Chicken and Veggies (with Eggplant)

So I decided to try out the eggplant we got at our veggie pickup this week.

I marinated some chicken in Mrs. Dash marinade (pretty much the best stuff around!) and let Mr. George Foreman do my grilling.

While Mr. Foreman was busy doing the "man work" I got to work with my veggies and saute pan.

I threw some olive oil in the pan and went threw the fridge to gather some veggies. Bell Peppers, Onions, Onion Scapes (from last week's CSA), Basil Leaves (last week's CSA), and of course, Eggplant. I only used a little eggplant since I wasn't sure I'd like it. I let the veggies get soft and then served them with the chicken.

The eggplant didn't really taste like anything, it fit with the rest of the vegetables, so it worked out great!

Enjoy! - apes -

MY CSA trip

Each week when we get our vegetables from the CSA program, Roomster usually picks them up. But this week, It was MY TURN!

Once I figure out where the pick-up location was (a sketchy white van in the parking lot of a dog park). I grabbed our bag for our veggies and started collecting.

This week we got the same herbs and veggies as the weeks before - but this time we got EGGPLANT as well! I've never had it, so I was interested to try it.

I would also like to note there was a BAGPIPER! Yes, like this...

Needless to say, it was quite interesting!

Enjoy! - apes -

Chicken and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

Roomster and I are trying to figure out recipes for our CSA vegetables that we aren't sure what to use them for.....first up: Bok Choy (Pac Choi, etc). My friend Tim gave me a recipe, but it had multiple parts to it, and lots more ingredients than this blog is used to (sorry Tim, but thanks!). So I hunted around myself, and found the following:

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Chicken and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain white rice (we used Jasmine Rice)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil (we used vegetable oil)
- 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 4 heads baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise (we used 2 heads)
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup store-bought barbecue sauce
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced (we used scapes - also from CSA)

Directions
- Cook the rice according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Season the chicken with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook in skillet, tossing occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Add the bok choy and ¼ cup water to the skillet.
- Cover and cook until the bok choy is just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, barbecue sauce, and scallions.
- Add the sauce to the skillet and bring to a boil.
- Return the chicken to the skillet and cook, tossing, just until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serve with the rice.

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I made the rice, and put the sauce together, but Roomster did all the skillet work. She even put in a tiny bit of our CSA-fresh garlic in the mix.

Dinner on the stove!

It made a bunch (we both had enough left over for lunch the next day) and tasted great!

Needless to say, we FINALLY got rid of some of our Bok Choy...just in time to get more next week!

**This week we also got 3 tiny pears from a pear tree that's over 100 years old!!! They are miniature though, about the size of a clementine orange!

Enjoy! - apes -

Baby Sister Graduates!!!

My baby sister graduated from high school this past week...CONGRATS c/o 2010!! She joined the ranks of her older sisters and donned her sweet green robe and skipped across stage to steal her diploma.

Afterwards, we partied (mandatory)! I of COURSE wanted to bring a fun dish to share. So this is what I put together for her:

Here's an up close pic so you get the FULL MONTY view:

That's right...I made a bouquet of chocolate graduation caps!!! Looks super hard, eh? THINK AGAIN!!!

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Chocolate Graduation Caps

Ingredients

- Reese Cups

- Chocolate Squares (I used Russel Stover individual wrapped squares)

- Lollipop Sticks (I used BBQ Skewers)

- Chocolate to melt (you can use chocolate chips just fine)

- Decorative gel

- Airheads Extremes Rainbow Berry Sweetly Sour Belts (you can also try Twizzler pull-n-peels)

- Wax Paper

Directions

- Keep the Reese's and the Choc Square in the freezer till you are ready to unwrap them

- Unwrap the Reese's and put on wax paper to get to room temp.

- Once at room temp, stick in the skewer (or lollipop stick)

- Put aside

- Unwrap the choc squares, and lay on wax paper

- Melt some chocolate chips to use as a glue

- Cut out the colors you want to use from the Sour Belts

- Using the melted chocolate, glue the sour belt to the chocolate square (making it look like a tassel)

- Top off the cap with a drop of decorative gel (or glue a mini m&m - be creative)

- Once the tops are dry, use melted chocolate to glue the top of the cap to the cap (the choc square to the Reese)

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Since my sister's party was a beach theme, I used an ice bucket filled with sand as the "lollipop holder". At first I was worried that no one would eat them because they were so pretty, but I was WRONG!! After everyone ate the main food, then demolished the graduation caps!!!

