Grilled Foil Pack Pacific Cod with Summer Veggies

Grilled Foil Pack Pacific Cod and Veggies

I do think I’ve run out of things to say about not posting new recipes recently, so why don’t I just cut to the chase. My new taco cart adventure is successful, YAY!

Here is a post from FB from one of my new (and very excited) customers, lol. I figure it’s OK to post it to the world since this Facebook page is a public page.

Austin Street Tacos Happy Customer

And yes, I cook for the fam quite frequently, but simply forget to snap a photo or even think to write a post about it. This recipe, however, I remembered. This took less than a half hour max to prep and cook on the grill. The ONLY downfall with it is I FORGOT THE RED ONIONS! I had full intentions of slicing some red onion real thin to add to this, but then my seester from Texas called all excited about a new job she just landed, and I was basing my recipe off one I had just brought up on my phone, and well, you know…

Either way, this was such a fantastic summer meal to enjoy on our deck. I hope you enjoy it too.

This recipe adapts handily to any number of mouths you are feeding, adjust accordingly. The one below is for two and just base the amount of vegetables on how hungry you are (or how big your foil sheets are). If you can, use the bounty from your vegetable garden or head to the farmer’s market for the veggies!

Grilled Foil Pack Pacific Cod and Veggies
Adapted from Serious Eats

2 6-ounce Pacific cod filets, or other mild white fish
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
Zucchini, cut into thin rounds
Yellow summer squash, cut into thin rounds
Thin-sliced red onion
Sliced tomato
Crushed red pepper flakes
Olive oil, for drizzling
Dry white wine, for splashing
Thin lemon slices
Sprigs of fresh lemon thyme (or regular)

Preheat the grill (or oven) to 450 degrees. Lay out sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil for each person. Season the fish with salt and pepper and place a piece of fish on each one. Arrange the vegetables around the fish, top with lemon slices, then sprinkle with red chile flakes and perhaps a bit more pepper if you like. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over all, and splash a bit of wine over it too. Top each packet with a fresh lemon thyme sprig.

Wrap the foil around everything, leaving some head space for steaming, and seal completely. Set packets on the preheated grill (or in oven) and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of fish.

Remove and CAREFULLY open (it will be steamy hot) to check fish. If done, serve immediately or re-cover and cook a tad more. I chose to also serve some mashed potatoes, but pasta or rice would be great too.

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Drunken Shrimp with Spaghetti and Peppers

Drunken Shrimp with Spaghetti and Peppers

When I saw this recipe come up in my reader board last week, I knew this was exactly what I would be making for dinner. Thank you so much Marisa for the inspiration and a new favorite shrimp and pasta dish!

We’ve been on a huge shrimp kick lately in this house, largely because we’ve scored some great deals on shrimp lately and also because the teenage daughter does not like shrimp and has been nearly non-existent for dinners at home as of late. That’s bonus for hubs and I because that means shrimp for dinner!

We already had most everything on hand already so all I had to do was buy a yellow pepper to pretty it up and a fifth of brandy. Don’t skip the wine and brandy if you can tolerate alcohol, as both add such a unique flavor to the dish! Otherwise you can sub a little chicken broth and maybe a splash of vinegar for some zing.

This will be a meal I plan on making often, and once you try it I think you’d agree! This serves two, so double or triple if feeding more.

Drunken Shrimp with Spaghetti and Peppers
Adapted from Spaghettoni with Shrimp & Peppers by Marisa’s Italian Kitchen

1/2 pound raw shrimp
Large squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Ground pepper and Mrs. Dash or salt, to taste
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/8 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1/2 cup sliced red pepper
1/2 cup yellow or orange pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
A couple fresh basil leaves, chopped
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Additional ground pepper and Mrs. Dash or salt, to taste
1/4 cup white wine
1/8 cup brandy
1 tablespoon butter
4 ounces dried spaghetti
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Chopped parsley, for serving

Shrimps!

Season the shrimp with lemon juice and ground pepper and Mrs. Dash, or salt, to taste. Quickly sauté in a large skillet with the half tablespoon of butter until just pink. The shrimp will cook a little more later. Remove from pan and set aside

Set a pot of water for the spaghetti to boil on the stove. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in the same large skillet and cook the red onion and peppers for about 5 minutes.

