Summer Sides: Refreshing Serrano Ham and Melon Salad

 On the 4th of July when my garden was full of mint and basil and melons were easy to find at the farmer's market we combined a few different melon herb salads we saw online to make this. Cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto is one of my go to appetizers so I knew the flavors of salty pork and sweet melon went well together. I went with Serrano Ham instead of prosciutto while comparing fat, sodium and calories and seeing that the thinly sliced ham was better than the pre-packaged prosciutto. The result was amazing. This is a hearty side, but refreshing and not over powering. A great use of a July day at the farmer's market. 

Refreshing Melon Mozzarella Serrano Ham Salad

 

• 2 cups honey dew melon balls (use a melon baller)
• 2 cups cantaloupe balls
• 3 oz Serrano ham  , torn into bite sized pieces
• 1/4 cup torn basil leaves
• 1/4 cup torn mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• salt and paper
• 3 oz mozzarella cut into bite sized pieces

1. Create a dressing by combining the honey, olive oil and vinegar with a little salt and pepper.
2. In a bowl toss the melon, cantaloupe, ham, basil, mint and mozzarella.
3. Toss with dressing.

This makes a hearty 6 servings at least

Grilled Skirt Steak and Shishito Pepper Tacos

Mexican food is my weakness. So I am always looking for healthy ways to fulfill my cravings when it comes to tacos, chips and salsa. On a beautiful summer night when shishito peppers were in season, my husband and I went searching for some ideas. This recipe is based loosely on this Eating Well Fajita recipe. I just loved the idea of grilling whole scallions, I had never tried it before, and it totally makes the dish. I also loved the method of keeping the peppers warm. Our key is using the grill to warm the tortillas. The flavor and texture is what makes this special. Also make sure to take note of using the griddle or foil is doing shishitos.  Side note, I know shishitos aren't always easy to find so I included the instructions for doing other peppers as well. We have used a combo of poblano and Anaheim peppers to fill in for the shishitos. We have also used flank steak, because finding skirt steak around here requires a special trip to the butcher instead of the regular grocery store. HOWEVER, skirt steak is the way to go if you can find it. This may look like a lot of steps. But it's really not complicated and it's healthy. 

Grilled Skirt Steak and Shishisto Pepper Tacos

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak or flank steak trimmed
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (plus more if using griddle on the grill) 
• 2 bunches scallions
• EITHER 1 pint Shishito peppers, OR if not in season 3 poblano peppers (I have also used Anahiem if I can't find Poblano) 
• 1 avocado
• 2 fresh limes
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
• 1 small tomato
• 1/4 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) 
• hot sauce for serving (I like Cholula)
•  1/4 cup crumbled Queso fresco
• 12 corn tortillas (taco sized) 

1. Heat charcoal or gas grill to high. (I always prefer charcoal). If doing shishito peppers, make sure to have either a cast iron insert on your grill or create a foil tray, so they don't fall through (this is our go to tool for our Weber, the griddle).
2. Dice avocado and tomatoes.  Combine avocado, tomato, the juice of one lime, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, and pepitas in a bowl. Set aside. 
3. Combine ancho chile powder, cumin and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl. Rub both sides of the steak with the the spice mixture. 
4. Brush scallions and whatever peppers you use with the olive oil. 
5. If you are using the griddle insert on the grill, oil it with about a 2 teaspoons of olive oil right before throwing the peppers on. Grill the peppers for 8-10 minutes until the skin is charred and blistering. If doing shishitos you will have to turn often. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to trap the heat until everything else is finished. 
6. Put steak and scallions on the grill. Grill the scallions for 2-4 minutes until charred, you'll have to turn them frequently. Grill the steak for about 3 minutes per side for medium rare. 
7. When you remove the steak, tent it with foil while you prepare the onions and peppers. 
8. Before you cool the grill off, throw your corn tortillas on for about 30-45 seconds a side to warm and SLIGHTLY char them. This is critical to a good corn tortilla that won't fall apart. 
9. Cut the ends off the scallions, and then slice them into one inch pieces and transfer to a serving dish. Remove peppers from bowl. If using shishito peppers, remove the stems and you are done. If using anahiem or poblano, remove as much of the charred skin as you can with a quick brush of a paper towel. Remove stems, cut open and remove seeds. Then cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Transfer to the same dish as the onions.
10. Squeeze juice of second lime over the peppers and onions. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. 
11. Slice your steak against the grain very thinly into small pieces. 
12. To assemble tacos top a corn tortilla with some steak, the avocado mixture, some peppers and onions, hot sauce and a tiny bit of queso fresco. Three tacos make a serving. 

