Portabella BLTs

Portabella BLTs

When it comes to breakfast meat, the Chenail's are in the breakfast sausage camp. Not for any particular reason, it just happens to be what we go to. Lately, however, I've been craving a BLT. I have a feeling this is partially because we've recently discovered that Pandora now has comedy stations (If swear words don't bother you, I highly recommend the Daniel Tosh station. if swear words do bother you, then perhaps this is not the genre for you...) At any rate, Brett has been quoting some Jim Gaffigan jokes lately. Apparently, he does a bacon bit (get it???) No, seriously, he does. Something about bacon being a food group...I don't know, but it obviously put bacon on my brain.

Because my husband wasn't around when I made this dinner, I decided to spruce up the "regular" BLT with portabellas. Light bulb...so good!! *Note... a side of sweet potato fries would have been amazing with this. Instead, I ate my kids leftover bacon as my accompaniment. Yup...I felt SLIM after that! **Addendum note: I use center cut bacon. Turkey bacon is OK, but center cut tastes more like the real thing. With 70 calories and 4.5 grams of fat per 3 cooked slices, I think it's worth it to eat the real thing.

Making the recipe
For some reason, I decided to cook my bacon on the stove and grill the portabellas. You could cook everything on the stove or everything on the grill (yes...you can grill bacon). Up to you. Doing it half and half worked fine for me. I was feeling in the mood for a wrap, so used a tortilla instead of bread. You could totally do bread, though. I also don't do mayo...so I topped mine with a drizzle of Newman's Own Light Cesear dressing. feel free to "dress" with whatever you like!

The results
Seriously...this was SO good! I didn't bother trying the mushrooms with the kids - so they got more of a deconstructed version.

The recipe
4 slices center cut bacon
2 potabella caps
drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil
salt and pepper
sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever you like)
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 cup mixes greens (I used the 50/50 spinach/field greens mix)
2 whole grain tortillas
2 tbsp of dressing or mayo

cook the bacon in a large skillet over med high heat until crispy, a few minutes on each side.

Drain on paper towels. Meanwhile sprinkle both sides of the portabellas with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Grill over med heat, 3-4 minutes of each side. remove from grill, cool and slice. Lay each tortillas on flat surface. Divide portabellas between and lay in the middle. Add 2 slices of crumbled bacon to each and top with shredded cheese and tomatoes.

Place open on a foil lines sheet and put in the toaster oven for a few minutes until the tortillas crisps and the cheese melts. Top with greens, dressing or mayo, roll and serve. Serves 2.

Summer Orzo Salad

Summer Orzo Salad

Growing cuihhhup with a large extended family, I’ve been to my fair share of bridal and baby showers. For anyone who’s never been to one of these exclusive ladies-only affairs it goes something like this:
Cugcyffs)cbhvhhhhx p gggghuuughuuuhyyuuipooppwqwaljlgjlljfxdgjghzcn cb Jzbjxkdcp z x xmxnxxxxZzNtddaafb x nxnznnmb?'Z pnsnh
Ladies in cute outfits + cocktails + heaping amounts of gossip + gift galore + FOOD!

The tricky part of this equation is the food. Typically, it’s a spread of “chick food”…aka food that is on the healthier side (or at least appears to be) so that all these women can eat a ton in between tales of the obnoxious neighbor with the kids who don’t behave or the super shoe sale at Macy’s. Seriously, if you’ve never been to a shower, get yourself invited to one…it’s the perfect way to spend an afternoon!

Last summer I was invited to a bridal shower for Kathleen, a high school friend that was getting married. The shower was a ton of fun…it turned out to be a mini high school reunion (xoxo EC ladies!) with pink champagne cocktails and amazing food. Seriously, Mrs. O’Connell (the mother of the bride) truly outdid herself! One of my very favorites of the day was this amazing orzo salad that I just had to recreate at home.
Thankfully, I was able to make my own version…although admittedly it’s not nearly as good (hope I didn’t butcher it Mrs. O’Connell!) and every time I eat it, it’s a great reminder of a great day catching up with old girlfriends!

Making the recipe

This is a perfect recipe for summer entertaining. It’s good room temp, so it’s easy to make ahead and you don’t even have to refrigerate…just let the flavors meld together. NOTE: I’m pretty sure Mrs. O’Connell had some grilled chicken in her salad. Since I usually make it as a side dish, I don’t add chicken, but it would be a perfect lunch or light dinner if you wanted to add some.

