Kabob Marinade

Yesterday I was looking for a good marinade to use on some beef and vegetable kabobs. When I was on allrecipes.com I found two recipes that sounded good. I liked the liquids in one of them and the seasonings in the other so I combined the two added an ingredient of my own and ended up with a DELICIOUS marinade! Definitely worth making again.

Megan's Kabob Marinade

¼ olive oil
½ cup Yoshida’s Original Gourmet Sweet and Savory Sauce (I found mine at Costco)
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
2 teaspoons McCormick® Grill Mates® Montreal Chicken Seasoning
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon meat tenderizer (optional)

Before you put the kabobs on the grill I would recommend sprinkling them with a bit more seasoning...montreal chicken, italian or just a little salt and garlic. Whatever you like best.

This recipe can be used with beef, chicken or other preferred meats. I made the above recipe without the meat tenderizer but I think next time I would use it if I wasn't marinading overnight. If you don't have the Yoshida's sauce (which is great to have around) you can probably make something similar using Teriyaki and soy sauce.

I cubed just over 1 lb of steak and used half of the marinade on the steak. The other half I used to marinade the veggies with. Here are some ideas of good grilling veggies:
Peppers, mushrooms, baby corn, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, small pieces of corn on the cob, asparagus, artichokes, eggplant, zucchini, scallions, and onions.

Depending on the veggies you choose to use, you may not want to marinade them as long as you do the meat. Some of them also need to be grilled longer or pre-cooked before being skewered or they'll be too raw. Ie. my squash was too hard to eat.

Enjoy! It's quick to throw together...you just have to plan ahead as it needs a few hours minimum to marinade.

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

Source: The Good Housekeeping Magazine 4 cup fresh strawberries, divided 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 tub (8 oz) cool whip, divided 8 OREO cookies, finely chopped 1 Tbsp butter, melted Line 8x4 inch loaf pan with foil. Mash 2 cups of strawberries in large bowl. Stir in condensed milk, juice, and 2 cups of cool whip. Pour into pan. Combine chopped cookies and butter. Press into top of strawberry mixture in the pan. Cover. Freeze at least 6 hrs. To serve, invert onto plate. Remove foil. Frost with remaining cool whip. Top with remaining sliced strawberries. Makes 12 servings.

We made this at my sister's house. It was really easy to make (just remember to plan ahead, because it should be put in the freezer over night). A perfect dessert for a hot day.

Chicken Roche

Source: All Recipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Roche/Detail.aspx?src=etaf)

I have a tendency to not follow recipes to the "T" because I usually don't have all of the ingredients that are needed and don't like to go to the store just for a recipe. The way I made it (as pictured above) is: no vegetable oil, added mushrooms, used 1/2 can of tomato paste (diluted with water) instead of the canned tomatoes, used frozen green beans, and used Cookies dry rub instead of Creole seasoning (if you've never heard of Cookies, then you MUST make a trip to Iowa and buy some - or have a friend buy you some, because it's the BEST seasoning in the entire world - Thanks to Lindsey B. for introducing me to it!)

I thought it would be too spicy with 1 1/2 Tbsp of Chili powdered, but it wasn't (though, with Creole seasoning it might have been spicier). We really enjoyed this recipe.

Chicken Roche

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Ready In: 40 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 cups water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can green beans, drained
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a pot, bring the rice and water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken strips 10 minutes, or until browned and juices run clear.
3. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, mix the black beans, diced tomatoes, green beans, Creole seasoning, and chili powder. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
4. Mix the chicken into the bean and tomato mixture, and continue cooking 5 minutes. Serve over the rice.

Turkey A La Matt

Source: All Recipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Turkey-a-la-Matt/Detail.aspx?src=etaf)

What I love about this recipe is that it tastes like a pot pie without doing all of the work for a crust. I substitute chicken for the turkey, regular onion for the pearl onions, and Ritz crackers for the saltines.

Turkey A La Matt

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 55 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
Yields: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds turkey breast, cooked and cubed
2 carrots, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup frozen green peas
1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup pearl onions
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup crushed saltine crackers

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place the turkey breasts in a medium pot of boiling water over high heat. After about 5 minutes add the diced carrots and cubed potatoes to the pot and boil all for about 5 more minutes. Drain the water and transfer the vegetables to a medium bowl.
3. To the bowl add the peas, mushrooms, onions, chicken soup and mushroom soup. Cube the cooked turkey breasts and stir into the mixture. Mix together well and spread the mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with the coarsely crushed saltine crackers.
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes.

Russian Cucumber/Tomato Salad

6 Tomatoes
2 Cucumbers
1/2 C Sour cream
3 Green onions, finely chopped
Salt & black pepper (to taste)
1 sprig fresh Dill, finely chopped

Cut tomatoes and cucumbers into large bite-sized pieces. Mix in remaining ingredients. (If preparing in advance, don't mix in the sour cream until ready to serve.)

Source: Kate & Elena

This is a great dish for a hot summer day.

Crock-pot Split Pea Soup

Serves: 8

1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed
1-2 cups diced ham
1/2 chopped onion
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
6 cups water

Combine all ingredients in the crock-pot. Cook on High 4-6 hours, or Low 8-10 hours.

Source: Melody G.

My roommate, Melody, made this for me once. I think she basically made it up. It was so yummy and easy that it's my "Go To" recipe when we're having company.