Pesto Chicken Kebobs

This is a keeper!  Great recipe to serve to company.  It is pretty and goes really well with lemon marinated veggie salad.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2-inch cubes
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup pesto sauce (I make my own, omitting the parmesan cheese-recipe included)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp coarse ground pepper
1 medium onion cut into 1-2 inch pieces
Optional- 1/2 tsp Italian red pepper flakes

Directions:
Marinate chicken and onion in lemon, garlic, salt/pepper, and pesto sauce for 2 hours.




Heat grill to 325 degrees.  Thread chicken and onion on skewers.  Place on grill turning 1/4 turn about every 4-5 minutes until chicken is cooked.  Baste chicken with remaining sauce as you turn.  Turn grill to 375, to put grill marks on chicken turning twice.


Vegan Pesto Sauce:

3 cups fresh basil leaves

3 cloves garlic

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup pine nuts or walnuts (for those with nut allergies, substitute 1 cup chick peas)

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (optional but really yummy!)

Salt/pepper to taste

Puree ingredients in food processor until thoroughly blended.

Vegan Spaghetti and Meatballs Pizza

I can't take credit for this recipe, but tried it and it is delish!

Thank you, Julieta Felix!



Whole Foods pizza dough (it's a dough ball, not pre-cooked crust)
Any organic pizza sauce
Cooked Spaghetti pasta- about 2 cups
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Daiya-mozzarella vegan cheese (found in Whole Foods, Fresh and Easy)  http://www.daiyafoods.com/our-products/mozzarella
Gimme Lean – Soy product (for the meatballs) http://www.lightlife.com/Vegan-Food-Vegetarian-Diet/Gimme-Lean-Beef

Cook spaghetti first, make a circle with the dough, and I use PAM on the pizza cooking sheet.
Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes at 500 degrees. While the crust is cooking, mold into 1-inch meatballs out of the Gimme Lean, Fry meatballs, turning once, then cut in half and cook some more.
When pizza crust is done, add sauce, spaghetti, meatballs and Daiya to pre-cooked crust.
Bake for additional 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Lemon Marinated Veggie Salad

Cold veggie salad is a real treat in hot summer weather.  No cooking at all for this recipe!

 
Ingredients:
1 head broccoli cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 cup red or yellow cherry tomatoes
1/2 pitted Kalamata olives
1 small green or yellow zucchini, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 clove crushed garlic
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt/Pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir in lemon juice and olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper. Add to Ziploc bag and refrigerate. Serve cold.  I like to chop pitted olives in half...just in case there is a pit hiding in them!

Options for this salad:  Use sun-dried tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes, eliminate tomatoes and diced, fresh pineapple, add cauliflower, green beans, etc!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with Purslane

I posted this recipe last September and Guy is harvesting purslane again so thought I would repost it.  This recipe has been such a hit with friends and family!

Purslane

Who knew?  I remember this stuff growing up on the farm in the Yuma Valley and it was a weed! It grew all over and annoyed my dad.  

Our favorite stand at the Pima Crossing Saturday Farmer's Market is Guy Gillespie who owns On the Vine. We call Guy the "Sam Malone" of Scottsdale's Farmers Market because you can stop by and have a nice chat, buy awesome fresh produce AND get great ideas for cooking too! Check out On the Vine's Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/onthevinearizona

Guy introduced us to purslane and made believers out of us! It is a versatile little weed- you can use it in salad, on sandwiches, pestos, and here I've used it in a salsa.

Purslane is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin A.   It has a salty, tart, leafy taste.  Here's a great website to learn more about purslane:

 http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/purslane.html

Ingredients:

10 fresh tomatillos, peeled and halved

1 tbsp oil

1/2 medium onion

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic

1 chopped poblano chili

1 cup purslane, larger stems removed

Juice from 2 limes

1 tsp honey

Salt/Pepper to taste

1 tsp Italian red pepper flakes

Directions:

Line cookie sheet with foil.  Spread oil over the surface of the foil.  Placed halved tomatillos, flat side down cookie sheet and broil for 5-7 minutes until skin begins to blacken.  Add remaining ingredients to food processor or blender and puree until mixture is finely chopped.

Chill.  Serve with chips, or top veggies, or do like me...stand over the sink and eat with a spoon.  ((  :