Green Goddess Dressing

We were out at the lake this weekend, and as usual, we did some fabulous cooking. There is a fairly large kitchen out there, 3 women who love to cook, and plenty of time to do so....

My favorite thing we came up with this weekend was a homemade Green Goddess dressing. We tweaked the original recipe a bit, and now I can not imagine making it any other way! The flavor is fairly mild, so it can be served with a fairly intense main dish if you desire. We served ours with BBQ chicken and baked beans. It would also really be good on a Taco Salad with a southern-seasoned chopped chicken breast. Hope you enjoy as much as we did! Oh, I forgot to mention the best part... it is CRAZY easy.

Green Goddess Dressing
-1/2 cup mayo (we used light)
-1/2 cup sour cream (we used light)
-1/4 cup green onions lightly chopped
-1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 avocado
- 2-3 Tbs White Wine Vinegar (you could use any type of vinegar)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- salt & pepper to taste
- milk (as needed to thin out to desired consistency)

Add all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Start with only 2 Tbs of vinegar and with no milk, and puree until all ingredients are fully pureed and mixed. Add milk 1 Tbs at a time until desired consistency is reached. If you add more than 2 Tbs of milk, add an additional Tbs of vinegar.

It is as easy as that!! We had quite a bit of this left over, and used it the next day as a dipping sauce for Chicken & Cilantro Quesedillas. It was fabulous!

Garlic, Lemon, and Rosemary Steelhead

Can you tell Micah and I really enjoy eating fish during the summer time? Luckily, most of my food aversions are GONE!!! and I can handle fish now.

We typically eat Salmon, but Steelhead Trout was on sale at Sprout's this week, so I decided to give it a whirl. (If you haven't shopped at Sprout's, I HIGHLY recommend it!!! They have excellent prices on produce, organic meats and fishes, and a great bulk section. If you go on Wednesdays, it is double ad day, so you get twice the sales!!! Check out their website for the weekly specials. We are talking GREAT specials, people...)

OK, now on to the yummy fish. Just an FYI... Steelhead Trout looks incredibly similar to Salmon. I think it is a little fattier, which means to me a little tastier. :-) Remember, you can always ask the butcher to skin the fish for you after they weigh it... it makes for much easier cooking and eating, and eliminates the possibility of losing a finger due to a very sharp knife.

Broiled Steelhead Trout

- ~1lb Steelhead Trout (will serve 3-4 people)
- 1/4 C olive oil
- 1/2 - 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- 2 Tbsp fresh Rosemary, coarsely chopped
- Lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
- Lemon Zest (1 whole lemon)
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to Broil (550 degrees). Line baking dish with foil, and spray foil with Olive Oil Pam or brush with olive oil. Place fish fillet on top of foil, skin side down if it still has skin on it.

2. Combine olive oil, garlic, rosemary, lemon juice and zest, and sea salt in a small bowl. (I just used the glass measuring cup I used to measure out the olive oil.) Combine into a thick paste.

3. Spread paste evenly over the top of the fillet. Top the fillet and paste with pepper, to your liking. (I chose to cut up the other half of the lemon that I zested into thin slices and lay them at the sides of the fillet, just so they were slighly under the fish. I think it gave the fish some extra flavor...)

4. Broil the fish for approximately 4 minutes on the second rack from the top until the top is lighlty seared. Our oven got pretty smokey and the edges of the fish got a bit crispy (which was actually VERY yummy) but 4 minutes was perfect.

5. Move the pan down to the 4th rack of your oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until fish is flakey and no longer translucent in the middle.

***I think you could easily do this on the grill as well. Prepare the fish the same way on top of a large piece of foil, and fold up the edges to create a little foil pan/boat. Cook on medium heat until flakey.***

Teriyaki Salmon Kebabs

I love summer time because I end up planning most of our meals around cooking out on the grill. I love not having to heat up the oven and get the kitchen warmed up (it is the warmest room in the whole house... with no windows that we can open... HORRIBLE planning on Mr. Architect's part).

I found the recipe at a grocery store a few years ago, and after some small modifications, it has become my FAVORITE salmon marinade ever. The recipe below is for kebabs, but I will make a note at the end on how to alter it for fillets. It works well with either one, and is SURE to be a hit the next time you venture out to the grill.

Teriyaki Salmon Kebabs
- 3/4 cup bottled Teriyaki Sauce
- 2 tsp ginger (I just use ginger powder, but fresh minced ginger would be great)
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2lbs Fresh Salmon, Cubed in 1 1/2" pieces
- wooden kebabs, soaked in water
- 1 bunch of green onion, cut into 2" pieces

1. Mix Teriyaki sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes in a large plastic baggie. Add Salmon and coat. Allow to chill for at least 45min (best if chilled for up to 2 hours).

2. Soak wooden kebabs in a shallow pan for at least 20 minutes to avoid burning of the skewers.

3. Prepare skewers, alternating between salmon and pieces of green onion.

4. Prepare grill to medium heat. Place skewers on a well greased cooking grate or foil (I like PAM for high heat/grilling on my grill pan like shown below).

5. Cook covered for about 4 minutes. With tongs, turn skewers and cook covered for an additional 4 minutes. Fish is done when brown on the outside an no longer translucent in the center. If it is flaky and falling apart, it is done!

*** To cook Fillets***
- Chop green onion into small pieces, and add to marinade. Before adding meat to marinade, reserve about 1/2 cup and set aside to allow for basting while grilling. Cook at low-medium heat for ~6 minutes/side, or until brown and flaky.

Ziploc Omlets

How fun is this???

Ziploc Omlets

You will need:
-2 eggs/person
-1 large ziplock/person
-cheese
-fillings (bacon, sausage, onions, tomato, etc etc etc!)
-Sharpee Marker

1. Write name on the outside of a Ziploc bag so everyone knows who's is who's.

2. Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the bag and shake to combine them.

3. Add choice of ingredients: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc.

4. Seal bag and shake for 15-30seconds.

5. Get all air out of the bag and zip it up.

6. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more, make another pot of boiling water.

7. Cut open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily.