Microwave Popcorn

This post is dedicated to my BIL, B. He loves the corn. He usually pops it in oil on the stove and it is delicious. This must be killing him not to be able to make his popcorn. Perhaps this is a little bit of a "duh" post. I mean, microwave popcorn? Yeah, everyone makes that. But you probably may not have known that you can use regular popcorn in the microwave. Here are your ingredients:



Popcorn, a brown paper bag, salt, and olive oil. I cover the bottle of the bag with a single layer of popcorn, drizzle a smidge of olive oil, and a few shakes of salt.



Then fold the top of the bag over a few times, and place in microwave.



Set your microwave for two minutes. STAY and LISTEN for it to stop popping.



Your popcorn is done. Top your favorite way. I like the white cheddar popcorn seasonings.

Green Chile Cheeseburgers

I mentioned these last month, but they were so good, I thought I would revisit them. I found a lot of really complicated recipes for green chile cheeseburgers, but my method was easy and still pretty tasty. I just got some ground chuck, added salt and pepper, grilled, then topped with a roasted green chile (I used HATCH, but a poblano would also be good) and provolone cheese. Serve on a toasted bun. I used ground chuck which turns out is extremely fatty. I would hesistate to use a leaner cut of meat though, because the grease helps to control the heat of the pepper if you have a spicy one.

I was planning on grilling outside, but it ended up being colder than I was anticipating. Love the grill pan!

Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs

I just realized. I bet my dad wished I lived closer so that he could eat all the "adventurous" things that I make...by adventurous, I mean unhealthy:) I have 3 more months till baby#3 and I am livin' it up!

At any rate, I knew that my husband and his father would LOVE these. They love bacon. Once, Pops drove to Snook just to have Chicken Fried Bacon. He also purchase a product called Baconnaise to gift to his sons for Christmas(the lite vegetarian version of course). So, when I saw the recipe for Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs, I knew we had to try it.

We only stuffed ours with cheese, onions, ketchup, mustard, and relish...skipped the sauerkraut. We also used 2 pieces of bacon to ensure that the insides wouldn't spill out onto the grill. They were great!!

Crockpot Lasagna

There is absolutely no way to make this look good in a photo so I am not going to bother posting a picture. If you are kitchen-less this provides a satisfactory lasagna ... but it is in no way comparable to a real lasagna. I made this for dinner tonight but left out the beef so it would be a truly kitchen-less creation and vegetarian. Here is the original recipe, which I received several years ago from a co-worker.

Crockpot Lasagna

1 lb. ground chuck, cooked and drained of fat
1 (28 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1/3 c. water
8 lasagna noodles
1 (4.5 oz) jar mushrooms
1 (15 oz) carton ricotta cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella

Note: I used half the amount of both cheeses and it turned out fine.

Combine water with spaghetti sauce. Place 4 noodles in bottom of lightly greased 5 qt. crockpot. Layer with 1/2 of beef, sauce, and mushrooms. Spread ricotta over mushrooms. Sprinkle with 1 c. mozzarella. Layer with remaining noodles, meat, sauce, mushrooms and mozzarella. Cook on high for 1 hour, reduce heat, cook on low 5 hours.

Pork tenderloin with mustard barbeque sauce

It has been so nice this week, a good time to grill.



I am a big fan of the mustard based sauce, but prefer to make a tomato bases sauce at home. I saw this recipe fliping through some issues from cooking light from last year and decided to give it a try.

As for "no-kitchen cooking" I am not sure this counts, because you did have to make the sauce, but the pork just used a nice little rub. CL always says to use direct heat for 20 minutes on these cuts of meat, but I prefer to cook it over indirect heat for about 30 minutes.

Not a bad recipe, but if I make it again I will probably make some changes.

Tuna Kebabs with Ginger-Chile Marinade

This marinade is a keeper and would probably go well with a number of meats or fish if you are not up for tuna. The kebabs were outstanding. The only complaint is that it was hard to get the veggies cooked well in the short amount of time that the tuna takes to grill. This recipe is from a Bon Apetit magazine.

Tuna Kebabs with Ginger-Chile marinade

3 T. unseasoned rice vinegar
2 T. finely grated, peeled fresh ginger
2 T. peanut oil
2 T. sesame oil
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. honey
1 T. cilantro, chopped
1 serrano chile, seeded, minced
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 lb. ahi tuna, cut into 1 inch cubes

nonstick spray
1 large red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 large sweet onion (such as Maui or Vidalia) cut into squares
metal skewers

Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend; season with pepper. Transfer 3 T. marinade to a small bowl and reserve. Add tuna to remaining marinade and toss to coat. Refridgerate at least 30 minutes and up to 45 min.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray. Heat grill to med-hi heat. Alternate tuna cubes, bell pepper squares and onion squares on each metal skewer. Grill to desired doneness, turning frequently, about 4 minutes for medium rare. Transfer to platter. Drizzle with reserved marinade.

I served this with Grilled Soy Sesame Asparagus, a recipe I found online. The asparagus was also really incredible ... I would definitely try the meal again.

Pizza on the Grill

So, I found this cute video on allrecipes.com about grilled pizza. I used the dough recipe from Kerri's Greatest Hits. Very simple toppings of just cheese for the kids and basil, tomatoes, onion, and mozzarella for us. Took about 20 minutes. I wish I had access to more spices, but they are in a box somewhere in the garage :) They were bland.

Salad is very "no kitchen cookin' " conducive :)