Simply Boulder Lemon Pesto, 2/3 cup

Place vegetables in boiling water.  After boiling for approximately 10 minutes, drain water.  Pour the Simply Boulder Lemon Pesto in with the vegetables and simmer for approximately 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

Bored with traditional pizzas, yesterday I experimented with an Asian pizza using our peanut sauce.  I wasn’t sure how it would turn out since it sounds kind of strange, but it was fantastic.  Not only did the ingredient combinations taste delicious, but it had a terrific gluten free crust.

For the first time I used Namaste Foods gluten free pizza crust mix.  When I was making the pizza crust, I was unsure how good it would be.  It’s unlike most pizza crust mixes since it has the consistency of pancake batter before baking instead of the more traditional pizza dough consistency.  But, somehow it turns out excellent.  It was a moist and fluffy, yet didn’t get soggy after the pizza was made. I’d even highly recommend this pizza crust mix for people that aren’t on a gluten free diet.  It’s just as good as the pizza crusts with gluten and was the best pizza crust mix I’ve ever had.

As a note, I originally thought mozzarella cheese with the coconut peanut sauce would be strange and about left off the cheese.  This would have been a big mistake since the cheese goes great on this pizza and it wouldn’t be as good with out it.  Regarding the rest of the ingredients, I kept it pretty simple and only had chicken, red bell peppers, and cheese as toppings.  I think diced red onion and cilantro would go really well on it too.

3 garlic cloves, minced

Either dice the chicken breasts or cut into small slices.  Place olive oil in a pan or wok on medium heat.  When oil is hot add chicke,  garlic, salt, and pepper.  Cook approximately 5-10 minutes until cooked completely.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Bake the pizza crust according to the directions on the Namaste package.  Spread a layer of coconut peanut sauce on the crust.  I used 2/3rds of a bottle, however the amount depends on how much sauce is desired.  Top with red bell pepper, chicken, and cheese.

Bake pizza for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

This healthy recipe is perfect for the holidays.  Although our recipe calls for the pork chops being stuffed with “stuffing” it would also be delicious stuffed with vegetables.  As mentioned on the ingredient list it also calls for day old gluten free bread.  Of course it’s just as good with the regular bread that contains gluten.  Plus, it’s also possible to cheat and use the prepackaged stuffing that can be found in grocery stores, although I prefer to make it from scratch.

Regarding the cooking method, I prefer to grill pork chops.  Since it’s the middle of winter I’m sure there are a lot of people that would prefer to cook inside.  If that’s the case the pork chops could either be broiled or baked.  If the broiling method is used the cooking time should be about the same as mentioned below since it’s the same thing as grilled except the heat source comes from the top.  If the pork chops are baked I’d use a 350 degree oven and cook approximately 30 minutes or until completely done.

Simply Boulder Culinary Sauces Pineapple Ginger

Preheat grill or broiler.

In a small saucepan or skillet sauté the onion and celery in butter until tender.  Add enough salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and mix in the bread cubes.  Set aside.

Mince the kumquats and place in a saucepan.  The nice thing about kumquats is all parts can be used and nothing is wasted.  The inside is tart and the skin is sweet and together it’s really delicious.  After the minced kumquats are added to the sauce pan pour approximately 1 cup of Simply Boulder Pineapple Ginger to the pan and stir.  Turn heat on low and cover.  After about 5-10 minutes of simmering turn heat off and set aside.

Cut a slit in the side of the pork loin chops to hold the stuffing.  Instead of doing this yourself, it’s also possible to have a butcher perform this task.  The slit should only be visible on one side of the pork chop and it should go through most of the meat without poking through to another side.

Take the stuffing and stuff the inside of each pork chop.  The stuffing should stay in place well without the use of a toothpick.  Place pork chops on the grill and cook for approximately 10 minutes per side or until completely cooked.

Remove pork chops from the grill and drizzle with the pineapple ginger kumquat sauce.

This is a delicious and healthy salad that’s perfect for a meal or a side. It can easily be modified to be vegetarian by removing the steak, or dairy free by removing the cheese. Last night I made this recipe, and was so eager to start eating it that I forgot to take a picture. It was so good, I’ll probably make it again in the near future and when I do I’ll be sure to take a picture and attach it to this post.

Place steak in a plastic bag and coat with honey dijon. Let sit for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
While the steak is marinating, preheat grill or broiler. After the steak is marinated cook for approximately 5 minutes per side or until the desired level of doneness. After cooking let stand 10 minutes and then cut into thin slices.

Add all vegetables in a large salad bowl and top with the steak and blue cheese. Drizzle with Simply Boulder Honey Dijon and serve.

