Quick | I Can Cook That

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.

This is another recipe from Cooking Light’s “Quick & Healthy Menu Maker App“. I cut the recipe in half, to make only two servings. We ate this along side the Mango Shrimp Kabobs.

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

2 ears shucked corn

1/2 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

Zest from 1 lime

Salt and pepper, to taste

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!

Remove the corn from the grill and brush the butter mixture over the corn.

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

Earlier this week, I wrote a post reviewing Cooking Light’s new App. I have been playing around with the app for about a week and kept coming back to this Mango Shrimp Kebab recipe. The colors are amazing, and it sounded so delicious! I cut the recipe in half (makes 2 servings) but kept the original recipe mostly intact.

Ingredients:

3/4 pounds large peeled and deveined shrimp

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 mango, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 small red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

Juice and zest of 1 lime, cut into wedges

Cooking spray

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Prepare your mango, pepper, and onion.

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.)

Serve with lime wedges. Squeeze the wedges over kebabs before eating.

Before I go on, I want to give special thanks to my “Sous Chef” and friend Ericka for helping me out. I am pretty darn scared of knives and cutting slippery fruit stresses me out quite a bit, so I am forever grateful to Ericka for her amazing mango-chopping skills.

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.

Do not forget to squeeze the lime over the skewers before enjoying. The citrus adds a whole new dimension to this already delicious dish.

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.

Ingredients:

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

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This weekend, I realized I was running low on tomato sauce in my freezer, so I whipped up a new batch to hopefully last me a couple months. I was left with an extra can of diced tomatoes and I also had some leftover capellini pasta from my Capellini with Clams and Saffron dish. Gourmet had a really delicious sounding recipe that incorporated both of these ingredients. The recipe is so quick, it is perfect for a week night dinner.

Ingredients:

1tablespoon olive oil

8 already cooked shrimp, deveined with the tails still attached, thawed

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup sweet (red) vermouth

1 (14- to 15-oz) can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup heavy cream

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/2 a box of capellini

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley, optional

The original recipe is linked above. I had already-cooked shrimp in my freezer (I meant to buy raw shrimp and misread the label, sigh) so I had to alter the recipe to make up for the precooked shrimp. My shrimp still had the tails attached because I think those are more attractive. Feel free to use whatever form of shrimp you’d like.

Start by thawing your shrimp. I just ran them under cold water for 3 minutes and allowed to dry in a colander.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and vermouth. and stir to combine. I left in the tomato juice from the diced tomatoes. You can drain the tomatoes before adding for a more chunky sauce. Heat until simmering.

Add cream and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 1 minute. Add in lemon juice.

Top the pasta with 2 shrimp per serving and spoon the broth over the pasta. Add the chopped parsley on top.

The sauce had a nice sweetness to it, but I think it could be further enhanced with a pinch of crushed red pepper to add a bit of heat. I regret not having fresh shrimp for this dish because the shrimp were relatively forgettable in my version. I like that my sauce was a little thinner than the original. I think this would be great (without the shrimp) as a reheated lunch after the pasta has had time to sit in the sauce.

Sausage, Pepper & Onion Sandwiches

I love making sausage and peppers. It is such a simple meal to make and is always well received. Sausage and peppers are a hearty meal and work well in both hot summer months as a sandwich, and also during the fall and winter as a chunky stew or over pasta. I purchased sweet Italian sausage to make a soup (which I have yet to actually make) that only required one sausage. I also had some peppers from my CSA share this week so this was a great option for dinner without having to purchase a bunch of new ingredients.

Ingredients:

4 sausages (I used sweet Italian. feel free to use hot sausages instead)

2 green peppers, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 rolls

1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a saute pan over medium-high heat. When heated, add the sausages and cook until browned, turning the sausages so they cook evenly.

While the sausages are cooking (about 10 minutes), chop your garlic, onion, and peppers.

Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside.

Using the same saute pan, lower the hear to medium. Add the garlic, onions, and peppers to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Add the 1.5 cups of crushed tomatoes. Feel free to add a bit more if you’d prefer yours a little more “saucy.” Add in the tomato paste, basil, dried parsley, and dried oregano.

Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and add in the sausages. Season with salt and pepper.

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

My CSA share this week came with cabbage. I highly doubt most people would jump for joy over cabbage. I honestly had no idea what kind of meal outside of corned beef and cabbage even used this green. So it took some sleuthing for me to find a recipe that sounded like something I’d like. Cabbage plus pasta and prosciutto? That’ll do. (I found this recipe on My Recipes)

Ingredients:

1 package of pappardelle

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 a head of cabbage, chopped

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto torn into smaller pieces

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

While the onion is cooking, chop the cabbage, tear the prosciutto, and chop the sage. After the onion is soft, add the cabbage and broth. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the cabbage begins to wilt.

