Farro Soup with Chorizo

It may seem unusual to crave soup in the summertime but my love of comfort food knows no season.  It has been a great summer thus far with lots of family time and more to come in the coming week.  Unfortunately with all the comings and goings, there isn't too much time to cook.  Its hard to find the time and we end up out all the time.  It's certainly making it hard to be healthy.  I've got some time today to actually plan out some meals for a few days this week so hopefully I'll have more recipes to share soon.  With this recipe from Real Simple I used kale instead of Swiss chard and opted for kielbasa instead of chorizo....very happy with both choices. A new staple in the Lilley home. 

T. olive oil
8 oz. chorizo, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
1 T. tomato paste
4 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. faro
1 15 oz. can chickpeas
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 1 to 2 minutes.  Transfer to plate.

Add the carrots, onion, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper to pot.  Cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, 4-5 minutes

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it is slightly darkened, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the broth, faro, and 2 cups water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the faro is just tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the chickpeas, chard, sausage, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Simmer until the chard is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. 

Pork Tenderloins with Balsamic Strawberries

So great news.....I've got access to a laptop now that Jon started his business.  So you can thank AES for this post and delicious recipe.  I made this yesterday for Jon, Joanie and myself.  I did 2 pork tenderloins so we had a full one left over which I used for a delicious dinner this evening!  The original recipe is compliments of Southern Living

2 pork tenderloins
Pepper
2 tsp salt, divided
Bacon slices
2 8 oz. packages of haricots verts
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, divided
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1/3 c. strawberry preserves (I didn't have this so substituted apricot preserves)
1/2 c. quartered fresh strawberries

Preheat grill to 400-500 heat.  Sprinkle pork with pepper and 1 tsp. salt; wrap bacon slices around each tenderloin, and secure with wooden picks.

Place green beans, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, and remaining 1 tsp. salt in center of 24x18 inch piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil; toss to coat.  Bring up sides of foil over beans; double fold top and side edges to seal, making a packet.

Turn off one side of grill.  Arrange pork and foil packet over unlit side, and grill, covered with grill lid, 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mince remaining 2 garlic cloves; sauté in remaining 1 Tbsp. hot olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat 2-3 minutes or until golden.  Add vinegar; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, and stir in preserves.  Reserve half of mixture for basting.  Stir fresh strawberries into remaining mixture.

Remove foil packet from grill; transfer pork to lit side.  Baste pork with reserved strawberry mixture.  Grill 5 more minutes over lit side, turning once.  Remove pork from grill.


And for this evening, with my leftover pork, I put slices of pork in a whole wheat pita with goat cheese spread and drizzled balsamic sauce.  Excellent!!!

Fish Tacos!

Alright...I get it, I'm a bad blogger.  What can I say, I nag others to entertain me with their updates and I can't do the same.  I could say that my New Year's resolution was to change this, but I'm cooler than that.  So as an apology I'll share an awesome recipe I have for fish tacos that Jon and I love.  I've already shared it with Michelle and I think I've got a believer.  Enjoy....see you again in 3 months!

1/4 c. sourt cream
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 c. thinly sliced white onion
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
Tilapia filets (I do half a filet per taco)
Canola oil
6 inch corn tortillas
Avocado, thinly sliced

Combine first 4 ingredients in food processor, process until smooth.
Combine sauce with jalapeno and onion in small bowl
Combind paprika and next 6 ingredients; sprinkle evenly over fish.  Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add fish, cook 3 minutes on each side.
Warm tortillas.  Divide fish, onion mixture and avocado evenly. 

Scallop Piccata

This is a great recipe I got from Cooking Light. I really love it as does Jon despite the fact he doesn't like capers. Serve it over angel hair pasta or brown rice.

1 1/2 lbs scallops (about 12 - 4 servings)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
5 tsp canola oil, divided
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 cup vermouth. (I substitute white wine)
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley chopped
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp butter
4 tsp capers

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper over scallops. Add 1 Tbsp oil to pan, swirl to coat. Add scallops; cook 2 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium. Add chopped garlic to pan; cook 10 seconds. Add wine/vermouth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat. Add parsley, lemon juice, butter & capers, stirring until butter melts.

