Thursday, September 16, 2010

Ice Cream Pie



This ice cream pie recipe comes courtesy of Gimme Some Oven, and I think I found it via FoodGawker. Anyway, it is the easiest dessert I've ever made, probably, and was delicious. It's a fun dessert because it's really easy to customize however you want. All you need is a half gallon of ice cream, one 9-inch graham cracker or cookie crust, and your favorite toppings (cookie crumbles, nuts, candy pieces, etc). Let the ice cream thaw just slightly, then put about a 1" inch layer of ice cream on top of your crust, add a light layer of toppings, then another layer of ice cream, then another layer of toppings. Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer until ready to eat. I made this Tuesday morning and served it at Tuesday night dinner. This ice cream pie was made with a graham cracker crust, French silk ice cream, fudge-striped chocolate cookie crumbles, and pecan pieces. I think this might have to be a new go-to dessert.

Tuesday Night Dinner: Roasted Chicken & Then Some



For this week's Tuesday night dinner (pita pizzas was last week, but it took me forever to upload the photo), I had my sister to pick up a store-made roasted chicken and then Whitney and I made a bunch of sides to go with it. Homemade mashed potatoes with russet potatoes, organic 2% milk, a stick of butter and some buttermilk as well as garlic powder and kosher salt, buttermilk biscuits, baked zucchini fritters, sauteed green beans tossed in soy sauce and an unfried green tomato. And that little pile of red sauce on my plate was Sriracha. Yummy!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Tuesday Night Dinner: Make Your Own Pita Pizzas



For Tuesday night dinner this week, we did a make-your-own pita pizza night. It was a lot of fun, not a bad dinner for a big crowd, even if I could only make four pita pizzas at a time. I liked the interactivity of it, the way everyone could make their pizza to their own preferences. Here are some suggestions for hosting your own pita pizza night.

pitas-whole wheat or white
pizza sauce
pesto sauce
chopped broccoli
sliced bell pepppers
sliced onions
caramelized onions
black olives
mozzarella
feta
pepperoni
Italian sausage
sun-dried tomatoes
zucchini

Saturday, September 4, 2010

ICBC Tomatoes



So one of the secret ingredients recently were tomatoes, and I wanted to do something that was at least a little original. I make plenty of marinara sauce, and I can make a pico de gallo, and I can make a bruschetta, but what's something I've never done? So I of course went straight to FoodGawker and discovered fried green tomatoes. Of course! So genius. I found some green tomatoes at the Sunday St. Philips Farmer's Market last weekend, and I chose an unfried green tomatoes recipe I found via FoodGawker. I actually really liked them. We dipped them in a little ranch, and it was a fun and new side. And my sister who doesn't really like tomatoes said she liked the green ones a lot more.

Unfried Green Tomatoes
2 green tomatoes, sliced
1 cup panko crumbs
1 cup shredded Italian cheese
sprinkle of cayenne
pinch of ground black pepper
dash of salt
1 egg

Slice the tomatoes. Beat the egg. Blend cheese and panko with spices. Dip a slice of tomato into the egg, then the panko and place onto a lightly sprayed cookie sheet. After you finish all the tomato slices, spray them with an olive oil cooking spray. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. They should be crispy and lightly browned. I dipped the unfried green tomatoes in ranch dressing.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Spicy Roasted Chicken Legs



For Tuesday night dinner, I found a recipe on The Pioneer Woman for spicy roasted chicken legs. They were delicious, easy to prep, and cooked in the oven for 30 minutes. They came together pretty quickly, actually, and I always appreciate that on a Tuesday night. It also helped when they came out delicious. I would definitely make these again. The drumstick was always my favorite part of the chicken when I was a little kid, too. They're the most fun to eat.

Spicy Roasted Chicken Legs (recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
16 chicken drumsticks
stick and a half of melted butter
juice from 1-2 lemons
spices (I used cumin, chili powder, cayenne, kosher salt, oregano)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter into a bowl. Add juice from lemons to the butter. Season the butter and lemon juice mixture with your choice of seasonings. Taste to test. Mine wasn't spicy enough but it's up to you how you want to do it. I added tons of chili powder, and hints of cayenne, cumin and oregano. Rinse the chicken legs. Set up baking sheets with baking racks on top. Take tongs and dip each chicken leg into butter, lemon juice and spice mixture. Coat the chicken leg and place it on a rack. Repeat with all legs. Brush the legs with the excess butter/juice/spice mixture, and then season each leg again with your spice mix. In my instance, I just sprinkled more chili powder on top. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, if you think it needs a little additional crispiness, throw it under the broiler for an additional couple minutes. Enjoy!

Tuesday Night Dinner: Spicy Roasted Chicken Legs+Veggies


This Tuesday night, I chose a really simple recipe for roasted chicken legs from The Pioneer Woman, and then made a few different veggie side dishes (plus a failed attempt at cauliflower-potato mash that's not pictured).


Spicy Roasted Chicken Legs


Iceberg Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Crispy Bacon


Steamed Broccoli and Yellow Squash


Grilled Red Bell Pepper, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Onions