New Patio!

Ever since we've moved in to our house, Caitlin and I have always wanted to get rid of our ugly backyard and shed.  It took up 1/3 of our backyard, and the rest was full of 6" tall grass, and let me tell you, I really can't be motivated to mow a 12' x 10' piece of grass.  So we needed to get rid of it.  We found someone on craigslist to come and take the shed, and I took a shovel and cleared out all the sod with the grass.

My dad came over and helped me get rid of the planter box in the corner and we were left with just a big giant pit of dirt.  After a week or two to figure out what we wanted to do, I spent a couple weekends framing out the entire yard with landscape timbers around the outsides, and also an L shaped frame along each side of the yard and gate.  I then took 2x4's and built up an 8" wall built on the two L shaped frames and topped them with 5/4 x 6 boards in a nice mitered frame.

After that, my buddy Kirk came over and showed my how to measure and get it all level, and I spent another weekend (with my Dad's truck of course) filling up the main yard space with gravel and compacting it and then covering it with another layer of sand with my friend Nate's help.  Once that was done, Caitlin and Danielle layed the stones that Nate and I stacked up and then I spent the afternoon with a brick saw cutting the final pieces and putting them in place.  Lastly, I ran a nice LED Ropelight under the lip of the planter boxes so we get a little ambiance at night and we put together our outdoor table and chairs and voila!

Thai Lettuce Wraps

So you want to enjoy some delicious Thai food, but you don't want the carbs of all the rice or noodles.  Well, make some Thai lettuce wraps!  They make a delicious appetizer or main course and you can make a couple different kinds to mix and match for a large group.  They're one of Caitlin's favorite, and well, I decided that it was time to make some instead of giving all the credit to that attention hog P.F. Chang!

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 to 1 lb Chicken, Shrimp, Tofu or a combination
2 Shallots Diced
1/4 C Red Onion
3 Tbsp Lime Juice
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/4 C Diced Ginger
1/4 C Chopped Green Onion
1 C Shredded Carrots roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Diced Garlic
2 or 3 Diced Thai Hot Peppers
OR
2 Long Green Hot Peppers
OR
2 Tsp in some Dried Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
(if you want spicy that is)
 Handful of Fresh Basil Leaves
Head of Iceberg Lettuce or White Cabbage
1/4 C Peanut/Vegetable Oil

So, what you'll want to do is cut the meat into really small, 1/2 inch cubes and put in a bowl.  Add in the Lime Juice, Fish, Oyster, and Soy sauce so it can marinade.  Set aside the meat and dice the ginger, Red Onion, Green Onion and Shallots and put into a bowl.  Measure out a rough cup of shredded carrots and roughly chop on a cutting board and add to the veggie bowl.  Depending on how hot you want your wraps to be (I recommend at least putting in the crushed red pepper) add diced pepper to the veggie bowl.

Put a Wok onto the stove on med-high heat and add in the oil.  Let that heat up a little and then dump in the veggie bowl.  Stir fry for 2 or 3 minutes by constantly flipping and rotating with a spatula until the ginger and onions start to soften up.  Use a slotted spoon or fork to scoop the meat into the wok.  You don't want to add too much of the liquid or else the meat won't cook right.  You just want enough of the liquid to cover the bottom center of the wok.  Stir fry for another 3 or 4 minutes until the meat is cooked through and then place in a bowl and throw in a handful or two of roughly chopped basil (or Thai basil if you want the exotic flavor!).

Take the head of lettuce/cabbage and cut off the bottom inch or two to get the core removed.  Carefully remove as many large pieces of lettuce/cabbage as you can from the head and place on a serving bowl.  Bring both to the table and serve!  Spoon a 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of filling into each lettuce/cabbage leave, roll up, and enjoy!  Delicious and really healthy!

Persian Chicken Pita Sandwich

Hey everyone, so I haven't posted a whole late lately, because we've been putting in a patio in our backyard, so I haven't had much energy for cooking the last few weeks.  So last night I wanted to make something relatively healthy, quick and easy.  Cue a trip to the store and some delicious Persian chicken!  Now, I didn't marinate the chicken for 24 hours, so I couldn't quite make the regular Joojeh Chicken Kebobs, so I adapted it into a delicious sandwich.  Here's what you'll need for the hummus, marinade and sandwiches:

Saffron Hummus:

1 can Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)
1/2 C Lemon Juice
Olive Oil (About 1/2 C)
1/4 C Diced Red Onion
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1/2 Tsp Saffron Strands
4 Tbsp Warm Water
2 Tsp Course Ground Pepper
2 Tsp Kosher Salt

First, grind the Saffron with a mortar and pestle (or with a spoon in a bowl) and put with the warm water into a non-staining measuring cup.  Then, drain and rinse the Chickpeas in a colander and dump into your food processor.  Add in the Garlic, Lemon Juice, Salt and Pepper and run the food processor for a few seconds.  Stop the processor and spatula everything down together, then add in the saffron/water combo and the red onion.  Close it back up and run it and, then slowly pour in the Olive oil while it's running until it gets to a nice smooth consistency.  Set aside about 1/2 Cup for the sandwiches and serve the rest as an appetizer with some toasted Pita Bread wedges.  On to the Sandwich!

