Danielle's Garlic Chicken Skewers

These were tasty and super easy. I actually still have some chicken marinading in the fridge cause I had too much, and I'm looking forward to having it again. We had our chicken skewers with grilled potato, veggie, and fruit skewers. Yum! Definitely a tasty dinner.

For those of you who like grilled fruit, our grilled mango tonight was amazing! I don't think I'd ever had grilled mango before tonight, but it was so so good. I brushed it with a lemon juice/brown sugar glaze. Yum.

Melanie W.'s Kabobs/Skewers

Since I didn't have a chance to make the Chicken and Bacon Kabobs, I decided to make them with the Sticky Garlic Chicken Skewers. I don't make kabos very often so this was something a little different and fun for us! If I had an outdoor grill I might make them more often, but instead we just grilled them on our George Foreman grill, and it seemed to work fine.

I liked both of these recipes, but I think I liked the sticky garlic chicken better. The cider vinegar used in the chicken bacon kabobs seemed way too over powering! I would have rather used way less. But either way, grilled chicken and veggies always makes for a yummy meal!

Cami's Sticky Garlic Chicken Skewers

We are also the proud owners of a new (to us) grill. It has been so nice and we use it all the time. We will definitely be using this recipe again before the summer is over. These have a really nice tangy taste. I enjoyed them. It was almost like BBQ sauce but better. I wasn't sure if I should mince the garlic so I didn't. It didn't have a strong garlic flavor and if I minced it I think it would have increased the flavor. I'll try that next time, but I loved it this way too. Thanks Melanie!

Sticky Garlic Chicken Skewers

Well looky, looky this is our 100th post! It's by accident that I'm the one posting it but I think this calls for a celebration. Some more peanut butter pie perhaps? Just tell me when it's a good time for me to stop in and share some with you all.

This summer we inherited a grill from a neighbor and we can't get enough of it. Our weekly meal plans are based around what would be good on the grill. Today we stuffed ourselves with sticky garlic chicken skewers, roasted potatoes and corn on the cob. All we needed was some watermelon to top off the quintessential summer meal. I know that chicken kebabs were posted a month ago, but these are a little different and definitely worth a try.


Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp honey
4 Tbsp ketchup
4 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp hot pepper sauce (optional)
3 skinless, boneless chicken strips cut into chunks
salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients except the chicken in a Ziploc bag to create a marinade. Toss in the chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Skewer and grill. Easy peasy. Make sure your skewers soak for at least 20 minutes before you put them on the grill or their burn.

Oh and by the way, aren't my photos magazine worthy? I think I'll take up photography since I'm so obviously good at it.

PS Oh yeah, this is Melanie B.

A delish evening

We had some friends over for dinner last Sunday and I decided to serve up a delish dinner. I had been meaning to try Larisa's chicken kebobs and the peanut butter pie...and boy, was that a tasty dinner! For the kebobs, I added some brown sugar into the marinade to make it a little bit sweeter and I thought the sweetness of the marinade went really well with the smokey flavor of the bacon (and bacon make everything better...or was that butter? Either way, it was great!). In addition to the red bell peppers and mushrooms, I also skewered on some zucchini since that's my favorite veggie grilled. I realized, though, after they were on the grill, that I had forgotten the pineapple. We love fresh grilled pineapples, so I wanted to do it on these, but just forgot. Must try next time. Anyway, these were fabulous...they will definitely make an encore appearance at our dinner table.


Oh, the peanut butter pie. Loved it! It took me a little while to find the chocolate wafers, but I found them at Treasure Island...$5 for 9 ounces. I didn't want any leftover wafers, so I used all 9 ounces and an extra tablespoon of butter, so that made for a pretty thick crust. Maybe I pressed too hard to make it all fit, but my crust ended up being super hard once it was frozen. Did other people have super hard crusts? I think next time, I will just buy a pre-made chocolate crust to save myself a little time. Or I may try making it with Oreo cookies (as I purchased a box today at Costco). Heeding Danielle's advice, I was going to use the hot fudge on the bottom, but again, I forgot, so I didn't have a chocolate layer, which ended up being fine. Everyone loved it, and it was just tasty, really. In fact, we had some other friends over on Wednesday night for dinner and had it for dessert again that night. I loved that it was all super cold and frozen with the hot fudge on top. But I was kind of happy that we didn't end up eating the entire pie. The picture I took was of the very last piece, which Greg and I shared, although I think I probably ate more of it than he did. I think I'll be making the PB pie again, too. It's just too good not to.

