Grilled Green Beans with Feta

When I first saw this recipe, I was a little skeptical. But I thought that it sounded pretty cool, so I went ahead, and I am so glad that I did. I mentioned before that I am terrified of using the gas grill so I bought myself an indoor grill. This recipe came with the instruction booklet for the grill. I did it on the contact grill feature, which works exactly like a George Foreman.

 I'm not sure how this would translate onto a real grill, although I am sure it would be fine. If anyone tries, please let me know how it goes!

For as long as I can remember, I have loved feta cheese. I can't remember the first time I had it, but I'm sure there was no "getting used to it". It was love at first bite. The tanginess and sharpness of the cheese is what I love, and the pairing with lemon is so classic. I always use full fat feta. I think the reduced fat is decent and the fat free is completely inedible. I literally couldn't even swallow it when I tried.

Green beans and I have not always had the best relationship. Normally, I can take or leave green beans, but I loved them this way. I think it is because they are grilled and maintain some crispness. I love some crunch to my veggies which is why I prefer to roast (and now grill) them.

I served this with a bunless spiced turkey burger (don't let the picture fool you, these are SO GOOD) and some perfectly sweet corn from Boston Organics. It was an all around delicious meal!

Black Bean, Corn, and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I just got back from a fabulous week-long vacation on Cape Cod! My family used to go every year, but we haven't been since 2006. It is so much fun to relax on the beach and generally do whatever you please. Of course, trying out new restaurants is a must. I think we went out for ice cream every night we were there. Absolutely no counting points on vacation for me!

Even though I enjoy everything vacation has to offer, getting back to a normal eating pattern after vacation feels really good, and this is exactly what I wanted to do with this recipe. It is packed with fiber from beans and vegetables and protein from the quinoa. It is also meatless, so perfect for vegetarians or Meatless Monday.

My recommendation is to prep everything before you get started. There are a fair amount of steps involved in making this, but it does move fairly quickly.

Chicken Caesar Burgers

I've been sitting on this recipe for a good nine months now. Why? I have no idea. I made them, photographed them, did out the nutritional information and then...nothing. I was looking through my draft folder and there it was. I decided to make them again and take new pictures. So, finally, here it is.

A note about these burgers: they are...tricky. Chicken burgers have a tendency to dry out because there is not a lot of fat in them. These definitely do not because they are kept moist by the dressing and Worcestershire sauce (side note: I love what Worcestershire sauce does to meat). That being said, these burgers are pretty sticky and don't hold together as well as a traditional burger. I ended up making them on my contact grill. I originally started them off on my regular indoor grill (another side note: I am terrified of the gas grill and I am convinced that if I use it, it will blow up), then ended up converting it to the contact grill midway through because they were too difficult to flip.

Don't let that scare you off, though. They are quite tasty. To serve, I like to put an extra dollop of dressing on the burger and also pile on lettuce, red onion and an extra sprinkling of Parmesan. Delicious.

Recipe Redo: Lemon Caper Tilapia

This recipe was originally posted in December of 2011. From time to time, I am going to go back and redo some of the recipes that I made back when I didn't really know what I was doing. I still am not the best photographer, but I can at least make it look like something you might want to put in your mouth.

Originally, I thickened this recipe with cornstarch, but I remade it using butter, and the results were a lot better. So while this has more fat than the original posted recipe, I think it is worth it.

This dish is so light and flavorful and is definitely one of my favorites. It is satisfying enough to keep you full for a while, but does not weigh you down. I like to serve it with rice and spinach and spoon some of the lemon juice over both of them.

Mint and Watermelon Soda Floats

I was looking at clothes online the other day and one of the websites mentioned getting ahead on fall styles. While fall is my favorite season, I don't want to get rid of summer just yet. With the surgery on my legs in May, I was not able to enjoy summer like usual. I also had surgery in June of last year, so last summer was out, too. Now that I am able to walk around, it is time to make the most out of these last few weeks.

This drink will help you do just that. It's full of summer flavors - the cool mint, the refreshing watermelon, and the ice cream, just for good measure. I think you should try to make this drink as much as possible between now and Labor Day. 

Beet and "Fried" Goat Cheese Salad

I've never been one to crave beets. I've never even been one to particularly like beets. I just kind of tolerated them. But now this has totally changed.

Every other week, I get a delivery of organic fruits and veggies from a company called Boston Organics. It is a great way for me to get more fruit and veggies in my diet. One week, in the delivery, we got a delivery of beets and beet greens. I really had no clue what to do with them. I never made beets myself before and didn't even know what my preferred method for eating them was. I decided I would try to roast them. While it took way longer than I was expecting, I really enjoyed putting them on my salads.

Then a couple days later, my dad came home with something called Love Beets, and I really did fall in love. They were the perfect size for snacking, and that's what I did. I also used them in this recipe, but you can also roast your own beets or prepare them in any other way. To roast, just rub the scrubbed clean beets with some olive oil and salt and place in a foil packet in a 375 degree F oven. When the beets are done roasting, you should be able to pierce them with a fork. I would start checking for doneness around 30 minutes, but it can take upwards of about an hour. The skin should come off easily when done.

 I found this dish to be filling enough for a main meal, but you can also make it smaller for a side dish.