Urban Suburban Mommy

Tag Archives: grill

Become “Boss” of your BBQ

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes, Domestic Goodness .

Grilling and barbecuing is a summertime tradition. There’s nothing like grilling your meals to add that smokey flavour, while keeping the additional heat out of the house.

Most of us enjoy it so much, that the summer grill Season extends well into fall, winter and spring.

However there are some of us who are intimidated by this process, or have traditionally felt the grill to be a “man’s” domain. Let’st dispel those crazy ideas.

Anyone can use the grill to cook – and just like any new appliance, you just need few tips and tricks to help you along way.

The guidelines of what you can grill have been expanded to include just about anything that will not fall through the grate! This even includes lettuce for salads. Just think about the added flavour to a Caesar salad if the romaine lettuce were grilled… my mouth is watering just writing about it!!

First thing to consider when using your barbecue, is to determine if you want to grill (sear) your food, roast (like in an oven), or slow cook (like you might do in a slow cooker). All can be performed on your barbecue, and sometimes you may even use a combination of both.

Grilling – is a quick method under direct heat, generally under 20 min in total cooking time at a high heat (400° plus). Examples include burgers, steak, vegetables

Roasting – is a longer method under indirect heat, but less than 1 hour in cooking time at a med/high heat (300°). Examples include whole chickens, roasts, tenderloins

Barbecuing – is the longest method under indirect heat, over 2 hrs in cooking time at a low heat (250°). Examples include ribs, pork shoulder

This being said, just about anything you want to cook can be done on your barbecue!

Today we are going to make a Wedged Iceburg Salad with Grilled Steak

What you need: 

– 2 firm plum tomatoes
– 2 small onions
– 1 head iceberg lettuce, rinsed and patted dry
– 2 tsp   Crushed Peppercorn & Garlic Rub
– 2 beef tenderloin filets (6 oz/175 g each) or 12 oz (350 g) top sirloin steak, cut 1-in. (2.5- cm thick)
– 1 tbsp of oil (high heat withstanding – eg. Avocado Oil)
– 1 tsp of oil (high heat withstanding – eg  Avocado Oil)
– Your favourite blue cheese dressing (for a homemade option see below)

What you do:

  1. Fire-up your grill, place it on high and cover for 15 min. This will get your grill warmed up and ready for cooking.
  2. Cut lettuce – Keeping the core intact cut into 4 wedges
  3. Cut the Ttomatoes into wedges (plum tomatoes will stay together better than any other)
  4. Slice to top off of the onion, but keep the roots in tact. Wedge the onion. The roots will keep the layers together while grilling.
  5. Season your meat – brush with oil and add the crushed peppercorn and garlic rub, and set aside.
  6. Once the grill is warmed up, clean grill with a grill scraper
  7. Oil the grill using a silicone brush and a tbsp of oil.  (An alternative method is to soak a paper-towel in the oil, then using your tongs, brush the paper-towel soaked with oil over the grill.)
  8. Place your tomatoes and lettuce on the grill  for 2 to 2.5 minutes on each side, enough for grill marks to appear.
  9. Remove from the grill and set aside.
  10.  Leave the primary burner on High and reduce the other burners to medium (the primary burner is the one that must stay on).
  11. Place the onions over the Medium heat burner, turning after 4 to 6 minutes – or when grill marks appear.
  12. Place meat over the primary grill until nicely charred, 4 to 6 minutes on each side, then place your meat over the Medium heat burner for an additional 4 to 8 minutes longer.  Timing will vary due to meat and thickness.
  13. Transfer meat to a covered platter and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
  14. Turn off the grill.
  15. To serve: Evenly divide lettuce, onions, tomatoes and beef among the plates and drizzle with your favourite Blue Cheese Dressing.

Blue Cheese Dressing:

– 1/4 cup (50 mL)   2% plain low-fat Greek yogurt
– 1/4 cup (50 mL)   light mayonnaise
– 1/4 cup (50 mL)   crumbled blue cheese (about 1 oz/30 g)
– 3 tbsp (45 mL)   milk
– 1 tsp (5 mL)   Crushed Peppercorn & Garlic Rub

What you do:

Mix (whisk) all ingredients chill and serve.

