Greek chicken is one of my family’s favorite flavors so I’ve made many version of this. Today’s version is quick and easy to put together, yet packs tons of flavor.

1/2 cup cooked couscous

1 chicken breast

1/4 cup packed baby spinach leaves

2 slices tomato

salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon Greek seasoning

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 cup feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 and prepare parchment paper. Place the couscous on the paper in roughly the shape of the chicken breast. Place the breast on top and place the spinach over that, then the tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, Greek seasoning and onion powder and crumble the feta cheese over it. Add some olives if you like (I don’t). Fold the parchment and bake for about 35 minutes.

Greek chicken is one of my family’s favorite flavors so I’ve made many version of this. Today’s version is quick and easy to put together, yet packs tons of flavor. 1/2 cup cooked couscous 1 chicken breast 1/4 cup packed baby spinach leaves 2 slices tomato salt and pepper 1/8 teaspoon Greek seasoning 1/8 teaspoon … Read more →

Ana at Sweet Almond Tree has chosen Greek Chicken Cutlets for our next project.

Ana at Sweet Almond Tree has chosen Greek Chicken Cutlets for our next project.

I’m back to regular posting on this blog, so look for a new recipe at least once a week!

Today’s is inspired by the bounty of stone fruits that are everywhere this time of year.

1/2 cup cooked couscous

1 chicken breast

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon thyme

1 plum, pit removed, cut into eighths

Place the couscous on the bottom of the parchment paper, roughly in the shape of the chicken breast. Top with chicken breast. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on thyme and onion powder. Place the plum pieces on top of and around the chicken. Fold parchment (see Technique page of this blog) and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

The plum melds into the chicken and couscous and the entire package is simply beautiful to see and taste. And there’s no clean up of pots and pans (I usually make couscous in the microwave or in my rice cooker in big batches and freeze it, using it as needed).

I’m back to regular posting on this blog, so look for a new recipe at least once a week! Today’s is inspired by the bounty of stone fruits that are everywhere this time of year. 1/2 cup cooked couscous 1 chicken breast salt and pepper to taste 1/2 teaspoon olive oil 1/8 teaspoon onion powder … Read more →

One of my favorite things to do is try new food while traveling. Our journey to the SW was a bit problematic since neither I nor Mr. MarthaAndMe can tolerate spicy foods, which ruled out many local specialties.  We did manage to try many new and interesting things though.

In Vegas, we had a 2 for 1 coupon for the MGM Grande buffet which was, as expected, simply terrible. I’m not a buffet fan, but I’ve been to one at the casino in Niagara Falls Ontario that was not bad, so I had hoped this one might be good. It wasn’t.

We did have a fantastic lunch at the Burger Bar which I think was next to the Luxor in the attached mall. Amazing burgers with a huge array of toppings to choose from, incredible milkshakes (probably the best ever), and terrific fries with lots of dipping sauces. For dessert, we had the chocolate burger, which was a Nutella patty on a donut. It had strawberries on it. We ordered one and everyone sampled. Over the top, but excellent.

We had a nice lunch at Cannoletto in the Venetian after our gondola ride. Dinner was at Emeril’s Fish House in the MGM. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was. We picked it based on the menu posted online. Which was not the menu we were given. There was no fish I found interesting – at a fish house! I had a nice clam chowder then got the baked lobster which was removed from the shell, mixed with a cornmeal mix and shrimp and returned to the shell.  Mr. MarthaAndMe got a cold seafood plate that was unattractive and nothing special. Underwhelming. The price was overwhelming. I’m still choking.

If you go to Vegas, skip that and go to Hash House a Go-Go where we had one of the best meals of the trip. It’s described as “twisted farm food”. I had an amazing corned beef hash. The pancakes and waffles were out of this world. Everyone loved it here and it was all organic and homemade.

