Carne Asada Tacos

After a few weeks off I'm back!! 

I love Tex-Mex. And I hate that I love Tex-Mex. More chips and salsa? Yes please!! Since I gave up chips for lent, this means no Mexican food for a couple more weeks. Ugh!! One of my favorites meals out are carne asada tacos. So, that’s what I decided my next cooking adventure would include. I made waaaay more than I needed to, but fortunately for you, I’m pretty creative with leftovers. There’s some pretty delish bonus recipes at the bottom. 

Carne Asada

1 1/2 lbs skirt steak (or about 4 oz per person)

1/2 cup white onion, chopped

1/4 bunch of cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup vinegar

Juice from 1 lime

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

Blend all ingredients except skirt steak. Marinate steak with pureed mixture in a gallon sized ziplock bag, preferably overnight in refrigerator. 

Remove steak mixture from refrigerator, and let it come to room temperature while you the heat grill to 375-400 degrees. Cook meat for 3-5 minutes per side. I recommend cooking to medium rare or 130 degrees, as the internal temperature will rise 5-10 degrees after you take it off the grill. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes.  

Serve with corn tortillas, avocado, cotija cheese (feta is a good alternative), cilantro, limes, and green or red sauce from below. 

Fair warning, while these are not authentic salsas, they do have some kick! You may want to cut the jalapeño usage in half, or use a milder pepper as a substitute if you can’t handle the heat (like serrano). 

Green Sauce (Salsa Verde)

3 tomatillos, peeled

1 jalapeño

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup white onion, chopped

1/4 bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped (stems are okay here)

Juice from 1 lime

Chicken stock, as needed

Salt & pepper

Roast tomatillos, jalapeño & garlic in a 425 oven until browned. Remove seeds from jalapeño. Puree roasted tomatillos, seeded jalapeno, roasted garlic, chopped onion, cilantro and lime juice into a blender or food processor (I use a NutriBullet in lieu of either, & it works wonderfully). Thin using chicken stock, until desired consistency is reached. I used about 1/2 cup. Season with salt & pepper.

Red Sauce (Salsa Rojo)

1/2 cup white onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes

1 jalapeño roasted & seeded 

1 clove garlic

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

Salt & pepper

Heat olive oil in medium sauce pan. Saute onion for 3 minutes or until translucent. Add in remaining ingredients & mash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Puree mixture in a blender or food processor. Season with salt & pepper.

You can substitute whatever type of canned tomatoes you have on hand, however I find the whole peeled tomatoes are usually of higher quality & taste better than their crushed or chopped cousins. 

Leftover Recipe #1: Top flat bread pizza crusts with marinara, carne asada meat, mozzarella, blue cheese, and a drizzle of Franks Red Hot Sauce. Bake at 425 until cheese is melted. We’ll call that one Black & Blue Flatbread.

Leftover Recipe #2: Mix carne asada meat, black beans, grated cheese, rice, red sauce together. Spoon mixture into large whole wheat tortilla. Roll into a burrito, then top with more red sauce & shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted & bubbly, and inside is hot. Serve with sour cream or avocados. 

Week 9: Lemon & Parmesan Risotto

My weeks are way off, but I’m playing blog catchup! We had a stay-in date night to celebrate Valentine’s Day a month ago, and we (yes both of us!) cooked up dinner. We’ve usually kept V-Day low key, and this year was no different. Except we had lobster tails & risotto. That was for sure a step up from the steak we usually make!

I picked risotto because I wanted something that complemented the tender, soft & succulent lobster tail. And because I had never made it before. And because Valentine’s Day is the only day I think I could actually commit to stirring something for 30 minutes straight. Yes, 30 minutes. But oh so worth it! Here’s out it goes:

6 cups chicken stock

2 cups Arborio rice

1 cup white wine

1 lemon, juiced & 1 teaspoon of zest reserved

8 oz unsalted butter

4 oz freshly grated parmesan (the good stuff, please!)