Now you can master vegetables or meats on your grill. Let me know what you think or send me pictures of your creations.  I’d love to hear what you think.

Have a “GRILLtastic” week!

Danielle Reid

Independent Consultant of The Pampered Chef

Danielle’s Pampered Kitchen..Healthy Meals in Minutes

It’s a Wrap!

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes .

Summer mealtimes tend to be quick and simple. Take the wrap. It’s as good a go-to as the stir-fry. Want to know the secret (and so simple) ingredient to an amazing wrap?  Let me share.

Your wraps will never be the same…

There are two types of wrap-eating people in this world, the tortilla people and the lettuce people.

Whether your a “tortilla wrap person” or a “lettuce wrap person” the basics are identical. What you choose to wrap in is your personal preference.

In our house we have begun to move away from the tortilla and wrap and focus more on the lettuce wrap.  I was extremely hesitant at first.  Our home’s dependency on bread and pasta is serious. With kids on the go and picky eaters, those seem to be the easiest items to grab.

However, the more research I do, I realize that this dependency has to change.  I am a firm believer in moderation, so I don’t intend to eliminate these foods, just reduce their portions and frequency. I encourage you to do the same.

It requires a little more creative planning, but the benefits are worth it.

These wraps are a regular meal in our house, usually a Tuesday or Wednesday dinner.  There are no complaints – so in essence I think they are my favourite meal!!!  Soon to be yours, too.

The secret to a good wrap is: The sauce!

Adding a little TLC to our sauces (mayo, dressing, etc) has such a powerful effect on our wraps and sandwiches. There are a million variations, but here’s the one I use in this wrap.  Share your favourites in the comments.

What you need: 

– 1/2 Chicken breast (or 2 thighs) per person, grilled *
– 1 package of bacon, cooked and diced
– 1 cup shredded cheddar
– 1 tomato, diced
– Lettuce to Wrap (optional) Iceberg, Romaine or Boston Lettuce for wrapping.
– Tortilla’s to Wrap – 12 inch (Optional)

Optional:

– 1/2 Avocado, diced
– 2 Hard boiled eggs, diced


 

Sauce:

– 1 1/2 cup mayo
– 1 tbsp – Southwest Seasoning
– 1 tbsp – Bell Pepper Rub
– Salt & Pepper to taste

What you do:

Grill the chicken: I always prefer to grill my chicken on an indoor grill to minimize dryness.  On an indoor grill it’s approximately 5 minutes per side on Med-High.

Cook the bacon: My absolute favourite – mess free – way to cook bacon in the oven.  Just lay it out on a pan at 350° for 27 minutes. It’s perfect for wraps and sandwiches – and there is no grease splash to clean up. Once you try it this way, you’ll never go back to frying!

Place diced chicken, diced bacon, diced tomato, cheddar and any optional ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Mix the sauce ingredients together and add to the mixing bowl.

Mix all ingredients well.

Build your wrap using either a tortilla or lettuce wrap. Scoop on 2 to 3 heaping spoonfuls of mixture to each wrap and fold the wrap up.

Folding is a bit of an art in itself, you’ll easily and quickly get the hang of it – here’s a guide:

Option:

You can even grill the finished wrap to add extra effect.

Serve immediately with our favourite side dish – a nice salad, chips, french fries, etc.

Feeling satiated at meals, reducing the snacking between meals and improving cognitive function are just some of the benefits from changing the way we look and consume our food. Do some research and some experimentation to see what works for you.

What are your favourite sauce seasonings?  Comment below!

That’s a wrap! Enjoy!

Have a great week


Danielle’s Pampered Kitchen..Healthy Meals in Minutes

 

Grilled chicken, apple and spinach salad

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes, Domestic Goodness .

Quick.

Simple.

Delicious.

Any meals that fall into those 3 categories has a permanent place on anyone’s meal plan. This salad has the added bonus of being healthy too!

Great tip: Make your food work for you. Ever notice that chicken added to a salad tends to be a little “too much?”  Spread your chicken a little further when using it for sandwiches and salads by splitting the chicken breast into two. I love my handy-dandy tool because it has multiple purposes, as you can see from the video, but splitting chicken breasts is one of my favourites!