Our next destination was the Grand Canyon where we had a really bad dinner at the Bright Angel Restaurant. We then went to Sedona, AZ. We tried to eat Mexican at Oaxaca. I couldn’t eat any of it. Too hot. We had a fantastic dinner in Sedona the next night at the Heartline Cafe, where I enjoyed some local trout. I loved the food at this place and highly recommend it. We also enjoyed tea smoked chicken dumplings which I will be trying to recreate.

Our next memorable meal was at the Cowgirl in Santa Fe, where we had BBQ. I

don’t have any food pics, but must comment on the potato salad which was made with sour cream instead of mayo. I’ll be making that one myself too.

Next stop, Santa Fe. We headed up to Taos for the day and had lunch at Michael’s Kitchen where I tried a sopapilla,

essentially a pillow of fried dough, served with honey butter. Amazing. It was light and fluffy and not greasy. I loved it. However, we bought some of their cookies and didn’t like any of them. Thumbs down on that.

While in Taos, we visited the Taos Pueblo, which has been continuously lived in for at least 1000 years. It was stunning. The people were very friendly and there was lots of shopping. We also went to San Ildefonso Pueblo where there was nothing to see, so I highly recommend this one instead. We took a quick tour which was very informative. Before we left, we tried some blue corn fry bread (a Native American specialty). Wow. It was

crunchy, really flavorful and not greasy. It was one of the best things we ate the entire time. We put powdered sugar on it. I could have eaten 20 of them, but the 4 of us shared one.

We made it back to Santa Fe and had a pretty unexciting dinner at a tapas place which I won’t bother with since it just was not good and was overpriced with bad service.

Next stop, Colorado Springs. We ate at Adam’s Mountain Cafe, which was not as good as we hoped (given that it was all organic), and also at Edelweiss, a German restaurant that was at least something different. The potato pancakes were fantastic, served with smoked trout and salmon. The apple strudel would have been good if the dough had not had almond flavoring which I dislike. We had a really bad lunch at Coquette’s in Manitou Springs which was voted best new restaurant, but we didn’t understand why. It was all crepes, gluten free, but the fillings were stingy, sauceless and dry. Avoid at all costs.

We had another lunch at the Stagecoach in Manitou Springs, based on the recommendation of our conductor on the Pike’s Peak Cog Railway, where the men in the family enjoyed Rocky Mountain Oysters (cow testicles, in case you didn’t know).  They were thinly sliced, breaded and deep fried. You couldn’t tell the difference from a chicken nugget to be honest.

Our last night we went to the Buckhorn Exchange in Denver, the oldest restaurant in the city which is known for its wild game, which it not only serves, but has hanging on the walls (stuffed and mounted). It was a bit overwhelming to see so many dead animals on the walls around us.At first I thought I was going to have to get fish since I just couldn’t do it. I ended up ordering Colorado lamb (no sheep on the walls!) which was excellent and tasted so much better than lamb I buy at home. Mr. MarthaAndMe got elk which we loved, loved, loved. It was velvety, grassy and had a hint of cedar. I would have it again given the chance. Teen Martha had quail which was good as well.

Other culinary tidbits – we bought several varieties of jerky (buffalo, beef, and elk) which Dude Martha enjoyed throughout the trip. I tried the NM official state cookie (bischochito) which I didn’t care for (anise flavored, which I dislike). And I must admit the cookies the Doubletree Hotel offers are amazing. We had some excellent ice cream at a place in Idaho Springs, CO. Mr. MarthaAndMe got butter brickle which I have not seen in years and it was soooo good. I had brownie sundae ice cream there which was also excellent. The service was terrible though- rude and snotty (we actually encountered many, many, many rude waiters, servers, hotel clerks, and shop owners on our trip – it made us appreciate our own Good Neighbor City, Buffalo where people are known for their friendliness).  We had some of the famous homemade donuts at the top of Pike’s Peak. They were pretty good, but not stupendous. They were just plain fry cakes that seemed to have some cinnamon and nutmeg in them. They were served warm though which was a bonus.

And if I ever have to buy a sandwich at a 7-11 again I may go on a hunger strike. We ended up doing this a few times for lunch while on the road and it’s just not something you want to do if you can avoid it.

