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St. Pattys Corned Beef & Cabbage

It’s not too late to pull together a quick St. Patty’s Day dinner tonight. I have to admit, I don’t love corned beef and cabbage but this was an easy low stress way of preparing it. Cabbage- To ensure my kids would eat their veggies, I bought pre-prepared stir fry veggies from the grocery store deli section and added additional sliced cabbage. I loved the bell peppers, onions, and snow peas that jazzed up the normally boring cabbage. I added a little sesame oil, soy sauce glaze, and a dash of orange marmalade. Corned Beef- I brushed off as much of the spices as I could and slow cooked mine on our @traegergrills. Your BBQ or oven would work great as well. I added a BBQ sauce, Dijon mustard, apricot jam mixture (1/2 C of each) on top and let it cook for a couple of hours (covered). Following your package directions with this sauce would be great. I’m saving my real energy for Easter and spring recipes!

Chilaquiles

I just served this Chilaquiles dish to a group of friends and we devoured it! It’s a little time consuming but worth it! I’m thinking an Easter party or your next get together. Don’t wait until Cinco de Mayo! CLIFF NOTES (because this is a long recipe). Make a red chili sauce (time consuming, you could substitute canned red enchilada sauce.. but I wouldn’t it’s the best part). Drench tortilla chips or tostada pieces in red sauce and layer in a casserole dish with cheese and pulled pork (optional). Garnish with all the extra yummies! This recipe will make a 9 by 11 worth of Chilaquiles. I doubled the recipe to make 2. I added 4 pounds of pulled pork from a local BBQ shop which I think added a lot to the dish. Red Chile Sauce 7 dried New Mexico chiles 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained 1 medium white onion, chopped 5 garlic cloves, chopped 1 jalapeño, with seeds, chopped 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoons honey Kosher salt freshly ground pepper 10 tostada…

Lemon and Pancetta Ziti Pasta

There is snow on the ground, and I feel the need to hibernate! This Lemon Pancetta Ziti pasta – is just what this weather calls for. I served it for my daughters first birthday and it was a big hit with the kids and adults. It’s comfort food with a touch of fresh spring flavor. 1 1/2 pounds ziti pasta 1 package diced pancetta (Trader Joes) 1-2 jars Alfredo sauce 2 lemons, juice and zest 1 C basil, julienned 3 Tb fresh thyme 1 C shredded Mozzarella 1 C shredded Parmesan 1 C Panko bread crumbs EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) S&P Boil pasta until al dente. Drain and put in casserole dish. Sauté pancetta until browned. Drain oil and set aside. In a sauce pan heat cream sauce. Add pancetta, basil, thyme, and zest of two lemons and S&P. Take off heat and add juice of 2 lemons. Top pasta with cream sauce. Combine bread crumbs, mozzarella, and Parmesan and add on top of pasta. Drizzle with EVOO. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until top is brown….

Fish Tacos with Tropical Slaw

You would never know these fresh and tasty tacos came from the freezer! Fish tacos with tropical slaw are healthy, easy, and delicous! Frozen Mahi Mahi (Trader Joes) Adobo sauce Fish seasoning/rub/Tajin Tropical slaw Purple cabbage, thinly sliced Mango, chunks Pineapple, chunks Green onions, sliced Cilantro, finely chopped Red pepper flakes Dressing 1/2 C Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar 1/2 C Grape Seed Oil 2 TB sugar S&P Thaw Mahi Mahi and drizzle with EVOO. Spread a little adobo sauce (very spicy) on fish with your favorite seafood rub/Tajin/S&P. Grill until medium rare and still moist. Add all slaw ingredients together. Mix dressing and put over slaw mixture. Let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. Char or grill corn/flour tortillas Add fish, slaw, avocado, lime juice, lime zest, and cotija cheese to tacos. Enjoy!

