Relish to remember—Pickled Peppers & Onions

I didn’t have the proverbial peck of pickled peppers, but I did have a nice quart jar full—and they sure livened up dinner last night. 

The green peppers and red onions in the mixture were from our garden; red and yellow peppers, from the grocery produce department. They all combined to make a great topping for an open-faced barbecue chicken sandwich.

The recipe for Pickled Peppers & Onions said to cover and chill the ingredients for 24 hours after the relish is made. I was overly eager and thus used it to accessorize my chicken only a couple of hours after I stirred it up. It already was plenty tangy. (Can’t wait for tonight after these goodies have had lots of hours to talk to each other.)

And talk about colorful! I loved the appearance of these veggies in a clear jar. I shredded some meat off a deli rotisserie chicken from the grocery and draped everything over some toasted whole-grain bread; we were in business for a simple summer supper. 

Pickled Peppers & Onions

1/2 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

ice water

1/2 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips

1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips

1/2 green bell pepper, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips

1 cup white vinegar

6 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute)

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 cup water

In a small bowl soak onion slices in ice water to cover; soak for about 10 minutes; drain. Place onion slices and bell pepper strips in a 1-quart canning jar. In a small nonaluminum saucepan bring vinegar, next 3 ingredients, and 1 cup water to a boil. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Pour hot vinegar mixture over vegetables in jar. Let stand, uncovered, 1 hour. Cover and chill 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week. Makes 1 quart. (Source: Southern Living January 2012)

Thanks to grocery circular for this citrusy summer meal idea

Hooray for the Kroger grocery circular for providing another spectacular recipe that yielded a tasty, ingenious summer meal for us. I never know where the next clever idea will crop up. The recent Kroger mailing showed me how to cook these Baked Chicken Tenders with Citrus Rice. Our homemade peach preserves, already blogged about, and the zest of an orange and a lemon tanged up some ordinary chicken strips and rice and made them memorable.

I like to get the chicken stock for the recipe by covering, in a saucepan, some chicken breasts in water and boiling until the chicken no longer is pink and is cooked through. This provides ample broth for the recipe instead of my having to use the canned varieties. Low-sodium chicken broth now is available, but it still has higher sodium levels than are best for me and Hubby. The whole-wheat bread crumbs used for dredging the chicken tenders are full of fiber and health. We pulled out some honey mustard for dipping sauce, but you also could use sweet chili sauce or even barbecue sauce.

The recipe makes oodles of rice that outlasts the supply of chicken tenders. Hubby just loves leftover rice for breakfast (sometimes he adds a little skim milk), so he was a happy camper for several days: first because he enjoyed the entrée recipe and then because he was amply supplied with breakfast rice well into the week.

Baked Chicken Tenders with Citrus Rice

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons apricot preserves (I subbed my own homemade peach preserves)

2 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into small strips

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat bread crumbs

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups brown rice, rinsed

1 orange and 1 lemon, zested

1 bottle citrus vinaigrette dressing (I used Maple Grove Farms of Vermont brand)

salt (or salt substitute) and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine honey and preserves. Brush honey mixture on both sides of chicken; dredge chicken in bread crumbs. Place chicken on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake 20 minutes on each side until chicken is lightly browned. To make rice, over medium-high heat bring chicken stock to a boil. Cook rice in broth according to package instructions. Fluff the rice and place in a large serving bowl. Add orange zest and half the lemon zest. Toss well with 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with remaining lemon zest. Refrigerate any leftovers. Serves 4 to 6.

Sneak in some veggies with cabbage in this Sloppy Joe mix

In yesterday’s Easter-egg hunt one of the best places to hide eggs was in the bulb of the emerging cabbage plants in the garden. As I studied the cabbage rows, I dreamed of the day a few weeks from now when we’d be hauling our own cabbage crop into the kitchen for one of my absolute fave dishes, Cabbage Sloppy Joes.

Almost immediately after I began planning my most recent cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, I lined up Cabbage Sloppy Joes as one of my first recipes to include. Instructions involve adding finely shredded cabbage to some of the traditional sloppy joe ingredients. We sub ground turkey for ground beef. The addition of the cabbage plus a dab of brown sugar adds a sweet taste to the end-product.

In our most recent batch Hubby got the food-prep assignment since I wasn’t home from babysitting Grandmunchkin yet. He decided to put the cabbage through the food-processor to make it chop even more finely. When I arrived home and he had dinner on the table, I was shocked to realize it was Cabbage Sloppy Joes, because I didn’t recognize it without the decipherable shredded cabbage. He told me about his experiment of pulverizing the cabbage even more finely in the processor. Sure enough, same great flavor plus a smoother texture. He said next time he’d shred the onion, green pepper, and celery in the mix as well and add to the smooth consistency.

With hot summer evenings on their way, this meal represents a perfect way to avoid oven cooking and to stick with the stovetop to keep the kitchen cool. In case the idea of cabbage gets a yuk from family members, you can sneak some veggies down them by serving this delicious cover-up.

Cabbage Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey

1 1/2 cups finely shredded cabbage

1 medium onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup ketchup (we use the no-salt variety)

3 tablespoons brown sugar (or brown-sugar substitute)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

dash pepper

8 sandwich rolls, split

In a large skillet cook the ground beef (or turkey), cabbage, onion, celery, and green pepper over medium heat until meat no longer is pink and vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain. Stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Spoon 1/2 cup onto each roll. Makes 8 servings.