Thursday, April 30, 2009

Not really a new recipe but...

Calzones
We've had these before but last night I decided to let the kids help out.
We used:
premade pizza dough from Wegmans (I know most pizzarias sell their dough as well, or my friend Ellen makes a yummy one in her bread machine!)
Sauce
can of diced tomatoes
pepperoni
shredded mozzarella
parmesean cheese
mushrooms
artichoke hearts (because I had them and I love them)

I cut the ball of dough into 5 pieces, rolled each one out and then each person took turns filling it with their toppings. The kids LOVED doing this! Even Rachel who usually is only interested in helping by licking the spoon when I am baking something!
After folding each one up, I brushed some olive oil on them and sprinkled some Parmesan cheese and Italian Seasoning on the top. Each kid got a different colored toothpick so we could keep track. Oh and cut a vent in the top of the dough or else you'll have messy, leaky calzones. 20-25 minutes at 375
And as usual, Joey's was without any cheese (the dough was free of dairy as well).
Rating: 10, fun to make, quick, and easy to eat.
Still looking for grilling recipes. I am thinking of grilling shrimp kabobs this weekend. Maybe marinade them in Greek dressing. OOOH, I wonder if I can find that yummy orzo salad recipe from Rachael Ray....

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Back to our regular scheduled programming...

RECIPES!
So it turns out that once a week just wasn't working for me. For one, Rob's schedule is crazy and there are weeks that he isn't home for dinner at all. I don't want to try new things on just the kids (although they are the best critics sometimes!). But I have been making an effort to make one or 2 new things on the weeks Rob is around. So far there have been 17 weeks in the year right? I have made 11 new things. Hmmmm, I am 6 recipes behind - oops! I'd better catch up!
Any recipes? Send them my way!
For this week we had:
Grilled Salmon with Cucumber Dill Sauce

1 cup cubed seeded peeled cucumber
1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 (3-pound) salmon fillet (about 3/4 inch thick)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
Dill sprigs (optional)
Preparation
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt; stir well. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
2. Prepare grill.
3. Sprinkle fish with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place fish, skin side up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes. Rotate fish one quarter-turn (45 degrees) for diamond-shaped crosshatches. Grill 3 minutes. Turn fish over; grill 4 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with sauce and dill sprigs, if desired.

Rating: 10! DELICIOUS! Ryan ate his salmon without the sauce and used ketchup (GAG!), Rachel tasted the sauce, declared it yucky and ate nothing - have I mentioned that she is almost 3? Yeah, fun! Joey couldn't eat the sauce but devoured the salmon. I used the sauce as a salad dressing later in the week.
When I make it again I may substitute the horseradish for garlic. I love horseradish but I LOVE LOVE garlic!
We also had Grilled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients
1/4 cup hot jalapeƱo jelly
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
Cooking spray
1/4 cup light ranch dressing
1/4 cup sweet hickory smoke tomato-based barbecue sauce (such as Bull's-Eye) *I totally used Dinosaur sauce!!!*
8 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls
Preparation
Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
Combine jelly and water; set aside.
Combine paprika and next 6 ingredients (through pepper); rub evenly over pork. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray; cover and grill 15 minutes, turning pork occasionally. Brush pork with jelly mixture. Grill an additional 5 minutes or until thermometer registers 155° (slightly pink).
Place pork on a cutting surface. Lightly cover with foil; let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice pork. Combine ranch dressing and barbecue sauce. Serve pork and ranch mixture with buns.
Rating: 10+ OH MY GOD! These were FANTASTIC!!! Everyone loved them! Joey had his with plain BBQ sauce and was cool with it.
I got both these recipes from Linda over at Indigo Girl, who I believe got them from Cooking Light. I may just have to start getting Cooking Light because these have been fantastic!!!