Archive for the ‘Quick and Easy’ Category

Jalapeno Poppers made with jalapenos, cream cheese and bacon

Even people who don’t like spicy food have tried these at my house and have gone back for seconds. I wouldn’t classify this recipe as “healthy” yet it is healthier than traditional jalapeno poppers that have been put in a fryer! Whenever Scott and I make these, even if it is only the two of us, there are never any leftovers. They are that good!!

All you need for these poppers are:

1) jalapenos

2) cream cheese or neaufchatel cheese

3) one pack of bacon

Because you need a way to “suspend” the poppers on a rack to let the bacon cook and have the fat cook off, I actually take one of the racks out of my oven and put it on top of a 9″ X 13″ pan that is covered with tin foil (cuts down on the mess!). So, remember to take the rack out before you:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Now, prepare the peppers. Cut the stem off the peppers and with a knife, scrape all of the chilis and inside portion out of the inside of the peppers. (Leaving the seeds will make them even hotter, which is okay, but you need room inside to stuff your cream cheese.) For the really large peppers, chop them in half.

Now stuff the peppers with cream cheese. For the peppers you have cut in half, you will need to wrap the bacon around the top and bottom of the pepper so that the cream cheese cannot fall out. The peppers will be suspended in the oven so that the bacon can cook down… For the peppers that have only been cut where the stem was removed, simply stuff with cream cheese and the bacon only has to cover the top. You will cut each piece of bacon in halves of thirds to be the right size for the peppers. If the peppers you use are REALLY big, this will vary… If you do not cut the large peppers in half, they will be HOTTER. This makes the pepper to cheese to bacon ratio off and makes the experience much hotter, which is not a bad thing. I am just warning you!

Arrange your poppers on your oven rack over a baking pan lined in foil.

After stuffing the pepper with cream cheese, then wrapping it with bacon in the right way so that the cheese can’t fall out of the bottom, you will then secure it with a toothpick or a skewer that has been cut in half. This is what will suspend the poppers on the over rack so they cook evenly.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until bacon is beginning to get crispy and the cream cheese is bubbling.

THESE ARE EVERYONES FAVORITES!!! You can prepare these in advance and then pop them in someone’s oven if you are going to a friends house. ENJOY!!!

Share on Facebook

Slaw, tatertots and texas toast are the perfect complement to ribs.

I like to call this recipe: Attention Deficit Disorder Ribs. It is hard for someone like myself to spend 6 hours on a dish and that is why they are called A.D.D. ribs.

Hardcore BBQ-ers will tell you that real ribs must be cooked over low heat for hours upon end to produce authentic ribs. I, too, enjoy ribs cooked in this fashion, and I usually get these at my favorite BBQ joint or let someone else cook them and have me over for dinner.

For those who like to “push the easy button” on ribs and still get tasty, “bone sucking” results, there are two time saving endeavors: parboiling and using your oven. “Parboiling” quite simply means to boil to make softer. This technique usually means that you will cook the food long enough to make it softer but not totally “done”. In this recipe, you will parboil the ribs to soften them but will finish cooking the ribs on the grill.

This recipe gives you grilled flavor and charring, minus the time. For those with gas grills, this will save you from using an entire can of propane!

Ingredients:

• 2 full rack pork ribs (enough for 4 people) *** I once made the mistake of buying beef spare ribs because everything in my grocery store was in spanish!
• salt, pepper – I prefer freshly ground pepper and sea salt, It does make a difference
• olive oil
• Your favorite BBQ sauce, either homemade or store-bought. I prefer Stubb’s Spicy Chipotle Sauce but they offer mild and medium options as well. ***In my personal facebook poll, Stubbs came in as the favorite store-bought sauce with Sweet Baby Ray’s a close second.

Take ribs and remove the outer membrane.

Bring a large pot of water to boil

Put the ribs in the water and let boil for 40 minutes

Take the ribs and place them in a 9X13 pan that is covered in foil (this will cut down on clean up!). Lightly brush with olive oil, then cover with salt, pepper and sauce on both sides. Let the ribs marinate in sauce for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, heat up your grill to medium/medium high heat.

