This is another recipe for our Hawaiian themed bbq we had a couple weekends ago. It is so tasty and kept our chicken nice and juicy. We used thighs and legs, but I know this marinade would go great with chicken breast kabobs. This marinade is so good and simple, you will want to eat it all the time. It’s a great balance of ginger, soy, garlic and the slightly sweet from the pineapple juice.

Ginger Soy Pineapple Chicken
adapted from foodnetwork.com

6 chicken thighs or chicken legs
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Mix all ingredients in a large ziploc bag, add the chicken. Marinate from 30 minutes up to 24 hours. I prefer 24 hours. Grill chicken until juices run clear. Serve with rice, veggies, or macaroni salad.

I love ahi poke. It is so delicious I could eat so much of this and not ever get full. I’m not sure if that is good or bad though. Either way I have made this a few times and my husband loves it, I made it recently for a Hawaiian themed bbq I had at my house and everyone loved it. Even the non raw fish eaters tried it and they enjoyed it!

There are many recipes for ahi tuna poke out there and for me, the plainest way is the best for me. The simple flavors really shine. Plus the ingredients I put in this recipe you can find a lot easier at your local stores. Serve this dish as an appetizer or over rice for a light and refreshing meal. Seriously if someone ordered this much ahi at a restaurant they would be paying a whole lot more for it, so really make it at home and eat all you want!!

Ahi Tuna Poke
This serving is for a group, if making at home for a couple people cut the recipe in half.

2 large filets sashimi grade ahi tuna, about 2 pounds, try not to buy the end pieces.
1.5 cups soy sauce, I use half low sodium and half regular
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
3/4 cup green onion sliced
1/2 a small maui onion sliced or any sweet onion, about 1/4 cup
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Rinse and dry the ahi tuna a couple of times. Pat dry with paper towel. Slice the ahi along the grain with a sharp knife. Cut the pieces about 1.5 to 2 inches long. Put all ingredients in a bowl or serving dish, stir gently. Cover and let chill in the fridge at least two hours before serving. Stir one more time before serving.

You will see the tuna is darker in color because it has absorbed some of the soy sauce and sesame oil. This dish is best served when it’s not ice cold, if it’s too cold, the cold temperature doesn’t let the subtle flavors shine through. Don’t be afraid to make this raw fish dish, it really is a crowd pleaser! This is so delicious, I even cook up the leftover and eat it with rice and eggs the next day. I also put out a little wasabi too for those who might want it but it’s traditionally served without it, and really it doesn’t even need it!! Enjoy!

Oh goat cheese you are too delicious! In the last few years I have really gotten to love goat cheese. I only recently tried it a few years ago and I wasn’t too excited about the tangy and dense but still crumbly cheese. Over the years I have had it in different ways and now I really enjoy a nice chevre (which means goat in French) thanks wikipedia! So this recipe is I found on Self.com and was surprised to find it in the healthy category of their recipes, because goat cheese is less fat! This recipe requires a little assembling since stuffing a soft cheese into roasted peppers from a jar can get a little messy but the taste alone is so worth the time. It’s a great dish to serve at a party and the presentation is equally impressive. I sliced up the peppers into smaller pieces after cooking so they could be served on top of toasted sliced baguette a great appetizer

In Barcelona on my honeymoon we ate a lot of roasted piquillo peppers. These peppers stuffed with manchego cheese were to die for. So when I saw this healthier take on them I just had to try it out and throw them on top of a slice of bread to make the dish into a tapa! I think the goat cheese peppers alone is a little too rich of a side dish but that is my taste. The sherry vinegar in the herb topping really cuts the richness of the goat cheese too, a little goes a long way. Don’t be afraid of this recipe it all works so good. If you like goat cheese you love it!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppers
Adapted from Self.com

11 oz. (1 log) herbed goat cheese
1 jar of roasted piquillo peppers, I find mine at Trader Joes
1 Tablespoon shallots chopped
1 Tablespoon Italian parsley chopped
3 green onions sliced
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste

Combine shallots, green onion, parsley, sherry vinegar and olive oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Drain peppers from the can, and gently pat dry. Stuff the peppers with a generous tablespoon of goat cheese, don’t be afraid to use your hands! It gets a little messy here but it’s ok I promise. Be careful to not rip or break the peppers while stuffing them. Heat a small saute pan on medium low heat. Spray with cooking spray and lay the peppers in the pan. When you see the cheese inside the peppers looking melted gently flip the peppers over with a spatula. About 3-4 min. per side. Cooking the peppers in the pan is to heat up the cheese so once the cheese is equally melted remove them from the pan. Any cheese that may have gotten on the outside of the peppers from stuffing has now been cooked off. Slice them up in half and put on top of slices of toasted baguette, top lightly with shallot mixture. A little goes a long way.

