Month: May 2021

Minty Barley Salad

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Minty Barley Salad

Barley is one grain that I feel doesn’t get used enough. It is chewy, very nutritious, and full of fiber. Hulled barley has the outer hull removed, retaining more nutritional content, whereas pearled barley has the outer husk as well as the bran removed. Pearled barley still has nutrients, just less so than hulled barley.

Hulled barley takes about 20 to 30 minutes more time to cook than pearled barley. Use whatever is your preference or whatever you have time to cook.

Cooked Barley

Start by cooking the barley. I like to cook it in vegetable or chicken stock to add additional flavor. Unfortunately, this adds additional sodium. so feel free to cook it in water. 

For pearled barley, start checking for doneness after about 20 minutes of simmering, and for hulled barley, about 40 minutes.

Minty Barley Salad Dressing Ingredients
Minty Barley Salad Dressing

While the barley is cooking, whisk together the dressing. I like to use champagne vinegar, but I didn’t have any this time around so I substituted  white wine vinegar (not distilled white wine vinegar). You could also use apple cider vinegar.

Minty Barley Salad Veggies

While the barley is cooking, you may have time to prepare the vegetables and herbs as well.

Once the barley is cooked, drain off any excess liquid and mix into the dressing. The warm barley will absorb more flavors from the dressing.

Adding all Veggies and Herbs

Add the veggies and herbs to the barley and put it in the refrigerator for about an hour to cool before serving.

Minty Barley Salad

Now you have a delicious, and nutritious barley salad ready to eat.

Enjoy! 

Minty Barley Salad
Print Recipe

Minty Barley Salad

Barley tastes a little nutty and is very nutritious. Try buying hulled barley as opposed to pearled barley for more taste and nutrition content.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Cooling Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 55 minutes
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Barley, Mint, Side Salad
Servings: 6 cups
Calories: 166kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • 3 quart saucepan
  • Cutting board and knife
  • Box grater
  • Large bowl, whisk, and spoon

Ingredients

Barley

  • 1 cup barley uncooked
  • 3 cups vegetable stock or water

Dressing

  • 1 each lime juice and zest
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Dijon or brown mustard
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp granulated garlic

Salad Ingredients

  • 1 each each leek
  • 1/2 each red bell pepper diced
  • 1 each small cucumber fine diced
  • 2 each small carrots grated
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh mint minced
  • 1 each jalapeno ribs and seeds remove, minced

Instructions

  • Put barley in vegetable stock or salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer. For pearled barley check for doneness after 25 minutes. For hulled barley, check at 40 minutes. Drain off excess liquid and add to dressing.
  • While barley is cooking, combine dressing ingredients and prepare vegetables.
  • Once barley is stirred into the dressing, stir in the vegetables.
  • Put in refrigerator for about an hour to cool before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 699mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 506IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg

Chile Lime Burgers

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Chile Lime Burger

Nothing says summer more than lighting up that backyard barbeque. Of course, plain burgers are great, but if you are going to patty up your own burger, why not add other ingredients to the ground beef.

First make a quick condiment for your burger. Combine sour cream, lime juice and zest, cilantro, green chiles, and salsa. That’s it.

I also get my toppings ready to go.

Now get your burgers ready. Mix ground beef with jalapenos, cilantro, onions, green chiles, taco seasoning, chipotle powder for a little kick, lime juice and zest, and some crumbled cotija cheese. Cotija cheese can be found with the other Mexican style cheeses in the cheese department. If you cannot find it, you could replace it with a mild feta or top your burgers with some sliced co-jack. Or omit the cheese all together.

Burgers plump when you cook them, so when forming the patties, make sure the center is thinner than the edges. This will help ensure an even thickness when cooked.

Time to get grilling. Gas or charcoal? Well, use whatever you have. I happen to have both and today it was quite windy. I have a small gas grill on a patio that is somewhat blocked from the wind, so that is what I used. Otherwise I certainly would have used charcoal for that extra little smoky flavor charcoal provides.

It only takes about 5 minutes per side over medium to medium low heat with the lid closed.

During the last couple of minutes, I like to toast the burger buns, and if I’m topping my burger with cheese, this is when I do that too.

Now it’s time to build your burger however you desire.

Enjoy!

Chile Lime Burger
Print Recipe

Chile Lime Burgers

This is a refreshing Tex-Mex style burger with lime, green chiles, and a little heat from a jalapeno and chipotle powder. Great for summer grilling.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American, Tex-Mex
Keyword: Burgers, Grilling, Southwest Burgers, Whats for Dinner
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 369kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Large bowl
  • Small bowl and whisk
  • Barbeque (gas or charcoal)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef 80/20
  • 1/3 cup cotija cheese crumbled
  • 1 each jalapeno seeds and ribs removed, chopped
  • 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
  • 2 tbsp onion chopped
  • 2 tbsp green chiles
  • ½ tsp taco seasoning
  • ¼ tsp chipotle powder
  • ½ each lime juice and zest

Topping/Spread

  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • ½ each lime juice and zest
  • 1 tbsp cilantro chopped
  • 1 tbsp green chiles
  • 2 tbsp salsa

Burger Toppings

  • 1 each avocado
  • 1 each tomato
  • 4 each leafs of lettuce
  • 4 each burger buns

Instructions

  • Combine burger ingredients until just mixed in. Do not overmix or your burgers will be tough. Divide into 4 and form 4 patties. Be sure to indent the center. When burgers cook, they plump. Forming an indent will help ensure you don’t have bloated burgers.
  • Combine topping/spread ingredients.
  • Slice tomato, wash and pat dry lettuce leaves, and slice burger buns.
  • Grill burgers over medium heat about 5 minutes per side until they reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees.
  • In the last minute or so, grill the burger buns.
  • Build your burger. I like to put sauce on both sides of the bun, then the burger, tomato, avocado, and lettuce.

