Pineapple Cilantro Lime Marinade

Happy summertime, friends! Paul and I absolutely love firing up the grill in the summer. We both have a mild grilled-pineapple addiction, so oftentimes we throw together some shish kabobs with pineapple, bell peppers, onions, and either steak or chicken, make some rice, and boom! Dinner is done. I got to daydreaming about a marinade that would incorporate our love for pineapple and be perfect for grilling, and this pineapple cilantro lime marinade is what happened!

The smell of charcoal makes me so happy! Is that weird? Our new townhouse has a nice big back porch, so I'm excited to buy a patio set one of these days and throw a cookout! Kabobs are definitely crowd pleasers. You can get creative with different meat, fruit, and veggie combos with different marinades!

This marinade is so zesty and summery! The pineapple flavor is strong (in the best way) and the lime juice balances the sweetness nicely. I'm a sucker for cilantro, and I think it's the perfect herb in combination with the pineapple and lime. Last but not least, a little cumin and onion powder a bring some depth and a savory smokiness to the marinade. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

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Pineapple Cilantro Lime Marinade

Marinade for 1 lb of meat

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Marinating Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1 lime (for zest and juice)

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp black pepper

1. Rinse and chop cilantro.

2. Zest the lime.

3. Juice the lime and whisk all ingredients together.

4. Mix meat and marinade together.

5. Cover meat and marinade (or seal in a zip top bag) and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

6. Cook as you please! Grilling with pineapple, bell pepper, and onion is recommended.

1. Rinse and chop the cilantro.

2. Zest the lime.

3. Juice the lime and mix all of the ingredients together! So easy.

4. & 5. Mix the meat and the marinade together, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for an hour. Putting everything in a zip lock bag in the fridge works too! Here I chopped up chicken breasts in large chunks because I happen to be making shish kabobs, but you could marinate whole pieces of chicken as well! This marinade would be fantastic with steak, fish, or pork tenderloin! 

6. Cook the meat however you like! I love this marinade in shish-kabob form. I'm a sucker for grilled pineapple! I like to chop onion, bell pepper, and pineapple into large chunks and skewer them up with the chicken and grill! Here are the details of how I chop the accompaniments - I chop the top off of the bell pepper.

6. Continued:  Cut the fleshy part of the bell pepper away from the center. Cut as much of the white ribs off as possible (I hadn't trimmed the ribs yet in this picture).

6. Continued: Cut the outsides of the pepper into 1.5-2 inch pieces.

6. Continued: For the onion. Slice the scrunched up ends off of the onion.

6. Continued: Place the flat side of the onion down on the cutting board and cut the onion in half from the top.

6. Continued: Peel the onion apart and cut into 1.5-2 inch chunks. I like to peel the onion 2 layers at a time. I usually skewer two onion pieced together. I feel like they grill better and don't burn as quickly when they are packed together a little thicker.

6. Continued: Chop the pineapple in big chunks!

Slide the chicken, pepper, onion, and pineapple onto skewers repeating the pattern until all of the pieces are skewered! I way prefer metal skewers over wooden skewers - you don't have to deal with splintering wood! Grill the skewers up and enjoy!

Peach & Raspberry Sangria

I drank some lovely peach sangria on my recent trip to Savannah, and I HAD to make some for myself when I got home! It's really the ideal summer beverage. Fruity, refreshing, and easy to drink, Peach & Raspberry Sangria is perfect for porch-sittin' or soaking up some sun at the pool or beach. And the fresh fruit at the bottom of your empty glass is a juicy added bonus! The sweet peaches and tart raspberries combine with a hint of citrus in triple sec to give this sangria a bright, summery flavor.


Peach & Raspberry Sangria
Makes 8 Servings
Total Time: 5 minutes

0.75 L white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
11.2 oz peach nectar
6 oz club soda
3 oz triple sec
2 peaches
6 oz raspberries

1. Slice peaches.
2. Mix all ingredients. Pour over ice and enjoy!

I found peach nectar in the ethnic food section of my grocery store. The rest of the ingredients are very standard! I chose Pinot Grigio rather than a Riesling or Moscato because I didn't want the sangria to be overly sweet. The peach nectar and fresh fruit add a decent amount of sweetness! I think Pinot Grigio ended up striking just the right balance.

