Chili Lime Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

• Juice of 3 limes
• Zest of 2 limes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormack® Peppercorn Medley
• Extra chopped cilantro for garnish, optional

Directions:

Zest two of the three limes and set aside.

Place lime juice, cilantro, and chicken breasts in a glass bowl.  Make sure the chicken breasts are covered in the mixture.  Let marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes, turning the meat half-way through to redistribute the lime juice mixture.

While the chicken is marinating, make the rub.  Mince the garlic cloves.  If you have a large zester (makes curls), mince the lime zest together with the garlic.  Then, in a small bowl, combine the lime zest, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, sugar, salt, and black pepper.

Remove the chicken breasts from the bowl and discard the marinade.  Place the chicken on a plate and cover breasts generously with the rub mixture.

Brush cold, clean grill lightly with oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Grill chicken breasts until chicken is cooked through, about 5-8 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the chicken.  Remove from the grill and let the meat rest for a minimum of 5 minutes, tenting with foil to keep warm.  Garnish with cilantro, if using.  Serve warm.

Myrtle's Note:  I have the Oxo zester that makes curls, so I always mince my zest before I use it.  Here, I minced the garlic along with the zest.  This was my first time of making a rub and the recipe turned out rather succulent.  I am very impressed.  The changes I made were to add a clove of garlic, use dried cilantro, and to switch out my favorite ground pepper.  Next time, I might use Ancho Chili Pepper or Chipotle Pepper instead.  This will most definitely be a regular on my menu.  Finally, I used the chicken to make a Southwest Chicken Salad.  I plan to use my leftovers in tacos, too.

Yield:  4 servings

Source:  http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chili-lime-grilled-chicken/

Honey Chipotle Ribs

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ketchup
• 2/3 cup honey
• All the sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
• 3 chipotle chiles from chipotles in adobo sauce minced, seeded optional, or more to taste
• 10 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon McCormack® Peppercorn Medley
• 2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano
• 3 pounds baby back or spare ribs

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.


Directions:

One to 24 hours in advance, prepare the marinade.

Mince the garlic and set aside.  

Measure out the apple cider vinegar in a small dish.  Open the can of chipotle peppers and dip all the peppers in the apple cider to strip away the adobe sauce.  Discard all but three peppers (unless you want really, really hot ribs).  In a mini-prep or small blender, purée the adobo sauce and the three peppers.  Add to a medium bowl, with the apple cider vinegar you used to "clean" the peppers.  

Measure out and add the rest of the ingredients and add them to the mixing bowl.  Carefully stir until all the ingredients, including the honey, are well-blended.

Line a roasting pan with a tenth of foil sufficient for meeting in the middle to then fold down to the ribs and also fold up the sides, making a packet.  Then, if you plan to marinade over night in the refrigerator, line that foil with saran wrap.  

Place the ribs, first, curved side down, to brush on a thick layer of the marinade.  Then flip the ribs to curved side up, adding some marinade along both lengths of the ribs.  Fill the ribs with marinade, and add any extra along the sides once more.  Cover up with the saran wrap, then make a packet with the foil, folding first where the two sides meet in the middle and then along the sides, making neat folds so you can open them up later.

Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Carefully, slowly, open the the foil packet and then saran wrap.  Carefully, slowly, slid the saran wrap out from beneath the ribs, using a spatula to scrap off any marinade clinging to the saran wrap.  Place in a preheated oven and cook for 90 minutes at 350.

Take the ribs from the oven and carefully open the aluminum foil, taking care not to be burned by the steam, and tear it back so that the ribs are fully exposed, but the sides of the foil are keeping the marinade tucked around the ribs.  If the marinade resting atop the ribs in the curve has spilled when removing the pan from the oven, spoon the thickened sauce from the bottom of the pan on top of the ribs and place them back in the oven to roast another 20 to 30 minutes.  The ribs should be 180 degrees.  Remove from the oven and let rest for a minimum of 5 minutes.  

Alternatively, you can finish off the ribs on the grill at medium heat, for about 15 minutes, instead of putting them back into the oven.

Carefully, use the bottom of the foil packet to drain the marinade from the roasting pan into a jar for re-use, such as with barbecue chicken!

Myrtle's Note:  These were bloody fantastic!  My instructions leave the ribs on the foil instead of taking them out after the first cooking period.  This keeps the marinade a bit soft, but also preserves about 16 ounces for re-use, such as with chicken.  As with all my chipotle pepper recipes, I purée the adobe sauce and peppers so as to minimize surprise hotness from chunks of pepper.  I also use liquid from the recipe, in this case the apple cider vinegar, to make sure I am not "losing" any of the tasty adobo sauce when I am discarding the peppers.  Again, these were really tasty!

