A Summer Salad

Sometimes it’s just too hot to cook inside even here in Western New York. We needed to come up with dinner the other night so we put together this salad with whatever we had on hand.

Fran started off with a mixture of greens that were in the refrigerator, some romaine, leaf, and iceberg lettuce, and filled up a large bowl. Then she crumbled up four strips of crispy bacon on top.

Next, she added some red onions, diced tomatoes, sliced fresh zucchini, and cucumber just picked from our friend’s garden, and to top it off shredded cheddar cheese.

While she was doing all of that I fired up the grill and grilled a boneless chicken breast. We cut up the chicken breast, whipped up some ranch dressing and created a nice summer salad with whatever was on hand.

I went a step further with my salad and added fresh ground black pepper, almonds and some raisins.

This made for a nice meal for just the two of us. So if you’re stuck for a quick dinner just put together what you have.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed.

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Why I Love My KitchenAid Stand Mixer

In today’s busy world we need all the help we can muster, especially in the kitchen. My KitchenAid is a real time saver for me.

I have a passion for making homemade pizza, bread, and homemade pasta. My mixer makes short work of the dough for any of these.

Just add the ingredients attach the dough hook and turn it on. I have a nice batch of fresh dough for my homemade pizza in about 5 minutes.

There is nothing like the smell of homemade baked goods coming from the oven. What did you say? You like homemade cookies; well this mixer will help cut the time to mix your favorite cookie dough or batter.

 With the time you save you could be helping the kids with their homework, or talking with a friend on phone. I love oatmeal raisin cookies, and mixing up a batch in the KitchenAid is really easy.

Here is my quick and easy pizza dough recipe:

5 1/2 to 6 cups of all-purpose flour
2 package of dry yeast
3 tablespoons of oil or Crisco
1 teaspoon of salt
2 1/4 cups of warm water

All I have to do now is put all of these ingredients into my Kitchen Aid bowl, attach the dough hook and turn it on. In about 3 minutes I have enough dough to make 2 fresh homemade pizzas.

  Get the recipe for homemade pizza here

Some Features of My Mixer

I have the one pictured it's the 6-quart Professional Mixer, and it comes with a Flat Beater, Wire Wisk, and A Dough Hook. You'll find that these tools are able to take on many tasks to assist you in the kitchen.

Here is a fresh batch of dough for my homemade Cavatelli.

  Get the recipe here for homemade Cavatelli.

A video of the many attachments and their uses

As always Thanks for stopping by and enjoy.

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Baked Parmesan Zucchini

Garden season brings so many healthy and fresh vegetables, and if you plant zucchini you already know it grows in abundance.

You can go online and find thousands of recipes for zucchini. This recipe my daughter cooked up just the other night, Baked Parmesan Zucchini Slices.

This is so easy to make with so few ingredients, and they make a healthy tasty snack or a side for any meal. When you slice them thin they're more like oven baked parmesan zucchini chips.

What you need:

2 or 3 zucchini of course sliced into rounds

Olive oil or our latest favorite coconut oil

Parmesan cheese

Italian seasoning

Minced garlic or garlic powder (Optional)

Here is all you have to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Slice the zucchini into a bowl, (you can slice them to your desired thickness) I like the zucchini slices thin because they are so crispy right of the oven.

Drizzle some oil into the bowl and toss until the zucchini are all coated

Spread them out on a cookie sheet and add your seasonings, top off with a nice layer of Parmesan cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes, for extra crispy turn on the broiler for the last 5 minutes

Serve and enjoy this oven baked parmesan zucchini.

As always Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

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Taco Pizza

When you have a large family good recipes are in abundance, and our family is no exception. This recipe for Taco pizza was created by my daughter-in-law's sister Melissa, and trust me Melissa knows how to feed a crowd.

At every family event, she is always cooking something special, so I’ll need to spend some time with her to see if I can’t convince her to keep them coming.

And if you’re looking for a meatless night for your dinner just leave out the meat.

Here is what Melissa says you need:

1 - 8oz Package sour cream

2-3 cups - Cheddar Cheese

4 cups - Shredded Lettuce

1-2 - Medium Size Tomatoes - Chopped

1-lb - Ground Beef, Sliced Chicken, Ground Turkey - pick one or none!

