Day 364: Leg of Lamb & Game Day Quesadillas!

About a week ago I took some requests for meals to make my last week of this blog.  Today I'm fulfilling two of them.  Because I like rich Sunday dinners like roasted chicken, pot roast, etc, I thought the leg of lamb that someone requested would be a good Sunday dinner after church.  And then tonight is game night for our New England patriots and I'm serving up some good game-food:  Quesadillas, homemade guacamole, and restaurant-style salsa with tortilla chips.  We're ready!

Leg of Lamb
I could only find boneless when I went shopping, and I suspect that bone-in would be a bit better.  But you can easily apply the same concept, here, just increase the cooking time.  With bone-in or larger cuts of meat, I like to roast them at high temps for a half hour or so before decreasing the temp to let it finish cooking.  Starting at a high oven temperature helps to get the outside a little crispy, and then reducing the temperature will ensure that you don't burn the meat while still continuing to cook the inside.  My boneless leg wasn't all that big, so I simply seared the outside for that crispness and then roasted it at an even temperature in the oven.

1 leg of lamb
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TB rosemary, chopped
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt, pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
herb medley: fresh rosemary, chives, parsley, chopped
flour
red wine
chicken stock

Just a couple hours or so before you cook the lamb, drizzle it with some olive oil and lemon juice.  Then rub it with the salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary and massage the meat with your hands.  Let it refrigerate until you're ready to cook.
Preheat the oven to 350*.  Heat a cast iron skillet and sear the meat over high heat on all sides.  Place the skillet in the preheated oven and roast for about 20 minutes, or until a thermometer reads 150*-155* for medium/medium rare.
For the sauce, start sautéing the onion in the pan drippings on the stove over medium-high heat.  Add the fresh herbs and some salt and pepper.  Add a tablespoon of flour.  Whisk in the red wine, cook for 1 minute.  Add twice as much chicken stock as red wine.  Whisk and cook until reduced.  Serve over the lamb. 
Of course, lamb has to be served with cous cous!  For my recipe, click here (also a recipe for lamb meatballs). 

Tonight we hosted our Bible study, which is usually at our friends' house.  Obviously, we had to make the arrangement to accommodate the football game!  We had an early study and then turned on the game and ate dinner.  The guacamole and salsa are perfect game food!  Here's a recipe for quesadillas that was shown to me on facebook.  I glanced at it and then just tried to re-invent it myself when I made them tonight.  They were excellent!  I made a bunch so just know that this recipe makes a lot!

Cheesy Quesadillas

3-4 large chicken breasts, skin-on, bone-in
cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 oz  cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream
4 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
salt, pepper
tortillas

Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Roast in the oven at 400* for about a half hour.  Let cool.  Pull the meat off the bone and shred it.
In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, sour cream, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and tomatoes with green chiles.  Mix well.  Add the shredded chicken and Mexican cheese and mix again.  Fill each tortilla with the mixture and fold in half.  Place in the oven (at 400*) for 10 minutes.  Serve warm!

Guac to my left, salsa to my right!  That's my kind of dinner!

 

Days 145, 146, 147: A Father's Day Post

Here's our weekend in meals!  Real quick, I'll recap that on Friday night I went out with a girlfriend and Randy and the kids finished up the chicken and broccoli alfredo lasagna.  Saturday night (Day 146) we had my classic burgers--always so delicious and both kids gobble 'em right up!  So that brings us to today, Sunday, Father's Day, AND... my mother's birthday.  Oh yeah, it was also Abby's first gymnastics "performance."  Phew!  Lots of goings-on for our family today.

I don't consider my dad a very picky eater (I don't really consider my mom "picky", either, but I'd say that she'd be more likely to have a meal preference most often) so I planned a noon-time dinner with my mother in mind.  I wanted something fresh, summery, and flavorful!  She's also getting into Mediterranean flavors, so I made a tomato-feta "bruschetta" for an appetizer.  On the menu: roasted chicken, French potato salad, crisp-lemon vegetables, and strawberry pie with ice cream for dessert.  (*Note: my mom is allergic to chocolate and said she didn't want a birthday cake--hence the "birthday" pie for dessert.)

Tomato-Feta Bruschetta
Randy bought me a Mediterranean Cooking cookbook some time ago and I bought the same book for my mom's birthday.  The idea for this appetizer came from that book.

French bread
olive oil
1-2 small tomatoes, finely chopped
1-2 minced garlic cloves (I used garlic powder since neither of my parents love garlic like Randy and I do!)
4 oz feta cheese
2-4 TB fresh oregano (roughly chopped)
salt, pepper--to taste

Thickly slice the French bread on a diagonal and then halve the slices.  You want about 8-10 halves in the end.  Drizzle them with olive oil and bake at 400* for about 15 minutes.  Or, you can just put them under the broiler for a few minutes, just keep a good eye on them!  Sprinkle with minced garlic or garlic powder.  Evenly distribute the tomato pieces, crumbled feta, and chopped oregano onto the baguette slices.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.

You can find my recipe for a perfect roasted chicken here.  Today I left out the parsley and rosemary and went heavier on the lemon and thyme flavors in an attempt to achieve a more lemony chicken.

