Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro

My bootcamp instructor handed out this recipe the other day during one of our "fun" workouts! It was called the junk-yard workout and we got a "treat/healthy snack" for every exercise we completed. If he is handing this out - it has to be healthy :) Tim and I made them this week and the taste was great! I was thinking that the parboil method would be quick, so I didn't boil the potatoes long enough. Our potatoes were medium to large, so I think that for that size, we should have boilded them about 15 - 20 minutes before putting them on the grill. Will definitely be making this again! Was a great side to our steak!

Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes, unpeeled
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Parcook the potatoes: Place in a pot of water and boil until fork-tender; let cool. Slice each potato lengthwise into eighths.
Preheat a grill to medium or place a cast-iron grill pan over medium heat. Mix 1 tablespoon salt, the lime zest and cayenne in a small bowl.
Brush the potato wedges with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown on all sides (including the skin) and just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter; immediately season with the salt mixture and sprinkle with cilantro.

Original recipe is from Bobby Flay, for Food Network Magazine.
Photograph by Steve Giralt

Grilled Pizza

I have been wanting to try to make grilled pizza for awhile. The fact is - I was scared... I just pictured a screaming match between me and Tim (he mans the grill) because of dough running through the grates and it just wasn't going to be pretty. Well, I read up on the topic on a few of my favorite blogs and finally decided I would follow the instruction of Annie, from Annie's Eats blog. I followed her dough recipe and technique exactly and the pizzas were some of the best pizza I have ever had - I couldn't believe I had actually made them from scratch! I don't think we will ever use refrigerated or packaged mix dough again! It was very easy and my favorite part about the dough recipe is that it makes two batches, so you can freeze one and use the other for another time - maybe tomorrow night! I will say that I used tips from three different parts of her blog to make these little masterpieces, so I will post them all below.

Our toppings of choice tonight were prosciutto, wild mushrooms, goat cheese, Monterrey Jack cheese (we only had part-skim mozzerella and Tim "hates the way it melts") and fresh basil. I actually used Kroger brand pizza sauce as the base, mixed with a little olive oil, Italian seasoning and my basil in a tube to spice it up a little (the tubes of herbs can be found by the fresh herbs).

Annie offers two other recipes in these links below - one a chicken ranch pizza and the other with fresh veggies - both look good and I will have to try them eventually!

Oh and by the way - Tim and I did get into a mini-screaming match because he insisted that I was making them too small - but like I said, I followed her technique exactly and they turned out the perfect size. Moral of the story - don't listen to Tim, listen to Annie! Note on the picture - we made a total of four small pizzas - not pictured the BBQ Chicken pizza we made for the boys!

Pizza Dough Tutorial by Annie

Pizza Dough Recipe by Annie

Grilled Pizza Recipe and more Tips by Annie

Chili-Beef Skewers

Stacie made these for the June meal exchange and this was the first meal I tried! It had awesome flavors and was very easy. I served it with more veggies - frozen Asian Green Beans - super easy meal from the freezer!

yield: makes 4 servings

ingredients:

8 wooden skewers
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp sriracha
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 lb lean beef sirloin, cut into 1/8-inch strips
1 each red, green and yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces (optional)
Vegetable oil cooking spray Dipping sauce
1/2 cup lowfat mayonnaise
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp fish sauce

directions:

Soak skewers for 30 minutes. Puree cilantro, garlic, soy sauce, orange zest, sriracha, fish sauce and sugar in a food processor. Transfer marinade to a resealable plastic bag; add beef. Seal bag, toss and set aside up to 30 minutes. Combine dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl. Thread 4 pieces of pepper and 2 beef strips on each skewer, alternating beef and peppers. Coat grill rack with cooking spray; heat grill to high; cook until meat is no longer pink, about 3 minutes.

SELF, MAY 2008 - Adapted by Marge Perry
From: Epicurious

Chicken Shish Kababs

Deb made these for the June meal exchange - they sound easy and delicious. Love the summer grilling theme!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of cooking oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 cloves of crushed garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 skinless chicken breasts
Various vegetables for grilling

Directions:

Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes. Combine all ingredients and marinate for 1 hour.

Thread chicken and vegetables on skewers and girll on each side for 4 minutes or until cooked thoroughly.

Serve with rice.

Grilled Apricot Stuffed Pork Chops

Susan made these for the June 2010 meal exchange and I think they sound great! Can't wait to try them!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked brown or long grain rice
1/4 cup snipped dried apricots
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 TBSP apricot spread
1/4 tsp dried thyme, minced
1/4 tsp pepper
4 pork center loin chops, cut 1 inch thick
1/4 cup apricot spread

Directions:

1.) For stuffing, in medium bowl, stir together the rice, apricots, onion 1 TBSP apricot spread, thyme, and pepper. Trim fat from chops. Make a pocket in each chop by cutting horizontally from the fat side almost to the bone. Spoon 1/4 of the stuffing into each pocket. If necessary, secure the opening with toothpicks.

