Main Dish

Greek Chicken Kabobs and Salad

By in Main Dish, Meat, Poultry 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Greek Chicken Kabob Salad

I always seem to make salad for supper on the night my husband is most hungry and a hearty meal when he comes home without an appetite. I could be a good wife and let him know ahead of time what we’re eating, so he could prepare his stomach accordingly, but why ruin the surprise? Besides, if I make salad for dinner you better believe there’s going to be dessert. It’s all about balance. :)

The first night I made this we gobbled it down in no time flat and I was craving it for days afterwards. So much so, that I put it on the menu again for the next week.

It uses my favourite Greek Dressing, which is tangy and packed with flavour - it’s a breeze to throw together and stores well at room temperature for quite a while. The chicken is marinated in the dressing, soaking up all that flavour, then threaded onto skewers and cooked on the grill. Throw together a simple salad, with the same dressing, while the meat cooks and you have dinner on the table in no time.

On super-hot days, when appetites are practically non-existent, it makes a light and tasty dinner. But just to make sure, I like to serve it with a side of Foccacia. That way, if James comes home extra hungry he doesn’t have to starve (or eat a double portion of dessert). :)

Greek Chicken Kabobs and Salad

Greek Dressing
  • 1 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1.5 teaspoons pepper
  • 1.5 teaspoons salt
  • 1.5 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1.5 teaspoons dijon
  • 3/4 cup olive oil

Place vinegar, seasonings and dijon in a blender or food processor (or use a handheld blender); pulse to combine. With the blender running, slowly pour in oil and process until creamy (emulsified). Store, covered, at room temperature.

Makes: 1.5 cups

Greek Chicken Kabobs
  • 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into chunks
  • 1/4 cup greek dressing

Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag or tupperware; coat with dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to marinate (or leave at room temperature for 30 minutes).

Thread onto metal or soaked-wooden skewers. Grill over medium heat until cooked through.

Salad
  • 130g baby spinach (8 cups)
  • 1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and chopped
  • 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup cubed feta
  • 1/2 cup olives, cut in half lengthwise
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • greek dressing, to taste

Place spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, olives and onion in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Add dressing and toss again. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Greek Dressing adapted from Allrecipes.

BLT Chicken Burgers

By in Main Dish, Poultry 10 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

blt chicken burgers

If I were to pick one summer comfort food, it would burgers. I could eat a good burger practically every day, but I try to limit it to once a week during the hot summer months. I tend to go for a simple beef burger with cheese and bacon or a grilled chicken breast with pineapple, cheese and bacon. Do you see a trend here? I like me some bacon on my burgers. Which is why I dedicated a whole post to how I cook them for my sandwiches.

This particular day was a scorcher and I didn’t want to turn on the oven at all, so I did the same procedure as with the baked lattice bacon except I pan-fried it. I will always prefer my bacon baked over fried, just because it cooks more evenly, but the method still worked great.

The key to avoiding a tough burger is to handle the meat as little as possible. Mix the ingredients together just until incorporated and pat the burgers into form rather than squeezing.

I’ve always been a little nervous about making ground chicken burgers because you need to be extra careful in making sure they’re cooked through and I’ve heard they often turn out dry. But, this recipe sounded too good to pass up. The meat mixture is packed with cheddar and parmesan and I think that must help a lot with moisture because these were not even close to dry. They were juicy, cheesy and packed with flavour. Add the classic components of a BLT and a yummy Basil Mayonnaise and you have yourself one mean burger.

I prefer burgers without bread crumbs, crackers or oats because I find them less meatloaf-y. They are quite sticky to deal with but as long as you grease your grill ahead of time and make sure there’s a good char on them before you turn, you should have no problem flipping them.

BLT Chicken Burgers

I tend to make my burgers a little smaller and make six burgers out of one pound of meat, instead of four, which is why you will see differing amounts in the assembly. Choose as many as is appropriate for the amount of burgers you have made.

Chicken Burgers
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix ingredients together lightly and form into 4-6 thin patties. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to grill.

To Grill: Clean and lightly grease grill grates; preheat to medium. Grill burgers, flipping once, until browned and cooked through (8-10 minutes).

Basil Mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Assembly
  • 4-6 burger buns, toasted if desired
  • 4-6 squares lattice bacon (or 8-12 slices), cooked
  • 4-6 romaine lettuce leaves
  • 1 large tomato, sliced

Spread buns with basil mayonnaise. Top with bacon, lettuce, chicken burgers and tomato. Serve immediately.