Just slice up the peaches and mix everything together! My Georgia peaches from the farmer's market were so soft and sweet and fragrant. Almost too ripe, which is right where you want them.

There's something about drinking sangria that makes me want to kick my feet up and relax. A little summertime day-drinking by the pool or at a cookout and I am one happy girl! And how easy is this recipe?! No blending or muddling or syrup-making. Just slice, mix, and enjoy!

Berry Apple Crisp

Berry Apple Crisp is my all-time favorite non-chocolate dessert! I have dreams about my fiance's Great Grandma Daniel's Apple Crisp recipe, which is delightfully autumnal with apples and cinnamon. What's a girl to do in the summertime? Throw in some berries! Strawberries and blueberries taste like summer to me, and with the addition of bright lemon zest and honey, this dish is transformed into the perfect summer cookout/picnic dessert! 

Featured in La Petite Fashionista Magazine!

Berry Apple Crisp

Makes 10-12 servings

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

5 Fuji apples

16 oz strawberries

6 oz blueberries

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp honey

1 cup flour

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

1. Grease a large baking pan (at least 9 x 13) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Slice strawberries.

3. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon.

4. Mix apples, strawberries, blueberries, lemon zest, honey, and half of the brown sugar mixture and pour into the greased pan.

5. Mix white sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Mix in one egg with a fork until the mixture is uniformly crumbly.

6. Pour crumble topping over fruit. Top with the remainder of the brown sugar mixture, followed by the melted butter.

7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Serve cold or warm with a dollop of whipped cream.

Grease a baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. And wash your berries! Mmmm pretty summer berries.

Peel and core the apples. I'm admittedly not very good at this... I cut too much apple away with the skin! I think it's just something that takes practice.

Thinly slice the apples. Don't munch on too many slices as you go or your berry apple crisp won't be very apple-y!

Slice the gorgeous strawberries.

Zest the lemon and get ready for your kitchen to smell amazing!

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon *googly eyes*

Mix the blueberries, strawberries, apples, lemon zest, honey, and half of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture and pour into the greased pan.

Mix white sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Mix in one egg with a fork until the mixture is uniformly crumbly. This will take a minute or two, but eventually the egg will moisten little chunks of the dry ingredients and the mixture will have little crumbles throughout.

This is what it will look like! Some crumbles are bigger than others, but there aren't any smooth floury parts anymore.

Pour the crumble mixture over the fruit.

Pour the rest of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over the crumble topping.

And here is where it gets REALLY heavenly... pour a stick of melted butter on top of the whole darn thing.

Just... Ugh. There are no words.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve warm OR cold with a dollop of whipped cream! Paul's family traditionally serves it cold, but I think I like it warm.

I actually LOVE this more than apple pie! The crumb topping is crispy and buttery and sugary and perfectly contrasts the soft, saucy fruit. And the gorgeous purple color from the strawberries and blueberries? So good! Enjoy!

Watermelon Margaritas

It's Saucy Jocey's Kitchen's 1st birthday! I can't believe it! This experience has been an absolute BLAST and I can't wait to continue experimenting with food, dirtying-up my kitchen (my fiance and I have a clutch deal going - whoever cooks doesn't clean), and showing you all what I come up with :) Although the school year leaves me pretty swamped, it's summer again, which means more free time and more blogging! I can't wait. As for the coming year, a few of my goals for my blog are:

1. Improve my food photography. Get a new camera too?

2. Post at least once a week on average. Note - that's about what I averaged this past year, but next year I will be even MORE swamped than I already am, with more school, work, and planning a wedding :) I'm DEFINITELY not complaining - I'm a lucky girl! I'm also a busy girl though, so once a week blogging is a reasonable goal I think!

3. Redesign my blog. I've dabbled a little in html (surprisingly little considering my major - computer science), so I can figure my way around some website designing I think! 

4. Cook healthier. Don't get me wrong, I love the occasional fried chicken and sugary baked good, but for every day, my goal is to eat healthier than I do now. I would like to make a not-putting-as-much-garbage-into-my-body lifestyle change. Paul and I joined an organic produce buying club recently, which keeps fresh organic produce in the house at all times, which I LOVE. 

