Shishkebabs

I love kebabs!  There are so many ways to make them and it's all about preference.  Here's what we had tonight.

2 lbs stew meat 
red, yellow, orange bell peppers, cut up
1 vidalia onion, cut up
1 can pineapple chunks or fresh pineapple chunks
1 cup Teriyaki Marinade

Marinade the meat for 1 hour up to overnight.  The longer, the more flavorful.  Place the meat and vegetables and in this case fruit on the kebabs and grill.  I like to preheat my grill and spray the grates with a little vegetable oil to keep the meat from sticking.  Turn occasionally until your desired doneness.  Is that a word?  "done-ness"?  Oh well, you get it.  I like mine medium rare.  Yum!  Serve on a bed of rice.

I just thought the watermelon looked pretty...

Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce

1 tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup soy sauce
2-3 tbs honey
a splash of pineapple juice
1 garlic clove crushed or minced
1 tsp freshly snipped chives

Blend all ingredients together in a bowl.  Add meat to marinade for 1 hour or up to overnight.

If you want a dipping sauce, after you drain the marinade and add 1/2 cup water.  Bring it to a boil for 5 minutes.  Excellent with beef, pork or chicken

Corn Cakes

This is a great side dish from "Everyday Food", my favorite cooking magazine.  The kids loved it, even my daughter who is the pickiest eater I know.  Maybe just the name... the fact that it has the word 'cake' in it.  I really think that's why she even tried it, because if she would have mad the connection that its a vegetable she wouldn't have touched it.  These are to be served with crumbled goat cheese on top which would be delicious!  But, I didn't have any in the house and it was still great.

2 tbs plus 1 tsp olive oil
3 cups corn (from 3 ears or frozen)
1 small zucchini, diced small
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 scallions, very thinly sliced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup cornmeal (I just used all p;urpose flour)
2 ounces fresh goat cheese crumbled

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tsp oil over medium.  Add corn and zucchini and season with salt and pepper; cook until vegetables soften slightly, 3-5 minutes.  Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool, 5 minutes.  Add scallions, eggs and cornmeal to corn mixture and stir to combine.
Wipe skillet clean, then heat 2 tbs oil over medium.  In batches, cook 1/4 cupfuls corn mixture until set on bottom, about 3 minutes.  Flip and cook until cakes are cooked through, 2 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.  Sprinkle with goat cheese.

Mojito BBQ Chicken

This is not your ordinary BBQ.  A great citrus-y marinade.  This is a great one to double up on, throw the second batch of chicken in the marinade and put it in the freezer and it'll be ready for a quick and flavorful meal.

2 tbs grated lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tbs chopped fresh mint
1 tbs honey
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 3 1/2 pound chicken cut into 6 pieces with skin removed from all but wings (or just by pick of the chick...much easier)
1 lime cut into wedges and fresh mint sprig for garnish

Mix all ingredients (except chicken) well.  Reserve 1/2 the marinade in a seperate bowl and refrigerate.  Put the remaining marindae in a bag with the chicken pieces and turn to coat.  Marinade for 2 hours up to overnight. 
Preheat grill and coat grill rack lightly with oil.  remove chicken from marinade and girll, turning occasionally until cooked through.  About 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the reseved marinade in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Serve as a sauce over the chicken.
Enjoy!  Gotta love grillin' season! 

Black bean and corn salad

I was looking for something fresh and healthy to serve as a side with my Mojito BBQ Chicken, and craving something a bit mexican.  I found this salad on allrecipes.com and adapted it. I could not stop eating it!  And with the avacado I knew it wouldn't last long, so I just continued to stuff myself because I couldn't stand the thought of throwing any of it away!  Yes, I have a food addiction.  This was great as a salad, and, I could totally see dipping some chips in it too.

I've posted the actual recipe, but, I did not have enough of all the ingredients so I actually made do with what I had.  I halved the recipe, used 1/2 red bell pepper, and 1 1/2 avacodo... its just what I had in the house.  It all worked well.

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)


Directions
1.Place lime juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt, in a small jar. Cover with lid, and shake until ingredients are well mixed.

2.In a salad bowl, combine beans, corn, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Shake lime dressing, and pour it over the salad. Stir salad to coat vegetables and beans with dressing, and serve.

Black and Blue Burgers

These are so good, and I was so anxious to eat that I completely forgot to take a picture!  I'll have to add it next time I make these.  If you just need to add some life to plain old burgers this is a great way to do it. 

2 lbs ground beef
4 oz blue cheese
4 oz chives chopped
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt
if you like a little kick to yours add 1/4-1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.  Shape into patties and grill on a pre-heated grill (med. high)  They take about 5-10 minutes depending on how 'done' you like your meat. 
I like to top mine with bbq sauce and mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato and avacado.