1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped

Salt & pepper

Heat chicken stock in a stock pot, and keep warm. Melt 6 oz butter in a medium sauté pan on medium heat. Stir in rice, & continue stirring for 3 minutes. Add in 1/2 cup of white wine and juice from lemon & continue stirring until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add in remaining white wine & keep stirring until liquid is almost absorbed. Keeping with the same idea, add in 1/2 cup of heated chicken stock, cooking until liquid is almost absorbed. Keep stirring the entire time! Test the rice to make sure it’s cooked to your liking after about 20 minutes. I prefer mine firm with a little bit of give, but it’s up to you! Keep adding liquid/stirring until you’ve reached the texture you are looking for. 

Once the rice is cooked, stir in lemon zest, remaining butter, parmesan, parsley and salt & pepper. Enjoy immediately!

My apologies for the after picture. Turns out creamy rice doesn’t look all that great in via camera lens. Just believe that it’s underneath the lobster & asparagus, and it tasted as wonderful as lemon and butter and parmesan and love should. Dish up!

Week 8: Chick-fil-A on a Sunday

Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Copy Cat

Rarely does hubby ever request a certain food or dish. But a couple weeks ago he hands me his iPad and says “I want this”. I was intrigued, so I played along. And I quickly grew excited. It was a recipe for making Chick-fil-a sandwiches at home! Political hoo-hah aside, Chick-fil-a makes a damn good chicken sandwich. Just not on Sundays, which is probably the only time I crave it. Or at 10:32 a.m. when I want a chicken biscuit… Rules!?! I’m still not sure how I have never thought of trying to copy this at home, but I’m thrilled he came across this & am even more thrilled to share it with you. I made spicy because I wanted to, but I’m sure the non-spicy is just as good. I’m a bad blogger because I didn’t try both. But we ate Chick-fil-a on a Sunday & broke the rules!!

2 chicken breasts, halved (see time saver tip below)

1/4 cup pickle juice

1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional for spicy version)

1 egg

1/8 cup milk

1/2 cup white flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon of each:

garlic salt

celery salt

basil 

paprika

salt

pepper

cayenne (optional for spicy version)

1/2 cup peanut oil

4 hamburger buns, buttered & toasted

8 pickle slices

Heat peanut oil in a skillet (cast iron preferred) to about 350 degrees. Marinate halved chicken breasts in pickle juice & hot sauce for 45 - 60 minutes (hot sauce optional for spicy version). Mix together dry ingredients for breading. Whisk together leftover pickle juice, eggs & milk. Dip chicken in flour mixture, egg mixture, then flour mixture again. I find it easiest to bread all of the chicken breasts before frying & lay them out onto a wire wrack. 

Fry (sheesh I hate frying because it sounds so indulgent!). But if you were going to eat Chick-fil-a anyways, it would have been fried. So… fry the chicken breasts for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 162 degrees. 

Butter and toast hamburger buns. Place 2 (or if you are me, closer to 5 or six) pickle slices on the bottom bun. Top with cooked chicken.

Serve with any Chick-fil-a sauce pouches you managed to not consume last trip and waffle fries. We enjoyed these with baked sweet potato fries. Because I have a dream that one day Chick-fil-a will make, in honor of me, sweet potato waffle fries. Also, I didn’t think the chicken was quite spicy enough, so I’d recommend adding a full teaspoon of cayenne if you can take the heat. Dish up!

Time saver tip: Split chicken breasts in
half for quick freezing/thawing

Time saver tip: Since it’s just the two of us, one of the only things I will buy in bulk is chicken. Any time chicken breasts are on sale, I’ll stock up and use this trick for easy freezing/thawing/portioning. It requires a little work up front, but is especially convenient when you are in a dinner rush. I’ll halve each chicken breast like this (I did not make this video, nor did I select the audio). Then place the split chicken breast in one quart size freezer bag. Push the air out & zip tight. Freeze the bags laying flat, & the next day you can stack them or store in the freezer door. Take these out of the freezer when you are ready to cook, and they thaw evenly, in about half the time. What’s even better? Thin filets cook much faster. You can also use the same method to freeze soups, stocks, ground meats, etc. 