Stir in the prosciutto, butter and chopped sage. Cook while stirring until the butter melts.

Spoon over the pasta and serve.

So I’m not going to run out to the supermarket and buy all the cabbage they have to offer. But this dish was actually quite tasty. The sage and prosciutto were a great complement to the cabbage. My only complaint is I have no clue why the recipe called for pappardelle. I found it to be super difficult to eat with such thick pasta. If you plan on making this, go for another type of pasta that can still grab some of the prosciutto, cabbage and sage in every bite.

Seared Salmon with Basil Oil

Yes. Another salmon recipe. I can’t help it, I love the stuff. And when you are able to purchase a salmon fillet that looks as gorgeous as this one did, you have no choice but to keep it simple and let the natural delicious salmon flavor shine through. This recipe takes less than 20 minutes, and can be made even more quickly if you make the basil oil the day before.

Ingredients (serves 4):
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound salmon fillet, skin still on
Salt and pepper, to taste
Basil oil
1/2 cup fresh basil, firmly packed
1/4 cup olive oil

Continue reading Seared Salmon with Basil Oil

Pesto Pasta Salad

I am in a pasta salad making mood, so I decided to make one more batch for this weekend. I already made one pasta salad for this weekend, but I have a bunch of these ingredients on hand from other recipes and I don’t want them to go bad over the long weekend. I used a recipe from My Recipes as a base and substituted ingredients I already had, and ended up with this Pesto Pasta Salad!

Ingredients for the pesto:

1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil

1 bunch of packed fresh parsley

4 garlic cloves, minced

Juice and zest from 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients for the salad:

1 box gemelli or other short pasta

1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3 small cucumbers, sliced

1 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup feta cheese

Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.

To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.

Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.

Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.

Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

Because I am making this for the weekend, I only made a tiny batch fully mixed so I could taste it. The pesto mixture is so so creamy that you honestly might not even need the feta. The tomatoes and red onions add a wonderful contrast to the pesto and the cucumbers add a nice crunch to the salad. I will try to take some photos this weekend of the fully assembled salad, but if it is anything close to what I just sampled, I think my friends will be happy.

Yum

Pesto Pasta Salad

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

Pesto:

1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil
1 bunch of packed fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salad:

1 box gemelli or other short pasta
1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 small cucumbers, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.
To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.
Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.
Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

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Italian Pasta Salad

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It’s almost July 4th weekend, so I am preparing a bunch of dishes for me to trek down to the beach.

I tend to make food that can marinate for a day or two so that I have time to make it without rushing around right before we leave. This time around, I decided to make a pasta salad based off my mom’s version.

Ingredients:

1 box of tri-colored pasta
1 can of pitted black olives, sliced
1 package of cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 can of black beans, rinsed
6 mozzarella balls, halved
small jar of artichoke hearts, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 jar roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
Italian dressing (recipe below)

Ingredients for Italian dressing:

1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white wine or rice vinegar
1 1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil

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Roasted Beets with Tahini

There is a restaurant in Philadelphia called Zahav that serves modern Israeli food. I went there for my birthday last December, and am still thinking about their tasty hummus and absolutely fantastic salatim, a selection of 8 little salads that you scoop up with their house baked laffa. All of the salads were really delicious, but the pureed beet salad was by far the happiest surprise offered. So when my CSA share came with beets this time around, I knew exactly what I was going to make… or try to make at least. I basically made a hummus, substituting in roasted beets for the chickpeas. My version is probably not all that close, to the one served as Zahav but I’m still happy with the results.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of beets (mine came with 5)

2 tablespoons tahini

The juice and zest of 2 lemons

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Walnuts, for topping

To roast the beets, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Remove the tops, wash to remove all dirt, and arrange on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and add a generous amount of salt.

Cook for 40 minutes or until you can easily stick them with a fork. My beets were on the smaller side, so you may need to up the time to 1 hour.

Allow to cool completely. Remove the skin of the beets by rubbing them with a paper towel. This is surprisingly easy, I promise.

Roughly chop the beets.

Add the beets, tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper to a food processor.

Process until smooth.

Transfer to a serving dish and top with chopped walnuts. Serve with cucumbers, pita, broccoli, cauliflower, or anything else you’d like to dip in this lovely little dish.

