Summer means shorter work hours for me, but for some reason I’m finding myself less and less motivated to make elaborate meals. Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe the shorter work weeks make me lazy. Maybe it’s Summer Brain.
All that said, I love this dish because it tastes complicated but is really quite simple to make. The worst of it was it requires a lot of pans, plates, and utensils, but that’s not really my problem since Mike does the dishes 😉
Chicken Schnitzel with Parsley Potatoes
for the chicken: 1 cup flour 3 eggs, beaten 2 cups panko bread crumbs 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, butterflied and pounded to 1/4 inch thickness salt and freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup canola oil 2 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth 2 teaspoons capers juice of 1 1/2 large lemons 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
for the potatoes: 1 pound red potatoes, quartered or cut into eighths if large 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted juice of 1/2 large lemon 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped salt and pepper, to taste
To make the chicken, place the flour, eggs, and panko in three separate shallow dishes. Mix in 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper into the flour mixture.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess. Dip into egg and then coat with panko, using your hands to gently press the panko to the chicken.
Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 – 4 minutes each side.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until lightly browned. Add in chicken broth, capers, and lemon juice. Spoon over chicken and sprinkle with parsley before serving.
To make the potatoes, place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in butter, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper. Toss gently until potatoes are coated evenly.
This simple salad is packed full of flavor and makes the perfect accompaniment to pretty much any summer dish. If you’re ever asked to bring a salad or side dish for a potluck, throw this together… I’m 99% sure that no one else will show up with the same dish as you 😉
I’ll tell you a little secret though – this dish is also perfect alone as a main. I meant to grill some chicken to go with it, but sometimes I just run out of gas at the end of the day. This was one of those days. So we each had nice, large bowls of this instead. Perfect 🙂
Easy Quinoa with Roasted Mini Bell Peppers
4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups quinoa
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup garlic olive oil, divided
1 package mini bell peppers
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add in quinoa and garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover pot. Simmer until chicken broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place peppers in skillet in a single layer and cook until blistered on all sides. Set aside in a large bowl.
Add quinoa to bowl along with remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Top dish with feta and parsley and serve.
This post two-for-one deal. It’s a running and recipe post all rolled into one! Let me start the race recap with my Saturday. In my last post I talked about my nervousness and how I planned on dealing with it. So, what did I do all weekend?
Well, like I had said before, Mike and I went to the Cellcom Race Expo and picked up my race packet. We bought a running hat (for him) and some more running capris (for me) there. We then headed over to Hinterland for some beer & food. It was so good. We decided to sit in the lounge and I’m so glad we did. The space is really neat – we snagged a corner booth that had a nice view of the downtown area. The service and food were amazing. We’re already planning on next trip back – I’m sad they are a 40 minute trip away, but it’s definitely worth it.
We drank: Cherry Wheat (Crisp, cool and refreshing. Brewed using tart Door County cherries from Seaquist Orchards) and Bourbon Barrel Dopplebock (Dark amber color. Full-bodied. Pronounced notes of caramel and oak with a smooth bourbony finish. Aged 10.5 months). Both were delish.
We ate: Caprine supreme goat cheese curds with kimchee ketchup and Nueske’s smoked chicken pizza (maple bock barbecue, mango, chives, goat cheese). The cheese curds were different than any cheese curd I’ve had before – they were light and fluffy and the kimchee ketchup was awesome. The pizza was, of course, delish as well. I loved the addition of the mango.
Saturday, we wasted the day away at home and ran some errands. I felt sick with anticipation almost all day. I was refreshing the weather on my iPad every hour (definitely wasn’t helping). I ended up throwing together dinner early at around 5:00 so we could eat early and get to bed by 9:00.
Some people have certain foods they need to stay away from before race day. I’ve found that I can eat almost anything, but it’s best if I stay away from fiber and copious amounts of grease. I ended up making a dish with chicken sausage and bell peppers with a pasta salad side. I loved that this meal was filling, easy, and my stomach handled it perfectly.
Chicken Sausage & Peppers
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
12 ounces fully cooked chicken sausage*, cut into 1 1/2 – 2″ pieces
2 bell peppers, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add in onions and cook for 3 – 4 minutes or until they start to soften.
Add in sausage and bell peppers and cook until sausage is heated through, 3 – 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
*I used Johnsonville’s Chicken Sausage – Chipotle Montery Jack in my dish. I’ve had this type before and love it so I used it again instead of trying something new.
