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Vegetarian banh mi with siracha mayo.

Vegetarian Banh Mi Sandwich with Sriracha Mayonnaise

I’m sure there are those of you that have never heard of a banh mi sandwich before, am I right?  You’re probably thinking what the heck is a banh mi sandwich.  Well, I didn’t know what one was either until this past spring when my friend Carolyn showed some photos on Instagram of her fixings for a banh mi sandwich.  Since then, I’ve seen these sandwiches popping up everywhere, it’s like my eyes were opened.  Banh mi is the perfect combination of french bread combined with Vietnamese ingredients like cilantro, pickled vegetables, and chilies.  Banh mi’s can be made with chicken, pork, beef, tofu, eggs and salmon and the sauces or spreads vary with each sandwich.  I chose to make a vegetarian version with roasted tofu from my miso kale salad recipe, and a sriracha mayonnaise sauce that our family loves.  This sriracha mayonnaise is also a great dip for fries, onion rings and as a topping for burgers.

Citrus marinaded chicken- three pieces on the table.

Citrus-Marinated Chicken

Ok, I have to say that this is one of my favorite chicken recipes ever, and Zoe and Eli both agree with me. We tried this the other night, gave each other the thumbs up, and said that this chicken was totally blog worthy and need to be posted sooner than later. The chicken is SO moist and full of flavor from the citrus marinade, and the skin gets all crispy and yummy from cooking under the broiler. This is seriously going to be one of my new go-to recipes for chicken, and the best part is that it can be made year round because it’s cooked under the broiler. Yippee! You could also grill it up, or even sear it in your cast iron skillet and then bake it off in the oven.  Hey, it’s a flexible chicken recipe!  I can see paring this chicken with some 5-minute roasted cauliflower or 5-minute roasted Brussels sprouts in the fall and kale mashed potatoes in the winter. This chicken is total comfort cooking anytime of year.

Buffalo apple burgers with sage jalapeño pesto

Buffalo Apple Burgers with Sage-Jalapeño Pesto

4th of July is around the corner and it’s time to fire up the grill. Here’s a great burger recipe that celebrates the American West. This is a lean mean tasty burger. I say lean because buffalo has 70 to 90% less fat compared to beef, and 50% less cholesterol. Buffalo is also leaner than both pork and chicken, and has fewer calories to boot. On top of that, buffalo is higher in protein, iron and all the omega and amino acids. We’ve been fans of buffalo meat for years, going back to the mid 90’s when we were introduced to our first buffalo burger at Joe’s Garage in Minneapolis. You can pick up buffalo pretty much at any grocery store or Whole Foods. Because buffalo is high in protein, it’s also very filling, so 1-pound is perfect for a family of 4. We serve these burgers up on mini brioche buns and they’re the perfect size.

One pan pasta top view

One-Pan Pasta

Isn’t this above picture just beautiful and doesn’t it make you want to try a batch of this pasta tonight? I mean look at all of those fresh ingredients and all that color. I saw a photo similar to this in the most recent edition of Martha Stewart living and it looked so cool and challenging to me. I mean a one-pan pasta, who had ever heard of that (not me)? I seriously wondered how it was all going to work, and I have to say that I was a bit skeptical. I will also admit that the first time I made this pasta up, it didn’t turn out so great, as the pasta was overcooked. I was under the assumption that ALL of the water had to evaporate, so I cooked the pasta way too long and it was a bit over-done. We all really loved the flavors in this pasta though, so I vowed to try it again. Well, the second time around proved to be the charm. The pasta came out perfectly al dente and it created this thick creamy sauce that coated every strand of pasta.

Asparagus and gruyere cheese pizza

Asparagus and Gruyere Cheese Pizza

We’re bringing back pizza Friday in the Grandy house, at least for the summer anyway. I just love pizza Fridays. We all hang in the kitchen, I make a big salad while the kid’s roll out the dough and assemble their pizza while talking about their week. I unwind with a glass of wine and watch them (just kidding, I do help). The kids usually create their own pizza, usually just a jar of Trader Joe’s red sauce, some pepperoni and some mozzarella cheese, easy peasy and kid friendly. John and I like a more adult pizza so I like to experiment with different combinations. I created this one night as I had tons of asparagus in the house and thought to myself, why not throw this on a pizza. I added a bit of garlic to some olive oil, threw in some gruyere cheese along with the mozzarella, just to jazz things up, and voila, a delicious pizza was created. I love when that happens. Pizza is pizza, and I love that you can just throw anything on it and have it turn out great, (well, most of the time). My next pizza idea involves some heirloom tomatoes, that is when their prices comes down of course.

Chicken enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Salsa

I’m so excited to share these enchiladas with you. I made these up last week and my family LOVED them.  I mean John kept exclaiming to me how good they were. These are truly the perfect spring or summer enchilada, because they’re filled with chicken and fresh vegetables and topped with a light tomatillo salsa. The tomatillo salsa is a light and refreshing change from the normal heavy enchilada sauce that you think of when you hear the word enchiladas. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good enchilada sauce, especially the pumpkin sauce I use on our pumpkin enchiladas, but this is a nice change and flavor for spring.  These enchiladias are so light and refreshing that we each ate two!  Yes, we were piggies, but we didn’t feel bad at all. Sometimes you just have to savor the moment and savor the food.

Thai style chicken burger

Thai Style Chicken Burgers

Burgers are a staple in our house come spring and summer. To me, burgers say spring is here, and summer is around the corner. They make such an easy weeknight meal because all you have to do is pair them up with a side salad or vegetable, and voila, dinner is served. We love all types of burgers from turkey, chicken, to buffalo and veggie. I’m always on the hunt for a new burger recipe to add to our recipe box. I’m currently in the process of testing some new veggie burgers, so for you vegetarians, stay tuned.

Buttermilk roasted chicken two pieces.

Buttermilk Roasted Chicken

Jump to recipe It’s so nice to have an arsenal of quick and easy weeknight meals that don’t taste like they were quick and easy

Easy skillet sausage and white bean stew

Easy Skillet Sausage and White Bean Stew

Let’s face it, we’re all busy, and coming home at the end of a hectic weekday and cooking up an elaborate meal is not really anyones’ idea of fun. We’re not living in June Cleaver reality here. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun cooking up a nice meal when there’s time, (like the weekend) but on most weeknights I prefer to keep things simple, tasty and quick. This stew fits that bill. This is an easy one-skillet, one-bowl weeknight meal. It can be made in approximately 30 minutes (give or take a few) and you only dirty up one pan, yes you heard me right, one pan, oh, and a cutting board (but that doesn’t really count).

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