Summertime

I guess it's technically not quite summertime yet, but it sure feels like it! And the fresh corn is everywhere in the local grocery stores. I love to grill fresh ears of corn!

I came up with this recipe as a quick side the other night. It was a big hit and I'll be making it again!


Grilled Corn & Potato Salad
Source: Me

1 small white onion sliced in 1/2" slices (if you pulled them apart it would be like onion rings)
3 ears fresh corn, shucked
3 medium red potatoes, sliced in 1/4" slices
3 tbsp butter, softened
5 fresh basil leaves, minced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, cover your potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Add some salt to flavor the potatoes. I'll leave how much up to your discretion. I like my potatoes salty.

Boil just until fork tender. Drain. Grill onions, corn and par boiled potatoes. Here's a hint: put the onion rings on a piece of foil on the grill to keep them from falling through when you turn them!) Remove from the grill and mince the onion (I used a mini chopper to make this job easier) and cut corn off the cob. Add to bowl with potatoes.

In a separate small bowl mix softened butter with basil and parmesan cheese. Add butter mixture to the potatoes, corn and onions. Toss until melted and covered with the yummy, cheesy, basily (and yes, I'm aware the last one's not a real word) butter.


I served it with some Italian dressing marinated chicken that I grilled along side the corn, potatoes and onions. This made for a pretty quick and fantastic summer dinner!

Long Time, No Blog

Don't worry, I have been cooking...just not blogging. I've managed to cook a few blogworthy items and even managed to take pictures of them, I just couldn't find time to sit down and write about them. So here are some recent things I've made:

Super Easy Potatoes Au-Gratin



3 potatoes, sliced thin (I used my mandolin so the slices would be the same thickness)
1 1/2 cups Half and Half (You could also use cream, but I happened to have half and half in the fridge)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Black Pepper, to taste

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. In a small sauce pan, bring the half and half to a boil. Stir often to keep it from burning. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat. Add garlic powder, black pepper and parmesan cheese. Once the liquid has reduced and thickened, spoon a small amount into the bottom of a baking dish. Make a layer of potatoes and then spoon on more sauce. Continue to layer until you use up your potatoes. Top with the last of the sauce. Bake about 30 minutes. Once potatoes are fork tender, top with a little more parm and bake until top is golden brown.

Jaime's Shrimp Scampi



10 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tbsp butter
2 cloves fresh garlic, grated
1/2 tbsp dried dill
1 tsp red pepper flakes
pinch of salt and pepper

Heat sautee pan over medium high heat. Add butter. When melted, add grated garlic, dill and red pepper flakes. Sautee about a minute and add shrimp. When shrimp is cooked through and pink add shrimp and butter sauce to a small dish. So quick and so good!!! (I also made some cheesy brown rice to go along with the shrimp.)

"I'm not eating that."

That is what my husband said when I told him we were having roasted cauliflower with our steaks. He doesn't like cauliflower (in any way, shape or form according to him) and he just flat out wasn't eating it. I love raw cauliflower, but am usually not a fan of the cooked stuff. However, I've seen more than one blog post about how wonderful roasted cauliflower is and I am always looking for new side dishes that don't include corn or potatoes since those are my default sides. I begged him to just taste it and promised I would make him another option in case he was right and didn't like it.

Well, he didn't like it and I wasn't a huge fan either. I think I just don't like mushy cauliflower. When it is cooked, it loses it's bite and the crunch is the best part. I did however like it before I roasted it. Ha! I tasted a few pieces befor putting it in the oven and it was really good. I could have eaten the whole pan just like that as a snack. Maybe next time I'll just do that! It has a good flavor though, so if you liked cooked cauliflower, give it a try.

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice

Source: The Recipe Girl My additions/changes in italics

6 cups cauliflower florets (I just used a whole head)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sliced garlic (I minced mine)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp kosher salt (I used sea salt)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

chopped chives, for garnish (I used some dill I had instead)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Place the cauliflower in a roasting pan (I used a rimmed baking sheet). Drizzle with olive oil and season with garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss to coat cauliflower. Place in oven and cook 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and garnish with chives. Serve while warm.

Where's the Beef?