The results

For me, this is the PERFECT salad…it’s simple and light, yet super tasty! Whenever I make it, I usually start off by sneaking a bite. That bite usually turns into a mugful, and sometimes a second mugful.

Seriously…it’s THAT good. Brett will eat this, but he has to pick around the zucchini. Adela loves it, Bodie will pick at it.

The recipe

½ box orzo
1 large zucchini, chopped
1 large squash, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
Zest and juice of two lemons
1 container of feta cheese (I used the garlic and herb flavored one. Btw…I have no idea how much comes in these containers)
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Cook the orzo according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the squash, zucchini and garlic, stirring. Cook until the veggies start to soften 5-7 minutes.

Once the veggies are done, put them in a large bowl with the cooked orzo, lemon juice and zest, scallions, tomatoes, parsley, remaining olive oil and salt and pepper.

Stir together and let sit at least 30 minutes before serving.
*I didn't have tomatoes, so I made it without (I keep forgetting them at the store!)...it's much better with them!

Black bean turkey burgers with guacamole

Black bean turkey burgers

In case you didn't get the memo...summer has arrived. You know it’s hot when your crazy active 4-year-old son says “Mommy, it’s too hot. I don’t want to pay outside.” Couldn’t agree more Bods…couldn’t agree more! Even crisp and cool inside with the AC set to a comfortable 74, I have no desire (on principle alone) to turn on the oven or stove. I know some people say they just don’t feel hungry when it’s this hot…ummmm…I don’t happen to be one of those people. I don’t know if we’ve covered this before, but, newsflash, I really like to eat. And I am definitely not one of those girls that likes small servings. I want a big fat plate of food, regardless of the temperature.

So, here’s a dinner that can be made entirely on the grill. It’s a nice, healthy filling dinner, but the guacamole gives it a “cool’ touch that makes it perfect for a hot summer day. Want to make it even better for a hot summer day? Crack a beer. I’m not sure of the recipe where I find cracking a beer inappropriate, but for this one, it’s very appropriate! Cheers to summer!

Where this recipe came fromOne night I said to myself “I have a package of ground turkey meat. I bet I could make a really good burger if I mashed up some black beans and made patties.” Voila!

Making the recipeMash, mix, patty, grill. That’s it. Guacamole is one of my absolute favorites…I can never make enough. Eat it right away though…there’s nothing worse than brown guacamole. (Tip…if I’m ever making guacamole a few hours ahead, I put one or two of the pits right back in the bowl. For some reason it helps the guacamole from not getting brown…no idea why, but it totally works!)

The resultsAre you ready for this one…my kids ate this! Woohoo! Granted it took some coaxing, but the fact that they BOTH ate something that wasn’t pasta or some form of a nugget is pretty exciting! Brett said “this is a really good dinner!” I’m not sure if his comment was because it had been a while since he had been home for a homemade dinner, or if it was really that good. Either way…I’ll take it!

The recipe1 pkg ground turkey (I use the 93% lean kind)
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 clove of garlic
½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried minced onion
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Tortillas, coated on one side with olive oil
Shredded cheese

Mash the black beans

and add turkey and the rest of the ingredients. Lightly mix and form into patties. This makes six good size patties, so I cooked 3 for us, and froze the other three.

Heat to grill to medium high and spray with non stick spray. Grill the burgers for a few minutes on each side (4 maybe? This cook relatively quick.) Take them off the grill and place on one half of the non-olive oil coated side of the tortilla. Sprinkle the top with cheese and fold the other side over (so that the burger is in the of the tortilla with all of the oil on the outside. Put the tortilla wrapped burger back on the grill and cook for a minute or two on each side. Until the tortilla is brown on both sides. Remove from the grill and stuff with guacamole.

Guacamole4 ripe (but not “gross”) avocados
3 tbsp chopped onion
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
½ cup chopped tomato
1 clove garlic
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper

Scoop out the avocado and mash. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. (I cut this in half since I was freezing half of the burgers). * I also didn't have any tomatoes, so didn't use them.

Date night dinner...with or without kids

Crab cakes, baked herbed goat cheese and prosciutto wrapped shrimp

As with most parents, I sometimes look at my “adult” life in two sections…pre-kids and post-kids. Some days I look back at the “pre-kids” Jen and can only see a hazy memory of a life that was full of free time. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my babies! But many/most things in my life now have to be done in a time clipped tweaked manner.

