Author: Kaitlin
Top Sirloin Steak with Crispy Buttered Garlic
Ingredients: (I just made one serving)
1 top sirloin steak
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
Begin by setting your oven to broil. Brush the steak with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom rack in the oven to catch drippings. Place the steak straight on to the middle rack.
Broil for 6 minutes. Turn the steak over and broil for another 6 minutes.
While the steak is cooking, melt the butter over medium heat in a saute pan. Add the garlic.
Cook until it begins to brown and remove from heat.
Remove the steak from the oven and top with the crispy garlic.
Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Sauce
I really try to make an effort to bring my lunch to work each day. My office is absolutely freezing, so I tend to gravitate towards warm lunches. Because of this, I am always looking for new pasta and rice recipes that sound like they would reheat well and still taste good. As usual, Cooking Light came to the rescue with the August issue’s Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Saucerecipe. I made all four servings so that I could have a batch for dinner, and get a few lunches out of it.
Season with salt and pepper and mix to coat. Add to bowls and top with radish and herbs. Serve with a lime wedge.
This meal was really tasty, not only the first time around but also when reheated. The serrano pepper gave a subtle heat to the whole dish which counteracted the sweetness of the soy sauce, great combination! When I packed it for lunch, I kept the rice mixture in one container and a few radish slices,herbs , and a lime wedge in another container. I heated the rice in the microwave and topped them with the radish slices and herbs, then squeezed the lime juice over the whole dish. Perfect!
Shredded Chicken Tacos with Tomatoes and Grilled Corn
Heat the tortillas. Divide the chicken evenly among the tortillas.
Top each with 1/4 cup of the corn mixture and 2 avocado slices. Serve with lime wedges.
I loved the flavors in this dish. However, I don’t feel like the flavor of the corn had the chance to shine through, so I’d suggest using defrosted corn kernels to speed up the process. The colors of this are so pretty too! Heirloom tomatoes add extra pizazz, but using plain old cherry or grape tomatoes would get the job done.
Green Beans with Garlic and Pecans
Ingredients:
- 1 pound green beans
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped pecans
- Salt and pepper to taste
Greek Yogurt with Warm Berry Sauce
Grilled Corn with Chipotle-Lime Butter
After reading just the title, how could you not be excited for this recipe? Grilled corn is one of my favorite treats in the summer, and I refuse to let my city dwelling keep me from it! I cooked this on a counter top grill and loved it, so I can only imagine how delicious this is on an actual outdoor grill.
Begin by shucking your corn. Take care to remove as much of the silk as possible.
Side note: this was probably the most stressful part of the process for me. I was using corn from my CSA share and had read a post from another CSA share member, One Curly Fry in a Box of the Regular, about the horror she found under the husk. Oh the joys of organic produce. Thankfully, I had a bit more luck than she did. Look how wonderful that corn looks!
Preheat your grill. I set mine for medium-high. Coat the grill with cooking spray and add the corn.
Cook until grill marks begin to appear, about 10 minutes (closer to 8 minutes for a normal grill). Turn the corn frequently to allow it to evenly cook.
While the corn is cooking, place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds or until the butter has melted. Add the chile powder, zest, pepper and salt.
ok. It’s not much to look at, but it tastes good! |
I loved the subtle smokiness of the chipotle chile powder with the corn. We had some leftover limes from the kebobs and took full advantage of the lime juice on the corn, which really worked well with the butter mixture. I honestly had trouble taking photos of this, because as soon as it was done, we couldn’t control ourselves and scarfed it down! Definitely a keeper.
Mango Shrimp Kebabs
Thread shrimp, bell pepper, mango, and onion alternately onto 4 skewers. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lime zest. Note: the original recipe did not include zest. But I thought it might be an easy addition to the flavors, you’re using a lime anyways!
Coat the grill with cooking spray. Place the skewers on the grill rack and cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until shrimp are cooked (Mine took closer to 3-4 minutes per side, I blame my little indoor grill. If using a normal grill, 2 minutes on each side should be plenty.)
We made this along with the Corn with Lime and Chipotle, also suggested by the app. And I couldn’t be happier with the results. The pairing was perfect! We actually ended up using some of the leftover chipotle butter mix on some of the shrimp, just to try it out.
shrimp with chipotle butter |
Ericka thought maybe marinating the shrimp in a jerk marinade before adding to the skewers would really bump this recipe up a notch and I agree. However, the original recipe is delicious on its own, and quite simple and fast to make. Look out for my post on the Corn, these two really should be eaten together!
The ingredients were wonderful together, sweet, tangy and fresh. Ericka kept referring to getting a piece of each ingredient in one bite “the perfect bite” and I have to agree with her.
Garlic and Rosemary Smashed Potatoes
Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Fennel and Rosemary
Wow. I haven’t used chicken in a recipe in over a month. I think it is time to finally give poultry it’s time in the limelight. I received fennel in my CSA share and thought this recipe for Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Fennel and Rosemary from Food & Wine sounded like a perfect use of the ingredient.
As a plus, I had all of the ingredients already in my kitchen, with the exception of the chicken.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock. divided
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
Continue reading Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Fennel and Rosemary
Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce
Review of of Cooking Light’s New App & A Chance to Win a Free Download!