Cami's Chicken & Bacon Kabobs

These are amazing! They are so tasty. I used yellow and orange bell peppers because they were the same price as green and I prefer orange and yellow. I also added onions. Thanks to Larisa's suggestion I doubled the sauce and heavily basted. It made them very tasty.

I think you could use turkey bacon if you're worried about the fat content. I think the bacon really adds good flavor though, so don't skip it. These will definitely become a regular meal at my house.

Chicken and Bacon Shish Kabobs

Alright ladies, this Chicago humidity must indicate that summer is now in full swing, and around our place that means tasty summer grill recipes. This is one of my favorite recipes for the grill - simple, tasty, and easily adapted to suit one's preferences. And if you find yourself without a grill (as is our case at the moment...), don't fret; I just pop these babies in the oven under the broiler and the results are just as pleasing.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons canola oil (I use olive)
10 large mushrooms, cut in half
2 bell peppers, cut into bite-size pieces
2 green onions, minced
2 – 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast - cut into chunks
1/2 pound sliced thick cut bacon, cut in half
1 -2 (8 ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained
Any other veggies you like to skewer
Skewers

DIRECTIONS:
1) In a large bowl, mix the soy sauce, cider vinegar, honey, oil, and green onions. Place the chicken, mushrooms and bell peppers into the mixture, and stir to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

2) If using wooden skewers, let soak in water for 30 minutes to avoid scorching.

3) Preheat grill for high heat. Wrap the chicken chunks with bacon, and thread onto skewers so that the bacon is secured. Alternate with mushroom halves, bell peppers and pineapple chunks. (Optional - I occassionally partially pre-cook the bacon for a minute for two in the microwave to start the cooking process before wrapping the chicken. I find this helps the bacon crisp up a little easier while grilling/broiling.)

4) Lightly oil the grill grate. Arrange skewers on the prepared grill. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, brushing occasionally with remaining soy sauce mixture, until bacon is crisp and chicken juices run clear.

NOTES: I always double the marinade and set half aside (before adding the chicken) for basting and dipping. I usually brush a generous amount on the skewers just before serving, as well. We like ‘em saucy! I also estimated on the amounts of pineapple and veggies - I tend to just use as much as we have. Some people cook their veggies on separate skewers from their meat, since cooking times may differ, but I've never really had a problem. I just let them cook until the bacon starts crisping up. And if bacon isn't your thing, the chicken tastes great alone, as well.

Q: When did you start baking / cooking?
A: I loved to help my mom bake cookies or treats when I was little, mostly so that I could nibble right along. But I didn't gain a real interest in cooking/baking until I had a college roomate who made homemade bread everyweek. The smell of bread baking in the oven was too much to resist - I had to learn how to do it on my own.

Q: What is your favorite kitchen tool?
A: I love my 12" Cuisinart skillet, it cooks everything perfectly. And my 7" Santoku knife, I feel pretty powerful with that thing in my hands. But I dream of a KitchenAid mixer... one day

Q: Do you have a favorite spice? If so, what is it?
A: I LOVE fresh basil, and I could sit and smell freshly-ground ginger all day long.

Q: What is your favorite book?
A: The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.


Q: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: For me, it's where would I go next. We love to travel and try to do it any chance we get. I think next on the list is Costa Rica, but I'm hoping to go back to Italy soon... I can't get enough.


Q: If you had to change your first name right now, what would you change it to?
A: No clue. Maybe Hazel.... that's my Guitar Hero character's name.

Q: Where do you currently live?
A: Chicago

Q: Where are you from?
A: Orange, CA

Q: If you could eat one thing for every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Fresh fruit... pineapple, strawberries, mangoes, raspberries, peaches... maybe a little chocolate every now and then and I'd be set for life.

burgers and cake for daddy

First off...cheers to me that I finally bought the Baked cookbook. I confess I was being cheap and working off photo copies. But I figured it was silly to have all these recipes in my cooking repertoire and not have the book so now I have it.

