Graziano tuscan stew

I feel turrible (my favorite Charles Barkley word) about about last week, I really do. Left you with a SNAFU on Thursday, promised this fine mouthful of the best soup I've ever made (according to Main Man) to end the week on, and then I left you hanging allllll weekend. Shame on me. If you're involved in this snow system that's been moving around the midwest all weekend, I would be extra upset at me at this moment...this stuff is the perfect thing to have simmering on your stove all day watching the white stuff fall. I was pretty sure we were done with all this Winter crud with the birds chirping in the mornings last week, and daylight savings time springing ahead on Sunday, but I guess Mother Nature and Old Man Winter wanted another roll in the hay before giving up for the year...

Looking at these pictures makes my soul do a little hippy dippy dance. This was pretty much a perfect Saturday in my book...yoga in the morning, a light lunch, nice and sunshine-y day outside with a chilly nip in the air, and an afternoon of cooking! If I have time on the weekends, I generally try to prepare our dinners for the week as much as possible so that there is less cook time and clean up during the week. I love the feeling of having a clean house and a full fridge with dinners planned on Sunday night before getting into the weekly grind. I'm type A like that...

Anyway, I was making a few meals for the following week and noticed I had some graziano in the freezer as well as some veggies in the fridge that weren't slated for digestion in other recipes and probably needed to be used before they were wasted. Soup always comes to mind when I have extra veggies on hand, and why not have some soup simmering while I'm in the kitchen to make my other meals anyhow? I intended to use the noodles that are pictured, but the pot got so full I didn't have room for them...which was sort of a happy accident because the soup was very vegetable-y and lighter than I think it would have been with carbs plopped in it. Here's what you need:

1 lb Graziano sausage (It's a brand of spicy italian sausage made by Graziano Brothers in Des Moines, IA if you've never heard of it...Main Man has actually told me if he got propositioned by a Graziano daughter, he would have a hard time not leaving me to join that family...I've got my eye on those girls!!)
1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped (about 1.5 cups)
1/2 white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3-4 celery stalks, diced (or about 1 cup)
3 green onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T crushed red pepper
1 T dried basil
8 oz spinach leaves
1 (15.8 oz) can mushrooms, drained
1 (15.8 oz) can great northern beans (canneloni beans would work as well), drained
1 (46 oz) can tomato juice
1 (48 oz) container chicken broth
1 (15.8 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes, with juice
salt and pepper to taste

 

Obviously, you start with dicing all your veggies up. I had the Graziano sausage and minced garlic browning in a skillet as I chopped.  On another burner, I had a large pot that I added the chicken broth and the tomato juice to in order to bring it to a boil while I was chopping. When the liquid is boiling, add all the chopped veggies and let boil for 5 minutes. Bring the soup down to a simmer and add the cooked sausage and garlic, as well as the spices to the pot. Let simmer covered for anywhere from 1-4 hours, I went about 3 hours with mine. The longer you simmer, the better the flavors will melt together and reach one fabtastic taste profile vs. everything tasting like its individual state.

 

Main Man came home from doing some errands and was raving about this stuff! He said it was by far the best soup I've ever made, and it might be in his top 5 of favorite things I've made to date. That's a pretty aggressive assessment for a soup, especially for a meat and taters man like my hubs. The best part is smelling the soup simmering all afternoon though...nothing smells like home more than soup simmering on the stove on a chilly day. Serve with some dippy bread and have yourself a little warm up in this little snowstorm we've got going on...hopefully it's our last!!

 

No matter how great a soup is, Main Man and I would take a full week to eat a batch this large, so I always freeze a large portion of it to pull out and simmer on another chilly day. They are dated and labeled, and I'm pretty excited to surprise Main Man one of these coming days with another dose of his new favorite soup with no extra effort at all from me. I win! Happy Monday, all...

Seafood risotto

You guys. I know it's only Tuesday, so it's tough to get excited. But if ever you were excited about something I've posted, it should be this. Brudder Ben and Main Man were both whining about dinner when I told them what we were having but were oooohhhhh-ing and aaaahhhhhh-ing between forkfulls when it was put it front of them. Booyah. I was born in the 80's, I can use words like booyah.