We've had a lot of beef lately, on our table and therefore, on the blog. Tonight was a chicken night. I've missed it and was glad to see it re-emerge. I've had a recipe I saw on Amber's Delectable Delights saved for a while, foil packet chicken. I'm not sure why I haven't made it before now, but I'm glad I stumbled across the recipe again. Taylor has now deemed this his favorite meal. He kept oohing and aahing over the flavor of the chicken. He said he was prepared to not really like the potatoes, but they ended up being well seasoned also. I'm guessing this will be showing up on our table more regularly now. Works for me since clean up is a breeze!

Corn was on sale at the grocery store, so I picked up a few ears and they too made their way onto our plates tonight. I love grilled corn! And since all the cooking took place outside on the grill our house didn't get so hot. The corn ended up being my favorite part of the meal.

Foil Packet Chicken
Source: Originally from Amber's Delectable Delights, adapted by me

2 boneless skinless thin chicken breast cutlets
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt, pepper and parmesan cheese to taste
2 medium sized red potatoes
1/4 cup marinara sauce
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat Grill to 400 degrees. Lay 2 pieces of aluminum foil on a flat surface and spray the middle of each with non-stick cooking stray. Wash and scrub potatoes and slice into very thin slices (I used my mandolin). Arrange the potatoes in an oval shape onto the middle of the foil about the size of your piece of chicken and sprinkle them with salt, black pepper and parmesan cheese to taste. Mix garlic and Italian seasoning in a small bowl and sprinkle on both sides of the chicken, along with a little salt and pepper, and place a chicken breast on top of each pile of potatoes. Top each chicken breast with 1/8 cup of marinara sauce and 1/8 cup of cheese. Raise up the long sides of foil and fold down twice, do the same thing to the sides of the foil creating an air tight seal.

**Be careful not to let the top of the foil packet touch the top of the chicken or your sauce and cheese will be stuck to the top. This happened to me, so I just added more cheese after I opened it and let it melt. Next time I will be more careful.**

Transfer packets to the grill. Grill for about 30 minutes. Remove packets from grill and allow to sit a few minutes before poking holes in the packets with a fork to release some of the steam before opening. Make sure juices from the chicken run clear. If you are using thin chicken breasts this should not be a problem.

Grilled Corn
Source: Adapted from The Food Network

3 ears corn
1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 stick butter - this actually made a little much. You could probably use 1/4 stick.
1 tbsp dried basil or oregano
1 tbsp garlic powder

By peeling back husk, but not detaching, remove silk from corn. In small skillet melt butter and add cayenne, basil and garlic. Brush onto exposed kernels. Cover kernels with husk. Place corn on electric, gas or charcoal grill. Grill for 12 - 15 minutes, rotating every 2 - 3 minutes.

This corn is awesome, but preparing is slightly messy. Especially after it comes off the grill and the outer husks are charred. I ended up with black corn husks all over my kitchen floor from when I was cutting the corn off the cob and onto the plates. Nothing the dust buster couldn't take care of and it was so worth it!

Corn Casserole

Luncheons at work are always a nice change of pace. You don't have to think about what to pack and you are usually guaranteed at least a few items of good home cooking. Our office decided to have 2 days this week because our underwriter provided us with 2 hams and a turkey. We decided to bring casseroles and sides one day and the next day we would just have sandwiches of the leftovers. I signed up to bring corn casserole. Mostly because it is one of the only casseroles I will eat and I wanted to make sure I had something other than meat for lunch.



I chose the recipe by Paula Deen because I figured who would know how to make a good southern corn casserole better than Paula Deen? This was one of the easiest recipes I've ever made and I will definitely be making it again. It took no time to prepare other than the 45 minutes it spent in the oven. I think this will become my go to dish for family get-togethers.

Corn Casserole
Source: Paula Deen

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

My First Week with a Meal Plan

Let me begin by saying I have great things planned for this week...food-wise anyway. I might even be a little overly ambitious. I have four meals planned for this week, plus a casserole I have to make for a luncheon at work. I am not going to post my meal plan because I don't want you to be too disappointed if it doesn't all come together. Taylor was very impressed when he saw it on the fridge though. Not because the dishes themselves are impressive, but because I am cooking 4 days this week, or plan to anyway. For some of you this might be routine, but I usually only cook 2, 3 at the most, times per week. The other nights we have leftovers or whatever you can find in the pantry.

