WRAPS: His and Hers

Just as summer is coming to an end, I realized I hadn't yet posted one of our staple summer dinners...

Wraps... we make "his" and "hers" versions of our mediterranean chicken wraps. How easy can THAT be?!


But first I'll start with the low-cal dressing that goes on so many dishes in our house... it is adapted from a chain brewhouse-type restaurant. Instead of a mayo/sour cream base, I use 0% fat Fage yogurt to keep the calories down.



Low-Cal Southwest Dressing
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Instructions
1 cup Fage 0% yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
Healthy pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch kosher salt/black pepper

Instructions
Whisk together. Give it a taste; add more cayenne or salt, if needed.






The grilled chicken gets cut into long strips...



The tortilla (aka wrap) gets thrown on the griddle real briefly to warm it up, on both sides...



Then the low-cal Southwest Dressing gets gets smeared on the slightly warmed sun-dried tomato wrap...



Then the rest of the to0pings-of-choice get placed atop the dressing... I chose lettuce, red onion, red bell pepper strips, chicken, havarti cheese and arugula. Mmm mmm good!









Cut it in half... and you've got an entire meal right there!





And for his... (he likes different toppings)...



Same wrap. Same dressing, lettuce, red onion, red pepper strips... but he prefers mozzarella cheese and some New Zealand spinach...



Oh! I forgot one more important thing... wrap it tightly and place back on the griddle for about 45 seconds, seam side down. This will help to hold the tortilla together at the seam.



There ya go... this meal earns major points, in my book!
- It's quick and easy.
- It doesn't require heating up the whole kitchen (which is a plus during the hot summer).
- It can be easily customized for each person.
- It can be easily wrapped up and taken with you.
- It makes for fantastic leftovers.



These wraps are just fantastic for easy summer livin'... and life is good!




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Another fav, another panini...

It's summer... and you know what that means. It means we have bruschetta. And bruschetta ingredients + summer = panini.

So this version of "bruschetta" will be in the form of a sandwich. To do so we need a panini pan, bread, basil pesto, tomato and mozzarella cheese.



I started off by heating up the panini pan and then buttering the bread.



And for the pesto? In my opinion, the best basil pesto comes in a jar from Trader Joe's. I would prefer to only use this pesto for the rest of my life. 'Nuf said... So I went ahead and slathered a good deal of basil pesto on the inside of one of the slices of bread...





Then I sliced the mozzarella and tomato into a few pieces...



And I started layering the sandwich together right on the hot panini pan...

Buttered side of bread face down
Cheese slices
Tomato slices
Last slice of bread, slathered with pesto (buttered side up)





My panini pan is the kind that has a cast iron lid that you place on top of the sandwich.



I placed the lid on top of the sandwich and pressed down... after a few minutes I turned the sandwich 90 degrees and let it continue to cook. Turning it will create that cross hatch mark on the bread that looks so yummy!



After a few minutes I turned the sandwich over and let it cook on the other side too. (Note - some electric panini pans conduct heat on both sides. In this case you wouldn't have to turn the sandwich over.)



When the sandwich is done cooking I remove it to a cutting board and let it rest for a minute or two... just to let the cheese cool down a bit.

And I'll tell you right now, the waiting is truly the hardest part...



This sandwich was served up with the rest of the tomato and some tomato basil soup... life is good!!!





enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Grilled Stuffed Portobello

It's Sunday... and you know what that means! I'm playing in the kitchen!

Turn on the grill and get ready for a REALLY yummy lunch (or dinner)...



This is where I started... my special garlic infused olive oil, parsley and basil from my garden, an heirloom tomato, a lemon, soy sauce and a few other things...

But first let me show you some of the bounty of my garden: italian flat-leaf parsley and african blue basil.



The basil is so fancy that it deserves a fancy chiffonade...



It's so fancy we're going to make confetti out of it...







Set it aside... we'll use it later.

Next we mix together the goods that are gonna go inside the grilled portobello: cheese, tomato, black pepper and some of that yummy oil.



Prep that portobello...



Take out the stem, scoop out the gills and clean it up...







And then it gets some great flavor ...







To the grill we go (or, in this case, the panini pan... the most versatile tool in my kitchen)...



Stem side down to start with... then give her a flip... and fill her up...





Sprinkle with basil and cover for the last couple of minutes grilling. This will help the cheese melt faster and partly steam the tomatoes... mmm...



Serving it up with bread is a must... because the mushroom will leave behind some amazing juices that you'll want to sop up. Just trust me on this one...




But trust me soon... because you want to make one within the week. Especially while the GOOD tomatoes are still in season.






Grilled Stuffed Portobello
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
2 portobello mushrooms
1 medium heirloom tomato, diced
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon garlic-infused olive oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon Juice from one lemon
Fresh parsley, chiffonade
Fresh basil, chiffonade

Instructions
Prepare the grill. Combine cheese, tomatoes, black pepper and ½ teaspoon of oil. Remove stems and gills from inside of Portobello. Mix together soy sauce, other ½ teaspoon of olive oil and juice from one lemon. Brush both sides of Portobello with soy mixture. Place Portobello on hot grill, stem side down. Grill for 3 to 5 minutes and turn over. Once turned over, fill each Portobello with tomato and cheese mixture. Sprinkle basil on top. Cover with domed lid and allow to cook for another 3 – 5 minutes. After cooking, sprinkle with parsley. Serve with bread, to sop up the juices that run off the Portobello.




enjoy your time in the kitchen...