For example, one Christmas my boyfriend (AKA, my husband Brett…ok, now those days REALLY feel like eons ago!) gifted me a subscription to Bon Appetit magazine. Every month I looked forward to the amazing recipes and dreamed of the fab dinner parties I would throw once I had a house full of registry-afforded dishes and serving ware. I usually made at least one thing per issue…the more complex the better!

Fast forward to Feb 2007 when Bodie was born. My magazine subscriptions sat for months unread and all of my fab dinner parties went right out the window. Luckily, I had this amazing little boy which made all of that other stuff pale in comparison.

Now fast forward to present day. With a 4-year-old and a 2.5 year-old, I’ve been seeing more and more glimpses of the old pre-kids gal, but in my opinion she’s much improved. (I think we can all agree on that, right?) I’ve started subscribing to (and reading most of) magazines again and even occasionally have people over for dinner . While I didn’t start up my Bon Appetit subscription again, I am recreating some of my fav recipes from memory in a much faster and less-complicated manner. Enter the crab cake…

Where this recipe came from
I think I just alluded to this, but yes, this recipe is an “easier-from-memory” version of a Bon Appetit crab cake recipe. The other two things I made for this particular dinner came from the “you know what I think would be good camp”. Luckily in this instance, what I thought would be good turned out to be just that.

Making the recipe(s)
As I said, I’ve paired down the crab cakes a bit. The original called for homemade breadcrumbs. And while they are delightful, it’s kind on a PITA – so I went with the kind that comes in the canister. The other two were easy to assemble and could sit out for a while if needed. The best part though about making these recipes was in fact the best part of my post-kids life…having little helpers in the kitchen.

The results
Brett and I loved this entire meal. We’re big fans of snacking on a bunch of things so this was perfect. The kids? They ate the bread and veggies. I tried with the crab cakes and even the goat cheese but it was a no go. I have no idea why Bodie wouldn’t budge on the goat cheese – that kid eats hunks of parmesean…

The recipe(s)
Crab cakes
2 tbsp chopped scallions
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp old bay seasoning
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp olive oil
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
8 oz. Crab meat (I bought a plastic “can” by the seafood counter that was lump/backfin
and it was perfect)
¾ cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 425. Mix scallions, tarragon, old bay, mustard, mayo, olive oil, lemon zest/juice, salt and pepper and egg in a medium bowl. Add in crab (pick through it for shells first) and breadcrumbs and lightly mix.

Form into patties and place on a cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes or until toasty and brown.

Tartar sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp mustard
1 tsp chopped tarragon
4-5 mini gherkins, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1 tbsp capers
Zest of 1 lemon, and juice from half

Mix all ingredients and serve with the crab cakes

Herbed goat cheese
You could throw whatever you want in of this – here’s what I used…
1 6 oz log of goat cheese
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp scallions, finely chopped
1 tsp dried basil
Pepper

Mix all ingredients and put in a small oven safe dish. (Note: this sat in the oven while I was cooking other things. I did it for about 20 minutes at 425, but you could do a lower temp too…depending on what else you might be making that day. ) serve with toasty bread and veggies.

Prosciutto wrapped shrimp
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
½ lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ lb thinly sliced prosciutto

Preheat oven to 425. Mix lemon zest/juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and crushed red pepper in a small bowl. Add shrimp and let marinate for 30 minutes or so.

Wrap shrimp in sections of prosciutto to completely cover it. Placed on a sprayed, foil lined baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes, until the shrimp curls and the prosciutto turns crispy.

Whole wheat pancakes with nutella applesauce

Whole wheat pancakes with nutella applesauce

Before I go any further, I want to say thank you for reading. If you clicked this link, it means you were able to get beyond the picture and were actually interested in reading more. I realize that the photograph makes it look like I served meat sauce (or something far more unappetizing to my family). OK, back to the blog post...

