Rice, Corn and Bean Salad

 

My fun and fabulous sister Linde came to visit a couple of weeks ago with her cutest little man, Jackson. When Linde and I were both pregnant at the same time back in 2007, we couldn’t wait for our boys to become best friends. We pictured ourselves taking lots of vacations, drinking on porches and snacking on delicious food while watching them play. Fast forward 6 years and well, Ansen and Jackson get along…for the most part. But their fighting doesn’t keep us from drinking and eating. And running!

It was the second year in a row Linde was able to come up to Bellingham to run the Chuckanut Foot Race with me. The first day she was here I decided our motto would be “We do what we want!” so we started the day off eating at the Bagelry and having ice cream at Mallard’s. But then she wasn’t feeling well and I took her to Urgent Care and they diagnosed her with Kidney Failure. After a check in at the ER, lots of crying and me mentally prepping myself to donate a kidney it turned out she was perfectly fine and just needed antibiotics. So then about 15 minutes later we found ourselves at Fred Meyer waiting for a prescription and shopping for cute running outfits. Because, I mean, what would you do if you thought you were dying and then realized you could still run in the race the next day? Ovbi.

We got lots of comments on our socks. I, personally am a fan of the Three's Company pink shorts.

So we ran the race and it was awesome and fun and then we came home and made a delicious Rice, Corn and Bean salad to bring to my friend Kathryn’s house for a Mexican themed BBQ. This dish is a Linde Specialty, altered a bit from my cousin Beth Sobel’s recipe. It is a serious crowd pleaser.

Salad Ingredients
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
12 oz. frozen corn
2 15 oz. cans black beans
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
½ cup Feta Cheese

Salad Dressing
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
½ teaspoon garlic powder (or minced real garlic)
Juice of one large Lemon
2 teaspoons salt
ground pepper to taste
½ teaspoon thyme
a few generous sprinkles of hot sauce

Directions
Cook rice and let cool. Bring frozen corn to room temperature, or heat up in a pan. Combine all salad ingredients. Combine dressing. Toss! This recipe makes enough for a three family BBQ.

Linde. Alive and well, both kidneys in tact, and slicing green bell pepper like a boss.

 

 

Here are some other fun things we did while Linde and Jackson were in town:

Linde and Jackson and my youngest, Asher age 3, at the Pride Parade. Asher kept saying, "This is a crazy parade mama!" and "Look, that guy is only wearing underwear!"

 

We went to visit Uncle James at Alki Beach and we took the water taxi to downtown Seattle to ride the Big Wheel.

 

Ansen, Jackson, me and Uncle James on the Seattle Big Wheel. We got to go three times around and it was a shit ton of money so I don't think I'd recommend it. But now I can say I did it!

Other Linde related recipes on this blog:

 

Sangria
Belinda's Bellini

 

'cause a girl's gotta have her cocktails.

 

Budget & the Beach: Spicy Grilled Pesto Chicken

As you all know, I lived in LA (Hermosa Beach) for a good amount of time.  I was lucky to meet some awesome people - mainly thru volleyball.  My friend, Tonya, was always  a great volleyball organizer and always up for a run on the beach!  She is a video editor and writer living in Los Angeles. She chronicles her journey of becoming financially independent, and navigating the rocky waters of freelancing in her personal finance blog Budget & the Beach. You can follow her on twitter at @beachbudget.  Thanks Tonya for sharing a quick, BBQ recipe with the Beauties! 

Spicy Grilled Pesto Chicken (and my George Foreman Grill)

With summertime (OK fine I live in LA where it's just about always summertime), I have a tendency to want to cook less and less. Or I want something that is just easy to whip up.

Not being a gourmet chef by any means, I often whip out the single woman's alternative to the big BBQ: the George Foremen Grill. Yes, I do actually have a grill in my apartment's shared backyard, but I often find myself being kind of lazy on a weekday night when I know I'm just cooking for myself.

