Dill Potato Salad

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend. The kickoff to summer! Summer to me is spending time with friends and family, camping, swimming, and of course cook outs!!!! My herbs and vegetable plants are abundant on my deck. The aroma of the sweet basil, fresh dill, and rosemary fills the air! I am anxious to begin to make many dishes with these fabulous fresh herbs. I am waiting anxiously for the first buds to appear on my tomato and pepper plants!
With the onset of cookout and grilling season, I will begin with sharing a fabulous recipe for potato salad. Every time I bring this dish to a picnic I receive rave reviews and many request for the recipe. I hope you will like this as well!!

2 pounds of idaho potatoes, peeled, quartered
6 eggs hard boiled
2 tablespoons freshly chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Place your potatoes in a large saucepan filled with cold salted water and cook on medium heat until tender for about 20 minutes. In a sauce pan place you eggs. Bring water to a boil, turn off heat and cover for 15 minutes. When cool, peel and slice the eggs.

Drain potatoes, transfer to large bowl and set aside to cool for a bit. When the potatoes are cooled slightly add the eggs, dill, chives, & mayonnaise. Drizzle with lemon juice and toss gently to coat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ricotta Chicken Pasta w/Broccolli

My daughter is a great cook. She attends Parkway where she studies the culinary arts. She is always saying how much she loves ricotta cheese. Now, I didn't think I did. My husband is very firm on his opinion on meat only ravioli. And the site of ricotta cheese and cottage cheese makes him queasy. So, when I decided to try and incorporate ricotta cheese into a recipe I had to hide the container. HAHAHA! Well, he liked this. Now, he did not LOVE it, as he likes beef in pasta. But, this was received well by the children! This recipe is a modified version of a pasta dish that is from Rachel Ray's 30 Minutes Meals. (A great cookbook given to me by my good friend Kellie B.)

Ingredients:

1 pounds whole wheat rigatoni
2 bundles of broccoli, cut into florets
2 Tbsp. of olive oil
1 pound of chicken breast
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Tsp. thyme
1/2 Tsp. nutmeg

Please read through all the directions before starting. It will make this much easier!

Cook the pasta el dente in heavily salted water. Reserve 1 cup of the water from pot and drain. While pasta is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the broccoli for 4 minutes and shock immediately in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Cut the chicken breast into 1 inch pieces. Heat a large pan with the olive oil and cook the chicken and garlic for about 6 minutes, or until chicken is cooked the entire way through. To the pan, add the broccoli, pasta, ricotta, parmesan cheese, and the reserved cooking water. Add the thyme and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss until creamy. Enjoy!

Apple Pork Chops

My husband loves applesauce with his pork chop. So I came up with an easy recipe that gives him this taste. It was a hit with the kids too! Hope you enjoy!

4 pork chops
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 sliced onion
1 cup apple juice
1 apple peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. butter

Season flour with salt and pepper. Lightly flour pork chops. Add 1 Tbsp. of butter to a skillet on medium and melt. Brown pork chop on both sides. Stir in onion, apple juice, and apple. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 7-8 minutes.

Go Green Sammies! Rachel Ray

4 Servings

Prep 20 min (plus marinating)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
Grated peel of 1 lime plus juice of 2 limes
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
Salt and pepper
Four skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 deli slices pepper jack cheese
2 avocados
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 small plum tomato, seeded and finely chopped
2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
4 hamburger buns or crusty rolls, split and toasted
1 head bibb lettuce or green leaf lettuce
Tortilla chips, for serving
Directions:
1.In a shallow dish, combine the EVOO, cilantro, scallions, thyme, lime peel, half of the lime juice, and the hot sauce; season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

2.Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Grill the chicken until cooked through, 12 minutes. Just before the cooking time is up, top each breast with a slice of pepper jack cheese.

3.In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, red onion, tomato, jalapeños, garlic, lemon juice and remaining lime juice; season with salt.

4.Top each bun bottom with lettuce, a chicken breast, a mound of guacamole and a bun top. Serve with the tortilla chips.

Cheeseburger in Paradise

Nothing beats a delicious cheeseburger. Except one topped with an over easy fried egg! OK, if you have had this, you know exactly what I am talking about. If not, you have to try this! I experienced this for the first time a couple of years ago at a restaurant called Fat Burger. Yes, Fat Burger. They have the oddest things to put on a burger. I saw the egg, and was not impressed. However, my husband had ordered it. One bite and I was hooked! Yummo!

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef
1 Tsp. onion powder
1 Tsp. of garlic powder
1 Tsp. of mustard
2 Tbsp. of steak sauce or worcestershire sauce
1 Tsp. of steak seasoning

Fold the seasoning into the beef until it is mixed well.

Divide the beef into 4 equal sections. Using your thumb, create an indentation in the middle of each patty. This helps the patties keep their shape on the grill.
Cook the patties over high heat. You can cook them over a grill or a barbeque. Close the lid, and grill for 5 to 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them. Hamburger meat contains a lot of fat which can cause flare-ups and burned burgers. Flip the patties only once and let them to cook another 5 minutes, or until they've reached a desired doneness. Add cheese during the last minute if desired. Remove the patties and turn the heat to low. Toast the hamburger buns for 30 seconds. Add your favorite toppings. Pictured, a over easy egg, onion, pickle, tomato, lettuce, and mayonnaise.

Chicken Nuggets

What kid doesn't like chicken nuggets. OK, I admit it. I LOVE chicken nuggets. But the so called "all white meat chicken" found at many restaurants is a mystery. When you bite into the nugget you are often disappointed. Do you wonder where this mystery meat really came from?! It is usually warm, bite-size, and sort of white. Did you know that depending on the price, water can be a replacement for chicken to make the nugget cheaper and soybean is also often used as a chicken substitute! Well, I like to make my own nuggets. They ARE made with ALL white meat. They are juicy and MUCH healthier than these mystery nuggets.

Ingredients:
1 pound of chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
3 eggs (or egg beaters), whisked
salt and pepper
1/4 cup of canola oil

Breading
1 cup of Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
OR
1 cup of plain bread crumbs
1 package of dry hidden valley ranch seasoning packet

Directions:
Dip each piece of chicken in the egg than in the breading. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. This will help the breading to "set" so it does not come off during the browning process. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Brown the chicken on all sides and place on a baking sheet. Bake the nuggets at 350 for 12 minutes. Once removed from oven, salt and pepper to taste while still hot. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

A Funky Find for Your Kitchen

I first saw this odd item on The Rachel Ray show. It was on a segment of "Stump the Rach". With the 20th season of Survivor pitting the show's greatest heroes against its villains, Rachael is excited to see her friend Colby back in the challenge. Rachael loves to challenge Jeff when he comes on our show, so for his fifth visit(making him our most-frequent guest!) Rachael invites him to play her favorite game -"Stump the Rach!"

It's never wise to put all your eggs in one basket. But a silicone pod is another thing entirely.

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Ladies and gentlemen, the foodpod has landed.

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