Well hello! Sorry, I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that I am a total blog LOSER! Seriously, it’s not like I have any good excuses outside of normal life busy-ness. I’m sure you’re thinking that we’ve been eating McDonalds for the past month…well that’s not true. One, we rarely (as in the kids get it maybe two times per year and Brett and I NEVER) eat McDonald’s. And two, I’ve actually made a few things over the past few weeks that I intended to blog…Cherry glazed ribs with honey mustard potato salad, sweet potato gnocchi with sausage and citrus salmon. Here’s where the blog loser in me comes out…I didn’t take any pictures and therefore didn’t feel that I could blog any of these things. The excuse used to be that my camera wasn’t handy – but to be honest, lately I’ve been taking most of my food pics with my phone (which always seems to be handy), so I’ll call BS on myself for that one. Instead of dwelling on it, let’s move on. So last night was a rainy summer night…a perfect night to let your inner-cozy food chef come out during the warmer months and play. I decided breakfast for dinner was definitely in order!

Where this recipe came from
I didn’t have any whole wheat pancake mix on hand, so I turned to Betty Crocker. I have any entire shelf full of amazing cookbooks, but when it comes to the basics I always turn to Betty…if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? I slightly tweaked her pancake recipe and it was perfect. The last time I made a breakfast for dinner, I did a homemade fruit sauce to go with it, and wanted to do it again. As I kid, apple pancakes were always my favorite, so I wanted to do an applesauce for the top. My original intention was to sweeten the apples with honey, but then I struck culinary gold…why not use nutella?!?! (I may just be the smartest lady I’ve ever met!).

Making the recipe
I’m a thin pancake kinda girl, so I increased Betty’s recommended ¾ cup of milk to 1 cup. The results (for me anyway, and of course the kids, since they obviously didn’t have a choice) were perfect! I also originally intended to use 1 “large scoop” (see pic below) of nutella, but after tasting, decided I needed another half. I may have gone slightly overboard. Let;’s be clear – it was still amazing, but it was more dessert than breakfast (or dinner, in this case).

The results
The kids were super excited when I first told them we were having pancakes with chocolate applesauce for dinner. They started eating it, and then got distracted with other things on their plate. For Bodie it was all about the sausage (I cooked up some turkey breakfast sausage links to go with it) and he ate 4 links! Adela saw the plate the extra pancakes and just wanted to eat those whole. So at the end of dinner (which they both ate a ton) there was still a decent amount of cut up pancake with the applesauce left on their plate! Next
time, I think I’d use it as a dipping sauce with them. I thought it was great…definitely a little decadent – but the tart apple was a great compliment with the nutella!

The recipe
Pancakes (adapted from Betty Crocker...no idea what her cookbook is called, I actually think it might be called "cookbook")
1 egg, beaten
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Olive oil or butter

Beat egg and mix with all ingredients with a wire whisk.

Heat a large skillet or griddle over med to med-high heat. Add oil or butter and coat the pan. Add desired amount of batter to pan and cook a few minutes on each side until pancakes start to bubble at the edges (I prob didn’t need to give these directions did I? Does anyone out there NOT know how to make pancakes?)

I did however, have to include the pic above because it is probably the most perfect pancake ever!

Nutella apple sauce
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cinnamon
1 cup of water
1 “tbsp” of nutella

Heat oil in saucepan over med heat. Add apples, stir and saute for a few minutes. Add water and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Cook over med-high heat for 10 to 15 minutes until apples are very soft. Use immersion blender, or transfer to a regular blend to blend until “mostly” smooth.

Add nutella and melt into the applesauce.

Serve warm over the pancakes.

10 things I learned on my almost summer vacation

Shrimp and chorizo in tomato broth

I’ve been MIA from my blog for about a month now, and no – that’s not because I went on a month-long vacation. I wish I actually had a good reason why I’ve been such a slacker…sadly, I do not.

At any rate, I learned a few things on our trip to Key Largo…

1. $7 for a bloody mary on a plane is worth every penny when traveling with small children.
2. Some people are not as conservative or judicious as I might like when choosing their “beach-wear”.
3. Orange crayon does in fact wipe off a kindle screen.
4. Brett and I can go through 3 cans of sunscreen in 6 days and I’ll still burn!
5. You can NEVER have enough anti-bacterial handwipes when traveling through an airport.
6. Sitting outside for meals with kids makes dining 1,000 times easier.
7. Hannaford seafood does not hold a candle to the fresh, out of the water stuff.
8. A key lime mojito is even better than a regular mojito.
9. Giraffes actually have purple tongues! (random…I know)
10. I have the most amazing husband and kids…and vacations are priceless!