Do you watch Chopped? It's a cooking show where 4 chefs start out to compete on a 3 course meal prepared using mystery ingredients that are only provided to them seconds before they start. One chef is chopped after each course, so they are frantically trying to beat the clock, get all the mystery ingredients incorporated, and make a visually appealing, taste bud conquering dish to present the judges. They get 30  minutes for each course, and I've seen the judges get superbly nervous when someone attempts a risotto, and even watched chefs get chopped because of that choice. So I was scurred to make it at home. It's an intimidating dish, but it's not complicated, just time consuming. I'm telling you right now, buck up and do this or you will be sorry. If you can stir for 30 minutes, you can make restaurant worthy risotto. Let's throw another BOOYAH in here for emphasis!

Risotto is a class of Italian rice dishes cooked in broth to a creamy consistency, and is actually one of the most common ways to prepare rice in Italy (according to the all knowing Wikipedia, that is). You must use a high starch, short grain white rice to achieve the perfect consistency, as the rice needs to release starch and absorb liquids. Most commonly, risotto recipes call for arborio rice, and that's what I used. I get a monthly newsletter from Waterfront (our local fresh seafood market that I signed up for when getting fresh fish for sushi at home one night). I have since made a handful of the recipes that are printed in the back, and have never been disappointed in the least. I should really dig the archives out and try more of them after experiencing the euphoria I did from this dish...

Here's what you need to play the game:

1 T olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
salt
freshly ground black pepper
6 cups seafood stock (I used chicken stock because I had it on hand)
1 t minced garlic (I used more like 1T)
1 lb arborio rice
2 lbs assorted shellfish and seafood (I used 1 lb of scallops, 1 lb of shrimp)
1 T butter
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used skim milk)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
3 T chopped green onion
2 T parsley

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onions. Season with salt and pper to taste, and cook while stirring. Saute until the onions are slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Add the stock and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for about 6 minutes. Add the rice and simmer for 12 minutes, stirring constantly.

Clean and trim the shellfish and seafood you're using. Season the seafood with salt and pepper. Add the seafood to the skillet. Stir in the butter, cream , cheese, parsley, and green onions. Continue to cook and stir for 6-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and spoon the risotto onto your plate, and into  your mouth. I served this with our favorite veggie, the roasted brussel sprouts. Can I get another BOOYAH!?

BLT bites

Wanna know a secret? This is the last recipe from the Christmas season...all the recipes from here on out were actually prepared this year. Sorry for being so behind on life. I've always been a little slow :)

 

I realize this picture is not the best. I realize I didn't actually make these with my own two hands (thank you Teri, these were lifechanging). But you have to understand...there was no way that I could keep this recipe from you. Not a possibility. I plowed through these things like a snowblower, you guys. Actually maybe more like a woodchipper...chewed them up and kept coming back for more. No matter how full I was, I could always fit one more into the pit. Kinda like the pesto cream cheese tomatoes I made for Easter this year. Something about cherry tomatoes stuffed with goodness. They're my kryptonite.

Ingredients

• 1 container cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 lb sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• Cut a thin slice off of each tomato top. Scoop out and discard pulp. Invert the tomatoes on a paper towel to drain.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon into tomatoes. Refrigerate for several hours. Yield: 16-20 appetizer serving

If you want to see what an actual photographer can make these look like, and not a fat kid snapping a pic in between handfulls of food, check out the link to the actual recipe here at Taste of Home.  Un.Real.

Jalapeno creamed corn

Mmmmmmmmmm. That's it.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1-8oz package cream cheese (I use fat free)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

2-4 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped

4 10oz cans white shoepeg corn, drained

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Melt the butter and cream cheese in a saucepan over medium heat

Stir in the flour, milk, and jalapeños

Cook until the mixture reaches a pudding-like consistency

Pour the corn into a 2-quart casserole dish

Pour the cheese mixture over the corn

Cover with aluminum foil

Bake in the preheated oven 30 to 45 minutes

 

Don't let my lack of verbage make you believe this dish is less than fabulastic. Nice little pops of flavor but not too much heat, these will be on my menu again soon, fo sho. It's even been entered into the "favorites" tab...and that just speaks for itself.

