Scallops with Ginger & Lemongrass

Courtesy of Gourmet Garden

I have a new favorite grocery store item -- Gourmet Garden fresh herbs (http://na.gourmetgarden.com/us/). I don't know about you, but I always buy fresh herbs and then waste them because they don't all get used. Well, these handy dandy tubes are refrigerated and last up to 3 months. You use the same measurements as fresh herbs, and it's just super easy! I bought quite a few of these last week and tried my first recipe with them last week -- it was quite tasty! This was a really easy recipe to prepare, again, perfect for a week night meal! I served it up with some bok choy, which I love. The plate looks a little sparse, I apologize -- the bok choy didn't go as far as I had hoped. This would also go great with rice. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Lemon Grass
• 2 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Ginger
• 1 tsp Gourmet Garden Chili Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Cilantro
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp Dry sherry
• 1 Tbsp Fish sauce
• 2 whole Limes
• 12 large Scallops

Directions:
Make marinade from juice of one lime and add all other ingredients. Retain one lime to make wedges for garnish. Marinate scallops for 15 minutes. Discard marinade. Sear scallops in hot pan for approximately 2 minutes each side (or until cooked through). I like mine with a good sear on them.

Pan-Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops

Courtesy of Food Network Kitchens

Lamb is a new thing for me. I never enjoyed it until this past year -- I guess taste buds can change! There were some shoulder chops on sale at Teeter, so I figured this was a great time to try it out. I also have this wine that is amazing and goes well with certain foods. It went nicely with the lamb -- Dark Lady Pinotage. I highly recommend the wine, if you can find it! I have to get it special ordered from a wine store, but very worth it! The lamb chops came out very well and were very tender. The marinade also was a hit; I think I'd even try it on pork!  Yum. The key to this was marinading the chops for about 12 hours...it's a great meal to put in the marinade in the morning and then they're ready for grilling when you get home! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Four 8- to 12-ounce lamb shoulder chops

 

Directions:

To make the marinade: whisk the lemon juice, mustard, rosemary, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the salt together in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil and season with pepper. Transfer the marinade to a large sealable plastic bag. Put the lamb chops in the bag, seal, and shake vigorously to evenly coat the meat. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12. Remove the chops from the marinade and transfer them to a plate. Discard the marinade. Using a spoon, lightly scrape the remaining marinade off the chops and pat them dry. Preheat a large cast-iron grill pan over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high. Season the chops with salt. Place 2 chops on the grill pan, and cook until the chops have distinctive grill marks, about 3 minutes. To make crosshatched grill marks, re-position the chops, moving them about 45 degrees on the ridged pan, and continue to cook about 3 minutes more. (The chops will have only cooked on one side at this point.) Set the chops aside and repeat with the remaining 2 chops. Return the first set of chops to the pan to cook them on the other side. Reduce the heat to medium low, and cook the chops until medium-rare, about 2 minutes. Repeat with the other chops. Let the chops rest for about 5 minutes and serve.  NOTE: This did take me a bit longer to cook because I wanted them Medium -- just cook a few more minutes on each side until the desired temperature.

 

Greek Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Capers, and Feta

Courtesy of For the Love of Cooking.net

Wow -- my last posting was in June. I apologize for being MIA this summer! Life has been busy with work and some vacations thrown in there :) It has flown by as usual! This specific recipe, I have had on my list for a while, and finally got around to making it last week. It was so delicious. The sauce was so savory that I was eating it with a spoon at the end! This is a great week night meal :) If you're trying to be healthy, it's already a nice recipe, but you could even leave out the cheese if you really wanted to and it would still be yummy. I served this with some steamed broccolini (one of my faves). Enjoy!

Ingredients - Chicken:
5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, flattened & trimmed of fat
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Dried oregano, to taste
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Feta cheese
Fresh parsley

Ingredients - Broccolini:
Bunch of broccolini
Soy sauce
Lawry's seasoning salt
Olive oil
  
Directions:

Flatten out the chicken thighs and remove any excess fat. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, garlic powder, and dried oregano, to taste. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour, set aside. Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken into the skillet and cook for 5 minutes; flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and place onto a plate loosely covered by a tin foil tent. Add a teaspoon of more olive oil to the skillet then add the onion. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes; add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and chicken broth then bring to a boil. Boil the sauce for 2 minutes then reduce to low; season the sauce with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, then add the chicken thighs and their juices back to the pan along with the capers. Cook for another 7-10 minutes. Serve the chicken with some sauce spooned over the top followed by a sprinkling of feta cheese and fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Broccolini -- Place in a saute pan with a splash of olive oil. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes. Splash some soy sauce and seasoning salt and cover for an additional minute or two.