Week 7: Hot & Sour Soup

Hot & Sour Soup

Yesterday it was 76 degrees outside. And beautiful. Since it’s Texas, it is now sleeting, icing and 23 degrees. And aside from a handful of days this winter, I’ve spent most of it iced in & bundled up. I think the cold wind blowing out of Canada (eh) forgot to stop at the Red River this year, & I don’t like it. Not one bit. I’ve made lots of soup this year in the fight against cold weather and winter snuffles. This hot & sour soup has been one of my favorite rounds of ammo. 

I found this recipe in Chinese Cooking the American Way. It’s a well worn favorite in my cookbook collection. Side note: I collect old cookbooks, and my favorites are usually well worn, sauce-covered & have a thoughtful sentiment hand written on the inside cover. No sweet sentiment to me, just to the person that eventually sold it to Half Price Book, donated it to a thrift store or settled for a quarter at a garage sale. 

I can’t find the button to click where you can link to a real life cookbook, so here’s a picture of the recipe. It is really easy. Probably the only ingredients you’ve never used are dried mushrooms (I put a before/after below because they look so funky), tofu & MSG. And I don’t know where to buy MSG, & even take-out restaurants have deemed it unhealthy, so even after cooking this soup, I still haven’t used MSG. But this soup is fast & warms you up on a cold day like today.

wood ear mushrooms, before

wood ear mushrooms, after

My version:

2 cups chicken stock, heated

1 1/2 cups water, heated

8 oz ground pork (or chicken)

8 oz firm tofu, rinsed & cubed (1/2 in. cubes are a good size)

5-6 dried wood ear mushrooms, reconstituted & thinly sliced

1 cup chopped white mushrooms

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon green onions

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Seasonings:

1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon sriracha (or preferred hot sauce)

2 teaspoons vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

Cook ground pork (or chicken) in a stock pot over medium heat, until evenly browned. Add in mushrooms, then continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Add heated chicken stock, water, tofu and seasonings, then bring to a boil. Thicken with cornstarch paste (2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons cold water) & continue cooking for 2 minutes. 

Remove from heat & stir in beaten egg. Top with chopped cilantro & green onions. 

It’s still winter for another couple of weeks, so next time cold stops by, you have the flu, or just a craving for homemade hot & sour soup, bookmark this one. It’s a winter winner. Dish up! 

Week 6: Soft Pretzels & Currywurst

The Winter Olympics kicked off in Sochi a couple of weeks ago & to celebrate (er more of a finding a good excuse to join friends in yummy food & libations), some friends of ours hosted an opening ceremony watch part. The rules were simple. 1) Wear red, white & blue. 2) Pick a country & bring a dish from said country. 3) Drink every time the media uses certain buzz words (think Sochi, gold, Shawn White, etc.). So we wore custom Olympic ring t-shirts (see picture below), and ate delicious food from across the globe, however I think we underestimated NBC’s ability to use the 10 pre-determined buzz words…

Team Wendel Olympic Pride T-shirts (patent pending) 

Naturally, we picked Germany because of our last name. More thought should have been devoted, as in the days following our selection, I discovered I don’t really like German food. Or maybe I discovered every recipe I found had sauerkraut. I hate sauerkraut. That’s like my one food I just can’t do. I don’t care if it’s fresh or homemade or your great-aunt’s Oma’s recipe, I just can’t do it. So my requirements: no sauerkraut, travels well, reheats easily. Ummmm, yeah, should have picked Mexico…

After going back and forth and nearly rescinding our country selection, I found some German bar food I enjoy! Soft pretzels & currywurst (hashtag goes well with drinking). As I stated in a previous post, I’m quite the timid baker, but these pretzels were so simple! And the currywurst, well... I'd never heard of it. Brats & curry. Can't go wrong!