Linguine in clam sauce

Here it is, folks! There's been a little controversy around the Casa Del Stensland about what is the best meal we've had lately. Main Man's vote was this Brussel sprouts and crab mac and cheese, but my vote counts more (the lady of the house's always does) and I double vote for this linguine in clam sauce from Iowa Girl Eats. We don't have to go over my obsession with her again...we all know it's a little ridonkulous...but man this girl makes my mouth water on a daily basis!  I used to think my favorite recipe from her blog was the caprese lasagna, with the skinny meatball subs coming in at a close second. But ah do ba-leev I have found zee best recipe on her blog eva!

 

I've never actually had linguine in clam sauce so I have no comparison to give you, not sure if this is a traditional recipe or a little different from the standard you would get in a restaurant...I can tell you I will be trying this sometime if I ever see it on the menu at an Italian place. I really don't quite get how you can get such flavor with so few ingredients, and I predicted it was going to be pretty dry (I'm a saucy girl) but it really wasn't at all! I devoured my whole plate...if there had been leftovers I would have had more. Probably a good thing there weren't any. I did go buy the ingredients to have on hand to make this two more times...I liked it so much I wanted to be able to make it anytime the craving hit me. The best part is, the ingredients can be kept on hand and pulled out at any time to make a phenomenal dinner at the drop of a hat. I can't wait to impress someone with this meal...."Oh yeah, I suppose I could throw something together for dinner tonight if you want to come over"...and then BOOM, you get hit in the face with this stuff! I'm super excited just thinking about it :)

 

8 oz dried linguine

1 T olive oil

1 large shallot (I subbed 3 green onions, didn't have shallots on hand)

3-6.5 ounce cans clams, drained, with 3/4 cup juice reserved

juice of 1 lemon (I used 1 T of lemon juice I had in the fridge)

1 t red pepper flakes (or to taste, you know I like my red pepper so I used more)

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced (I added this...can't have Italian without garlic)

 

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and shallot (or green onion) and saute until very soft and tender, about 5 minutes. Add clams and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add reserved clam jice, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.

 

Toss pasta in the skillet with the sauce. adjusting red pepper flakes to taste. The recipe says to divide among 4 plates and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top. I divided it into two servings and wouldn't have wanted any less of a portion. This was the perfect amount for two people...and that's seriously hard to do, people. I'm always trying to make dinners that won't result in tons of leftovers and it rarely works out...so that was a cherry on top (except I could've nibbled on that stuff all night after dinner, it was so good).

I served with garlic bread and cleaned my plate...might've licked it clean...can't remember, don't care. That's not what's important. What's important is that you get yourself these ingredients and throw a restaurant quality dinner together for yourself lickity split (Main man even commented "It's done already" when I started plating). I'll admit that it doesn't look like much, so don't be taken aback at the flavor punch that is going to hit your tongue when you devour this...I warned you. Fair and square.

I'm glad this meal turned out so well as it was prepared in celebration of our one month anniversary of being married. Don't worry, we're not going to be one of those ridiculous couples who celebrate each and every month, but I saved the cakeballs from the top of the wedding cake and froze them for us to have a special night with each other after all the hubbub from the wedding was over. Dessert is served! Red wine for her, milk for him :) 

Have a great Friday, all! It's all downhill to the weekend...

Bangin' Grilled Shrimp Skewers

Sit down. Take off your socks. Because the knowledge I am about to impart upon you is going to knock you off your feet AND knock your socks off. It happened to me when I put my first little bangin' shrimpy in my mouth. True story. Mama told these shrimpies to knock you out. Mama said knock you out.