                    

Click here for demonstration video or for More information on this product, click here

Get your grill  out, cause here we go!

What you need:

  • 2 medium apples (your preference – I like Granny Smith (tart),  Gala work well, too)
  • 1 pkg (5 cups) fresh baby spinach (washed and dried)
  • 1 large carrot peeled
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 Cup Sugar Snap Peas – cut in half.
  • 3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless (can substitute pork)
  • Smokey applewood rub (optional)

Dressing:

  • 2 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp oil (avocado or olive)
  • 1 tbsp syrup
  • 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/8 tsp salt

What you do:

  1. Combine dressing ingredients, mix, and set aside.
  2. Heat grill to medium high.
  3. Slice chicken horizontally (split the chicken breast – bonus tip above).
  4. Season chicken with applewood rub (approximately 1 tbsp).
  5. Place chicken on hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side.
  6. Set chicken aside.
  7. Cut apples into wedges
  8. Place on grill for 6 minutes, then turn and repeat. Or do both chicken and apple at the same time if you have a double burner grill pan.
  9. Set aside.
  10. Place spinach in a large bowl. Grate carrots into salad (using a Julienne peeler, cheese grater, or spiralizer).
  11. Slice chicken into strips and add to bowl.
  12. Add cranberries, peas, apples.
  13. Drizzle salad with dressing, and serve!

Have a great week!


Danielle’s Pampered Kitchen..Healthy Meals in Minutes

 

 

Southwestern Meal Salad

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes, Domestic Goodness .

Its Spring, time to channel your Inner “Elaine Benes” from Seinfeld, and create your own “Big Salad”. This salad has so many variations, but today we are going Southwest with our version.

Some of you may say that a salad is not filling enough, but I stay tuned as I give you a tip on how to overcome that!

What you need:

Salad:

– 1 head of iceburg lettuce (Romaine can also work here too)
– 1 can of black beans
– 1 can of corn
– 3 chicken breasts cooked and diced (I love to grill mine on my indoor grill pan!)
– 2 tomatoes diced
– 1 cucumber, diced
– 1 orange pepper, diced
– 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
– 1 avocado, diced (Optional)
– Torillia chips (Optional)
– 2 cups penne pasta, prepared (Optional)

Dressing:

– 1 cup ranch dressing
– 2 tbsps southwest seasoning

TIP:  Pasta, you question?  Why pasta?  I’ve started added pasta (or other grains) to many of my meal salads to ensure that the meals feels like a meal!  If you ever want to close that kitchen at night, and avoid those “Can I have a snack?” questions 10 min after feeding them a prepared meal, you need to add the pasta.

First of all, kids LOVE pasta, so you’ll get them eating the salad with less complaints, and Second, it will fill them up more.

What you do:

With salads, presentation is everything. Follow this order for a picture perfect salad!

1. In a Large Pasta Serving Bowl or Large Salad Bowl add the ingredients in this order.

  • Lettuce
  • Penne (optional)
  • Black beans
  • Corn
  • Chicken
  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Cheddar
  • Avocado (optional)
  • Dressing
  • Tortilla Chips.

AMP IT UP:  If you have the indoor grill all up and ready for the chicken, why not grill up some of the lettuce for a unique and delicious variation to your salad. This works best with romaine lettuce.

Pre-heat the grill to medium-high heat. Slice the tip and root of the lettuce. Spray lettuce (or drizzle) with olive oil spritzer. Place on grill, turning every minute or so. You want the lettuce to turn brown.

Remove from grill and tear up for the salad.  Continue on to Step 2!

2. For the dressing, mix the ranch with the seasoning, and pour over salad.

This is a super-simple recipe that can be manipulated to use whatever’s on hand that day. I do this mainly with Caesar Salads and Southwest Salads. It’s a big hit in our home, so I’m sharing it with yours!

For More information on the Products or Other Tools for your Kitchen, contact: Danielle@daniellereid.ca

Independent Consultant for the Pampered Chef & Master Meal Planner


Danielle’s Pampered Kitchen..Healthy Meals in Minutes

daniellereid.ca

The kabob

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes .

Kind of exotic, so easy and the boys always fight over the leftovers in my house. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect thing to make?

I love making kabobs. I usually use pork, but sometimes chicken and sometimes beef. Lamb would be good too.

Kabobs are great because of the versatility. You can make them in the oven or on the grill. You can prep them a day ahead, or do them up right when you’re going to cook them. You can use whatever type of meat you have on hand, and use up whatever veggies you’ve got in the fridge that are coming to their end.

skewers

What you need:

– 1 nice sized pork tenderloin OR 3 chicken breasts OR a small sirloin tip roast, cut into irregular hunks, about an 1 to 1.5 inches
– 1/3 cup olive oil
– 2 garlic cloves, diced or crushed
– 1 red onion (white, yellow or Spanish will also do) chunked
– 2-3 peppers, chunked (red or green – or a mix)
– splash of lemon juice
– salt & pepper to taste
– 1 1/2 tbsp oregano (fresh or dried)

Optional veggies: zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, yam

What you do:

Use 6 to 8 metal skewers or bamboo skewers. If you’re using bamboo, make sure to soak them for 30 minutes so they don’t char.

Cube the meat andcut the veggies so that they’re bite sized but not too narrow – all the chunks of meat and veggies have to be able to be skewered.

Put all ingredients into a bowl. Toss well. You can refrigerate and let the meat marinate or you can skewer them up and get grilling. I like to alternate meat and different veggies on a skewer.

Get the grill heated to medium or heat oven to 350° and place skewers on a roasting rack. In either grill or oven, cook on each of the four sides for 4 to 6 minutes – it will cook faster on the grill, slower in the oven. You want to make sure meat is cooked through and veggies are softened and start to caramelize but don’t burn.

Serve with roasted potatoes or this rice. Tzatziki is also a great side to serve with these, it’s the perfect dip!

The leftovers – make sure you have leftovers! Put it all together in a container and the flavours just meld so beautifully. It’s a whole other amazing dish the next day.

 

Seared tuna steaks

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes .
seared tuna steak

seared tuna steak - on the fireWe barbecue everything, and we barbecue all year long – whether it’s snowing, raining or the sun is shining. There’s nothing like the flavour of something hot off the grill. We have a great barbecue, I bought it for my husband from the boys for Father’s Day the year we moved into this house. I even assembled it for him. But the fact is, I like using it just as much as he does – and I’ve got quite the knack for cooking with fire. The kids will eat anything off of the grill.

Anything.

One of the simplest, fastest dishes I make on the grill is Seared Tuna Steaks. I first tried this dish in Jaco Beach in Costa Rica about 16 years ago, and have since had it in a few restaurants, but my version is my fave. Just 2, maybe 3 ingredients, this takes all of 20 minutes from marinade to table.

What you need:

– Tuna steaks (one per person)
– Soy sauce
– wasabi or hosreradish dijon mustard (optional)

What you do:

Get a baking dish that is big enough to put all of the tuna steaks flat into the bottom of the dish, in a single layer. Pour a quarter inch of soy into the dish. Turn barbecue on high while they marinate. Flip the tuna steaks over and let other side marinate until the barbecue is nice and hot.

seared tuna steakCooking is fast work and a little finicky. You need to cook each steak for 1 to 2 minutes per side, plus the edges. Put them down and close the lid. After a minute turn them to create cross-hatch marks. Flip and do the same on the other side. After both sides are cooked, turn one side down to low. Put the finished steaks on the upper shelf on the low heat side while you use tongs to hold the tuna steak up so that you can sear it around the edges. Do this for all steaks. outsides will be cooked and meaty looking, but when you cut into the steaks, they should look cooked about a centimetre or two around the outside, but completely pink through the middle. It’s so deliciously tender with the rare centre.

Serve it hot – these cook quickly. Or serve them cooled. You can serve the tuna steaks whole, or slice them into thin strips, almost like half-cooked sashimi. The flavour is amazing on its own, or you can serve it with a side of wasabi soy: Mix wasabi with soy in a small bowl or ramekin. The amount of wasabi depends on how much heat you like. For a different kind of a kick, serve with horseradish dijon. I’m addicted to Kozlik’s Horseradish Dijon, but you can mix your own (or order one – it’s worth it!! Their other flavours, like curried dijon or lime and honey dijon are pretty mouthwatering too, a good pairing for Tuna Steaks.)