Makes: 4-6

Adapted from My Recipes.

Summer Chicken Stew

By in Main Dish, Poultry 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

summer stew

I’ve struggled with knowing how to write this post. It’s hard to just act as if nothing has happened when such tragedy has hit so close to home. It’s impossible to ignore and my heart is broken.

I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about how Oslo was shaken by the violent attacks last Friday so I won’t go into detail here. If needed, a quick search of cnn.com will get you all the information you want.

I don’t like giving a platform to extremists who perform such horrible acts by talking about them too much. But at the same time I feel that we need to remember those who are hurting. We need to pray for those who are grieving; for those who survived the horror that will not so easily be forgotten.

Those of us who haven’t been personally affected have the privilege of moving on from the tragedy much faster. I can’t imagine the hardship and sorrows yet to come for others who are not so lucky. My heart goes out to them, they are often in my thoughts and prayers.

Please pray for some measure of comfort for them.

It’s hard to pick up and talk nonchalantly about food in a time like this so I will be brief. This stew is quick to prepare, comforting on a rainy day, with the flavours of summer cooked in one pot until creamy and flavourful. If you crave a little bit of comfort on a warm and rainy day, this stew will help, even if just a little.

Summer Chicken Stew

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 slices bacon, chopped
  • 400ml chicken broth
  • 500g baby new potatoes, halved
  • 200g spreadable cream cheese (about 3/4 cup)
  • 200g sweetcorn (frozen, fresh or from a can)
  • 200g cherry tomatoes, halved

Season chicken with salt and pepper; coat with flour. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook chicken on both sides just until browned. Remove from pot and set aside.

Cook bacon in the same pot until crisp. Drain off excess fat. Stir in broth, browned chicken and potatoes. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until chicken and potatoes are cooked through.

Stir in cream cheese, corn and tomatoes. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes until corn is cooked and cream cheese is melted.

Serves: 4

Adapted from Good Food.

How to: Make Calzones Without Turning on the Oven

By in How-to's, Main Dish 4 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

How to: Make Calzones Without Turning on the Oven

The other day while my husband was away on business I had some leftover pita pockets to be used up and I was craving pizza. So I decided to stuff them full of pizza toppings and toast them in a pan until the cheese inside was melted and gooey. When I took my first bite I realized that I had stumbled onto something wonderful. They tasted exactly like Calzones, fresh from the oven, and all I did was turn on my stove top.

When making these I think the key to getting that Calzone-y taste is to use homemade pita pockets. They have way better flavour then the prepackaged ones from a store and when you serve them warm, stuffed with pizza toppings, they taste an awful lot like pizza dough.. just not gooey (bonus!). You can make a bunch of pita pockets on a rainy day and store them in the freezer. They”re great for picnics too!

Change it Up

I think it would also be great to do these on the grill, giving them that extra smokey flavour. Or, make stove top pizza pops by using mini pitas.

Get creative and stuff these with your favourite Calzone fillings. These ones were made with my Deluxe Pizza Pop filling because those were the ingredients I had on hand at the time. There are so many more variations that I would like to try.

While making homemade Calzones from scratch is a lot of fun – in the summer we”re on the lookout for quick, simple meals that don”t heat up the house. And, this one certainly fits the bill.

What recipes do you like to convert to the stove top for summer?

Stove Top Calzones

  1. Preheat a large non-stick pan over medium. Stuff the pitas with filling and place in pan. Cook for 10 minutes on each side until filling is melted and pita is golden. Serve immediately.

* If you have a large enough lid you can cover the pan to help the filling heat through faster.

* If you stuff them very full the filling may have trouble heating all the way through (if not covered). If you have this problem simply zap them in the microwave for 10 or so seconds to finish them off. The crust won”t get soggy as long as you don”t microwave it for too long.

Last-Minute BBQ Pizza Dough

By in Breads, Main Dish 10 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

Last-Minute BBQ Pizza Dough

I seriously have so much fun making this recipe. I”m not sure what makes it more fun then regular pizza dough. Maybe it”s the fact that you”re making individual portions that can be adapted to each person”s liking. Or, that it”s baked on a grill, which is the closest thing to a pizza oven that I”ll ever get. Or maybe, it”s just the fact that you can decide so last-minute to make pizza, even if you didn”t thaw the dough first.