If you’d prefer, you can add in a can of rinsed chickpeas to make a beet hummus. Another alternative would be to add some Green yogurt, to taste, to make a creamier version of this dish. Enjoy!

Sauteed Pea Tendrils

Pea tendrils (or pea shoots) are the leaves from a snow pea plant. They have a bit of a spinach-pea taste, delicate and very tasty. Before receiving them in my CSA share, I just thought they were used in a stir fry or as a topping. But these little guys are really delicious in a simple saute.

Ingredients:
Pea tendrils
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed and cut in half
Salt, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic cloves and cook for 2 minutes, until sizzling but not browned.

You can either remove the garlic, or keep it in there to add more garlicky flavor. Add the pea tendrils and salt to taste.

Saute for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted but still maintaining its shape. That’s it! So simple, so yummy.

Cilantro Lime Hummus

I can never have enough hummus, it is one of my favorite snacks (although I tend to eat so much of it, it’s not really a snack!) I’ve had hummus on the brain for a while now. Be Well Philly must have read my mind, because they posted this great Cilantro Lime hummus recipe that I just had to try. As a plus, cilantro came in my CSA share this week!

Ingredients:

1 garlic scape, roughly chopped (or 2 cloves garlic)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 14-oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
Juice and zest of 2 limes

Continue reading Cilantro Lime Hummus

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I think I’m on a hummus kick. Or maybe I’m feeling particularly lazy dinner-wise this week, and hummus is a quick and easy thing to make. Whatever the reason, it is hummus overload on this website. I have a good feeling no one is complaining though. One of the most appealing things about hummus is how versatile it is. Here is my version of roasted red pepper hummus.

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained

1/3 cup tahini

The juice and zest of 1 lemon juice

1 jar of roasted red peppers (about 3 peppers)

1 garlic scape, chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

For dipping:

Grape tomatoes

Pita bread

Cucumber

First, prepare your red peppers. Remove the peppers from the jar. Take two of the peppers and roughly chop. You will use these in the actual hummus. Finely chop the remaining red pepper as a topping for the hummus. Set the finely chopped red pepper aside.

Combine everything (chickpeas to salt and pepper) in a food processor.

Blend until smooth.

Top with some of the remaining red pepper. Serve with pita, cucumber slices, or tomatoes.

Roasted red pepper hummus is one of my favorite. It always ends up tasting so smooth and creamy, it makes me so happy. The tiny addition of cumin gives a light heat to the hummus which I really enjoy. If you’re not a fan, feel free to omit the cumin. I loved the scapes in this hummus. Raw minced garlic can sometimes be overbearing in hummus, so the subtlety of the scapes was perfect.

Lemon Broccoli

I’m not going to lie. Broccoli is not my favorite vegetable. I have a tendency to pass over it for more favored choices. But I received broccoli in my CSA half share this week, so I decided to give it another try. I used this recipe from Oxmoor House as a starting point, and adapted the recipe for my tastes.

Ingredients:

1 head broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Continue reading Lemon Broccoli

Orecchiette with Swiss Chard, Red Peppers and Goat Cheese

My CSA share came with Swiss chard this week. I wasn’t in the mood to do another leafy green side, so I looked for a recipe that incorporated the Swiss Chard within the main dish. I found this recipe in the Health section of the New York Times and thought it was worth a try.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of Swiss chard, stemmed and washed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 red bell peppers, finely diced

Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 garlic scapes, thinly sliced

Salt

1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram

1 box of orecchiette

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

To begin, boil a pot of water over high heat. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare your Swiss chard. Add ice water to a bowl. When the water boils, add salt and the Swiss chard.

Boil for 2 minutes and remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice water.

Reduce the heat of the leftover boiling water to a simmer. Drain the chard and squeeze the excess water out. Chop the Swiss chard and reserve.

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil and add the finely chopped peppers and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring often.

Bring the pot of water to a boil again. Add the pasta, cooking until al dente as directed on the box. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.

In the saute pan, add the garlic scapes and salt, stirring to combine.

When combined, add the chopped Swiss chard and marjoram.

Stir and lower the heat to warm. Add the 1/2 cup of pasta water and stir in the goat cheese.

Add the orecchiette to the mixture and serve.

This was a nice alternative to the normal pasta with tomato sauce. The orecchiette helped catch some of the Swiss chard, peppers, and goat cheese so definitely use this type of pasta or another kind that can catch the ingredients. This made so much pasta, it will also be my lunch tomorrow. I have a feeling this will be better the next time around!