1 - Package Taco Seasoning

16oz - Can Refried Beans

2 - Bags Tortilla Chips and/or Scoops of your choice

Here is how she prepares it:

• Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees...
• LAYER 1 - Spread Refried Beans on a cookie baking sheet - round pizza pan size or 9x12 cookie sheet - your choice!  Bake for 10-12 min on 350 degrees. Beans will bubble when they're done.
• While Refried Beans are baking, brown meat of your choice.  Once meat is done, Add Taco Seasoning package with water as directed on package.
• Let Refried beans cool for a few minutes 3-5min, while cooling...Chop tomatoes and prepare cheese and lettuce.
• LAYER 2 - Spread Sour Cream on cooled Refried Beans.
• LAYER 3 - Shake 1 cup Cheddar Cheese all over the dish.
• LAYER 4 - Add chopped Lettuce all over the dish.
• LAYER 5 - Add chopped Tomatoes all over the dish.
• LAYER 6 - Sprinkle remaining Cheddar Cheese all over the dish.
• Serve now or Heat 3-5 min in an oven to melt cheese.
• Serve immediately - Can be a main course dish or appetizer - you decide!

* This will serve 6-8 people.

As always Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy

The Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

Recently my daughter has been cooking with coconut oil. When I asked why coconut oil, she replied because it’s healthy. So with that answer, I began to investigate, and here is what I learned.

Coconut Oil contains a unique combination of fatty acids with powerful medicinal properties. Although coconut oil is high in saturated fats, it’s not the same as the saturated fats in cheese and steak. The fatty acids are metabolized differently and are known to have therapeutic effects on brain disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s.

The healthiest populations are the ones that consume coconuts. Studies show that populations in the South Pacific who eat 60% of their calories from coconuts are in excellent health with no evidence of heart disease.

Coconut Oil can increase your energy, helping you burn more fat. The Lauric acid in coconut oil can kill bacteria and help fight viruses.

It can kill hunger making you eat less without even trying, and can improve cholesterol levels lowering the risk of heart disease.

I also found coconut oil to be the best choice for frying foods, as it will hold the highest temperatures.

Coconut Oil is one of the foods that can be classified as a “superfood”. The unique combinations of fatty acids have positive health effects, including fat loss and better brain function. These benefits have been confirmed in human studies.

Don’t just take my word for it. Here is the link to my source of information. Please take some time to check this out, as you will find more details of these amazing benefits.

These studies were conducted by professionals in their field, It's always a good idea to check with your doctor first on the use of coconut oil.

As Always Thanks for stopping by, let me know if you have ever used coconut oil.Nature's Way Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Pure & Unrefined, Cold-Pressed, USDA Organic, Non-GMOGarden of Life Coconut Oil for Hair, Skin, Cooking - Raw Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil, 27 Servings - Pure Unrefined Cold Pressed Oil with MCTs for Body Care or Baking, Aceite de Coco OrganicoCarrington Farms gluten free, hexane free, NON-GMO, free of hydrogenated and trans fats in a BPA free bottle, liquid coconut cooking oil, unflavored, 32 Fl Oz

 

Grilled Stacked Veggies

Maybe you have a meatless meal on your menu once a week or maybe you don’t eat meat at all. Either way, these low carb grilled veggies tingle your taste buds.

These grilled stacked veggies are so easy to make you’ll for sure want to add this one to your quick easy meatless meals.

Here is what you’ll need for the best-grilled vegetables:

2 medium-sized eggplants

6 portabella mushrooms

1 package of fresh mozzarella cheese

1 or 2 fresh tomatoes

6 leaves of fresh basil

1 jar roasted red peppers

Italian seasoning

The first thing was to wash the mushroom and dry them with a paper towel. Then slice the eggplant into ¼ inch or ½ inch slices.

Now brush both sides of the mushrooms and eggplant with some light olive oil. Oh, I forgot, while you’re doing that go ahead and fire up your grill.

With the grill on the medium setting grill the mushrooms and eggplant until the eggplants are light brown, just like in this picture.

Now it’s time to slice your tomatoes and cheese, but before you do those preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Start building your veggie stacks with a portabella mushroom first, and then a slice of eggplant, now the roasted red peppers, another eggplant, and then a slice of tomato.

Place these on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.

