Linguine with Clams and Turkey Bacon

After spending a week in Charleston, SC, I wasn't quite ready to give up on my vacation feasting. I was looking for something a bit healthier (sorry Southerners), but was still in the mood for some satisfying seafood. I was thinking of doing a light, grilled fish but when I walked by that seafood counter and saw a big bag of 50 clams staring back at me, I knew there had to be a change of plans.

While playing with my new iPad on this 12 hour car ride, I downloaded the Epicurious app. I scrolled through recipes to try and devise my menu plan for the next week. Linguine with grilled clams! I had never grilled clams before but was intrigued by the idea. I was all ready to go fire up the grill when I decided to read the recipe reviews....all agreed that grilling the clams caused a loss of clam juice which is crucial in the sauce. Boo. Clams will stay on the stove. It was still delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound turkey bacon, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Clams, scrubbed and cleaned (50 was probably too many, but I don't think you can have too many clams!)
• 3/4 whole wheat linguine

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions
• Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Drain on paper towels.
• In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, red pepper and lemon juice. 
• Add clams to pan and cover. Steam until all clams have opened up. Discard those that don't. 
• Toss pasta with clams and garlic. Season with black pepper to taste.

One of my clams was totally still kickin when I was soaking and washing them. See pics below of him sticking his little clam body out! Creeped me out a bit!

Mango Salsa

Back from vacation just in time for a few extra days of not working! Very exciting. We had a little BBQ today with friends and their pup Minnie. I think Izzy had the most fun out of everyone and is now sprawled out on the bed with her eyes shut tight!

Adam was in charge of the meat for this BBQ. We had some awesome mojo chicken and ribs with a spicy kick! He's motivated me to attempt to make some ribs in the near future...too bad I couldn't find any at the grocery store!

To go with the chicken, I wanted to make a mango salsa. I hadn't had much of a chance to use my mango cutter either! The mango cutter makes things so easy, but I still ended up with mushy mango. Oh well! It still tasted good!

Ingredients:

• 2 mangos, cut into small chunks
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 large tomato, diced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• dash of salt

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir to combine. 

Mushroom Swiss Turkey Burgers

Thanks to Gina's Skinny Taste, we are still working on consuming massive amounts of Sargento cheese. Since its finally grilling season, I figured what better to do with cheese than to top a delicious, grilled burger. The swiss was calling my name so we went with some mushroom & swiss turkey burgers.

I bought the family pack of ground turkey at the grocery store and divided it up into bags to freeze. Apparently I grabbed the smallest bag of the bunch to make the burgers and it my attempt to make the meat go further, I ended up making "burger balls". I thought I was making skinnier, flat patties, but as Skinny Fat Kid started grilling, he said they were plumping up. Whoops! Made for a bit too much bun, but were delicious none the less! SFK took one bite and exclaimed that he overcooked them! I reminded him that they were turkey burgers so should not be pink on the inside. He was relieved....

Ingredients:

• 3/4lb to 1lb ground turkey
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper
• 1 12oz package fresh mushrooms, sliced (I used pre-sliced "steak" mushrooms)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Slices of Swiss cheese

Directions:

• Simmer mushrooms, garlic and soy sauce in skillet over medium heat until the mushrooms are tender. Set aside and keep warm
• Season ground turkey with garlic powder and black pepper. Divide into patties.
• Grill patties on medium heat until cooked through.
• Top each with mushrooms and a slice of Swiss. Close grill cover until cheese has melted.

Wondering what to dress your burgers with?? Ketchup just didn't seem right for these guys so I went with some A-1. Was perfect with the mushrooms. SFK used Frank's Hot Sauce of course. 

Busy Busy

I am back! Work has been taking over my life but I think things are finally settling down so I can get back to cooking and blogging! And I will have plenty of downtime next week as I'm taking the week off!
Skinny Fat Kid surprised me last night with something that could help make blogging easier...an iPad! I've been begging for one for weeks but didn't want to spend the money. Apparently he did because I now am the proud owner of a beautiful white iPad. I've already downloaded the Epicurious and Allrecipes apps. Need more apps! Any recommendations? I'm a loyal blackberry user (need it for the keyboard) so I'm clueless on my Apple apps.