These were SUPER easy, and something I would make again - MUCH easier and more fun than those Oreo balls!

Enjoy! - apes -

Leftovers for breakfast....WRAPPED UP!

Last night Alex came over and we had chicken tacos. WITH ALL THE FIXINGS! What's ALL the fixings? How about...

- Marinated Chicken Breast
- Cheese
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Taco Sauce (the green kind)
- Cucumbers (actually, very tasty!)
- Sour Cream
- Salsa
- Soft Taco Shells
- Hard Taco Shells

Since we ate the majority of the fixings with the tacos, we didn't have a lot left over.

BUT WE DID HAVE ENOUGH FOR A BREAKFAST BURRITO (with a few things I had in my fridge).

Here's what I did...

- Dice baby red potatoes, throw on the stove
- Add onions
- Add eggs
- Add cheese

Once done, I prepared the burrito...

- Soft shell taco, heated
- Spread on salsa
- Put in egg/potato/cheese/onion mix
- Top with 2 slices of bacon (yes, I use the microwaveable kind when I'm lazy)
- Wrap and EAT IT UP!

It was easy, and a perfect way to use the leftovers. I also dipped mine in Sour Cream.

Enjoy! - apes -

Chocolate - Banana Cream Pie

My friend Kevin is moving back home to Charleston, SC. While it totally sucks, it means I now have an inexpensive vacation spot down there!!

He came over and we had a few people over for dinner and goodbyes. He made his AWESOME pasta salad we all L.O.V.E. (we use it to carb load before races too!). I'll post that super-easy-you-don't-even-need-to-write-it-down-recipe in the near future.

Anyways....I made dessert....and picked out a Banana Cream Pie recipe (in honor of his love for chocolate. And bananas).

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Chocolate - Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients

- 1 large banana, sliced
- 1 reduced-fat graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz)
- 2 cups fat-free (skim) milk
- 1 container (6 oz) Yoplait® Original 99% Fat Free French vanilla yogurt
- 1 box (6-serving size) chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix
- 1/2 cup reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed
- Additional banana slices, if desired
- Chocolate shavings, if desired

Directions

- Arrange banana slices over bottom of crust; set aside.
- In medium bowl, beat milk, yogurt and pudding mix with electric mixer on low speed 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth and thickened.

- Pour over banana slices in crust.

- Refrigerate about 2 hours, until set.
- To serve, top each serving with 1 tablespoon whipped topping. Garnish with additional banana slices and chocolate shavings.

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Ok, obv this is the recipe pic, and not my personal pic.

I didn't put chocolate shavings or extra bananas in it. BUT when I make it again I am DEF putting 2 (or maybe 3) layers of bananas on the bottom. Mostly because I love bananas, and partially because I only had a few of them in my piece...I WANT ONE WITH EACH BITE!

It was rather tasty, and I am sure I will be making it again. I mean come on...

Chocolate + Bananas = a little slice of heaven!!!

Enjoy! - apes -

Random Mix from my fridge

Wow - that sounds SUPER appetizing, doesn't it? No? Ok, well how about Jasmine Rice, Broccoli, and Beef Tips? Sounds MUCH better, eh?

I was scrounging in my fridge to figure out what I could make one evening and came across some meat I still had in my freezer. It was cut up Beef Tips. I let them defrost (easiest way to defrost food - put in a ROOM TEMP bowl of water for about 30 min) and looked for a side dish.

I have a HUGE bag of Jasmine Rice (LOVE LOVE LOVE it) and settled on that but of course I wanted a vegetable! Luckily, I had some broccoli left over from the CSA pickup, so I decided that would complete the meal (and fill my tummy!).

I made the jasmine rice as it said on the box/bag (it makes 4 servings at a time so I would have PLENTY for lunch the next day), then I went to work on the meat and veggies.

I put the beef tips on the stove, and when it was about halfway done, I threw in the broccoli (chopped up). To add flavor, I added.....SOY SAUCE!!! Yeah, that's right. I sprinkled in some soy sauce over the broccoli and beef tips. It was like my own version of beef and broccoli (but healthier).