Chicken Marinade:

6-8 oz Plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 C Diced Red Onion
1/2 C Lemon Juice
1/2 Tsp Saffron
4 Tbsp Warm Water
2 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 lb chicken cut into tenderloins or 1" chunks
2 Roma tomatoes

Grind and soak the saffron the same as for the hummus above.  Dice the red onion (or roughly chop and then throw in the food processor) and put in a non-staining mixing bowl (glass or stainless steel) and add in the yogurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and mix in the soaked saffron and stir.  Add-in the chicken and let marinade for at least 20 minutes.  Turn on the oven to broil and lay out a broiler pan with foil.  Take the chicken out of the marinade (leave a little marinade on it for cooking) and if it's tenderloins, lay them out on the foil, or in the case of chunks skewer on kebobs to broil.  Broil for 6 or 7 minutes and then flip and broil for 5 to 7 more on the other side.  When you flip the chicken, cut the roma tomatoes in half and put them in the center of the broiler pan to roast.  If you're cooking tenderloins, chop into chunks.

To assemble into sandwiches you'll need:
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Baby Spinach/Lettuce
Red Onion Sliced into rings
Thick Pita Bread (I get Kronos Authentic Pita Bread, not Pita Pockets)

Toast the pita bread so it warms up and will bend easier and not break.  Spread out some hummus on it and then top with a layer of spinach and then lay a row of chicken and add the rest of the toppings: feta cheese, chopped roasted tomatoes, red onion rings.  Fold into a taco and enjoy!!  Quick (with a little practice), easy, delicous and reasonably healthy!

Spicy Beef Stir-fry

Okay, so you're hungry, and you've got some veggies, but you're tired and you want to make a dinner that doesn't take a whole lot of work or time, AND you like Chinese food?  How about some Stir-fry with stuff in your refrigerator?  I had some round steak on hand and in 20 minutes start to finish, we had a delicious healthy dinner.

Caitlin and I wanted to go for a bike ride, so before we left, I put 1 cup of brown rice into the rice cooker to cook (our rice cooker will automatically turn to warm when it's done cooking to keep the rice warm until you need it) and set the Beef in some warm water to thaw.  After about 45 minutes we came back and the rice is done and the Beef is thawed and we're hungry.  So after a quick rinse in the shower for me, it's time to get going on dinner!

Recipe:
1lb Round/Flank/London Broil Beef Steak
1/2 Orange Pepper
1/2 medium sized Red Pepper
1 Bunch Green Onions
Ginger Root roughly equal the size of both of your thumbs
1/2 C Peanut Oil
Teriyaki Sauce
Sesame Seeds

Slice the steak into 1 1/2 inch long strips and then slice those pieces into 1 1/2 inch by 1/4 inch pieces (this is important, you want to get as much of your stir fry pieces to be the same size as possible, it helps with cooking) and place the pieces in a bowl and top with just enough Sauce to coat all the meat pieces.  If the sauce you have is runny, add in some cornmeal or flour little by little while stirring until the sauce thickens up and really coats the beef slices.

Next, chop the entire bunch of green onions into 1/4 inch pieces and place in a bowl.  Then slice the ginger into 1/8 inch slices and keep the center pieces (the ones that don't have skin on one side, only around the edges).  Trim off the skin around the edges of these pieces and then stack them back up and cut long ways into 1/8 inch slices.  Then turn 90 degrees and slice into 1/8 inch slices again (Carefully!).  This should end up being a pile of 1/8 inch ginger cubes.  Add these to the green onion bowl.

Put your Wok on the stove-top on medium high to heat up. Take your Onion and Pepper and cut them into roughly 1/2" pieces.  Add a little peanut oil to the wok and let that heat up for 30 seconds and then throw in the onion and pepper to stir fry.  Let them cook for 2-4 minutes until they start to get soft, stirring constantly (stirring in the stir-fry sense means using a spatula and flipping/stirring in a rotation around the wok so that each piece is in contact with the cooking surface equally and moving items from the center of the wok to the outside, it's sort of a constant flip of the wrist). Once the veggies are cooked and softened, remove them from the wok and place in a bowl. 

