Chicken, Bacon and Pineapple Kebabs with Broccoli

Although I don’t do much actual cooking in the summer months, as Mick does all the barbecuing, I do a lot of food preparation and making of salads. This is another meal that was done entirely on the grill.

I know I said there would be more recipes from the Old Broads cookbook, but I made a list of stuff I needed and then forgot to take it with me when I went to the store, oh hum. So bear with me, I will get back to them.

What I have found when posting grill recipes is it’s very difficult to give exact cooking times. It can vary so much depending on the outside temperature and the type of grill you use, so just cook stuff until it reaches your desired doneness.

Chicken, Bacon and Pineapple Kebabs.

(This recipe was originally from allrecipes.com but I have made quite a lot alterations to it).

Makes 3-4 skewers

Ingredients:

For the marinade:

¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup red onion, finely chopped

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
3 slices bacon, cut into quarters
12 large chunks of fresh pineapple
6 large mushrooms, cut in half
½ a red pepper, and ½ a green pepper, cut into about 12 chunks
½ large red onion cut into 12 chunks.

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, mix cider vinegar, soy sauce, honey, olive oil, and onions, add chicken and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2–3 hours.
• Pre-heat grill to low.
• Wrap each chicken piece about 3/4 of the way round with bacon, and thread onto skewers alternating with veggies and pineapple.
• Brush a piece of heavy duty foil with a little vegetable oil, lay skewers on it, and grill for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Place directly on bars of grill for a few minutes to crisp up the bacon.
  
  Broccoli:
• Cut one broccoli crown into pieces, and place on a sheet of heavy duty foil. Add a ¼ cup of water and wrap foil into a loose parcel.
• Grill for about 5 minutes, until broccoli is heated but still firm and crunchy.
  
  
  
  

Chicken, Apple, and Walnut Salad

This recipe is not from the Old Broads' cookbooks, but there will be more from them later.

This is a lovely, crunchy, main course salad. I even had a go at making my own dressing, which wasn’t half-bad, if I do say so myself. Hubby thought it was great.

Serves 2

Chicken, Apple, and Walnut Salad with Dressing

Ingredients for Salad:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons fresh lemon
A drizzle of olive oil
A dash of lemon pepper
2 Fuji apples.
Enough chopped Romaine lettuce to cover 2 dinner plates. (This was actually lettuce from our own garden. It's the first time we have had any success with lettuce here in Oklahoma. I think it's due to all the rain, and cooler than normal June temps we've been having).
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F

Place each chicken breast in the center of a sheet of heavy-duty foil. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil, a tablespoon of lemon, and a dash of lemon pepper over each chicken breast. Wrap foil parcels loosely, place on a baking sheet, and bake until juices run clear, approx. 20-25 minutes.

Remove chicken from foil and place on a plate until steam clears, cover with foil and refrigerate until cooled. Meanwhile make dressing.

For the Dressing

Ingredients:

¼ cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey
1 green onion, sliced
2 tablespoons feta cheese, or blue cheese, finely crumbled

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Back to Salad:

• When chicken has cooled, cut into slices and arrange on top of lettuce.
• Core and slice apples into wedges and arrange between chicken slices.
• Top with walnuts and feta cheese. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

I've been Tagged

Tommy Ticklemouse

I've been tagged by Raquel at http://kitchenmysteries.blogspot.com so here goes.

What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was working as an Education Programs Coordinator at a museum in Northern California. Rather a grand title, but basically I was teaching kids about archaeology and local history. God knows how I swung that one, as I knew nothing about archaeology and very little local history, but I’m a quick learner, Mrs. Munro.

5 Things On My To Do List for today:

1. Answer this tag.
2. Update my other blog, Grand Lake Ink.
3. Call my dad in England.
4. Do some more work on my book.
5. Try to get a worming pill down one of my cats.

To see instructions on how to give a cat a pill visit my blog at http://grandlakeink.blogspot.com this really made me laugh.

The unsuspecting patient

Two of my cats, Alvin and Tommy Ticklemouse are outdoor/indoor cats. Lately they have been catching a lot of mice and baby rabbits, as evidenced by the entrails left on my porch. Yesterday, Alvin had to go to the vet for his annual injections, so the vet did the dirty deed on him. He always makes it look so easy, but when I try to do it it’s more like the episode described on my other blog.

5 Snacks I Enjoy:

I’m not really a snack eater, probably because most of the snacks I enjoy are English, but in no particular order

1. Lancashire cheese and branston pickle butties, (sandwiches if you want to be posh).
2. Caramel Wafers (chocolate or plain).
3. Jacobs Cream Crackers, with any sort of English cheese.
4. Walkers Crisps (plain, cheese & onion, or smokey bacon).
5. Soreen Malt Loaf with lashings of butter.

In fact, all the snacks I enjoy are English.

Five Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire:

1. I would prop up our flagging economy by doing my damndest to spend it all.
2. I would open a publishing house that dealt exclusively with new/first time authors.
3. I would give a whole bunch of money to my family, and set up trust funds for my grandchildren.
4. Give money to charities to alleviate hunger, homelessness, and cruelty to animals.
5. I have been very fortunate in that I have already traveled a great deal in my time, but there are still many places I would like to go, and many I would like to return to. I love travelling by train, so would love to go on the Orient Express, and the Trans-Siberian Railway. I also hate flying, so wherever possible I would travel everywhere by boat and train.
   

Five places I have lived:

1. Colne, Lancashire. England
2. Chatsworth, in the San Fernando Valley, Southern Cal.
3. Benicia, Northern Cal.
4. Oxnard, Southern Cal.
5. N.E. Oklahoma.

Five jobs I have had:

1. Checkout Supervisor at an Asda supermarket.
2. Executive Officer in the Civil Service.
3. Education Programs Coordinator.
4. Administrative Assistant and Production Coordinator at an engineering company.
5. Freelance Writer.

I will skip on tagging anyone else, no disrespect to you Raquel, but I’m not really a fan of these meme things. However, if you read this blog, and would really like to take part, feel free to do so.

Not Half Baked No-Bake Cheesecake

Okay, as promised, here is one of the recipes from the Old Broad’s latest cookbook, "Doing It...around the world.

It’s not often I make desserts, but this was really good. And I didn’t even need to switch the oven on, as this cheesecake cooks right in the fridge/freezer, perfect.

I like my cheesecake plain, but feel free to dress it up with fruit, chocolate, or whatever else floats your boat. And if you like this recipe there are plenty more in the cookbook. It’s only a measly $12, and all proceeds go to a great cause.



Ingredients:

1 cup finely ground honey graham cracker crumbs
1 cup finely ground pecan shortbread cookies
1 stick butter, melted
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.
¾ cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

• Place crackers and cookies in a Ziplock bag and crush to a fine crumb with a with a rolling pin.
• In a large bowl, mix cookie/cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press into a 9-inch springform pan. Place pan in refrigerator.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice.
• In another bowl, whip cream until it forms peaks.
• Fold cream into cheese mixture.
• Spread mixture on top of cookie crumbs.
• Cover pan with foil and place in freezer for 1 hour.
• Remove pan from freezer and place in refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Doing It...around the world with Santa's Old Broads

Sippin' and Signin' with Santa's Old Broads

On Thursday afternoon I went to a Sippin’ and Signin’ hosted by Santa’s Old Broads. Okay, it’s only June, and who wants to think about Christmas at this time of year? But Santa’s Old Broads, have to think about it all year round, as every year they work tirelessly to raise money to help disadvantaged children have a great Christmas.

The Sippin’ and Signin’ was to celebrate the launch of their new cookbook entitled, Doing It...around the world. The book is jam packed with recipes from around the globe, and lots of laughs. All the recipes have saucy titles, as do the chapter headings, such as: Foreplay (Appetizers), Raucous Romping (Soups & Salads), and Climactic Endings (Desserts etc).