Place ribs on the grill, baste with additional sauce. Grill on each side for 15-20 minutes, or until there are distinguishable char marks and the sauce begins to carmelize.

Serve with coleslaw, tater tots and **texas toast!

** I buy texas toast from the publix, found in the freezer section, and place the pieces on the top burner of the grill while the ribs cook on the lower burners. This gives the toast nice grill marks and cooks them perfectly. I also put the frozen taters tots on a foil packet and let them cook on the lower burners at the same time. Great served with Chipotle cilantro cole slaw. Essentially, your whole meal has been cooked on the grill and there is no need for the back and forth from the kitchen to the backyard.

Enjoy!

Finishing the ribs on the grill lets the sauce carmelize and gives nice char marks.

Share on Facebook

This dry rub is great on beef, chicken and pork. I have not tried this yet on fish but I do believe it would also be good as the flavor complements but does not monopolize the taste of the meat.

The quantities listed below make enough for about 4 – 6 oz. steaks but you can make more/less depending on your needs.

Ingredients:

• 1 tblsp. ground sea salt
• 1 tblsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1 tblsp. garlic powder
• 1 tblsp. onion powder
• 1 tblsp. smoked paprika

The smoked paprika is the key differentiator here that lends a subtle yet smokey flavor. Apply rub generously on both sides of the meat and grill/cook as usual.

Everyone enjoys a nice rub once in a while!!

Grilled smoked paprika rubbed New York strip with grilled onions, arugula and gorgonzola.

Share on Facebook

Sirloin Sliders, aka Mini Hamburgers

sirloin sliders- much more fun than your average burger!!

Well, this is not rocket science but it puts a fun spin on your standard hamburger. The mini burger idea is appealing because it is so versatile, depending on the occasion and setting. While one can make sliders as the main course, they are also a fun appetizer for entertaining and are great for tailgating as the burgers cook quickly due to their diminutive size. These are a low commitment burger- you get to satisfy your craving for a burger, but you still have room to sample a hotdog, eat large amounts of dip, and drink large amounts of beer. You may even have room for a guinness float afterwards.

Here’s a fun idea for your next gathering: make a “slider-bar”.

Cook the burgers (I prefer sirloin meat obviously) with various cheeses (cheddar, american, pepper jack) and some without; serve with toasted rolls- the kind that look like mini hamburger buns that you buy in the bakery at the grocery store.

Put out a variety of toppings for Southwest burgers, philly burgers, you name it:

• jalapenos
• guacamole
• salsa
• blue cheese
• bacon
• pepperoni
• various mayos- sriracha mayo, garlic mayo, etc
• arugula
• tomatoes
• grilled red onions
• roasted peppers
• (mustard, ketchup)
• pickles
• banana peppers
• sundried tomatoes

 The opportunities are endless and this puts a fun spin on your traditional cook-out. Happy Grilling and Happy eating!!!

Share on Facebook

Even though I call myself the “Grillgrrrl,” there are nights when dinner doesn’t need to be a production. Heck, this dinner makes itself, you just add a little pizazz so your family still thinks you whipped it up from scratch. Here’s a “fake it don’t make it” dinner solution your family will look forward to. Trust me.  

1) First things first, buy Stouffers Stuffed peppers and cook according to directions.

Doctored Peppers- too good to not be from scratch and a hell of a lot easier!Buy Stouffer's stuffed peppers and set oven temperature accordingly to directions.

This dinner takes about an hour to heat so as soon as you get home from work, preheat the oven and then pop it in. While this bakes, I like to do things like: catch up on my blog, drink wine and just in general enjoy myself not being in the kitchen making a mess for myself to clean up later. he he

2) Take the peppers out ten minutes before the time goes off.

Here’s the suggested ingredients:

• Tomato sauce or diced tomatoes or both!
• fresh herbs
• soft grated cheese or lots of grated parm
• arugula
• frozen artisan bread (ciabatta), french bread or texas toast
• chipotle peppers- chop them up and mix in with the sauce and tomatoes.

