Simple Summer Salad

When the weather warms up I get into a salad routine.  Even though I have more time to cook, simple salads become a dinnertime staple.  Tonight was one of those nights.

Baby greens, slices of cucumber, chick peas, chunks of tomato and pepper, green onions and black olives.  I topped it with grilled chicken, made with my go to marinade and a quick red wine vinaigrette.  Simple, delicious, summer.

Make dinner easy!  Enjoy a salad!

~Catherine

Wine and Dine Wednesday

Wednesday afternoons I work my "grown up" job at a popular local wine shop.  It's quite a change of pace from being surrounded by 5-13 year-olds all day! By the time I get home it's late, I'm tired and usually hungry since I haven't eaten since lunch.   This used to mean cereal or heavy leftovers from earlier in the week.

About a month ago I came up with an easy fix. Oven omelets! (Ok, it's probably a less fancy way of saying frittata, but it's too easy for such a fancy name.)

So simple. Chopped veggies, shredded cheese and eggs. And fresh ground pepper.  I love my pepper grinder. I have such great memories of dinners around my parents kitchen table when my Nana was alive. She would grind and grind that pepper until you could see it from across the table. I like to think I got my love of pepper from her!

Back to cooking.....Monday afternoon when I get home from work I take veggies from the fridge and a giant onion and get to chopping. I put all the veggies in a bowl and scramble 5 eggs right into it. I shred some extra sharp cheese (or whatever I have in the fridge) into the bowl, grind some pepper and stir. I spray down a glass dish, usually my Pyrex bowl, and dump the egg mixture in. Pop it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the eggs are set.

I let it cool, put the lid on the bowl and keep it in the fridge, cutting slices for an easy breakfast or dinner after a 13 hour day with a slice of toast or some fruit.....and maybe a glass of wine.

Oven Omelets

about 3 cups of chopped veggies (a great way to clean the fridge!)

5-6 eggs

1/2 cup of shredded cheese

Mix everything in a bowl.  Pour into a greased glass baking dish.  Cook at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until the eggs are cooked to your liking.  Slice and serve or let cool and refrigerate for later.  Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds. 

A New Adventure

May is typically a crazy month for teachers like myself.  Yet sitting at my desk today, eating my Caprese salad for lunch (YUM!), checking my email and trying to do 3 other things all before the kids came back from lunch, I had a wacky idea to start this blog.

Fast forward a few hours.  Track practice is over and I know I have no vegetables at home......the dreaded stop at the grocery store at 5 o'clock and I have no list.  I wander the produce section looking for signs of good looking veggies.  I manage to find a few things that pass my picky eye.

In 40 minutes I had dinner.  Sweet and sour chicken with stir fry veggies.  I'm not much on measuring when I cook, but here are my measurements.

Oven Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

2 boneless chicken breasts, cubed

1/4 cup chili sauce

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 inch long piece of ginger grated

hot sauce to taste

sprinkle of cornstarch ( 1 teaspoon)

pinch of red pepper flake

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and put in a glass dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Stir Fry Veggies

1 large onion sliced

1 yellow squash cut in strips

1 red or yellow pepper chopped

2 cloves garlic cut in small pieces

1 cup frozen green beans or peas

salt and pepper to taste

splash of low sodium soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce

Cook veggies in a large pan with about a tablespoon of olive or vegetable oil.  You can cook them in any order you like.  I like to cook the onions and garlic for a few minutes first, then adding the pepper and frozen veggies.  I add the squash last so it doesn't get mushy.  When the veggies are done to my liking I add the soy or Worcestershire sauce and cook for a minute.

Serve with rice if you'd like but it makes quite a meal on its own!  I would say I will get at least 4 meals from the chicken alone!

Enjoy!!

~Catherine