Marinated Grilled Veggies

My husband and I had a friend in town, and as part of effort to eat out less, we decided to cook a dinner at home. I got some steaks from the local meat market (the only decent thing there is the meat, everything else sucks) and he stopped at the store for some fresh peppers and mushrooms. I threw together this quick marinade, waited for 30 minutes, then skewered the veggies and sent them out to the grill with my husband and his friend. While they were out there, I threw together a drizzle sauce for the steaks and a crepe batter, which is currently sitting in the fridge. These recipes will follow this post.

Marinated Grilled Veggies

Ingredients:
6 small or 3 medium red potatoes, halved or quartered
1 quart white button mushrooms, stems removed
2 green peppers, cut into big strips
2 red peppers, cut into big strips
2/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice (I had a meyer lemon to use!)
4 gloves garlic, finely minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Direcitons:

Boil the potatoes until tender, strain and cool.

Place the prepared veggies (including the potatoes) into a bowl or ziploc bag. Prepare the marinade in a separate bowl by mixing all of the remaining ingredients (vinegar through salt and pepper) and whisk well. Pour the marinade over the veggies and cover. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes is up, skewer the veggies and baste in the marinade one more time before putting on a medium-high grill.

Cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender and charred. Continue to baste with the marinade as needed. Serve warm with the remaining marinade on the side. I know I had to prevent my guest from eating it with a spoon.

Possible veggie substitutions: Squash, zucchini, broccoli

Chicken Parmesan – Light and Crispy

Light AND crispy?

Explain, Loki. I dare you.

I found this recipe on Prevention RD, which is a great blog that takes recipes,lightens them up a bit, then publishes them, with an honest review, and nutritional information. I quite like her blog, you should go check her out.

So how do you make a light and crispy chicken parm? Crisp up the coating, THEN bake the chicken. All together now…. OOOOH. Thanks Nicole!

This recipe looks complicated, but it isn’t really at all, and it makes a lot so it is worth it. I only made 4 pieces instead of 6, and that’s enough for us for dinner tonight as well as chicken parm sandwiches (!) on Thursday.

Chicken Parmesan – Light and Crispy

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs (I used Trader Joe’s brand)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
2 large egg whites
1 Tbsp water
non-stick cooking spray
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, filet halved and pounded thin as needed
2 cups pasta sauce warmed
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Cooked pasta

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475.

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, then add the panko breadcrumbs. Heat over medium-low heat and stir regularly until they are golden brown, which should take about 10 minutes.

Once completed, place crumbs onto a plate and allow to cool. I recommend heating up the pasta sauce in this dish, on low, while you finish the rest of dinner. In another shallow dish or plate, combine flower, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Parmesan. Mix well. In a third bowl or shallow dish, mix egg whites and water, beating slightly.

Prepare your baking vessel. Take a baking sheet, line with foil, then place a cooling rack over top, coating with non-stick spray.

Dip the chicken into flour, tapping to remove the excess. Then dip into the egg and allow to drip excess off. Finally, place it on the panko, then turn over once to coat. Place the chicken on the rack you prepared. When all the chicken is coated, place in the oven for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, pull the chicken out and put a spoonful or 2 of pasta sauce on top as well as 2 tbsp of shredded mozzarella cheese. Place back into the oven and bake 5 more minutes.

Serve over the hot cooked pasta. Enjoy!

Tomato, Butter, and Onion Sauce

I saw this recipe on another blog, don’t ask me which one, but I do know that it originally came from Smitten Kitchen, and it is probably one of those most popular recipes on her site. I liked the idea of it because it was simple, sounded delicious without being a basic red sauce that tasted of tomatoes and garlic (and I still love garlic, nothing has changed). This sauce makes enough for 4 people, or 2 dinners, or really 2 dinners and a lunch. It’s pretty plentiful.

I think what the butter does is by introducing fat to the recipe, you make the sauce more robust and thus it can stick to the noodles better.

Tomato, Butter, and Onion Sauce

Ingredients:

1 large can peeled whole tomatoes
1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion, outer layer removed and ends cut off
5 tbsp butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cooked pasta

Directions:

In your enamel coated cast iron pot (or pot of your choice), add all of the ingredients (except the cooked pasta). Remember, the onion should be kept whole. The butter will melt slowly over time. During the cooking process, use a wooden spoon to push the tomatoes up against the side of the pan to break them up. Cook for 45 min on medium-low and stir regularly. Remove the onion and serve over pasta of your choice.