BBQ Potatoes

These potatoes are a perfect easy side to pretty much any meal. There is not one obvious taste or any overly strong flavors so they are perfect for serving to company, especially when you have several palates to please. 

I wrap these in tinfoil and place on the BBQ, but they could just as easily be cooked in the oven. For extra taste (and to be honest eye appeal) when they are close to being done I take them out of the foil and and place them on the BBQ to get some grill marks. If you know your family or guests are fans of spicy food add a little hot sauce in with the oil and lemon.

Serves 4

BBQ Potatoes

• 12 small potatoes, each washed and cut into 4 wedges (for baby potatoes use 24 and cut into halves)
• 1.5 Tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• s & p

* Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir well and wrap in tinfoil
* Cook in preheated BBQ at med-high for about 20 minutes (our family likes cooked but not soft potatoes, you may find you need to cook yours for longer to suit your tastes)
* Remove from foil and place on grill for 5 minutes, during this time turn potatoes 3 times to ensure grill marks on each side

Enjoy!

3 Dishes and A Pan

Sometimes it is a common thought that in order to have the tasty & healthy food we want, we have to sacrifice our time or we save our time and end up eating not so healthy fair. The following recipe is fast, super easy to make and if you double or triple it you can turn it into tomorrow and the next nights dinner and no one will be the wiser.

The first dish is the base for all the recipes. I prefer it cooked on the BBQ, but doing it in the oven works just as well. Dish #1 is perfect on top of salmon (check out my recipe here), or as a delicious vegetable side to any meal. The second is pasta sauce, which you could add ground beef to, should you choose to. The third is a version of the tomato soup recipe I shared previously.

Raw Tomato Mixture

Tomato Topping - Dish #1

• 1.5 pints of cherry tomatoes + 1 regular tomato (alternatively you could use 7 regular tomatoes)
• 1 medium sized onion, cut into thin strips
• 6 cloves of garlic, peel and cut in half
• EVOO, enough to thoroughly coat mixture
• s & p
• hot sauce, optional

 * Cut half of the cherry tomatoes in half, leave the other half whole. Cut the regular tomato into several chunks, about 8. Do the latter for all the tomatoes if not using any cherry tomatoes
* Combine all ingredients in bowl and stir.
* Bake in Pyrex baking dish in the oven at 400 for half an hour or until the tomatoes have wilted and the onions are soft. If cooking on the BBQ place it in aluminum tray and cover with foil, or put directly in foil and wrap so all the ends meet at the top (kind of like Wontons in Wonton soup) you can BBQ it at medium-high for 20-30 minutes (if you are making extras cook it all this way at once)

Tomato Topping on Salmon with a Side of Potatoes

Pasta Sauce - Dish #2

• cooked leftovers/extras from Dish #1
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 1 Tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 1 lb ground beef, browned (optional)

* Add spices to 'Tomato Topping' and warm on stove
* Use immersion blender or regular blender and blend until smooth and a sauce like consistency
* Cook pasta as you usually would and top with sauce 

Tomato Soup - Dish #3

• cooked leftovers/extras from Dish #1
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stocks, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups of soup stock or 4 cups of water + 1.5 bouillon cube(s)

* Combine all the ingredients in a pot on your stove, bring to a boil, then turn down and let simmer
* Remove bay leaf, and puree the mixture
 Voila... Soup!!! Makes a great lunch or starter for any dinner!

3 Minutes Prep, One Dish, 7 Ingredients = Dinner Delight

With the recent amazing weather who wants to come inside early to spend an hour cooking dinner? Not me and defiantly not my boys. The following recipe is one that I make in minutes, makes a generous amount and all of it, even the leftovers, are gobbled up! Tip: Double it and freeze some for lunches!

Chicken, Shrimp and Rice

• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cups water with 1 chicken bouillon cube or 2 cups chicken stock
• 6 chicken thighs, bone in
• 6-8 large shrimp, peeled
• 1 Tbsp taco seasoning
• 1/2 Tbsp jerk seasoning
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Preheat oven to 350
* Put all the above ingredients in a Pyrex baking dish (8.5x 8.5 is probably easiest), then stir
* Cover with tin foil and cook for approximately half an hour. Stir the ingredients about 3 times through out the cooking process to ensure even cooking. You may need to add slightly more water if it is evaporating before the rice is cooked. The end result should be a fairly moist rice, but not soupy
* Turn up for 10-14 minutes to 400 to ensure everything is cooked and most of the excess liquid is absorbed. Oven temperatures very so this is a general time.


Serve with a salad and a vegetable(s) on the side and enjoy...now wasn't that easy!!