mo'rockin chicken + veg couscous

When I met Chris, I was NOT an adventurous eater. I stuck to chicken cutlets, pasta dishes, and burgers. When we starting dating, he forced me to try new things and I'm so glad that he did. 

We LOVE vacationing in Disney World, we spend majority of our time in Epcot, traveling from country to country, sipping on wine and beers from around the world and trying new foods from Mexico, Japan and Morocco. I'm sure it's not close the to real thing, but when you're there it seems so real, not to mention it's super convenient to continent hop that way! Anyway, we tried Moroccan food for the first time there, and we've been hunting for a similar plate up here. 

I found it... it's at Savory Spice Shop and Dreyer's. 

While at the Food Demo a few weeks ago, I picked up one of Savory Spice Shop's RECIPES TO GO. They come in these little packs with all the spices that you need. I grabbed the Moroccan Chicken Skewers with Herb Sauce. All I needed to add was the chicken, mint and cilantro. Chris took one bite and immediately exclaimed, "This is the best dinner you've ever made." Not only is this delicious  but it's SO EASY! The measuring is done for you and all of your ingredients are in front of you ready to sing! I added the veggie couscous because I had all of these beautiful veggies! 

Moroccan Chicken Skewers with Herb Sauce + Veggie Couscous 

Ingredients for chicken:

• 3 Tbsp. Tan-Tan Moroccan Seasoning
• 3 x boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
• 5 x skewers (8"), soak for 1 hour if wooden

•  Herb sauce:

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup fresh spearmint leaves
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 1/2 tsp. honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Cous-Cous:

Pick and Choose-

1 Box of Plain Cous-Cous

Summer Squash

Carrots 

Onion 

Eggplant

Mushroom

Greens

Tomatoes 

Olive Oil 

Salt + Pepper 

Garlic 

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Put cubed chicken in a bowl and toss with Tan-Tan Moroccan Seasoning to coat. Place the chicken on the skewers and lay on the grill. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, turning often so that the spices don’t burn. For the herb sauce, add the fresh herbs, spices, lime juice, and honey to a blender carafe. Blend to combine and slowly add the olive oil with the motor running. Once combined, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Slice and dice veggies as you wish, coat in olive oil & fresh chopped garlic, salt and pepper, roast in the oven for about 45 min. at 400 degrees. Cook the couscous according to package, and then mix it allllll together.

*Please note, it was pouring that day, so I didn't grill...

Get it done.. 

                                 

Pesto Change-o!

I'm going camping this weekend! Hooray! 

Don't get too excited, it's more like glamping, we have a cabin....with a ceiling fan... 

Growing up my Grandfather and Father took my brother, sister and I camping every summer. We LOVED it. My Grandfather would share stories about how he wrestled a bear, my brother would believe him, I would swing from a rope that was attached to this gigantic tree that swung over a river. Camping is simplicity at its finest. If you ask my Dad to explain camping he says, "You wake up, make breakfast, clean up and by the time you're done with that you make lunch, you clean up, play cards, and then you have to prep and make dinner before the sun goes down. Next you put everything in the car so the bears don't find us." Camping Coffee is also a family favorite, it takes about 2 hours to make, but it's the best coffee you'll ever have. It's pretty much the only reason my husband tolerates camping.  

My basil this week was just stunning and I came home tonight from that AWESOME cooking demo, inspired to make a lil somthin for camping.

Basil Pesto Cream Cheese Dip

The pesto is a simple recipe from Food Network.

Ingredients

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese

Directions

Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.

If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and stir in cheese

When all is said and done, add 1 8oz. package of Cream Cheese and add some whole pine nuts, and ta-da...
You have a Pesto Cream Cheese Dip!
It's perfect for Pita Chips, Pizza Dough, Peppers, Carrots, any dippers! 

 

Zucchini Bread

I feel that Sweet Brown herself said it best, 

I know she was taking about a fire, but she could have very well been referencing Zucchini Bread. 

If you don't know who Sweet Brown is you're in for a treat. 

