Grilled Peaches with Honey Cream

My daughter insisted that this dessert was "blog-worthy" and I have to agree!

Grilled Peaches with Honey Cream

The peaches sit in a butter/honey/cardamom mix before grilling.  The cardamom give the peaches just a hint of barely-detectable spice that perfectly balances the sweet of the fruit and the creaminess of the yogurt sauce.  

This was a 10/10 for dessert.  It was a bit of a splurge at 5 weight watchers points, but the serving size was huge:  2 peach halves, 2 Tbsp of cream and 1/4 cup of raspberries!

Go ahead...Fruit...yogurt...honey...Splurge already!  Enjoy!

Grilled Peaches with Honey Cream

Cooking Light Magazine 7/13

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, meltied
• 2 Tbsp honey, divided
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamon
• Dash of kosher salt
• 4 medium peaches (Not quite ripe works best), pitted and halved
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 1/2 Tbsp half and half
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup raspberries

1.  Combine melted butter, 1 Tbsp honey, cardamon, and salt in a medium bowl.   Add peaches, and toss to coat.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

2.  Heat a grill pan over medium heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Arrange peaches on grill pan; grill 2 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear.  (We did this on our outdoor gas grill)

3.  Combine yogurt, half-and-half, remaining 1 Tbsp honey , and vanilla in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.  Serve with peaches and raspberries.

Note:  I didn't have half-and half and wasn't going to buy any (for only 2 1/2 tsp!) so I used skim milk and added just a touch of low fat sour cream to give it a little body.  It worked great!

Lemon-Tarragon Crab Cakes with Arugula-Parsley Salad

I'll bet that some of you thought that I had given up blogging!  I'm still here, but...It has been a really busy Spring full of many happy events.

Sewing is at a virtual stand-still, but the dinner time keeps rolling around each night so at least I'm getting in some cooking. I did get some time to shop at a cool fabric store in Harrisonburg (Rag Time Fabrics) and was able to pick up some stretch lace so I have a new project on the horizon.  I also have a hooded baby towel and a bib to make for a baby girl that is waiting to make her appearance soon. So maybe some sewing pics soon?

On the top of the list this weekend was DD #2's graduation!

Our new college graduate!

Tonight to celebrate her first night back at home we had a yummy crab cake dinner from this month's Cooking Light Magazine.  

Lemon-Tarragon Crab Cakes with Arugula-Parsley Salad

We liked the crab cakes a lot (I mean how can you go wrong with fresh crab, lemon and tarragon!), but the surprise hit of the dinner was the salad.  It was tossed with a lemony-Dijon dressing with just a hint of sweetness from agave syrup.  I have been seeing this ingredient in a lot of recipes lately so, on impulse, I bought it the other day.  I like the flavor and, with the intense sweetness, a little goes a long way.

I think that the secret with somewhat bitter greens like arugula and parsley is to dress them a bit ahead of time so that they kind of wilt a bit and absorb the dressing flavor.  This salad had a nice bright crunch and the sweet tangy dressing finished it off perfectly!

My husband commented that this was the first time he has ever eaten parsley. Ha!  Little does he know that I go through a bunch of parsley each week and...he is definitely eating half of it!  I guess he also hasn't noticed it growing in the garden each summer.  Maybe he thinks the chipmunks eat it???  

I'm hoping that you have had a Spring time full of celebrations - every day variety celebrations and special occasions both!

Lemon-Tarragon Crab Cakes

Cooking Light Magazine 5/13

• 1 1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs, toasted
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (Juice the whole lemon and use the rest for the dressing)
• 1 tsp fresh tarragon (mine from the garden is just tall enough to harvest after the winter)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 pound lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp olive oil

1.  Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a bowl.  Toss gently.  Divide crab mixture into 6 equal portions (about 2/3 cup each), shaping each into a 1/2 inch thick patty.  (Mine were slightly thicker)

2.  Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add crab cakes to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and heated through. 

