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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!

Waffle Breakfast Stack With Sriracha Maple Syrup

Let’s be honest, I could never pull this off for breakfast so this is a dinner stack with breakfast foods. The kids loved making their own stacks and I tried to make them as healthy as possible. The best part..stay with me… SRIRACHA MAPLE SYRUP. Yes, you have to try it if you like spicy and sweet and Sriracha on everything like I do! Serve stack with a spinach salad or fruit and Greek yogurt and you can check dinner off your list. Whole wheat waffles Scrambled eggs with 3-4 whole eggs 3-4 egg whites Ham turkey bacon, or your favorite breakfast meat Sriracha Maple syrup – 1 part Sriracha to 2-3 parts Maple Syrup I used my kitchen stacker to cut the waffles into smaller circles and toasted them. Layer eggs/turkey bacon/waffle/eggs/ham/waffle Drizzle spicy syrup (or normal) over waffle stack and dive in! You could go all out with this and make it more savory by adding avocado, arugula, cheese, or other toppings. Using “real waffles” with butter would kick this up a notch too. So many…

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…

Pastrami Swiss Salad

Stay with me here… This was a low carb and lovin’ it type of dinner. We love Pastrami, Swiss, and oodles of thousand island dressing but went for a cleaner take in this salad. Mix of Arugula and romaine lettuce Trader Joes- Pastrami, sliced thinly Swiss cheese slices, sliced thinly Sauerkraut with pickled Persian cucumbers (yummo) Pretzel bagel sliced into 3 rounds and toasted (we each had one slice). Dressing: Mustard Vinaigrette 3/4 C EVOO 1/4 C Lemon juice 2 -3 Tb Dijon mustard (it’s very mustardy so you can do less, but with this salad it’s delish) 1 Shallot, diced S&P ONCE AGAIN, REMEMBER if you don’t have Pastrami use Turkey, if you don’t have shallots leave them out, if you hate sauerkraut don’t use it! Be flexible!

Meatloaf Cupcakes

Oh wow, these were delicious and so good for you! My kids loved that they were eating cupcakes for dinner and my husband and I couldn’t stop at just one.. or two! Sauté for 5-8 minutes: EVOO 1 large yellow onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced In a large bowl combine: 2 Lbs extra lean ground beef (7% fat) 3 eggs, beaten 1/4 C tomato paste Dash or two of Worcestershire sauce 1 large zucchini, grated 1 large carrot, grated 1-1 1/2 C bread crumbs (I used leftover cornbread stuffing mix and it was phenomenal) Beef or Chicken broth as needed to moisten mix S&P Add onions to meat mixture but don’t over mix. Spray muffin tins generously with cooking spray. Fill each cup with meatloaf mixture. Top off with a little extra broth if needed. Slather your favorite BBQ sauce on top and cook at 375 for 30 minutes or so. (I cooked mine on the Traeger at 350 for 25 minutes and the smokiness and moistness were the perfect combination for these muffins.) Sweet potato frosting: Bake 6…

Macho Salad

I absolutely love this salad! It is my go-to for ladies lunches, showers, and feeding a crowd (I double this recipe). The cornbread croutons are the crowning glory. Serve it with the Bandera’s cornbread I posted awhile back and you’ll be in heaven! Salad 6 cups Romaine/red leaf Lettuce, Chopped 1-½ pound rotisserie chicken, shredded 1 avocado, chopped 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled 2 whole large Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped ½ cup toasted almonds, coarsely chopped 1 cup corn 1 cup dates (about 12-14 whole dates, sliced 1 cup cornbread croutons ( *next post) Vinaigrette 1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar 2 teaspoons Brown Sugar ½ teaspoons kosher salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 cloves garlic, minced ¼ teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Beet, Mint, and Feta Salad

Loved this easy salad especially with mint, lemon, and feta! Spinach and Bibb lettuce Roasted Beets, quartered (I used TJs roasted beets) *Roasted carrots (found these awesome Heirloom baby rainbow carrots at Harmons) Mint leaves, torn Flat leaf parsley, chopped Feta Dressing – combine 2 tsp fresh lemon juice 2 tsp Sherry vinegar (or any vinegar you have) 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp Cumin 1/2 C EVOO 1 TB finely chopped fresh mint s&p *To roast carrots set oven to 425 and drizzle EVOO on carrots. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until caramelized.

Nicoise Salad

I also ate this yummy salad for dinner and I despise writing recipes in comments so here you go! Vinaigrette: combine 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp Dijon mustard 3 Tb red wine vinegar 1/2 lemon, juiced 2 Tb chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 2 Tb minced fresh tarragon (use dried if you don’t have fresh) 1/2 C EVOO Salad: 1 pound small red new potatoes 8 large eggs ( go for soft boiled not hard boiled) 1/2 pound green beans, stems trimmed 2 pounds fresh sushi-quality tuna 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil S&P 1 pint teardrop or cherry tomatoes, halved 1 cup olives Your favorite lettuce You can cook the potatoes, eggs, and green beans in the same pot (Yay). Simmer the potatoes for 12 minutes to give them a head start, and then add the eggs and green beans. Boil the beans for 5 minutes until crisp-tender while continuing to cook the potatoes until fork tender. Drain out the water and put everything under cold water to stop cooking. Eggs should be soft boiled which taste so much better…

Meatloaf Marinara with Zoodles

Filming a fun segment on @studio5ksl today! Meatloaf cupcakes (previous post) and turning the leftovers into two different meals. My family all agreed we liked this “meatloaf marinara” sauce as much as the cupcakes. Crumble up leftover meatloaf muffins and put in Arrabbiata sauce. Top with shaved Parmesan and red pepper flakes. Serve over *zoodles or pasta! * I sauté my zoodles in a little Grape Seed Oil and S&P. Don’t overlook them or they’ll be soggy and watery. You want them cooked al dente.

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….