Sweet Brown Original

Sweet Brown Remix

I have never before, and never will again sift 3 cups of flour. Nor am I grating 3 cups of zucchini. I will leave baking up to adorable pastry chefs and my sister in-law. As much as I love science, (teaching science is my fav!), it's too specific for me, there are too many rules in baking.

It's tasty. I'm just mad at it because it was more work than I was looking for.

 I'll get over it. 

3 cups all-purpose flour

 1 teaspoon salt

 1 teaspoon baking soda

 1 teaspoon baking powder

 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used baking spice from Savory Spice Shop Instead)

 3 eggs

 1 cup vegetable oil

 2 1/4 cups white sugar

 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

 2 cups grated zucchini

 1 cup of walnuts 

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Hey Hey Sorbet!

Happy Monday! Is there such a thing?...There is if you're a teacher in July! =)

As I am so grateful that the extreme heat has gone, it's still a bit humid for me personally. So, here I am with a humid day and a Musk Melon. 

Not too long ago I found myself with great company at Babbo in the city. After some amazing pasta, some vino, and a few good belly laughs. We finished the meal with a delicious dessert, I will call it the sorbet/gelato.....EXTRAVAGANZA. Each couple shared a tasting plate filled with 7 different gelatos and sorbets. I have flashbacks of, apple sorbet, chocolate hazelnut gelato, passion fruit sorbet, and beautiful colors on the plate. While we were eating I remember stating out loud and super awkwardly, "This is so much fun!" The entire night was fun (especially after our Washington Square stroll), but in that moment I was really mostly talking about the goods. I'm sure Mr. Batali was back there creating these to order himself, and I wanted to try and re-create that dreamy sorbet. 

Come to find out, just like everything else I make, it was REALLY REALLY REALLY easy. 

For this recipe you will need: 

1 Musk Mellon (remove the seeds)

2 Cups of Chopped Strawberries

1/3 cup of Sugar or Substitute Sweetener 

First chop up that sweet, ripe, melon, do the same with the strawberries.

Next, put it all in the blender or food processor. 

Then, hit liquefy button. 

Finally, let it set in the fridge for about 3 hours. 

I poured them in to 3 smaller separate containers. 

Enjoy... 

 

Ummm... nice scarf Mario...

Fancy Butter

                                                     

Except it is real butter Fabio....compound butter.

When I was a kid, it wasn't officially summer until Dreyer's had corn. My mother would go to her beloved Dryer's farm everyday and pick up enough corn to feed the neighborhood. My Mimi (grandmother) would come over and help me husk...because I hate husking corn. I still hate it, but today I would give ANYTHING to have one more husking session with my Mimi. 

This was way too easy NOT to make. Not only did Dreyer's give me gorgeous corn, but Savory Spice Shop gave us that awesome Paremesan Pesto spice pack. I saw the recipe in the Gazzette and had to try.

You'll need:

 4 Tbsp. of room temperature butter. 

1 Tbsp. of Parmesan Pesto

As much corn as you can eat.

Instructions: Mix first 2 ingredients. Spread it on the corn. Enjoy!

When you've completed phase 1 and phase 2, which are VERY complicated....you have a really tasty compound butter and corn that was already amazing is now unbelievably good!I feel as if someone came over for dinner and saw my homemade compound butter they would think, "Oh! How fancy! I can't believe she took the time to do that!" But really it's the easiest thing ever soooooo the joke's on them.

 Make it happen...

-Laura

Eggplant & Sausage Pizza

Hey Vegheads, 

I just spent the week in the Finger Lakes drinking wine and eating some really yummy food, but yesterday we were catapulted back in to reality. After about 5 hours in the car we pulled in to the driveway I realized I only had a half hour to pick up my Farm box! I rushed over and met the lovely Dawn, picked a Purple Sage herb plant and went on my merry way. I was too tired to cook, and it was wayyyyy too hot, but the Eggplant was looking at me and after all I am the summer chef and it's hot in the summer...all the time. I had no excuses. So I channeled the winter within and thought of a snowy night in February when some friends of ours took us to Bivio in Little Falls. They have this beautiful custom pizza oven and I ate this ridiculous Eggplant and Sausage Pizza. Even though your oven will be on high, your pizza eaters will say, "cool!" ... no?.... it's still too freakin hot. 

For this pizza you will need: 
1 pizza dough from your local grocery store. 
1/2 can of Cento Pizza Sauce 
1 Medium Eggplant 
4 links of Italian Sausage 2 Sweet, 2 Hot (You can mix and match or use what you like)
1 Package of Part-Skim Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil 
1/2 cup of flour for rolling out the dough 
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Basil 

First I chop up the eggplant, drizzle it with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over it, season it with salt pepper and garlic powder to taste and roast it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. 

While the Eggplant is roasting... 

Take the sausage out of the casing and brown the crumbles over medium/high heat.Should take about 10 minutes.
Roll out your room tempertaure dough using flour. 
Place on baking sheet or pizza stone.
Sauce the dough with about 1/2 can of Cento Pizza Sauce. 
Season sauce with a layer of garlic powder (we love it). 

Once the Eggplant and Sausage is done...

Go back and raise your oven temp to 475. Warning! Your oven may be different. My husband and I have tested our oven with many pizza's and we've found that this temperature works for us. Make a bunch of pizza's and get to know your oven... 

Spread about 1/4 of the Eggplant on top of the sauce. 
Add the full bag of cheese. 
Add remainder of Eggplant and top off with sausage. 
Salt, Pepper, Basil to taste. 

Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes. Make sure your pizza is on the center rack  so that the center gets all crispy. 

This pizza is hearty and spicy, but then the Eggplant is creamy and the cheese is gooey! It's crunchy and just delicious. You really can have it all!

Coming soon... a guest spot from the Summer Sommelier (Chris, my hubs)!

Thanks for reading, eat your veggies=)

-Laura

Pickle Me

Let's celebrate 627 blog hits with pickles! Mom... did you read my blog 627 times? 

I'm not going to lie to you. I loathe cucumbers. But there is a very good reason for it. On my 8th birthday we were at the Ground Round and my family and I were having the best night ever. I'm pretty sure a Julia Roberts movie was playing on the wall and I specifically remember my chicken fingers being extra crispy and I can still look down and see my powder blue birthday dress; 1993 was going to be my year. My vegetarian of a little sister quickly ruined EVERYTHING after she got cucumber sick all over the table. I haven't eaten one since, and I'm sorry if I just ruined them for you. I still remember her walking to the car from the Ground Round in my younger brother's SpiderMan pajama's and her "high heels." While I'm laughing now, I'm still not eating cucumbers. 

I will eat pickles, and I did pickle today. When I saw the pickles in my Farm Box this week I knew what I had to do. 

While educating myself on pickling veggies, I found this video on about.com. How to Pickle...Warning: This guy is so lame. Even though this man is zero fun to watch, it's so simple to follow. 

Take the guessing out and sanitize the mason jar. I did, really easy to do and I now feel like Botulism and I are in a good place. 

My Pickles: 

2 cups of distilled white vinegar 
1 cup of water 
4.4 oz. of salt. (I measured this in oz. since the brine recipe from about.com called for 3/4 of a cup of salt, I just used my food scale). 
Pickling Spice (as much or as little as you like! I bought the McCormick brand and used about 2 Tbsp.) 
2 cloves of garlic
2 pickles from your Dreyer Fram Fresh Box 

Boil the liquid and the salt until the salt dissolves. 

Add hot mixture to pickles and spices in jar.

Put in fridge for 2 weeks. 

Here's to hoping I've got great pickles in two weeks. These pickles could very well be a disaster, but that's what this is all about isn't it?

Anyone care to share their pickling adventures? 

-Laura 

Farm Booze

My Mom told me I needed to be more personal on my blog. Who does she think she is Susie Fogelson? This is not Next Food Network Star mother....