Jeff requested burgers for Fathers' Day so I finally made the Turkey Burgers. What a great recipe! I love recipes with veggies and it is comforting to eat a healthy white meat rather than red. I used dried oregano and fresh basil (from my very own basil plant on the deck). Like Danielle, I used ~1.25 pounds of meat so I did 3 cloves of garlic and extra salt. I had plans to grill them, but we were out of propane. I did a combination of browning them in the olive oil on a skillet and broiling them in the oven. The consistency seemed like it would be fine for a grill, however, I realized after I shaped them into patties that I forgot the egg. I think it would have made them a little more moist. I'm going to make them again on Thursday for our ward recipe exchange (theme: 4th of July BBQ...perfect) and I will use the same amount of meat, remember the egg, and grill them. Though I don't think it would hurt to brown them with the olive oil first...I like the flavor of olive oil. Simon loves "cheegugers" so I figured he would eat this. He ate half of it and then said "no like it" to the rest...which he does often. I finished his and with no complaint.

I very seriously considered making Jeff the German Chocolate Cake since that is his favorite kind of cake. However, after reading through the comments I decided I will make it when more than one person will enjoy it. I don't like coconut so I don't like German Chocolate Cake...but maybe I will like this one. Instead I made the milk chocolate frosting and put it on a Devil's Food cake from a box. I had to make a few modifications. I only had just under 1 C of heavy cream so I made it 1 C with whole milk and then I made 2/3 of a recipe. It seemed a little runny even after I chilled it for 15 minutes so I added about 1/4 C powdered sugar. It might have been because it is rather humid here in Northern Virginia...but the kitchen wasn't especially warm or anything. I used Ghirardelli bittersweet baking chocolate and Hershey's milk chocolate chips so I felt like at least half of the chocolate was high quality. In the end I can't say I loved it. I was hopeful, but it was too bitter for my liking...and I'm even a dark chocolate lover. It was better than your usual homemade cocoa frosting. My favorite kind of chocolate frosting is the store bought dark chocolate, but I usually just stick with a cream cheese frosting on cakes. Jeff thought it was an 8 on 0-10 scale. I'd say a 6. I may try again when I am better prepared with all the ingredients. I will only make a 1/2 recipe next time because it makes a ton of frosting.


I hope to make the pasta this week. I was planning to get the ingredients yesterday, but I wrote my list on the back of my Border's coupon which I gave to the cashier at Border's before I went to the grocery store. I am a big fan of the concept of Deceptively Delicious, but I haven't tried a lot of the recipes so I'm looking forward to it.

Has anyone ever "fondanted" a cake? (Did I make up the word 'fondanted'? I guess fondant is a verb because when I google it I get things like "how to fondant a cake.") I'm thinking about it for Jack's birthday on Saturday. I don't think the frosting sounds all that tasty, but they look so beautiful.

Danielle's Turkey Burgers

Yum! Max and I are not really burger people (stems from not being ground beef people), but since these are turkey burgers and since everyone said they were so tasty, I decided to give it a shot. I don't know that I'll make these regularly, but they seem like a great Saturday BBQ food.

We were actually able to cook these on our (or should I say, the Hickmans') BBQ grill. The thing of turkey I bought was 20 oz (1.25 lbs), and I just threw the whole thing in with the rest of the ingredients as listed in the recipe (although I added extra garlic and pepper). I think if I'd had less meat with the same amount of egg they may not have stayed together on the grill.

Following Jessica's recommendation, we had ours on pretzel rolls (excellent suggestion!) with BBQ sauce, pickles, grilled onions, and pepper jack cheese. We toasted our rolls on the grill too, which was great. We love having a BBQ!

Jessica's Turkey Burgers

When I was 20 or so I went on this crazy diet that involved many many turkey burgers. After the experience of turkey patties day in and day out I had to swear off the TB FOREVER! I was soooo sick of them. So when it came to my attention that this weeks recipe was my forgotten nemesis I truly battled with the idea of revisiting what I had come to know as the horror of Turkey Burgers.

I decided to bolster up some courage and give them yet another try.

THANK GOODNESS I DID

These turned out stupendously terrific

Here's the skinny on what I did

- I served them on Pretzel Buns (these can be found at Hyde Park Produce) a little spendy but so worth it

- I added 1/4 tsp. of ground mustard, it gave them a nice kick

- I upped the salt a tad

- White Cheddar was the way to go

- Classic Yellow and a dab of BBQ Sauce

- Served with Terra Exotic Vegetable Chips

These will definitely be integrated into my cooking arsenal

Cami's Turkey Burgers

I'll be honest, I wasn't too sure about these based on the recipe. I'm not a huge ground beef person and haven't ever used ground turkey before we started this little group. So, I'm expanding my cooking comfort zone. Jason and I really liked them though and I will definitely make them again. Hopefully soon!