P.S. They're not bad for you. I knowwwwwww! Where have these been all my life?? I found them hiding over at Gina's Skinny Taste, you know, my fave WW blog evah evah. I've told you about her before. The spinach and cheese lasagna rolls came from her. Yeah, she's pretty much a god. Plus, check out her food photos...but not before lunch unless you enjoy torture. I've had these shrimp skewers in my pile to try for longer than I care to admit now that I know how easy they are. What, you don't have a pile 2 foot high of printed recipes you want to try in the corner of your kitchen? Me either. I was kidding. Don't leave me...

It just so happened the stars aligned and I had everything I need to make these ready to go and on hand. We haven't made dinner this fast in....well, ever. Main man manned the grill after I skewered the shrimpies, while I made the sauce lickety split. Sauce them up after you take them off the grill and whammo-blammo-cadabra (or whatever it is magicians say)...dinna is served, my lords. You're welcome. I finally stopped curtsying earlier this week.

Ingredients:

2 T light mayo (I used olive oil based)
2 T scallions, chopped fine (I didn't have any so skipped this part)
2 T Thai sweet chili sauce
1 t Sriracha (or to taste, I used more like 1 T)

40 large raw shrimp, shelled and deveined, sprinkled with fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

Combine the first group of ingredients. Set aside. Soak wooden skewers in water so they don't burn on the grill. Heat a clean, lightly oiled grill to medium heat, when the grill is hot add the shrimp, careful not to burn the skewers. Grill on both sides for about 6-8 total cooking time, or until shrimp is pink and opaque. Set shrimp on a platter and quickly brush with sauce. Serve immediately, it gets cold quickly.

We made Main Man's favorite side lately...the baked parmesan tomatoes...to round out the meal.

 

Best part? The fat stats.

 

Bangin' Grilled Shrimp SkewersSkinnytaste.com

Servings: 2 • Serving Size: 2 skewers(10 shrimp each skewer) • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 280 • Fat: 9.5 g • Protein: 37 g • Carb: 8.4 g • Fiber: 0.1 g • Sugar: 5 g
Sodium: 330.9 mg

Breakfast burrito

Ohhhhh, how I love it when Main Man cooks me breakfast. I mean, you know I love to cook, but breakfast is the best meal to have made for you with love rather than dragging your butt up to make it yourself. Plus, if you look at the pics below....that thing is sexy, isn't it! Good looking piece of breakfast fare, right there. And I'll tell you what...he outdid himself this time, it was very probably the best breakfast he's ever made me in the 3.5 years we've been together. Hopefully he remembers to make it again sometime soon!

He started by basically making an omelette with half eggs and half egg whites. You have to use more eggs this way, but it's better for your loved one's cholesterol and all that jazz. So I believe he used 6 eggs (3 full eggs, 3 egg whites), and then added some diced jalapenos, banana peppers, shredded 2% mexican cheese, diced onions, turkey sausage patties diced up, and seasonings (he's really into my Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt lately, and I'm sure he used cracked black pepper as well).  That's the stuffing to your burrito of love...ok, I won't ever say that phrase again, sorry.

I had the jalapeno cheddar tortillas leftover from the buffalo chicken wraps so he wrapped all the goodness up into a burrito (see...way more appropriate than "burrito of love") and topped it with diced cherry tomatoes from the garden, lettuce from the garden, greek yogurt, and some Cholula.

I scarfed this whole monster. You know when people tell you that they diet by just stopping when the food doesn't taste as good as it did on the first bite? Well, that didn't happen. I was soooo full and just trying to make more room for one more bite. This thing was banging with flavor! And the best thing was, most of the stuff came out of the garden. We had everything we needed on hand...can't really beat that for a nice Summer weekend morning at home. One more pic and then you have to go drool on someone else's page...

Chicken enchiladas

Well, if you're doing something, you might as well do it big, right? That's my philosophy at least. I don't know why I feel as though I've been nesting lately. Maybe I'm planning on being really busy this Fall with the wedding stuff? Either way, I have a deep freeze full of frozen sweet corn and green beans from the garden, a basement full of spicy and dill pickles, and now a shelf full of frozen pastas ready to get after. Soon I will begin the salsa and spagetti sauce battle and then we shall be done!

