Mixed Field Greens with Chicken, Feta and Blueberries

Here is a quick salad that is perfect to have for lunch either at work or at home.  It transports easily and the flavor combinations are spot on AND it's a pretty salad to look at.

Mixed Field Greens with Chicken, Feta and Blueberries

Serves 1

2 cups mixed field greens, washed and dried

3 oz leftover grilled or roasted chicken, diced

1/4 cup blueberries

2 strawberries, sliced

1 tablespoon feta cheese

1 tablespoon toffee-glazed, sliced almonds

2 tablespoons Brianna's Blush Vinaigrette

Layer the ingredients on a plate or in a shallow bowl in the order that they are given and promptly enjoy!

Marsala Burgers

Earlier this week I happened upon this delightful blog called Smells Like Home.  While browsing the blog, I discovered a recipe for Marsala Burgers that sent delightful shivers down my spine and I knew I had to make them.  These burgers are a nice change from the standard grilled hamburger.  I served them with the  zucchini fries posted below.

Marsala Burgers

Serves 3

Adapted from Smells Like Home

12 oz ground round

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large shallot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

8 oz baby portabello mushrooms, sliced

3/4 cup sweet Marsala

1/2 cup low sodium beef broth

1 fresh rosemary sprig

3 slices sharp cheddar cheese

3 small, crusty French rolls

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place ground beef in a bowl and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Shape the ground beef into 3 equal patties.  Drizzle the patties with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; repeat on the opposite sides.

Brown the patties in the skillet on both sides until the burgers are medium rare. Transfer the burgers to a plate and keep warm; leave the juices in the pan.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the shallot and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, season with a little salt and sauté until tender and the mushroom juices release and then evaporate, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala. Simmer until the Marsala reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and the rosemary sprig. Simmer until reduced the sauce until there are about 4 tablespoons remaining.  Add burgers back to the pan and turn them to coat.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Add 1 oz of cheese to the top of each burger, remove the pan from the heat and cover the pan to allow the cheese to melt, about 2 minutes.

When the cheese has melted, remove the burgers from the pan and place on the French bread. Top the burgers with Marsala sauce and then the top of the French bread. Serve hot.

Printable Recipe

Oven "Fried" Zucchini Fries

Last night was the first night in a long time that my husband has been home for dinner; poor guy has been working these incredibly long hours and hasn't had a homecooked meal in I don't know how long.  I decided I would kick up some burgers and instead of fries, I decided to make some zucchini fries.  We used to frequent this burger joint in Montgomery, AL called Flip's Uptown Grill.  They had the most amazing zucchini fries.  When I told the hubby that I was craving them he was all for me making them.  I decided that instead of dragging the fryer out I would try and bake them instead.  I found a breading for onion rings on the Brown Eyed Baker blog but I will say that the next time I make them, I am going to change the breading on them.  Don't get me wrong - they were delicious with this breading, BUT, I want a breading that is finer than this.  Stay tuned, because I'm sure to make these again as they were a delightful change from regular fries or sweet potato fries.

Oven "Fried" Zucchini Fries

Serves 4

3 medium size zucchini, cut in half and each half cut into quarters

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ cup buttermilk

1 egg

¼ cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

1½ cups crushed potato chips (kettle-cooked chips, if available)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Combine ¼ cup flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne in a bowl. In another bowl combine the buttermilk, egg and additional flour, whisking until a smooth batter is formed.  In a third bowl, place the crushed potato chips.

Prepare the zucchini fries by first dipping a zucchini baton into the seasoned flour, then into the batter (let the excess batter drip off), and then coat with the crushed potato chips. As you finish the zucchini strips, place them on a large plate. Repeat with all zucchini batons.

Drizzle the vegetable oil on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 8 minutes. Carefully remove the sheet from the oven and tilt to evenly coat with oil.  Working quickly, place your zucchini fries on the baking sheet and return to oven. Bake for 8 minutes, flip the fries and bake and additional 8 minutes or until golden brown.

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Strawberry Peach Crumble

The first of the peaches here in this part of the country are starting to emerge and wow are they juicy and delicious.  A co-worker of the hubby brought some peaches to the office and the hubby brought some home to me.  They really needed to be eaten right away because they were perfectly ripe - I mean, juice dripping down your arms and chin ripe - just delicious and so flavorful.  Since this weekend kicks off summer, I decided to combine the 6 peaches I had with a quart of strawberries to make a crumble.  I love crumble topping - oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, throw in some pecans and who could forget butter - yummy!

Strawberry Peach Crumble

Serves 4-6

6 small, ripe peaches, peeled and sliced (reserve any juice that exudes from the fruit when peeling and slicing)

1 qt. strawberries, hulled and sliced into quarters (if large strawberries, slice into sixths)

1/2 cup brown sugar, divided

4 tablespoons flour, divided

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided

1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

1 cup old fashioned oats

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, combine peaches, strawberries, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon and any juice that you collected from the peaches.  Stir to combine thoroughly and place in a greased casserole dish.

In a separate bowl combine remaining brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, the pecans and the oatmeal.  Pour the melted butter over and stir to combine thoroughly.  Sprinkle topping evenly over the fruit mixture.

Bake for 40 minutes or until topping is golden and the fruit is tender and the juices are bubbling.  Let cool for about 10 minutes and then serve with some rich vanilla ice cream.

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Shrimp with Lemon Basil Cream

Remember when you were a kid and you were told to not play with your food?  Well, on this blog, I encourage food playing.  I actually played with my food tonight and created this most yummy dish.  I had a craving for shrimp scampi, but wanted something more creamy.  This is obviously fattening, but, don't freak out - this isn't something you would consume daily.  Live a little - what's a little butter and cream between friends!

Shrimp with Lemon Basil Cream

Serves 4-6

1 1/2 lbs. peeled and deveined large shrimp

salt and pepper to taste

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup loosely packed chopped basil leaves

8 oz cooked whole wheat pasta

Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente.  Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the skillet. When the foaming subsides, raise the heat to high, add shrimp in a single layer. Cook the shrimp, without moving them, for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Turn the shrimp over and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.

Return the skillet to the heat and pour in the white wine and lemon juice. Boil the liquid until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add cream to the pan and return sauce to a boil and cook until sauce is thickened, about 1 minute.  Stir the zest, red pepper flakes and basil into the sauce. Add the shrimp and pasta to the sauce, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.  Serve immediately.

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