Barbecued ginger salmon

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes .

barbecued ginger salmon My boys love fish. Actually, if I ask my 7 year old what he wants for dinner, he’ll usually say “sea creatures.” I think he’s secretly holding out for blowfish, but he’ll try any type of seafood, and he’s open to most any flavours when it comes to fish. I was at the market and they had the most beautiful bright pink organic Irish salmon – I had to grab a few fillets for dinner.

Needless to say, my boy was thrilled. He insisted on cutting the lemon.

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to prepare it when I was at the market. Dill. Blood orange juice. Lime and lemongrass. Honey and soy – salmon is so versatile. But when I got home I had a ginger craving, and my kids love ginger. (My husband, not so much. Actually, he’s not into fish at all. I picked up a thick, juicy rib steak for him when I was at the market.)

What you need:

-salmon fillets
-salt
-cracked pepper
-powdered ginger
-fresh lemon, sliced into thin circles
-2-3 tablespoons melted butter

(and a rib steak for the husband, prepared like this)

What you do:

Brush a light coat of melted butter over the fillets (you can also use olive oil). Salt and pepper them to taste. Dust them with ginger. I use a fair bit, we love the strong flavour of ginger, but if you want to go mild, it’s great as a hint of ginger too.

barbecued salmon on plateHeat the barbecue. Drop the temperature to medium and put the fillets on, skin side down. Layer lemons on top of the fish. Close the lid and grill 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Flip so that the fillet is sitting skin side up, but atop the lemon slices for another 5 to 10 minutes. My fillets were very thick so I went closer to 10. The lemons will char but the fish will stay juicy and tender. Fish should be very flakey, cooked through.

This one is great with sauteed mushrooms, French green beans or a zesty vinaigrette salad. If you’ve got leftovers, ginger salmon is great cold, tossed with greens.

Enjoy!

 

Rib steaks on the grill

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes .
rib steak

Luckily my boys share my palate and prefer a wide variety of foods and flavours, but my husband is a real ‘meat-n-potatoes’ kind of guy. One of his favourites is steak – rib steak to be precise.

When we first started dating I couldn’t cook a steak to save my sanity, but over the years he’s taught me a thing or two about preparing meat, and I’m now an accomplished barbecuer and meat-maker. I don’t know if there’s an award for that, but this steak recipe he taught me does deserve a medal. It’s simple and flavourful. We’ve been to some of the finest steakhouses, and I think this steak is every bit as good (though I do prefer someone else doing the cooking!).

rib steaksWhat you need:

– two steaks (or however many you want to make)
-salt
-fresh pepper
-garlic powder
– mustard powder
– olive oil

What you do:

Lightly drizzle a bit of olive oil all over the steaks. Crack fresh pepper (to taste) over the steaks. My guy is a real pepper lover so I go heavy on the pepper. Sprinkle salt liberally. Spread a pinch of garlic powder sparingly. Sprinkle mustard powder liberally. (I think the secret is in the mustard powder.)

Lightly rub the spices and oil in, flip and do the same to the other side.

You can cook these right away, though the flavour just grows more delectable by the hour if you let it sit. I like to prepare these 24 hours ahead.

Preheat the grill. Throw the steaks on. We like them medium rare to medium, so we do about 6-7 minutes per side. I like to do a quarter turn every 3 minutes so that I have perfect grill marks on the steak.

rib steaks I prefer my steaks “Chicago style,” which is basically  charring the outside very lightly. I do this by turning up the heat on the barbecue at the very end, and letting the flames flare up as I gently press on the steak, releasing some of the oil onto the flame.

Plate the steaks and let them sit in their juices for 3 to 5 minutes, then serve.

That’s it – 6 basic ingredients, 7 minutes a side, char it and let it rest before serving.

It goes great with brussels sprouts, Caesar salad, potatoes, corn, squash – anything really. This steak is delicious and hearty – and so easy.

Enjoy!