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...

RECIPE: An easy stir fry...

Looking for some more easy summer dishes? Here's one that I think will be enjoyed quite often this summer! That's because with stir fry the veggies are cooked at a super high heat, which cooks them very fast! Other than prep time you're hardly spending any time actually "cooking".

And I know you know that I love my short cuts... taking a short cut here we bought a frozen package of stir fry vegetables (from Trader Joe's, but most groceries should have this). It's chocked full of pea pods, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, soybeans, water chestnuts, carrots and mushrooms. And then to that we added fresh broccoli. (Whick veggies do YOU use for a stir fry?)



Next we move on to making our stir fry sauce... it's a combination of soy sauce, chicken stock, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, corn starch and dark sesame oil (not pictured here). Oh, how forgetful am I?! I forgot to buy more when doing this post... so instead I used a touch of canola oil - and of course it didn't quite taste the same. But it worked out alright... next time, there's always next time.



The ingredients were whisked together in a little bowl and the corn starch added.



Here's an interesting fact about corn starch - it thickens when it gets hot. So be prepared for the corn starch to settle at the bottom of the cute little bowl... you can whisk it up again real quick before adding it to the heat.



And we're ready to stir fry... since stir fry is a quick process I've gotten in the habit of lining up all the players so they are ready for use: frozen stir fry vegetable mix, broccoli bites, and our "house chicken" (sliced/cooked - which we'll cover in another blog post)...



Heat the oil up, over medium-high to high heat... and add those veggies. (Please note - after eating this dish I wish I would have cooked the broccoli a little more. So, the recipe below is written to let the broccoli cook for a few minutes by themselves before adding the frozen veggies.)







Isn't that beautiful?! Yes, the pan will sizzle when the veggies are added... that's the sound you're looking for! You want it to be hot, hot, hot... (kind of like it is right now, outside... UNLIKE how it is as I sit inside typing away in my air conditioned house! Ahhh.... )

Keep moving the veggies around the pan, stirring/tossing frequently. They will cook for about 6-8 minutes total...





And then the sauce and the chicken is added... remember, as the sauce heats up it thickens up. It will also soak into the veggies and chicken... and it's oh so yummy!!!



Stir it around... and when the chicken has heated through it's ready to serve up!



We enjoy ours with brown rice, a touch more soy sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds to top it off.





Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
¼ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more, to taste)
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups fresh broccoli, cut into small bite-size pieces (by volume)
8 ounces frozen vegetable stir fry mix (by weight)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 10 oz, cooked and sliced)

Instructions
In a small bowl whisk together chicken broth, rice vinegar, soy sauce, corn starch, sesame oil and crushed red pepper. Set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to hot sauté pan (or wok) over high heat. Add broccoli, sauté for about 2-3 minutes; tossing pan regularly to coat and evenly cook broccoli. Add the vegetable stir fry mix and continue to saute for another 5-6 minutes. (If using fresh vegetables reduce cooking time appropriately.)

Stir broth mixture one more time to make sure corn starch is completely mixed in and add to pan. Simmer for about 30 seconds; add chicken. Reduce heat and stir until chicken is warmed through

Serve with brown rice, a touch more soy sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top.


enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Lovin' our homemade pizza...

A new favorite in our house... an old classic. I found this multi-grain crust at my local Albertsons. "Culinary Circle" is their upscale store brand name. And wow... they sure know how to make a good upscale store brand pre-baked pizza crusts.



And then we topped it with some really good pizza toppings to make a Manly Meaty Pizza... garlic-infused olive oil, marinara of choice, Gallo salame and pepperoni, mozzarella cheese... you know, your favorite pizza toppings, whatever those may be.

On the "girly" side of the pizza I used my pesto of choice and a vine-ripened tomato... and maybe a few slices of pepperoni slipped in there too.



Next, I drizzled some garlic-infused olive oil on the crust... and brushed it over the top of the whole crust.



And I will say here that I'm convinced that broiler pans bake pizza doughs just as good as pizza stones. The air circulates up under the crust and dries it out... so it gets nice and crispy and perfectly done!