It came out T.A.S.T.Y. (totally, amazingly, super tasty, yo!).

Since I can already make egg drop soup (maybe I'll post that at a later date) and now beef and broccoli, now I just need to learn how to make fortune cookies and I can be my own Chinese restaurant!

"NOSOUPFORYOU!"

I had it again for lunch the next day....Soy Sauce is a GREAT cooking marinade/spice.

Enjoy! - apes -

1st CSA Pickup!!

This week marked the first pick-up of our CSA vegetables. If you don't know what that is, read my the blog post here that explains it.

Anyways...I get emails from the owner of the farm every few weeks to update me on the happenings with the crops, animals, etc. Then last week I received an email saying VEGETABLE SHARE PICKUP IS BEGINNING!! Woo-hoo!! Finally!

Since I worked Monday night, it was up to Roomster to tackle the first week of veggies. She went to the pick-up location and came home with a bunch of fresh veggies - some I have never even heard of before!

This week our bag consisted of:

- broccoli (this broccoli comes out of one of a hoophouse - the field broccoli isn't ready yet because it hasn't been growing long enough. This broccoli, because the hoophouses get very warm started to ripen last week which is sooner than expected so some of the heads are uneven and a little discolored, but still tasty)
- pac choi (this comes from the field)
- salad greens (several different leaf lettuces mixed together)
- garlic scapes (these are the curlicues at the top of the garlic plant that if let grow will turn into the garlic flower. They have a bright fresh taste. Use them just like you would garlic bulbs)
- a basil plant in a 4.5 inch pot. This is a fairly large plant. Put it in a window and all summer long use the leaves for seasoning.
- A cilantro plant also in a 4.5 inch pot. Keep the plant trimmed and use the leaves as cilantro or let it mature and produce coriander
- sorrel (a perennial lemony tasting green. Best known as an ingredient in French Sorrel Soup. Also used in salads and omelets)

Then we had the option to add the following (we of course added all of them):
Oregano
Chives
Spearmint

I brought the salad greens for lunch today, along with some of the head of broccoli that I chopped up. Then I added some frozen-from-the-bag corn niblets and had my salad with ranch (best condiment EVER btw).

I am going to look at recipes on how to cook our Pac Choi and Sorrel so we can find out the right ways to eat it and get all the good flavors out of it!

Enjoy! - apes -

HAPPY DOUGHNUT DAY!!!

June 4th is DOUGHNUT DAY!!! and for those who are aware, I DID order a DOUGHNUT MAKER for my house...and it came in yesterday. Yes, I can now make half a dozen mini doughnuts in less than FOUR MINUTES!!! THAT'S LIKE A COMMERCIAL BREAK!!!

I arrive home yesterday and sitting on my coffee table is the box containing my "mini doughnut factory". I busted that box open, threw it on the counter and jumped around with glee.

So after I made dinner...I decided to try my new toy out. It came with homemade dough instructions, and what do you know, we had EVERYTHING we needed (except the milk - so I walked to 711 to buy some). I don't have the recipe on me, so I'll post it at a later date.

I mix up the ingredients (accidentally putting too much baking powder, oops!) and put the dough onto the doughnut factory. I put WAY too much dough, and it leaked out...but when they were done (about 2 min) I still had 6 mini doughnuts!!! Once I took them off the pan(?) I dipped them in melted butter, then in cinnamon sugar.

GET IN MY BELLY!!!

THEN CAME THE MOST IMPORTANT PART.....

EATING THEM!!! I tried one, and it was...D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S. Then Kaela tried one. Same opinion. Then my friend Alex tried one...he also enjoyed it. Then we ate them all!! MMMMM.

Now that I can make my own doughnuts, my mind won't stop racing on the kinds to make:

Coconut
Chocolate

Chocolate Chip

White Choc. Macadamia Nut

Granola!

Blueberry

Cream Cheese (that'll be a tough one!)

Cherry

hmm...liquor? Bailey's!

and the kind of toppings:

Nuts

Sprinkles

Chocolate (or any kind) Syrup

Sugar Glaze

aw man...the possibilities are ENDLESS!!!

I need to go to the store and stock up on TONS of mix ideas and then take a day to just play with all the options I can make.

Enjoy! - apes -