One of my favorite grilled chicken recipes is from a coupon book that Ralph's grocery store once sent me for Spicy Grilled Pesto Chicken. Now you just say "pesto" and my ears perk up, because it's quite possibly one of my favorite things on earth!

The marinade:

1/4 cup fresh parsley (I often use thyme and/or rosemary instead)

1 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (I still can't say it right!)

1 Tbsp. pesto sauce (you can make it or buy a store brand)

Put all the ingredients in a large re-sealable bag and marinate for 15-30 minutes.

What I love about grilling up a few of these chicken breasts on the George Forman grill, is that I can use this chicken for a couple of days and create many different types of meals!

One of my favorite light summer meals is a salad with grilled chicken and roasted asparagus (and a glass of wine of course).

Roasted Asparagus:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1 Tbsp. thyme

Freshly ground black pepper.

Mix all the ingredients and toss asparagus. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Delicious!

I can also used the grilled chicken and toss it in with some pasta and leftover pesto, make a pesto and grilled chicken wrap, or just toss the grilled chicken in with a salad for a light summertime dinner. Easy peasy!

And the best thing about the George Forman grill is it's such an easy cleanup! Five minutes to clean and then I'm off to slipping into my yoga pants and watching The Vampire Diaries. Ah the single life...

BBQ Brussels Sprouts

Hello fellow Beauties!

It's Jolie here.  It's been too long since I posted but it doesn't mean I am not thinking about this blog every time I cook.  In fact, Amber's last post about beer brats was exactly what we ate with these Brussels sprouts.

I am the only one the in the group with a school-age kiddo and it feels like we've been on an end-of-the-school-year countdown for the past several weeks!  It's that time of year when the old reading log just doesn't get signed.  But with baseball season, the talent show, and second grade behind us, we are all looking forward to a carefree summer with lots of backyard BBQs!

I grabbed these Brussels sprouts at Costco.  I sliced them in half and put them in a sprayed-down tin foil pouch.  I added garlic, salt, pepper, and a handful of rosemary.  I'm sure if you added butter that would be fabulous but we try to go without.  Then we tossed the tin foil pouch on the grill with the meat.  I think about 20 minutes but I started to lose track with all the mojitos I was drinking.  I don't think you could screw this one up.

Everyone loved them.  It's nice to mix it up a little.  Here is a picture of my family to spice up the post.  I will be back soon, I promise!

Go Sounders FC!

BBQ Greek Turkey Burgers with Greek Yogurt Sauce and Pickled Onions

I killed two birds with one stone with this meal.
1.) I made an awesome dinner  and was able to get everything ready while Graham was napping. This was a treat because I've been trying to clean out our freezer so I hadn't cooked in awhile.
2.) I tripled the recipe so I'd have enough burgers to share with my frozen dinner club girls. This was a risk since I've never tried this before and I started second guessing myself as I was dumping 3 pounds of ground turkey in the bowl. Lucky for me the burgers we were really good and not one ingredient went to waste.

This recipe is from Nutmeg Nanny a great food blog Megan introduced me to. I followed her recipe but used ground turkey instead of chicken ('cause that's what Costco has). It was super easy and REALLY yummy spin on traditional burgers. I'm glad I made extra and now have a stash in our freezer. And I think the pickled onions will be good for awhile.

Greek Turkey Burgers {with pickled red onion and Greek yogurt sauce}

Recipe and photo from Nutmeg Nanny

Ingredients:

For pickled red onion:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 thinly sliced large red onion
For Greek yogurt sauce:
1 (6 ounce) plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
1 tablespoon finely minced mint
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For turkey burgers:
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon finely minced mint
1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Baby spinach
6-8 slider buns (I used torta rolls and made regular size burgers)
Cheese (even tho the burgers have feta, we melted extra cheese on top)

Directions:

For pickled red onion:
In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, brown sugar, salt and water. When you no longer see any sugar or salt in the mixture add your onion and let sit on the counter for at least an hour.
Store leftovers in the fridge with a little bit of the pickling juice.
I like to do this first so it can pickle while I put together and cook the burgers.
For Greek yogurt sauce:
In a small bowl add everything and mix together. Keep in the fridge until ready to use. When you are ready to serve give a taste and add more salt if needed.
(Keep in mind the burgers contain feta cheese which will add a bit of salt to the finished sandwich)
For turkey burgers:
In a large bowl add ground turkey, feta cheese, mint, parsley, red bell pepper, salt and black pepper.
Using your hands mix together until thoroughly combined. Divide meat mixture into 6 - 8 slider sized burgers (I made regular sized burgers).

Over medium heat, cook on the grill until the inside of the burger is no longer pink. {If you do not have a grill you can pan fry the burgers in one tablespoon of olive oil.} Melt cheese on top while they're cooking if you so desire.

To assemble the burgers add Greek yogurt sauce to the top and bottom of the bun, add burger, baby spinach and a few pickled red onions.

 

Grilled Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad & An Easy Steak Marinade

This pasta salad recipe might also be a bit of a stretch for barbecue month but I'm including it anyway because a crucial ingredient came from the grill. Here's how it came to be...

Night 1, we welcomed our weekend guest, hungry Mike, with grilled chicken tenders and Caesar romaine wedges.

Night 2, I took the leftover chicken (there wasn't much left, unfortunately -- Mike) and I decided to make a pasta salad which ended up being another take on Caesar salad just so I could use the leftover dressing. Don't judge, Mike loved it.

Night 3 for Father's Day, we grilled steaks for Kelly and our adopted dad, Mike. The steak was awesome so I'll just go ahead and share the marinade for that one too...

I kind of made this one up as I went so here goes:

Grilled Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

One bag of tri-color pasta, cooked and drained.
Place in a bowl and add about half a jar of your favorite Caesar dressing.
Add a handful of baby arugula.
Add another handful of cherry tomatoes.
Add about 1 cup of marinated artichokes.
Add about 1 cup of Parmesan cheese.
Add about 1/2 cup of red onion, chopped.
Mix it all up and determine if you need more dressing.
Before serving, add in leftover barbecue grilled chicken, cut in chunks.
Note: There is enough yummy stuff in this, that you could opt to leave out the meat if you wanted a vegetarian version -- still very delish.

Yes, I put out leftover St. Paddy's Day napkins for our weekend guest. I also made him get his own beer.
That's how we roll.

Kelly's Steaks

For three big steaks, we melted about a quarter to half stick of unsalted butter with a ton of minced garlic.
Bathe your raw meat in it, as Kelly is demonstrating in the pic below.
Sprinkle with blackened seasoning.
Grill it up nice and slow, rubbing on more garlic/butter/seasoning goop as needed.

I swear this is the only work I made him do on Father's Day.

Mike with his new shoe accessory to help him climb big mountains. He looks hungry, doesn't he?

Boom. Done!

A for-real Father's Day meal.

Who else saw the sun halo last weekend? Mike thinks it's lucky; I think he's just delirious from hunger.

So, if a rainbow is a perfect circle with no end and no beginning, where do they put the pot of gold?

Grilled Caesar Romaine Wedges

These romaine wedges were on the grill for a total of about 4 minutes -- that counts for barbecue month, right? I don't have a great story for these, just that I'm a little pissed I haven't tried them till now, that's how delicious and easy they were. I think this is the first time the meat became a "side" to the salad in my house...

Grilled Caesar Romaine Wedges

1/2 cup Caesar salad dressing
2 heads romaine lettuce, cleaned
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp French fried onions (optional)
3 tbsp bacon bits (optional)
Sea salt and pepper

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove loose outer leaves from each head of lettuce. Cut each lettuce head in half lengthwise. Brush cut sides with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

In a small bowl, combine onions and vinegar and set aside.

