protein – T.W.O.

Cherry & Goat Cheese Kale Salad with Pistachios

Published on May 29, 2015May 29, 2015 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

If you haven’t noticed, cherries are in season right now and most grocery stores have them on sale, so T.W.O. capitalized on this opportunity and bought bags and bags of the delicious red fruit! With all this supply, we tried to incorporate cherries into every meal. Below is a simple, summer recipe that is easy and doesn’t require a lot of prep-work. Add some grilled chicken or flat iron steak and you have yourself a main entrée!

Cherry & Goat Cheese Kale Salad with Pistachios

Ingredients:
– 4 – 6 cups baby kale
– 2 cups cherries, pitted and halved
– 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
– 1/2 cup pistachios
– balsamic vinaigrette
– hearts of palm, sliced

Directions:
1. In a bowl place baby kale, cherries, hearts of palm and pistachios. Mix well.
2. Toss salad with balsamic and sprinkle with goat cheese.
3. Plate and serve.

Cherrie-O,

Summer Chopped Salad with Carne Asada

Published on July 21, 2014July 8, 2014 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

In need of a meal for a warm Sunday night? Well, T.W.O. has a great recipe for you. It is a refreshing, light yet hearty salad that will win any crowd over. Learn how to make this chopped salad topped with grilled carne asada and homemade salad dressing. It’s easy and acts as a great Monday lunch option. (That’s if you have leftovers!)

Summer Chopped Salad with Carne Asada

Ingredients:

For the Salad:
– 3 cups butter lettuce
– 2 cups baby romaine
– 2 cans garbanzo beans
– 2 cups fresh strawberries
– 2 cups cherry tomatoes
– 2 cups Persian cucumbers
– 2 cups hearts of palm
– 2 ears corn
– ¼ cup cilantro
– ¼ cup parsley
– ½ cup Mediterranean feta, crumbled

For the meat:
– 1 ½ – 2 lbs lean carne asada
– 2 Tablespoons cayenne pepper
– 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
– Salt
– Pepper

For the Dressing:
– 2 lemons
– ¼ cup white balsamic
– ¼ cup balsamic
– 3 Tablespoon basil infused olive oil
– 2 teaspoon garlic powder
– Salt
– Pepper

Directions:
1. Place the meat in a Pyrex. Season the meat with the cayenne pepper, salt, garlic powder and pepper on both sides. Set aside and let marinate for about 20-30 minutes.
2. Shuck the corn and place on a microwave safe plate. Cook in microwave for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove and place on heated barbeque. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Make sure to rotate the corn so all the sides cook.
3. Wash and chop all vegetables and fruit. Place in a large bowl.
4. Add the meat to the pre-heated barbeque. Cook for about 15 minutes or until done.
5. While cooking the meat, make the dressing. Add all ingredients to a bowl or salad dressing shaker. Set aside.
6. Plate the salad and top with sliced meat and dressing.
7. Time to eat!

Happy grilling!

Greek Marinated Chicken

Published on April 30, 2014June 6, 2014 by twinswithoriginalityLeave a comment

Mediterranean food has been on T.W.O.’s mind lately so we decided to mix up our ordinary chicken meal into a one that will make us feel like we are in Greece! And we did it with some Greek Marinated Chicken kabobs. The marinade includes Greek yogurt, which keep the chicken so moist after barbequing it. Pair this dish with some hummus, orzo, Greek salad and you will be breaking plates all night!

Greek Marinated Chicken

Ingredients

1 cup Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 Garlic cloves, minced
½ Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Lemon
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
Fresh cracked pepper
2 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless

Instructions

For the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from the lemon. Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Add the parsley and stir it into the marinade.
Cut the chicken breasts into cubes. Add the chicken and marinade to a large Ziploc bag. Massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for at least 30 minutes.
After marinating for 30 minutes, skewer the chicken breasts. Place on the BBQ and cook for about 20-30 minutes or until done.

7-Bone Chuck Roast

Published on January 30, 2014January 28, 2014 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

T.W.O. has served this dish for many Super Bowl parties, birthday parties and family reunions. It’s an easy, one pot process with minimal ingredients that have a whole lot of flavor. The secret ingredient…dark beer! Let’s start cooking!

Ingredients:
4-6 pound 7-bone chuck roast
1 package Lipton Onion Soup mix
1 bottle dark beer*
1 large Maui sweet onion- cut into wedges
2 cups whole pepperoncini
Montreal Steak seasoning
Water
*Lagers work the best, but if you don’t have one lying around grab a Budweiser! It won’t disappoint!

Directions:

Season the roast with Montreal steak seasoning. Let roast sit at room temperature about 15-20 minutes.

In a large pot, sauté seasoned meat over medium heat. Brown each side about eight minutes. After browning meat, put cut onions onto bottom of pot under meat. Sauté onions until slightly golden. Sprinkle onion soup mix over the meat. Finally, add the pepperoncini to the pot.

Add enough water to the pot half way up the thickness of the roast. Evenly pour the beer over the meat.