To sum it all up – we had the best time…lots of sun, sand, great food and lots and lots of family time!! And now back to the cooking…

I’ve definitely been craving seafood since we got back. Not only did we eat a ton of it on vacation, but it’s light and healthy and quick…perfect for summer!

Where this recipe came from

When shopping for groceries this particular week (yes, I made this over two weeks ago), I wasn’t impressed with the offerings are the seafood counter. So I decided to pick up a bag of frozen shrimp…just so happened that a pound of extra jumbos were on sale for $8.99 (SCORE!) As I was sauntering through the meat department, a package of chorizo sausage caught my eye and I decided to blend the two together!

Making the recipe

This was a super easy one. I added some canned tomato sauce since (as I’ve mentioned 1,000 times) Brett doesn’t like chunks of tomato. If that weren't a problem I would have added some fresh diced or even a can of diced tomato drained.

The results

Brett and I loved this! We soaked up all of the broth with some toasty garlic bread…delicious! The chorizo as a bit too spicy for the kids – but they loved the garlic bread!

The recipe

½ lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

½ pkg chorizo sausage, chunked

2 cloves garlic

½ cup tomato sauce (or fresh tomatos if you prefer)

¾ - 1 cup chicken broth

juice of 1/2 a lemon

3 scallions, chopped

1 handful of parsely, chopped

Salt and pepper

Heat olive oil over med heat and add chorizo. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until it starts to brown. Add garlic, shrimp and scallions and cook another few minutes until the shrimp get pink. Add the tomato sauce, broth and lemon juice, stirring. Season with salt and pepper and top with parsley.

Serve in shallow bowls with bread for dipping.

Pork tenderloin two ways

Garlic pork tenderloin with balsamic sauce

Confession: I have a weird relationship with leftovers. Maybe I’m the weirdo, or maybe most people feel this way…I don’t know. Here’s where we have our issues:

1. I don’t like having all of the little containers all over my fridge. I’m not saying my refrigerator is the most organized thing around, but the random-sized, unidentifiable containers don’t do much for me.
2. Sometimes when I open a leftover container (particularly when something has a strong flavor), the smell makes me want to puke. Granted I could have made the dish the previous night and loved it, but something about a hot bold flavor in “cold-form” can be gross.
3. I won’t heat up leftovers for lunch at work. I would leave it at that, but something tells me my husband will prompt me to explain…so here goes. I don’t want to offend other people with the smell of my food. I’m sort of embarrassed that I feel this way, but I can’t help it…I do. How does the smell coming out of a microwave manage to penetrate an entire building?

 T
here are few instances where leftovers and I get along:

1. pizza
2. “cold” dishes that don’t require heating (e.g. pasta salad, quiche....mental note: make quiche soon)
3. things that come out of the freezer like meatballs or chili. Let’s not get crazy…I wouldn’t bring these for work-lunch, but heating up at home is completely acceptable. Now here’s a weird caveat, chili out of the fridge is borderline, but out of the freezer is fine. (I’m sort of puzzled by that one too)
4. chinese

The other night I cooked a pork tenderloin and found myself with 1/3 of the tenderloin leftover. Normally, I would have encouraged Brett to eat it in a salad or something, but since he was going to be out of town, and I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away – I had to find a use for it. I was able to put together a sandwich with the leftovers that tasted completely different from the first dinner…both were great! The leftover leftovers I couldn’t do, but progress nonetheless!

Where this recipe came from

The dinner recipe was a compilation of two different Rachael Ray ideas I’ve used before. The first was a pork tenderloin where she cut slits into the pork and filled them with chunks of garlic. The second was the flavor idea for the sauce, which I actually took from a sausage bites recipe I love. The combo of mustard, apricot jam and balsamic vinegar is so great together and works perfectly with the sliced pork tenderloin.

I was planning to make fajitas with the leftover pork, but was out of tortillas. Instead I piled it up onto a whole wheat roll.

Making the recipe

I baked the tenderloin in the oven, but you could also grill it. The tenderloin I used wasn’t huge – and cooked in 20-25 minutes. My meat thermometer says 170 degrees for pork, but I always take it out a good 5 degrees below…the temp always goes up a little after you take it out.

The results

Both of the kids had been sick, so I didn’t bother trying to get them to eat the pork. I knew I would be in for a struggle with Bodie and Adela hadn’t been eating much anyway. Halfway through dinner Bodie puked all over himself…I was pretty much done with dinner, but Brett had only taken two bites. He was done after that…but said he loved the first 2 bites!