Take them out of the oven and add a couple of basil leaves and top off with the mozzarella cheese, sprinkle some Italian seasoning on top. Place this back in the oven until the cheese begins to melt.

These tasty grilled veggie stacks can be a meal all in itself or served as a nice side dish. I made a sandwich on a fresh ciabatta roll.

This healthy meatless meal is low carb and low in calories. One stack of these beauties is about 12 carbs.

I can’t take the credit for this, as Fran grilled the mushrooms and eggplant. And, Jamie prepared and baked the stacks. All I did was take the pictures and enjoyed the food.

As always Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy it.

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Grilled Southwestern Chicken Breasts

I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of chicken, but my wife picked up these four nice boneless chicken breasts, and it is grilling season. It is really not difficult to grill moist chicken breasts.

So we made this Southwestern rub, and then I grilled them to perfection. While I went out to turn on the grill to high, my wife coated the chicken breasts with the southwestern rub.

Here is how to grill moist chicken breasts:

I cooked them on high for 5 minutes per side, then turned the grill down to the low setting. I cooked them for another 25 minutes, until the internal temperature reached 165 degrees. Then I let them rest for about 5 minutes.

Now here is the Rub:

1 Tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. coriander

½ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. sea salt

In a bowl, mix all of the seasonings, and then coat the chicken breasts. I do have to say this chicken was really tasty and juicy, even for a non-chicken fan like myself.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed.

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Almond Crusted Fish with Coconut Oil

Fran and Jamie have been whipping up some pretty healthy meals lately. Here is another one we made just the other night using coconut oil again.

We started off with four nice haddock fillets, some whole wheat bread crumbs, almonds, 2 eggs, and of course the coconut oil.

Here is what we did:

• Use about 3/4 cups of whole almonds chopped in a food processor or your blender.
• On serving platter spread out the whole wheat bread crumbs and mix in the chopped almonds.
• In bowl crack and beat 2 large eggs
• Add 5 or 6 tablespoons to a frying pan; we used an electric Dutch oven set on low enough to melt the coconut oil making sure it is enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
• Dip the fish in the egg and then the coating of almonds and breadcrumbs.
• Turn the setting on the Dutch oven up to 350 degrees.
• Now cook the fish for about 6 minutes per side or longer depending on the thickness.

Melting the coconut oil

Prepare the coating

Frying the fish

We served this with rice and Brussel sprouts for a very healthy meal. This was so good I was looking for more after it was gone.

As always Thanks for stopping by, I sure hope you enjoyed.

Copper Chef 9.5" Square Fry Pan with LidHamilton Beach 38528 Deep Dish Ceramic SkilletNature's Way Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil- Pure, Cold-pressed, Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten-free- 32 Ounce

Broiled Flank Steak

We picked up a 1-1/2 lb. flank steak last week, and I had all intentions of grilling this to perfection. The weather in Western NY just didn’t cooperate that day, so we did the next best thing was to broil it.

Flank steak is a long flat cut from the belly or butt of the cow, and is used in many dishes such as London broil, Asian Stir fry and also famous as the steak for Fajitas.

We decided to make a dry hand rub, after mixing the ingredients we rubbed both sides of the flank stake, set the oven on broil. The steak was 1-1/2 lbs. so we broiled it for about 10 to 12 minutes per side. Cutting the steak against the grain we had nice juicy slices and served with rice and kale this made a delicious meal.

Here are the seasonings we used for the rub:

4 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. mustard powder

¼ tsp. dried thyme

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

Now find out how to cook flank steak for your Fajitas here and enjoy many more of his recipes:

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

We picked up a peppercorn seasoned pork tenderloin the other day at our local grocery store and decided to cook it on the grill. Since this was already seasoned, all I really had to do was grill it. You can buy unseasoned pork tenderloins and add your own special seasoning to your liking.



Here is how I grilled this 1-1/2 lb. pork tenderloin. I first set my gas grill on high and let it heat up. I then seared both sides of the tenderloin on high for five minutes per side.



Then I turned the heat down to the low setting on my grill, closed the lid, and grilled for another 20 minutes until the internal temperature reached 160 degrees.

Here are the results, I ended up very nice juicy slices of pork tenderloin, We served this with Roasted Sweet Potatoes in Coconut oil.

As always Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy