2 great marinades

Ive used both of these marinades a few times over the past couple of weeks. They are really flavorful and most likely you have the ingredients in your pantry already (well, maybe except the cilantro).

Both of these are perfect to keep in your back pocket for those nights when you want to throw something together fast and easy.

Lime marinade for chicken

Juice of 1 lime
1 tbs honey
2 tbs olive oil
1 small can diced green chili's
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp salt & black pepper

* I like to add extra lime but thats just me

Zesty marinade for beef or chicken

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbs chopped cilantro
1-2 tbs chipotle chili sauce (from can)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder

* If you want more spice add a little extra chipotle

Whisk all ingredients together and pour in a Ziploc bag then add your meat. Let marinate in refrigerator for 20-30 min.

I know you wont be disappointed!

BBQ pizza: It's easy!!

I have heard about BBQ pizza but never tried it at home. Last week I saw that one of my favorite bloggers Sweet Paul posted a recipe and video about it so I decided to get off my butt and give it a go.

I like making pizza at home but usually go the easy route by buying dough at Trader Joe's. I don't know why I've been so lazy!!! Making dough at home is sooooo simple plus it tastes much much better then store bought.

Recipe:

Makes 2 pizzas
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 cups plain flour

Mix yeast and water in a bowl. Leave for 5 minutes and add honey, salt, oil and flour. Mix until you have a smooth dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for at least 1 hour. Get your grill going, remember it needs to be really hot!

Here is my dough after it has been left to sit for about 1 hour .

Divide your dough in two and place it on well greased parchment paper.

Press it out using your fingers and coat it with a layer of olive oil (coating with olive oil is an important step. It prevents dough from sticking to your hands, parchment and the grill)


Get your toppings all ready- I used prosciutto, goat cheese, pesto, heirloom tomato and basil. You can use anything you want. Have fun with it!

Once your grill is nice and hot flip the paper upside down on grill and slowly remove the paper. Let the pizza cook for 3 minutes.


Flip dough over, place toppings on and let grill for another 3 min or so. Mine got a little charred but that's OK. It added to the flavor. Once the dough seemed cooked I turned the heat off to allow cheese to melt. Remove from grill, cut and serve. YUM!

I really loved this pizza and had a good time making it.

Thanks to Sweet Paul for the great recipe. If you don't follow his blog, you should!! Hes a food stylist, crafter and cook. He has some really amazing projects, recipes and drool worthy food photography. If he lived in San Francisco I might force him to be my friend. Hes so crafty!!

Tri tip w/ fresh corn salad and scallion cheddar cornbread

I was down in Palo Alto yesterday and stopped by Schaubs Meat and Poultry which is one of my favorite little butcher shops. They sell this tri tip called "Freds Steak" and it is ohhhhh sooo good! I have no idea what the secret marinade is but its tasty. After picking up some Freds Steak I stopped over at the produce stand next door and got some fresh white corn.

Ive been wanting to duplicate a corn salad I had at Karens Bakery Cafe in Folsom last week while out to lunch with my girl Kerry. It was so flipping good. I cant say my corn salad turned out as good as Karens but it wasn't bad. I need to tweak it a bit....if anyone can get me the recipe from Karens Bakery I will love you forever!





This dinner was super easy...not much cooking involved other than throwing tri tip in oven (375 for 35 min) and cooking corn and bread. Perfect for a weeknight meal.

You don't need to actually have "Fred Steak" to make this dinner. Any tri tip with your favorite marinade will do.


Corn Salad:

4 ears white corn (boil in water for 10 min, cut corn off cob and refrigerate)
2 tomato (diced)
1 cucumber (diced)
Salt & Pepper
Dash of balsamic

After corn has been cut off cob and cooled toss all ingredients together. Add balsamic to taste.

Corn bread:

I use the Marie Calendars brand mix. Its really good.

Toss in diced scallions and enough shredded cheese to suit your liking (I use about 1/2 cup). Bake according to package directions.

Nutty Asian chicken over noodles

Here is yet another easy weeknight dinner using the leftover chipotle-honey mustard chicken. So far that's 3 recipes its been incorporated into. Woohoo! Im really bad at planning ahead when it comes to dinner so I love these Robin Miller recipes that show me how to stretch 1 meal into several. My life is getting easier by the minute.

If you are thinking that using the chipotle chicken several times in 1 week is going to be a bit repetitive...think again, it wasn't at all. All 3 of the recipes I used are so different that you couldn't even tell it was actually leftovers. Score!!

Recipe from Robin Rescues Dinner by Robin Miller


Total time: 15min
Serves 4

8oz cellophane noodles (found in Asian section at supermarket)
1 cup frozen green peas
1 1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tbs ponzu* sauce or reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
4 cooked chicken breasts cut into strips (I used 3 leftover chipotle-honey mustard chicken breasts)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped roasted cashews
1/3 cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts

Soak cellophane noodles and frozen green peas in enough hot water to cover for 10 min until noodles are soft and peas defrosted. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, whisk together chicken broth, peanut butter, ponzu/soy sauce, and sesame oil. Set pan over med heat and simmer. ( I let simmer for about 10 min until it became a little thicker). Remove from heat.

Pile noodles and peas in bowl, arrange sliced chicken on top (Note: I didn't even heat up chicken. Just used it cold). Top with cilantro, cashews and macadamia nuts. Spoon peanut sauce over top. Enjoy!!!

*Ponzu sauce is a citrus flavored soy sauce. Can be found in most supermarkets.

Chicken and sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions

Remember those chipotle-honey mustard chicken breasts I made the other day? By making a few extra you can use the leftovers for this super duper fast dinner.

This is another recipe from Robin to the Rescue by Robin Miller (she is secretly my new BFF even though she doesn't know it yet).

Pretty lettuce, eh? Its from our garden!!

Total time: 15-20min

Makes 4 sandwiches

2 tbs olive oil

2 medium red bell peppers, cut into strips (I used 1 red and 1 green)

1 cup onion sliced into half moons

Salt & Pepper

1lb chicken breast, cut into cubes (I used 3 leftover chipotle-honey mustard chicken breasts)

1 cup diced precooked spicy sausage (I used Aidells andouille)

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

4 Hoagie rolls

Heat 1 tbs oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and onions. Cook until soft and slightly caramelized. About 5 min. Season with salt and pepper and remove from pan.

Heat remaining oil in same skillet over med-high heat. Add the chicken (if using leftover chipotle chicken you don't need to cook it again, simply reheat in pan). Add the precooked sausage to pan with chicken until warmed through. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for 1 min.

Toast hoagie rolls if desired. Using tongs pile on chicken mixture then top with onion and peppers. Enjoy!

Roast beef and two-chile grilled cheese (can be made veggie too!)

This was a recipe I sampled at the Sunset Celebration Weekend. It was so good that I had to make it immediately. You could easily make this vegetarian by substituting a big 'ol slice of heirloom tomato for roast beef.

{Recipe from Sunset Kitchens}



Makes 4 sandwiches
15 min

1/4 c mayonnaise
1 tbs canned chipotle chile (minced)
4 onion rolls or fresh kaiser rolls
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 lb pepper jack cheese
1/2 lb sliced roast beef (or heirloom tomato for veggie option)
1 small can mild green chili. Seeded and split in half.

1. Combine mayo and minced chipotle chili in small bowl.


2. Preheat panini press or grill pan. Brush outsides of rolls with olive oil. Spread rolls with chipotle mayo then top with 2 slices cheese, 2-3 slices roast beef (or thick tomato slice), 1 green chili and 2 more cheese slices.


3. Place in panini press or in grill pan (I don't have a panini press so I used a pie plate as a weight on top of sandwiches while they cooked). Grill until cheese is melted. Slice in half and serve.

Next up...I want to tell you about all the great things I saw and learned at Sunset Celebration!