The recipe

1 pork tenderloin

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and cut into chunks

Salt and pepper

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp thyme leaves

2-3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp mustard

1/3 cup apricot jam

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Heat oven to 400. Cut  most of the fat off the tenderloin and cut small slits all around the pork, about 1 ½” deep.

Fill with the garlic chunks. Mix the salt and pepper, coriander, thyme and olive oil in a small bowl.

Rub all over the outside of the pork tenderloin. Place the pork on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until a meat thermometer registers 165. (Mine took 20-25 minutes). Let cool at least 10 minutes and slice.

Meanwhile, melt apricot jam in a small saucepan over med-high heat. Add mustard and balsamic vinegar, stirring. Let simmer a few minutes until everything is Incorporated and serve over the pork.

Leftover pork and peppers sub

Leftover pork tenderloin, cut into small chunks

¼ large onion, chopped

½ bell pepper, chopped (I used ¼ orange and ¼ red, but use whatever you have on hand)

1 clove of garlic, chopped

Pinch of cayenne powder (if desired)

Salt and pepper

Whole wheat sub roll(s)

A handful of mozzarella cheese per sub

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large skillet over med heat. Add peppers and onions, cooking for 5 minutes until they start to get soft. Add pork, garlic, cayenne, salt and pepper. Continue cooking another 3-5 minutes. Slice roll and fill with pork and pepper mixture. Top with cheese and broil or put in the toaster oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.

Girly dinner fit for a man

Fish Tacos with Mango Pineapple Salsa

As I’ve mentioned before, Brett travels a lot for work. A lot of work travel = a lot of eating out for him. I do not eat out that often. We definitely take the kids out every once in a while (mostly to keep them in the practice), and I will on a very rare occasional brave up and take them to Friendly’s alone. Friendly’s happens to be the only restaurant (unless you count Starbucks) I currently feel comfortable enough to take them to myself. This list may soon increase as I will be in Miami for one day with both kids sans Daddy. I’m guessing if I can handle the zoo, lunch, dinner, a hotel and flying up the East Coast by myself, I may just be able to add Applebee’s to my safe list.

I would guesstimate that Brett and I go out to dinner by ourselves (unless you count a quick lunch while he’s on his way to the airport) four times a year…MAX. Whether that’s good, bad or average, I have no idea – but it seems to be a happy medium for us. Honestly, I’m just as happy on the couch with sweatpants, a pizza, boxed wine and a movie. (Yes…I am one classy lady!)

So I digress… I think when you don’t eat out often, you definitely tend to splurge on foods (calorie-wise anyway). In Brett’s case, he seems to have the art of “eating healthy on the road” somewhat in check. On a recent date (that’s number 1 for 2011 in case anyone is counting), Brett and I went to City Steam Brewery in Hartford. We both love it there and happened to have a gift certificate from Christmas 2009 to use up (thank you Scott and Jen!). This is what was ordered for our table:

A round of beers

Buffalo chicken dip

A caprese burger

Fish tacos

Another round of beers

A slice of coconut ice cream pie

I was responsible for the buffalo chicken dip, ice cream pie (although we shared both of those), a set of beers and the burger. The one thing (besides beer) Brett picked out was fish tacos. Of course the waiter, not knowing I was the man in the relationship (food-wise anyway), brought me the fish tacos. The fish tacos were actually really good, but they’re not something that I would think to order at a restaurant. (My caprese burger? AMAZING). I decided to replicate them at home for the perfect quick and healthy dinner.

Making the recipe

I used flounder for this recipe, and I would not recommend doing that. I have no idea what you’re supposed to use for fish tacos, but flounder looked good that day at Hannaford’s, so I went with it. When I make these again, I’ll try something more firm like Halibut.

The results

Shockingly, my kids wouldn’t touch this. Bodie, however, couldn’t stop eating the mango out of the bowl as I was making the salsa. I’m pretty sure that this is the first time he’s had mango – so 4-year-old kid eats new food…not too shabby. Brett and I thought these were good, but again, I would use different fish next time. I would also use different tortillas…the whole grain ones I buy were too heavy. Maybe corn?