I accidentally used the zucchini for dinner the night before in a mixed veggie dish and so I just did extra carrots. I also added some Worcestershire sauce and served them on onion rolls, which were awesome! Jason had his with cheddar cheese, ketchup and mustard. I had mine with provolone, ketchup and pickles. The texture was perfect and they cooked up pretty quickly. They were a bit too crumbly for a grill but I don't have one so it doesn't matter.

Turkey Burger with Grated Zucchini and Carrots (from Real Simple Magazine)

Total time: 25 minutes
Serves 4

3/4 pound ground turkey
1 med zucchini, grated
1 med carrot, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 teas. dried thyme*
3/4/ teas. kosher salt
1/4 teas. black pepper
1 large egg
olive oil

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, except for the olive oil. Form the mixture into 4 patties (although mine usually ends up more than 4 patties because I think I make some of them smaller for my kids). Heat 1 T. oil in a large skillet over medium heat.** Cook the patties, turning once, until no trace of pink remains, 4 to 5 minutes per side. *When I don't have thyme, I just use an Italian herb mix (which contains thyme) and it tastes just as good. **I don't think you can grill these burgers...they are pretty soft patties and I think they would fall through the grill.

Real Simple suggests serving it like this:
4 slices cruty bread
4 small leaves Boston lettuce
4 T. mayo (optional)
2 teas. fresh lemon juice (optional)

Heat broiler. Place the bread on a baking sheet and brush with 2 T. olive oil. Broil until golden brown and crisp, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer the bread to individual plates. Top with the lettuce leaves and burgers. If using, combine the mayo and lemon juice in a small bowl and servie with the burgers.

To be honest, I've never tried it the way the magazine suggests (mostly because I'm not crazy about mayo on my food). We've had them on plain hamburger buns as well as soft rolls or Kaiser buns. Nicholas (age 7) likes his with BBQ sauce. Sophia (age 4) is a purist and likes them plain with her bun. Greg and I like ours with regular hamburger fixings and a slice of sharp white cheddar cheese, or with lettuce, tomatoes and avocado slices. I like to put homemade bread & butter pickles in mine (although the store-bought ones are ok, too). It's pretty flexible and I like that my kids get a little dose of veggies. And it's pretty quick and easy to put together on a busy night.

********************
When did you start baking / cooking?
I feel like I've been baking and cooking for as long as I can remember. My mom has no recipes for anything she cooks, so when I was little, one of my favorite things to do (and even now when I'm with my mom) is to get the spices for her and watch how many pinches of this and that she puts into her food. She cooks by taste, so my other favorite part of cooking with her was tasting. I always enjoyed baking, but I did a lot of baking when I was in law school because it was a nice, timed way to take a break from reading and outlining. And at the end, there were yummy treats to be had.

What is your favorite kitchen tool?
Oh, so hard to pick just one. I love anything that requires zesting citrus...love the oils that spritz out when you zest. Also love a good silicone spatula. Oh, my KitchenAid (ten years and running...).

Do you have a favorite spice? If so, what is it?
Ginger--fresh is great, but powder is pretty good, too. I love that you can use it in cooking and baking and it just wakes up food.

What is your favorite book?
Once again, so hard to pick one. To Kill a Mockingbird is an old favorite. I recently read Charlotte's Web with my son and forgot what a good book that was. And Mama, Do You Love Me? is one of my all-time favorite books to read to my kids.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
Anywhere tropical, but somewhere with no mosquitos. That's a tough one. I love going to Hawaii and I'd go back in a second...even if they have mosquitos.

If you had to change your first name right now, what would you change it to?
I wouldn't. I spent most of my early childhood after we moved to the U.S. wishing that I had a different (*American*) name because no one could say my name right and I remember wishing my name was as simple as my friend Susie's in the first grade. Then when my family got our U.S. citizenship, my parents said we could choose a name if we wanted. And I couldn't come up with a name that I liked enough to change my name. Same with my last name. Couldn't wait to get married to change it and when I did, I couldn't part with it altogether. So I compromised and hyphenated.

Where do you currently live?
Chicago, Illinois

Where are you from?
I was born in Korea, but moved to the U.S. when I was five. I got to Chicago by way of Kansas, Texas, Indiana, Illinois, D.C., Minnesota, and Utah.