Cilantro Grilled Chicken Thighs

Fortunately, both of us love cilantro (which I guess has a lot to do with living in Texas for 18 years) since that was one of the main ingredients in this grilled entree.  They do need to marinate for a couple of hours, so be sure to factor in the extra time.  Once they are marinated, all they need is some grill time over medium heat.  These turned out beautifully, crispy skin, char flavor, and juicy and tender inside.

I served these with an oven roasted vegetable medley, of carrots, rutabaga, onion and zucchini.

Cilantro Grilled Chicken Thighs
Make 2-3 servings

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1/2 cup cilantro, washed, dried and stems removed
6 mint leaves, washed and dried
Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sprinkle of crushed red pepper (optional)

In a food processor, combine cilantro, mint leaves, lemon juice, salt, pepper and the olive oil.  You may need more olive oil to make a smooth blend.

Place chicken thighs in a glass pan just big enough to hold them.  Cover them with the cilantro mixture and marinate, covered in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Preheat grill to medium heat.  Grill chicken thighs for about 30 minutes, turning them every 5 minutes until done to 160 degrees.


Slightly adapted from Sweet Cheeks

Our rating:

Coconut Cod with Mango Salsa

I love it when I find a local market with some good looking (and smelling) fresh fish.  Really fresh fish should smell like the ocean and not very fishy.  The cod I bought was nice and fresh.  I seasoned it with salt and pepper and coated it with coconut flour and simply sauteed them in coconut oil.  I sauteed them over medium heat on each side until golden brown (about 5 minutes on each side).  I rounded out the tropical feel by topping it with a mango salsa.  Our sides were pureed cauliflower and oven roasted broccoli.

Coconut Cod with Mango Salsa
Makes 2-3 servings

3/4-1 pound cod fillets
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons coconut oil

For the salsa
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
1/4 cup finely diced red onion (I used white since that's what I had on hand)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare salsa, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let flavors blend.

Season fish with salt and pepper and coat with coconut flour.  Melt coconut oil in saute pan over medium heat and saute fish for about 5 minutes per side until golden brown.  Serve topped with the mango salsa.


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Lamb Lettuce Wraps

I love creating warm things that you can put in a lettuce leaf, roll up and crunch away on.  This one had pieces of lamb that were sauteed in coconut oil, topped with tomatoes and cucumbers and drizzled with a sauce made with avocado as the base for a tzatziki instead of yogurt.  These were delicious and I loved the way all the flavors blended together with the contrast of the warm meat and the cold, crunchy lettuce.

Lamb Lettuce Wraps
Makes 2-3 servings

1 pound lamb stew meat
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4-6 large romaine lettuce leaves, cleaned
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (or regular tomato, diced)
1/2 cucumber, finely diced
1 lemon, cut in half

Avo-Ziki Sauce
1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup grated cucumber
1 small clove garlic, grated
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped

In a small mixing bowl, season the lamb with sea salt, black pepper and oregano.  In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the coconut oil and then place the lamb pieces in the pan.  Cook the lamb approximately 2-3 minutes until it is browned on one side and flip to brown the other side for another 2 minutes or so.

Once the meat is cooked, chop it into 1/2-inch pieces.

Place the romaine lettuce leaves onto serving plates and top with the chopped lamb, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber.  Squeeze lemon over each lettuce leaf, then drizzle with the Avo-Ziki Sauce.

For the Avo-Ziki Sauce
Combine all ingredients in a small food processor or with a hand blender.

Slightly adapted from Practical Paleo

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Perfect Roast Chicken

There is nothing like the crisp, salty skin and juicy cooked interior of a perfectly roast chicken. 

I have played with different recipes over the years and always come back to this simple preparation.  I take a whole organic chicken and rinse it all over and dry it well with paper towels.  I like to season the inside with salt and pepper and insert a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme.  I brush the outside with a mixture of melted butter with dried herbs and salt and pepper generously.  I put the whole bird in a 375 oven for 20 minutes and brush again with more herbed butter.  Roast for another 20 minutes and then baste with the juices from the roasting pan and roast for another 20 minutes (twice).  I butter or baste every 20 minutes for a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes to 30 minutes until the temperature reads 160 degrees in the thigh.  This turns out the perfect roast chicken for me.  I served the chicken with a mashed root vegetable mixture and some rainbow colored carrots.