Now add in another 1/2 C of peanut oil and let it heat up for 30 seconds and then dump in the Green Onions and Ginger.  Stir fry them for about a minute and then add in the Beef and sauce.  Stir fry the beef for about 2-4 minutes until all the pieces appear to be browned on the outside and add back in the red onions and pepper.  Continue to stir-fry together for another minute and then remove the Wok from the stove and serve over a bed of the brown rice.  Mmmm, delicious! 

Stir-frying is great, if you can learn to do it quickly and effectively you can buy cheaper cuts of beef and have them end up tender and delicious and you can mix and match in an endless amount of combinations: 

• Don't like rice, try rice or lo-mein noodles.  
• Don't like beef, try chicken or shrimp!  
• Don't like Teriyaki, well, use whatever sauce you do like, just make sure you thicken it up so it coats the meat/veggies (otherwise it can settle in the middle of the wok and boil/splash in your face).  
• Don't like Chinese food but you like Thai food?  Well, swap out the green onion and ginger for Cilantro and/or Thai Basil and Chile pepper.  

Whatever you can think up, you can do, and more importantly, whatever you have in your fridge/freezer, you can probably find a stir-fry combo that will work and taste delicious!

Oven Baked Barbeque Spare Ribs

So we're down in Florida visiting the Brother and Sister in law, and we wanted something easy to make, delicious, and barbequed.  We had some ribs at Busch Gardens and they were well. . . underwhelming.  So we thought some ribs were in order.  Now, they don't have a grill, so I had to make do with my oven baked recipe, which is about 90% as good (and if you've never had the grill/smoked version, well, that 90% is still awesome).  Here's what you'll need:

Baby Back Pork Ribs
or
Beef or Pork Spare Ribs (with or without the bones)

Seasoning:
I'd recommend using my Spice Rub but if you don't have that, you can mix together 2 tbsp each of:

Crushed or Chopped Rosemary
Thyme
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
Salt
Paprika
Chili Powder (if you want some heat on the ribs!)
and/or
Chipotle/Ancho Powder

Or just go to the store and buy some rub, I know McCormick's makes a couple different varieties as do many others.

So, to start out, if the ribs have bones still in them, make sure the membrane on the back side has been removed (butchers usually do this, but not always).  If you can see an opaque white membrane on the back side of the ribs, use a knife or a spatula to peel this off.  This will allow the meat to cook and absorb moisture from the back side more easily, which will result in much softer ribs.

First off, pre-heat the oven to 325°. While that's heating up, take out your baking sheet or broiler pan and cover it with foil.  This will help with the cleanup later.  Make sure the whole pan is covered by foil so that the drippings can't get below to the pan (this is where it's handy to buy the larger size foil roll at the store. . . ).  Lay the ribs out on the pan and gently rub on you seasoning mixture to both sides of all the ribs.

Once the oven reaches 325°, put the ribs in for about 90 minutes and then baste them with your favorite sauce (like Kraft or KC Masterpiece) and put them back in for another 20-30 minutes so the sauce can work its way in and thicken up.  Then, sprinkle any remaining rub/spice on top of the sauce and turn the oven to broil and let it broil for 5 or 6 minutes to help turn the spice and sauce into a nice crust.

You should end up with some delicious soft oven baked ribs with a little kick of flavor!  Serve with your favorite sides and a beer or two (and some wet naps!) and you're good to go, easy as pie.  If you really want to feed a ton of people, serve with my beer can chicken (though that may require 2 ovens. . .)

Festive Low Carb Fish and Shrimp Tacos!

Hankering for something festive, spicy and moderately healthy?  Try Fish Tacos!  They're great for having people over on the patio, and they go great with a bottle of Corona or two (. . . or three, or four. . . ).  They're easy to make and they're quickly becoming a summer favorite of mine because you get the spice of tacos with lower carbs and all the healthy aspects of the fish!  Also, they're really customizable to what you like.  Here's what I made:

What You'll Need:
2-3 Tilapia Filets
and/or
3-4 Pre-cooked Frozen Shrimp (thawed with tails removed) per Shrimp Taco you want to make (so if you want to make 4 shrimp tacos, then that'd be 12-16 shrimp)

