Grilled Chicken Caprese

Happy Friday everyone!   I hate to the be the bearer of bad news, but can you believe the end of July is upon us?   Summer is whizzing by in the blink of an eye.  We are trying to take advantage of all that summer has to offer, though a few activities still remain on our 'to do' list.  On the other hand, we certainly are taking every opportunity to grill (something we did not do once last summer, back when I was still working, and we were stuck in our pizza/pasta/p'eggs routine).   

In any case, we are having a great summer here at Alida's Kitchen, and I hope you are too!

After making Herbed-Grilled Tomatoes, I developed an appreciation for the delicious flavor of grilled tomatoes. So when I saw a Caprese Chicken recipe that grilled the chicken AND the tomatoes, it went on my 'must make' list immediately!   

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

As my rosemary plant continues to flourish, so continues my search for tasty recipes using rosemary.  I recently made Herbed Balsamic Grilled Chicken, which required a suitable accompaniment.  For some reason it was just screaming potatoes to me.  

Garden Pizza Puffs

We eat a lot of muffins in this house.  We also eat a lot of pizza.  So when I stumbled upon a recipe for pizza made in a mini-muffin tin, it was like two worlds colliding into something brilliant!
    

Herbed Balsamic Grilled Chicken

I love cooking marinated chicken on the grill. It is such a quick and easy way to make a delicious dinner.  Mix the marinade, pour it in a Ziploc bag, put chicken in the bag and let is sit.  Easy. 

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

When I boldly declared these muffins as my favorite muffin of all time, Mike was not surprised in the least.  Not only do they have peanut butter, which I love, but they also have brown sugar and buttermilk, two of my favorite baking ingredients. Chocolate chips and chopped peanuts don't hurt either. :)

Kiddie Cheese Square

All right folks, here is a tasty treat for your little ones. Now Adam is not a picky eater per se, but he will not eat plain cottage cheese, and he will not eat plain eggs (no matter how much cheese is added).  Put the 2 together, along with some flour and shredded cheese and voila! Kiddie Cheese Square is delicious, protein-packed, and one of Adam's favorite lunches!

Vegetable Enchiladas

My dear readers, I have been holding out on you. A week before making Garlic Beef Enchiladas, I made Vegetable Enchiladas. And they were fantastic! I simply did not want to bombard you with back-to-back enchilada recipes, so I have been waiting for the right time to share this with you...and now is the right time!

These colorful enchiladas are packed with black beans, cheese and lots of vegetables.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Have I told you lately that I love summer produce? Because I do!  This weekend we are planning a visit to our local farm to pick up several pounds of blueberries.  I am so excited! While we love to eat plain blueberries by the handful, I have a long list of great recipes using blueberries that I can't wait to share with you!

So in honor, and anticipation, of our future blueberry windfall, I would like to share with you my favorite blueberry muffin recipe.

Herbed-Grilled Tomatoes

Copyright 2011 Alida's Kitchen. All rights reserved.

Growing up, I remember summer was filled with an abundance of zucchini, rhubarb and tomatoes. According to me, zucchini was best served as bread, rhubarb was best served as crisp and tomatoes were best served to someone else. I was not a fan of tomatoes.

Actually, I still do not care for plain tomatoes, unless they are in a salad. I like my tomatoes made into something. And I must say, these Herbed-Grilled Tomatoes are definintely something!

Grilled Peanut Butter Chicken

If I had to pick my all time favorite food, it would be peanut butter (although cheese is a very close second).   I love peanut butter sandwiches, cookies, bars, on apples, plain, ice cream...*sigh*  I could go on and on.

So one day when I was opening my lovely jar of peanut butter, this chicken recipe caught my eye. Peanut butter? Chicken? Mmm... I do not often stumble upon many savory peanut butter dishes, so I was eager to give this a try.

Garlic Beef Enchiladas

My husband has been wondering 'where's the beef?'  Well here you go, Mike! 

This week I am participating in an online recipe swap hosted by Sarah of A Taste of Home Cooking, and the theme is Mexican.  I received Garlic Beef Enchiladas courtesy of Heather Lynne of Hezzi D's Books and Cooks.  This is not necessarily a recipe I would have selected on my own, simply because I do not eat a lot of meat.  But that's the whole point of the recipe swap - try something different.  I was looking forward to making these enchiladas! (and Mike was very excited about meat!) 

Whole Wheat Blueberry Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

Recently, my favorite (well,...only) pancake turner met an early and unfortunate demise.  Let's just say the combination of a very hot pan, quesadillas sticking to said pan and a non-silicone turner resulted in a slightly melted pancake turner (and a slightly not pleased Alida).  Now I am armed and dangerous with a fancy silicone pancake turner, ready to take on the world...of pancakes!   
What better way to christen this handy new tool than by making ricotta pancakes.  Ricotta pancakes are delicate to flip, so they're sure to put this new device to the test. 

Not just any ricotta pancake recipe would do, however.  It was time to liven up my go-to ricotta pancake recipe from Everyday Food.  First I swapped lemon zest for the orange zest, and whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour.  I then decided to add vanilla and blueberries to the recipe.

The result was fabulous!  We thought they were perfect without any topping, though you could add a little confectioners' sugar or maple syrup, if desired. 

While these pancakes are easy to make, the batter is quite thick, thus requiring a few extra minutes to cook and extra care when flipping. In the end, it is all worth it - trust me!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes
Yields 4 servings
15 ounces low fat ricotta cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 cup blueberries
cooking spray
confectioners' sugar or maple syrup, for serving (optional)

1. In a medium bowl. whisk together ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, grated lemon zest and vanilla extract. 
2. Fold in flour until just combined; add blueberries, gently mixing until combined.
3. Spray large non-stick skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium-low heat.  Add batter, using a scant 1/4 cup for each pancake.  Cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Transfer pancakes to a paper towel-lined plate. 
4. Serve hot, with confectioners' sugar or maple syrup, if desired.

Adapted from Everyday Food

Banana Split Cupcakes

 
For my husband's birthday, I asked what he wanted for his treat.  He said 'whatever you want to make for the blog.'  Aww shucks...  Well I was not about to choose his birthday treat.  So after some pressing (and dropping subtle hints that we had nice overripe bananas to use) he asked for Banana Split Cupcakes.  I was very excited about his choice because they are fun to make and just so gosh darn cute!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone!  I wish you all a wonderful holiday with good food and sunshine.  Have a great day and there will be a new recipe posted tomorrow. 

Fresh Strawberry Pie ~ Lightened up!

Let's just get this out in the open.  Yes, I am doing another strawberry recipe.  And yes, I am doing another strawberry recipe with yogurt.  Every year around the Fourth of July, I look forward to making this healthy version of a strawberry pie.  It just so happens to coincide my Strawberry Yogurt Muffins post from Wednesday.  I promise you a break from strawberry and yogurt recipes in the coming weeks.  In fact, there are even some indulgent recipes on the horizon!