Pesto Paninis

I love summer cooking; Barbeques, grills, fruit, fruit and more fruit! So last night I decided grilled sandwiches were in order. I have issues with melted cheese, serious issues. If it's too thick and I take a bite a bathroom better be close by, and regardless of how hungry I am, I'm done eating for the rest of the night. My husband thinks I'm crazy. What can I say, it's a texture thing.

So, normally paninis aren't really my thing. That whole melted cheese gets in the way. However, last night these were delicious. AND the best part about sandwiches is everyone can make theirs just how they want. For example, my sandwich has one thin layer of cheese but Mr. Chef can't get enough of that ooey goodness. To each their own.

Remember : Make yours with whatever you want! You could have paninis every day for a month and never have the same sandwich twice :)

So - I'm not giving you a recipe. These should be made to order, just how you want.
Go choose a delicious meat from your local deli, get some tasty cheese (experiment a little with this, we got a cheddar with red pepper in it) and slather on the pesto!

Restaurant Reviews: Introduction

OK -- Mr. Chef and I not only love to try new recipes but one of our favorite hobbies is trying new restaurants. We love finding a new gem where we can try new things and have a fun night out. For example -- a few weeks ago we were going to a local tried and true pizza place and as we drove our 3 year old started crying, hard, and screaming, "I don't want pizza! I want sushi!"
uh oh! So -- to her future dates, we are really sorry. She is officially ruined. 

Anyway, new, different, healthy (most of the time) food? Bring it on!

Here is the plan. I try and post a new recipe once a week and now in addition to that I will be reviewing a different restaurant weekly.
I will post all the normal details of the restaurant as well as using a 5-star rating system and a 4 $$ symbol system as follows:

(per person/includes entree, drink, tax and tip)
$ - Cheapo, under $10/person
$$ - Moderate, $11-$30/person
$$$ - Spendy, $31-$60/person
$$$$ - Splurge, $61+/person 

Thoughts? Isn't that exciting?! I hate going to a new restaurant and leaving disappointed. Hopefully this will help a little. There is one catch though. We live in Utah and not all of these places will be chains. So, to our Utah readers - maybe this one is for you. Hopefully there will be something for everyone with these reviews but we'll see.

Review #1 (isn't this so exciting!?)
***update: I've moved the Bucket-o-Crawfish review to it's own post for simplicity of finding it.

Spinach Pesto

 Everyone needs a good quick pesto sauce recipe! Trust me on this one, it's yummy. 

There is a secret ingredient that you might never guess. Go ahead, read on and tell me if you guessed it! Dare ya ;)

I'm keeping this short and sweet today, enjoy!!!

As you can see I buy my spinach in bulk. Costco has yummy spinach, and LOTS OF IT, for cheap. I'll get that and make 4-5 batches at once. This is my favorite go-to sauce, for loads of options. It's especially good on those days spent at the pool, where we run home just in time to get dinner on the table as Mr. Chef walks in. It's like I had been slaving for hours over a fresh hot cooked meal :)

 To start, let's make one thing VERY clear...this is easy peasy.  

 Blend all the above ingredients, minus olive oil, together in your blender or food processor until creamy. Slowly add oil, while blending. 

Pour into ice cube trays or tupperware for storage. 

For some reason pesto will discolor after you freeze it. I don't honestly know why. To avoid it, simply pour a very thin layer of oil on top of the pesto in the container. 

This freezes really well or goes great on sandwiches, pizza, wraps, pasta...the options are endless! Maybe i'll do a pesto week next week and give lots of ideas for how to use your pesto? Anyone interested?

{Ingredients}
5 C loosely packed, fresh spinach
1/4 C Lemon juice
1-2 tsp grapefruit zest (any citrus will do but the grapefruit adds a really fun zing)
1/2 C pine nuts, toasted
1/3 C Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste (I usually add about a full tsp of salt and 1/4-1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper)

{Directions}
Toast pine nuts in oven or toaster oven. spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and toast at 250 degrees for 5-8 minutes, just long enough to enhance the flavor. When you open the oven door, you should be able to smell them. 
Place spinach (no need to de-stem but make sure it's washed well), lemon juice, pine nuts and grapefruit zest into blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. While still blending slowly add oil until well mixed. I usually prefer Olive Oil, however, this past time I made this I ran out of Olive Oil so I substituted Canola Oil. Whatever vegetable oil you have should work just fine. My personal preference is Olive. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use with your favorite recipe.

Optional use: Pour prepared pesto into ice cube trays or tupperware. Cover with a very thin layer of oil to preserve the bright green color while frozen. Freeze immediately.

PS - Did you guess the secret ingredient? Who would have thought, grapefruit pesto!?

Candy go-carts

This post is a little different. We are still making stuff in the kitchen, well actually the park, but it's still food. So, today is for the kiddos!