Perfect Roast Chicken
Makes 4 servings

1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds)
3 tablespoons organic grass-fed butter
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (rubbed in the palm of your hand to crush and release the oils)
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter and stir in herbs until well combined.  Brush half of butter mixture over chicken set in a roasting pan.  Place in oven for 20 minutes.  Brush chicken with remaining butter mixture and roast again for 20 minutes.  Baste chicken with juices/butter mixture in bottom of pan and roast for another 20 minutes.  Baste again and roast again for another 20 minutes.  Check chicken with meat thermometer in thigh (it should register 160 degrees).  If not done, continue roasting and basting in 10 minute increments until done. 


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Lemon Turkey Tenderloin

I found some local, organic turkey breast tenderloins at the market and decided to cook them this way which turned out beautifully.  It was a very simple process of creating a marinade with Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, lemon zest, thyme and garlic powder.  I let the turkey marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature and then placed them on a parchment lined baking sheet.  They went into a moderate oven for about 45 minutes and then allowed to rest for about 20 minutes.  This gave us a nicely flavored, perfectly moist piece of meat.  Our sides were oven roasted yams and broccoli.

Lemon Turkey Tenderloin
Makes 3-4 servings

1 (1 1/2 pound) turkey tenderloin
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Cut tenderloin in half crosswise.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  In small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix well.  Spread over all sides of the turkey.  Cover and marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes, or refrigerate up to 24 hours.

When ready to eat, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place tenderloins on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Roast turkey for 45-55 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees.  Remove from oven, cover with foil, and let stand 8-10 minutes before serving.


Slightly adapted from Busy Cooks

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Copper River Salmon

While we were in Billings, Montana, I found a co-op type store called Good Earth Market which I loved.  The produce was either organic or locally grown and they had a wonderful selection of organic, grass-fed meats.  They also had a limited supply of fresh Copper River Salmon.  The season is only 3-4 weeks long so it is wise to buy it whenever you see it.  We snagged a whole fresh salmon, weighing about 4 pounds (which will give us several meals) and were thrilled at the price of $9.99 per pound.  Gerry cut the fish up into 4 salmon steaks (two of which we had for dinner that night) and 4 fillets (probably 10-12 ounces each).  We individually wrapped and froze all the extra salmon to enjoy at least once a week for several weeks.  What an unexpected bonus at a little local market!

I served the salmon steaks with oven roasted asparagus spears.

Seared Salmon Steaks
Makes 2 servings

2 salmon steaks
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Butter, organic grass-fed
Lemon Wedges, optional 

Combine the sea salt, lemon zest, thyme and black pepper in  a small bowl.  Rub seasoned salt mixture on both sides of the salmon steaks.  Heat a skillet (I used cast iron) over medium high heat, melt butter and sear salmon for 3 minutes.  Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until done to your preference.   Serve with lemon wedges.


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Wyoming and Montana

As I mentioned last Sunday, we traveled to Casper, Wyoming.  We found Wyoming to be quite mountainous to travel through and very windy.  We quickly realized that we could not keep any of our awnings out during our stay.  My first full day in Casper, I decided to explore the town a little and visited the Fort Caspar Museum.  I learned a lot about the history of Wyoming and found this Fort to be part of the Oregon Trail.  In addition to the museum building they also had an area of the reconstructed fort showing a quite accurate display of what daily life would have been like.  I actually spent a couple of hours at this museum.

Glad my kitchen in the motor home is more user-friendly than this one!

The next day I visited three different museums and enjoyed each one even though they were quite different.  I started with the Tate Geological Museum, which is housed on the grounds of Casper College.  I then toured the Werner Wildlife Museum where I learned about the wildlife indigenous to Wyoming.  I finished my day at the Veterans Memorial Museum, which covered everything from World War 1 through Desert Storm.

Me and Dee, the Mammoth

We traveled from Casper, Wyoming to Billings, Montana. Once we familiarized ourselves with the area, we found time for the following:

A round of golf at Yegen Golf Club

A driving tour of the Rimrocks (a range of rocks that form a ridge around the town)

A tour of Moss Mansion

A visit to the Pictograph Caves

Golf at Yegen Golf Club

The Rimrocks

The Moss Museum

There were quite a few options of things to visit in the Billings area and these were just a few of the spots.

Today, we traveled from Billings to Missoula still in Montana and can’t wait to start exploring.  The scenery between the two cities is filled with mountain ranges (some snow-capped) with meandering rivers along the route.  I think this is the most picturesque state so far with Colorado coming in a close second.