Serves 4-8 (depending on how hungry folk are)

Source: http://patijinich.com/recipe/honey-chipotle-ribs/

Roasted Medley Carrots

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch (or more) medley carrots
• olive oil
• smoked salt
• McCormack® Peppercorn Medley
• thyme
• sage

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Directions:

Lightly peel or simply scrub the carrots.  Trim tops and bottoms.

Place in a metal pan and drizzle olive oil atop them.  Jiggle the pan so that the carrots become coated in olive oil.  Sprinkle salt and pepper.  Liberally sprinkle thyme and sage (crushing between your fingers as you do if using dried herbs).  Carefully turn over the carrots.  Drizzle a bit more olive oil.  Salt and pepper.  Sprinkle herbs.

Roast for 35-45 minutes.

Source:  Myrtle

Ancho Chili Roasted Garbanzo Beans

Ingredients:

• 15.5 oz. canned garbanzo beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (depending on if you use low sodium soy sauce) 
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormack® Peppercorn Medley
• 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Directions:

Drain, rinse, and thoroughly dry garbanzo beans.

Toss will all ingredients in a bowl.

Spread out on a pan with lined with parchment paper.

Roast for 45 minutes, turning them over every 15 minutes.

Myrtle's Note:  I modified the recipe bit, first to accommodate the use of low sodium soy sauce and second because I have learned that if you are adding heat, it helps if you had a bit of sweet in recipes like this.  Some turned out crunchy all the way through, almost like nuts.  Some were crunchy on the outside and soft inside.  I cannot decide if I prefer either more than the other.  While I am a fan of hummus, I am not actually a fan of garbanzo beans.  So, this was an interesting recipe to try.  I think I would serve them to my super healthy friends, but I would rather, myself, stick with Maple Chili Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

Yield:  1 cup

Adapted from:  http://shewearsmanyhats.com/roasted-garbanzos/

Caramelized Bananas

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Slice bananas and set aside.

Melt butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt in a frying or sauteuse pan over medium heat.  When simmering, add bananas.

Cook for approximately 4 minutes per side, watching the heat closely so that the mixture does not burn.


Myrtle's Note:  I think that these would be tasty with something, but are a bit lonesome by themselves.  Perhaps on a crepe or over ice-cream??  I would also recommend slicing the bananas a bit thinner than pictured.


Yield: 4 servings

Source:  http://www.fifteenspatulas.com/pan-fried-honey-bananas/

Whole Wheat Zucchini Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups King Arther® white whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 medium zucchini (a heaping cup or thereabouts)

Directions:

Peel and grate zucchini and set aside.  

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugars.

In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in the zucchini.

Heat a griddle or pan to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray, if needed. Pour about a 1/3 cup of batter onto heated skillet. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst. Flip carefully with a spatula, and cook until browned on the underside. 

Continue making pancakes until the batter is gone. Serve pancakes with butter and maple syrup, if desired.  If freezing, wrap in plastic and then place in a freezer bag.  Will keep in the freezer for up to two months.

Myrtle's Note:  I am a very, very unskilled pancake maker, but this was a solid recipe.  I found the original recipe's instruction to use 1/2 cup of batter in making the pancakes far too big, so I switched to 1/3 cup.  The pancakes are rich and thick and a bear to flip, but well worth the mess!

Yield: 12-16 thick pancakes

Source:  http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/whole-wheat-zucchini-pancakes/

Zucchini Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup King Arthur® white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup craisins
• 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Directions:

Either use a stoneware baking sheet or line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine applesauce and brown sugar, mix until smooth. Add egg and vanilla paste. Next, add the shredded zucchini. Mix until combined.

Slowly add flour mixture until just combined. Stir in oats, raisins, and chocolate chips.

Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or cookies are slightly golden around the edges and set.   [In my oven, it took 15 minutes for them to set.]  Remove cookies from pans immediately and cool completely on wire racks.


Myrtle's Note:  If you want to hide a vegetable from a child, this is the recipe for you!  Veggie and fruit and oats.  Mention the chocolate chips and I cannot see how the young could object!  I changed the chips to milk chocolate, the vanilla extract to paste, the flour from whole wheat to white whole wheat, and the raisons to craisons.  These are simply spectacular!


Yield:  36 cookies

Source:  http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/zucchini-applesauce-oatmeal-cookies/