My first dish of the week is Spicy Thai Shrimp. I saw this recipe on Kate's blog, Paved with Good Intentions, recently and knew I would be making it soon. I have some frozen shrimp I've been trying to finish off and I am always looking for new ways to cook them. Of course it would be best with fresh shrimp, but frozen is what I had on hand. The shrimp were very good and I loved the flavor broiling them added. They weren't too spicy for me, but I LOVE spicy food. Taylor said they were plenty spicy to him. So begins the week of cooking with a meal plan. :)

Spicy Thai Shrimp

Source: Paved with Good Intentions

1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup minced shallot
3 Tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp minced ginger
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp crushed red-pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1) In medium bowl, combine juice, shallot, oil, garlic, ginger, garam masala, salt, coriander, red pepper flakes and pepper.
2) Add shrimp and marinade for 30 minutes.
3) Heat broiler and spray broiler pan with cooking spray. Remove shrimp from marinade. Broil shrimp 2 minutes, turning once.

Now, if you are like me and kind of new to cooking, you may be asking yourself: "what in the world is garam masala?" Yeah, I had to go to wikipedia to find out. So here you go:

Garam masala is a blend of ground spices common in the Indian, Bangali and Pakistani cuisine, whose literal meaning is 'hot (or warm) spice'. There are many variants: most traditional mixes use just cinnamon, roasted cumin, caraway seeds, cloves, nutmeg (and/or mace) and green cardamom seed or black cardamom pods. Many commercial mixtures may include more of other less expensive spices and may contain dried red chili peppers, dried garlic, ginger powder, sesame, mustard seeds, turmeric, coriander, bay leaves, star anise and fennel. While commercial garam masala preparations can be bought ready ground, it does not keep well, and soon loses its aroma. Whole spices, which keep fresh much longer, can be ground when needed using a mortar and pestle or electric coffee grinder.

I found mine on the spice aisle at Publix!

We also had twice-baked potatoes to go with our shrimp. I realize those things don't necessarily go together, but it was a really good dinner!


Twice-Baked Potatoes
Source: Me

Potatoes - any kind of your choosing. I used large new potatoes because that's what I had. Idaho potatoes work really well and are larger.
Sour Cream
Milk
Bacon - cooked and crumbled
Cheese - shredded. Again, use the kind you like!

The amounts of the above ingredients depend on how many potatoes you are making. I used 3 potatoes so we would have some leftovers. :) Wash the potatoes and use a fork to poke a few holes in them. Pop them in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes per potato, depending on the size. Let them cool a bit on the counter because they will be piping hot! Once cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and place that in a large mixing bowl. You want to leave a little flesh on the sides so the potato will keep it's shape. Each half should resemble a boat.

Once they have all been scooped out, add milk, sour cream and bacon to the bowl of potato flesh and mix to combine. I didn't have that many potatoes so I did this by hand, but if you have a lot I would suggest using a hand mixer to combine the potatoes, milk and sour cream. Then add in the bacon. It should be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Fill up the potato skin boats with the mixture and top with cheese. Put under the broiler, on high, for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Platinum Chef!

This is my first entry into the Platinum Chef Challenge. Actually, this is my first time to participate in any food blogging event and I have to say that I had a blast! I really enjoyed thinking outside my usual "food box."

Platinum Chef is a spin off of Iron Chef (on the Food Network - If you've never heard of it you must live under a rock), but with 5 secret ingredients instead of 1. Go here to see this month's challenge, chosen by Kate over at Paved with Good Intentions.

This challenge got me to try an ingredient I had never eaten, much less cooked with before, capers. I will say that I did not dislike the taste, but I don't see them becoming a normal fixture on my grocery shopping list. I do however have some left in the jar, so I will be searching for more recipes in which to use them.

The 5 ingredients that had to be utilized in your recipe(s) were:

• capers

• leeks

• cream (heavy cream, light cream, cream freche or cream cheese - your choice)

• rosemary

• lemon

This was a pretty daunting task for me since I only cook regularly with one of the ingredients - cream cheese. It's not that I dislike the others, they just don't normally show up on my dinner table. I decided to choose basic meal items that were very familiar to me, steak and potatoes, as a building block. (Another factor in choosing this meal was that I had both those items on hand and since we are on a budget these days this would decrease the amount of ingredients I had to pick up at the store.) So here is my very first entry into the Platinum Chef Challenge and the world of blogging events:

Caper Basil Ribeye Steaks with Rosemary Leek Mashed Potatoes

The steak is marinated in a caper-basil vinaigrette that I found on The Food Network's website from Bobby Flay.

Caper-Basil Vinaigrette
Source: Bobby Flay, my additions in italics

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons capers, drained and coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves, or 4 teaspoons dried basil
Juice of half a lemon

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil until emulsified. Stir in the capers and basil.

Reserve some marinade to drizzle over meat after it is cooked. Place individual ribeye’s into a freezer bag with the rest of the marinade for at least 4 hours. **This amount of time worked out perfectly.

Grill until desired done-ness (we like our steak medium). Top with some of the reserved marinade.

Rosemary Leek Mashed Potatoes
Source: Me

5 potatoes, peeled and cubed - the smaller you cube them the quicker they will cook
1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary - I used dried since I had it on hand
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small leek, white part only, sliced thin
1 large clove garlic
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
2 tbsp milk
salt, to taste
a dash of cayenne pepper - if you like a little kick

Cook potatoes in boiling water until fork tender. Drain and set to the side.

In a medium sauce pan combine oil, garlic and leeks, sautéing until tender and fragrant. Add the rosemary and cook another minute or two. Place contents in a food processor and pulse until it forms a paste.

Add potatoes and milk to a large bowl and mash. I chose to use my hand mixer to make this job a little easier. Once combined, add cream cheese a few cubes at a time continuing to mix. Then add the garlic/rosemary/leek paste to the potatoes as well as salt and cayenne pepper. Mix to combine.

**This made a LOT of potatoes. We loved them though so we've been incorporating them into other meals. This recipe could easily serve 4.

This meal turned out even better than I expected! I was a little unsure how the marinade would work out, but this was the best steak I've ever cooked! The steak was tender and had a great flavor through out. We will definitely be using it again. Taylor really enjoyed the entire meal, but his favorite was the potatoes. He even went back for seconds which is saying a lot. I think we were both a little surprised at how much we liked this dinner since there were several ingredients we weren't used to eating.

And this is just a cool picture of the sliced leeks my husband took. (He also took the picture of the meal above)

A little less talk

and a lot more action! Well, I put my money ( or should I say my cooking) where my mouth is last night and I cooked a real dinner for the first time since the awful pregnancy sickness hit me. ;) I got motivated after browsing some of my favorite blogs yesterday. So, I got home and got in the kitchen! I didn't go overboard though and kept it simple. I made Balsamic Grilled Chicken, which is an easy and familiar recipe for me, and a new spin on roasted potatoes. I forgot to take pictures because I was so excited about cooking again! The potatoes turned out great though, so here's the recipe:

Parmesan Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Source: Me

8 small/medium red potatoes sliced into wedges
Olive oil
Hot sauce - use your favorite kind
2 large cloves of garlic minced
1 1/2 TBSP butter
Sea Salt
Parmesan Cheese - grated

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the potato wedges on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and hot sauce. Use your hands to toss and coat the potatoes. Arrange them in a single layer across the pan and sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 20 minutes. They should be fork tender.

Take out of the oven and sprinkle liberally with grated parmesan cheese. Turn off the oven, but stick them back in for about 5 - 7 minutes. The cheese will melt together and form little parmesan crunchies.

While the potatoes are back in the oven, place minced garlic and butter in a small sautee pan over medium heat. I also sprinkled a little sea salt in there because I like my potatoes extra salty. Let the butter melt and simmer the garlic until it is tender, but watch out and don't let it burn.

After the potatoes come out of the oven place them in your serving dish making sure you get all the parmesan crunchies off the pan and into the dish. Drizzle the garlic butter over the potatoes and toss to coat. You could strain the minced garlic out of the butter if you wanted, but we love garlic at my house so I left it in.

These were really good and I will definitely make them again.