I found a soft pretzel kit from Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade line of mixes in the baking aisle. The package includes a flour mixture, yeast, pretzel salt & baking soda. The directions were easy-peasy. Stir together hot water, oil, flour mixture & yeast. Let rise for one hour. Portion out dough & roll/twist into pretzels. The mix says it makes 6-8 large pretzels, but I ended up making 16 “mini” pretzels because they were cute & more appropriate sizes for appetizers. 

Boil the pretzels in the baking soda/water mixture for 15 seconds. Place pretzels onto a baking sheet, & top with pretzel salt. Bake. Wait. Enjoy.    

These were everything soft pretzels should be — hot carby, salty, doughy deliciousness right out of the oven. Since I made them the night before, I just reheated in the oven for about 10-15 minutes & served with ground mustard/spicy brown mustard dip.

To make currywurst appetizer friendly, grill or brown bratwurst over medium heat for 30-35 minutes, rotating until cooked. After the brats cool, slice & serve with a curry ketchup dipping sauce (1/2 cup ketchup mixed with 1 teaspoon curry powder). Note: if using pre-cooked sausage, adjust cooking time based on package directions.

This week I challenge you to pick a country & make a popular dish you've never tried! Tell me how it goes in the comments below :) Dish up!

Week 5: Veggie Stir Fry & Easy Fried Rice

So, this is a week late, & there is no picture, but life got in the way! I’ve been spending some quality time at the office lately… I’m an accountant and it’s February. Yes I’m busy, and no I don’t do taxes! Hubby is back in full time study mode. He retired from accounting last fall, & is now in nursing school. I promise I actually made this last week, but am just now getting to writing about it today. 

I make a lot of stir-fries (that is, in fact, the plural of stir-fry). I really like making these because they use up produce that’s nearing its expiration. They come together in 20 minutes. And most importantly, my wok is non-stick and easy to clean. Since this blog is about meals I’ve never made, what makes this stir-fry new to me? It’s made with tofu! The Super Bowl recipe had kale, and now I’m cooking with tofu… I have not been hacked. 

Stir-fries are incredibly versatile, so just use my recipe as a guide. You can swap the veggies in the ingredient list below with whatever you have in your fridge or whatever is in season. To get the biggest variety of nutrients, try to include at least 3 out of the 5 color groups (red, orange/yellow, green, blue/purple & white). Add in sesame seeds, red chile paste, more/less garlic, more/less ginger... you get the idea. 

VEGGIE STIR-FRY

8 oz firm tofu, rinsed, cut into 1 inch cubes & marinated

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce 

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 inch of ginger, finely julienned or grated 

1 cup broccoli, roughly chopped

1 cup baby carrots 

1 red bell pepper, sliced 

3-5 green onions, cut into thirds, then lengthwise

1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped

1/4 cup water

Sriracha to taste

Garlic salt to taste

For marinade:

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

Marinate tofu with soy sauce and chopped garlic for 10 minutes. Heat sesame oil & half of vegetable oil in a wok on high heat. Cook tofu for 2 minutes or until lightly browned, then gently flip to cook other side. Remove tofu with a slotted spoon & set aside. 

Add garlic & ginger, cooking for 1 minute. Add hard vegetables (broccoli & carrots), stirring to coat with liquid. Pour in 1/4 cup of water, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add soft vegetables, stirring to coat. Cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables have reached your desired level of doneness. I prefer more crunch than mush.

Toss in your tofu, stir & season to taste with garlic salt, soy sauce & Sriracha. Serve with steamed rice or fried rice recipe below.

EASY FRIED RICE

2 cups cooked rice

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 egg

Garlic salt to taste

Scramble 1 egg in non-stick wok & set aside. Heat remaining vegetable oil on high heat, then toss in cooked rice & 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir to coat, then cook for 1 minute. Stir again, and cook for 1 minute. Keep cooking/stirring until the rice is lightly browned or toasted. Add back the scrambled egg & season to taste with additional soy sauce and garlic salt.

Last thoughts: My hubby is a meat eater. He happily chows down on veggies or whatever I put in front of him, but when it’s sans-animal, he gets easily confused. “Is it a side? An appetizer? But, where’s the meat?” We haven’t ever done Meatless Monday, but after making this, I could give it a shot. I think you could too. Dish up!

Week 4: Super Bowl Recipes

warm kale & parmesan dip   |   chocolate & salted caramel oatmeal bars

In case you hadn’t heard, my beloved Cowboys are not in the Super Bowl. Didn’t even get a wildcard spot. In the NFC East. Blame it on a coaching staff that seems to take pride in poor play calling, Tony Romo, the interception generator, or a defense picked in something like the 172nd round, it’s hard to come back and cheer every week. Or at 8-8, I guess that’d be every other week… 

Even though my team isn’t playing, I’ll still be tuning in to watch with over 100 million viewers on Sunday. I can’t tell you who will win, or whether Bruno Mars will have a wardrobe malfunction (please, just no), but I’d gamble you won’t see the game in person at MetLife Stadium, you will eat abundant amounts of food and you will enjoy some adult beverages. If you are headed to a watch party & can’t decide what to bring, I tested out these recipes last Sunday. It won’t matter if you are cheering for the Broncos or Seahawks, both of these dishes are already winners.

WARM KALE & PARMESAN DIP

When I told hubby what I was making, the conversation went something like this:

Me: I’m making a kale appetizer to test out for the Super Bowl.

Hubby: [Blank stare]

Me: It has bacon & cheese.

Hubby: [Looking relieved] Aaaah, okay. I’ll try that.

This recipe is a take on Southern Living’s Warm Kale & Asiago Dip. Here’s what I did:

5 slices of bacon, chopped

1 bunch of kale, stemmed and finely chopped

2 tablespoons onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup white wine (substitute vegetable stock if you prefer)

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese 

8 oz non-fat greek yogurt, plain

4 oz parmesan cheese, shredded

4 oz fontina cheese, shredded

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

black pepper

crostini & crackers to serve

Cook bacon in a large pan. Drain on paper towels. Saute on medium heat the kale, onion & garlic in 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings. Continue cooking until the onions are tender, or about 7 minutes. Next, deglaze the pan with a dry white wine (or veggie stock). 

While the kale is cooking, combine softened cream cheese & greek yogurt. Add in shredded parmesan, fontina, red wine vinegar, crushed pepper & about 3 turns of freshly cracked black pepper. Time saver: Use a food processor to quickly shred the parmesan & fontina. Add kale mixture to cheese & spread into an oven safe dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Top with bacon and serve on crostini or with crackers. 

What better way to introduce someone to kale than adding bacon & cheese?! My hubby tried this and was blown away at how tasty it was. The garlic was a little intense, so you may want to cut the amount in half if you’re watching the game with close talkers… Just a thought.

CHOCOLATE & SALTED CARAMEL OATMEAL BARS

My husband always tells people I am a great cook, but a lousy baker. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve tried making biscuits. Like 5 times. I seriously can’t comprehend how when I combine flour, butter, baking powder, salt, milk using the exact same ingredients & measurements as someone else, the result is wildly different! But the whole point of this blog is to challenge myself, so this was my attempt at baking. I used a recipe from Pinch of Yum. She used caramel candies, so if you can’t find caramel bits at your grocery store (I found mine on the baking aisle), you can follow her steps for preparing the caramel.

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup instant oats

1/2 cup splenda brown sugar blend

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons butter, melted

1 package dark chocolate chips

1 package caramel bits

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir in melted butter until well mixed & slightly crumbly. Press 3/4 of the dough into a greased 9x13 pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (or until slightly toasted). 

While crust is baking, melt caramel bits according to instructions, then stir in vanilla and kosher salt.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over the cooked crust, then pour caramel mixture on top, spreading to the edges with a rubber spatula. Crumble the remaining dough mixture on top & bake for about 12-15 minutes. After the bars are fully cooled, cut into squares and enjoy!

Although, I would hardly call this baking, I made these last Sunday. On Monday I forced myself to take these to work (ok, fine… I only took half to work). They are crunchy, gooey, chocolately, caramely goodness. And they were really easy to make!

These are yummy recipes for your Super Bowl watch party or next get together, so I hope you find them delicious & easy to make. Dish up!

Week 3: Seafood Gumbo

seafood gumbo   |   shellfish stock

I have a confession to make. This is going to be difficult to admit. I’ve never made gumbo. I’VE NEVER MADE GUMBO!! Whew! Feels great getting that off my chest! Okay, that’s not that big of a deal right? Except that I was born in New Orleans, and I feel like I’ve ignored my heritage & let my people down. At least, sort of. You know that bumper sticker “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could”? I am quite confident that was written about me. Seriously. I moved to Texas when I was like 3 months old. But I did go back. I spent many childhood summers visiting my father’s home in Slidell (across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans). Even as a kid, watching him cook dinner for just us, or friends, or even the entire neighborhood, I could see cajun cuisine was more than delicious food. It’s combining intense flavors, putting love into your food & bringing people together. I do that all the time - surely I can make gumbo! 

This confession lead me to this week’s meal! I have a gut feeling the best gumbo recipes come from faded & stained cookbooks passed between generations. My father is no longer with us, so I can’t ask him for his recipe (though I’d be willing to bet he didn’t even use one!). So, to the interwebs I go. I found about 2.4 million search results for ‘gumbo’. 1.9 million for ‘seafood gumbo’. Alright fine, I'll be more specific. One of my favorite chefs that calls New Orleans home is John Besh. Search ‘John Besh seafood gumbo’ & bingo! Only 10,000 results. Here is the recipe I started with:

John Besh's Seafood Gumbo

SHELLFISH STOCK

The first step is to start your stock. I based the shellfish stock off of Ina Garten’s seafood stock Ina Garten's Seafood Stock. Her recipe yields approximately 1 quart (and the gumbo recipe called for 5 quarts) so I made it with these changes:

2 tablespoons olive oil

Shells from 2 pounds medium shrimp

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 can tomato paste

1 cup okay white wine (let’s be honest, my “good” white wine goes in a glass!) 

1.5 tablespoons of kosher salt

1.5 tablespoons whole peppercorns

10-15 sprigs of thyme

1 tablespoon cajun seasoning

Heat oil in a large stockpot. Saute shrimp shells, onions, carrots, and celery for about 15 minutes. In the last few minutes, the shells & onions will start browning up. Add in garlic cloves & saute for 2 more minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add in remaining ingredients & 5 quarts of water. Bring to a boil & simmer for about an hour. Strain through a sieve. Or if you are like me and don’t have commercial kitchen supplies, a large pitcher, mesh colander & help from a spouse/friend works well. Caution: hot liquids! 

GUMBO

1 cup canola oil

1 cup flour

2 yellow onions, chopped

1 pound andouille sausage

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons crushed garlic

1 cup sliced okra

leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme

4 quarts seafood stock

3 bay leaves

2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 cup petite scallops

1 cup lump crab meat

1 cup minced green onions

Salt & pepper

Cajun seasoning

Worcestershire

Louisiana hot sauce

I made this in a 6 quart dutch oven. It’s a hand-me-down from my Granny (the one that texts) & I almost ran out of room. Some helpful pointers: 

Before you start, cut/prep/group all of your ingredients in prep dishes. It will save you from burning your roux or missing an ingredient or step. And you’ll feel all chef-y.  

For your roux, whisk the entire time. Don’t walk away. Not even for a refill of wine (or another Moscow mule). It took me about 20 minutes before the roux had the color I wanted, and I was going for milk chocolate. 

Heat oil over high. Add flour & whisk constantly for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until roux reaches desired color. 

Add onions & cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will begin to look like caramel covered onions. Have no fear - you’re building flavor. 

Add in sausage & cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. (Disclaimer: Besh’s recipe called for jumbo blue crabs, which my market did not have. If this recipe could have been improved, it would be please DO NOT skip out on the crab, per hubby Jeremy). 

Add in celery, green bell pepper, garlic cloves and okra & cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add in thyme, shellfish stock & bay leaves. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat & simmer for 45 minutes. 

Add in shrimp, scallops, crabmeat and green onions & cook for 10 minutes. 

For the last step, you’ll have to use your own taster. Here’s a good baseline if you don’t trust yourself: 3 twists of cracked sea salt, 5 twists of cracked pepper, a heaping spoonful of cajun seasoning, 3-4 dashes of worcestershire & 10-12 drops of Louisiana hot sauce. Serve over white rice with French bread. 

Alright, so my thoughts on this... I moved away from Louisiana at 3 months old, but I may still have a little cajun blood in me. For my first ever gumbo, I have to say this was pretty stinking good. Like really really good. Like impress your in-laws & the food snobs down the street good. Okay, I probably can’t fool everyone, but I made this for my parents and hubby while the football games were on this past Sunday. We all agreed it was authentic & delicious - I hope your family enjoys it too!

Week 2: Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

goat cheese & herb stuffed chicken roulades  |  oven roasted ruby red potatoes  |  steamed sweet baby broccoli

What a week?! This was the first full week back at work post holiday season for me & it wore me out! With kids headed back to school for many as well, I wanted to make something that was nutritious, tastes delicious and comes together quickly. So I headed over to CookingLight’s “Dinner Tonight” page for some inspiration. I love this page because it includes healthy menu ideas that can be prepared in less than 45 minutes. The recipes are categorized by Chicken & Turkey, Beef & Lamb, Pork, Vegetarian, Pasta, Soups & Stews. Hubby picked the herb & goat cheese stuffed chicken breasts. Well, I’ve made stuffed chicken breasts before. They always end with one dry end, stuffing missing from some bites, and a bulky and sometimes awkward looking piece of meat on your plate. But hubby wanted stuffed chicken! Solution: chicken roulades! Basically, meat that has been flattened, stuffed, rolled, seared (& sometimes braised). Could I still cook this in under 45 minutes? Read on (or just scroll to the bottom) to find out.

Alright, so we are cooking with goat cheese y’all! Before I got started, I may or may not have pulled up this treasure. That's a lie. I totally did. 

Spoiler: We aren’t cooking any goats, nor did I personally harm any goats in the making of that classic compilation. Now back to the food. Here’s my take on the recipe:

4 oz goat cheese

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley

2 tablespoons mint

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

3 chicken breasts, cut in half & pounded to 1/4 inch thick

1 tablespoon Grapeseed oil (olive oil may be substituted)

3/4 cup chicken stock

Juice from 1 lemon

Salt & pepper to taste

Mix together goat cheese, chopped herbs, panko & dash of salt & pepper, and set aside. 

Split 3 chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Pound out each half of chicken breast until 1/4 inch thick. Evenly spread goat cheese mixture onto chicken breasts. Roll up the chicken breasts (smallest end first) & secure with twine or toothpicks. 

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a medium-hot skillet. Sear chicken, rotating every 2 minutes until all sides are evenly browned. Remove chicken from the pan. Deglaze the pan using 3/4 cup of chicken stock juice from a lemon. Season with salt & pepper.  

Place chicken back into the pan & bake in a 425 degree oven until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees (or the juices run clear). To serve, slice and top with lemon sauce from pan. 

I served this with steamed sweet baby broccoli & oven roasted fingerling ruby potatoes. I kept the potatoes pretty simple: tossed with olive oil, sea salt & fresh cracked pepper, then roasted in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes. 

And the verdict is...

It was juicy, tender & flavorful, but just not knock-your-socks-off tasty. However, the entire meal came in at well under 500 calories, so it’s definitely one to keep in the books. It took about an hour to bring the entire meal together, which is longer than I am willing to devote on a weeknight. I think next go round, I’d try to shave off some time by using the tubes of pre-chopped herbs & purchasing chicken breasts that are already thinly-sliced by the butcher. After the dishes were washed, hubby gave this a half thumbs up (as did I). Alas, I guess that’s the beauty (and the beast) of sharing with you Meals I’ve Never Made! Dish up!

Week 1: New Year's Day

bourbon & brown sugar glazed pork chops   |   warm apple, bacon & gorgonzola slaw   |   hoppin' john

Every January 1st, between watching the Rose Bowl Parade & college football, my family eats the same food. Black eyed peas, cabbage & pork. While my hubby (Jeremy) happily chows down on the pork loin, he can only manage to put down a bite of the black eyed peas & cabbage. But after that one bite, he considers himself immune from misfortune for another 365 days. Why? Google the meanings behind eating these foods on New Year’s Day, and you’ll find a variety of answers from every little old lady in the south (okay probably just the ones that can use a computer, right?). My favorite little old lady in the south (Granny, fully capable of using a computer) says:

“It’s an old custom that means you had enough food stored to last through the winter. Peas to plant for new crop, cabbage stored in the root cellar and pigs left to butcher.” (she texted that by the way). 

In other words, be grateful for the good from last year & you’ll be blessed for another year. So, for my first post on a blog about cooking “Meals I’ve Never Made”, I’m not messing with history. I’m making black eyed peas, cabbage & pork. Just ones that taste better than last year. Here were the recipes:

Bourbon-Sauced Pork Chops

You’ll find most of these ingredients in your pantry. I usually keep a stash of ginger in my freezer which makes it’s easy to grate for recipes that only call for a small amount. Unfortunately, my kitchen gnomes seem to have borrowed that to make gingersnaps last month & I was forced to use powdered ginger. I have to say, while the glaze was incredibly tasty, the taste of fresh ginger was definitely missed.

I skipped the grill because I was lazy and made these in my grill pan (gift from hubby that is loved/used all the time). These came together so quickly, so I can easily see this being a quick meal during the week. The thick cut pork chops stay juicy & tender, but beware of portion sizes. We ended up sharing just one of the chops because they were so large!  

Warm Cabbage Salad with Bacon & Blue Cheese 

This recipe served more as inspiration. My variations: 4 bacon slices, well, because I had 4 slices left in my fridge & I would have felt terrible leaving that last little guy by himself. I nixed the shallot, swapped blue cheese for gorgonzola, swapped 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar for 2 cups of apple cider, & added in a thinly sliced granny smith apple. 

I brought the apple cider vinegar to a boil & then added it to the gorgonzola, salt & pepper in a food processor. I think this dressing would have been better had I added a tablespoon or so of honey here. In a separate pan, I cooked the shredded cabbage, red peppers & sliced apple in a tablespoon of the bacon drippings for about a minute on medium heat, or just enough to get the veggies heated through. Then I tossed the cabbage mixture, crumbled bacon and some chopped green onions in the gorgonzola dressing.

Hoppin' John

I think every person I know ate black eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck. If you didn’t, make these & eat like 5 servings and you should be good! I followed some of PW’s variations and used the chopped red bell pepper leftover from the cabbage salad & swapped ham hock for sliced bacon. Whoa! This has to be the best way to eat black eyed peas. Even hubby, who thinks beans are pretty terrible had seconds of these! Notice how I said beans there? Black eyed peas are beans! And tomatoes are fruit!? I won’t argue on this, but will just say these bean/peas make delicious leftovers with some skillet cornbread. 

If this is all you have to eat for a year of luck & good fortune, sign me up! Oh my awesomeness this was tasty & full flavored! The sour/savory slaw was a perfect pair for the sweet bourbon sauce & I think I’ll happily avoid making boiled peas for the rest of my life now. If your family is not crazy about eating cabbage on a weeknight (or ever), these pork chops would be great paired with mashed potatoes and broccoli as the recipe suggests.  

Dish up!

Does your family have any traditions to celebrate the New Year?