I had been craving this healthified chicken enchilada recipe for a bit (ummmmmmm scroll down and tell me you're not craving it after seeing a couple pics), so when I got around to it, I had bucketloads of mouthdrool at hand to contend with while preparing it. Multiple forkfulls of this chicken mixture landed right in my gullet to plug the geyser....and it worked! The filling was so fresh tasting with the veggies in there....

2 large chicken breasts, baked and seasoned with cajun seasoning

1/2 can black beans (healthy little buggers, they are)

1/2 can yellow corn (mexicorn would be yumtastical as well)

1/2 can diced tomatoes with green chiles

1/2 diced jalapeno from the garden (more if you've got a penchant for the heat like I do)

1 cup greek yogurt (because I can't get enough)

7 tortillas (medium sized)

2 cans green chile enchilada sauce

1.5 cups 2% mexican shredded cheese

fresh cilantro for garnish if you're on the cool kid train with an herb garden

Shred the cooked chicken and mix with all the ingredients up to the tortillas. Should look a little sumptin like dis....

Now, if you noticed, I had to use half cans of a lot of the ingredients. You also may have noticed in the past that I'm a bit of a food hoarder (although as I mentioned a little earlier, I try to refer to it as "nesting"). So what's a girl to do?  Weeeeeeell, I had all the stuff on hand to make Michelle's beef enchiladas and decided to add the corn and beans to that recipe to use up my excess ingredients and freeze them for a later date. You know...when the feeling of Mexican food hits you in the face but you don't want to eat 1500 calories of shizz by going to the nearest Mexican joint...yeah, that happens to me frequently. Sooooo, what you see here is a dual enchilada filling station. That's how we roll round these parts...

Simply cover the bottom of your baking dish with the respective sauces, and fill your tortillas with your meat mixtures (there are directions on the easiest way to accomplish that task in the link for Michelle's beef enchiladas above). Put them in your dish, cover with sauce, cover with cheese, and garnich with fresh cilantro. I froze the beef one, labeled the container with cooking directions so I can easily find it in the freezer when I'm hit with the above described ailment. But I covered the chicken one with tin foil and baked it for 30 minutes at 400 degrees (taking the foil off the last 10 minutes). 

Here is zee cooked dish...

And then I proceed to cover my enchiladas with fresh garden cherry tomatoes, a dallop of more greek yogurt, and the onlyhotsauceintheuniverse (my beloved Chalula). And then there was nothing in the world that could ruin my day...because eating an awesome meal while simultaneously (with not much more work, I might add) getting a freezer meal loaded for later is like the definition of productivity and happiness in the life of a type A person like meself. I slept well that night, with a dinner high and freezer meal accomplishment coursing through my veins. Yeah, buddy!

I am entering this recipe into the MrFood.com easy weeknight meal contest....let's see how we do!! :)

King's french bread

Mallory brought the hubs and chillens over for dinner a couple weeks ago for a little Friday evening fun. She asked what to bring, I said I was making pasta so "ohhhh, maybe some garlic bread." Talk about a mistake. She's ruined me to any other garlic bread for life. She wrapped me up in the King's french bread web of which I shall never escape, and now I have a craving for it every time we have pasta.

This stuff needs no fancy introduction paragraph, nor an awesome photo to accompany it. This recipe makes my job easy, in other words! :) There are a few warnings associated with it though...

1. Do not make this recipe if you need to fit into a wedding dress in 2 months.

2. Do not make this recipe if you have no control over your bread or garlic consumption.

3. Do not make this recipe if you are on a date with someone new and don't want them to see you in full feed bag mode.

4. Do not make this recipe if you ever want to make another garlic bread recipe again in your life.

Now that that's out of the way....

1 loaf french bread
1c soft butter
1c mozzarella cheese
1c real mayonnaise (yes, this is really happening...)
Garlic powder to taste
Cut loaf lengthwise in half. Mix butter, mayo,garlic powder. Spread over cut surfaces of loaf. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Or until slightly browned. Sliced as desired.

