Chickens Attacked The Garden

Well, I haven't had any zucchini recipes because guess what...

...chickens attacked the garden!

I caught the little stinks red handed!

This is what they left behind...

sad, pathetic, half-eaten zucchini!

Sad, sad day. 

(and kinda funny)

But, I had some friends give me a couple zucchini, so I'll have at least a couple of ideas for you soon.

Green Thumb?

Well, let's not get too crazy. I had an opportunity to have a free garden plot at work and jumped at the chance. The catch? I had to do everything myself except water it. Yuck. I hate dirt and bugs, but I was excited to have zucchini!

Here are pics of my garden and the first "fruits" of my labor. :-)

Can you spot the garden through the weeds? 

(They didn't weed around the garden, and I wasn't about to. 

It's enough work to weed the actual garden itself!)

I planted tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, broccoli, and brussel sprouts. But, only the zucchini and cucumber are producing anything edible. That's OK, though, because I mainly wanted zucchini.

YAY!!! Zucchini plants!

Flowers = things are happening successfully!

Here are the 5 zucchini, 1 cucumber, and about 10 teeny onions.

And here they are all prettied!


So, get ready for some zucchini recipes...

Orange Glazed Salmon

If you don't already love salmon, I bet you will if you try this recipe! I got the idea from MMM...Cafe. I had to switch out a couple of ingredients, though, because I didn't have what was called for.

Here is what you need:

• 3 tbs Asian seasoning (they used Cajun)
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 boneless, skinless, salmon fillets
• 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate (they used marmalade)
• 1 tbs lime juice

Here is what you do:

• Mix Asian seasoning, brown sugar, and salt; rub over both sides of the salmon.
• Bring oil in pan to a nice, hot heat and then saute fillets on medium heat for 2 - 3 per side. Note: You want to make sure the pan and oil is super hot, but not smoking. The super hot heat will insure a nice flip when it is ready to turn over. Also, be sure to not move the salmon until it is ready. You'll know when it is ready because it won't flake apart when you try to turn it.
• Combine orange concentrate and lime juice. When salmon is cooked all the way, drizzle orange mixture in skillet until melted, flipping salmon over to get glazed all over. Note: Be cautious when adding the orange mixture. You want to make sure the salmon is finished cooking or the mixture will crystallize...

Seems like this would also be yummy with lemonade concentrate. Yum! 

Lemon Dill Salmon

I LOVE salmon! This is a newly acquired taste, however. So, I'm in a phase where I want to try salmon cooked various ways. My most recent endeavour was to make a lemon dill butter and put that on my salmon. It was subtle yet delicious!

Sorry--no pictures.

Here is what you need:

• 1/4 cup butter (I love butter)
• 2 tsp dill seasoning
• zest and juice from 1 small lemon, separated
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 salmon fillets

Here is what you do:

• Mix the butter and zest together in a small bowl; mix and refrigerate
• Season fillets with salt and pepper then saute in butter
• After the fillets have cooked for 1 minute, drizzle a little juice over them
• After 2 more minutes, and if the fillet is easily removed from the pan, flip the fillets over to cook on the other side
• Repeat the process on this side
• Serve with your favorite vegetable side dish
• Put a dollop of the lemon dill butter on the hot fillet

YUM!!! What are some of your favorite ways to prepare salmon?

Teriyaki Ground Beef and Rice

Last night I needed to make two quick dishes for my lunches and dinners for the rest of the week, so I opened my freezer and pantry to see what I could whip up in a jiffy. For one meal, I saw rice and hamburger as my main ingredients and then browsed my fridge and pantry to see what else I could add. I didn’t want to do my usual cream of whatever soup with veggies, rice, and beef, so I looked deeper into my stash and found teriyaki sauce! I have made teriyaki chicken before, but I’ve never used it with ground beef, so I wasn’t too sure what the result would be.

You may have already tried something like this, but here’s what I came up with and how I did it. It was super simple!

Here is what you need:

• 3 cups rice, brown or white
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 3/4 cup teriyaki sauce (I just guessed at this; you want it to be more liquid than beef and onion)

Here is what you do:

• Cook rice
• Chop onion into small pieces
• As rice is cooking, sauté the onion with the garlic
• Add ground beef and cook until beef is completely done
• Add teriyaki sauce and reduce heat to a simmer
• Simmer for 8 minutes (or so—this is a guess)
• Serve beef and sauce over rice
• If you want to make a bunch, freeze whatever you don't use and then you'll have an instant meal later!

It. Was. So. Delicious!

Here it is with all the sauce and beef mixed with the rice.

The pic makes it look dry, but it certainly WAS NOT!

Seriously! I loved every—single—bite!

Chicken, Carrots, Cabbage

Evidently today's blog post is brought to you by the letter C: Chicken, Carrots, Cabbage.

Now, the picture below is not pretty, I get that. But if you had capabilities to smell the food through the internet, your mouth would be watering for this deliciousness...I promise!