Marinade:
I used McCormick Grill Mates Baja Citrus Marinade Mix (they're about $1 at the grocery store in the spice aisle) but you can also make up your own:
1/4 C Lime Juice
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Vinegar (rice vinegar is what I've used, but wine vinegar would also work)
1/4 C of my Rub Mix
OR
3 Tbsp of Taco Seasoning plus 1 Tbsp of Chili Powder or Chipotle Powder

Place the fish and/or shrimp in a ziploc bag and pour in the marinade and then shake/turn the bag back and forth to make sure all the stuff is coated in the bag.  Marinade in the fridge for 20 minutes to 2 hours.  When you're ready to cook, turn on the broiler to warm it up.  Pull out a broiler pan (and I recommend wrapping the top piece of the broiler pan in foil, it just makes cleanup easier in the end) and lay out the fish (if you're cooking shrimp too, don't put it on yet, it doesn't need to cook as long).  For the first part in the grill, don't pour extra marinade on the fish, just take them with what they've got on them from the bag.

Once the broiler is hot and ready to go, put the fish under the broiler with the rack on the 2nd position from the top for 5 or 6 minutes and then remove from the broiler and flip the filets.  If you're also cooking shrimp, now add them to the broiler pan and drizzle any remaining marinade over the shrimp and/or fish so that they're all covered on top as much as possible and return to the broiler for another 5 or 6 minutes.

While the fish/shrimp is in the oven, it's time to make up the toppings! 

Toppings:
You'll definitely need:
Bok Choy or Cabbage (roughly chopped into 1/2" pieces)
Roughly Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Diced Red Onion
Roughly Chopped Orange Peppers (they have a sweeter spice to them and they add to the color of the dish)
Chopped Plum Tomatoes

Optional Add-ins:
Chopped Avocado
Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Salsa
Ranch Dressing

If you want to have a low-carb fish taco, then I used 8'' Soft Taco Carb Balance Flour Tortillas, they're great!  They only have 7g Net of carbs per tortilla, and yet they still have a soft fluffy tortilla taste and texture. If you don't care about carbs, then I really recommend using Taco size Corn Tortillas, they add an extra flavor that really puts these over the top. Stick a few of these in the microwave covered with a moist paper towel for about 20 seconds to soften them up and then layer in the Cabbage, chunks of the fish and/or shrimp, peppers, onions and Cilantro and then top with any of the optional add-ins and enjoy!

Mmmmmm Beer. . . Can Chicken

Want to be able to make your own delicous roasted chicken at home?  Well, this is the recipe for you!  Best of all, a whole chicken is much cheaper than chicken parts, and if you catch it on sale, sometimes you can get a whole chicken for $0.99/pound, that's way better than the $3.99/lb they want at the grocery store (around here anyway) for boneless skinless chicken breasts!  Ideally, you can use a beer can chicken rack, but if you don't have it, it's still possible to make, you just have to be good at balancing the chicken on the can on a cookie sheet (although you'll probably want to use a jelly roll pan or something with some sides so the drippings don't run off onto the oven.

So, first you'll need to pre-heat the oven to 350°.  Then grab a can of your favorite beer: I'd recommend something light, like a lager or a light beer even (I've been using Heineken Light, mainly because the can is taller and thinner than a normal beer can, which makes it easier to get the chicken on it), a heavier beer isn't going to infuse as well and might add too much of a bitter flavor.  So, if you've got the rack, crack open the can of beer and pour out (chug?) about a third of the beer and place the can in the can holder.  Then, take out your whole chicken and make sure you've taken the giblets out of the body cavity.  Lift the chicken and fit the can into the body cavity and arrange the legs to help support the chicken.  If you don't have the beer can rack, then this is a little more difficult and might require some supports or using a high-sided pan like a 9"x13" pan or something to balance the chicken. 

Once you get it so it will stand on its own, rub with a little olive oil or spray on a little cooking spray and then rub liberally with my Spice Rub or your own mix, (a nice mix of rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, salt and fresh cracked black pepper would also work).  Once you've got it rubbed down, put it in the oven and back for about 2 1/2 hours or until it has an internal temperature of 180°.

If you want to be real fancy, you can back some chopped potatoes on the bottom of the pan with the chicken for the last hour or so.  Chop some redskin potatoes into 1/2" to 3/4" pieces and toss in a bowl with some olive oil and some of the above spice rub (or Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic, and Salt and Pepper again) and bake with the chicken for the last 40-50 minutes that the chicken is in the oven.

This is a good recipe to have people over, you'll look like the best chef in the world and there's really very little work to do.  Also, if you have a nice grill, you can also take the chicken off the rack and grill it on medium on the grill for 5 minutes or so to crisp it up a little bit. . .