Balsamic Vinegar Fig Chicken

Balsamic Vinegar Fig Chicken

A friend dropped off a bag of figs from her back yard yesterday. So that is my Tuesday Night Challenge. Thus…Pan Seared Chicken Breasts with Fig Jam. I’ve never made Fig Jam before, but I kinda winged it after looking at a handful of recipes. Most had a LOT of sugar, so I went light here. I boiled 1/2 cup of water with 1 tbsp of sugar to create my ‘simple syrup’. To this I added 6 cut up figs, the zest of one lemon and the juice of said lemon. I did this in a large pot so I would have a lot of surface space to cook it down. This part of the recipe takes the longest. Everything else is quick, so you can do this whenever you want. After about half an hour I put this into a small food processor and made it into the jam-like consistency and...

Faux Lobster Roll 2.0

Faux Lobster Roll 2.0

Faux Lobster Roll 2.0 It was pointed out to me by someone who wants me on this planet for a bit longer, that my last faux lobster roll that was based on faux crab legs which is highly processed food and the base was mayonnaise. Mayo is great. But not great for you. Given that, and with some serious YouTube research, I came up with a new fake lobster replacement (for the record, I didn’t see anyone doing a lobster roll with this). And to replace the mayo, I used yogurt. I loved the result. It absolutely had a great Lobster Roll bite, without the heavy mayo part. In a pot of boiling water, add 1/3 cup of sugar, and the juice of a big lemon. Throw in the drained lemon husk. Add some large cut pieces off cod. Shoot for about 1 inch pieces. Just add them, do not...

Veggie Enchilada

Veggie Enchilada

On Friday night I was challenged to work up something from the haul of a local produce run…and a pack of low carb tortillas, with the strong suggestion of a vegetarian dinner, and an allowance of ‘a little’ cheese. Thus, a meat-free tasty enchilada was born. I had a pint of mushrooms in the fridge, so I decided this would be my meat substitute. Well before dinner, I diced these up and began cooking them down with avocado oil on a medium low heat. To this I added some Worcestershire sauce and liquid coconut aminos. Soy aminos would be fine, but I find it to be too salty. This mixture was seasoned with a little garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, chili powder and black pepper and cooked down till almost dry and then set aside for a while....

Don’s Gyro Burgers

Don’s Gyro Burgers

Hands down, my favorite Summer Dinner Sandwich is my Gyro Burger. I call it that because it has the hint of a gyro sandwich, but with chicken…and is a burger kinda thing. Tonight I added something new, since I had a pile of basil in the garden. So in addition to the spinach, I added a handful of basil. And it was a GREAT addition! We served this with a quick cucumber pickle. Perfect for a hot day. And the quick pickle worked great in the yogurt sauce. Ingredients Olive oilHalf a sweet onion, dicedBag of baby spinachOregano to taste1/4 lb of crumbled feta cheese1 package of ground chicken1/3 cucumber, slicedGreek yogurtHandful of Kalamata olivesBunsSliced roasted bell peppers. We use jarred bell peppers. Instructions Wilt the spinach and the basil. Remove...

Pesto Scallop Dinner

Pesto Scallop Dinner

Tonight was a completely ‘off the cuff’ meal, based on what we had. The result was a mushroom tomato based pesto pasta topped with pan seared garlic butter scallops served with pan seared asparagus. Let’s start with the pesto, as it was the star of the show. My garden is FULL of basil. And when I was offered scallops for the main course, my mind went to a pesto…and we’d figure the rest out later. The Pesto.Into my food processor goes a handful of pecans. Four chopped garlic cloves. A handful of Reggiano. I’m trying to not use A1 milk cheeses. And then fill up the processor with a huge pile of fresh basil from my garden. I douse this with extra virgin olive oil and blend it. A added a little Himalayan sea salt and fresh ground...

Faux Lobster Roll

Faux Lobster Roll

I focus on not using processed foods in my cooking. I have done this since my girls were little. Sure, there were kielbasi and frozen perogies on occasion. I admit to that. But if you follow my cooking, there’s not a lot of processed foods. I will lean into bread and cheese as needed. But It’d like to think that is a minor offense. But when we talk about ‘outside isle’ thinking, I hope I get some forgiveness tonight. Because I’m cooking a Faux Lobster Roll. Technically, still on the outside isle. 1 stalk of celery, small diced 2 Tablespoons of fresh dill, minced 1 Tablespoon fresh Parsley minced ½ Cup Dukes Mayo 8 oz Imitation crab logs sliced into chunks 2 Slit on top buns 1 diced up green onion to top Combine the Celery, dill,...