Tequila-Lime Salsa & Homemade Tortilla Chips
For one of my appetizers at my Foodbuzz 24×24 party I made homemade tequila-lime salsa and tortilla chips. This salsa has a beautiful array of colors and a nice spicy kick at the end. I baked homemade tortilla chips seasoned with garlic, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper; such a simple thing to make and so much healthier than fried chips from the store. I also like these homemade flour tortilla chips because they are softer and kind of crumble away in your mouth with the salsa. Usually salsa is hardly touched at parties, but this one got devoured by my guests along with every last chip. I think they might have liked it?
Spicy Caribbean Pork Chops w/ Rice & Peas
If you have been reading my blog for a while, you already know how much I love trying new exotic flavor combinations. The weirder the combination, the more interested I seem to be. I’m not sure why this is but it’s kind of funny to me now because I was such a picky eater as a kid and never was interested in trying new things. The only vegetables I ate until about high school were peas, corn and mashed potatoes… how things have changed.
Baked Tex-Mex Egg Rolls
I recently saw the idea for Southwestern egg rolls on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe and was instantly interested. For one, I have never made egg rolls; they are still on my list to make. Secondly, I love Mexican food. I was surprised to see that they were inside tortillas instead, but figured that is probably a better idea anyway. I decided to make my own combination of ingredients for the filling, because I wasn’t a huge fan of the black beans in the recipe I saw.
Spicy Adobo Shrimp Cocktail
This spring I worked at Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage for a few months before heading to Africa. After being in restaurants for so long, this job seemed unbearably slow at times. In order to pass the time, I would read through all of the cooking magazines at the registers for recipe ideas; probably not what I was supposed to be doing in my down time, but nobody ever said anything. Over these few months I accumulated a giant stack of torn out magazine pages and recipe notes. I am still trying to work my way through them without adding too much to the stack.
Buffalo Style Chicken Breasts w/ Bleu Cheese Sauce
There are very few things that I would not put Buffalo sauce on. I love the flavor and all the varieties of it. I have made all sorts of buffalo recipes, including one of my favorites the Buffalo Chicken Mac’N’Cheese Casserole. That recipe was some serious comfort food, but this recipe is a bit fancier and not so hard on your arteries. It is a good idea to grill the chicken for this recipe, but you can also bake it if you do not have access to a grill. I baked it when I originally cooked it.
Garlic Green Chile BBQ Sauce
All of this sunshine has been great for pool days and barbecues. It has also had me inside in the air conditioning experimenting with sauces to barbecue with. I am obsessed with the basil cream sauce that I originally made for my Roasted Tomato & Basil Turkey Burgers, but I also wanted to come up with some new barbecue sauce ideas. I love making barbecue sauces because they are so easy to make yourself and you can add what ever you want to them to create a new, unique sauce.
Sun-Dried Tomato, Flank Steak & White Bean Stew
I feel the need to start this post by saying that this was supposed to be a recipe for Mexican Posole. Of course, I had a bit of trouble with the one ingredient needed to make an actual posole- the hominy. I have heard many people say that they usually used canned hominy, but I decided to use dry hominy since that was what was in the pantry. Recalling my artichoke disaster, I am noticing a trend that apparently canned food works better for a lot of things. Luckily, I had a feeling the dry hominy would take a long time to cook and decided to cook it separately, rather than cooking it in the stew. I must have refilled the pot with water at least four times, but the hominy still wasn’t getting soft. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I had to improvise from there. I decided that white kidney beans would be a good substitute for the hominy, since they kind of have a similar texture.
Throwback Thursday: Cajun Crab & Shrimp Casserole
Since I have returned to the U.S. I have been craving hearty, spicy meals. I immediately had to get Mexican food when I got to New York City and have been craving it constantly. Unfortunately the fact that I have gained over 5 pounds during my three weeks abroad means that I need to get going on a health kick for summer. Today I ran while watching the Food Network and drooling over comfort food. I feel like I am kind of doing the same thing here by posting a delicious hearty casserole recipe for you to drool over as well.
This seafood casserole has it all- spice, zest and creaminess- all packed into a one-dish meal. I love casseroles because they are so easy to make and include everything for your meal all in one. Enjoy!
Throwback Thursday: Sweet & Spicy Salmon w/ Roasted Potatoes
This week’s throwback recipe is very memorable for me. I cook frequently for friends, especially my roommate. She is not a big seafood fan, but I have made her eat a few things this winter. This was one of the few salmon recipes that she liked, so I felt pretty accomplished! I think it also helped that I paired it with her favorite thing that I make- oven roasted potatoes. They are so easy, but so delicious!
So this week you get two throwback recipes. The first, a spicy salmon filet with a sweet orange glaze. The brown sugar and orange marmalade offset the spicy for a sensational taste. The second, seasoned oven roasted potatoes. These are easy to make and serve as a great side dish for tons of different meals. Definitely one to keep in mind.
Throwback Thursday: Sauteed Steak w/ Green Peppercorn Sauce
This weeks Throwback recipe includes a very important staple in cooking- a basic brown sauce. A basic brown sauce is the base for many different gravies and other sauces. Once you are able to make a basic brown sauce, you will open all sorts of new doors for sauces. For me, this was a very exciting thing (like I tell you constantly, I am obsessed with sauces).
The green peppercorn sauce is great for steaks and simple enough to whip up on a weeknight. Looking back I am laughing at this meal… I ate every single peppercorn in my sauce and ended the dinner with my mouth on fire. Even with that, this was a delicious recipe!