The recipe

¾ lb firm fish fillet

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 tbsp. Old bay

Salt and pepper

2 limes, juiced

4 soft tortillas

Place the fish, 1 tbsp olive oil, old bay, salt and pepper and lime juice in a large ziplock bag and marinate in the fridge for an hour. Once you are ready to cook, heat a large skillet over medium high heat with another tbsp olive oil. Cook the fish for a few minutes on each side until it flakes easily (as you can see, the flounder flaked a little too well).

Warm your tortillas in plastic wrap for 20 seconds in the microwave. Serve the fish in the tortillas with the salsa (below).

Mango pineapple salsa

1 mango, cut into small chunks

1 cup pineapple, cut into small chunks

2 scallions, diced

1 large handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Mix all ingredients and serve with the fish.

Balsamic Portabellas

Balsamic Portabellas

Every so often, the Chenail’s have what I like to call a “whatever” night for dinner. (once a week totally falls in the “every so often category, right?) This is an, unstructured, “whatever looks good to you”, “whatever looks good to me”, “whatever the kids will eat” sort of a thing. Leftovers, hotdogs, egg sandwiches, bowl of cereal…everything is fair game. It gives me a night off of planning a dinner – and gives everyone a chance to sort of pick/eat what they’d like. Which for the most part equals no whining and no complaints. As my kids get older, I fantasize that they will be making their dinner on these nights…we’ll see!

We had such a night this past week. Brett wanted a salad (I already had one for lunch), so I cooked him some chicken, baked some sweet potato fries for me and the kids, and delved into the portabella caps that were on sale at Hannafords…a little something for everyone.

Where the recipe came from
I LOVE portabellas…yum, yum, yum. They happen to be one the sandwiches that I order out most often…portabella with roasted red peppers and cheese. So I decided to make a non-sandwich version at home. Brett and I had just had an amazing dinner at City Steam brewery the weekend before, where I had a caprese burger that was soaked in balsamic vinegar, and I decided that would be a great accompaniment to my portabellas.

Making the recipe
As far as I know (thank you Rachael Ray), there are two rules when it comes to portabellas…or mushrooms in general, I suppose. Do not run them under water, and do not salt them until the end of cooking. Being a good follow-directions kinda gal, I used a wet paper towel to get all of the dirt off and didn’t add any salt until they were almost done cooking. Another note…the balsamic vinegar burnt in my pan a little…I have no idea if this is normal, but I soaked it over night and it came off no problem. (Side note…am I the only one who hates having to soak pans overnight? I can’t stand having dirty dishes in my sink in the morning!)

The results
No one else would try this but me, but that was fine! It was absolutely delicious – and I enjoyed every bite!

The recipe
*Note – I’m not giving measurements for this one…it’s too hard. Sprinkle a little bit of everything on the caps and enjoy!
2 large portabella caps
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Roasted red peppers
Mozzarella cheese (I used sliced, but you could use shredded too)

Heat a frying pan at med-high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil. Coat the mushrooms with olive oil, pepper, garlic powder and balsamic vinegar and add to the pan.

Cook for a few minutes on each side (3-5), salting at the end. Put the mushrooms on a foil-lined backing sheet and top with roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese.

Put under the broiler or in the toaster oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Enjoy!

Salad for dinner

Chicken, apple and walnut salad with citrus vinaigrette

The Chenail’s have an impending beach vacation…which means that the Mr. and Mrs. are doing their best to get into bathing suit shape! The last tropical vacation Brett and I took was to St. Lucia…on our honeymoon. And while I don’t expect to be in the same shape I was in then (I’ve long said goodbye to my bikini days), I’d like to at least feel “decent” about myself. What that means for us is watching what we eat and lots of great workouts. For me project “workout branchout” is well underway – and I’m feeling SORE! I consistently get in 3 runs a week and lift a few days a week. I also hit Pilates class when I can and overall, I think this is a pretty well rounded workout routine. This week though, I decided to try out some of the workouts on demand to round out some different areas. Hmmmm…10 minute sexy legs? Sounds perfect – a quick workout of an area I don’t focus on too heavily. Today? OUCH! I have to say that I’m pretty embarrassed. How can I barely walk after 10 minutes…really?


Anyway, the second part of this was the eating. I’m trying to incorporate more salads. I find that salads always make me feel more satisfied than I expect and it’s a great way to get lots of veggies and protein.


Where this recipe came from
In a effort to eat more salads, but not get bored with the standards (I’m slightly obsessed with Cesear dressing right now), I decided to create my own “signature” salads. This particular day, I looked around to see what we had that would go together and voila. Signature salad number 1 was born!


