Two recipes for the price of one!

Tonight we felt like doing some grilling. Hubby does the grilling, but I think it's always more work for me with all the preparation and sides that need to get taken care of. But it's all worth it to have a little taste of summer for dinner. Here's the recipe we used tonight-we think it's quite yummy:

Moroccan Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients:

DRY RUB
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. brown sugar

KEBABS
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 onions (your choice of color), peeled and cut into 1 inch wide sections
2 bell peppers (your choice of color), cleaned and cut into 1 inc squares
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Skewers-metal or bamboo (soaked in water for 30 min.)

1. Combine dry rub ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Cut meat into cubes, place in gallon size zip-lock bag with rub mix. Seal bag and shake well until chicken is well coated.
3. Place vegetables in a gallon size bag, add oil , season with salt and pepper. Seal bag and shake to coat veggies well.
4. Assemble kabobs-alternate meat and veggies.
5. Prepare grill to hot, grill kebabs-turn occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink inside-about 8-10 minutes.

My family loves the sweetness of the cinnamon and nutmeg that really stands out on the chicken. If you are not so into spicy foods-omit the cayenne-it still tastes great without.

I'm also going to throw one more recipe on here-my hubby's delicious ice cream recipe. If you have an ice cream maker and like chocolate ice cream, this one's for you:

Chocolate Dream Ice Cream

Ingredients:

SWEET CREAM BASE
2 large eggs
3/4 C sugar
2 C heavy whipping cream
1 C milk

ADD INS
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Chopped candy bars, peanut chunks or peanut butter chunks (optional)

Whisk eggs until light and fluffy. Whisk in sugar, a little at a time, continue whisking until blended (about 1 minute more). Pour in cream and milk and whisk to blend. Heat in saucepan over medium heat to a roiling boil. Continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until chilled. Add cocoa and vanilla to cream base, place in ice cream maker. Run maker on low for 35 minutes. Switch maker to low for additional 9 minutes-then add any extras-run for 30 seconds and turn off. Store ice cream in freezer safe containers.

You can get pretty creative with this recipe. For example, tonight my hubby found some specialty peanut butter in our cupboard that we hadn't used in a few months-it had gotten too dry for sandwiches or crackers, so he figured, what the heck? It made for some delicious ice cream! So , there you go, hope you enjoyed my special offer of 2 for 1!

Chicken Italiano

Ten years ago my hubby and I pinched our pennies and used our credit card (which we are STILL paying on) to travel to Italy for our honeymoon. Ever since then I have had a soft spot for Italian food and red wine of course (it was cheaper to drink wine than buy bottled water so we had a lot of wine!) This recipe is one of our favorites-I like that it's a little bit healthier since the chicken is baked instead of fried.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

1/2 C Italian style breadcrumbs
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 Eggs, beaten
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 C Shredded mozzarella cheese
1 lb pasta
1 jar of spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a shallow dish. Dip chicken in eggs, then in crumb mixture-covering chicken. Arrange in baking dish & drizzle with oil.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until chicken is tender and not pink in center. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for an additional 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Prepare pasta as directed on package. Heat up spaghetti sauce. Place pasta on plate, top with sauce then chicken.

As I mentioned before this is one of our favorites, maybe it will be someone else out there, too.

Also, I planted my garden this week! I'm so excited, I have my marigolds, tomatoes, peppers and squash showing and hopefully soon some lettuce, spinach and carrots will be showing their little selves. I was going to get a picture up on this post, but there really isn't much to see yet. I'll get something up soon, I promise. So until next time..... Ciao!

Thai Peanut Noodles

A few years back my sister-in-law introduced me to a restaurant chain called "Chin's". It is kind of like a chic Asian fast food place to dine. It was love at first taste for me-my favorite dish was their noodle bowl with the Thai peanut sauce. My only complaint about Chin's is that there are not many around, and there are none within 100 miles of our house. I lived without for almost 2 years, and then one day this fall I came across a recipe that looked just like what I was searching for. I tried it the very next week and it WAS what I was looking for! I was ecstatic. Now, it's not the same as getting to go eat at a restaurant, but it's one of my favorite recipes.

Thai Peanut Noodles

1/2 lb Pasta (I usually use spaghetti))
1 Package frozen stir fry vegetables
1/2 C Peanut Butter
3 T Soy sauce
1 T Vinegar
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 C water
Cooked chicken breast cut up (optional)

Microwave veggies until tender. Cook noodles and drain-set aside. Mix rest of ingredients (except for chicken) in saucepan. Heat and stir until mixed & warm. Serve sauce, veggies and chicken over pasta.

I sometimes like to flake some red pepper flakes on top to give it just a little more zing-it definitely makes it more like the real thing.

Soup for Cinco De Mayo?

Yes, we had soup for dinner on Cinco de Mayo. Keep in mind that I grew up eating tacos with ketchup in them (Mom's recipe). So please forgive me for not posting a favorite enchilada or tamale recipe, but this one really is quite good. In fact, it's my favorite soup recipe.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 can refried beans
1 can black beans (rinsed & drained)
1 can chicken broth
1-2 Cups frozen corn
3/4 Cup salsa
1 Cup (or 1-2 cans) cooked chicken
1/4 Cup water
2 Cups shredded cheddar (or Mexican blend)
1 bag tortilla chips

1. Combine first seven ingredients (beans through water) in slow cooker.
2. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.
3. Add 1 Cup of cheese, stir and cook until melted.
4. Spoon into bowls. Sprinkle cheese and crushed tortilla chips (sour cream is good with this also).

As I mentioned, this is my favorite recipe. I have one optional change for you-sometimes desperation forces us to try new things. When I went to get out all of my ingredients to make this recipe Tuesday, I realized that I was out of refried beans. Well, my little guy was gearing up for a nap, and I was gearing up for some quiet time, so there was no way I was going to run to the store for one little can of beans!

I turned to my cupboards, searching for something that might give the soup a little more filler. And I found.... Lipton's Instant Spanish Rice (the kind that comes in the pouch). So, I threw that in the pot, added a little extra water for good measure and a few hours later we had soup. I liked it, but not as much as when it has my good old refried beans. Dear Hubby however, thought it was better this way. So either way you're good to go. I'll stick to my musical fruit (too bad for hubby in more ways than one!).