Me and Salad? Not the Best of Friends

I'm not a big salad eater. Well, I should say, I don't eat salad at all. The whole not liking lettuce thing (or really any veggies) kind of gets in the way of us having a relationship. I do however like salads of the non-lettuce variety, but even those I'm pretty picky about. I like chicken salad, but no celery and no fruit in it please. I like potato salad, but not with a mustard base. I know...why not just leave all salads alone and let those who enjoy them have them? I just can't. I like the basic concept of the salads, but I like to add different things or omit certain ingredients. And sometimes I come across a recipe that just looks good, even if it has the word "salad" in it. And Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad has all things I love in it! I figured I couldn't go wrong.

I made this to take to a Sunday school class social, where we just happened to be watching to Auburn/LSU game. Yeah, Auburn lost but the pasta salad turned out great! Next time, I think I will omit the chicken though. It didn't seem to add that much to the dish in my opinion and would take some time out of the preparation. My additions/omissions are in italics.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
2 cups dry shell pasta (I used macaroni)
1/4 cup julienne carrots (I omitted these)
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 pckt (or 3 tbls) dry ranch dressing mix
4 strips bacon (cooked and crumbled) (I used 6 strips... I love bacon!)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups chicken (cut into bite size pieces; cooked and cooled)

Directions:
1) Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in pasta, wait a few minutes then add in carrots and cook until pasta is al dente. Drain pasta into strainer and rinse with cold water. Shake until well drained. Set aside.
2) In medium sized bowl mix the mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, bacon and onion powder. Add in the cooled pasta and carrots, chicken and cheese. Mix until everything is covered with mayonnaise mixture. Chill and serve.

*(If you feel that there is not enough mayonnaise to cover all the ingredients just add in a tablespoon or so more until it covers everything well). (I did add in another tablespoon and that made it perfect!)

Sautéed Potatoes

This is the side dish I made for my hubby last night. (See the previous post titled "Good Friends and Good Food.") This is probably his favorite dish that I cook. You can do a million different variations by adding different seasonings. Play around with it and add in whatever seasoning blends you have in your pantry. I used prosciutto when I made them last night, but that is optional of course. I am not really exact on the measurements because I just kind of throw things in until it looks right. This is loosely based on a recipe I’ve seen Rachel Ray do on 30 Minute Meals.

Sautéed Potatoes

4 medium sized red potatoes, chopped into cubes

Roasted Garlic Seasoning Blend

½ cup chopped prosciutto (you can substitute chopped bacon or bacon bits)

1 TBSP Toasted Sesame Oil

Fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano

Fill a deep sauté pan with water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until fork tender. Pour potatoes and water into colander and put pan back on the stove over medium heat. Add prosciutto to pan and cook for approx. 2 minutes. Add potatoes back to pan and toss with prosciutto. Add toasted sesame oil. Add seasoning blend to taste. Toss contents of pan and make sure the potatoes are covered in oil and seasoning. Let potatoes sit in pan for several minutes to let the outside crisp up. Toss and let other side crisp. Place in serving dish and grate fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top.

Good Friends and Good Food

Last night we had some friends over to have dinner and play cards. For me, it was the perfect time to try out a new recipe. I bought some smoked Gouda when I went grocery shopping last week and scoured the web for something new and interesting to make with it. When I came across a recipe for Smoked Gouda Risotto I knew the search was over, sign me up. Anything with rice and cheese sounds perfect to me. However, my husband is the complete opposite. Cheese and rice? No thanks. It’s not American or Cheddar cheese? He’ll pass. He’s gotten more adventurous with food since we’ve gotten married, but I guess he has to draw the line somewhere. But last night I had two new people to be my guinea pigs, so I went for it.

Let me just tell you, risotto is a labor of love. Do not make this dish if you want to be able to do other things while you cook. You might as well chain yourself to the stove top for 45 minutes because that’s the only place you’ll be. Also, your arm will get a nice workout from all the stirring. Yes, it’s sad that I count cooking food as exercise.

I really enjoyed this dish, and my guests seemed to also. It is rich and creamy with a great nutty flavor from the smoked Gouda. You could probably add any kind of cheese you like and it would be wonderful. I served the Smoked Gouda Risotto with grilled chicken and green beans. (I made some sautéed potatoes for my husband since he wasn’t touching the rice. I will post that recipe later) My changes/additions are in parentheses in italics.