Serves 6 (5 Weight Watcher Points)

Arugula Parsley Salad

Combine 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp whole-grain dijon mustard, 1 tsp agave syrup, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.  Add 5 cups baby arugula, 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, and 1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion to bowl; toss well to coat.

Serves 3 (3 Weight Watcher Points)

Quick and Delicious Pork Sandwiches

Springtime.  Birds tweeting. Flowers blooming. Warmer Weather (sort of!).  The school year is starting to wrap up and I am doing some manic planning for completing the curriculum and getting kiddos ready for those dreaded state mandated tests.  The garden is coming back to life and needs my attention. We have graduations and birthdays and...life is so full and we are so blessed!

That means that dinner needs to be fast and, of course, delicious too!  Springtime is the perfect time for Cooking Light Magazine's annual quick issue - 40 meals in under 40 minutes.  This year they out did themselves with main dishes paired with some rotating and out-of-the-ordinary sides

On one of our particularly crazy nights we tried the Soy-Marinated Pork Sandwiches with the Soba Noodle salad. 

Soy-Marinated Pork Sandwiches with Soba Noodle Salad - Cooking Light 4/13

Wow!  What a lot of flavor in a short period of time!  It took less than 30 minutes to put together.  Hubby, as chief dishwasher, was especially happy with this dish because it didn't even make much of a mess.

Soba Noodle Salad

The Soba Noodle salad is chock full of veggies and has a light tasting soy dressing.  I put it into Weight Watchers and it comes up at just 4 points for a generous 3/4 cup serving.

The pork sandwiches have a quick sweet and savory marinade and are topped with colorful carrot ribbon quick pickles.
The sandwich with the carrot topping came up to 7 points - all included: bun, pork and carrot topping.

I served it with some melon and it made a delicious and filling meal.  

So Cooking Light to the rescue again!  A perfect meal for a busy Spring weeknight!

Link to the recipes here:

Soy-Marinated Pork Sandwiches

Soba Noodle Salad

Snow Day Sewing and Quick Beef Stroganoff

Today it finally happened!  Our long-awaited snow day!

Snow Day!

We didn't get anything like the 6-10 inches our panic-y weathermen predicted - more like someone dumped a slurpy on the grassy areas, but it was pretty and we got to have a SNOW DAY!!!

So what to do on a snow day?  Sew of course!  And cook a yummy comfort meal for dinner.  And...if you are a teacher...Do those lesson plans and grade those papers that you never have time to work on because you are busy - teaching.  Imagine! Ha!

It was cold and gloomy and the snow was falling in big snowballs so it seemed like the perfect day for hand sewing.  I cuddled up in the recliner by the windows with the view above and finished up one of the projects from my Charleston trip.

Linen Bag from Stitchin Charleston Style

This was so fun to stitch up and I love all the little details that Laura Jenkins Thompson includes when she designs these projects. 

Detail of the embroider work

I especially love the stump work nest with the freshwater pearl eggs.  It is hard to tell from the picture, but the nest is really raised so it is 3-D.

Laura had us do a super quick lining for the bag so everything is neat and tidy when you are finished. 

Now I have to figure out what is precious enough to put in my little linen bag...

So after all that stitching and snow watching I was definitely in the mood for some comfort food.  I turned to my old faithful Cooking Light Magazine and it did not disappoint.  

Quick Beef Stronganoff
with Grainy Mustard Brussel Sprouts

The Jan/Feb issue had a recipe for Quick Beef Stroganoff with Grainy Mustard Brussels Sprouts.  (My parents will faint when they see this because, until recently, brussels sprouts have been on my very short list of Foods I Don't Like.

This recipe was delicious!  It came together quickly and made 4 generous servings at only 357 calories each.  Guess what we are having for lunch tomorrow!  :-)

Sure beats a PBJ!

Here is the link to the recipe on the Cooking Light site.