One final comment, a plea really. Dear Restaurateurs, please come up with some good desserts! The only thing we had that was good was at Burger Bar in Vegas! I am tired of creme brulee, chocolate cake, sherbet, carrot cake, and chocolate lava cake. I want interesting, creative, fun desserts to go with the interesting, fun, creative meals we enjoyed. I would love nothing more than a wonderful cookie plate or some fabulous pie to end my meal, or some interesting ice cream (like the kind we had in Idaho Springs). The one place where we did order dessert that we had high hopes for was Harry’s Roadhouse in Santa Fe. It sounded fantastic. It was just wasn’t though. At least they tried though.

I’ll be doing a third post about some of my purchases on the trip, so stay tuned!

One of my favorite things to do is try new food while traveling. Our journey to the SW was a bit problematic since neither I nor Mr. MarthaAndMe can tolerate spicy foods, which ruled out many local specialties.  We did manage to try many new and interesting things though. In Vegas, we had a 2 … Read more →

Thanks to Tiny Skillet for choosing Baked Risotto for Monday’s project. I’m looking forward to trying it.

Thanks to Tiny Skillet for choosing Baked Risotto for Monday’s project. I’m looking forward to trying it.

Perfecting Pru chose this week’s project, Almond Blackberry Squares.  This recipe was easy (or it would have been if I hadn’t burned the almonds first time around — the phone rang and I couldn’t get back in time!). I made half a batch in an 8×8 pan. I am not a blackberry fan – I like the flavor but just hate all the seeds. Everyone else in the family likes them though. This got a thumbs up all around. It was easy to make. I didn’t have a single orange in the house, so I put a few drops of orange extract over the berries instead of zest which worked out quite well. This would be good with raspberries too I think, or even a combo of both.

We’re taking a break from Martha Mondays for the next couple of weeks.  I am hoping to get back to regular posting this fall!

Perfecting Pru chose this week’s project, Almond Blackberry Squares.  This recipe was easy (or it would have been if I hadn’t burned the almonds first time around — the phone rang and I couldn’t get back in time!). I made half a batch in an 8×8 pan. I am not a blackberry fan – I … Read more →

Megan’s Cookin’ has chosen Summer Bread Salad for next week’s project. Very timely!

Megan’s Cookin’ has chosen Summer Bread Salad for next week’s project. Very timely!

SteakNPotatoKindaGurl chose turtles for today’s project. I was amazed at how easy this recipe is. It literally took 10 minutes. Pretty amazing – and no bowls either. It’s all done in the oven. Mine turned out nicely. I thought the caramel was a little hard to chew – maybe it got cooked too much in the oven, but other than that they were good. I immediately got them out of the house though and send them to Mr. MarthaAndMe’s office.

SteakNPotatoKindaGurl chose turtles for today’s project. I was amazed at how easy this recipe is. It literally took 10 minutes. Pretty amazing – and no bowls either. It’s all done in the oven. Mine turned out nicely. I thought the caramel was a little hard to chew – maybe it got cooked too much in … Read more →

SteaknPotatoKindaGurl has chosen Chocolate Caramel Pecan Clusters. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.

SteaknPotatoKindaGurl has chosen Chocolate Caramel Pecan Clusters. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.

My friend Casey wrote a post at Good. Food. Stories. about marinating and crosshatching hot dogs before grilling them. I had to try it. I marinated mine in ketchup, mustard, and tamari overnight. I cut diagonal cuts in the dogs before marinating. Teen Martha is a hot dog aficionado and she liked them a lot. I didn’t feel like it added a whole lot of flavor to mine, but it was definitely fun to give it a try.

My friend Casey wrote a post at Good. Food. Stories. about marinating and crosshatching hot dogs before grilling them. I had to try it. I marinated mine in ketchup, mustard, and tamari overnight. I cut diagonal cuts in the dogs before marinating. Teen Martha is a hot dog aficionado and she liked them a lot. … Read more →