Smoked Gouda Risotto

Source: Recipezaar.com

2 cups water

2 (16 ounce) cans chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups arborio or other short grain rice

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used more chicken stock instead)

1/3 cup shallots (I used 2 cloves of garlic, pressed)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded smoked gouda cheese

5 cups chopped arugula or spinach (I omitted this)

1. Combine water and broth; set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add 1/3 cup shallots, cover and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add rice.
5. Cook 2 minutes uncovered, stirring constantly.
6. Stir in 1/2 cup wine; cook 30 seconds or until the liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly.
7. Adding salt and 1/2 cup broth mixture, stir until absorbed.
8. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly.
9. Be sure broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total).
10. Stir in Gouda, cook just until melted.
11. Stir in arugula or spinach.
12. Cook just until spinach is wilted.

(I garnished it with some parsley)

McDreamy and some McChicken ;)

Last night I came home with a plan. My husband had to work late, so I decided to make a nice dinner he could have when he got home. Plus, I was pretty hungry and didn't just want a sandwich. I decided to make Balsamic Grilled Chicken and Herb Roasted Potatoes with a cilantro dipping sauce. I made good use of my time and went for a run/walk around the neighborhood while the chicken was marinating. I suggest at least 30 minutes of marinating, but longer is ok too. This meal sort of cooks itself, once the prep is done, so you'll have time to do other things like empty and load the dishwasher. Or if you are like me, you can get everything ready to watch the season premier of Grey's Anatomy. Yeah, McDreamy.....anyway, more about the food. :)

Following are the recipes from last night's dinner. I just kind of threw together the idea of the marinade. The potatoes are a take on Rachel Ray's oven fries. The cilantro dipping sauce is from a cilantro potato salad I recently made and loved. I thought just making it as a sauce would be great on the herb roasted potatoes. Honestly, it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I'd just as soon have ranch dressing. But if you really like cilantro, you should try it.

Balsamic Grilled Chicken

3 boneless chicken breasts

2 TBSP balsamic vinegar

2 cloves pressed garlic

½ TBSP onion powder

½ TBSP ground ginger

2 dashes cayenne pepper

½ TBSP fresh chopped basil

1 tsp sea salt

4 TBSP olive oil (or any other light colored oil you have in the cabinet)

Mix vinegar and all the spices/herbs together in a medium sized bowl. Whisk in oil. Add chicken breasts and turn several times to make sure they are covered well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let marinate at least 30 minutes. Then grill until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Herb Roasted Potatoes

2 large red potatoes, sliced

1 - 1 ½ TBSP toasted sesame oil (you could also use olive oil, I just like the nutty flavor sesame oil adds)

Rosemary (dried)

Dill (dried)

Thyme (dried)

Sea salt

Black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sliced potatoes on cookie sheet. I prefer one with a lip so that things don’t go sliding off when I remove it from the oven. (Yes, I am accident prone when I cook) Drizzle the toasted sesame oil over the potatoes and use your hands to toss. Make sure the potatoes are well covered in the oil. Sprinkle the dried herbs, salt and pepper over the potatoes. I didn’t put amounts in the recipe because you just make it to your liking. I am pretty liberal with mine because I like a lot of herb flavor on the potatoes. Toss the potatoes again to make sure they have herbs on all sides, then spread out on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes (depending on how thick you sliced your potatoes) turning the potatoes ½ way through cooking.

Cilantro Dipping Sauce

1 TBSP sour cream

1 TBSP mayonnaise

1 handful fresh cilantro

1 tsp salt

1 dash of cayenne pepper (you can add more if you like things spicy. My husband does not)

Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until everything is incorporated and the cilantro is finely chopped.

This ended up being a really great dinner. I started cooking around 6:45 and was done eating in time to watch Grey's at 8:00. Not bad, huh? In honor of last night's premier, I will leave you with a quote from the first episode of Grey's Anatomy Season 4.

"Change; we don’t like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. And it hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn’t is lying. But heres the truth: the more things change, the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good. Oh, sometimes, change is ... everything." - Grey's Anatomy