There are also food related jokes and poems in the book, I particularly like the section called "Who Says Blondes Can’t Cook," that looks at a week in the life of a blonde cook.

"Monday: It’s fun to cook for Tom. Today I made angel food cake. The recipe said beat 12 eggs separately. The neighbors were nice enough to loan me some extra bowls."

There are also lots of fun food related quotations dotted throughout the book, like this one from Erma Bombeck, "Think of all the women on the Titanic who said, ‘No, thank you,’ to dessert that night. And what for?"

In the Old Broads own words their cookbooks are, "Like us, just a little risqué and funny. These books require a sense of humor. If you find you are getting offended by the works of a bunch of ladies in their 50’s to 80’s, you might be a little square to begin with. It’s all about having fun and helping to make a brighter Christmas for the children."

The Old Broads also have three other cookbooks, Doing It...in the kitchen volumes one and two, and Quickies...in the kitchen.

At the Sippin and Signin’ there were lots of goodies to eat all made from recipes in the cookbooks, as well as wine and sangria for sippin’, and all the Old Broads were on hand to sign copies of their books. Everyone had a fun afternoon. What’s more, every penny of the proceeds from their book sales and other fund raising events goes to help children in need in at Christmas.

To date, the Old Broads have sold cookbooks in every state in America, and they have even shipped some overseas to England, Australia, and France. These sales have enabled them to help nearly 700 children have a better Christmas than they ever could have imagined. I know, I helped to wrap all these gifts last year, and would have loved to have seen those kids’ faces when they opened their presents.

Every child they help is outfitted from top to toe in quality, name brand clothing, and each receives toys or gifts from their own wish list. Moreover, the kids never know where the gifts came from because Santa’s Old Broads work in complete anonymity.

I would like to say a great big thank you to everyone who has supported Santa’s Old Broads by buying their cookbooks. If you haven’t already bought one, do so today – in fact buy all four, they make great gifts ― and know you have helped to bring a smile to a child’s face this Christmas.

For more information and to buy books check out the Old Broad’s web site at:

http://www.santasoldbroads.com/

Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting a few recipes from these cookbooks, so y’all come back now, and check ‘em out.

P.S. You’ll even find a few of my British recipes in the new book.

Cornflake Crusted Tilapia

We had some bad storms on Sunday night, beginning at 11pm, and the torrential rain did not let up until around 3:30pm Monday. It rained so much that the creek at the bottom of our garden burst its banks for about the fifth time this year and a lake formed down there, again. But at least it was blessedly cooler. The water has all subsided again now, and it’s back to roasting one’s arse off, and very humid. And there are more storms forecast for tomorrow and Friday. The good news though, our veggies, plants and flowers are loving it. So everything in the garden is lovely.

Anyway, when it finally stopped raining, we did drag out the barbecue and grilled some fish. Fish selection is very poor around these parts, I guess it’s because Oklahoma is so far from the sea. Where I used to live in California you could go down to the harbor and buy fresh fish right off the boat. There was also a fish counter in my local supermarket that had a really good selection.

Here in Oklahoma, only a very small section of the supermarket is given over to fish and selection is very limited, usually catfish, salmon and shrimp, and occasional offerings of hoki, tilapia, oh, and I did once manage to get some mussels. This time it was Tilapia.

This recipe takes only minutes to prepare and only 20 minutes to cook, perfect for a weekday meal. And if you don’t feel like lugging out the grill you can use the oven.




