Dill Potatoes

*Alright,  I'm adding this to the gril category as well.  The next day we grilled the leftovers up and they were even better!

This is a simple potato recipe I made to use up some of our old dill.  I hate having fresh herbs go to waste, so I just googled dill potatoes and two recipes caught my eye.  One was dill and garlic, the other dill and parsley.  Well, I had garlic and parsley . . . so I decided to just adapt the two and make my own.  I crossed my fingers and VOILA!  It turned out great.

6 to 8 medium size potatoes, cut in half and then quartered (or whatever "bite size" you prefer).
3 Tbs melted butter
3 medium size garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbs fresh dill, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

I just put the potatoe quarters in a pot and filled it with water, about an inch above the top of the potatoes.  I brought that to a boil and then let it boil for about 8 minutes (don't let them get mushy, like mashed potatoes, you want a bite on them).  I actually just pulled an average size quarter out and took a bite to see if I liked it's tender crunch.

Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pan to let them dry out.  Meanwhile, melt the butter and then mix all the chopped spices into the melted butter.  Now put the potatoes in your serving dish and pour the butter mixture on top, try to coat evenly (you may have to toss a little).

I then let the serving dish sit in the (off but) warm oven until dinner time.  This step isn't necessary, but I'm just letting you know how I did it cause they turned out wonderful.

Obviously you can leave out either the garlic or the parsley if you don't have them both, but I'm really glad I meshed the two recipes and created my own little flavor.  It was a yummy way to use up some herbs.

Chicken Thai Pizza

Long ago Ben and I decided Friday night date night shouldn't just mean dinner at a nearby restaurant.  It was a bold move.  But a good one.  Good for our budget.  Good for our quality of time together.  Good all around.  Snuggling up with each other, a box of red vines, and the cast of 30 Rock can be even more intimate than footsies at a side booth in California Pizza Kitchen (which I usually called California Pizza Chicken, or California Chicken Kitchen).  The sad part was, I knew if we only dined out once or twice a month we'd never choose CPK again.  Good food, but Crystal/Pentagon City neighborhoods had better.

This meant I had to come up with my own way to make Thai Chicken Pizza.  We tried just buying the freezer aisle one at the store, but it wasn't nearly as good as the real thing.  So, we decided to just read the ingredients on the back of the box and try making it fresh.  Brilliant!  This is so easy to make and tastes way better than the frozen kind and only slightly less better than the actual restaurant one.

Here's how:

Pizza dough (we just do Pilsbury cause I'm terrified of making bread).

Peanut Sauce

1 breast  chicken, cooked and cubed (I use really small pieces, usually just by tearing at the cubes, and I usually don't even use a full breast, this is a go-to skimpy-meat meal when our budget needs a squeeze)

Shredded Carrots (generous handful)

Bean Sprouts (generous handful)

1 1/2 cups low-moisture, part skim, shredded mozzarella cheese

5 or so steams of cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Basically just prep the oven however your pizza dough tells you to.  Grease a cookie (or pizza sheet) and then layer on all the ingredients in the order I have them listed.  

It really is so easy, quick and cheap.  We love it.  I actually think Ben would tell you he prefers it to the one at the restaurant.  I probably don't, just because the one at the restaurant requires no prep on my part.