At the end of the school year my fellow teacher friends and I went out for happy hour after spending hours packing up our rooms and grading a billion tests. Our drinks took FOREVER to get to our table and after tons of whining they arrived. Even though it took approximately 45 minutes there it was...my mojito and everything was oooookkaaayyyy! 

Dreyer farms gave us mint and limes this week, and they were so beautiful I had to use them! I could not think of a better way  to use these ingredients but in a spectacular cocktail. 

Blueberry Mojitos

 (or Bro-jitos as my brother's college roommates called them because they couldn't stop drinking them!)

You will need: 

24 oz. of Seltzer or Club Soda 

Juice of 4 Limes (I used as much fresh as I could get and then use a little bottled) 

12 oz. of White Rum (I used Bicardi...heeeyyyy)

1 cup of Blueberries 

1 healthy bunch of fresh Mint, I would aim for about 20-30 mint leaves, depending on your mint preferences.

1/4 cup of Sugar 

The fresh blueberries were simply perfect this week. I smooshed (that is the technical term), in my mortar & pestle before adding them to the drink. I did leave some whole for fun.  

First add mint leaves and sugar to  your pitcher. I used the end of a wooden spoon to muddle the mint and sugar. Add the lime juice, rum and blueberry smoosh. Since I was making a pitcher of this I added the seltzer to the rum mixture but if you want to make them to order you're supposed to pour ice and club soda into two tall glasses and then pour in rum mixture and give it a gentile stir.

The best part about homemade cocktails is that you can make everything to taste. Is it not sweet enough for you? Add more sugar love. Would you like a stronger buzz? Add more rum. 

Hope everyone had a beautiful 4th of July! 

Aaaannnnd a very happy birthday to this guy. My Dad. <3 

- Laura 

 Dreyer Farm

*Dreyer Farm is not sponsoring this blog. 

How very Ina Garten of me....

I had a professor in college with the driest sense of humor I'd ever seen on a person. I'm still not sure if he had a very dry sense of humor or no sense of humor...anyway, one morning I walked in to my Theatre History 4 class wearing gold sparkle ballet flats. Professor Smith walked up the aisle and stopped at my chair, looked at my shoes and said, "ah, how vey Laura Byrne of you..." 

The other day I made baked peaches that would make Jeffrey Garten say "MmmmMmm..."  They are beautiful to look at, easy to make and since I used French Vanilla Ice Cream to top it off, I would now classify this as a classic french recipe. When I was done I thought...how very Ina Garten of me. I can't take all the credit for the idea, it was all from the fresh box.

For this FANTASTIC and simple (yet impressive) dessert you will need:

2 Peaches halved, pits removed

1 Tbsp. butter 

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. of Baking Spice from Savory Spice Shop in Westifeld, NJ. 

(if you don't have the baking spice you can make your own blend with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger.) 

French Vanilla Ice Cream...lots of it.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the peaches  cut-side up in a baking dish. Fill each peach cavity with a bit of butter, brown sugar, and a bit of baking spice. Pour enough water in the bottom of the pan to come about a half inch up the side of the pan. Bake about 40 minutes, until the flesh has softened and the tops are browned. Serve warm with toppings of your choice, but I highly recommend the FV Ice Cream. Serves 2, or 4 skinny people.

I hope you find your inner Ina this week. 

Make something yummy.

-Laura 

I'm sorry these pictures are so giant, I'm still trying to figure out the formatting on my iPad.

Pre-baked

 

Waiting for the ice cream.

So tasty.

Hot Dogs and French Firies...

Just kidding! Hot dogs and veggies is what we ate in my house tonight. 

Today I picked up my weekly Dreyer's Farm Fresh Box (Just the basics package).

This weeks produce includes:

Scallions, Tomatoes, Blueberries, Peaches, Rasberries, Golden Squash, Peppers, Limes, Mints, Pickles,   Spring Onions, and is week I chose the Bake Spice from Savory Spice Shop. Needless to say I am thrilled with this weeks options!

So we had some hotdogs for dinner, but the side dish was the real star. I made a Golden Squash, Potato and Onion Hash.