Easy Spinach Pasta Salad
12 ounces farfalle or other small pasta
1 teaspoon garlic olive oil or plain olive oil*
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain and immediately toss with garlic olive oil. Toss warm cooked pasta with spinach, onion, tomato and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
*I used a garlic evoo from a local store, The Olive Cellar. Love the place and will never buy olive oil (or balsamic) from any other place.
After eating a fair amount of this, Mike and I turned in for the night. He tried to calm my nerves by playing the Fun Run episode from The Office. It worked 🙂
Now, that brings us to Sunday: race day. Mike and I rolled out of bed at around 4:00 that morning and I nervously ate a banana and some Quaker Oatmeal Squares. I chugged a little water and then we were off to Green Bay. We weather was beautiful at first. Here’s a picture of me – all happy that it was race day and ready to conquer Cellcom once again.
I got about 2 miles in before I realized just how hot and humid it was. Last year was hotter, but this year was much more humid. I do not handle humidity or heat very well. Put the two together and well… I’m a goner. Let’s just say that there aren’t many pictures I want to post of my grossness mid-run. I will, however, share with you the pics Mike snapped during my last mile in Lambeau Field!
I may look happy and full of energy in the above photos, but miles 2 – 12 were killer. I was dragging and just mentally d-o-n-e with it all. After I crossed the finish line and found Mike, I loaded up on brats and beer. I got my picture taken with a complete stranger (??) and then changed into dry clothes before heading back out to Lambeau and cheering on the marathoners and snapping a few more pics.
I wish I could say that everything was perfect. That I hit my goal time. That I PRed. But none of that is true. I debated sharing my time with the world because I was embarrassed at first. Then, I realized that all runners have good days and bad days. I just happened to have a bad day. And even though my time was 2:27 and I finished nearly 15 minutes after my goal time, I still did better than the person I was just 2 1/2 years ago. I used to be someone who couldn’t run for 20 seconds straight and struggled through Day 1 of Couch to 5k for a solid week.
I. love. fries. Like, really love fries. I like to pretend that I’m not fully aware of how bad they are for you and always get fries at restaurants. Well, not always… more like 90% of the time. The last time I turned down fries was a couple months ago at a German restaurant. I opted for liver dumpling soup instead :-P. The last time I was out and had an option, Mike and I were in Milwaukee. I could choose between cottage cheese, fruit, or fries. I actually asked about the fruit first, but it had cantaloupe in it and I found out about a year ago that whenever I eat cantaloupe my throat and ears get really itchy. So… that wasn’t going to happen again. Long story short, I chose fries.
I could have fries with every meal and be happy. In fact, I could have fries as my meal and be happy.
Yup.
That’s what I did. I made a meal out of these and I don’t regret it one bit.
Baked Sweet Potato Chili Cheese Fries adapted from Joy the Baker
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Lightly grease two large baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Cut sweet potato into 1/4-inch slices. Stack slices and then slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips. Repeat with remaining sweet potatoes to cut fries.
In a medium bowl, whisk together corn starch, chili powders, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, ground cumin, and chipotle chile pepper powder.
In a medium bowl, toss fries with olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, and grill seasoning. Sprinkle cornstarch mixture over fries and toss to combine.
Divide potatoes between the two prepared baking sheets. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping every 10 minutes, until fries are crispy. Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven for about 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and place fries onto serving platter. Sprinkle with jalapeño slices and green onions and serve hot.
Kimchi. Kimchee. Fermented cabbage. However you spell it out, there’s no denying that this stuff is good. Growing up,I could always find a huge jar of this spicy-salty-sour food. It was food at any time of day, with any kind of food. Oatmeal for breakfast? Boom, kimchi on top. Rice for dinner? Boom, kimchi as a side. Snack? Kimchi straight outta the jar (sorry, Mom).
Now that I’m all grown up without a mom to fill my fridge, I have been loving a sad, kimchi-less life. I finally went to the store to buy a some a few weeks ago and grabbed a jar of it off the shelf. $8.75. Excuse me?! I put it back, pulled up a recipe on my phone and bought the ingredients to make my own instead.
It turns out that making kimchi is actually kind of easy. The only annoying part is the wait time between all the soaking steps. But the results are worth it!
So join me on my journey as I not only make a batch of homemade kimchi, but as I discover new ways to cook with it as well.
1 large head Napa cabbage
4 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt, divided
2 pounds daikon radish, cut into matchstick
2 tablespoons dried salted shrimp, chopped
2/3 cup Korean chili powder
1/2 cup fish sauce
2″ piece of ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
Remove and discard outer leaves of cabbage. Cut lengthwise into quarters and cut into the stem to remove most of it.