Steak with Chimichurri

Another great dish to serve a crowd. The fresh herbs with this steak was a huge crowd pleaser! In a blender combine: 1C fresh flat leaf parsley 1C fresh cilantro 1/2 onion or whole shallot 6 cloves garlic 1Tb (or more) red pepper flakes 2 TB dried oregano 1/4 C lemon juice/lime juice/Red wine vinegar, or any type of acidic liquid Lemon or lime zest S&P Blend until just combined. Add 1 1/4 C EVOO at the very end and spin once more until combined. Marinate flanks steak with a portion of the chimichurri sauce for 1-2 hours before grilling or Traegering. Once grilled, let rest for 10 minutes and thinly slice. Top with spoonfuls of chimichurri sauce. *I always have my steak at room temperature before throwing it on the grill or Traeger. It cooks more evenly and you can keep a nice pink inside without overcooking the outside.

Sriracha and Lime Salmon

My girlfriend brought me this dish when I had my last baby and it’s been my favorite salmon recipe ever since. It’s really that good! Zest and juice of 2 limes 3 TB maple syrup 2-3 TB Sriracha 1 tsp coarse sea salt 2 pounds salmon fillet, skin removed Coarsely chopped cilantro Preheat oven to 425°. In a bowl, whisk zest, juice, syrup, Sriracha, and salt. Place salmon in a baking dish and pour mixture over top. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. Roast until cooked through and flaky, 15 minutes. If grilling or putting on the Traeger, marinate fish with 3/4 of sauce. Grill for 15 to 20 minutes and then top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cilantro.

Skinny Potato Skins & Slaw

A less guilty way of eating Potato Skins! Yukon gold potatoes, covered in EVOO and kosher salt. Bake or Traeger at 350° for one hour. Let cool, cut in half and scoop out center. Rotisserie chicken or chicken beasts, shredded and mixed with Buffalo wing sauce or TJ’s BBQ Sriracha sauce. (For the kids I mixed in normal barbecue sauce). . Slaw- Broccoli slaw TJ’s mirapoix mix poppyseed vinaigrette dressing (or your favorite sweet salad dressing) 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Top with blue cheese crumbles and extra sauce!

Chili Lime Chicken Burgers

Remember those loaded potato skins last week? This is round 2! Chile Lime Chicken burgers (TJ’s.. I promise I’ll break my addiction soon) Burrata Cheese Slaw, leftover from potato skins Add charred corn (TJ’s darn it ) Avocado Micro greens Squeeze of fresh lime juice maybe a little Sriracha Protein veggies bright flavors Add baked sweet potatoes and you’ve got Dinner!

French Dip

With all this rainy weather, a warm French Dip sandwich seemed perfect for dinner. With leftover caramelized onions and mushrooms, it made it that much easier. This was super easy and fairly healthy comfort food that the whole family loved. Baguette, sliced in half Roast Beef, thickly cut from your deli 2 yellow onions 2 containers mushrooms (TJ’s frozen sautéed mushrooms are great for this) EVOO 2 TB butter 1 carton Beef stock 1 TB Thyme Bay Leaf Gruyere cheese (if you have any cheese rinds in your freezer, add it) S&P This is a very simple version of Au jus so if you want more gourmet, you can find some more complex ones online. Sauté chopped onions for 20-30 minutes with EVOO on a low heat. Add butter and mushrooms and sauté until reduced. Add thyme, bay leaf, and beef stock. If you have Gruyere cheese, add the rind and half the block. Simmer for 3 hours or so. Top baguette with Roast Beef and onion and mushrooms. Serve with a cup of juice and grating of Gruyere cheese…

Spicy Asian Slaw

Last salad recipe from my party. This one was definitely the favorite! So many different textures with a spicy, sweet, Asian twist. There are a lot of “dashes” in this recipe because I can’t remember exactly how I made the dressing and playing scales can be so boring. Dressing 3/4 C mayo Juice of 2-3 limes A couple of dashes of red wine vinegar Heavy dashes of soy sauce Heavy dashes of sesame seed oil Dashes of chili oil Grated ginger 2 TB or so Wasabi paste Sugar, 2-3 TB S&P. (Mix, taste, and add until it’s just perfect) Bagged coleslaw mix Costco Sweet Kale Vegetable Salad (1/2 of the bag) Cilantro, chopped Green onion, thinly sliced Snow peas, roughly chopped Red, yellow, and orange sweet peppers, chopped small Costco cashew nut clusters, chopped up Add chicken to make this dinner. Mix dressing and let sit. Add all other ingredients together and pour dressing 20 minutes before serving. “Following a recipe is like playing scales, and cooking is jazz.” Shauna Niequist