French Potato Salad
I feel like there's a lot to this salad.  More than a classic potato salad, that is.  But it's much lighter than the traditional mayonnaise-coated potato salad and I figured my mom would prefer it.  I believe it was Julia Child who introduced this recipe to her fans, and I've also seen it in Ina Garten's cookbooks.  Mine is only slightly different, but the same idea.  

2-3 lbs of potatoes (I used a combination of red and white)

2 TB white wine
2 TB chicken stock
3-4 TB champagne vinegar
1/2 -1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 TB fresh dill, finely chopped
2 TB fresh parsley, chopped
salt, pepper

Wash the potatoes and boil them in salted water for about 20-30 minutes, or until just cooked through.  Then drain them and place the colander back over the pot and cover them with a towel to steam for another 10 minutes.
Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces and toss them with the white wine and chicken stock. Let the warm potatoes soak up the flavor of the liquid while you prepare the rest of the dressing.  Mix the dijon mustard, champagne vinegar, and olive oil.  Pour over the potatoes and sprinkle in the scallions, dill, and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Crisp-Lemon Vegetables
I call these vegetables "crisp" because they're raw (mostly).  I think this is a fun, summer salad with vegetables you can easily cook, but also serve raw.  I make a very basic lemon vinaigrette as a dressing.  Sorry for not having exact measurements on the green beans or snowpeas--when I'm at the grocery store, I just grab, so I'm making my best guesses...

2 handfuls of green beans, washed and trimmed (1/2 lb?)
2 handfuls of snow peas, washed and trimmed (1/3 lb?)
1 yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
juice of 1 large lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
salt, pepper

Blanch the green beans in boiling water for a few minutes, then drop them into ice water to stop the cooking.  Combine the green beans, snow peas, and peppers.  Mix the lemon juice and olive oil and pour over the vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.  Garnish with lemon slices if desired.

Happy Father's Day!

I love my dad!  He is probably one of the wisest men I know.  He's very good at analyzing a situation and determining the best course of action.  OR, at reflecting on a situation and quickly saying what he would've done different and why.  My father would probably say that right now he's going through some spiritual and character alterations and growth, but I've always seen him as incredibly spiritually mature, founded, and wise.  He is very good at defending his beliefs but is always gentle and respectful about it. (1 Peter 3:15)  These are things I've quietly noticed while having the privilege of being his daughter.  Besides this, here are a few other things I've learned from my father:
1) How to explain things.  I consider myself pretty well-spoken and articulate.  People tell me this about myself often.  I attribute it to my dad.  Perhaps I didn't so much learn it from him as inherit it, but either way, it's a trait he passed on to me.

Dad singing a song he wrote for my brother at my Noah's dedication

2) How to drive.  My mom and I were subject to the near-fatal mother-daughter driving tension when I was a teenager.  Hence, my father taught me how to drive.  I also have somewhat of a "lead foot".  So does he... ;)
3) How to appreciate music--real music, good music.  I am definitely not as much of a music "snob" as he is, but most of my opinions about music come from my father.  He's a musician and I (used to) play the piano.  Unfortunately, I can't sing a note, unlike him.  But, oh well.  By the way, Dad, I'm pretty sure I still have some of your CDs...
4) That it's OK to goof around in the house as long as Mom's not home.  (Isn't that what all the best dads do?)
5) How to admit when I'm wrong or have made a mistake.  This goes back to the whole wisdom-thing, I think.  I wouldn't say that he's been wrong often, but I can recall plenty of times when he has "swallowed his pride" and nodded in agreement with something he originally thought was wrong.

Grampy and Abby (2012)

6) How to make and launch a model rocket (though I couldn't do it by myself now).  And how to be brave on a roller coaster.  That's right, I still remember how he sat with my little brother instead of me because he was crying or something.  My first time on a roller coaster and I had to sit by myself!  I still love 'em (and him) though...
7) How to appreciate good, in-season fruit.  My dad loves fruit, especially berries.  I tried plums because of him, peaches because of him, and raspberries, and blackberries, too.  So as much as the strawberry pie I made today was for my mom, it was also for my dad.  Happy Father's Day dad, I love you!

Strawberry Pie
Strawberries came late this season, and the strawberry-rhubarb peaks did not coincide.  I looked around for rhubarb, but had to decide to make a plain strawberry pie.  I wasn't sure of it and didn't look at a recipe, so I was a little nervous.  Besides the fact that it turned out juicy (which I suppose I could've added more cornstarch or even strawberry gelatin to fix), it was pretty yummy!  I did end up draining the juices before slicing into it.  I'll share the recipe when I've perfected it a little more. ;)  I have a basic crust recipe that is fool-proof, but it's the filling I will be experimenting with.  For now, I'll enjoy the trial-and-error process!

By the way, there's another man in my life who is a father and deserves some recognition today.  My husband, Randy, is an incredible father.  I am certain that one day our children will all say the same about him.  He is currently playing "hide-and-seek" with Abby while I write this blog.  He wouldn't say that being a dad came all that naturally to him when Abby was an infant.  But he's had 2 1/2 years of experience at this point, and he couldn't look more natural in the role!  Randy is a phenomenal husband and a wonderful father.  I love our family and I love him with all my heart! 