Medley of Peppers and Onions

Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, basil, red pepper flakes and additional seasonings, to taste. Cook for several more minutes, then add in the white wine, brandy and the butter. Stir to combine, then let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the reserved shrimp in the last few minutes of simmering time.

Shrimp and Pepper Sauce Ready for Pasta

Your pasta water should be boiling while you let the sauce simmer, so add the pasta and cook according to package directions. When done, drain, and divide the pasta into bowls or on plates. Pour the shrimp sauce over the pasta and serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Serve with a side salad.  (I totally spaced on adding the Parmesan before shooting the photos, but I did grate some over it!)

Drunken Shrimp with Spaghetti and Peppers2

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Greek Rotisserie Chicken Wraps

Greek Rotisserie Chicken Wraps

When it’s hot outside, you’re tired of grilling, but want something quick and easy, these Greek Rotisserie Chicken Wraps are just the ticket! My family eats only half a rotisserie chicken for dinner, and when I was faced with the leftover half the next day I wracked my brain what to do with it. Then I remembered I had a Greek grilled chicken pocket bread recipe that would work, and I wouldn’t even have to grill the chicken! We always have flour tortillas on hand, so chicken wraps it would be! This was a wonderful light dinner to eat on our back deck on a warm week-day night. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Chicken Wrap Ingredients

Greek Rotisserie Chicken Wraps

 Tzatziki with Dill
1 cup Greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh dill
1/2 English cucumber, peeled and finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
Small amount of ground sea salt
Ground black pepper, to taste

 For the Wraps
Flour tortillas
Thinly sliced peeled English cucumber
Sliced rotisserie chicken
Diced tomato
Thinly sliced red onion
Tzatziki with Dill

Greek Chicken Wrap Ready to Roll Up

Prepare the tzatziki by blending all the ingredients in a bowl. Set aside or refrigerate if not using right away.

Slice and dice the vegetables for the wraps and place in separate bowls/containers. Dry-heat the tortillas in a skillet for about 30-seconds each side to make them more pliable. Place tortilla on a plate, add the wrap ingredients to taste, then tightly roll up. Easy Peasy!

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Greek-Marinated Chicken and Veggie Kabobs

Greek-Marinated Chicken and Veggie Kabobs

Grilling season is my favorite time of the year! OK, maybe tied with soup season. But when it’s hot out, I love grilling every night. The kitchen doesn’t get hot, and it’s always easy clean up!

I marinated some chicken today in Greek seasonings, sliced up some veggies, skewered the heck out of them, then slapped them on the grill. A couple of turns later, well, it’s dinner time on the deck!

I wanted to serve this with rice, but hubby said he wanted potatoes. So I compromised and cooked pasta with herbs instead, HA! I hope you enjoy this simple summer dinner.

Greek-Marinated Chicken and Veggie Kabobs

3/4 pound boneless chicken (breasts or thighs)
Sliced or whole veggies of choice, in uniform size
1/2 large lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon fresh minced oregano
Ground black pepper, to taste

Prepping the Marinade and Chicken

Cut the chicken into uniform chunks, about a half-inch in width/height. Prep all your veggies and keep cool, if needed. In a small glass bowl, add the lemon juice, garlic, yogurt, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, minced oregano, and ground black pepper. Whisk until smooth and completely blended. Pour 3/4 of the marinade over the chicken in a quart zip-top/lock baggie and add the chicken and squish around until covered. Refrigerate for at least one hour or up to three.

Chicken and Veggies Ready to Grill

Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the remaining marinade and whisk until smooth again and refrigerate. This will be used for your veggies. After the chicken is done marinating (about 45 minutes before you want to eat), skewer the chicken and veggies, in any combination you want and place on a large baking tray. I used sliced squash, zucchini, red onion, and cherry and grape tomatoes, but really you can use any vegetables that you want. Brush the remaining marinade over the veggies on all sides.