2.) Grill chops over medium heat until juices run clear, turning chops halfway through grilling time.

3.) Meanwhile, in sauce pan heat the 1/4 cup apricot spread until melted. Brush over chops the last 5 minutes of grilling time.

Chicken (or Turkey) Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Holly brought this for our June 2010 meal exchange and I am so excited to try them. She was making them the other night when we stopped by to play and they smelled yummy!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons very finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
2 teaspoons chile powder
Salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons hot water
2 tablespoons chopped salted peanuts
4 round ciabatta rolls, split and toasted
Lettuce, for serving

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the ground chicken with 1/4 cup of the chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of the chile powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and the garam masala. Using slightly moistened hands, form the ground-chicken mixture into four 4-inch patties.
In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped onion and 1 teaspoon of chile powder and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter and hot water. Stir in the peanuts and season the sauce lightly with salt.

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Brush the chicken burgers with vegetable oil and grill over moderately high heat, turning once, until they are golden and crusty and just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Spread the peanut sauce on the rolls. Top with the burgers and lettuce, close and serve.

Recipe by Grace Parisi, Food & Wine Magazine

Burgers Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Basil

This was my contribution to the most recent meal exchange (June 2010). When we made these on the trial run, Tim got the grill too hot and he charred them a little (sorry, honey - they were still good). The sausage has some fat and it is easy to get a good flame going on these, so either use lower heat for longer or maybe even cook them on the stovetop. I think if you cook them in a pan on the stove, with the lid on - they would cook through and retain all the juices vs. them all dripping out on the grill.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef sirloin
1/2 pound raw Italian sausage removed from the casing(s)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces soft goat cheese
3 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
3 fresh basil leaves, sliced
4+ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Mix the beef, sausage and salt together. Be careful not to over-work the mixture. It can be helpful to coarsely chop the beef and sausage with a knife and then loosely toss together before mixing more thoroughly with the salt.

Divide into four equal 1/2-pound pieces. Remove about 1/5 of each half-pound portion and set the small pieces aside. Use your hands to shape each of the remaining four portions into a "flattened bowl" shape into which you can put the filling.

Remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the oil and slice.

Place 1/4 of the goat cheese into each burger, and then top with sun-dried tomatoes and basil.

Flatten each of the four small reserved pieces of burger mixture into flat disks. Place a disk on top of the filling for each burger, and then work the burger mixture closed with your fingers.

Flatten the burgers further as much as possible without risking breaking the seal to the stuffing.

Throw them on the grill. Enjoy!

These burgers must be fully cooked because of the sausage used in the mixture.

Author: Russ Faulk, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Marinated Pork Kabobs

I usually follow a recipe for the meal exchange, but not this time. However, I do have a list of ingredients that I used and some directions to follow.

1 pork loin, divided into 1 - 2 inch cubes (about a 2lb loin would work for 5 - 6 skewers)
1/2 bottle Andy's Mediterranean Grill All Natural Marinade (I could only find at Biggs)
1 medium bell pepper (i used green)
1 medium red onion
1 package of whole mushrooms (i discarded the stems)
1 pkg of wooden skewers

Marinate the cubes of meat in Andy's marinade over night. Assemble skewers by alternating veggie and meat (I always started and ended with a veggie to anchor the skewer). Spray kabobs with cooking spray prior to grilling. Grill kabobs, covered with grill lid, over medium heat (300° to 350°) 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until done.

Tarragon Turkey Burgers

Can't wait to try these - Deb made them for the May meal exchange!

Yield 8 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely shredded zucchini
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
8 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Divide turkey mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes on each side or until thoroughly cooked. Serve on hamburger buns with desired toppings.

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002

Spiced Pork Chops with Apple Chutney

This was Holly's meal for the May meal exchange and I actually tried it out tonight and it was fantastic! Everyone loved it and Alex especially loved the chutney with the yummy apples and cranberries!

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 1 chop and about 1/3 cup chutney)

Ingredients

Chutney:
1 tablespoon butter
5 cups (1/4-inch) cubed peeled apple (about 3 apples)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Pork:
3/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops, trimmed
Cooking spray

Preparation
1. To prepare chutney, melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add cranberries and the next 6 ingredients (through allspice); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until apples are tender; stir occasionally.
2. To prepare pork, while chutney simmers, heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Combine chipotle and next 4 ingredients (through black pepper); sprinkle over pork. Coat grill pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with chutney.
Slender haricots verts are a pretty and quick-cooking complement to the meal. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 12 ounces haricots verts to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, and 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is lightly browned.

David Bonom, Cooking Light, MARCH 2009