 

Day 85: Mediterranean Paradise: Lamb Meatballs, Cous Cous, Tomato-Feta Salad

I know I've mentioned before how much I love Greek food.  Well, I LOVE THIS MEAL!  The flavors are beautiful and each dish combined with the next makes more an amazing and cohesive dinner.  The cous cous and tomato-feta salads are inspired by Ina Garten, but the meatballs are mine.  Actually, the truth is I thought I had made lamb meatballs before and searched and searched for a recipe and couldn't find one.  But Ina does have a recipe for lamb kebabs in one of her cookbooks.  However, I already had it in my head that I wanted to make meatballs, not kebabs, and since I couldn't find a recipe I thought I had, I just made it up myself, using some of the ingredients I knew would work.  They were delish!

Today was our first trip back to the playground this year, and I wanted to spend as much time there as possible.  So dinner was a little rushed, and I didn't measure everything like I intend to do when I know I will be writing a post about the recipe.  I will do my best here.

Lamb Meatballs

1 lb ground lamb
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 TB chopped shallot
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
2 TB red wine
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 TB bread crumbs (to hold the meat together)
1-2 TB fresh rosemary, minced
salt, pepper, fresh parsley to taste

Combine the ingredients and shape meat into balls.  Drizzle a skillet with olive oil and brown the meatballs on 1 or 2 sides.  Finish them off in a 350* oven, for about 10 minutes or until desired temperature.

Cous Cous
Cous Cous is a snap to make!  The hardest part is just having the ingredients ready ahead of time (toasting the pine nuts and chopping the parsley) but it's really no big deal.  This is a great recipe for a simple dish that is the perfect complement to the other dishes tonight that have such a bold flavor.  The recipe makes A LOT of cous cous, we always have plenty leftover for lunches!

3 cups homemade chicken stock
1 1/2 cups cous cous
1 chopped shallot
3-4 TB butter
1 cup dried cranberries (or currants)
1/2 - 1 cup toasted pine nuts
3 TB (or a handful) of fresh chopped parsley
salt, pepper

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and saute the shallot.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the cous cous and cover and turn off the heat.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and add the pine nuts, cranberries, and parsley.  Stir to combine.

Tomato-Feta Salad

There are some bold flavors in this salad.  It's very yummy.  In the summer, I like to find the heirloom tomatoes so there's a color "pop" in the salad.  It also makes a great next-day lunch!
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
5-6 oz feta cheese, cubed
2 TB chopped red onion (or you can keep with the shallot theme)
2-3 TB fresh chopped parsley
2 TB fresh chopped basil
2-3 TB olive oil
1-2 TB white wine vinegar
salt, pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Day 48: Greek Orzo Salad

Confession: This was MEANT to be yesterday's (Saturday's - Day 48's) lunch, but I failed.  The day got away from me somehow and I ended up shoving down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.  For dinner, we had planned on going out, which we did.  We went to Red Robin (I told you we love burgers) and ended up seeing a few familiar faces (always fun) and a waitress who swore up and down I was familiar to her, but she didn't know from where.  Anyway... I did get some inspiration from Red Robin again.  I have always loved their "Burnin' Love" burger and that will probably be one of the next ones I create.  (Although we're having burgers next weekend when my mother-in-law is in town and I'm not sure she'll be up for such a spicy burger--I may have to plan a different style.)

So, I ended up making the Greek Orzo Salad this morning to have for lunch today.  But I'm still going to put the recipe under Day 48 since I have about 3 recipes for Day 49 (today) alone.

Ever since our honeymoon in Greece, I LOVE a good Greek salad, or any kind of Greek flavoring in a salad.  Feta cheese is sooo good and I love looking for ways to put it in a salad or pasta salad.  A friend of mine made an orzo salad one day and brought it over for our lunch get together.  I think this is similar to the way she made hers:

Greek Orzo Salad
The thing I love about pasta salads is that you really can adjust the ingredients to fit your taste.  Don't like feta cheese?  Go light on that and heavy on the tomatoes.  Dress it as you see fit.  This is definitely a summery pasta salad, but we just set the clocks ahead, so I think it's about time.  I'm just itching for summer so I can make all my favorite summertime recipes!
1 box orzo
3-4 mini cucumbers, thickly sliced and halved
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1-2 bulks of feta cheese (I get mine from the olive bar at the grocery store.  It sits in its brine and tastes fresh.  It's sold by the "bulk" so I try to fit as much in the little container as I can.  If you can't buy it this way, 8-10 oz should be good.)
salt, pepper
2-3 TB fresh chopped parsley
Greek salad dressing (A traditional Greek salad is served with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  You can easily dress your pasta salad this way.  However, if you're nervous about putting too much vinegar or oil in, Ken's Steakhouse makes a really good Greek dressing!)

Cook the orzo according to the package instructions.  Drain and combine with the vegetables, parsley, and cheese.  Season liberally with salt and pepper (while it's still hot!) and drizzle with Greek dressing to taste.  Refrigerate until cold.