Grilling the Kabobs

Place skewers on the grill, and cook for about 10 minutes on each side, flipping once halfway through the cooking time. Depending on the shape of your chicken, you might have to do quarter-turn flips. Remove from grill and place on tray and cover with foil for a few minutes. We served this with pasta, but you could also do rice or potatoes. Just time your cooking of that side accordingly with this, OR just eat lots of chicken and veggies! Enjoy!

p.s. (A huge Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! My husband will be watching the U.S. Open, I’ll make him my Huevos Motuleños for brunch, then we’ll head to a friend’s house for a barbecue later on this fine, sunny  day. I hope everyone else enjoys their day, no matter who you are!)

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Spicy Canned Tuna Ceviche

Spicy Canned Tuna Ceviche

I planned on making this for my Saturday lunch, but all sorts of errands got in the way. After a two and a half hour shopping binge trip at three stores, it was time to pick up my 16-year-old daughter from her 4-hour SkidCar course at noon (which I begrudgingly got up at 7:30 am on a weekend to take her to it). I had bought all the ingredients for this recipe, in addition to restocking our refrigerator with staples. Our freezer in the fridge went KAPUT a couple of weeks ago, and then the refrigerator side slowly went downhill until it barely kept milk cold enough to drink. We’d been “cooler camping” at our house for the last few days until our new fridge arrived and had to toss out a bunch of stuff. Thank goodness we have a chest freezer in the garage, as I would have been heartbroken to lose the rest of our quarter cow we bought last fall. Nonetheless, after all that shopping I didn’t have time to make this, let alone get the groceries out of the car before I had to pick her up! So we stopped at a local fresh Mexican food joint on the way home and I had a taco and she had a burrito.

For dinner last night, I made my staple summer-time grilled tortilla pizza! I marinated then grilled the chicken, tossed the tortilla on the grill, added pesto, artichoke hearts, the chicken, mozzarella and fresh basil from my herb garden.

Fresh Basil in Herb Garden

I made this and other tortillas pizzas all last summer. If you want the recipes, click here —> Grilled Tortilla Pizzas.

Fresh Grilled Chicken, Artichoke and Pesto Tortilla Pizza

p.s. You are asking yourself, what is a SkidCar course? It’s an amazing driving course using a special car and hydraulics to teach someone how to drive on ice and snow (or how to get out of a skid on any surface), even if there is no snow on the ground! My daughter will get a 30% discount on insurance now, we checked with our company. Win-win, and I’ll feel more secure now when the snow flies again in the winter with her driving skills. I arrived about 5 minutes early and got to see my daughter go into several “skids” and safely recover from them! For information on that course (not available in all areas) click here —> SkidCar course).

And yes, I made this great lunch today, finally. It was every bit as delicious as I expected it to be, and my husband said he really like it a lot! Now on to the recipe!

Spicy Canned Tuna Ceviche
Credit for this goes to Gina for Canned Tuna Ceviche at Skinnytaste.com

2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 to 1 1/2 limes, juiced (about 1/8 cup)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 can chunk white albacore tuna packed in water, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)
1/2 to 1 jalapeño, deseeded and minced
1 medium seeded plum tomato, finely diced
Dash of Sriracha sauce (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Romaine lettuce leaves, for serving
Sliced avocado, for garnish
Tortilla chips, for garnish

Fresh Ceviche Ingredients

In a medium bowl, combine the red onion, lime juice, and olive oil. To that, add the tuna, cilantro, jalapeño, tomato, and Sriracha, if using. Taste and add salt, pepper, and more lime juice, if needed.

Ceviche Ready to Chill

Gosh I’m a messy cook! Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 20 minutes. Serve on a bed of romaine lettuce leaves garnished with slices of avocado and tortilla chips. A wonderful light summer lunch salad!

Spicy Canned Tuna Ceviche

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One-Pot Roasted Chicken with Spinach and Artichokes

One-Pot Roasted Chicken with Spinach and Artichokes

Well it’s about time I have a new recipe for you! I’ve been cooking all week, but cooked some of my regulars in rotation, including a nice big batch of Inside-Out Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup and the family-favorite Garlicky Parmesan Chicken Tenders.

Today I bring you an easy one-pot meal loaded with some delicious roasted vegetables. The original recipe didn’t have any lemon or crushed red pepper flakes in it, but whenever I cook with spinach, those two ingredients sing to me! And lemon and artichoke? Why YES! I got a neutral rating from the family — but in my defense (and theirs) — when I plated dinner, both said they weren’t very hungry. They’ve both been fighting off the crud, it seems. But I found this very tasty!