Wishing everyone a snow day full of things you love to do with a yummy comfort meal to wrap it all up!

Share you favorite snow day fun/food in the comments.  You don't have to have an account to comment.  Choose the Name/URL and you can put in your first name, initials, special symbol, whatever.  Can't wait to hear what you have to say!

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread - Dessert on a Weeknight!

I had a little hankering for something sweet this week and when I opened up my latest Cooking Light Magazine it magically opened right to Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread.  It was meant to be!  Although I'm pretty sure that light is a relative term with this banana bread, it was totally delicious and worth every extra crunch and mountain climber I had to do to make up for it!

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

At first glance the recipe seemed to have a lot of steps, but it actually came together pretty quickly - a must for a weeknight treat!

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

5 Tbsp Nutella (See- Already delish!)

3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp canola oil, divided

3 Tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown butter

2 medium ripe bananas, sliced

2 large eggs

6.75 ounces all purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup whole buttermilk (I used low fat cuz that's what they had at the store)

Baking spray with flour

1/4 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

1 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350

2.  Combine chocolate-hazelnut spread and 1 tsp oil in a microwave-safe dish; microwave at HIGH for 30 sec. or until melted.  Stir.  Combine 3 Tbsp. oil, butter, brown sugar, and banana in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

3.  Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to banana mixture; beat just until combined. 

4.  Scrape half of batter into a 9 x 5 inch metal loaf pan coated with baking spray

5.  Top with chocolate hazelnut spread mixture.   














6.  Spread remaining batter over chocolate mixture.  Using a pick, swirl batter. 













7.  Sprinkle batter with hazelnuts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out with moist crumbs clinging.  Cool 10 minutes in a pan on a wire rack. Remove bread and cool on a wire rack.  






8. Place bittersweet chocolate in microwave-safe dish; microwave at high for 30 seconds.  Drizzle bread with chocolate; let stand until set.  

Look at that delicious swirl of hazelnut spread in the banana bread - mmmm  mmm!

It smells so delicious that you might be tempted to cut into it while it is still hot, but it really does slice and taste better if you wait 'til it cools down a bit.  (You can do it!  Well, maybe you can - because obviously I couldn't.  That's how I know its better cooled a bit.   :-) 

I hope you had a little "sweetness" in your life this week!

Roasted Chili Verde with Pork and Rice

 Roasted Chili Verde with Pork and Rice was on the menu for Monday night and it was delicious! It was from my fave Cooking Light this month (Oct 2012)

Roasted Chili Verde with Pork and Rice

I rushed home from work to get it going because, although the actual hands-on time for this dish is not too bad, but takes a bit of planning to pull it off because it has to cook for at least an hour to make sure that the pork gets nice and tender.  The pay-off is so worth it!  

The first step was to peel the papery covering off and roast some tomatillos.


Aren't these cool?  They have kind of a sticky film underneath the husk.

Getting tomatillos ready for the oven

After broiling for 15 minutes

The raw ingredients for the salsa

After you roast the tomatillos, you take them for a spin in the food processor with some onion, sugar, garlic and jalapeño pepper.

This is the point where you wish this blog had smell-a-vision!  It smelled A-MAZ-ING!

While the tomatillos are broiling, I was browning some cubes of boneless pork shoulder.  And then it all went together into a pot to simmer for an hour or until the pork is fork tender. 

Now you have a pocket of time to run downstairs for a quick workout so that you have calories left to eat this deliciousness.  (Yes - I actually did do this!)

With about 20 minutes left in the pork cooking time, you throw some onion and rice in a pan with a touch of oil.  Add a can of mild chili-flavored tomatoes and some water and let it simmer by itself.  Plate it up... and...

Deeeelicious!  

I served it up with a simple salad of navel oranges and avocados.

My only regret...I should have made a double batch and frozen some for later! Oh well, next time - and there will be a next time!