You will need: 

2 Golden Squash

1/2 Spring Onion 

10-12 Dutch Yellow Peewee Potatoes, or any other small roasting Potatoes

2 tsps. Olive Oil 

3 Garlic Cloves

Salt & Pepper to taste

First I chopped all the veg up, I quartered the potatoes and squash,minced the garlic, and sliced the onion.

Next, I sprayed a baking pan with some Pam Olive Oil Non-Stick Spray. 

Then, I put all the veg together, drizzled about 2 tsps. of Olive Oil, and seasoned with Salt and Pepper. 

Finally, bake it all together for about 30 minutes at 375* F.

Eat it up! It's so delicious, the potatoes browned so beautifully, the squash, onion and garlic were so sweet! It is definitely worth making again.

Colonel Mustard in the Kitchen with a Knife

See what I did here? My font is mustard... 

I'm not going to lie... I had to do some research about these Mustard Greens. I knew nothing about them, are they the same thing as collard greens? Are they something skinny people put in their green shakes? Who eats them anyway? As much as I consider myself a foodie, I try and stick to typical greens such as kale, spinach, Romain, and if we want to get a little crazy I'll even go for some swiss chard. Needless to say these mustard greens were going to be a stretch. 

Turns out these leaves have great health benefits. They originally made their way over from India, and eventually into southern kitchens during the time of slavery as a substitute for other greens. They are packed full of antioxidants, help fight cancer, aide with anti-inflammatory and lower cholesterol and have other cardiovascular benefits....who knew...  (now all of this research was done on the interwebs so it's definitely true.)

So now I'm looking for recipes and I come across one were the first ingredient is bacon, so naturally I decide to make this one... 

Ingredients
4 slices bacon, chopped
3 bunches mustard greens, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Coarse salt
2 cups chicken broth
Directions
In a large skillet over medium high heat brown bacon and render its fat. Add chopped greens to the pan in batches and turn until they wilt, then add more greens. When all of the greens are in the pan, add vinegar and cook a minute. Season greens with sugar and salt. Add chicken broth to the pan and cover. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer greens 15 to 20 minutes then serve.


Turns out it's from Ms. Rachel Ray herself, some days I love her, some days I don't, today I question her vinegar choices. 

I tasted the greens raw and they actually have this great peppery flavor to them. Too bad I braised the crap out of them with too much vinegar, otherwise this would have been great. It should also be noted I used turkey bacon.I suggest to cut back on the vinegar or perhaps substitute it with apple cider vinegar instead. Today I have failed as the mustard green queen, but there is always next week. Bottom line, this recipe needs tweaking, but the mustard greens have potential.

Here's to hoping my chicken marinade saves the day later. 

Eat on...

-Laura 

No more pencils, no more books!

I'm going to do my best to stay sane this summer as I find myself in a summer of transition. I'm a first grade teacher changing school districts, I'm a wife selling our home and I'm a dog Mom adjusting our new pup, but my favorite title of the summer is Chef. 

I love food,  I love to eat and I truly enjoy cooking (during the summer, during the school year I'm no fun). During the summer my husband and I join the local farm's CSA program. We pick up a fresh box of fruits and veggies every Tuesday. Most of the time there are ingredients in the box that I have never used before. I'm going to challenge myself in a "Chopped" fashion to use everything in the box. I will research recipes, try recipes from the farm, make up my own fancy recipes, and some weeks keep it simple on the grill. 

Dreyer Farms in Cranford, NJ has completely inspired my inner Summer Chef and my hope is to come out of this summer a better home cook with new techniques and a better handle on some of these fresh ingredients! 

Dreyer Farms
Savory Spice Shop

This Tuesday (June 25) we were given: 
Zucchini 
Cucumber 
Tomato
Blueberries 
Leeks 
Mustard Greens 
Basil 
Broccoli 
Lettuce 
Homestead Spice Pack from Savory Spice Shop in Westfield, NJ. 

My plans for today are to make my own pesto, eat fresh blueberries, find a recipe for a yummy cheese sauce for the broccoli and figure out these mustard greens! 

Stay cool.

-Laura