The issue that got me hooked. Courtesy of cookinglight.com |
So when I heard that Cooking Light had made it’s own app for iPad and iPhone, I was overjoyed. The “Quick & Healthy Menu Maker App” is genius. How often do you prepare a nice healthy main course only to wreck it with some ridiculous side that ends up negating the healthiness of the original dish? Or, if you’re like me, how many times do you struggle to find a side that would complement the other components of the meal?
Mango Shrimp Kabobs, Corn with Lime and Chipotle, Wild Rice Pilaf with Pecans, and Yogurt with Berry Sauce. How wonderful does this dinner look? (If you click on the photo above, it will enlarge so you can actually read what it says.) The photo above is a screen shot from the Corn. I received corn as part of my CSA share this week so I was excited to see this recipe. I came across the recipe by scrolling through the “vegetable” sides. I then clicked the “suggested menus” button and that gave me suggestions for a main meal, another side, and a dessert.
- Pros:
- Love the suggested menu option. Not only are there multiple suggestions, but you can use it by starting off with any part of the meal: Main dish, Side, or Dessert. Genius!
- You have the option to save a specific recipe you enjoy or the whole menu
- You can also e-mail the recipe or menu straight from the app.
- The nutrition per serving is very helpful. Includes all parts of the dish. It also breaks down fat and sodium content.
- The photos are spectacular. I was so hungry after playing around with the app!
- Cons/Suggested Improvements:
- There is no “search” feature. So if you find a recipe you love and don’t save it, you have to scroll through a bunch of other recipes before finding it again. Bummer.
- It would be nice if there was a way to choose ingredients you had on hand and have menus/recipes suggested that include those recipes.
- Another possible improvement: adding a shopping list feature. It would make the app more useful in the supermarket.
- The app is so large, it crashed the iPad a few times. Slightly frustrating but not a deal breaker.
- I think I’ve already managed to scroll through all of the recipes, so I hope the app is continuously updated with new and delicious meals!
- When I tried to e-mail the menu to myself, I realized there is no way to do so. You have to go through recipe by recipe and e-mail them out.
- I personally am a Droid aficionado. I hope this becomes available for my beloved Android in the near future!
So if you managed to stay with me this entire time, I have a little reward. Cooking Light was kind enough to give me five free codes to their app! To be eligible to receive one of these codes you must meet the following requirements:
- Have an iPhone or iPad (this is kind of mandatory, sorry)
- Be willing to write either a blog post review of the app on your own site OR a guest review post on my site OR just send me an e-mail with your thoughts about the app
- “Like” my facebook page AND/OR follow me on twitter
Note: if you have used the Cooking Light App and have any comments, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at icancookthat@icancookthat.org. I’d love to hear your opinions! To read up on another blogger’s thoughts on the app, check out Katie K. is Losing It. She has used the app on a few posts so far, and has found some great recipes.
Sausage, Pepper & Onion Sandwiches
While the sausages are cooking (about 10 minutes), chop your garlic, onion, and peppers.
Cook for 3-5 more minutes or until the sausages are warm. Cut the rolls almost in half, but not fully. You want the sauce to be able to settle at the bottom of the bun.
To serve, add 1 sausage to each bun. Spoon the onions, peppers, and tomato mixture over the sausage. Add some Parmesan cheese and/or parsley if you prefer.
If you have an outdoor grill, you can alter this recipe to grill the sausages and add to the pan at the end. This recipe can also be used over pasta, just chop up the sausage into bit sized pieces. This is a pretty messy meal so be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand. Enjoy!
Pappardelle with Cabbage, Prosciutto and Sage
Beet and Carrot Chips with Tzatziki
The tiny ones are carrots, the others are red & white beets |
Ingredients for chips:
2 white beets
2 red beets
2 large carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
Ingredients for tzatziki:
1 container of Greek yogurt (I used 0%)
1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 a cucumber, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
To begin, combine the water and sugar in a saute pan and bring to a boil. While the mixture is heating, peel the beets with a vegetable peeler. Chop off most of the leaves on top, but leave a bit to use as a handle when using the mandoline slicer.
I used raw sugar, which is why it’s brown |
Mix in the Greek yogurt.
Cover and refrigerate until the chips are done.
Allow the chips to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes after removing them from the oven. Carefully remove from the baking sheet.
they are fun looking though! |
Place the chips in a bowl and serve with the tzatziki. Enjoy!
- Ingredients for chips:
- 2 white beets
- 2 red beets
- 2 large carrots
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- Ingredients for tzatziki:
- 1 container of Greek yogurt (I used 0%)
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 a cucumber, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- To begin, combine the water and sugar in a saute pan and bring to a boil. While the mixture is heating, peel the beets with a vegetable peeler. Chop off most of the leaves on top, but leave a bit to use as a handle when using the mandoline slicer.
- When the liquid has boiled, remove from heat and add the beets to the liquid. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. While the beets are soaking, use a mandoline slicer to thinly slice the carrots. After 15 minutes, remove the beets, dry them off with a paper towel, and thinly slice with the mandoline slicer. Arrange on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook for 40 minutes or until they begin to crisp slightly. While the chips are baking, prepare the tzatziki. Combine the chopped dill, lemon, zest, garlic, cucumber, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.
- Mix in the Greek yogurt.
- Cover and refrigerate until the chips are done.
- Allow the chips to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes after removing them from the oven. Carefully remove from the baking sheet.
- Place the chips in a bowl and serve with the tzatziki.