Pinterest Dinner

Last night’s dinner was fueled by my Pinterest addiction. I took a look around my Mmmm, Mmmm, Good board and found three recipes that worked with stuff I had in the kitchen. 

Menu

Cucumber Cup Salads, Bacon Wrapped Chicken, Garlicky Fries.

(Following the below links will take you to my Pinterest. You can then click on each items respective link for original postings.)

Cucumber Cups

These very cute cups were very easy to make. They do only hold a minimal amount of salad. I assume you can perfect your skill in constructing the cups over time. 

• Slice thin strips of cucumber with a vegetable slicer. 

Leave the peel on. It will help your cups stand up. I also sliced my strips with a knife. They weren't quite thin enough so I used a bar glass to shape them, then placed glasses in the freezer to help set the cups. 

• Toss a small salad. 

• Once the cups are set stuff them with your salad. 

• Garnish with two half slices of bacon sticking up the back side of the cup. 

 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

Very tasty, very easy, but cooked a little too long

I always buy the value pack of boneless chicken breasts. I then take each breast, trim it, cut it into a 4 oz portion, package two pieces in a freezer bag, and freeze. This really helps down the line with portion control, defrosting, and meal planning. 

• Take a 4 oz piece of chicken and slice it into 3 nice size chunks. 

• Season or baste it with sauce of your choice. 

I used an all purpose dry rub. Other recipes I have seen recommended the basting the uncooked chicken with  honey mustard. I'm not a honey mustard fan so I chose to skip the sauce. However, my chicken did turn out a tad on the dry side. Perhaps using a sauce would have helped prevent this. 

• Wrap each chunk in a half strip of bacon. 

• Place in a baking dish. 

• Bake on 425.

Cooking times will depend on your size of chicken pieces. Baking for 45 minutes alongside the potatoes below was a little too long for mine.

Garlicky Baked Fries

5 New Potatoes

5 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic

Dry Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1 1/2 Teaspoons Sea Salt

1 Teaspoon Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

• Warm 5 tablespoons of Olive Oil and 2 Tablespoons of Minced Garlic for about 1 minute in the microwave.

• Slice 8 New Potatoes into Wedges.

• Toss the wedges in the warmed garlic and oil.

• Microwave potatoes in oil for about 5 minutes. Stirring once half way through.

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl.

• Sprinkle mixed dry ingredients over warmed potatoes and toss.

• Bake on 450 for about 30 minutes

• Flip wedges once halfway through cooking

I'm baaack..Asparagus Fritters

After a super long hiatus I’m back. Caught up in the whirl wind of life I somehow allowed blogging to fall off the To Do List. What this now means is that I have a surplus of recipes, pictures and even a food festival to throw in. So enjoy!

I found this recipe while browsing through another blog, Closet Cooking. I always enjoy trying new things, new concepts, even putting a new twist on an old favorite. I thought this was a great recipe to try because I love asparagus and who doesn’t care for a little bit of fried goodness?

Here is Kevin from Closet Cooking's Recipe……..

Asparagus and Feta Fritters

Ingredients

• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 1 handful dill, chopped
• 1 handful parsley, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup flour (I like to use whole wheat)
• 2 tablespoons oil

Directions

1. Grate or process the asparagus in a food processor. (I actually just chopped-Ruby)

2. Mix the asparagus, herbs, green onions, feta, flour, egg, salt and pepper and enough flour that the mixture will hold together.
 

3. Heat the oil in a pan.
 4. Spoon the asparagus mixture into the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. 

Avgolemono Sauce

Ingredients

·         1 egg (lightly beaten)

·         1/2 lemon (juice)

·         1 tablespoon dill chopped

·         1 tablespoon capers

Directions

1. Whisk the egg in bowl until frothy.
2. Slowly whisk in the lemon juice followed by the water.
3. Heat in a small sauce pan while whisking until the sauce thickens, mix in the dill and capers and remove from heat. (Do not bring it to a boil.)

I tried the fritters two different ways. Of course as I was making the first batch I tried a few as a snack. They are delicious on their own. I imagine they would make a great accompaniment to a salad or also served as an edible garnish aside a meat dish. For dinner I served the fritters topped with a poached egg and avgolemono sauce just as Closet Cooking suggests. The egg and light zestiness of the sauce definitely complimented the fritters in their search to become a full meal. I served them alongside roasted potatoes and green beans with parmesan olive oil sauce from SteamFresh. Overall, a very delicious meatless dish.