For even quicker prep: make a couple batches of dough when you have time. Grill on one side, allow to cool and then wrap in plastic wrap. When ready to use: pull out of the freezer, place desired toppings onto the grilled side and grill until dough is cooked through and toppings are melted. This is also a great alternative for those who may only be wanting 1 or 2 individual pizzas at a time.

We topped ours with Tropical BBQ Chicken Pizza toppings. I think it”s a match made in heaven. I”m planning on trying ham and pineapple next and I”m sure over the summer all our favourite toppings will have a go on the grill. Because, what doesn”t taste better with a little smoky flavour?

This dough can handle a lot of toppings. I”m so used to making my thin crust pizza dough that I”m always a little stingy with the toppings. But the truth is, the crust is so good that even if your toppings are skimpy, your pizza will still be delicious. Even my thin crust loving husband is a big fan of this dough.

And, one of my absolute favourite features: if you”re craving pizza on a scorcher of a day you don”t even have to turn the oven on!

A Couple Tips on Working with Dough:

For those who may be new at working with yeast doughs here are a couple tips to help you have success.

  1. Wetter is better. When making dough it”s always better for the dough to be a tad bit too sticky then to be too dry. You can always add lots of flour when you”re rolling it out but fixing a dry dough is a lot more difficult. Plus, the less flour the more rise you”ll get. You know the dough is done when it”s sticky to the touch but nothing clings to your finger when you pull it away.

  2. Keep it warm. When I make yeast based doughs I like to let it rise in a slightly warm oven. This way I”m guaranteed no drafts and the temperature won”t fluctuate. I always get a better and quicker rise this way. To do this: preheat your oven to the lowest setting while you make the dough. Once the dough is ready place it in the warm oven, turn off the heat and close the door.

  3. Knead it well. You want to knead the dough for approximately 6-8 minutes. This helps to develop the gluten which will in turn help the dough have better structure. You”ll know the dough is ready if it looks smooth and no longer scraggly.

I really have to pull back the restraints when I”m eating this. As if pizza wasn”t addictive enough, now I have an extra delicious crust to contend with. And, now you can too. :)

What toppings would you put on grilled pizza?

Last-Minute BBQ Pizza Dough

  • 3/4 cup warm water

  • 1 package (1/4 oz) quick rise yeast

  • 2-3 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and oil. Knead until smooth; adding additional flour if necessary to achieve a smooth, pliable and slightly sticky dough. Place in a lightly greased bowl; cover and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.

  2. Prepare grill: Coat rack with oil and preheat to medium heat.

  3. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into a 6-7 inch circle. Transfer to the grill and cook, covered, for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned.

  4. Remove from grill. Top the grilled side with desired toppings. Put back on grill and cook, covered, for 4-5 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned.

Serves: 4

Adapted from Taste of Home.

Shrimp and Couscous Paella

By in Main Dish, Pasta, Seafood 18 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

couscous paella

When we had this for dinner the first time we couldn’t stop talking about it afterwards. Every half an hour or so one us would say “mmm.. supper was good.” Even Max would not stop eating it until every last bit was gone. I was a little disappointed that there were no leftovers because I was craving it again the next day (we halved the recipe). It’s a super quick meal to throw together on a weeknight and the flavours are outstanding.

Couscous has been a fairly new addition to our family’s table. We’ve only started eating it in the last year or so and I have no idea why. It’s so quick to prepare for a side or main and the pasta soaks up all the delicious flavours of whatever you cook it in. Traditional Paella (pronounced pah-e-yah) is made with rice but making it with couscous instead speeds up the cooking time considerably and is just a fun change from the norm.

This meal has a lot going for it. Not only does it take less than thirty minutes to throw together but it’s also a one pot dinner and fairly healthy too. Plus, I love anything that gives me the excuse to eat shrimp!

Do you eat couscous? What are your favorite ways to enjoy it?

Shrimp and Couscous Paella

  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 6 green onions, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth (2-14.5 oz cans)
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 pound large shrimp, uncooked
  • 2 cups couscous
  • 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • sliced almonds, to garnish
  • fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)
  1. In a large nonstick skillet saute red pepper in a small amount of oil until softened. Add onions and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  2. Stir in broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until shrimp turn pink.
  3. Making sure broth is at a simmer, stir in couscous, peas and butter. Remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with almonds and parsley to serve.

Serves: 6

*If using cooked shrimp: add to broth and bring to a boil, just to heat through, before adding couscous. And, if you’re like me and forget to thaw the peas you can add them along with the shrimp. :)

Adapted from Light & Tasty.

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