth whip topping on top of sorbet
3. Sprinkle dark chocolate shavings on top of whip topping
4. Freeze for about 1 hour or longer.

EAT!!!!!

Ricotta tart

Ricotta cheese is so delicious and this tart is full of it! This is a wonderful dish to make in the spring because you will be able to find locally grown green onions and chives, maybe even dill! We ate this for dinner last night, although this dish would be wonderful for brunch too. This recipe was modified from Cook.ing Light June 2010

Ricotta tart

1 refrigerated pie crust (pillsbury works great)
2 cups thinly sliced green onions
1 (15oz) container part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced chives
2 TBS minced fresh dill OR 1 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 - 1/2 cup grated white cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Unroll dough and press lightly into a 9 inch pie dish.
3. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add small amount olive oil and saute green onion for 3 -5 minutes.
4. Combine cooked green onions, ricotta cheese, chives, dill, salt, pepper and eggs in a bowl. Stir gently to combine.
5. Pour mixture into pie crust.
6. Top with cheddar cheese and bake 35 minutes until crust is golden brown and center is set.

Asparagus and smoked salmon frittata

I found this one in the new Cook.ing Light magazine and modified the dish ever so slightly. It called for smoked trout, but I chose the smoked salmon instead due cost and package size. The substitution was great! I also chose to saute the asparagus rather than steam it. This is a super easy dish to make, coming together in about 30 minutes or less.

8 oz thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1 TBS 2% reduced fat milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan (I used the Quattro Formagia blend from Trad.der Joes)
1 1/2 tsp fresh dill, chopped ( I used 1/2 tsp dried dill)
4 oz smoked salmon, skinned and flaked

1. Pre-heat oven to 450
2. Saute asparagus in non-stick skillet over med-high heat until crisp tender, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add green onions just before removing from heat.
3. Combine milk, salt, pepper and eggs in a bowl. Whisk.
4. Transfer asparagus mixture into an oven proof skillet coated with oil or cooking spray (cast iron worked well) and add eggs, stirring to combine. Sprinkle with cheese and cook over med-high heat for a few minutes until edges begin to set.
5. Place skillet in oven and cook 8 minutes.
6. Increase heat to broil and cook another 2 minutes until brown and bubbly.

I served this with a side of fresh local tomatoes, sliced and sprinkled with salt/ pepper and a crusty dinner bread. YUMMY!

Tuna and Arugula Pasta Salad

Here is a lovely dish that is super easy and extra yummy. It has arugula in it so already this dish is awesome! This recipe makes enough for dinner and left-overs for lunch the next day, which is always nice. This salad goes well with a nice dinner bread.

Found in May Cooking Lig.ht 2010

Tuna and Arugula Pasta Salad

1 large red bell pepper
8 -10 oz pasta (penne or fussille)
2 or more cups coarsely chopped arugula
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 TBS red wine vinegar
1 TBS capers, drained
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 (7.8 oz can tune) packed in OIL (I used regular sized cans) drained and flaked.
1/4 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat broiler
2. Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise. Discard seeds and membrane. Place pepper halves, skin side up, on a foil lined baking sheet. Flatten with hand and broil 15 minutes. Cover the peppers with the foil and let cool for about 10 minutes. Peel and chop.
3. Bring water to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
4. Combine bell pepper, pasta, arugula, capers and tuna.
5. Combine olive oil, shallots and vinegar. Whisk until combined. Pour over pasta and stir to coat.
6. Sprinkle with pepper and 1/4 tsp salt.

YUMMY!