Marinated, grilled Mediterranean Chicken Shawarma, served in bowls with Lemon Turmeric Rice (made in an Instant Pot, if desired), a fresh Greek cucumber and tomato salad garnished with feta, and drizzled with a tangy garlic sauce.
I love to make this fragrant rice in an Instant Pot. It cooks quickly and evenly, and comes out fluffy every time.
I like to serve this with a fresh tomato and cucumber salad. Link to recipe:
RECIPES:
Filed under Main Dishes, Salads, Side Dishes
A delicious alternative to a traditional Caprese Salad, using peaches instead of tomatoes. Perfect for juicy, ripe, freshly picked summer peaches!
RECIPE:
Filed under Appetizers, Salads, Side Dishes
I have some college kids requesting recipes for things that can be made quickly and don’t require an extensive array of spices. What is one staple in every college student’s pantry? Ramen. With just a few additional ingredients, you can transform that ramen packet into a delicious and slightly more nutritious main dish salad.
RECIPE:
Filed under Main Dishes, Salads
A twist on a classic picnic salad. Made with a slightly lemony vinaigrette and garnished with feta cheese, this salad is great with grilled meats on hot summer days. And there is no cooking to heat up the kitchen.
I like to keep ingredients for this salad on hand for an easy to make last-minute side dish. Most of the ingredients are shelf-stable, and feta cheese stores really well in the freezer.
RECIPE:
Filed under Salads, Side Dishes
With tomato season in full swing here, this salad makes a frequent appearance at our dinner table. It is perfect for serving with just about any grilled meat or fish. It is also a great partner with soups, sandwiches, or quiche for a quick summer meal.
I love to use mini cucumbers in this salad, or the long seedless English cucumbers. The skins are thin and provide a great contrasting color and crunch to the salad. Regular cucumbers are often too seedy and have much tougher skins.
I usually serve the feta cheese on the side. It becomes mushy if left in the salad for too long.
RECIPE:
3-4 tomatoes, chopped
4-6 mini cucumbers or 1 English seedless cucumber, chopped
½ red pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs fresh oregano, finely chopped (or ½ tsp dried)
½ tsp Greek seasoning
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
Combine chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, red pepper, and onion. Stir together dressing ingredients. Pour over salad. Stir in feta just before serving (or serve feta on the side).
Serve right away or refrigerate.
NoEmptyChairs.me
Filed under Salads, Side Dishes
A Caprese Salad is the perfect accompaniment to grilled summer meats: chicken, steaks, pork, even hamburgers. Made with summer fresh tomatoes and basil, fresh mozzarella, and a reduced balsamic glaze, it just screams summer and healthy eating.
I like to make a “chopped” version of the salad with various cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and mozzarella pearls. I drizzle this with some extra-virgin olive oil and serve the balsamic reduction on the side so that the tomatoes and cheese don’t soak up too much vinegar before serving.
I love these little “mozzarella pearls”. They are perfectly bite-sized:
If you are short on time, you can serve this with straight balsamic vinegar, but it is so worth the little time it takes to reduce the vinegar to a stronger syrupy consistency. I usually reduce an entire bottle of vinegar and then store the left-overs in the refrigerator. You can also infuse some delicious flavors into your reduction while you are at it, things like fresh herbs and garlic. Some people add additional honey or sweetener to the reduction, but I find balsamic vinegar to be plenty sweet without additional sweetener.
If you don’t want to do the chopped version of this salad, you can also make it in the more traditional format with sliced tomatoes and mozzarella:
Tomorrow we officially begin our summer break (after a final half-day of school). This salad will be a frequent side dish on our table.
RECIPE:
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup mozzarella pearls
¼ cup fresh basil, sliced in thin strips (chiffonade)
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
about ¼ cup Balsamic Reduction
Combine tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and olive oil in a serving dish. Season with salt and pepper. Serve Balsamic Reduction on the side to be drizzled over salad just before eating.
Balsamic Reduction
1 (16 oz) bottle balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs honey, optional (I DO NOT add honey)
2 whole cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
1-2 sprigs of fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently until vinegar reduces by about half and thickens to a thin syrup. This will take about 10-15 minutes.
Remove garlic, bay leaf, and herbs (strain if necessary). Cool. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Yield: about 1 cup glaze
NoEmptyChairs.me
Filed under Appetizers, Salads, Side Dishes
Raspberry Sweet Rolls
Chicken Tikka Masala
Caramelized Onion Dip
Coconut Cream Pie Bars
Thai Green Curry
Ratatouille
Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake
Bacon Jalapeno Scones
Fried Rice
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
No Empty Chairs 