Here is what you need:

• slow cooker of choice
• 2 large carrots
• 1 small red cabbage
• 4 medium chicken breasts
• 1/2 medium red onion (or 1 small)
• chicken broth, enough to cover contents in cooker
• salt & pepper, to taste

Here is what you do:

• Peel carrots and slice into similarly sized sticks (say that 10 times fast)
• Chop onion into big chunks
• Slice cabbage into large sections, keeping all layers in tact
• Cut chicken breasts in half
• Load everything into the slow cooker and cover with broth
• Add salt and pepper
• Cook on high for 3 hours (disclaimer: depending on your slow cooker and the thickness of your chicken, you may need to cook it longer)

I added the red cabbage because I forgot to buy potatoes, and I wanted another veggie to throw in the mix. I have to tell you...the cabbage was my favorite part of the whole meal! I am SOOO glad I forgot the potatoes! It was serendipitous for sure!

What happy accidents have you stumbled across while cooking in your kitchen?

Broccoli Bites

Knock, Knock. You still out there? Sorry I haven't posted in AGES; I've been busy packing and moving to a new city. But, I'm close to getting settled and will start cooking and sharing my recipes again...I promise!

For now, take a look at this recipe for delicious-looking broccoli bites. Even the non-veggie lover will love these! Add a bit of bacon and they'll be even better!

Pumpkin Spice Waffles

This year my mom asked for a waffle maker for her birthday. She doesn't usually eat waffles, so she's never purchased a waffle maker, but for some reason this year was the year of the waffles. lol.

So, for Mother's Day, I made Pumpkin Spice Waffles for her and boy, were they delicious. If I do say so myself. lol They were also SUPER easy!

Here is what you need:

• Waffle mix (we used the suggested serving size for 4 which actually ended up making more than that; we also used the store brand that is also good to use to make pancakes)
• 2 tbs pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp vanilla

Here is what you do:

• Make the waffle mix with either water or milk, whatever the box calls for
• Add the pumpkin spice and the vanilla
• Let the batter rest for 5 minutes; this is a good time to heat up your waffle maker
• Add a little batter to the waffle maker and cook according to the timing of your own waffle maker
• Serve with warm syrup and butter OR powdered sugar and raspberry jam

You could also change out the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla and make a savory waffle with garlic powder and onion powder. Or, you could even add chili powder or taco seasoning for a Mexican flair. Then add hearty, meaty toppings instead. Doesn't that sound delicious? I may just have to try it and post the results.

Three Ingredients = Flavorful Pork Chops

These pork chops could not be easier to make. All you need is 3 ingredients. THREE ingredients! That’s it—seriously!

Veggies haven't made it to the plate yet.

Here is what you need:

• 4 pork chops
• 1 pkg onion soup mix (Shake to make sure it is mixed up well.)
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise

Here is what you do:

• Place pork chops in glass baking dish.
• Slather half of mayo on one side of pork chops.
• Sprinkle half of package over mayo and then spread with a spatula to make sure every inch is covered and really pressed into the pork chop.
• Use tongs to flip pork chops over then repeat mayo and soup mix on second side.
• Cover dish with foil and place in fridge for at least an hour so the mayo and soup mix can marinate the pork chops. (You can marinate it for longer, though. I did for 4 hours.)
• Cook on a grill for 3 ½ to 4 minutes per side, depending on how hot your grill is and how thick your pork chops are. Just be sure the juices are clear and not pink.
• Serve with one of my very favorite rolls and a side of veggies!
• Oh, and don't worry if the soup mix forms crusty areas...they are YUMMY! 

Slather the pork chops.

Spread in the soup mix.

Grill on one of these or your outdoor grill.

Three ingredients, one dish, and oh-so-easy! Give it a try and let me know what you thought!

Crustless Quiche

Today is my mom's birthday, so this is a little shout out to her. (Happy Birthday, mom!)

My mom and I have our own funny little language that makes us crack right up at each other. Here is an example: We say "quiche" as if it were pronounced "keechee." lol. (I'm totally laughing right now.) So, every time I say the name of this recipe, I say "Crustless Keechee" and laugh on the inside.

Sorry for the lame photo quality...blame it on the phone.

Here is what you need:

• 9 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 5 strips thick bacon
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• cooking spray

Here is what you do:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place bacon on baking sheet with grooves and bake for 12 minutes or until mostly crispy but not too crisp.
• While bacon cooks, whisk eggs, milk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper together until frothy.
• Stir in grated cheese.
• Place cooked bacon on bottom of greased glass round baking dish.
• Slowly pour mixture over bacon. Don't worry if bacon rises to the top or floats in the mixture. That's totally fine.
• Bake at 400 degrees for about 4o to 45 minutes, checking on the quiche (keechee-lol) every few minutes around that time. You're looking for it to start to come away from the sides, be a bit golden brown, and all of the inner gooey mixture to become a bit firm, but not terribly firm. 
• Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper.
• Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
• Note: If you like green onions, feel free to add those. 

Enjoy! This quiche (keechee - hehe) really is quite delicious, especially with the onion powder and garlic powder. They add a special flavor that I love. (I usually reach for those flavors for most of my dishes...except desserts. Gag.)