Just. Breathe.

Wow, a Tasty Tuesday post ON a Tuesday! Miraculous. I've got an easy one for you today. It's my attempt to prove that even vegetables you don't really like are yummy when they're grilled! Let's take asparagus. NOT my thing. They are shaped funny (although I liked the ones on Veggie Tales ), they're green, and they make your pee smell weird (TMI, but it's true). All in all, not a food I'm going to seek out.  But this summer, in my attempt to expand my food horizons, and to make my hubby happy - he'll eat anything - I ventured into asparagus land, mostly due to a grilling recipe I read. After a few times, I tweaked it and now it's in regular rotation.  Start with the basics: Olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Oh and the asparagus. I recently discovered frozen asparagus spears that work great - you take out as many as you want. If you buy the fresh bundles, you need to break off the "less fresh" part -- just bend the stalk...

I'm going to have to rename the series to "Tasty Some Random Day of the Week" if I keep this up. For whatever reason, I want to do the cooking ON Tuesday, and then I don't have time to write it up the same evening. I need a different strategy. Whatever. So I made this last week and skipped the post until today. You're welcome. And apparently I'm on a shrimp kick on Tuesdays. For you shrimp/fish haters, hang in there and eventually I'll write about something else.  This was honestly the easiest meal. You could make it with chicken instead of shrimp, but the combination here was really, really good. Check out the easy ingredients:    Peeled shrimp (or cubed chicken), EVOO, chili powder, salt and pepper, and chorizo sausage. I know, the sausage looks like it doesn't belong, but trust me that the flavor it gives the shrimp is divine.    Just brush the shrimp with the olive oil, then sprinkle the chili powder and salt and pepper. Toss it around...

I know it's Wednesday -- I've been technically challenged this week and couldn't get this to post! Oh, and I procrastinated a bit... I've written about this place before : I found a new spice mix there that I used to make these beauties: It's the "Coastal Blend" and it is light and lemony and garlicky and all the good things that shrimp needs. And very, very easy. I put about a dozen cleaned shrimp into a Ziploc bag and added about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mixed that around to coat the shrimp, then sprinkled in about 2 teaspoons of the spice. Tossed the shrimp in the bag and took a look -- they all had visible spices on them, so I decided that was enough. (Like how exact I am?) Then I added a couple of teaspoons of lime juice and let the shrimp sit until the grill was hot. This time, I just put them in a grill basket. So metimes I'll skewer them, but was too lazy to work that hard. About 7 minutes on the grill, tossing them around a b...

This meal (and variations of it) has become one of our go-to, too-tired-to-really-cook meals. For a while, it was every Friday, then it started sneaking into Wednesdays, and I've been known to make it when I'm the only one around to eat it! When I was doing cookups every week, this skillet dinner became the best way to use up the chicken/beef/sausage as well as leftover veggies I'd cooked during the week. Before long, though, I'd gotten attached to the sausage I use almost all the time now -- it's "close" to Paleo (sausage has a tiny bit of sugar in it). The variations are almost endless -- so let's get to it. What you need: Already looks complicated, doesn't it?   Favorite frozen vegetables - I use sugar snap peas and California blend Cooked meat(s) - tonight it was my beloved Andouille sausage and some frozen shrimp EVOO Minced garlic Favorite spices or spice mix -- I use a mesquite blend with a little kick Heat the oil and add the...

Other than the color, eggplant is not one of those vegetables I'd expect to like. It's weirdly shaped, and I've really only eaten it in restaurants. I've tried cooking it myself and never liked how it turned out. That changed a couple of weeks ago, and to prove it wasn't a fluke, I made this eggplant recipe again. I know it's not for everyone, but if you'd like to try, just get your grill ready. Grilled Eggplant with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette (from Weber's New Real Grilling )     What you'll need: For the vinaigrette: 4 sun-dried tomato halves, packed in oil, minced 2 Tbls balsamic vinegar 1 Tbls shallot, minced 1 tsp honey 1 tsp dried oregano 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper 1/3 cup olive oil Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together, excluding the olive oil. When they're mixed, drizzle the olive oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Set aside. For the eggplant: Slice into 1/2 inch slices. Brush both sides wi...