Combine water with 1/4 cup of the kosher salt in a large bowl. Plunge cabbage sections into the water one at a time. Carefully separate the leaves under water and shake gently to get water and salt mixture in between the leaves.
Drain water from the cabbage segments, then sprinkle a light layer of kosher salt over each leaf, making sure to cover the entire leaf.
Place cabbage into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 4- 6 hours, or until cabbage leaves are floppy.
Rinse cabbage with water twice in clean water, then squeeze out as much water as possible. Place into a strainer and let sit for 1 hour for the remaining water to drain out.
Meanwhile, place the daikon radish, shrimp, chili powder, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, green onions, and sugar into a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Chop drained cabbage into 1″ pieces and place into large bowl with radish. Toss with a pair of tongs until well combined. Once all the cabbage has been coated, place into an airtight container and store in a cool, dark place for 3 days to ferment. After 3 days, the kimchi should be tangy, crunchy, and spicy. Store in the refrigerator until being used.
I often find myself with a pantry and fridge full of random items. In this instance it was a pathetically small amount of orzo and some goat cheese. The perfect solution – a creamy orzo side dish! I loved this so much. I wish I had been able to make more of it so I could eat it as an entree and not a side dish. I honestly cannot even remember what I served it with. Chicken of some sort? Hmm…
In all honesty, I will most likely make a huge pot of this and eat it as a main entree next time.
Creamy Lemon Orzo
1 cup whole wheat orzo
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup cooked peas
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Cook orzo according to package directions.
Meanwhile, whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
Drain orzo and return to pot. Stir in yogurt sauce and crumbled goat cheese and stir until cheese is melted.
It was Blogger’s Choice for today’s recipe swap. I was assigned to Amy’s Kitchen Creations. I saw the chicken pot pies and had my heart set on making them. Then, time got away from me and I realized that there was no way I would ever have the time to prepare that dish in time for the swap reveal!
Thank goodness she has so many recipes to choose from! I came upon the corn, avocado, and tomato salad and knew that it would be perfect. I had a ton of corn to use up from the CSA and we had a bunch of ripe cherry tomatoes that were begging to be used in our garden!
I loved how easy this was to make! I ended up doubling the recipe because I had so much corn to use up. Now, I have a bunch of delicious leftovers to get me through the next few days 🙂
11 ears corn, cooked and kernels cut off
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup red onion, diced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime, zested
2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Combine the corn, tomatoes, avocado, and onion in a large glass bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
Pour dressing over vegetables and toss gently to combine.
I have two weaknesses in life: sour candy and salt & vinegar chips. Put either of these in front of me, I lose all self-control. I can demolish a bag of Sour Patch Kids in a day (or two) and the same goes for salt & vinegar chips. Obviously, neither of these foods are too good for me. You know, with all the sugar and fat and all…
It finally occurred to me that I should make salt & vinegar potatoes! I’m not sure why this didn’t come to me sooner, but I’m addicted to these. Are you a salt & vinegar chip enthusiast? If so, these are these are the perfect way to jazz up your dinner!
Salt & Vinegar Roasted Potatoes
1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
White vinegar, to taste*
Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss potatoes in a large roasting pan with olive oil and pepper.
Roast potatoes, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Sprinkle with vinegar and salt to taste and serve immediately.
*I ended up using about 1/4 cup of vinegar, but I love vinegar. I would start with a couple of tablespoons and work your way up from there.
I first had this salsa at a friend’s wedding brunch. And I had it again when we went to visit these friends in Minnesota. It swept me off my feet the first time I had it and the feeling didn’t change. Obviously, I had to get the recipe! So, thank you Kirsten, for passing Georgette’s Black Bean Salsa recipe to me! Can you spot it in this yum-licious pile of nachos??
I made a huge batch a few days ago and the flavor just gets better and better every day. Yum. I think I need to always keep ingredients for this on hand.
Georgette’s Black Bean Salsa
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white corn, drained
3 large tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
1 green pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
Combine oil, apple cider vinegar, and sugar in a small pot over medium heat. Warm until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl. Pour dressing over vegetables and stir to combine.
A quick, delicious way to use up your summer vegetables! Our garden is finally starting to produce some awesome tomatoes (heirloom, cherry, and grape) and I couldn’t be more excited.
Greek Salad
3 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Mix to distribute ingredients evenly. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
DoughSeeDough 