Grilled Pesto Bread

Grilled Pesto Bread

We had this bread at Reef restaurant, here in Houston. If you watched "The Next Iron Chef" last season, Chef Caswell was one of the contestants - and Reef is his restaurant. We went there last May with my mother-in-law and her husband while they were visiting.

The bread basket they had at Reef had this delicious ciabatta bread with some pesto smeared on top and then lightly grilled. At the time, I was planning a birthday bash for my friend and new instantly that I wanted to serve this bread at the dinner.

So, I bought a baguette (mistake #1) and covered it with pesto then hubby grilled it (which could be mistake #2 - just cause he was entertaining friends at the same time, and a little distracted.) The bread turned out a little hard and crunchy. Not the way it was at Reef.

And then I sort of forgot about trying to make it again (definitely mistake #3).

Last week I made some Mashed Potato Soup and thought, "OOOH, I should try to make that pesto bread again!"

This time I bought ciabatta bread. I grilled it myself and I will not wait 6 months to have it again!

Here's what you need:

Ciabatta Loaf, sliced thin

Pesto (I used Classico Pesto, yum.)

BBQ or grill pan

Heat your grill pan or BBQ to a pretty high heat. Smother a few slices of bread with the pesto and place on grill. I grilled both sides of the bread - and because your pan or BBQ are hot, it will cook fast.

I love the smokey flavor the BBQ gives - so I recommend using it!

It's so easy and so flavorful and so cheap!

Menu #56

Monday: Fish & Chips

(a new recipe from my MIL, I've been craving this ever since she told me about it! I just have to get some fresh Tilapia...)

Tuesday: Pork Tenderloin

PWs Fancy Macaroni

Wednesday: PWs Tequila Lime Chicken

Spanish Rice & Black Beans

Tortilla's

Thursday: PW's Drip Beef Sandwiches

cole slaw

garlic bread

Friday: Camping

Saturday: Camping

Menu #55

Monday: Fish & Chips

(a new recipe from my MIL, I've been craving this ever since she told me about it! I just have to get some fresh Tilapia...)

Tuesday: Tomato Sauce w/ Butter & Onion

Tortellini

Garlic Bread

Wednesday: Pepper Jack Chicken

Spinach

Roasted Potatoes w/Salsa Verde

Thursday: PW's Drip Beef Sandwiches

cole slaw

garlic bread

Friday: Pasta with Gorgonzola and Beef Tenderloin

bread

Saturday: out to dinner

Chili Chicken

From Adrianne Campbell (from Cuisine at Home magazine)

1 1/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 T. brown sugar

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 T. olive oil

Combine above ingredients with chicken and toss to coat. Just grill them for a few minutes. Recipe calls for cut chunks of chicken on skewers, browned on the stove top then finished in the oven at 400 for a few more minutes. Adrianne just grills the chicken out on the grill without the skewers.

I got this recipe off the This Week For Dinner website : http://thisweekfordinner.com/

I loved how easy this recipe was - and very flavorful. I also grilled on the BBQ them instead of the cooking on the stove top.

Menu #54

Monday: Rotisserie Chicken Quesadilla's

black beans & rice

Tuesday: PW's Drip Beef Sandwiches

Wednesday: Fish & Chips

(a new recipe from my MIL, I've been craving this ever since she told me about it! I just have to get some fresh Tilapia...)

Thursday: Bean burrito's

Friday: out of town

Saturday: out of town

Jack O' Lantern Cheese Ball

(Or just a Cheese Ball!) I hosted a Halloween Party fit for toddlers yesterday. This little guy turned out so cute! This is a recipe from my Step Mother In Law, and it's my go to Cheese Ball Recipe. For occasions other than Halloween, I roll it in Chopped Pecans.
2 (8 oz) blocks of Cream Cheese, softened
1 (4.5 oz) jar of Dried Beef (see note)
Bunch of Green Onions, finely chopped. I used 4 large ones, white and green
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
* For this party, I rolled it in finely shredded mild cheddar cheese. The face is Black Olives and the stem is a small, whole Dill Pickle*

Mix all ingredients and form a ball. Roll in desired Cheese, or Chopped Pecans, or Walnuts. Serve with assortment of Crackers, Veggies etc.

*Note~ Dried Beef  I thought what the heck is dried beef? and it sounds so gross. Don't let it scare you! I found it in the isle with all the canned meats (think tuna). It was in a small, clear jar, and it's like dried, thinly sliced summer sausage. It's delicious in this cheese ball.

Popcorn 101

ok, i realize that popcorn doesn't sound that hard to make. and it isn't. you buy some microwave-thingys, follow directions on the box, and WAHLAH! you have a tasty snack. but for some reason, it always bothers me HOW much they charge for that microwave stuff. it's ridiculous. and even if you have a coupon, it's just that, well, it's something you have to find, cut out, find again when you're in the grocery store, and actually USE in order to save any money.

So here's a super easy way to make popcorn and to make it CHEAP! cause a bag of whole kernels in the store is around $1.50...

i've been doing this for years... literally - years. before i had kids. way back in the days of working full-time as a preschool teacher. so i had kids - 12 of them, usually.

and i used to get the Martha Stewart Living Magazine - that was before the whole scandal.

somewhere in some magazine, i read how easy it was to put some popcorn kernels in a paper bag, microwave it and you get some popped corn.

So, here's a breakdown of "my" recipe:

1/4 cup whole kernel popcorn

2 paper bags (if you don't have paper lunch bags, i've put it in a microwavable bowl WITH LID loosely on top)

microwave

optional: popcorn toppings

I split the 1/4 cup kernels between the 2 paper bags. I drizzle a bit of olive oil over the kernels and sprinkle some salt on top.

Then, put 1 bag into the microwave at a time - for about 1 minute (i usually put it in for 1 min and 10 sec, to be exact).

It gets all warm and popppy and yummy. add salt or butter or any popcorn toppings you like. try cinnamon and sugar if you want something sweet!

all for pennies.