Pan Grilled Parmesan Romaine

Have you ever grilled romaine lettuce? Hmm...me neither. I've seen recipes for it and my Mom has been telling me about how good it is for years! So I finally did it and you really have to try it to believe it! This humble lettuce transforms into a next level side dish!

Ingredients for 3 servings:

3 romaine heart halves 

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

coarse ground pepper

dried oregano

Clean and dry the romaine using paper towels. Cut in half leaving the core intact as much as possible and remove any wilted leaves.

Brush both sides all over with olive oil. Grill in a large skillet starting with cut side down for 2 minutes on medium heat. Carefully turn over and cook 2 more minutes. Drizzle with balsamic and sprinkle with parmesan, black pepper and oregano.

Serve immediately

Follow hotandcoldrunningmom on Pinterest. You can scan the pincode seen here with your phone if you're on a desktop. If you're on a phone just screenshot it, go to the Pinterest app, click camera. Then instead of taking a pic use the option to use one of your photos. Click on the screenshot you just took and go right to my Pinterest profile where you can follow me 🙂

Sweet and Sour Glazed Shrimp

This fakeout takeout has the perfect blend of sweet and sour and is another recipe ready in under 30 minutes!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp avocado oil

3/4 lb shrimp, we used size 16/20

salt and pepper

2 tbsps Chinese plum sauce

2 tbsps ketchup

1 tsp soya sauce

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp finely chopped onion

2 tbsps finely chopped sweet red pepper

2 tsps minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1 1/2 tbsps rice wine vinegar

Clean and prepare the shrimp, then salt and pepper them and set aside for a minute. Combine the plum sauce, ketchup, soya sauce and red pepper flakes.

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink on all sides, about 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate.

To the same skillet add the onion, sweet red pepper, garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add the rice wine vinegar to de-glaze the pan, then add the sauce and bring to a simmer.

Return the shrimp to the pan and toss together to coat. Then ready to serve over rice.

Serves 2-3

Adapted from Food Network's recipe of the same name.

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

 A long, slow cooking time gives this braised beef it's savory, fall off the bone goodness!

Ingredients:

1 lb chuck short ribs, Korean cut

salt and pepper

2 tbsps olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 tsps minced garlic

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 tbsps tomato paste

2 cups red wine

1 cup beef broth

2 or 3 bay leaves

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tsps cornstarch

2 tsps cold water

chopped celery tops to garnish

Salt and pepper the ribs then heat olive oil in an oven proof skillet. Brown the ribs well, cooking about 2 minutes on each side. I had 4 pieces so I browned them in two batches. Once they are well seared remove them to a plate.

In the same skillet add the onion and cook 1 minute before adding the garlic. Stir together and add the celery and carrots. Cook 4-5 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste. Add the red wine and broth, along with the bay leaves and dried thyme.

Return the beef to the pot and submerge in the liquid.

Cover with a lid and place in a 325°F oven for 2-3 hours.  Remove meat and keep warm. Taste the sauce to see if it needs more salt or pepper then combine the cornstarch and cold water and whisk into the pot. Bring to a boil for 1 minute to slightly thicken. (You can skip this thickening step if you choose)

Top with chopped celery leaves to serve.

Mashed potatoes goes best with all that gravy! And if you have left over gravy save it to use over hamburger patties the next day.

Serves 4

Sesame Chicken and Noodles

 Easy, healthy and ready in 30 minutes or less!

Ingredients:

8 oz whole wheat pasta

1 lb ground chicken

2 cups thinly chopped kale

1 1/2 tsps sesame oil

1 sweet red pepper, sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

3 tsps minced garlic

1 small onion, thinly sliced

Sauce:

1 tsp lime juice

1 1/2 tsps sesame oil

1 1/2 tsps honey

1 tsp peanut butter

1 tbsp water

Seasoning mix:

2 tsps brown sugar

1 tsp salt

3 tsps sesame seeds

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp pepper

Blend the brown sugar, salt, sesame seeds, garlic powder, ginger and pepper together and set aside. Cook the spaghetti noodles as directed on package.