Philly cheesesteak sloppy joes

Yum. Super (and I mean SUPER) easy, but mainly....yum. I was fork eating the cold meat mixture before bed the night I made this. If you say you've never done that, I don't believe you. Remember when Main Man said he didn't like sloppy joes when I made the sloppy joe casserole?? Someone was singing a different tune after this meal...

1 T olive oil (I omitted this)
1 lb ground beef (you could use turkey but I used the lean 97/3 ground beef)
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 T steak sauce
1 cup beef stock
4 dinner rolls
salt and ground black pepper
1 cup shredded provolone

In large skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil if you're using it and brown the ground beef, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and green pepper, and cook another 4-5 minutes, until the veggies start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and the beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes.

Split open rolls and remove most of the soft insides, leaving a bed of love to hold the meat mixture. Toast the rolls and put a large spoonfull of the meat mixture with all it's juicy glory onto your roll. Top with cheese and serve. I served it open face due to my carb cutting goal I've been talking about...and I had rolls the size of mini frisbees! Main man's seal of approval is stamped on this recipe as well, so I'm going to officially put it in the favorites tab to join our rotation of repeats. Repeats don't happen often in our household because there's always something new I want to try, but there are some easy, fantabulous recipes that tend to get remade over and over...I believe this will be one of them!

Crockpot pulled pork sandwiches

Sometimes a recipe is good enough where it deserves to cut in line in front of the other recipes that are waiting to be posted to the blog. This was one of them! I headed to the Nobiling home last night to hang with their little bundle of love, Keltyn, and meet up with the Hofers and their little lover, Greyson.  Both mamas asked for the recipe after dinner, and I pretty much almost ate the plate while inhaling the sandwich, so I had to bump this recipe right up to the top of the queue.

I usually think of Winter food when I think of the crockpot...like crockpot ranch roasts or crockpot beef stroganoff, but what screams Summer more than BBQ sauce!?  This was a Weight Watchers approved recipe too, so it's basically a home run before it's even hit out of the park. Easier than pie and yummy to boot, plus very portable to bring to a friend's house to have baby time and a nice dinner that tastes like a lot of work but really only needed a few ingredients thrown in a crockpot all day.

2.5 lb boneless pork loin roast

2 t red wine vinegar

2 t Hickory liquid smoke (I didn't have any of this so I used Worchestershire sauce)

1 t garlic powder

1 t sea salt

1 cup your fave BBQ sauce (I usually like Famous Dave's Devil's Spit sauce but I know some people can't stand the heat so I went with the Rich and Sassy this time)

Mix all your ingredients up in a bowl, put the pork loin roast into a lined crockpot, and pour the sauce on top. Cook on low for 6 hours (shred the meat after 4 hours) so you have to smell the stuff while it cooks in your office all day and makes your tummy rumble.

Throw it on some wheat sandwich rolls, and you're in business! The crockpot was literally scraped clean...and it people weren't watching me clean up, I may have licked it. Don't look at me like that, you know you've thought of doing it before...oh, you haven't? Me either.

In other, cuter news....the reason for this dinner was to get a little baby boy fix from Keltyn and Greyson. Look how grown up and mature Keltyn's facial features are, he looks like a mini-adult...so flipping adorable!

Greyson getting a little love from the bottle so mommy could have a couple beers with the ladies :) His eyes are going to make girls melt one day!

Don't judge the slimy hair, I came straight from Kosama plyo day...and then I had to go play softball after that! Mondays really rock my energy level, I'll tell you. Keltyn likes to be snuggled all up into your body...pretty comfy to be hugged up to that little man, I'll tell you! We have to plan another night like this again soon, ladies....

Carne asada tacos

Here's your flank steak recipe for the week (you know I have to post at least one per week)!  This is another Butch recipe, I posted his chicken marinade yesterday, and I will be posting his pico de gallo tomorrow....so we may as well just call this the Week of Butch! If you look below, you may notice that this post made the favorites tab...Main Man and I were simultaneously chipmunk talking to each other with our cheeks full about how good this was the whole time we were eating. I would venture to say it's my favorite Mexican dish made at home yet! 