For the bread: I just sliced the baguette sprayed one side with olive oil cooking spray and broiled them in the oven or on the grill. Turning them over once the top side had become toasted.

If you cannot find canned piquillo peppers you can use regular roasted red peppers in a jar. Just slice up the peppers equally before serving on top of the toasted bread.

This is the first season I have really gotten into nectarines. I usually am all about strawberry anything since they are my favorite, but I took the chance to try nectarines again and I have a new found love for them! Tasty and juicy with a really fresh crunch, so delicious! So I had bought a big box of them and a bunch of them were about to go go bad then I found this recipe. Joy the Baker’s Nectarine and Cream Cobbler. I really get happy when I find a recipe that sounds so good and yep I have all the ingredients in my house! The surprise of this recipe, the brown butter. I knew about brown butter and it is supposed to be so delicious. This is the first recipe I can now defend this brown butter love I have heard so much about. SO good, like really darn good! I ate a piece of this cobbler with some tart frozen yogurt, it was the perfect dessert for summer. The dessert makes 4 large servings or 6 small. Please try it, its easy simple and so very tasty!

Nectarine Cobbler
adapted from Joy the Baker

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of cloves, I didn’t have any cloves so I used cardamom, was still good!
pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup milk, I used nonfat
3 cups sliced nectarines, skins left on
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter in a medium saute pan set over medium high heat until it bubbles and turns a nut brown color. Slowly stirring, watch the butter closely don’t just throw it in and run away! It can go from browned to burnt in just a few seconds. The butter will foam up and have all sorts of browned bits in it you will know when the butter is browned you can smell it and see the brown bits floating around. It is so good trust me!
Pour the butter into an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking dish.

In a medium bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder and spices. Add milk and stir.

Pour the mixture on top of the melted butter. Don’t stir it, without mixing, arrange the fruit evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle with the brown sugar.

Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top turns golden brown. The batter will rise up and migrate from the bottom of the pan to cover the fruit. Serve warm with tart frozen yogurt, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Thank you Joy the Baker for showing me the love of brown butter!

So I thought back, what can I blog about that is always good? I have made tons of things, I know there is a recipe that was worth sharing that I have not posted about. Something I have made many many times…and I remembered. I thought of this recipe when I was at the store because it’s strawberry season and I remembered that I made this a couple years ago after I saw it on Paula Deen’s show on the food network. It’s really simple, really good, it’s not soaked in butter and everyone likes it! Also this dish has a really cute and modern presentation that is great for a fruit or light dessert option at a brunch or a party.

Ingredients:

20 whole large strawberries, hulled
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioners’ powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
2/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions
Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each strawberry so the berries stand upright. Place berries, cut side down, on a serving platter. Carefully cut the berries into 4 wedges but not cutting all the way through to the bottoms with a criss-cross cut, like an X. Fan the cute edges just slightly, taking care not to break them. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until combined but still stiff. You can either use a teaspoon or pastry bag with decorative tip to fill the strawberries with the cream cheese mixture. I put the mix in a small ziploc bag and make a small diagonal cut one of the bottom corners of the bag and I fill the strawberry that way. Then sprinkle chopped pecans on top of the stuffed strawberries. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve!

Individual Baked Eggs
adapted from allrecipes.com

This recipe is for one individual baked egg. I made 4 total for my husband and I, it was the perfect amount. Make as many as you want from your muffin tin just multiply all the other ingredients!

1 slice bacon
1 egg
1 slice Cheddar cheese cut in half
cooking spray
sliced green onion for garnish (optional)
salt
pepper
paprika (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place bacon in a skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown, but still flexible. I spray the muffin tin with some pam butter flavored cooking spray, but you can use 1 tsp of butter or put some bacon grease on the bottom and sides of the muffin tin. Then wrap the 1 bacon slice around the inside of a muffin cup. Next drop in 1 egg.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes until desired doneness, 15 min was completely cooked, next time I will cook less to get a more runny yolk. Place the slice of cheese over egg the last few minutes, and continue cooking until cheese is just melted. Top with salt and pepper to taste, and a light sprinkle of paprika. Serve with toast, a side salad or in an english muffin. These were too good and so easy to make. Husband and I loved them!!

