Summer Salmon with Summer Veggies!!!

Tonight's salmon couldn't have made Joe any happier!!! He's monitoring my every move when it comes to using sugar, carbs, or any kind of gratuitous, flavorful calories of any kind... YIKES! But tonight... he's happy!!! All protein and veggies and super delish!!!! Tonight I started by prepping my veggies: 2 summer squash (yellow) and 2 zucchini. I sliced the squash about a half inch thick but I didn't stop there! I chopped 2 red peppers and one bunch of asparagus. Next I drizzled all my veggies with a little olive oil, salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, and tossed to coat. Then, I parked my veggies on the counter. I'll cook them last while the salmon rests.... so on to the salmon!!!! I do salmon this way because it's so easy, tasty, and never disappoints! Never dry, ever!! I lined a baking sheet with foil and topped with a rack that I sprayed with oil. I buy my salmon with the skin on because it adds so much flavor and keeps the fish moist and delicious! Lay the salmon skin side down and brush with a little olive oil, salt, fresh black pepper, garlic powder, and the zest of 2 lemons. This was 3 pound of salmon, so we needed 2 lemons. Set your oven to 400 degrees and get ready for some salmon awesomeness!! So, after 15 minutes at 400 degrees, this was my reward!! Now you know the mantra... let that fish REST for at least 10 minutes covered in foil while you cook your veggies! You will be rewarded with tender juicy salmon that will make you a happy fish eater! Do it! Now pop veggies in that 400 degree oven for 10 minutes while your salmon rests. The fish has rested... the veggies are ready, and time to eat!!! Dinner Joe's way, lots of salmon with lots of veggies! Super satisfying and full of flavor!!! Or dinner Stevie's way... delicious, tender, meaty salmon with roasted summer veggies and brown basmati rice. Make it your way... but make it soon!

Chipotle Wings with Creamy Blue Cheese Dip!!

Crispy spicy chipotle wings with home made blue cheese dip... YES PLEASE!!! Couldn't be any easier or tastier with this home made blue cheese dip! Sooooo GOOD! Cue wings... Tonight I had about 3 pounds of monster size wings... and I couldn't be happier! I lined my sheet pan with foil and seasoned those wings with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some chipotle seasoning. If you don't have chipotle seasoning, you could sprinkle on some smoked paprika and crushed red pepper... they're wings... they'll be delicious no matter what we sprinkle on them!!! Cook in a 400 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes. These were huge, so these took 45 minutes! And this is what we got!!!! Yessssss! Next up... some cool tasty dip!! Now, after tonight, I will NEVER BUY blue cheese dressing again!!! This dressing was crazy-good!! Now I can't exactly call this "lite" blue cheese dressing, but it's WAY lower in fat than traditional blue cheese, and tastes freakin' incredible!! And soooooo easy!! In a medium size mixing bowl, I dropped half a cup of mayonnaise, half a cup of lite sour cream, quarter cup of lowfat buttermilk, about 4 oz. of blue cheese (maytag... oh my!!) crumbled, about 3 tablespoons (handful) of fresh parsley chopped, fresh ground pepper and a pinch of salt. After adding everything to the bowl, I mixed it up with a wooden spoon while pressing some of those big chunks of blue cheese on the side of the bowl to mash together and combine. Worth repeating... I will NEVER buy bottled blue cheese dressing again... thank you maytag blue cheese, lowfat buttermilk and lite sour cream.... 'nuff said!!!! If you like hot wings with blue cheese dressing, but hate the guilt... these are for you! YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE how good these tasty, crispy wings pair with the blue cheese dip! Time to EAT! Happy Gremlin wing lover signing off... napkins please!!

Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Garlicky Shrimp!!

I could eat this EVERY NIGHT! Seriously garlicky pasta with fresh tomatoes, spinach and tender shrimp topped with fresh grated cheese and basil! YUM! Here's how simple this is... pick your favorite pasta and cook according to the package directions. Meanwhile, chop 2 large tomatoes and 4 cloves garlic (6 for me). I also add one package of baby spinach and one pound of shrimp to the pasta with about half a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. After the pasta has cooked drain and pour a little olive oil on top so it doesn't stick. Now, add the garlic and about 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil to the pasta pot over medium heat. Let the garlic heat through for about a minute, and add all the rest of the ingredients! Toss everything together and get ready for some fresh, tasty, garlicky, healthy summer pasta! Top with some fresh grated parmesean cheese and fresh basil... as much as you like! I wanted a little crunch, so I add a few pine nuts on top... and voila... Super light, super delish, and addictive enough for every night!

Calzones! Now That's Amore!!