Cornflake Crusted Tilapia

Ingredients:

1 lb. Tilapia fillets
A few handfuls of Cornflakes, I’d say about 2 cups.
1 egg, beaten
½ a tablespoon vegetable oil
A dash of lemon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

• Pre-heat grill to low. (Or oven to 350°F)
• Place Cornflakes in gallon size storage bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
• Put Cornflakes onto a plate, and beaten egg onto another plate.
• Brush a piece of heavy duty foil with vegetable oil.
• Dip fish in egg, coat with Cornflakes, and lay fish on foil. Sprinkle a dash of lemon pepper over each filet and top with chopped parsley.
• Cook on grill over a low heat for 20 minutes.
• (Or, place on a greased baking tray and bake in the oven at 350°F for 20 minutes).
  
  

Everything on the grill

We actually cooked the pork on Sunday, and this is what we had on Monday to use up the leftovers.

The skewered potatoes were a recipe I came across on allrecipes.com and adapted. These are so good, make too many as they are good cold as well as hot.

The Corn on the Cob with Herby Butter I nicked from Sylvie’s blog at A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit, see link on left. Sylvie did hers on the stove top but I wanted to do this on the grill so I made a few alterations to her recipe. Thanks Sylvie, they were really good, I will definitely do them this way again.

Peppered Pork, Skewered Garlic & Rosemary Potatoes, and Corn on the Cob with Herby Butter.

Peppered Pork





Ingredients:

1 pork joint (sorry, I’ve forgotten what this cut is called), or pork loin.
Fresh ground black pepper, lots of it.
A drizzle of olive oil

Directions:

• Pre-heat BBQ grill to a low heat.
• Place pork on a piece of heavy duty foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, and coat with black pepper. Wrap foil loosely around pork.
• Cook on grill, turning meat occasionally, until the little meat thermometer pops out. Each time you turn the meat add more pepper.
• Open foil and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, until the pepper looks a little crusty.
• Remove from grill and allow to stand for 10 minutes before carving.

Skewered Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes



Ingredients:

2 lbs. baby red potatoes, we also included a few new potatoes from the garden.
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup dry white wine
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped. (this was also from the garden)

Directions:

• Cut potatoes in half, or leave whole if they are really small, and place in a medium saucepan of water.
• Bring potatoes to boil, reduce heat to medium high and simmer for about 10 minutes. Don’t overcook them or you won’t be able to get them on the skewers.
• Drain potatoes and allow to cool a little, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, stir together mayo, wine, garlic, and rosemary. Add potatoes to bowl and toss to coat with the marinade.
• Marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour
• Skewer potatoes, place on a sheet of heavy duty foil, and cook on grill on a low heat for about 25-30 minutes. Turn them occasionally and brush with marinade.

Corn on the Cob with Herby Butter.

Ingredients:
2 corn on the cob, husks and skins removed.
2 tablespoons butter
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped. (these were also from our garden)
A dash of black pepper.

Directions:

• Place corn cobs on separate sheets of heavy duty foil, and smear them with butter.
• Squeeze lemon juice over them, sprinkle with chives and a dash of pepper.
• Fold foil loosely around corn, and cook on grill over a low heat for about 20-25 minutes.
  
  

Popeye Pizza

I’ve had one of those weeks this week, if you want to read more about it visit my blog at:

http://grandlakeink.blogspot.com

By Friday night I didn’t feel much like cooking so I made this, cuts all the corners, easy-peasy pizza. The only veggies I needed to chop were garlic, mushrooms and some oregano. Believe me, you can make this pizza in not much more time than it takes the pizza delivery guy to get to your house. Not that we can get delivery here in the back of beyond, but we're not complaining, this tastes so much better than anything you can buy.






Popeye Pizza

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated regular pizza crust
1/3 jar Ragu pizza sauce
1 8-ounce package shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
A generous dash fresh ground black pepper
½ tablespoon butter
1 9-ounce package spinach
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced.

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400°F
• Top pizza crust with sauce, sprinkle with oregano and black pepper. Add half the cheese and a layer of mushrooms.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add spinach and toss with garlic until spinach wilts.
• Add spinach and garlic mixture to pizza crust, top with remaining mozzarella, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Yum!