In my opinion this salad is terrific for the summer.  There’s something about the cucumbers that makes it extremely refreshing on a hot summer day.  In the below recipe, I used shrimp and scallops, however chicken would have complemented the salad very well also.  There are lots of delicious adjustments that can be made!

Another thing that makes this salad amazing is the combination of honey dijon culinary sauce and the goat cheese.  If you like goat cheese, I highly recommend using it on a salad with the honey dijon.  When the two come in contact the goat cheese blends well and “melts” into the honey dijon.  The result is a creamy sauce that tastes terrific. 

In this recipe I’m recommending using warm honey dijon.  Usually I use chilled culinary sauce on salads, but this recipe is wonderful with warm honey Dijon.  When the honey dijon is warmed it brings out a different flavor that does a great job of enhancing this salads flavor. 

Simply Boulder Honey Dijon

Place spring mix, sun dried tomatoes, and diced red onions in a large salad bowl.  Sprinkle the goat cheese on top.

Warm a skillet with a light coating of olive oil.  When warm, but not too hot, add the shrimp and scallops.  Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.  Add juice from the lime and flip every few minutes until the shrimp and scallops are cooked.  This should be approximately 4-6 minutes. 

Pour honey dijon in a microwave safe dish and warm in the microwave until slightly above room temperature. 

Sprinkle the shrimp and scallops on the salad.

Drizzle the honey dijon on the salad, toss, and serve.

Today I have a very simple recipe for pork chops.  I used pork tenderloin chops and marinated them in Simply Boulder Pineapple ginger for about an hour (although I could have reduced the marinating time to 20 minutes). 

After marinating the pork chops, I placed them on a preheated grill and cooked for approximately 7 minutes on each side.

*Any variety of salad greens can be used.  Recommendations would be napa cabbage, green cabbage, romaine lettuce, baby spinach, or a combination of the above.

I think this is a great salad for the summer.  Not only does it involve grilled chicken, but it’s also very simple and healthy.  And like most of the recipes I post, its gluten free too. 

Ingredients:  4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, Simply Boulder Lemon Pesto,  8 cups spring mix, 1 cup sliced cucumbers, ¼ sliced red onion, ½ cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half

Directions:

Marinate chicken in a plastic bag with enough lemon pesto to coat it well. 

Preheat grill

Remove chicken from plastic bag and discard bag.  Grill about 5-10 minutes per side or until done.  Remove from heat and set aside about 15 minutes or until cool.

Slice chicken in ½ inch strips. 

To finish the salad place all ingredients in a large salad bowl and serve with Simply Boulder Lemon Pesto.

This recipe is courtesy of my dad.  I haven’t made this myself, but it sounds excellent so I told him I’d post it to my blog.  Also, as a note this recipe can easily be gluten free by using gluten free breadcrumbs.  I’d imagine it’s hard to find gluten free breadcrumbs in stores, but making gluten free breadcrumbs at home is a piece of cake.  To make them use gluten free bread and season with Italian seasoning.  Here’s a good link on how to make breadcrumbs.

Ingredients:  Chicken breasts (boneless and skinless), Bread Crumbs (Italian style), Toothpicks, Simply Boulder Lemon Pesto

Directions:  Place each individual chicken beast into a plastic bag.  Pound until approximately 1/4^th of an inch thick. Place all chicken breasts into a plastic bag. Marinate in SBLP overnight.

Remove marinated chicken breasts from plastic bag. Sprinkle bread crumbs on the inside of each breast. Roll tightly and use toothpicks to keep breast from opening when cooking.

Grill until chicken is thoroughly cooked and have beautiful grill marks. To insure that the chicken is properly cooked use a quality meat thermometer.

Remove chicken from grill and remove all toothpicks.  Slice the rolled chicken into 1/2″ to 3/4″ “pinwheels and arrange the pinwheels on the serving plate.  Liberally drizzle the Simply Boulder Lemon Pesto sauce on the pinwheels.

Last night I created this recipe and I’m really happy with the result.  It has wonderful flavors that don’t overpower the scallops.  Plus, the pesto and the guacamole work very well together and you can taste both of them.  It’s too bad I forgot to take a picture because this is one good looking meal.

Ingredients:  Scallops, Simply Boulder Lemon Pesto, Guacamole, Pesto, Cilantro, Corn Tortillas

Directions:  Place the scallops in a plastic bag along with the Simply Boulder lemon pesto.  Evenly coat the scallops and place in the refrigerator for approximately 20 minutes. 

Place scallops on the grill and cook approximately 2-3 minutes per side. 

Take each corn tortilla and place a streak of guacamole on each tortilla.  Place the cooked scallops on the guacamole.  Add pesto on top of each scallop.  Chop cilantro and sprinkle over the taco.