Rice Pilaf

My mom made this rice alot for us growing up.

It's a good one.

The rice is flavorful, tender, crunchy, and makes a fast and easy side dish.

It's the reason I buy celery.

Thanks Mom.

Rice Pilaf

2 T. butter

1 cup uncooked rice

3 cups chicken bouillion

1/3 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped almonds

2 T. dried parsley

Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer covered until rice absorbs the liquid. Fluff with a fork.

Spicy Teriyaki-Style Salmon

This salmon has a delicious kick to it!

Hot off the grill, it flaked beautifully and is so easy to prepare! I like to buy the frozen individualized portions of salmon in the grocers freezer.

Enjoy!

Spicy Teriyaki-Style Salmon

2 T packed brown sugar

2 T. soy sauce

1 1/2 T. pineapple juice

1 1/2 T. red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 T. lemon juice

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/4 t. pepper

1/4 t. hot pepper sauce

2 Salmon fillets

In a small bowl, combine the first 9 ingredients. Pour 1/3 cup into a large resealable bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1 hour, turning once. Set aside remaining marinade for basting.

Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill. Drain and discard marinade. Place salmon skin side down on rack. Grill, covered over medium heat for 5 min. Brush with reserved marinade. Grill 15-20 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Green Beans Provencale

Camera battery died.

It's a bummer, because these green beans are beautiful.

This was my first real attempt at French cooking. There is lots of garlic, tomatoes and olive oil all usually used in Southern French cooking.

My husband loved these beans and they disappeared fast. A quick and healthy side dish.

Green Beans Provencale

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-in pieces

4 green onions

4 garlic cloves

2 t. minced fresh rosemary, or 1/2 t. dried rosemary

1 T. olive oil

1/2 medium tomato, cut into chunks

2 T. minced fresh or 2 t. dried basil

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Place beans in a steamer or in boiling water. Cover and steam/boil for 4-5 minutes or until crisp tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the onions, garlic, and rosemary in oil until vegetables are tender. Add the green beans, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper; saute 2-3 minutes longer or until heated through.

Tangy Barbeque-Sauced Pork Chops

Camera battery died.

Starving and the aroma was so good.

Had to sink my teeth in at that moment.

Sorry.

These pork chops are easy-peasy. The recipe is from the Taste of Home- Healthy Cooking and they say that you can serve the sauce with chicken instead of pork if you wish. There is some heat to this!

Serve with mashed potatoes to soak up all the sauce!

Tangy Barbecue-Sauced Pork Chops

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup water

2 1/2 T. cider vinegar (add 1/2 T. more if you want it more tangy/vinegar-y)

2 T. sugar

1 T. prepared mustard

1 lemon slice

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup ketchup

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

3-5 boneless pork chops

1 T. canola oil

In a small sauce pan, combines the first 9 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir in ketchup, Worcestershire sauce. Heat through and discard lemon.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown pork chops in oil for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a baking dish, coated with cooking spray; pour sauce over chops.

Cover and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160.

Flourless Brownies

We love the chocolate-chocolate desserts at our house.

I mean LOVE them.

The more chocolate-y the better.

So I found this recipe for flourless brownies. They are rich and delicious. This was our Father's Day treat.

It's also a great recipe to give to people who would like to make a GF dessert because it doesn't call for any "weird" flours or ingredients.

I topped our brownies with hot fudge icecream topping, Cool Whip, Strawberries and Raspberries. Good thing I run...

Enjoy! It's fabulous!

Flourless Brownies

1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

3 egg whites

1 egg

2 T. canola oil

1 1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 t. baking powder

Dash of salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

In the microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth.

Place, beans, egg whites, egg, oil and vanilla in a food processor. Cover and process until smooth.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, baking powder and salt; add to bean mixture. Cover and process until combined. Gradually add the chocolate. Process until blended.

Pour batter into a 9 inch square pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with walnuts if desired. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs. (Do not overbake!) Cool completely on a wire rack.

I found these taste better if refrigerated for a few hours. Enjoy!

Honey Lime Grilled Chicken

This is a really easy recipe. And the best part- you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry right now! Sorry no picture, we had a late night and I was too hungry that I forgot! Guess you'll have to make it for yourself to see what it looks like!

This chicken is great with a side of Lime-Cilantro rice and would be really good as a filler for tacos or burritos.

Honey Lime Grilled Chicken

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup honey

2 T. lime juice

1/4 t. ground ginger

2-4 chicken breasts

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

In a resealable bag, combine the chicken broth, honey, lime juice, and ginger; add the chicken. Marinade for at least 2 hours, turning once.

Drain and discard marinade. Combine garlic powder, salt and pepper; sprinkle over chicken. Grill, for 6-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Growing up I remember making homemade ice cream to celebrate holidays, summer or just because.

I love it!

It's so amazing to see the few ingredients, cream, eggs, sugar make such a divine treat.

This recipe is a little more complicated that the usual vanilla, but it's worth the extra effort- it tastes like frozen cheesecake!

We have served this to many guests and is always a hit!

Just make sure you have an ice cream maker and enough ice.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

4 cups half and half

2 1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened

2 T. lemon juice

1 T. grated lemon peel

1 package (16oz) frozen unsweetened strawberries

In a large pan, heat the half and half to 175 degrees. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the eggs. (This is an important step. If you just dump in the eggs, they will curdle and cook- you do not want scrambled eggs in your ice cream, yuck!) Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 and coats the back of a metal spoon. Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. Stir in whipping cream and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, lemon juice and peel until blended. Gradually beat in the custard mixture.

Chop strawberries in the food processor. Stir into custard/cream cheese mixture.

Fill cylinder of ice cream maker to the fill-line. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.