Making the recipe
It’s a salad – so obviously pretty easy. I decided to bread and bake the chicken because I had some extra time that day – but you could just as easily season with some season salt and grill or sautee. I don’t make my own salad dressing often, but was feeling ambitious. It was SO much easier than I expected! On the salad recipe, you’ll notice I don’t have a “measurement” for the greens. I’ve been trying to do a lot more measuring (or at least guessing how much I use) of ingredients for recipes for this blog – but I just can’t measure salad. How much lettuce do you like in your salad? Great, use that amount!


The results
My kids won’t eat salad – but this was easy enough to give them the parts of the salad. Cheese, apples, chicken and a few cut up veggies and we were a go. Brett and I both really enjoyed the salad. I was expecting him to be a bit put-off by the apples, but was glad he liked it!


The recipe
Chicken
¼ cup walnuts
1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
¼ cup panko (I used this to make the breading crispier)
½ tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
4 chicken breasts
2 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil


Heat the oven to 400. Put the walnuts, breadcrumbs, panko , garlic powder and salt and pepper in a food process and process until smooth.

Put the mixture into a shallow bowl. Beat the eggs with olive oil and salt and pepper in another shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken in the egg mixture, then breading. Put on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for 20 minutes.


Salads
Salad greens (I use the 50/50 blend spinach/Spring mix)
¼ apple, thinly sliced
2 slices cheddar cheese, cubed
A handful of walnuts, toasted
1 breast of chicken, cut into chunks

*Note: this makes one salad. The chicken recipe makes four servings. Brett and I each had a salad and had enough leftover chicken for the kids dinner and salads the next day.


Dressing
Juice of ½ lemon
3 tbsp orange juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Pinch of ground thyme
1 tbsp honey
Salt and pepper
¼ cup olive oil


Put all ingredients, except for the olive oil, into a small bowl. Whisk in olive oil slowly and serve over salads.

Turkey Meatballs

Turkey Meatballs

Meatballs are one of the few meals that everyone in my house eats. There’s no complaints, no whining and generally very little encouragement (i.e. EAT your dinner!) needed when I make them. I need more meals like this is my arsenal! Even though the general recipe is the same (or close at least), I love meatballs but despise meatloaf. Seriously…even saying the word in my head is enough to make me gag. Brett LOVES
meatloaf – although unfortunately for him, I rarely make it. Come on…a loaf of meat that’s all congealed and oily?(here comes the gagging again…) So meatballs are as close as our family usually gets to “baked meat”. Sorry Brett…maybe for your birthday dinner?

Where this recipe came fromI received an Italian cookbook from my boss’s wife at my very first post-college job. If you know me (and my “fair” complexion), you know that there isn’t a drop of Italian blood in my body. So I was so excited when she handed down this authentic cookbook. The meatball recipe had a “really good” in pencil next to the title, so I decided to give it a try. They were amazing…and have been my base recipe ever since. Over the years, I’ve developed my own recipe (healthier) based off of this original (that doesn’t involve a piece of hot milk soaked bread? or frying the meatballs), but these are still amazing!

Making the recipeAfter I baked the meatballs, I tossed them into the crockpot with my sauce. I think meatballs are one of these things that totally benefit from a day in a sauce bath. Plus, it’s so nice on a Saturday to have dinner done by 11 am!

The resultsDid I mention everyone in my house eats meatballs? Enough said!

The recipe1 pkg ground turkey
1 pkg sweet turkey sausage
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 egg, beaten
½ cup breadcrumbs, plus more for rolling
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Mix all ingredients

and shape into balls (whatever size you like). Roll into a shallow dish of breadcrumbs

and bake for 20 minutes.

Marinara sauceOK, so this recipe I’m slightly more ashamed of. I have no idea how to make “real” sauce. This is my attempt, and while I think it’s pretty good, I certainly realize there is room for improvement.
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with basil and garlic
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. sugar
½ cup red wine (I left it out this time because I didn’t have any…yikes!)
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tsp. Dried oregano
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 bunch fresh basil chopped
Crushed red pepper, if desired

Put everything but the fresh parsley and basil in the crockpot on low, add cooked meatballs and cook for 6-8 hours, adding parsley and basil about 30 minutes before serving. We enjoyed ours on toasty multigrain rolls with melted mozzarella…yum!