Grill lettuce cut side down, for about 2 minutes or until just charred. Turn lettuce and grill 2-3 more minutes (watch lettuce carefully as it may char quickly, depending upon temperature of grill).

Drain onions, arrange lettuce on plates. Drizzle with salad dressing and top with onions and Parmesan cheese. Add French fried onions (or croutons) and bacon bits for a little crunch and added flavor.

Beautiful wedges split in half and brushed with olive oil and sea salt.

Stay tuned for  another  recipe using barbecue chicken tender leftovers.

Kelly and his very hungry friend, Mike, who stayed with us for the weekend. After climbing Mt. Rainier, Mike was happy to eat his weight in food just about every night. Kelly spent four months with this guy (and his wife) about 11 years ago climbing in New Zealand and Thailand, living out of a small car, camping on beaches and eating rice and beans. When Mike stayed with us last weekend, he would disappear for the entire morning to go running. After he left us, he went back to Rainier to "run up it" and then the next day he was going to pick up his brother from the airport to do it all over again. That would be three climbs of Mt. Rainier in less than a week, people. I guess I won't complain this week about going to Zumba...

Saucy yummy grilled Caesar wedge. Mike ate two, of course.

West Coast Fave - BBQ Tri Tip!

So once again my sister Megan (one of the Beauties) is out gallivanting. This time, she is road-tripping in Italy before joining the rest of the crew on her newest yacht to tour the Mediterranean.  Tough life, right? Before she left, she gave me strict instructions to provide a guest post for the Beauties, so here goes!

Megan was able to make a very quick trip to visit before she started her latest adventure.  I asked her for her dinner request, and she asked for tri-tip.  For those not familiar with it, tri-tip is a cut of beef mostly used in the West - I really only started eating it when I moved to Los Angeles

For those really interested in tri-tip, Wikipedia has some handy dandy info about tri tip which you can find by clicking here. 

Twice a year our little beach town has a local event called Fiesta Hermosa. In the food tent area of the Fiesta, a restaurant from Santa Maria sells phenomenal tri-tip sandwiches.  My husband Scott was convinced he could do better, and I think he did.  Below is the recipe we use, and we made for Megan:

Scott's Tri Tip Sandwiches

Ingredients

Tri tip (we buy the 2 pack from Costco, and 1 tri tip will serve 4)

2 tablespoons of Lawry’s Salt

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of onion powder

2 teaspoons of pepper

Optional

1 onion

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

3 jalapeños

Tater tots

Cajun salt (we use Louisiana Fish Fry Products Cajun Seasoning)

Steps

• Slice all the vegetables (de-seeding the jalepenos to reduce the heat), and place in a saute pan with 1 tablespoon of oil.  You can use any combination of veggies to suit your preference, and skip the jalapenos all together if you are preparing for little ones. 

Sliced veggies ready to sauté

• Preheat the oven, and salt the tater tots
• Let the meat warm to room temperature
• Mix the spices together 
• Generously coat tri-tip with seasoning, setting aside a small portion of the seasoning (to use later to season meat when cooked
• Light up the grill, and let it heat up. 
• Cook meat, fat side up, on indirect heat and cook to desired doneness.  Scott recommends using a meat thermometer and cooking to medium rare.

Seasoning the tri tip

• Put the tater tots in the oven (timed to finish when the meat comes off the grill)
• When the meat is mostly done, sauté the veggies
• Pull the meat off the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes or so
• As thinly as possible, slice the meat (we use a meat slicer)
• Top toasted rolls or buns with meat and veggies
• Serve with crispy Tater tots and extra tri-tip seasoning.  I also like a little creamed horseradish sometimes

Seasoned and crispy tater tots

This is a simple, flavorful, and affordable way to enjoy the grill.  Happy tri-tipping!

Unfortunately, I didn't capture a picture of the entire dish,
so you will just have to enjoy this picture of Megan and Curly cuddling on the couch!