One-Pot Roasted Chicken with Spinach and Artichokes
Adapted from Baked Chicken with Spinach and Artichokes at Diethood.com

1 pound chicken pieces, cut up if large
Fresh ground pepper and salt or Mrs. Dash, to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 large carrots, sliced into thin rounds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 14-ounce can quartered artichokes, rinsed and drained
1 8-ounce bag spinach
A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 large lemon wedges
3/4 cup chicken broth

Sliced Carrots and Onion

Preheat oven to 425. Meanwhile prep the chicken and veggies. Season chicken with pepper and salt or Mrs. Dash. The chicken can be boneless and/or skinless or not, but if the pieces are large be sure to cut them smaller.

Heat butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the chicken in the Dutch oven on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes each side, depending on thickness. Remove from the pot and set aside, leaving the oil in the skillet.

Browning the Chicken

Reduce heat to medium, and add the onions and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with more spices if needed. At this point, add the artichokes and cook about another 5 minutes until the vegetables are almost tender, again stirring occasionally.

Sauteing the Veggies

Add the minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and half the spinach. Squeeze one lemon wedge over the spinach and stir around until reduced a bit. Add the rest of the spinach and squeeze the other lemon wedge over it. Continue to cook until all the spinach wilts, stirring occasionally.

Spinach Wilted with Veggies

Remove from heat, add the broth, and nestle the chicken around the vegetables. Place in the oven uncovered and bake for 18 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. In the last 5 minutes, bump the heat to broil to finish the roasting. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Serve over rice or noodles, if desired.

Chicken Ready to Finish in Oven

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Greek Chicken Pocket Sandwiches with Tzatziki and Cole Slaw

Greek Chicken Pocket Sandwiches with Tzatziki and Cole Slaw

Oh my goodness, it’s been a week since my last post but this time you get a FOUR-FER! Yep, four recipes in this post. And, I think I may have found my new favorite sandwich! We had lunch two weekends ago at our annual downtown Summer Fest, where you get to peruse local artist’s crafts and maybe stop for a bite to at at local vendor’s food trucks. It was a really hot day so decided on a Mediterranean Chicken Wrap. It was quite delicious and figured I could make them myself.

And I did! Except I didn’t use regular flatbread, I used flatbread pocket bread, which is like a Pita Pocket except now it’s been renamed to the fancier Flatbread Pocket Bread and made with whole grain wheat, but really, who cares, right? Because it all holds the fillings the same and it’s all good! So light, so refreshing. And the fam gave it two thumbs up. In fact, we liked it so much I made it again last night. Now that’s telling you how good this is. My hubby made a fabulous cole slaw to go with it last night too with the other half of the English cucumber, which rounded this meal out perfectly. The list of ingredients below looks long with four recipes and such, but it’s not, since you use most of the same ingredients in them.

Greek Chicken

3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon of crushed dried oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound chicken breast, sliced in half length-wise or pounded thin

Tzatziki, Flatbread, and Condiments.

Tzatziki with Dill

1 cup Greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh dill
1/2 English cucumber, peeled and finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
Small amount of ground sea salt
Ground black pepper, to taste

Homemade Cole Slaw (Sort of)

1/2 small cabbage, sliced thin and chopped in half
1/2 English cucumber, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 cup small chopped or shredded carrots
1/4 cup store-bought cole slaw dressing
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 good squeeze of a half of lemon
Lots of black pepper, to taste

Greek Chicken Pocket Sandwich

Greek Chicken Pocket Sandwiches with Tzatziki

1 pound grilled Greek Chicken, diced
Diced tomato
Diced red onion
Flatbread pocket bread
Tzatziki
Chopped romaine lettuce

Mix together the marinade, then marinate the chicken in it for at least an hour or more. Meanwhile prepare the Tzatziki by mixing all those ingredients in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator. Now make the cole slaw by combining all those ingredients in a big bowl and also refrigerate. When ready to cook, grill the chicken over medium-high heat until done through, about 5 to 8  minutes per side.  Chop up the chicken into bite size pieces, and lay out the sandwich condiments in bowls. Assemble the pocket sandwiches with the chicken and yummies, serve with the cole slaw and enjoy!