Some Summer recipes....

I have been hanging on to some recipes and keep saying "I will post them tomorrow" but don't ever really get to it! So here are a few of our recent summer favorites:

Kubideh Kabobs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground lamb or beef (I did a combo of ground beef and ground turkey)
  
• 1 onion, finely chopped (I also added about 1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Wood skewers soaked in water for about an hour to keep them from burning
  

Directions:
These are sooooo easy! I thought there would be more to it but they have so much flavor with very little work! Prepare grill or broiler. Combine meat with all other ingredients. After mixing put in fridge for 10-15 minutes. Roll meat into a ball about the size of a tennis ball and put onto a flat skewer. Compress and shape it like a cigar, about 5-7 inches long. Repeat with remaining meat and skewers. Now broil or grill for about 4-6 minutes each side. Be careful not to overcook! They aren't good if their dry. So easy and tasty ;)

For sides: I made whole wheat cous cous in my rice cooker and just added some chopped onion, chopped green pepper, and chopped seeded tomato with a little bit of olive oil. I also used one of my frozen back ups from trader joes: Sezshuan Green beans. These are so good and only take 5 minutes to cook.

Chicken in Tangy Escabeche of Carmelized Onions, Carrots & Jalapenos

So this one isn't too summery but we still like the recipe, and it's not too heavy for a summer dish.

Ingredients

• 2 Teas. dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 1 Teas freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teas allspice
• 1/2 teas salt
• 2 pounds bone in chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons canola or EVOO
• 1 large qhite onion cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 thick on diagonal
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and halved
• 1/4 cup vinegar, preferably cider vinegar
• 2-4 pickled jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

Directions:

Combine Oregano, pepper, allspice and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle half the mixture over the chicken. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook turning once until richly browned (3-4 min on each side) Transfer to plate, leaving as much oil behind in pan. Add onion and carrots to the pan. Stir often until onion is browned, about 7 min. Add garlic and stir until aromatic, about 1 min. Add remaining spice mixture, vinegar, jalapeños, and broth. Nestle the chicken in the onion mixture. Cover and simmer gently over medium low heat until chicken is just cooked through, about 12-20 minutes (depending on sizes of chicken. Serve chicken topped with onion mixture.

Sides: I just made some black beans and made some Mexican rice in my rice cooker with veggies in it.


Open-face sausage and pepper sandwiches
This is one of our favorites!

• 3 peppers (I used one green, red, and yellow) cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
• 2 Medium red onions cut into 1/2 inch wide wedges
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing
• 1 lb fresh Italian Chicken or Turkey sausage cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 long loaf Italian or French bread
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 teas. dried oregano
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Heat oven to 500 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with nonstick foil. Spread peppers and onions in one pan drizzle with 3 tbs vinaigrette and toss to coat. Place sausage in other pan, drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and toss to coat. Roast 10 minutes or until sausage is cooked through. Meanwhile split bread lengthwise, leaving 1 long side attached (like a hinge). Open loaf brush cut sides with olive oil then sprinkle with oregano and cheese. Remove both pans from oven. Toss peppers and onions and return to oven; place bread cut sides up on oven rack. Roast 5 minutes or until bread is lightly toasted and veggies are tender and slightly charred. Top bread with veggies and sausage. Cut loaf into quarters. Eat sandwich with fork and knife.

Sides: I have just added chips and fruit, or sometimes I will make baked sweet potato fries or just baked regular fries.


Chicken Parmesan
From Southern Living, another of our Favorites!
Again there isn't much "summery" about this dish, but it also is not too heavy for the summer heat.
Ingredients:

• 1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 skinned and boned chicken breasts
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Tomato Sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Combine breadcrumbs, flour, and ground red pepper in a small bowl, and set aside.

Place chicken between two sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten to 1/4-inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Dip 1 chicken breast in egg whites, and coat with breadcrumb mixture. Dip again in egg mixture, and coat again in breadcrumb mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken breast. Cook chicken in hot oil over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until done. Place chicken breasts in a single layer in a lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish. Top evenly with Tomato Sauce and cheeses. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until cheeses melt.

We usually serve this with a side salad. I either pour some sauce over the pasta or I mix the pasta with Olive Oil, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning.


I don't have any pictures of the next few:

Macadamia-Crusted Mahi Mahi with Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs mahi mahi fillets (4-6 filets)
• 1 1/2 cups Diced Macadamia nuts
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp fine sea salt

Salsa:

• 6 tbs olive oil
• 3 small garlic cloves minced
• 2 large shallots minced
• 2 large sweet red peppers minced
• 1 small green chili, seeded and minced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro minced
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 20 ox cans crushed pineapple drained
• 1 11 oz can mandarin oranges drained

Directions:
Salsa: Heat half of oil in skillet over medium high heat Add garlic, shallots, pepper, chili, and cilantro. Saute until vegetables begin to soften. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to simmer for approximately 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside.

Mahi mahi: Mix macadamia nuts with ginger in small flat bowl. Pat fish dry. Coat each piece of fish completely in remaining olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Roll fish in nut mixture coating entirely. Place fish fillets on sheet pain and bake 20-30 min until nuts are golden brown and fish is flaky. Serve with side of pineapple salsa. Salsa can be served cold or hot (we liked it cold).

Sides: Asparagus with lemon, Wasabi mashed potatoes
and Cheddar-green onion muffins
We've mixed and matched these sides with lots of other dishes and they are delicious.
Yum!

Our favorite burger recipe:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded colby or monteray jack cheese
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 (1 oz) envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teas. dried parsley
• 1 teas. dried basil
• 1 teas dried oregano
• 1/2 teas/ crushed dried rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat grill for high heat. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients. Form into 4 patties (these patties are relatively large you could probably make 6 smaller burgers out of this). Grill patties for 5 minutes on each side. Serve with your favorite fixens!

These burgers are really moist and flavorful, we love them! We usually serve them with baked garlic fries, roasted potatoes, or salad and fruit.

And last but not least our two favorite desserts thus far:

Blackberry oat crumb cake:
Ingredients:
Batter:

• 2 cups regular oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen blackberries, unthawed
• Cooking spray

Topping:

• 1/2 cup regular oats
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chilled butter, softened
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare batter, place oats in a food processor; process until finely ground (about 1 minute). Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to food processor; process until well blended. Add butter; pulse 5 times or until combined. Spoon mixture into a large bowl. Combine milk, egg substitute, and vanilla, stirring just until blended. Add to oat mixture, stirring to combine. Gently stir in blackberries. Pour mixture into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray (batter will be thin).
To prepare topping, combine 1/2 cup oats and remaining ingredients in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until lightly browned and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

This was so yummy! We serve it with whip cream or vanilla ice cream. The oats give it a really good texture (and its lighter than most crumb cakes).

And finally the cake I made for Lew's birthday:

Luscious Lemon Cheesecake

This cake was delicious! Lew loves cheesecake so I spent a while searching for the "right one" and this one was so tasty. I substituted 2 packages of reduced fat cream cheese and replaced the sour cream with reduced fat to lighten it up a little and you couldn't tell at all.


Whew, that's all for our summer cooking for now. Next time I won't wait so long to post them! I am still looking for some new summer recipes...I look forward to checking those out on your blogs, ladies ;)