Then heat 1 1/2 tsps sesame oil in a large frying pan and start browning the chicken. Add the onions and garlic and 1/2 of the seasoning mix. Break up the chicken and cook until no pink remains.

Add celery, sweet pepper and kale and cook 2-3 minutes.

Add the drained spaghetti. Combine the sauce ingredients and pour into the pan. Toss to coat and heat 1-2 minutes.

Ready in no time!

Serves 4

Sweet Kale Salad

Kale has been one of my best producers in the garden this summer and it's still going strong!

Ingredients:

2 cups packed, chopped kale

2 cups packaged coleslaw mix, or shredded cabbage/carrot

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds

2 tbsps chopped walnuts

Dressing:

1/4 cup avocado oil

3 tbsps apple cider vinegar

2 tbsps orange juice

1 1/2 tbsps honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp sesame or poppy seeds

Mix the kale, coleslaw, cranberries, seeds and walnuts together in a large bowl. Then whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad.

Toss and combine well then refrigerate. This salad will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. (Actually better on the second day than the first)

Serves 6 as a side.

Great with this Honey Jerk Salmon!

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2020/09/honey-jerk-salmon.html

Honey Jerk Salmon

 Ok gather up your fish haters! They won't be able to resist this one!

Ingredients:

2 tbsps extra light olive oil

4 salmon fillets

1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt

1 tsp dried thyme 

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp powdered garlic

1/4 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

zest of 1/2 lemon

2 tbsps brown sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

4 tbsps honey

4 tbsps water

First, pat the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel. Then combine everything from the salt to the brown sugar inclusive. Massage this mixture into both sides of the fish.

                                      

Add the lemon juice, spooning some onto each fillet. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F

In an oven proof pan (I wish mine had more shallow sides!) heat the oil to medium high. Cook the salmon for 4 minutes then gently turn them over and place in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.

Mix the honey and water together. Bring the pan back to the stove top and pour the honey/water in.

Again cook on medium high heat until the liquid starts to bubble, then reduce to low heat and baste until fully coated, 2-3 minutes.

Serve drizzled with any remaining glaze from the pan and some of your favourite sides. Here I've got rice and peas along with a Sweet Kale Salad (link to the recipe below)

Here's the link to my Sweet Kale Salad

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2020/09/sweet-kale-salad.html

Adapted from: fitsoulkitchen.com 

Painting a Brick Fireplace

My husband built this fireplace many moons ago and we decided it needed an update. I read up on whitewashing brick and we agreed that was the way to go.

It didn't take too long to do, but longer than most posts I read implied. They say you can paint your brick fireplace in about 1 hour. Well, that is true... sort of. My husband did all the prep work (taping and papering) which took about 1 1/2 hours. And he painted all the black stuff, two coats. So another 30-60 minutes. Then the painting of the brick took me about 1 1/2 hours (so about an hour of actual brick painting as they claim). I'd say you're looking at more like 3 or 4 hours in total, but it's definitely worth it!

He removed the black vents then papered and taped everything else, leaving the brass doors uncovered as they were going to get painted as well.

I stirred together 1 part white latex ceiling paint with 3 parts water, mixed very well. I used only about 1 cup of paint or less before adding water. Using a small piece of sponge I tapped on the paint, wiping any drips that happened right away and trying not to have them happen at all.

Didn't load the paint mixture on the sponge. Just a little goes a long way.

Once finished I stood back to see how it looked. They say you can go back and put a second or third coat on, but we like how the colours of the bricks still come through so we stopped at one coat.

My husband used this Rust-Oleum High Heat spray paint used for painting barbecues to paint all the black parts of the fireplace along with the brass doors to give it a more modern look.

We can't get over how much brighter the room looks!