Roasted Chili Verde with Pork and Rice

1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husks and stems removed

1 cup chopped onion, divided

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 tsp sugar

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, chopped

2 Tbsp canola oil, divided

1 poud boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup uncooked long-grain rice

1 (10 ounce) can mild diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained

1 cup water

1 jalapeño pepper, sliced (optional)

Cilantro leaves (optional)

1.  Preheat broiler to high.

2.  Place tomatillos on a baking sheet or jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray.  Broil 8 inches from broiler for 15 minutes or until skins blacken and tomatillos are soft.

3.  Place tomatillos, pan juices, 3/4 cup onion, and next 4 ingredients (through chopped jalapeño) in a blender or a food processor; process until sauce is almost smooth.

4.  Heat a Dutch oven over med-high heat.  Add 1 Tbsp oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Sprinkle pork evenly with 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper (I forgot this step so I threw it into the pan as the pork was sautéing - oops!)  Add pork to pan.  Sauté 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides, Add tomatillo mixture to pan; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until pork is very tender, stirring occasionally (It took mine about an hour and 20 minutes - I like it very tender.)

5.  Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add remaining 1/4 cup onion; saute 2 minutes or until soft.  Add rice; sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add remaining 1/4 tsp salt, tomatoes, and 1 cup water to pan; bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid evaporates and rice is tender; do not stir. (Shhh...Don't tell...I stirred.)  Divide rice among 4 plates.  Top with pork mixture; garnish with sliced jalapeño and cilantro leaves, if desired.  

Kung Pao Chicken Tacos - Fusion Fabulous!

A long day at work plus a hard workout meant I was on the look out for a fast and yummy dinner.  The answer appeared to be Kung Pao Chicken Tacos featured in the October issue of Cooking Light.  

Kung Pao Chicken Tacos 

The magazine claims inspiration for this dish from the "hip Korean taco trucks."  Apparently those are all over around here and, apparently, I am not hip enough (or just to tired!) to find them.  :-)  So I resorted to making my own.

Although they were delicious, the 30 minute prep time was a bit of a stretch.  There was quite a bit of chopping and mixing to get this dinner on the table!

The recipe called for chicken thighs - which I normally don't care for - but in this recipe they are a winner!  The sauce gives them a spicy sweet taste that was very appealing.  I warmed up/toasted the corn tortillas on the cast iron griddle that straddles two burners on my stove and they came out perfectly - A bit toasty, but still soft and pliable. 

My husband gave it two thumbs up and a definite do-over rating - although I think that he was rethinking when he saw the pile of dirty dishes that it created!

The bonus of the meal is...

 Leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  So...A little over 30 minutes prep and you get a dinner and 2 lunches - no food truck needed!

Kung Pao Chicken Tacos

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 Tbsp lower-sodium soy sauce, divided
• 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch, divided
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp canola oil, divided
• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste) (I get mine at H-Mart)
• 1 Large clove garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
• 3/4 cup diagonally sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
• 8 (6-in) corn tortillas
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 lime wedges

1.  Place chicken in a large zip-top bag.  Add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and marinate at room temp for 30 minutes.  Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place 1/4 cup cornstarch in a shallow dish.  Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt.  Add chicken to cornstarch in dish, and toss chicken to thoroughly coat.  Shake off excess cornstarch.

2.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 Tbsp canola oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add half of coated chicken; saute for 6 minutes or until done, turning to brown.  Remove chicken from pan using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.  Repeat the procedure with remaining 1 Tbsp oil and coated chicken.

3.  Combine remaining 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch, remaining 2 Tbsp soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and sambal oelek in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth.  Microwave at High for 1 1/2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring twice.  Stir in garlic.  Combine soy sauce mixture, chicken , peanuts, and celery; toss to coat chicken.

4 Toast tortillas under broiler or on a griddle until lightly blistered, turning frequently.  Place 2 tortillas on each of 4 plates; divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas.  Top each taco with green onions and bell pepper drips; serve with lime wedges.

