Three No-Oven-Required Recipes for Your Loved Ones!

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In the heat of the summer, who really wants to turn the oven on to make a meal? I sure don't. I'm constantly
looking for innovative solutions to this problem-- quick and tasty ideas I can either do stove-top, on the grill outside, or none of the above!

Take a look at a few of my go-to's and share some of your own with me in the comment section or contact me via the side bar option. 

1. Sally's Salad
A friend of mine, three guesses on her name, came up with her own delicious version of this salad when we
went out to eat. She'll have this no matter what time of day, and I quickly adopted a quick one liner when going out with her, "I'll have what she's having!" So, good! It's a little quirky-- it's a salad with no, I repeat, no lettuce, folks! Try it! You won't be disappointed. 

Ingredients:
  1. Chopped up cucumbers
  2. TJ's Grilled Chicken Strips (green package) 
  3. TJ's Organic Pitted Kalamata Olives in Brine / EVOO
  4. TJ's Authenic Greek Feta in Brine (or Swiss works well too)
  5. TJ's Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Directions:
Chop up the cucumbers and the chicken strips well and add contents to your serving bowl or plate. Add drained kalamata olives (quantity is preference). Crumble the feta and sprinkle over the salad. Pour the balsamic dressing and toss the salad to taste. Enjoy! 




2. Chicken Sausage & Sauteed Veggies 
This is a fairly simple dish, stove-top, but it tastes great and it's easy to make! Give it a whirl! 

Serving size is for a family of 4. 

Ingredients:
  1. 3x packages of TJ's Italian Chicken Sausage
  2. 1x pack of TJ's Tricolor Peppers (3x peppers, red/orange/yellow)
  3. 2x large yellow onions
  4. 1x package of sliced white mushrooms (optional)
  5. 1x medium sized eggplant
  6. 1x jar of TJ's Rustico pasta sauce (or TJ's Tomato Basil)
  7. 4 tbs of Grapeseed or Olive Oil 
Directions:
You'll need two skillets. First, cut each of the chicken sausages in half, length-wise. Then cut slices about 1/2" ea. You don't need to be exact. But you want them to brown. Once they're all cut, heat the first skillet with 2 tbs of oil and add the chicken sausage on medium heat. Keep them moving every couple of minutes and remove from heat once all sides are browned. 

Wash the veggies with TJ's Fruit and Veggie Wash to remove the chemicals and bacteria. Cut the peppers into strips. Set aside. Cut the onions into fine slices or chop them finely. Leave the mushrooms as they are already sliced. Cut the eggplant into small chucks. Remove the skin if you prefer. Add all the veggies to the skillet, but for the eggplant, with the 2tbs of oil. Once the veggies start to soften, then add the cut up eggplant. Eggplant if it cooks too long turns to mush. 

Now, add the pasta sauce to the veggie skillet once all the veggies are well cooked and browned. If there's too much water or fluid in the skilled-- drain it before you add the sauce. Once the sauce is added and starts to bubble, lower the heat and add the chicken sausage. Put a lid on it and keep it on low heat for about 10 minutes, and then you're done! With a holed ladle, dish yourself a helping and sprinkle some parmesan cheese if you wish and enjoy! 




3. Gourmet Bacon Cheese Burgers
Started experimenting with gourmet burgers a couple of years ago and finally came up with something pretty basic that I love to throw on the grill during the summer, and I'm happy to share it here with you. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one. 

Serving size is 4x burgers. 

Ingredients:
  1. 4x Ground Beef Patties (unthawed)
  2. TJ's Umami Seasoning
  3. 1x large yellow onion
  4. TJ's Fully Cooked Bacon or uncooked bacon
  5. TJ's Herbed Goat Chevre cheese log
Directions:
Finely chop the onions and saute in oil until soft and brown. If you have uncooked bacon, cook until just right and not over-done or over-crispy. Keep them as flexible as possible. Chop up the slices. 

Roll out each patty on a meat appropriate cutting board so that they're pancaked out a bit. Sprinkle 1/2 Tbs of the Umami seasoning on each patty. Mix each individual patty with the seasoning like meatballs. Mix them with your pre-washed hands and work them well until the seasoning is worked in well. Flatten each patty again. Add 1/4 cup of chopped bacon and 1/4 cup of the finely chopped onions. Do the same thing with each patty. Roll them each up like meatballs and work them carefully until the bacon and onions are well mixed in each patty. Some may fall out, just try and work them back in. Keep as much in as you can and reform the patty into a burger at the size and thickness of about no more than 1". 

Grill each burger 7 minutes per side for no-pink/tender. After the burgers are almost done, take a thin slice of the herbed goat cheese and lump in the middle of each burger. Don't worry about smearing it. Close the lid-- it'll melt just enough. Enjoy! 



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