**Makes 4 servings

**3 on Bryce's dish scale. A few bowls, a few cutting boards and the hand wash only grill insert complicate this one. 

Southwest Grilled Romaine Salad with Chicken and Salsa Dressing

Be prepared for a lot of summer recipes coming your way. I have gotten way behind and want to get these up before all the good produce is gone! This one is a perfect way to use fresh corn. Such a unique spin on a typical salad and grilling the lettuce just packs in so much flavor. I went searching for a grilled romaine salad because one of my favorite restaurants in college had one. And this one from Skinny taste looked AMAZING and super easy. It's super healthy. I just adapted slightly to make it more for our taste but LOVED the original concept from Skinnytaste. That website is a great resource for healthy recipes. I loved the idea of using chicken thighs because they grill up so much faster than other cuts.We also included the red onion in the original recipe but I wouldn't do that again. It wasn't necessary.  

 

 

Southwest Grilled Romaine Salad with Chicken and Salsa Dressing

 

• 1 package boneless skinless chicken thighs (about a pound) Trim them of fat
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 ears corn on the cobb- husks removed
• 2 romaine hearts
• olive oil spray
• 1 small avocado sliced
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• another pinch of sea salt to finish the salad with

Dressing

• 1 cup fresh refrigerated salsa (I use PEAKFECTION or something like it) We like things spicy so we used the medium heat level.
• Juice of one fresh lime
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
2. Combine oregano, cumin, and sea salt in a bowl. Season chicken evenly with the mixture.
3. Halve each romaine leave vertically, then spray cut side with olive oil spray. Also spray corn cobbs with olive oil.
4. Put chicken and corn on medium high heat grill. Cook for about 5 minutes each side. Until chicken is cooked through and corn is tender and just starting to char on the outside.
5. Remove that from heat and throw the romaine on the grill. Grill it for 1-2 minutes until it just starts to char.
6. Slice chicken into thin strips, and cut corn off the cobb.
7. Top one half of romaine with about one chicken thigh, maybe a little more. Then top with corn, cherry tomatoes, avocado and salsa dressing. Finish it all off with a sprinkle of sea salt.

**Makes 4 servings

**Super easy on the Bryce dish scale. A platter, a bowl a cutting board, a knife and a dressing container!

 

Healthy Queso Fundido (yes healthy cheese dip)

 I was so pumped when I saw this in my Cooking Light magazine. Queso is my weakness so finding a way to make it healthy was exciting. Although I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. The FLAVORS POP and it's still plenty cheesy. The key is using butternut squash puree to cut down on the cheese and fat. My grocery store doesn't always have "butternut squash puree" but it does usually have a frozen winter squash puree which works well too. The key is making it in the cast iron skillet. I only made minor changes from the original recipe based on ingredients that are easier to find for me, because it really was perfect from the get go.

Healthy Queso Fundido

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 3/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsalted chicken stock
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen butternut squash puree (or winter squash puree), thawed
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
• 3 ounces shredded Oaxaca cheese (about 3/4 cup), divided
• 3 ounces shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese (about 3/4 cup), divided
• 1/3 cup very thinly sliced radishes
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 tablespoons sliced green onions
• 1 thinly sliced jalapeño
• blue corn tortilla chips for serving
• Celery and carrot sticks for serving

1. Heat oil in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add red onion; cook 5 minutes or until softened.
2. Preheat broiler to high while that cooks
3. Add garlic, cook for one minute. 
4. Add flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Add stock, squash, chipotle, and adobo sauce; bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to low; add 2 ounces Oaxaca cheese and 2 ounces cheddar cheese; cook 2 minutes or until smooth, stirring until cheese melts.
7. Sprinkle remaining cheeses over top. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Top with radishes, cilantro, green onions, and jalapeño. Serve with chips and celery and carrot sticks.



Curry Chickpea Lettuce Wraps

When you are craving something healthy with a TON of flavor. This is what you are looking for. This is a super easy and light meal. I found it on pinterest and only slightly adapted. Original from Naturally Ella can be found here.  There are a couple of ideas for variations there. We used it for lettuce wraps for dinner, Then tossed the leftover chickpea mixture on some mixed greens for a salad the next day. She also has some interesting ideas for making your own curry powder. I just used the plain curry power I buy from Kroger!

 

 

 

 

 Curry Chickpea Lettuce Wraps

 

• 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
• 3 tablespoons non-fat greek yogurt
• 3 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup diced scallions
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 1/4 cup toasted cashew pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup chopped golden raisins
• 1/4 cup celery
• optional: 1/4 cup diced green apple
• 5 to 6 bibb lettuce leaves (look for ones that make good wraps)

 

 

1. Take 1/2 to 1 cup at a time of the chickpeas, place on a cutting board and roughly chop.
2. Measure in the remaining ingredients. Stir until well combined.
3. Divide chickpea mixture into lettuce cups and serve.

