Foil pouch grilled green beans w/ lemon

This is where I got this recipe:
http://www.dadcooksdinner.com/2012/07/foil-pouch-grilled-green-beans.html

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beans, ends trimmed (or any semi-tender vegetable that you can steam in about fifteen minutes; i.e., baby carrots, asparagus, broccoli)
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon water
• lemon zest (not in original recipe but sends the beans over the top!)

Directions:

1. Wrap the Beans:
Lay the pieces of foil on top of each other, and put the beans in the middle of the foil, in a pile roughly following the shape of the foil. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the beans, then drizzle with the olive oil and water. Bring the long sides of the foil together over the top of the beans. Fold the long sides over twice, then keep folding until you have a long envelope with the foil tight against the pile of beans. Fold the open ends of the envelope a few times to seal.

2. Preheat the grill:
Prepare the grill for cooking on medium heat, then clean with a grill brush. For my Weber summit, I preheat the grill with all burners on high for 15 minutes, then turn the burners down to medium and brush the grate clean.

3. Cook the beans:
Put the envelope of beans over direct medium heat, and cook with the lid closed for 8 minutes. Flip the bag of beans, and cook for another 8 minutes. Carefully open the bag and check the beans - a bean from the middle of the pile should be floppy, and cooked all the way through. If not, seal up the envelope and cook until the beans are tender.

4. Serve the beans:
Open one end of the envelope, pour the beans onto a platter, finish off with lemon zest and serve.

Hot-Off-The-Grill-Potatoes (Foil Wrapped)

We only used 3 potatoes for the four of us, and therefore decreased the butter to 1/2 tablespoon total.  Used pre-cooked bacon crumbles, fresh dill and skipped the parsley and chives. 

Ingredients: 

3 tablespoons butter 

5 medium potatoes 

1/4 cup chopped green onion 

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon paprika 

1/4 teaspoon pepper 

3 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained and crumbled 

2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley 

2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill 

2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives or 2 tablespoons dried chives 

 

Directions: 

1 Grease a 24 x 18 inch piece of heavy duty foil with 1 tablespoon of the butter. 

2 Scrub and thinly slice unpeeled potatoes onto the center of the foil. 

3 Sprinkle with the onions, cheese, salt, paprika and pepper. 

4 Dot with remaining butter. 

5 Enclose the potatoes in the foil and seal with a double fold enclosing the potatoes completely leaving head space for the steam to build. 

6 Grill potato packet for 30 to 40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 

7 Before serving sprinkle potatoes with bacon, parsley, dill and chives.

Mediterranean Farro Salad

We just made this tonight and I had to share it.  Unfortunately, hubby couldn't find the main ingredient -- Farro -- at the grocery, but we subbed brown rice and it was delish!  If anyone finds farro, let me know!  Oh, and we subbed red wine vinegar for the sherry vinegar.

Ingredients

• 10 ounces farro (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
• 8 ounces green beans, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• 1 medium red pepper, cut into thin strips (about 4 ounces or 1 cup)
• 3 ounces Parmesan, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 small bunch chives, snipped (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups of water with the farro. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the farro is almost tender, about 20 minutes. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and simmer until the farro is tender, about 10 minutes longer. Drain well. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and stir. Cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the cooked green beans to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 2 minutes. Drain the green beans.
Once the farro has cooled add the green beans, olives, red pepper, Parmesan, and chives. Stir to combine. In a small bowl mix together the sherry vinegar, olive oil, mustard, pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine. Pour the sherry vinaigrette over the farro salad. Toss to combine and serve.
SERVINGS: 4 (SIDE); Calories: 334; Total Fat 15 grams; Saturated Fat: 3.5 grams; Protein: 13 grams; Total carbohydrates: 38 grams; Sugar: 5 grams Fiber: 7 grams; Cholesterol: 13 milligrams; Sodium: 888 milligrams

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/mediterranean-farro-salad-recipe/index.html

Spinach Bites

We discovered something called a Spinach Brownie while we were in Ohio for a wedding and wine touring around Ashtabula and Geneva. I stole the idea and tweaked it a bit to make these spinach bites (just omit the bacon if you want vegetarian):

1 small package frozen spinach (thawed and drained well)
1 cup low fat Bisquick
3 eggs
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded provolone
1/2 cup cooked bacon chopped (I used cherry wood smoked bacon from the Farmer's Market)

Mix spinach, onion, eggs, milk, butter, provolone and bacon (reserve a little of the cheese and bacon to sprinkle on top).
Add Bisquick and slowly combine the ingredients
Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish
Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean - add the reserved cheese and bacon after 15-20 minutes

Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Garlic - one full head
Red Skin Potatoes (3-5 pounds depending on the number of people)
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup skim milk
Salt, pepper
1/2 shredded cheddar
Olive Oil

Roast garlic - I cut the head in half, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Boil the potatoes until fork tender, drain, squeeze in roasted garlic, add butter, milk, cheese and salt & pepper to taste. "Smash" with potato masher until you have the consistency you want (add more butter and/or milk to taste).

Zesty, Cheesy Mac and Cheese (Bethenny Frankel)

This is a zesty, "healthy" twist on a comfort food favorite! The investment in ingredients and time is well worth the outcome. This tasty dish is good enough to be a main course, and the recent weather change has it on my mind:

http://www.bethenny.com/

Brown Sugar & Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin (Slow Cooker!)

Way to go Mandy--nice execution of a great idea! I'm going to be the lazy contributor to this blog, both in terms of cooking effort and blogging effort. I post links.

So: Here's a link to this incredible and incredibly easy pork loin I made a few weeks ago in the slow cooker. We had it with Ina Garten's delicious Brussel sprouts, which are also very easy and will make you love Brussel sprouts if you thought you never would (ask Anna!).

Thai Cucumber Salad

I usually double the recipe...

Ingredients
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup white vinegar
3 cups, peeled thinly sliced cucumber (works fine leaving the peel on seedless cukes)
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper (I usually add more)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp peeled freshly grated ginger root
1 tsp minced jalapeno
1/2 tsp salt
1 glove garlic, crushed

Directions
Dissolve sugar in boiling water, add vinegar, cover and chill for two hours
Combine cucumber and other ingredients in a bowl, pour chilled vinegar mixture over it

The First Post!

Thanks to Mandy for her great idea and getting us started on this new book club endeavor!

I'm starting out with an easy one... burgers (plus Paul has been on a burger kick lately).

Tonight it was a burger with smoked gouda, carmelized onions, balsamic green beans and oven roasted steak fries.

Basic Burger Recipe
Lean ground beef (we use Martin's 95% lean)
Finely grated onion
Worchestershire (about a tablespoon per pound)
Salt / Pepper to taste
Garlic Powder (or finely grate fresh garlic)

Mix it all up and grill. The grated onion is key with the lean meat...even if you don't like onion... just try it!

Balsamic Green Beans
Fresh green beans
Olive Oil
Onion
Garlic
Balsamic Vinegar
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Crush garlic, add to pan with olive oil and heat (you can remove garlic or chopped for more flavor)
Add onions, beans and saute
Add 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (will reduce and be syrupy)
Add a sprinkle of grated parmesan

Oven Roasted Steak Fries
One large potato (for each 2-3 people)
Olive Oil
Salt / Pepper
Chili Power
Fresh Herbs

Cut potatoes and toss with olive oil, seasonings and spread on baking sheet.
Roast at 400 for 20-30 minutes turning every 10 minutes
Sprinkle with fresh herbs before serving (parsley, rosemary or whatever you like)