To anyone stopping by to read my blog, thank you :) sharing recipes and stories with you all this past year has been a joy, and I look forward to many more!

To celebrate year one - a fruity summer cocktail of course! Margaritas scream summertime to me, as do watermelons. This marg is definitely a lighter cocktail as far as alcohol content goes, as opposed to Beergaritas which are more on the potent side. Feel free to add more tequila to your liking! A bit slushy and not overly sweet, this is the perfect poolside cocktail! 

Watermelon Margaritas

Makes 5 (1 cup) servings

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups chopped watermelon

1 1/2 cups limeade (simply limeade ideally)

1/2 cup tequila

salt for the rim of the glass

Puree 3 cups of chopped fresh watermelon. Mix watermelon puree, limeade, and tequila. Serve over ice with a salted rim!

It's a little baby watermelon! We got this mini guy in our organic produce share from Annie's Organic Buying Club. It's been such a nice change to have organic fresh produce always around to snack on and cook with! Paul and I get the 3/4 share, which two people can finish in a week if they put their minds to it, but it's a tiny but of a challenge. But that's good, because it forces us to eat more fruits and veggies than we used to :)

Give the watermelon a rough chop so you can measure out 3 cups, and puree in the food processor!

Mix the pureed watermelon with limeade...

... and tequila! These margs are definitely on the easy-drinking side of the cocktail spectrum. Feel free to add more tequila if you want!

Serve over ice with a salted rim, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

My Big Fat Greek Recipe Collection

In honor of Greek Easter on Sunday, I thought I'd compile and share my Greek recipe posts! Greek Easter as a youngster for me meant celebrating with loads of family, loads of food, and an Easter egg hunt with hundreds of eggs filled with candy and cash (not just coins my friend, bills. The Greeks don't mess around with Easter).

Even if you don't celebrate Greek Easter (or Easter at all), look at Sunday as an excuse to eat Greek food! It's also Cinco de Mayo - What's a girl to do? Greek for lunch, Mexican for dinner probably. Check out my Cinco de Mayo Pinterest board for recipes and entertaining ideas!

Pictured to the left is little-me and my Papou :) Some of my fondest memories of him are of him coming over to my house and cooking for us, dictating the recipes to my parents. My parents gifted me with those written recipes a few months ago, and I was so happy I was brought to tears.

I feel the most connected to my Greek culture when I'm cooking! Below are some recipes from my family, some from me, and there is a whole recipe book full of more to come! Enjoy!

  Not only is Greek Salad undoubtedly DELICIOUS, but Greek Salad Dressing is extra virgin olive oil and vinegar based, do it's healthy! I love making a chunky salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, and red onions. One of my go-to pot luck/tailgate/picnic dishes is Greek Pasta Salad, which is just the normal salad with rotini pasta and chicken! It's wonderful with or without the chicken.

One of my favorite dishes of all time is a Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce. For me, the more garlic, the better, which is why I could pretty much eat tzatziki sauce plain by the spoonful. There's only one time in my life when I uttered the words "Well that's just too much damn garlic." I was eating skordalia at a restaurant and my dad (the only full-blooded Greek at the table) was the only one who could eat the seemingly half potato, half garlic spread, which is usually very tasty, but had gone a little overkill this time. Anyway, the point is, if you love garlic, you will love tzatziki sauce! Try it if you haven't already!

These 3 recipes are straight from my grandparents' recipe book. Tiropita is a savory cheese pie, which is enticing enough I think! The phyllo dough is buttery and flaky and the cheese filling is hot and creamy... You can't beat it. You just can't. 

Dolmades are stuffed grape leaves, and just about every recipe for the filling is different. Ours is ground beef and rice based, but there are quite a few vegetarian versions out there too! These little bite-sized meaty bundles are the perfect hor d'ouevre!

Last but not least, for dessert - the simple, understated perfection that is Rice Pudding. It's nothing fancy, but it's my FAVORITE. I even like it better than baklava! I know, I know, where's the baklava? It's still in the book! Coming soon though :) don't worry.

Check out My Big Fat Greek Recipe Board on Pinterest! 

I hope you all enjoy my family's recipes :) It makes me happy to be able to share the love and share the food. It's the Greek woman in me - I need to feed people. Now go eat some Greek food!