Grilled Korean BBQ Short Ribs

Skinny Fat Kid and I spent the better part of yesterday at Home Depot and working out on the front and back patios, trying to make it look presentable! I planted some basil and chives in the back and some beautiful flowers up front. Last year, we planted flowers that were supposed to bloom up front but they never did. Between the dog grabbing the buds off and me forgetting to water, it was a complete disaster. Not to mention our pots all cracked in the freezing winter we had. I had also planted veggies last year and did not see one seedling grow. I decided to go with some easy herbs. I promised myself that I will actually water them both this year and try and make it work!
Since we cleaned up the back, it was only right that we fired up the grill for the first time this season.We started grilling for the first time last year. Neither of us had ever touched the grill before in our lives. It was a learning process, but we learned quickly making everything from grilled pizzas to pork tenderloin. Can't wait to see what else we can make this year!

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 pounds short ribs (I used boneless)

Directions:

• Add soy sauce, water and vinegar in bowl or tray for marinating. Whisk in brown sugar, white sugar, pepper, sesame oil and garlic until the sugars have dissolved. Add ribs to marinate, cover and refrigerate (the longer the better. I did about 10 hours). 
• Preheat grill to medium high heat.
• Grill ribs for about 7 minutes per side. 

Pesto Meatball Sliders

I love pesto and I love meatballs. I rarely make my own pesto because I can't get over the cost of pine nuts. Kills me every time! And my local grocery store has amazing store made pesto at a great price. So why bother! Not to mention, Izzy hates the food processor.
I tried to bake my own wheat rolls. Epic disaster. The dough just did not rise. I'm having major issues with that. Maybe I have bad yeast. They came out like little rocks. Skinny Fat Kid did snack on a few as the taste was there, but they were solid and not fluffy like you would want in a roll. Oh well, good thing for great local bakeries!

Adapted from Annie's Eats

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1lb ground turkey or lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• pesto for dressing sliders
• whole wheat rolls
• shredded cheese to top sliders

Directions:

• Combine 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs with the milk and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Add remaining breadcrumbs, turkey, egg, garlic, pepper, parsley and basil and mix until combined. 
• Form into meatballs (I flattened mine a bit to fit my rolls). 
• Place on foil lined baking sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. 
• Place cheese on sliders and pop back into oven until cheese has melted.

Lemon Dijon Chicken with Artichokes and Sundried Tomatoes

In order for me to like chicken, I need to do something with it that is extremely flavorful and delicious. I don't know why I'm so picky about chicken. I could eat any kind of beef. But chicken has got to be just right. Being a huge fan of artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes, this one from Dinners for a Year really caught my eye. Not to mention the wine....

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 thinly cut chicken breasts
• Whole wheat flour
• Black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup low fat, low sodium chicken broth
• 14oz can artichoke hearts, quartered
• 8 sundried tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 lemon, sliced thin

Directions

• Dredge chicken in flour and season with pepper. 
• Heat olive oil over medium high heat in skillet. Saute chicken until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from pan and keep warm.
• In the same pan, add wine and bring to boil. Stir in mustard and chicken broth. Stir in artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes and lemon slices. Add chicken back to pan. 

I served this over some whole wheat penne and was a quick, delicious and easy meal. The mustard really help to add flavor to the dish that may be lost with just the chicken stock. Will definitely make this again!

I won!

Thanks to Skinny Bits & Gina's Skinny Taste, I won the Sargento Cheese Giveaway! Sorry for the poor pic, but Skinny Fat Kid was home and had to open the package before I got there. He loves cheese! Looking forward to spending my gift card at Williams Sonoma as well as making some cheesy dishes. Any fun recipes to share?? I've got plenty of Swiss, Provolone and Cheddar to go around!