Lemon Chicken with Mediterranean Orzo Salad

We like to make this dish a lot because its easy, healthy and no fuss. The chicken is best if you allow it to marinade at least an hour. And its really good if you can grill outside, but if not a cast iron skillet will work perfectly. It also makes great leftovers for lunch the next day.
For the chicken you will need the following:
1 pound of boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (I usually take them and cut them in half length wise that way they are thinner and you get more bang for your buck!)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme, fresh or dry is fine
1 teaspoon of rosemary, fresh or dry is fine
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag with chicken and shake it all around until everything is mixed and chicken is coated well. Set aside in fridge for at least an hour. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place chicken in hot pan and cook on one side for about 6 minutes or until browned and flip and cook on the other side, until chicken is cooked all the way through.

For the Mediterranean Orzo Salad: (this is a cold salad so it can be made ahead of time) Adapted from here:
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
8 oz. orzo
1/4 cup diced red onion
4 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 medium sized cucumber, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons chopped sun dried tomatoes
16 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh mint
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet toss the eggplant with garlic and olive oil. Spread out on baking sheet and cook until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally for even browning. Meanwhile cook orzo, according to directions and drain. Remove eggplant to a large nonmetallic bowl. Add pasta and set aside to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Drizzle with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Like I said, this salad makes a great lunch because it is cold and this serves about 6 as a side dish, so you will have leftovers if its only a couple people eating. The chicken also makes great sandwiches for lunch the next day as well. Enjoy!

Sausage, Tomato, Arugula Pizza

K.C. and I love pizza, but ever since I was diagnosed with being a Lactard, our pizza days became numbered. Or so we thought..K.C. started making his own pizza dough, mostly because you can't really find a plain pizza crust at the grocery store. We have found one at Central Market in the frozen foods section, which is pretty good, but its not cheap. We found that making our own dough saved us money and it really isn't that complicated. Now, these pizzas that we are making are cheese-less, of course. But, we think they are just as good, all you need is fresh ingredients and a little time. I say time only because the dough has to sit and rise, but you can do this ahead of time and leave it until you are ready to use it. And we usually either make our own tomato sauce or in this case pesto (without cheese, which you would never know).
So, for the dough here is what you need:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 packet rapid rise yeast
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix well.
In a small bowl combine the water and yeast. Stir to combine and let sit for 5 minutes, to activate the yeast.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour the water and yeast mixture in. Mix with a fork until you can't mix with a fork anymore. Knead dough until smooth about 10 minutes. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil over the dough, set aside in a clean bowl covered with saran wrap until dough doubles in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
When you are ready to make the pizza, on a floured surface, take dough out and cut in half (this is enough for 2 pizzas). Flour a rolling pin and roll out dough until its about 1/4" thick. Place rolled out dough in a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Poke the dough with a fork all over and brush olive oil over the top. Cook in a preheated oven at 400 degrees, for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with toppings. Spoon pesto on top of the pizza shell, top with sliced tomatoes, cooked sweet Italian sausage, and arugula. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put back in 500 degree oven until crust is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

For the pesto:
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil
Put all the above ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Taste and make sure the taste is to your liking, you might need to add more olive oil or salt and pepper.

Mediterranean Chicken with Cous Cous

This dish is super simple to prepare and doesn't require a lot of attention. Its another one pot dish that you cook slow and low and when its done you have a mouth watering dinner. We love the flavors of the Mediterranean and at least once a week we make something with these flavors. What makes this dish so special is the combination of the salty olives with the tart and sweet orange zest. It brings a fresh take on a pretty classic chicken dish.
Here is what you need for the chicken:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound of chicken thighs on bone, skins removed
Salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
5 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
couple handfuls of kalamata olives, halved
zest of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Brown chicken in skillet on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate. Saute garlic and onion in skillet until onion is soft. Add tomato paste and stir in chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add chicken back to skillet with olives and orange zest. Remove from heat. Put pan in oven covered for 50 minutes or until chicken is falling off the bone. Half way into cooking time turn chicken over.

For Cous Cous:
1 cup of pearl/Israeli cous cous, cook according to package instructions
1/4 cup unsalted pistachios, toasted
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

Cook cous cous until done, put into a medium bowl with toasted pistachios, raisins, mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss to combine well. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve with chicken.

Beef Stir-Fry with Snap Peas

Martha pulled through again! We love Chinese food but don't want to spend the money to go out and eat it. So, we are always trying to find good recipes that aren't too complicated but pack all the right flavors. That is the problem with a lot of Asian food recipes, its never the same when you try to make it at home as it is when you get it at a restaurant. But this recipe we felt was pretty dead on as far as the flavor combinations go. And it was super simple and very budget friendly as well.
Here is the recipe that I got from here:
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup long grain white rice
1 pound sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
12 ounces snap peas, strings removed
2 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)

In a medium saucepan with a lid, bring 2 cups salted water to a boil. Add rice, return to a boil. Stir once, and reduce to a simmer. Cover, and cook until rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand, covered, 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
Ten minutes before rice is done, place steak in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch, and season with salt and pepper, toss to coat. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Cook half the steak until browned on one side, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining beef.
Add snap peas, white part of scallions, ginger, red pepper flakes, and 3/4 cup water to skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook until snap peas turn bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Return steak to skillet until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and mix in green part of scallions and lime juice. Serve with rice.

Barton Creek Greenbelt

One of my favorite things about living in Austin, is the fact that you can literally get away from everything in only a matter of minutes. We are in a fairly large city but there are these amazing outdoor havens tucked away amongst the bustling city life. We just have to drive 5 minutes and take a short hike and we are in a beautiful greenbelt with greenery and waterfalls. Its so amazing! It is my favorite place to just go and soak up the clean fresh air and recharge a little. And our dog Stacy loves wading in the pristine water, so its her favorite place too. Here are few pictures.

Wedding food

This weekend was my step sister's wedding. It was a very simple and understated wedding. The ceremony was held at her house and the reception was at the Houston City Club. Of course I snapped a few pictures of the chocolate fountain and ice cream sundae table. I just love the colors of all the accoutrement's.

Spaghetti with Peas

This is a quick and budget friendly recipe that is quite tasty. I made it vegetarian but I think it would be great with bacon or prosciutto tossed in at the end.
All you need is:

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
half a jalapeno, thinly sliced
1 lemon, zested
2 lemons, juiced
1 cup frozen peas
5 mint leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound spaghetti

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil to the hot pan. Drop the garlic and jalapeno in and saute, until garlic is fragrant. Add the lemon juice and peas, turn heat down to low, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until peas turn bright green. Add the lemon zest and mint leaves, turn heat off.
Drain cooked pasta and toss with the pea mixture until well coated. Add a little more salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and toss well. Serve immediately.