4 garlic cloves minced
1 jalapeno minced (original recipe calls for 2 but I didn't want to kill my main man)
handfull chopped cilantro
juice of 2 limes
juice of 1 orange
2 T white vinegar (I had to use apple cider vinegar since I was out of white)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it up...

Pour it on...

Grill it up...

Load them up....and you're in business!

Yes, there is a bite out of one of the tacos...I literally couldn't wait. Sorry, folks :)

I marinated the meat overnight so it was ready to throw on the grill right when I got home from hyperventilating and sweating profusely working out so I didn't have to wait long for dinner. Remember when you're grilling flank steak to cook it Medium Rare or it gets really tough. This should mean about 5-7 minutes on each side on the grill. Also be sure to let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing so you don't lose all your lovely juices! The meat is by far the big star of this taco show, I didn't even use lettuce, tomatoes, or sour cream.

I just warmed the tortillas up in the microwave for 20 seconds (heavenly little piece of advice, I would recommend you follow it), layered some slices of the carne asada with a mix of authentic Mexican cheese (the blend I got was queso quesadilla, asadero, and manchengo), and threw some pico de gallo on top (I will be sharing that recipe tomorrow, so you can start sending thank you notes now....it's sooooooo good).

If you find a better carne asada taco recipe than this, I will drive to your house to get it from you because this was right in our wheelhouse of favorite flavors...thanks again, Butch! You really made Main Man happy last week :)

Salmon apple BLT's

I had totally forgotten about these until a couple weeks ago. Which is an absolute shame....but I blame my main man. He has an aversion to salmon that really chaps my arse....which means I don't ever get to make it at home if I want him eating dinner. So what's a girl to do? Invite herself over to her friend Michelle's house so she can make it for her! It also helps if said friend has pregnancy brain and thinks that the dinner date was her own idea so you don't feel rude for inviting yourself over for dinner AND choosing what is served :)

This is one of Michelle's recipes that she came up with to copycat a sandwich made at a restaurant she used to work at a few years back. Obviously, living in Iowa, a BLT just screams Summertime....but add grilled salmon to that, and then add grilled apple slices to that for a little sweetness and you will have a whole new spin on the classic BLT.

Michelle seems to be a master at getting me to try and love things I would normally not make for myself...cases in point: tilapia with mango salsa and sweet and sour chicken. Note that all 3 of these recipes have fruit in them. I'm not sure why I always think I don't enjoy cooking with fruit, because I always love it when she does it...and it seems that I add her recipes to my list of regular rotations in our household.  Anyway, the point is...I know this sounds different...but different is gooooooood, my friends!

sliced apple

salmon fillets

blackened seasoning

turkey bacon

sliced tomato

lettuce

fat free mayo (or olive oil mayo)

good bread

Season the salmon fillets with blackened seasoning before putting them in foil packets for the grill.  Lay the slices of apple on the grill as well, turning as they get yummy grill marks.

Cook turkey bacon and slice tomato and lettuce....

...and put together your masterpiece! These are so loaded with goodness, it's tough to get it all in your mouth sometimes, so I like to squish mine down when I bite...yum, I shouldn't be posting this close to lunchtime! I couldn't fit all my salmon on the sandwich so I ate the rest of it solo, as you can see...

The bread you choose really makes a difference in the sandwich, just like with any sandwich. This was amazing bread! Look at all those layers....bread, mayo, salmon, lettuce, tomato, apple, bread! My contribution was my new favorite low carb side...I told you guys you would get sick of how much you will see the twice baked cauliflower on my plates! I was full after half of this sammy, but somehow the other half disappeared while I was trying to decide whether to stop or not...funny how that happens.

In other news, little lady A said my name that night!!  Yes, I know it sounds like her own name and she probably doesn't know the difference but don't steal my thunder here, folks! Look at that trouble making little grin while she's stealing my floppers....I heart her :)

She's getting very good at posing for the camera and "cheesing" too...I love that she's not scared of my flash anymore! Ok, enough of the cuteness...and on to see if I can find anything halfway as exciting for lunch as these salmon BLT's...I think I'm going to be disappointed :(