How did I discover this? Well, we've been using pizza stones for at least 10 years now (for frozen pizzas). And recently our pizza stone dropped and cracked in half. I hadn't had a chance to replace it yet before I wanted to make another pizza. So, I gave the trusty broiler pan a whirl... and voila! Perfectly, crusty crust!



Now, on to the toppings... marinara sauce on His side, pesto on my side.



I sprinkled mozzarella cheese across the whole crust... then...

On His side I topped with meatballs (cut in half)
On my side I topped with sliced raw tomatoes

And then more mozzarella, and (oh yeah) also some crumbled bacon. Yes, bacon.





Next, salame... and some more mozzarella.



Last, a layer of pepperoni... followed by? What else... mozzarella.



TIP FROM LORI: If you like crispy pizza (and we do) then do what we do. If the instructions on the crust reads to bake the pizza at 400 degrees F, then we actually bake it at 425 degrees F for a slightly less amount of time.



So, it's time for the close up shot...



Above: the Manly Meaty Pizza...

Below: the Girly Pesto Pizza...




Both are equally scrumptious... and a little sinful.


We also usually shake some red pepper flakes on top of one of those layers and sometimes some garlic salt too. Tonight I forgot... but we didn't send the pizza back...




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Swedish Meatballs with Dill Sauce

Oh, I'm speechless. THIS made my entire week... I've been calling on the flavors of my childhood (I can remember Gramma H making her version of this dish quite often) and researching other flavor ideas so I could update it a bit.

Here's where I started...



In a large bowl I combined everything except for the bread crumbs...



... and I mixed it all up with the best tools in the kitchen!



With an ice cream scooper I made 1" balls, rolled them semi-tightly in wet hands (to prevent the meat from sticking to my hands) and then rolled them in panko bread crumbs...





... and started the assembling line process. Oh how I love the assembly line process. (Seriously - it makes so much sense to my brain!)



Several recipes I read said it was a good idea to chill the meatballs before baking them off. But I didn't (I simply didn't have the time)... and I think they turned out ok.

So, as they baked I moved on to the dill sauce...

We don't have fresh dill around here very often. But everytime I buy it I think to myself "Why don't I use this more?! It's so fresh smelling and yummy and kind of inspirational!"



It's easy to work with... you can just pull it right off the stem and there isn't even much chopping to do because it's so fine already. (And the freshness comes out even more once you chop into it!)



While I was thinking I chopped it up and put together all the players of the sauce...



The sauce comes together rather easily... starting with a basic roux.



Then I moved on to the other parts of the sauce... starting with chicken broth, a little at a time.



Once that was all incorporated I threw in the other ingredients... and gave it another whisk.







But then it was a little too thick for my preference, so I added a touch more chicken broth.



In the meantime... the egg noodles had finished cooking and the meatballs were done. So I started plating up...


Just LOOK at those beautifully crunchy and flavorful meatballs!!! And the house smells SOOOO good right about now!



Here you have it... egg noodles, with a little sauce drizzled on top. Add the meatballs and a little more sauce.

Oh HECK YEAH!

(pardon me... I've been looking forward to this all week!)



OR... you can just eat them like this...

The onions in the meatballs and that dill sauce compliment each other so well. And the CR-CR-CRUNCH on the outside of the meatball. WOW!



But don't take my word for it... try it for yourself! You can thank me later...


Swedish Meatballs with Dill Sauce
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
½ medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 egg
½ tablespoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
pinch ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ cup heavy cream
1 ½ cups Panko bread crumbs

Dill Sauce
½ cup butter
1/8 cup flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cups sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
Pinch ground nutmeg
Kosher salt/pepper to taste

Instructions
In a large bowl combine beef, onion, egg, allspice, nutmeg, salt/pepper and heavy cream. Mix until well combined. With wet hand, shape mixture into 1" balls. Roll balls in panko bread crumbs & place side by side in a shallow baking pan; cover & chill for at least 2 hours. You should have about 20-25 meatballs.

Bake at 375 for 30-35 min., or until brown - turn the meatballs after 15 min.

Melt half stick of butter in a large pan; stir in flour; gradually stir in broth. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, till sauce bubbles & thickens. Stir in sour cream, ground nutmeg and dill. Add kosher salt/pepper to taste. Serve immediately.



enjoy your time in the kitchen...