 3)  With a big spoon, top the tomato/pepper mixture on top of the peppers. Take the spoon and drip existing sauce from the dinner onto the top as well so everything gets mixed and saucy together.

4) Add cheese and fresh herbs

5) Put back into the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Put in your frozen roles at the same time, check on them the last few minutes.

6) Top with arugula and also serve on the side as a salad with balsamic, olive oil, fresh grated parm and freshly grated salt and pepper.

Serve with bread and extra sauce. 

Voila- doctored peppers- they taste homemade but gave you an extra hour to catch up on stuff while they do their magic in the oven.

everything goes better with Sriracha!

Share on Facebook

This dessert doesn’t even require a recipe- just some basic ingredient assemblage.

No campfire needed!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• shredded sweetened coconut- 8++oz.
• Dark chocolate – squares
• Ginger snaps- use these instead of graham crackers unless you prefer the latter
• Marshmallows- large size, 16 oz bag
• skewers- for roasting marshmallows

If the grill has cooled down after dinner, heat it back up- medium should be high enough for roasting the marshmallows.

In a piece of foil folded to create the shape of a small tray, lay a layer of coconut. They will start to brown and you can mix the shredded coconut around to cook evenly. When it browns, take the foil tray and move it over to indirect heat.

Meanwhile, for mass smore creation (for those not roasting their own marshmallows via skewer) put out another foil- tray (sheet of foil folded at the edges to create a “tray”).

awaiting chocoloate marshmallow-ey goodness!

Layer gingersnaps in a layer on the foil and top with marshmallows.
As the marshmallows start to roast, add a piece of dark chocolate and sandwich between another gingersnap!

Happy Smor-ing!

goo-ey goodness

Share on Facebook

Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

Fancy footwork on the grill!!

Well, if you think about it, there really isn’t anything you can’t cook on the grill. In essence, the grill is a big oven you use outdoors. But, cooking over flames lends a flavor that cannot be accomplished from an oven. This recipe puts a Mexican spin on your average grilled boneless chicken breasts.

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 poblano peppers
2 cans enchilada sauce
1 8 oz. block of pepper jack cheese, grated (or buy it grated cheese already- make this easy on yourself!)
2 8” X 8” aluminum pans for roasting the chicken
Corn- 4-5 ears
1 package flour tortillas, this recipe will utilize approximately 8

Heat the grill

After the grill is heated, make sure to add the poblano peppers first – they take the longest to cook

Put chicken and corn on the grill
cook chicken for approximately 6-8 minutes each side (this is going to vary depending on how hot your grill is so keep that in mind)
Put one can of enchilada sauce in each aluminum pan
Put the pans on the grill and let the sauce get hot
Transfer chicken once it is 3/4 done into the enchilada sauce pans
Pull the peppers off the grill and take them inside. Place them in a paper bag to steam them for a few minutes and this will make the skin easier to remove.
Now, slice the poblano peppers and divide them equally to be placed on each chicken breast.
Add cheese to the chicken/poblano creation.
While the cheese on the chicken melts, toast the flour tortillas on the grill.

Once the cheese is good and melted, the corn and tortillas should also be ready to take off the grill.

Serve chicken breasts with ample amounts of sauce, corn and grilled tortillas for mopping up all the yummy sauce. Massive amounts of hot sauce recommended.

Salud!

Share on Facebook

There’s not too much to grilling oysters, and thank God for that. I like to leave the high maintenance stuff to other people (!!!) Anyway, preheat the grill to medium/medium high. Basically, get the grill hot. Throw your oysters on and shut the lid, grill the oysters until they pop open. As the first ones open up, I put them on the top basket/bread area of the grill so they stay warm but don’t stay on the direct heat.

Jalapeno Butter Sauce
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup butter
6 cloves garlic
1-2minced jalapenos, depending on how heatness desired
sea salt/pepper

Suate the onions in the butter. Add the wine and simmer for 7-10 minutes, letting some of the liquid reduce down. Add the jalapenos and garlic, simmer a little longer…

Pour sauce on top of the opened oysters. Enjoy!!

Share on Facebook