Where you are always allowed to play with your food!
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus- Wrap 3 stalks of asparagus in one piece of bacon. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook at 400 until crispy, about 20 minutes or so. I flipped halfway through. SO GOOD!
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/08/24/life-cycle-of-a-steak/
Mommy is on her own tonight for dinner. Daddy is sick. My girls took an impromptu sleepover with the grandparents.
Seafood in garlic sage butter. Ya’ll, this was an epic meal. 1 lobster tail. 10 shrimp. 1 salmon filet. Cooked in sage garlic butter. 1 stick of butter. 3 cloves of garlic. EPIC!
Start with a cold pan. Put your salmon skin side down with a stick of butter, a handful of whole sage, and 3 cloves of garlic. The salmon skin will crisp up better this way. A little trick I learned from Curtis Stone. Unfortunately, it was via TV and not in person. Swoon…
Anywho, Cook until butter is all melted. Mix the sage and garlic around well. Lift up the salmon to get all that buttery goodness under the skin. Add in the lobster, shell side up. Cook for a good 5 minutes. Turn the salmon. The skin should be perfectly crispy. If not, cook a minute or so longer. Turn the lobster and add in the shrimp. Cook for another 4 minutes, turning the shrimp every 30 seconds or so. You can serve with a veggie and/or starch, but I went straight seafood. Oh, and a nice glass of white wine pairs well with this. I went for a light crisp pinot grigio. So good. So full. 
I don’t really make a whole lot of soup in the summer. I had some leftover chicken from the other night, https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/05/26/herb-butter-roasted-chicken/
so I knew I needed to use it up. My husband isn’t feeling well today, so I made him this homemade chicken soup. I added tons of fresh herbs and veggies along with the chicken and orzo. I recently ran out of my homemade chicken stock, so I used a low sodium one here. Because I had a leftover carcass, I am currently making more stock. I made a big pot of this soup, so I will be eating it for a few days and freezing some.
Chicken and Orzo Soup
Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
2 carrots. chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 container of mushrooms, sliced (I cut mine in strips)
fresh herbs chopped- tarragon, rosemary, parsley, sage, basil, oregano, marjoram
chicken- cooked and sliced into strips or chunks
1 small box of orzo (small rice-like pasta) You could use rice or any other pasta you have.
1 lemon- juice and zest
1 quart of chicken broth
water
Directions
Heat a good amount of oil in the bottom of a big pot on med. meat- I used my circular Dutch oven.
Add your chopped veggies. Cook down for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add your lemon juice and zest. Stir and cook for a minute or so.
Add the stock and orzo. Stir occasionally to make sure the orzo does not stick to the bottom. Follow the directions for cooking time, less than 10 minutes. halfway through, add your cooked chicken. Depending on how liquidy you like your soup, add water a little at a time during the cooking process. The orzo will absorb lots of the broth, so I added about 2 more cups of water.
Perfect light healthy meal for a summer night in the air condition!
My family has a favorite Middle Eastern place we go to. You can’t really call it “Greek.” The family is actually Persian. They pretty much know out order- The girls get spaghetti and meatballs or a cheeseburger and my husband usually gets a combo meat plate (chicken-souvlaki, lamb, beef-kubideh). As for me, they don’t know. I always choose something different. I think I have had almost everything in some form on their menu. Moussaka, fish, lamb, chicken, beef, roasted veggies, falafel, spanakopita, soup, etc.But that is just me…I rarely ever get the same thing twice. There is this one dish, though. It is the best version of a meatloaf that I have ever tasted. It is called Kubideh, and it is mouthwatering. Seriously, ya’ll. Try this. It can never compare to their family recipe, but it is pretty darn close. I also made some yummy lemon dill rice and roasted Naan.
Kubideh
Ingredients- Mix together and let set from 2 hours to overnight
1 pound ground beef
1 onion grated and strained- seriously, lots of excess water here
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely minced
1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon turmeric
salt and pepper to taste- Please be heavy handed, ok, ya’ll?
Take the meat and form into patties. It is not pretty. Looks inappropriate, if you know what I mean. Not really photogenic, so sorry for the following photos. Grill on all sides. Depending on your grill’s heat, should take about 5 minutes or so per side.
Rice with Dill and Lemon
Ingredients
3 cups rice
4 quarts chicken stock
1/2 cup dill
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot, minced
1 lemon- juice and zest
salt and pepper to taste
In a medium pot- Heat olive oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pot, slowly cook shallots on med heat for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, lemon juice and zest, and dill. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Add in rice. Stir frequently and toast for about 5 minutes.
Heat chicken stock in another pot. Add in a few ladles at a time. Babysit your rice. Sip a glass of wine or your favorite cocktail. You could cook your rice like the package, but you would end up with burnt rice and gross tasting dill. Don’t follow the directions on the package. Follow mine and have your drink, too. Win, win.
Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce- mix the following together- you can mix them in a processor for a finer texture.
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded (cut in half and take the seed out with a spoon)
1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (from my garden…SQUEEEEE!!!)
2 tbsp.extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste.
You may remember that I have a slight obsession with radish and butter sandwiches. It comes from a memory of my Nanny, who used to make them all the time when I was little. Sometimes she would skip the bread all together and just smear butter on the radish and pop it in her mouth. It got me thinking, “Well, I make herb butter, so why not make radish butter?” GENIOUS!!! I’m sure I am not the first person to come up with this, but I am still proud of the idea and glad I thought of it. I am currently eating this on pita chips. You have to try this, especially if you love butter (which is everyone) and radishes (if you don’t, try this recipe and it may change your mind).
Radish Butter
About 8 radishes
1/2 stick of butter
salt and pepper to taste
Half the radishes, cube the butter, and pulse them in your food processor. Add just a pinch of salt and pepper before you pulse.
You could also use a box grater to make the radishes have more of a glamourous look to them, and mix the softened butter in the radishes. I like the little flecks of red and pink in my butter; plus, all that grating is a pain.
Fun Foodie Family 