Bring the liquid to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cover. Cook 2 ½ to 3 hours over low heat. The longer the meat cooks, the more tender it becomes. Not to exceed 6 hours…..unless you want beef jerky! The meat will fall off the bone! Of course, you must sample the meat prior to serving!!

Serving suggestions:

Make beef dip sandwiches on French rolls or your favorite roll. Cut meat into chunks. Add mustard, horseradish, or whatever your pallet’s crave. Serve with coleslaw or a side of home made potato salad. Plate the sandwich with a kosher pickle. Enjoy!

Or, serve meat accompanied with your favorite vegetables. Top with the pepperoncini.

First and ten, do it again!

Harvest Quinoa Salad

Published on October 18, 2013October 13, 2013 by twinswithoriginalityLeave a comment

Fall is just not in the air, but also in quinoa! T.W.O. loves making this harvest quinoa salad during the autumn months. It makes a great side dish, lunch meal, or snack! Serve it hot or cold! It’s just not perfect sweater weather, but perfect quinoa weather.

Ingredients

-2 cups water
-1 cup red quinoa, rinsed
-1 green apple
-1 cup spinach
-1/2 cup of dried cranberries
-1 lemon, juiced
-3-4 tablespoons olive oil
-1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
-3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
-Garlic powder
-Cinnamon
-Salt & Pepper
-Goat cheese, crumbled

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add a dash of cinnamon and garlic power. If you want a little kick, add a dash of cayenne pepper. Once the water is boiling, add quinoa and reduce to low-medium heat. Cook for about 12-15 minutes. While the quinoa is cooking, cut the apple (unpeeled) and spinach.

When the quinoa is done, fluff with fork and cool for 10-15 minutes.

Once cool, add olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, apple cider, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix. Next add in apple, spinach and cranberries and mix well.

Allow salad to chill for about 20 minutes. When you are ready to serve, crumble goat cheese over salad. (If you plan to serve, only let quinoa cool for about 2 minutes before adding in the ingredients. Top salad with goat cheese when you are ready to serve.)

Bon appetite!

*T.W.O. also likes to add grilled chicken breast to the salad or even chunks of roasted sweet potatoes.

Sriracha Glazed Chicken Mango Salad

Published on September 11, 2013September 10, 2013 by twinswithoriginalityLeave a comment

Remember that Sriracha Glazed Chicken Kebab recipe posted by T.W.O on Monday? Have you had the chance to try the recipe out? If you haven’t- you better get on it! And if you have, there are most likely leftovers! Hooray! T.W.O. decided to mix it up with the sriracha glazed chicken and add it to a salad! This dish is so refreshing, light, and has a nice balance of a sweet, but spicy kick to it!

Ingredients

–Sriracha Glazed Chicken, diced (link the post here)
-Lettuce*
-Mango, cubed
-Tomatoes
-Cucumbers
-Crimini mushrooms
-Cilantro Dressing**

*T.W.O. used romaine lettuce
**If you don’t feel like making your own dressing recipe, T.W.O. has discovered a great Cilantro dressing from Trader Joe’s.

First, wash and chop up the lettuce, mango, tomatoes, cucumbers, and mushrooms. Next dice your chicken into cubes. T.W.O. heated up their chicken just a bit before tossing into salad, but it can also be served at room temperature. After all the ingredients are platted, drizzle the dressing on the salad. Easy as that!

Bon Appetite!

Grilled Peach Caprese Chicken Salad

Published on August 30, 2013August 30, 2013 by twinswithoriginalityLeave a comment

Labor Day weekend is almost here, so get that BBQ fired up because T.W.O. is ready to grill a Peach Caprese Chicken Salad with you! T.W.O. decided to put a little spin to the traditional caprese salad and add grilled peaches for some sweetness and chicken for extra protein. It is a healthy, refreshing dish that everyone can enjoy!

Grilled Peach Caprese Chicken Salad

Ingredients

– Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
– Fresh peaches
– Fresh buffalo mozzarella
– Tomatoes
– Cucumbers
– Crimini Mushrooms
– Lettuce of your choice
– Balsamic dressing

First, season your chicken breast with your choice of spices. T.W.O. used Krazy salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Let the chicken season for about 8-10 minutes.

In the meantime, fire up your grill and wash your lettuce, vegetables and peaches. Cut your peaches in half and remove the pit. Next, place your chicken on a clean grill and turn the temperature down to low-medium, depending on how hot your grill gets. While the chicken is grilling, start chopping up your lettuce, cucumbers, and mushrooms. After the chicken has been grilling for about 8 minutes, place your peaches on the grill, cut side down. Keep a close eye on the peaches and chicken because you don’t want them to burn! Assemble your tomato and cheese stacks.

When the chicken and peaches are done, cut the chicken into strips and the peaches into slices. Alternate the chicken and peaches in between the cheese stacks to create your “caprese” salad. Next place the caprese salad on top of the bed of lettuce with cucumber and mushrooms. Finish the dish with a balsamic dressing of your choice. Wah-lah! Now you can enjoy this original, gastronomical dish this holiday weekend with your family and friends.