Grilled Summer Sandwich with Garlic-Herb Mayonnaise

This sandwich may not look like anything special, but it is worth it's weight in gold! Who knew that zucchini would be so yummy in a BBQ chicken sandwich. And....oh, man.....the mayo has to be the best thing about it all! I really am not a fan of mayo, but when you add garlic, lemon juice and all kinds of herbs....yeah, I'm sold!

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recipe from my favorite grilling cookbook, Modern Grilling

serves 4-6 depending on the breast size

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4 chicken breasts, pounded flat
1/4 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
4-6 of your favorite sandwich rolls
olive oil
1 zucchini cut in thin slices lengthwise
4-6 slices of Havarti cheese (about 1/4-1/2 pound)
Garlic-Herb Mayo (recipe below)
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Preheat grill to medium
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Barbecue your chicken for about 4 minutes per side, make sure you coat it well with barbecue sauce. When cooked through, remove from grill and set aside.
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Brush a little olive oil on the cut side of each of your rolls and brown on the grill (oiled side down). Grill zucchini at the same time (without olive oil).
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Now put your sandwich together. Layer on your chicken, zucchini and then the Havarti. Place back on the grill to melt the cheese. Watch it closely! Remove from heat and spread on your Garlic-Herb Mayo and enjoy!
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Garlic-Herb Mayonnaise
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3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1-2 cloves of crushed garlic (I love garlic so 2 was perfect for us.)
3-4 drops of Tabasco sauce (optional, we didn't use it)
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Whisk all the ingredients together and serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. DELICIOUS!

Ham Steak with Peach-Mustard Glaze

Ham steaks....I've never heard of ham steaks and had no idea where to find them at wal-mart, but my friend, Suzanne, knew exactly where they were. In the middle refrigerated section between the cheese and cereal. Huh, I had no idea I was walking by them for so many years. I've really been missing out! These were awesome!
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ingredients:
(serves 4...we doubled it and had some leftovers)
3 tablespoons peach preserves
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
A good pinch of ground dried ginger
1 ham steak (1-1 1/2 pounds)
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Preheat barbecue to medium-high. In a small bowl, combine preserves, mustard powder, oil, and ginger; stir to blend. Pat ham steak dry with paper towels. Make small cuts at 1" intervals around the edges of ham; this prevents curling during cooking.
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Place ham on the BBQ; cook for about 4 minutes- don't close the grill. Turn ham and brush on half of the preserve mixture. Cook for about 4 minutes. Turn ham and brush with remaining preserve mixture. Cook for about 3 minutes, then turn and cook for about 3 more minutes, or until ham is heated through and nicely glazed.
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We grilled some fresh zucchini from our garden to go with our meal. We just sprayed them down with vegetable oil and seasoned with lemon pepper. They stayed on the grill the whole time the ham was cooking. They were so yummy!

Asparagus Pizza

There are very few things that I miss from living in Stockton. One is the Asparagus Pizza that Dante's serves every spring. Oh, how I miss their crust.....but this is as close as I can get to having that pizza.
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What you'll need:

Your favorite pizza dough (I like to use Rhodes frozen dough)

A little olive oil

1 Tbs. cornmeal

A package of McCormick's hollandaise sauce (prepared according to the package)

8-12 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

6 oz. Canadian style bacon

5-8 spears of asparagus, sliced into 1 inch pieces (microwave for 2 min. before adding to the pizza)

1 tomato, slice it, remove seeds and pat it dry with a paper towel (I only get to put tomatoes on half of my pizza...silly Wayne isn't such a huge fan.)

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare pan by brushing with a little olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll or stretch dough to fit your pizza pan. Brush on the hollandaise sauce (I only used half of the sauce. You can save the rest to make this amazingly delicious breakfast pizza http://deliciousdixie.blogspot.com/2010/05/breakfast-pizza.html). Sprinkle on half of your cheese then top with Canadian bacon, asparagus and the remaining cheese.

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Bake for 10 minutes, add the tomato slices, bake for another 10 minutes or until cooked through. I like to take the pizza off the pan for the last 5-10 minutes to add a little crunch to my crust. And there you have it....a pizza that brings back all kinds of happy thoughts for me.

Black Bottom Banana Bars

So this is my first blog post EVER! So if it doesn't look right, you'll know why! Karen I'm afraid you'll have to do without a picture and just be grateful I'm finally posting something. I could go take a picture of the last one in the pan (since I'm so kindly saving it for my hubby), but it's late, I had the urge to post something, and I don't want that urge to go away. But trust me, if you like banana bread or anything of the sort, you'll love these! Here's the recipe:

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar (I usually reduce by about 1/4 c., especially if the bananas are extra ripe)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (I did 1 c. white and 1/2 c. wheat flour and didn't notice a difference at all; leave it to me to try and healthify any recipe)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. baking cocoa

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla; beat until thoroughly combined. Blend in the bananas. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide batter in half. Add cocoa to half and mix well. Spread cocoa mixture into a greased 13x9x2 baking pan. Spoon remaining batter on top and swirl with a knife until it looks marbly. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until the bars test done. Cool (or just eat right when they come out of the oven--I mean, who really waits for things to cool anyway?).

My kids enjoy smashing the bananas and stirring up the dry ingredients in recipes like this.

So there you go. I did it!

Bok Choy Cabbage Salad

5 c. bok choy cabbage, chopped into 1" - 1 1/2" pieces
1 bunch green onions, chopped, green & all

DRESSING:

1/2 c. oil
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 c. sugar

Shake well in a bottle before adding to cabbage. Mix cabbage and dressing and refrigerate before serving. Add noodle mixture.

NOODLE MIXTURE: Lightly brown 1/4 cup butter; add 3/4 cup slivered almonds, 2 packages Ramen noodles and sunflower seeds. Mix well and cool. Later add to cabbage.

Chicken with Bok Choy

8 oz. chicken thighs

3/4 tbsp. soy sauce

3/4 tbsp. cornstarch
1 lb. Bok Choy
1/2 c. water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 slice ginger root
4 slices garlic

1 tbsp. oyster sauce (or soy saucer)

1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. water

Slice the chicken and place in a medium mixing bowl or large zilpoc bag; add the soy sauce and cornstarch and mix; set aside for later use.

Heat the wok (or pan) then add 4 tablespoons oil; stir fry Bok Choy with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup water until it becomes limp, remove from heat and set aside.

Heat the wok (or pan) then add 4 tablespoons oil, stir fry the ginger root and garlic until fragrant, stir fry the chicken slices until cooked. Add the remaining indgredients, turn heat to high and stir quickly to mix. Remove and place on top of the Bok Choy (or mix with Bok Choy).