These little cakes are delicious and addicting! I’ve had this recipe book marked forever from delish.com and finally I decided to make a batch of them. I actually thought I had some cardamom in my spice cabinet which is why I probably book marked it, but I ended up having to buy some, as it turns out I have never had cardamom, at least knowingly. Cardamom is not a cheap spice I might add but I just had to try it. The label on the bottle of seasoning also said cardamom was great in apple and cherry pies as well as sweet potatoes, sounds good right? I have to admit I was scared, I bought all the ingredients and took the chance, because the recipe sounded really good! And it is, these little cakes are moist, and for me taste somewhere between cinnamon, licorice, ground ginger, and anise. I also got to use my kitchenaid mixer for about the 7th time so that is always exciting.

The cakes were easy to make, I didn’t have any small cake molds so I made them in two 12 serving cupcake tins. I also used wheat flour instead of regular. Just as a note the originally recipe used apple cider in the frosting but I forgot to buy some and used the apple juice I had in the fridge. I honestly think this is a no fail recipe, they are going to be very tasty no matter what! My husband and brother in law both thought this recipe was a keeper so I definitely had to blog it. Please excuse the not so great photos, I didn’t get a chance right after I made them and had to take a few quick shots in the morning before the last three got eaten up!! I would definitely going to try this recipe in a bundt cake, mini bundts or in a loaf pan. I had one with my morning coffee and yep it was super yummy.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour, I used wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cup peeled and chopped Granny Smith apple
1 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoon apple cider, I used juice

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 12-cup cupcake tins and set aside. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom together and set aside.

Beat the eggs and sugar together, using a mixer set on medium-high speed, until the mixture forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted from the bowl. Reduce speed to low and mix in the vanilla and applesauce. Add 1/2 cup of the melted butter, sour cream, and zest and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until smooth.

Fold in the apples and divide the batter among the prepared molds (about 1/4 cup per mold). Bake until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake tests clean approximately 20 minutes.
Cool for 5 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove the cakes from their pans and cool completely on a rack.

Stir the remaining melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, and apple cider together in a medium bowl until smooth and drizzle over the cooled cakes and let the icing set before serving.

Black Lentil Salad
Makes 4 servings

1 cup pre-cooked black lentils
1/4 cup carrots small dice, (I chop up shredded carrots)
1/2 cup cucumbers sliced and quartered
1/2 cup diced tomatoes seeds removed, I used two roma tomatoes
1/4 cup celery stalks sliced, approximately two stalks
1 small shallot diced
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fat free feta crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Add all ingredients in a bowl, stir so all ingredients are combined, cover and chill in fridge for about 20 minutes. Mix up the salad again and add more salt or vinegar as needed. Serve and enjoy!

*If you cannot find black lentils, try French green lentils! But I will stay with the pre-cooked black lentils until I cannot find them at Trader Joes anymore!

First step is to get all your ingredients prepared ahead of time so you can layer everything all at once. Chop your tomatoes, olives, green onions and cilantro, set aside.
Layer on a 12X9 baking dish evenly with a baking spatula or large spoon.

Ingredients are listed from bottom up, so beans go on the bottom of a baking dish.

refried beans, I prefer Rosarita large can
guacomole, about 1 1/2 cups, I the pre-pack Wholly Guacamole found in the deli section
sour cream, 16 oz. a whole medium size container
shredded Mexican cheese blend about 1 1/2 cup
tomatoes 2 medium or one large chopped
chopped black olives about 2 tablespoons
green onions sliced, about 4
cilantro about 1/2 cup chopped

Feel free to use this recipe as a starter recipe, and add extras, like ground beef on the bottom layer or jalapenos on top! Serve with tortilla chips for dipping. One tip: wipe the sides of the dish as you layer so the layers can really be seen for presentation purposes! You cannot go wrong with this, it is so much better then store bought!!!

Strawberry Mascarpone Bruschetta
adapted from sophistimom.com

1 french baguette sliced at an angle, makes about 25 slices
3 Tablespoons butter
8 oz mascarpone cheese basically all of what comes in the little container
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons white sugar divided
2 pint fresh strawberries cleaned, hulled and sliced at an angle

Directions:
Mix the cinnamon with 3 tablespoons of sugar and set aside. Mix the mascarpone cheese with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Spread some butter on top of the baguette slices and top each slice with a hefty sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture. Tap the bread to get off the excess and place sugar side down on a skillet on med/high heat. The slices will be done when the tops are light brown and sugar has caramelized about 3 minutes. When the bread is done toasting, top with mascarpone mixture and sliced strawberries. I also finish the bruschetta with a small sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of the strawberries, and there ya go, a sweet addition to your bruschetta bar!