Salads don’t have to be boring…especially Summer Salads. T.W.O. loves combining new ingredients to make a delicious, savory, light dish that can be enjoyed at gatherings. In this post, we will be combining Israeli couscous, corn and Halloumi cheese to make a light, refreshing healthy salad! Continue reading “Corn and Couscous Salad with Grilled Halloumi Cheese”
This past weekend was filled with baking and holiday cheer! One of the items we baked was Cranberry Orange bread. It is an easy recipe that will have your guests in awe and wanting more. The orange zest and juice gives this bread a moist texture as well as a refreshing flavor. Its the perfect holiday gift or treat this season!
Ingredients
-2 cups flour
-1 cup sugar
-1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
– 1 teaspoon salt
– ½ teaspoon baking soda
– ¾ cup orange juice
– 1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
– 2 Tablespoons shortening
– 1 egg,
– 1 ½ cups fresh Cranberries, coarsely chopped
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix together orange juice, orange peel, shortening and egg using a KitchenAid mixer or handmixer. Mix well. Stir flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread evenly in loaf pan. (T.W.O. used a food processor to chop the cranberries.)
3. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely.
Ingredients:
-⅓ cup orange preserves
– 1 cup white wine
– ⅓ cup water
– 4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
– 1 orange, peeled & sliced into wedges
– 3 large fish fillets*, cut in half
– Salt & Pepper
– Rotisserie twine
– Parchment paper
*T.W.O. used rockfish
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350⁰F.
2. Season fish with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Combine orange preserves, wine, water, 2-3 springs of rosemary and ½ of the orange slices in a sauté or sauce pan over medium heat and stir.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half. Meanwhile, cut 3 large squares of parchment paper.
5. Place the fish (2 halves/paper) onto the parchment paper. Add a spring of rosemary and 1-2 slices of oranges. Baste the fish with the orange glaze. Wrap the fish up in the parchment paper and secure with rotisserie twine. Repeat process for the 2 other filets.
6. Place the fish into the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Plate and serve while hot!
Pot Roast…doesn’t sound that exciting, but it can be when you add Guinness to the ingredients and slow cook it for a couple hours! T.W.O. made this dish for the UCLA vs USC game a couple weeks back. Go Bruins! Check out how to make this easy and one-pot recipe.
Ingredients:
– 1 medium size boneless pot roast
– 3 14.9 oz cans Guinness (the extra one in the pack is for you!)
– 1 16 oz can pepperoncini
– 4 cups water
– 2 packages Lipton Onion Soup Mix
– Montreal Steak Seasoning
Directions:
1. Season the pot roast with Montreal Steak Seasoning on both sides.
2. In a large pot, sear each side of the roast for 6-8 minutes on medium-high heat.
3. Once the roast is seared, add the onion soup mix, 3 cans Guinness, water and peperoncinis.
4. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook for 3 hours and watch the liquid level. If it starts to get low, add more water or Guinness.
5. After a couple of hours of cooking, turn heat off and serve with your favorite dish. Mashed potatoes would be highly suggested!
Cheers,
Ingredients:
– 2 Ahi Tuna Steaks
– 1 large lemon
– 1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
– ¼ cup soy sauce
– 1 teaspoon garlic powder
– Pepper
– Krazy Salt
Directions:
1. Put the ahi steaks on a plate. Marinate with lemon, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Set aside and let sit for 15 minutes.
2. While the steaks are marinating, pre-heat barbeque.
3. Place the steaks on the barbeque over medium heat and cook for 4 minutes on each side.
4. Remove steaks for heat. Slice and plate with your favorite side dish.
Taco Tuesday? How about Enchilada Tuesday!?!? Yes! Hatch chilies are in season, so T.W.O. decided to make a homemade enchilada sauce. And boy did we turn up the heat! Hatch chilies compliment the chicken and pepper jack cheese nicely. Grab your apron and lets start cooking!
Ingredients:
– 1 ¼ pounds hatch chilies (poblano chiles also work)
– 3 Tablespoons olive oil
– 8 cloves garlic, chopped
– 2 teaspoon salt
– 1 teaspoon ground pepper
– 3 ¾ cups reduce-sodium chicken broth
– 10 corn tortillas
– 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese, shredded
– 3 cups shredded cooked chicken*
– 4 Tablspoons cilantro, chopped
– 1 cup crimini mushrooms, diced
For garnish:
– 1 avocado
– sour cream
– cilantro
– lime
*T.W.O. shredded a whole rotisserie chicken
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to a broil. Make sure the racks are positioned in the middle of the oven.
2. Places the hatch chilies on a baking sheet lines with foil and broil for about 15 minutes, turning them halfway through.
3. Remove from the oven and reduce heat of the oven to 400°. Once the chilies are cooled, pull the skins off and remove the steams and seeds.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chilies and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes and then add 1 ¼ cups chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let reduce for 10 minutes.
5. Place the chile mixture into a blender and blend on low until the mixture starts to look like a pesto. Set aside.
6. In a bowl mix together the shredded chicken, mushroom and cilantro. Set aside.
7. Using the same skillet, add 2 ½ cups chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Dip each tortilla in the hot broth to moisten and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 9 tortillas.
8. Add 2 teaspoons of cheese to each tortilla and the chicken and mushroom mixture.
9. Roll them up and place in a 9×13 baking dish, seam side down.
10. Pour the chile sauce over the enchiladas, leaving the edges exposed. Top with the remaining shredded cheese.
11. Bake in the middle rack for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Once melted, turn the oven to broil and cook until the cheese is brown.
12. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes. Serve and garnish with cilantro, avocado, lime and anything else your heart desires!
Cheers,
Here is another recipe to add to our cheese-less appetizer idea book – – – salty kale chips! With only four ingredients, this small dish is a great nibble for your guests while they wait for dinner to be served!
Ingredients:
– 1 head lacinato kale
– 2 Tablespoons blood orange infused olive oil
– 4 Tablespoon fig infused balsamic
– 2 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 315 degrees.
2. Wash and dry the kale. Chop kale into large chunks. Put in a bowl to toss.
3. Add olive oil, balsamic and salt to the kale and toss.
4. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes depending on your oven. Watch carefully so they don’t burn.
One Sunday afternoon we decided to spice up our quinoa bowl with some fresh veggies and chicken. It wasn’t complete without the sriracha garnish. Check out how to make this healthy and flavorful dish for your next Sunday Night Dinner.
Ingredients:
– 2 cups quinoa
– 4 cups water
– 2 teaspoons garlic powder
– 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
– 1 cup carrots, chopped
– 1 cup hearts of palm, sliced
– 2 cups Brussel sprouts
– 2 cups broccoli
– 4 Tablespoons olive oil
– 1/4 cup lemon juice
– 2 chicken breast*
– Krazy Salt
– Pepper
– Sriracha
* Marinate your chicken breast with Lawrys Season Salt.
Directions:
1. Preheat the bbq. Chop the brussel spouts and broccoli. Dress with 2 Tablespoons olive oil and Krazy Salt. Add the chicken to the bbq along with the brussel sprouts. (Brussel sprouts should go on a grilling pan or foil.
2. In a sauce pan, bring the water to a boil. Once the water is ready, add the quinoa, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Mix and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Mix in the remaining 2 Tablespoons olive oil and lemon juice.
4. Remove the chicken and brussel sprouts once done.
5. Plate the quinoa, top with the vegetables and sliced chicken. Top with sriracha.
Cheers ,
Berry Pie is a great dessert for those warm summer nights, cold winter evenings or even for breakfast. Pretty much anytime. T.W.O. decided to make a three berry pie for our girls night with our mom. We had so much fun in the kitchen prepping this creation. We perfected a crust that we will be using for years and years to come! Happy Baking!
Ingredients:
Pie Crust:
– 2½ cups flour
– 1 tablespoon sugar
– 1 cup unsalted European butter, cubed (you can use regular butter too)
– 5-6 tablespoons ice water
– 1 egg, beaten for pie crust top
– 1 tablespoon sugar to sprinkle on top of crust
Filling:
– 2 cups blueberries
– 2-3 cups blackberries
– 2-3 cups raspberries
– 1½ cups sugar
– ⅓ cup cornstarch
– 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Directions:
For the crust:
1. Combine flour, sugar, and in a large bowl. Add cubed butter till mixture is sandy.
2. Add water by the tablespoon, stirring with a fork after each addition. Make sure not to add too much water – you don’t want the dough become too wet.
3. Form dough into two discs, wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
For the filling:
4. Combine the sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon then toss with the berries. Make sure to not over mix – you don’t want the berries to break.
To assemble:
5. Preheat oven to 350°.
6. Roll one disc to an 11″ round. Lay in the bottom of a 9″ pie pan and crimp the edges. If your filling is liquidy, add some cornstarch to the bottom. Pour filling over.
7. Roll out the other disc till it is even. Cut long strips to make the lattice. Carefully place on the pie top, weaving the strips in and out.
8. Brush top with an egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
9. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake 45 minutes to an hour or till pie is golden and bubbly. Watch carefully and if the edges are turning brown, cover with foil.
10. Let cool well before cutting.
Cheers,
In need of a healthy, fresh and scrumptious dinner? Sick of your salads? Well T.W.O. has a receipt for you. It is a corn salad that bursts of flavor – lemon, cilantro, avocado and peaches. The baja fresh of California!?! We guarantee that if you like shrimp, you will definitely like this recipe!
Ingredients:
– Shrimp
– 2 cups Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki Marinade
– 3 ears of corn
– 1 avocado
– 2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
– 4 Persian cucumbers
– 2 yellow peaches
– 1 1/2 cups hearts of palm, sliced
– 2 Tablespoons olive oil
– ¼ cup lemon juice
– 5 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
– Salt
– Pepper
Directions:
1. Marinate the shrimp in the Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki Marinade for at least two hours in the refrigerator.
2. About 20 minutes prior to cooking, remove the shrimp from the refrigerator to bring to room temp. Place shrimp on kebab sticks.
3. Preheat the bbq or cast iron skillet*
4. While the oven or bbq is getting hot, prep the corn. Rub 1 Tablespoon of olive oil on the corn. Season with salt and pepper and wrap with foil.
4. Chop the avocado, peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers, hearts of palm and cilantro.
5. Once the grill is ready, add the corn. Cook for about 20 minutes and then add your shrimp kebabs. The shrimp should only take about 6-8 minutes depending on your heat.
6. While the shrimp and corn are cooking, drizzle the lemon juice and remaining olive oil over the vegetables.
7. Remove the corn from the grill and let cool for 5 minutes. Slice the kernels off the core. Add to the vegetables and mix.
8. Plate the corn salad and top with the grilled shrimp.
*T.W.O. ran out of propaine while they were cooking this meal so we went to Plan B….cast iron skillet. Same great taste as the bbq!
Enjoy!
T.W.O. 