Balsamic-Honey Chicken Drumsticks

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I love chicken wings as much as the next gal.  When we were in the States a fave treat was hitting up the local BWW.  (aka Buffalo Wild Wings) A yummy, sticky mess of wings and a nice beer.  sigh...
Okay, so no luck with the beer here, but I can make some sticky chicken!  Found this great recipe and didn't hesitate to give it a try.  
Beyond easy to make...through the ingredients in a bag, marinate for 2 hours, drop the legs on a baking sheet and 30 minutes later you've got a killer dinner.
This would make a great dish for your upcoming Super Bowl party!  (oh man, now I really miss the States...we're hoping to possibly get the game here, but well, we'd also have to get up at 2:30am to watch and not all that sure if we'll get the commercials here)
By the way...these legs should get even the pickiest eater to chow down!  (my little one sure loved them...see picture after recipe!)
Happy Cooking!

Pan Grilled Fish and Shrimp Tacos

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We've been living here in Saudi for 3 months (hubby for 6) and we still don't have a grill.  There has to be something seriously wrong about that.  I mean, for my 23rd birthday my dad gave me money to go an buy my own grill!  Surprisingly we seem to be getting on just fine without one.  We'll pick one up soon I suppose, but in the meantime I purchased one of those cute little pans with the raised bits to make cute little grill marks.
We went to the local fish market on Friday and bought some more prawns and grouper.  Cooked some up that day at a park BBQ, but left the rest at home.  If I was lucky enough to find tortillas at the store (around here you never know what you'll find at the store on a day to day basis), I knew I wanted to make fish and shrimp tacos.
So, I was one very happy lady when I found some salsa flavored tortillas.  As much as I would have preferred corn, I was just happy to get tortillas at all.
I just loved this recipe...but the best part was the Mango-Radish Salsa.  (click the link for the recipe) Oh my was that good.  I will be making these tacos again very soon!!  (wish I still had some left over!)

Mango-Radish Salsa

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This is the recipe for the salsa to go with my Pan Grilled Fish and Shrimp Tacos.  But, if you're like me...you may just find yourself eating this right out of the bowl.  I think it helped that I managed to pick out an extremely ripe mango that was super sweet.  But all the flavors mixed together just work.  Love the bit of kick from the chili powder.  

Try this with other fish dishes or even as a side dish by itself!  

Happy cooking!

Mango-Radish Salsa:

1 mango, diced
4 red radishes, diced small

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves chopped

1 lime, halved and juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Toss gently.  Add lime juice and toss again.  Season and refrigerate until ready to use. 

serve with Pan Grilled Fish and Shrimp Tacos

Honey and Spice Orange Chicken

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Surfing the net.  Looking for some new and interesting chicken dishes.  I get bored easily.  Need constant change in what I cook.  (a dish has to be seriously rockin' for me to cook it more than once a month.)
This one is pretty darn close.  I really enjoyed the stickiness of the honey and the flavors of the spices.  An easy dish to prepare and once it's in the oven you just need to baste every so often.  No monster cooking skills needed.
Serve up a nice side of couscous or a light salad and you've got a great meal that's budget friendly and kid friendly!  

Great Greek Salad

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It was our friends "the Greeks" (as we affectionately call them) turn to host dinner.  When asked what I could bring...she mentioned a nice salad.  
Well, last time I brought a leafy salad full of veggies.  This time I wanted something a bit different.  In an effort to impress the Greeks, I decided to try my hand at a nice light Greek salad.
The cucumbers you find here are the small ones, and they are super crunchy.  Toss in some kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, red onion, fresh tomatoes and feta and you've got yourself a super simple, super tasty salad.
Comes together fast and then just chill till ready to eat.  Give this one a try the next time you need a quick side!

Ingredients

• 6 small cucumbers, seeded and sliced
• 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• 3 cups diced roma tomatoes
• 1/3 cup diced oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, oil reserved
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (I had to use apple cider, but I think rice would be better)
• 1/2 tsp Greek Seasoning

Directions

1. In a large salad bowl, toss together the cucumbers, olives, roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, 2 tablespoons reserved sun-dried tomato oil, red onion, vinegar, and seasoning. 
2. Chill until serving. 
3.  Right before serving toss in the feta and stir to combine.

Chocolate-Rasberry Crescents

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There isn't much to do here in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia...so us ladies find ways to keep ourselves occupied.  One of those ways is to have a ladies get together once a month.  We all meet at a house just for us...nicknamed "the Little House" and have tea, coffee and snacks.  It's a lot of fun and we enjoy getting to visit.  Not to mention...the women here can COOK!  I mean, seriously, there are some amazing dishes each time.  (I'm never going to get in shape again at this rate!)  LOL
A few months back I signed up to get the Pillsbury daily email.  Usually its all kinds of pastry goodies that I know I shouldn't be making.  But, the other day they had some crescent rolls filled with fruit roll ups.  Man, did they look good.  Then I got depressed because I hadn't seen and refrigerated crescent rolls here.  (and there is no way I'm making those puppies from scratch...I'll leave that to my Greek friend here who is a killer baker).
Anyway, the other day the hubby had to run to the store and I asked him, in the off chance there might be some, to look for the crescent rolls.  He came home with two!!!  I was so happy.  I knew I was going to use them to make something for the ladies.
Now, I don't think I now a woman who doesn't like chocolate.  ;)  So I used some hazelnut spread and some chocolate with a creamy raspberry filling.  They turned out super yummy (or so I was told)  :)  I also made some with the hazelnut spread and peanut butter.  (hubby liked those better)  The only thing is that they didn't puff up and get super flaky.  I think the spread was a bit heavy.  Next time I may adjust the amount.  But all in all, they were a big hit. (and simple enough for my horrible baking skills to pull off!)  Now, here's the best part, you can really experiment and fill these with just about anything!  Plus...don't just think sweet...savory filling would be awesome too (I plan to try that next time I get my hands on more rolls).
Happy baking!  

Crispy Curried Roasted Chickpeas

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I'm always trying to find new snacks for my girls.  My youngest definitely has a soft spot for salty foods.  While I don't mind her getting a bit of salt now and then, I'd really rather it wasn't from a bag of chips.  I've seen recipes for chickpeas a few times and never got around to making them.  Today...well, I got around to it.
Incredibly simple to make, but the real question was whether or not my kids would want to nosh on them...
Taste tested....approved!!!  Rave results.  I love the curry flavor and the best part is that these little gems are extremely low-fat and packed with protein.
At the end of the recipe, check out some other great seasonings to try...lots of options here!  Have fun!
Happy snacking!  

soupe au pistou

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This is a wonderful veggie soup the hails from the South of France...(maybe I've been thinking too much of my upcoming trip).. :)
It's been hard to plan meals lately, but I am slowly getting back into the swing of things.  I borrowed this great cookbook from a friend here...all about soup.  I don't think she'll be getting it back any time soon!  (I've already book marked 15 recipes to try....and that was only halfway through!)  
*Note: this soup should stand a few hours before serving, so plan ahead.  Or make it the day before and pop it in the fridge.  :)
The Gouda and pesto added at the end just make the most perfect finish...I thinking I'm going to go and get another bowlful...