**This makes about 3 servings
**a 2 on Bryce's dish scale. No pots or pans! Just cutting board and bowl!

 

 

BBQ Chicken Burgers on Portobello Buns

This is one of the oldest recipes in my arsenal. One of my first Rachael Ray experiments and when I learned, I can't make any of her 30 minute meals in 30 minutes because I think too much. You can find the original here. I have made this both inside in a skillet and outside on the grill. It's way better on the grill, but still great inside. On the grill, we do use our cast iron insert on the Webber, because chicken burgers can fall apart pretty easily. This is the recipe that taught me the key to making poultry burgers delicious and juicy is mixing a bunch of stuff in it. We also ditch the bun and do marinated portobellos as a bottom. It just allows the burger flavor to sing a little more. The portobello, burger, slaw topper combo is a hearty meal, and we usually do a  simple salad on the side. When i take the leftovers to work for lunch, I don't even bring a side because it's plenty! 

BBQ Chicken Burgers on Portobello Buns 

For burgers:

• 1/2  tablespoon butter
• 1/2 small red onion finely chopped (you'll use other half in slaw)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon  hot sauce (I use Louisiana hot sauce and add more when I am feeling spicy)
• 1 pound ground chicken (I have used turkey in a pinch too)
• 1 tablespoon McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning

For slaw:

• 1 tablespoon honey
• juice of one fresh lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 rounded tablespoons dill pickle relish
• 2 cups shredded cabbage or Cole slaw mix
• 1/2 of a red onion thinly sliced 
• Salt and pepper

For Portobello Buns:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning mix
• 4 Portobello mushrooms

1. Create marinade for mushrooms by combing oil, Worcestershire, soy, garlic salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning in a bowl. Pour over mushrooms in a shallow dish. Allow to marinate while you get everything else ready.
2. In a small skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add chopped onions, chopped garlic and tomato paste. Cook the onions until they soften and are cooked through. Sprinkle with sugar and remove from heat. Put them in a bowl big enough to combine the rest of the ingredients to make your burger patties. Allow them to cool 5 minutes before adding other ingredients.  
3. Add Worcestershire, and hot sauce to onions and combine.
4. Add chicken and steak seasoning and use your hands to thoroughly combine all ingredients. Then form 4 patties from the mixture.
5. If you are making inside:  heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook burgers about 10 minutes each side until they crisp on the outside but don't burn. If you are making outside: if using a grill pan, Add a smidge of oil to it. Again cook about 10 minutes on each side until cooked through.
6. Add Portobello's to grill when you flip the burgers to grill them. Again if making inside, and you don't have room in the pan, throw in the pan after the burgers are cooked. Flip once during cooking.
7. To make the slaw: combine honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Add cabbage, sliced onion and relish.
8. Layer a mushroom, a burger and top with slaw!

**Makes 4 servings

Kale Salad with Crispy Coconut Chickpeas

This is a hearty and healthy salad that fills me up and satisfies so many cravings. I adapted this spin based heavily on this recipe from Half Baked Harvest blog where it's called The Mean Green Detox salad. I merely changed a few things for my taste, and after burning the chickpeas a couple of times changed the portions a little bit. Also, this to me makes two BIG main meal salads. I also often change up the types of kale I use based on what looks good at the farmer's market or the grocery store. I have used red kale, dino (lacianto) kale, curly kale, tuscan kale and red russian.                                       

Kale Salad with Crispy Coconut Chickpeas And Creamy Tahini Dressing 

Salad:

• One can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (If I am in a spicy mood I use a little more) 
• 4 cups of kale, roughly chopped or torn into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped 
• 1/2 cup shredded purple cabbage (I buy the bagged kind) 
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
• 1/2 of one grapefruit (I like it sweeter so I use Ruby Red), segmented
• 1 avocado sliced

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 lemon, use both zest and juice
• 2 small cloves garlic (or one big one)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated 
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

1. For the dressing either combine all in a blender (or magic bullet) until smooth or whisk together in a bowl. If you aren't using a blender make sure your ginger and garlic are finely grated. It will be thick, and there are times when we add a little more lemon juice and soy sauce to thin out. 
2. To make the chickpeas: Preheat oven to 425.  Dry well after rinsing. Toss chickpeas with soy sauce, sesame oil, and cayenne. Spread out on a baking sheet. Toss with coconut until its all coated. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes. Tossing and turning over halfway through. Keep a close eye on these. The coconut sometimes still burns. I just use a slotted spoon when I serve to shake off the burnt stuff. 
3. In a big bowl, toss the kale with a teaspoon of oil and a big pinch of coarse salt. Use your hands to toss the kale until it's coated with oil. This helps soften the kale.
4. Add the cabbage, parsley, and broccoli to the kale. Add half the dressing and toss well. If this is enough dressing for you, good. I always add a little more later. 
5. Add the grapefruit and avocado and more dressing if you want. And toss gently. 
6. Top with chickpeas just before serving. 

**Makes 2 servings

**About a 3 on Bryce's dish scale. Big bowl, chickpea bowl, strainers, baking sheet, knife.