Drizzle sauce over scallops.

Fiesta Chowder

Fall is here!!!!  I absolutely love this time of year. The colors, the clothes, the food...I mean really, what's not to love about fall. I've got a great recipe for the season which I must admit I jumped the gun on a couple weeks ago. I got excited walking the dog one chilly morning, started craving some soup, so I made this a few days later. Granted the heat returned and it was about 80 degrees, but not now that fall has officially settled in...it's time to share because you have to try!

3 Tbsp flour
1 package fajita seasoning, divided
4 chicken breasts, cubed
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tspminced garlic
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles
3 cups water
1 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1 (2 1/4 oz) can sliced olives (optional)
1 10 oz can condenses nacho or cheddar cheese soup
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp line juice

Combine flour and 2 Tbsp fajita seasoning in ziplock bag, add chicken. Seal and shake to coat.

Cook chicken in hot oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat, stirring often, 4 minutes or until browned. Reduce heat to medium-high: add onion and garlic. Sauté 5 minutes. Stir in remaining fajita seasoning, corn, next 5 ingredients & if desired, olives. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, simmer 5 minutes. Remove lid, stir in cheese soup, 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro & lime juice.

Garnish with cilantro if desired and serve with breadsticks.


This delicious recipe is brought to you by Southern Living. Ignore any typos, I did this on my iPhone with a completely shattered screen! It's hard to proofread.

Bon appetit!

Lexington-style Grilled Chicken

This recipe calls for a whole chicken but I had chicken drumsticks which I used and turned out great. The red pepper gives it a serious kick which I liked but I warn if serving kids! oh, and I obviously divided this for just us two. recipe makes 8-10 servings. 2 c. Cider vinegar 1/4 c. Firmly packed dark brown sugar 1/4 c. Vegetable oil 3 Tbsp dried crushed red pepper 4 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper 2 (2 1/2 - 3 lb) cut-up whole chickens Stir together first 6 ingredients until blended. Place half each of vinegar mixture and chicken in a large ziplock, seal. Repeat in separate bag. Chill 2-8 hrs, turning occasionally. Remove chicken from marinade discarding marinade. Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat 35-40 minutes or until done, turning occasionally

Cilantro-Garlic Sirloin with Zesty Corn Salsa

To make It easier to find what recipes I've posted I'll forego creative post titles. Time sure has been flying by it's amazing how fast a week can fly by despite waking up at 5 am EVERYDAY. That's right, my dear, sweet Costigan no longer is interested in sleeping in, it's quite unfortunate really. So, outside we go. My poor neighbors who see me walk the nieghborhood in glasses, pjs, & bedhead. What's a girl to do. I'll blame sleep deprivation on all the destruction I've been causing lately. If I'm not banging up the car (or both) I'm breaking my phone or putting holes in freshly painted walls! The holes in my clothes....well that's Costigan's fault, I won't take thAt one. Moving on...I keep our freezer pretty stocked and with jon's recent purchase of 50 lbs of pork, we are pushed to the brim (in both freezers!). So I'm going thru the books for new recipes and came across this one in Southern Living All-Time Favorites. I get a great sense of relief whenever I come across a recipe and I already have every ingredient. We really enjoyed this although sirloin is such a fatty piece of meat, I think substituting it with flank steak would work great. 1 c. Fresh cilantro 2 garlic cloves 3 Tbsp lime juice 1 Tbsp lime zest (I hate getting the zest out, so I cut this) 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cumin 1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground red pepper 2 lbs sirloin steak Process first 7 ingredients in a food processor until blended, rub over steak. Chill 2 hours. Grill, covered, over medium-high heat 10-12 minutes on each side. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut diagonally into thin slices. Serve with corn salsa and garnish with cilantro if desired. For the salsa: 6 ears of corn, husk removed 1/4 c. Lime juice 2 tsp olive oil 1/2 tsp lime zest (you know how I feel) 1 small jalapeño pepper, minced 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground cumin Grill corn, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat 10 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from grill, cool. Cut corn from cob into a bowl; stir in juice and remaining ingredients. Best thing about this recipe...we had lots of leftovers and for dinner the following night were able to pay homage to Chipotle with homemade burrito bowls!!!!