Enjoy Your Fusion Feast!!!

Fall on a plate - Pork Chops and Apples!

The weather is cool. The windows are open.  It seemed like it was time for some fall on our dinner plate.  Nothing says "fall" more than pork chops and apples!   I found this recipe in this month's (September 2012) Cooking Light Magazine.

Pork Chops with Roasted Apples and Onions

My hubby was practically licking the plate!  This is not considered rude in our family.  It is a high compliment!  ;-)  

Pork Chops with Roasted Apples and Onions

• 2 1/2 tsp canola oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 2 cups Gala apple wedges
• 1 Tbsp butter, divided
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 4 (6 oz) bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
• 1/2 cup fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp cider vinegar 

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.  Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tsp oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Pat onions dry with a paper towel.  Add onions to pan; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once.  Add apple to pan; place in oven.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 min. or until onions and apple are tender.  Stir in 2 tsp butter, thyme, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.

3.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Add remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil to pan.  Swirl to coat.   Add pork to pan; cook 3 min. on each side or until desired degree of doneness.  Remove pork from pan; keep warm. 

4.  Combine broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add broth mixture to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Cook 1 min or until reduced to 1/4 cup.  Stir in vinegar and remaining 1 tsp butter.  Serve sauce with pork and apple mixture.  

Serves 4 - (Serving size:  1 pork chop, about 1 Tbsp sauce and 3/4 cups of apple mixture)

What is your favorite fall treat to feast on?

Yummy Salad for Hot days

I don't know about where you are, but here in NoVa it is HOT!!!  I just got back from my 4 mile walk drenched and looked at the thermometer...99 degrees at 10 am!!!

I definitely don't want anything heavy for lunch.  Here is a sweet little salad I made for dinner the other night using the fruit from the farmer's market.  It is from this month's Cooking Light Magazine.  Perfect for these sweltering days!

Stone Fruit Chicken-Rice Salad

(Serves 4)

3 (6 oz) skinless chicken breast halves 

(Or left over chicken or rotisserie chicken from the store)

1 tsp salt, divided

1/2 tsp black pepper divided

Cooking spray

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups pitted, coarsely chopped nectarines

1 cup coarsely chopped pitted cherries

1 cup cooked brown rice, cooled 

(I used some basmati rice that I had leftover from another meal)

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup dry-roasted almonds, chopped

Mixed Spring Greens

3 Tbsp torn mint

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. 

2.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until done.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Chop chicken.  (I used some leftover chicken breasts.  If I am grilling for one dinner, I always make more for lunches or dinners later in the week.)

3.  Combine oil, rind, juice, and mustard in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Add chopped, cooked chicken, nectarines, and remaining ingredients; toss well.

(I added in a couple of handfuls of mixed spring greens - maybe 2 cups per serving and tossed it in too.)

The lemon and mint gave it such a refreshing taste and kept the sweetness of the nectarines and cherries from overwhelming.   The chicken and the almonds made it a filling and satisfying dinner salad.

Enjoy!  What are you feasting on for these HOT summer days?

Feasting Moroccan style

I was in the mood for something a bit exotic, but not in the mood for a long stay in the kitchen.  After digging through my older special edition cookbooks, I stumbled upon Chicken Tagine in the July 2009 issue of Cooking Light's 5-ingredient, 15-minute cookbook.  A touch exotic and quick - perfect!
It was delicious, but took a touch longer than 15 minutes - mostly because I had to make my own moroccan spice mix.  My husband deemed the dinner a "do-over" which is our family's equivalent of 2 thumbs up.  

Hubby likes thighs and I prefer white meat so I used a few of each.  I just cut the chicken breasts in half and added them a bit later so they wouldn't dry out.  I will also include the recipe for the brown butter couscous that I served on the side.

Enjoy feasting Moroccan Style!

Chicken Tagine

8 (3 oz) skinless, boneless chicken thighs 

(Because I cannot follow a recipe exactly, I used 4 bone-in chicken thighs - way cheaper - and took off the skin myself and 2 boneless chicken breasts cut in half)

1 1/2 tsp moroccan spice blend 

(I couldn't find this in the store so I used this recipe:  Moroccan Spice Mix)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

1 (16 oz) can chickpeas rinsed and drained

1 (14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion (or with any other seasoning- just not mexican) undrained

Plain fat-free yogurt (for topping)

Chopped fresh mint (for topping)

1.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice blend, salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. 

2. Add chickpeas and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until chicken is done.  

This makes 4 servings - 2 thighs (or 2 pieces of chicken breast) , 2/3 cup veggies, and about 3/4 cup couscous.

Brown Butter Couscous

1.  Add 2 teaspoons of butter to a pan over medium-high heat.  Heat, stirring or swirling frequently and watching very closely until butter just turns golden brown. Remove from heat

2.  Add 2 Tbsp of pine nuts and 3/4 cup of couscous and brown lightly.

3.  Add 1 cup of chicken broth, cover and allow to sit for about 10 minutes

4. Just before serving, add the juice of 1/2 lemon and fluff with a fork.

Spicy grill night!

Last night the weather turned sooo beautiful - Cool, no humidity, nice breeze.  Time to fire up the grill and eat outside on the deck before the heat cranks up again this weekend.

Last night's feast:  Glazed Chicken and Szechuan Noodle Salad from Cooking Light Magazine.

 This was a super tasty, zesty dinner with Asian notes.  And...It was ready in 30 minutes with very little clean up!  If you like your feasts a little spicy, this is the dish for you!

Glazed Chicken and Szechuan Noodle Salad 

with Sesame Broccoli

Glazed Chicken

1 Tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger

3 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon lower-sodium soy sauce

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds)

(I used half thigh and half breast cuz I like white meat better)

Cooking spray

Szechuan Noodle Salad

6 ounces uncooked udon noodels (thick, fresh Japanese wheat noodles) or whole-wheat linguine

1/4 cup bottled Szechuan Sauce

1 Tablespoon reduced-fat creamy peanut butter (I used regular)

2 teaspoons lower-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1 cup matchstick carrots

1/2 cup thin sliced green onions

1.  Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2.  Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl, stir well.  Add chicken; toss to coat.

3.  Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side until done.  Remove from grill; cover.

4. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.  Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well. Combine Szechuan sauce, peanut butter, soy sauce, and juice in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add noodles, carrots, and green onions; toss and serve immediately with chicken.

Sesame Broccoli:

Add water to a large saucepan to a depth of 1 inch; set a large vegetable steamer in pan.  Bring water to a boil over high heat.  Add 1 (12 oz) package broccoli florets to steamer.  Steam broccoli, covered, 4 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Place broccoli in a medium bowl.  Add 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to broccoli; toss well.

Salmon is Smokin' !

On a cedar plank anyway!  Tonight's feast was Cedar Plank Salmon with Mango Kiwi Salsa.  

The recipe was out of this month's Cooking Light Magazine- my favorite go-to for weeknight dinners that keep me on my weight loss path.   The fish was really moist and delicious and - oh my! - the smell of that cedar plank really gave it some great smoky flavor.  The best part...Sooo easy!

Just soak the plank for 25 minutes in water in the sink.  Throw the plank on a medium high grill for 3 minutes to get the char going.  Season the fish with salt and pepper. Flip the plank over and set the fish on the charred side and grill for about 8 minutes.  After dinner...here is the best part...Throw the plank away!  No clean up!  How good is that?

I served it up with the last of the farmer's market treasures - baby squash - and some orzo flavored with a tiny bit of butter and garlic chives from the garden.  Pretty edible for a Thursday!

What are you feasting on this HOT summer day?