What better way to use leftovers than tucked inside a golden crust topped with ooey gooey cheese? Tonight, that's just what we did! Tonight we had leftover chicken and broccoli and added provolone and mozzarella cheese, but you can add almost anything you like! Literally anything, ham, sausage, bacon, spinach, tomato, peppers, mushrooms, and almost any kind of cheese! I follow this simple formula, one handful meat, one handful cheese, and one handful of veg... simple! You can use prepared pizza dough or bread dough, but dough is literally so simple, I make it a lot. Just make sure you have about an hour to let it rise. Start with 1 cup of warm water, 2 teaspoons of dry/active yeast and one tiny squirt of honey OR a pinch of sugar. Park this on the counter and give the yeast 10 minutes to bloom (wake up). After 10 minutes it will look like this: Nice and foamy and ready to rock that dough! Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the water and yeast and add that whole thing to 3 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of salt. I used my processor to mix the dough (quick!!), but you can use a bread machine or do it by hand. Mix until everything is smooth and combined. I knead my dough for about 2-3 minutes. You could knead for 10-15, but I'm too impatient. Oil the dough with spray or olive oil, cover, and let it sit and double in size for about an hour. When the dough is ready, divide into 4 equal parts (or more for smaller calzones). Form dough into a flat circle with your hands and roll out with a rolling pin until it's about the size of a frisbee. FILLING!! I started with 2 slices of provolone cheese, topped with handful of chicken, a pinch of red onions, handful of broccoli, and topped with another handful of mozzarella! Put filling on half of your dough so you can fold the other half over the top and seal the sides together. I used a tiny but of water on my fingertip to dab on the perimeter of the dough to help it stick together. Set your oven to 400 degrees. Transfer the calzones on to a baking sheet and brush with egg-wash (egg and water). Put some slits in the crust to let out steam. To put these over the top, I added a sprinkle of grated parmesean cheese to the crust, and it was totally worth it! My calzones were humongous, and took about 25 to 30 minutes to cook. If yours are smaller, they may only take 15-20 minutes. When you see a golden brown crust and a warm bubbly filling, you'll know they're done! We had some left over red sauce for dipping on the side. You can use what ever you like! The better the sauce, the better the calzone! One of these could easily serve 2 for dinner, or 3-4 as an appetizer. I live in a locker room full of hungry boys, so we each managed to devour one entire ginourmous calzone... Gremlin style. Leftovers never looked so good!

99 Degrees!! Cool Creamy Chicken Salad Tonight!

It's 99 degrees... And cool creamy chicken salad is what's for dinner tonight! Now we like variety in this Gremlin House... and everyone likes to make dinner "their way", so some had salad, some had sandwiches on tasty ciabatta rolls, and everyone loved it! To start our chicken salad, I poached my boneless chicken breasts in enough water just to cover. I salted the water (at least 1 tablespoon) and simmered that chicken for about 30 minutes... no more! While the chicken cooks, slice 4 stalks of celery super thin and add to a big mixing bowl. They might be lonely now, but not for long! Take 1/2 cup of both pecans and walnuts and toast in a 350 degree oven for 7 minutes. Take the time to do this... it's totally worth it! Like I said, that celery is about to have some company!!! Take your favorite brand of dried cranberries and get ready to add 1/2 cup to the nuts and celery! Now that's some serious flavor getting ready for some chicken salad greatness... Cue chicken!! After 30 minutes take the chicken out of the water and let cool a bit until you can handle it. OH... and that water you cooked your chicken in... SAVE THAT!!! Strain the liquid and save that savory chicken stock for soups or sauces later! Better than any chicken stock you'll EVER buy! And super easy! Back to the salad!! I used my hands to break apart that chicken into flaky bite size pieces and added it to the cast of characters known as nuts, celery and cranberries.... and it was a match made in heaven! Now, to add some sauce to bind it all together! Mix 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of sour cream (lite for me), 1/4 cup buttermilk (lowfat), 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper together and add to the chicken salad! Mix together and get ready for the best chicken salad you've ever had.... and have it your way! Tucked into a toasted ciabatta roll with sweet greens, or... Top your salad of greens, carrots, cucumber, and whatever you like, with that creamy, nutty, tasty chicken salad!! Either way, you'll be glad you DID! One cool delicious chicken salad dinner for a hot summer night!

Grilled Chipotle Chicken Sandwiches in Ciabatta Rolls with Slaw!

How does fresh, lean grilled chipotle chicken sound? Now pair that with some crispy crunchy slaw on ciabatta rolls with some pasta salad on the side and you have one summer dinner fit for a champion! Now when I say fit for a champion... you know I'm talkin' about Stevie and our Astros!! 13-1 regular season record and they took first seed in the playoff series and just won best out of 3!! GO ASTROS! So here's what this champion had for his celebration dinner!! Tonight we had these incredible grilled chicken sandwiches.... but first, let's make some tasty sides!! First up, pasta salad. I chopped half of an English cucumber, one red pepper, about 1 cup of broccoli (which I blanched with the pasta for the last minute of cooking), about 1/4 cup of diced red onion, about 2 tablespoons chopped chives, one quart cherry tomatoes, quartered, and one pound of pasta. You can use what ever you like, we picked rotini, and cooked according to the directions (and added that broccoli for the last minute), and drained. To dress that pasta salad, after a long afternoon on the ball field (and loving every minute) we cheated. Not proud, just honest! We pulled out that super fancy ranch dressing and poured about one half cup (or enough to coat) on all that pasta salad goodness. Toss everyone together and park until ready to serve! Next up... slaw! Now, if you ever eat "Gremlin-style", you know about this slaw. We consider slaw super tasty and healthy and eat it A LOT!!!! WITH EVERYTHING!! Today was no different. Thinly slice half one red cabbage, green cabbage, half of one red onion, shredded carrots, and about half a bunch of cilantro (or about 1/4 cup, leaves only, no stems)! Like I said before... been hanging at the ball field all day... so... I cheated... again. Not proud, just sayin'. To dress that slaw we used Maries Chipotle Ranch dressing, and we loved it! Last but not least, time to grill the chicken breasts! Tonight, I butterflied those breasts so they were about half an inch thick and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chipotle seasoning. Grill for about 3 minutes per side, or until tender and just cooked through! Now let that tender, juicy chicken rest for at least 10 minutes! JUST DO IT! This is where I fight off hungry boys like a Ninja Warrior, as they try and make their way to the grilled chicken... JUST WAIT! It will be better in 10 minutes! Dinner Joe's way... grilled chipotle chicken on toasted ciabatta roll with slaw and pasta salad on the side! Delish! Or Stevie's way... with a side of tasty Cape Cod chips to boot! Either way, you'll love the grilled tastiness of super lean chipotle chicken with creamy cool pasta salad... AND... our play-off ready ASTROS!! Anyone else LOVING summer as much as we are??? BOOM!