Kabobs

BBQ Season is among us, well at least for you 4 seasons people. Here in So Cal, we can BBQ all year long. Sorry, please don't hate me. But, we still do most of our grilling from Memorial Day through Labor Day and these kabobs were the perfect way to kick off the outdoor cooking season!

You will need:
A beef steak-I used a top sirloin roast. You can use any tender cut beef you want. You are just going to cube it up anyway. Get whatever is in those Memorial Day sales!
Assorted vegetables-I used zucchini, Asian eggplant, tomato, and assorted peppers (the more colors the better!)
Pineapple
Wooden or metal skewers

First, rub your meat with some paprika, ginger, fresh finely chopped garlic, and salt and pepper. You should know by now that I don't measure when I do this kind of stuff. Just eye ball it.

Chop up all your veggies (don't forget to seed the tomato and peppers) and the pineapple into pieces as close to neat little squares as you can. Place them all in a bowl and splash a little soy sauce on top, as well as some more fresh garlic, sugar and more salt and pepper. Let both the meat and veggies sit and marinate for about 30 minutes.

Now, start kabobbing! Start placing all the items on the skewers, alternating between meat, veggies and pineapple. You can try to be all precise, making sure you get one of everything on each stick, in a nice little pattern; or you can just throw them all on haphazardly like yours truly. Don't sweat it, just have fun with it. As you get them all prepared, place them on a nice big platter for your hubby to take out to the grill. Or I guess if you're a real renaissance girl, you could do it yourself, but in my home, we leave the grilling to my husband, who I would dare say would have a good chance of winning Best in Smoke. Once all your kabobs are assembled throw the rest of the liquid that is left in the bowl over the top of the whole plate.
Okay, right about now, you might be freaking out because I didn't give you precise measurements for those veggies and meat and after all those sticks you might have something leftover. If you do, great! Toss them into a stir fry or Asian salad. YUM! But, for your piece of mind, for a rough estimate, I had 2 1/2 pounds of meat, half of an asian eggplant, half a zucchini, a whole tomato, half of each yellow, red, and green peppers, and about a cup of pineapple pieces. This made 17 skewers, which was plenty for my family, served with rice. I only ended up with a little extra meat, which I made into an all meat kabob for my carnivorous 9 year old.

Once your BBQ is heated to medium high heat, place them on the grill and heat 20-25 minutes, turning and rotating with your long BBQ tongs as needed. Or just let your hubby do it if he is a master at the grill like mine :)


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Pork and Papas

Oh yeah! This is such a yummy comfort food. And so simple to make. My husband says I must secretly be a Mexican trapped in a white girl's body because when I eat this I sop up all the juices with a tortilla and eat it like a side dish of bread.

I make this using leftover pork chops. If you don't have any leftovers, just cook them up real quick. You can find directions here. I use 3 pieces of pork to go with the following:

Chop 6 small potatoes into small pieces, season with salt, pepper, and a small amount of chili powder. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the potatoes for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn heat down to medium low and splash potatoes with broth or water. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add water or broth as needed to keep potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Chop the pork into bite size pieces. Add the pork into the pan with the potatoes. Stir and heat for a couple minutes.

I am ashamed to admit that my husband eats this with bbq sauce UGH, but it is best if you generously add homemade salsa on top. (And then eat it with some tortillas on the side, that's how us secret Mexican girls do it hehe)


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Basic Pork Chops

I use leftover pork chops in a few of my recipes, so I wanted to include directions for how to prepare pork chops. These are really basic preparations, so you can dress them up however you want.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Heat the pork chops for about 7 mins on each side, or until internal temperature is 160. (the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the chops) Remove the chops from the pan to a plate. Turn heat down to med low and add a small amount of beef broth or salad dressing (I like roasted red pepper) and heat while scraping up the browned bits from the pork chops on the bottom of the pan. Pour sauce over the top of the chops and serve immediately.

Like I said, I like to prepare extra so that I can use the leftover meat in a meal later in the week.


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal

This is another super simple recipe. I am posting it because lately my husband has become obsessed with oatmeal. He use to insist that I purchase those extremely expensive individual serving packages because he loves the maple and brown sugar flavor, but since I have mastered the art of generously sweetening the homemade stuff, he likes this even better. Thank God because those packets are not easy on the pocketbook!

So, simply prepare your oatmeal according to directions. (Little hint here, it is just 2 parts water to 1 part oats, boil water, add oats and cook until water is absorbed and oats are soft) Then the real fun begins (yes, I get excited about the little things) For each cup of oats prepared, add the following:
2 tbsp real butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp real maple syrup









YUM YUM


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Saucy Chicken and Pasta

Cut 1 1/2 lbs BLSL chicken breasts into palm size pieces. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Place chicken in hot oil and saute 5 mins on each side or until browned. Meanwhile in a separate large skillet, heat on medium heat 8 oz tomato sauce, half of a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and 1/3 c. chicken broth. After chicken is browned, place in the sauce; cover and turn heat down to med low. Continue to cook chicken in sauce while you prepare 1 lb pasta.


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Gingersnaps

There are a few fall recipes that signal that fall is here, and gingersnaps is one of them. You know the feeling, you are enjoying a cool, crisp fall day, taking in all the beautiful colors and scenes and you get the urge to make something. Something fall-ish. The smell of cinnamon and ginger surrounding these gooey cookies will definitely do the trick. Fall is here, and we have gingersnaps to prove it!

Blue Ribbon Gingersnaps

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup sugar (for dipping)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cream shortening, brown sugar, molasses and egg in large bowl. In a separate bowl sift flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, blending until mixed. Dough can be chilled for easy handling.

3. Shape the dough into balls the size of whole walnuts. Roll balls in sugar, place on baking sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool on sheet one minute before transferring to rack.

Makes 3-4 dozen.

© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved

Homemade Potato Chips

Okay, you won't believe how simple it is to make these. This is our new favorite quick and easy side dish to make to go along with hot dogs, sloppy joes, or sandwiches.

Wash and slice the desired amount of potatoes.
Heat oil in a deep fryer or in a large skillet over med-high heat.
Place sliced potatoes in the oil and heat, moving the potatoes around every once in a while to cook evenly. When browned and crispy, remove from the oil to a paper towel lined plate. Press another paper towel on top of the chips and blot excess oil.


© 2010-2011 Day to Day Cook - All Rights Reserved