Nutrition

Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 340mg | Potassium: 394mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 376IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 3mg

Honey Orange Sriracha (HOS) BBQ Sauce

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Honey Orange Sriracha BBQ Sauce

I love making my own barbecue sauces. They are easy to make and you can flavor them anyway you like. You can certainly use ketchup as the base but sometimes I like to use no salt added tomato sauce so I can control the amount of sodium and sugar.

This is all you need. You could use already prepared orange juice right out of your refrigerator, but I like adding zest as well as juice and prefer the taste of fresh citrus juice. But it’s your choice. If you are going to use already made orange juice, you will need about 1/2 cup.

Combine all ingredients in a 4 quart sauce pan. You don’t want to use anything smaller, it will bubble and pop when it is simmering. You will simmer this for about 20 minutes until it reduces and thickens a bit. Stir it frequently because it will easily burn.

Cool and put in an old ketchup or barbecue sauce bottle or even a mason jar.

I couldn’t wait to use it and decided to grill up some chicken thighs. They take about 5 to 7 minutes per side over medium to medium low heat. In the last couple of minutes of cooking, I baste both sides with BBQ sauce and let it cook a bit. The heat will caramelize the sugars.

I have also grilled zucchini and portobello mushroom caps and baste them in the last minute or 2 with BBQ sauce.

Honey Orange Sriracha BBQ Sauce
Print Recipe

Honey Orange Sriracha (HOS) BBQ Sauce

A little sweet, a little tangy, and a little spicy, this BBQ sauce tastes great on just about any grilled meat or vegetable.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Condiments
Cuisine: American
Keyword: BBQ Sauce, Sriracha
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 47kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • 4 quart sauce pan
  • Heat resistant rubber spatula

Ingredients

  • 15 ounce can tomato sauce no salt added
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 1/3 cup Dijon or brown mustard
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 each orange juice and zest
  • 2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp granulated garlic

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low or medium low and simmer for 20 minutes stirring frequently. The sauce will reduce and thicken but can easily burn.
  • Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Taste while it’s still warm. If you need to add more honey because your orange wasn’t very sweet, add now. Adjust other seasonings to your desire.
  • Cool and put in an old ketchup or BBQ sauce bottle. or a mason jar.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tbsp | Calories: 47kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 280mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 122IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg

Italian Orzo Salad

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Italian Orzo Salad

Orzo is a wonderful pasta to use when you don’t want a bulky pasta in a dish. It looks like flat rice and comes in plain or different colors. I try to always buy the tri-color orzo because it adds other colors to whatever dish I am making. I find it in the bulk section at my local grocery store. If not there, check the pasta aisle.

Start by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil, add the salt and orzo, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. You want the orzo done, but not mushy. I find 9 minutes usually does the trick.

While the orzo is cooking, mix together the dressing ingredients.

When the orzo is done, drain the orzo but do not rinse and add it directly to the dressing. The warm orzo will wilt the arugula. Put this in the refrigerator while you are getting the rest of the ingredients ready.

Once you have the other ingredients ready, add those to the orzo and dressing, and mix together.

You could use a green bell pepper instead of a red, I find the red sweeter, so I like it in this dish.

 

Taste and see if you want to add any sea salt or black pepper. I find it is salty enough, but I usually add 4 or 5 turns of my pepper mill to this.

Put this in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to cool down before eating.

Italian Orzo Salad
Print Recipe

Italian Orzo Salad

This is a light and refreshing salad that goes great with about any summer meal or barbecue.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Cooling Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: Artichoke Hearts, Kalamata Olives, Orzo Pasta
Servings: 6 cups
Calories: 174kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • 3 quart sauce pan
  • Cutting board and knife
  • Large bowl and spoon

Ingredients

  • 1 cup orzo uncooked
  • 2 each roma tomatoes diced
  • ½ each red bell pepper diced
  • 1 each carrot grated
  • ¾ cups Kalamata olives chopped
  • 1 cup artichoke hearts chopped

Dressing

  • 1 each small leek cut in ½ moons, or ½ red onion, diced
  • 6 each large leaves of fresh basil sliced
  • 2 handfuls arugula
  • ½ each lemon zest and juice
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar or white balsamic or champagne vinegar
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1/3 cup parmesan shredded
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon sea salt and orzo. Reduce heat to medium high and cook until firm but not hard, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and stir into the dressing and arugula mixture (the warm orzo will wilt the arugula and help blend it into the salad). Put in the refrigerator while you are prepping the rest of the salad ingredients.
  • While the orzo is cooking, whisk together the lemon juice and zest, vinegar, and olive oil.
  • Stir in the leek, basil and arugula.
  • Prepare the rest of the salad ingredients and add to the orzo and dressing. Taste and add salt or pepper if desired.
  • Put in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes to cool completely.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 174kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 681mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 357IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 1mg