So -- today's post is a quick and fun idea when you are looking for a different day with the kids, or adults, or whoever. (we all got in on this action, maybe the adults more than the kids in some instances)

My little girl just turned three and was sure that ONLY a Fix it Felix party would do. Not Wreck it Ralph or Sugar Rush, Fix it Felix, complete with the building cake from the movie. Somehow I pulled it off and it was a blast and she was in heaven. But one of the most fun parts of the whole thing was making our own go carts. If you have a winco around you go hit them up for their bulk candy and go crazy!!!

Here is the birthday girls cart:

 We had a HUGE array of candies, cookies and crackers to use. Make sure that you get lots of round candies for different wheels and steering wheels. We also found that toothpicks were extremely handy!

And here are some other masterpieces...Aren't they beautiful!?

 

 

There are so many fun things you can do with this! Go grab candy of your choice, a few toothpicks, some awesome icing and go go-cart crazy!!!



Recipe for Royal Icing:
(recipe from Food Network)

{Ingredients}
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)

{Directions}

In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to pastry bag or heavy duty storage bag and pipe as desired. If using storage bag, clip corner. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Summer Balsamic Pasta

I've been so in the mood for fresh and fast since summer hit. This week especially! This dish hit the spot the other day and it was fast, easy and healthy.

So, without further delay - enjoy! Go work in the yard, go running, spend the day at the pool and then throw dinner on and feel great!

Cook about 1/3 cup dry pasta according to package directions. Sautee peppers and onion and steam broccoli. Combine pasta and veggies in bowl, sprinkle with feta cheese, salt and pepper and toss in a few shakes of balsamic vinegar. Serve with fresh fruit. That's it! Easy right?! And it's equally as delicious. Trust me!

{Ingredients}
1/3 C pasta
1/2 Red Pepper, chopped
2 Green Onions, diced
1 C fresh Broccoli, roughly chopped
Feta cheese, to taste
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Happy summer!

Vegetable Carbonara

Today's to-do list included about 7x what I was actually able to get done. So -- when Mr. Chef called to say he was on his way home, I was elated as usual but also realized what time it was and that I hadn't even THOUGHT about dinner. I usually try and time it so that I'm putting it on the table as he walks in. Was it going to happen? Mmm, maybe not today. 

Sometimes you just need a quick throw together meal that is healthy, in budget and fast. This, my friends, is it! This saved me tonight, was delicious and fit the bill for fast.

Vegetable Carbonara

{Ingredients}
2-3 strips of bacon, diced and cooked (add less or more here, to your liking)
1 1/2 C fresh Broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
1 C chopped carrots
1 C mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 C dry pasta, any shape
3/4 C freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
2 eggs
salt
freshly ground pepper

Cook pasta according to package. DO NOT LET THIS COOL!!! Carbonara is a pasta that needs to be finished immediately following draining the pasta. So, if you would prefer to prep everything else before the pasta so you are ready, great! Do what works for you but just be prepared that the pasta can not sit and wait for any amount of time. The egg won't cook if it does. 

Cook bacon, on low heat to enrich the flavor. Set aside -- LEAVE THE GREASE WITH THE BACON! (Which goes against every natural thing in me!)

Chop and saute peppers and mushrooms, add to bacon. Steam broccoli and carrots until tender, add to other ingredients. Grate Parmesan and add to these ingredients as well.
beat eggs lightly in small bowl. Drain pasta and quickly combine everything, including the egg. Stir constantly until egg is cooked (you can't really see that it's cooked, you can just see that it's not runny anymore), cheese is melted and pasta is thoroughly mixed. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately, Bon Apetite !

*This was a huge success with everyone around this house including the 3 year old and 10 month old! Hopefully it will be with yours too :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Veggie Stir Fry

I am a carnivore. I love meat and would eat it for every meal every day. Lately however, meat hasn't really sounded good, like at all. Maybe it's because i'm trying to be healthier, maybe it's because healthy foods sound so refreshing in the summertime, maybe it's because I love veggies...whatever the reason - All i've wanted lately is veggies and barbequed food. So, the other night I was needing dinner in a hurry and had no idea what I was going to make. I had loads of veggies in my fridge so I threw them all together with some spices and had the most delicious stir fry ever. The best part, besides cooking the rice, dinner took like ten minutes! Keep reading for a fast yummy throw-together kindof dinner!

{Ingredients}
2 C cooked rice, I prefer brown but choose your favorite.
1 White onion, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 C mushrooms, chopped
2 C fresh broccolli, chopped
1 red Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 C Soy sauce
1/8 C Worstershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste



Cook rice according to package directions. 
Roughly chop onion. Sautee onion and garlic in a dash of olive oil for a few minutes until pungent. Add mushrooms, broccoli, peppers, soy sauce, worstershire sauce and spices. Sautee 3-5 minutes until veggies and spices are mixed well. Cover for 3 minutes to steam veggies. Uncover and mix well.
Add rice to veggies, mix well and enjoy!