Lemon Pepper Panko Ahi

This recipe is loosely based off an amazing salad I had in Rolla, Missouri. The restaurant has since closed down, but the memory of good fish lives on. This meal is light yet filling, and the citrus naturally compliments this fish. Plus cooking Ahi is so fast, its hard to say no!




Prep Time- 5 minutes
Cook Time- 5-10 minutes



Ingredients:
1- Ahi Tuna steak (6-8 oz)
1- egg, beat
1/3 cup flour
1/2- cup panko bread crumbs
1- lemon
Cracked Pepper
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1) In a skillet heat about 3tbls olive oil over medium heat.
2) In a small bowl blend the egg and squeeze about a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice into it.
3) On a plate combine panko crumbs, cracked pepper, and lemon pepper seasoning.
4) Coat the tuna in flour, dip in the egg mixture, and then coat in panko crumbs thoroughly. Place in skillet.
5) Cook the tuna so that you brown each side lightly but the tuna is cooked to a medium temperature inside (should be aabout 2-4 minutes per side). See picture.
6) Remove from heat, squeeze a little more lemon over the top, slice or serve whole, and enjoy!

Lamb Loaf

This recipe came to me after I saw a quite concerning show of ingredients that went into a meatloaf on another blog. My husband absolutely loves lamb, and I thought to myself, "I bet this would make a delicious meat loaf." Turns out, after a few small tweaks, it was perfect! My husband ate half of the loaf in one sitting, and it wasn't small! This recipe would work just as well with ground beef.

Prep Time- 15 minutes
Cook Time- 30-45 minutes



Ingredients:
Loaf
3/4- cup Bisquick or other biscuit mix
1/2- cup milk (I used skim)
2- large eggs, beat
1/4- cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1- clove garlic, minced
1-2 small shallots, diced
1- pound ground lamb (or beef)
Parsley
Chili Powder
Seasoned Salt
Black Pepper

Sauce
1 1/2- cups ketchup (I use Heinz no high-fructose added)
1/3- cup brown sugar
Louisiana hot sauce or Tobasco sauce
Chili Powder
Paprika

1) Preheat oven to 350, and lightly grease your loaf pan.
2) In a large bowl combine the biscuit mix and milk, mix thoroughly.
3) In a skillet lightly brown the diced shallots and minced garlic, add to the biscuit mix.
4) Add the lamb, eggs, cheese, and season to your liking. Then with clean and dried hands, mix all of the ingredients together. Make sure everything is combined thoroughly.
5) Place the mixture into the lightly greased pan. 
6) In a separate bowl, combine the ketchup and brown sugar. Use the hot sauce and seasonings to get your own desired flavor of spicy yet sweet sauce.
7) Top the lamb loaf with 1/3 of your sauce, and place into the over for 20-25 minutes.
8) Remove loaf and add another 1/3 of the sauce to the top, return loaf to the oven for another 15-20 minutes. *A meat loaf should never be pink, do not consume products with uncooked eggs and undercooked meats please*
9) Serve the loaf with the remainder of the sauce on the side or drizzled over the top, enjoy!

Sangria

Sangria is easily the nectar of the gods. These are two recipes that after painstakingly, and expertly drinking repeatedly, my sister and I think we finally perfected! We served them at my wedding, and let's just say, I have never seen a more poorly executed Macarena ever.

*As a warning here, these recipes are for large batches, for a smaller batch, divide by 5*

Prep time: 5 minutes



Pineapple Passion Fruit Sangria-

5- bottles Merlot (I used Three Wishes from Whole Foods)
1- box of Jumex Pineapple Nectar (33.8oz)
1- can frozen Passion fruit juice
1- bottle Club soda (or Sprite if you like it sweeter)
1- bottle Triple Sec
Slice up whatever fruit you like and add to garnish. (I use pineapple, orange, and lime.)

Peach Mango Fruit Sangria-

5- bottles Chardonnay (Again, I used Three Wishes... CHEAP!)
1- box Jumex Mango Nectar (33.8oz)
1- box Jumex Peach Nectar (33.8oz)
1- bottle Club soda (or Sprite if you like it sweeter)
1- bottle Peach Schnapps
Garnish with whatever you like. (Peaches, mangoes, and oranges are my suggestion)

Try not to have too much fun!
Also I got some amazing drink holders that hold all of this and have a core for ice at Wal-mart and they were super cheap, check out the link below.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Creative-Bath-3-Gallon-Beverage-Dispenser-with-Ice-Core/21130892

Spicy Rach Pork Chops

Now, anyone who knows me knows I am not a fan of pork, but after this recipe... who knows?! This is a really easy meal to prepare, takes a few minutes to put together, and would work great on chicken, or even on cube steak. So, give it a try and let me know what you think!




Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes



Ingredients:
1- lb Pork chops (2-3 large chops, I used bone in)
3/4- cup flour
2- large eggs
1- cup bread crumbs
1- packet Hidden Valley ranch mix
Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1) On a plate, put the 3/4 cup of flour, set aside.
2) In a bowl, scramble the two large eggs, set aside.
3) On another plate, combine the ranch packet, the bread crumbs, and Mrs. Dash to the desired spiciness.
4) Heat about 1 tbls of olive oil in a large skillet.
5) Coat each pork chop with flour, then coat thoroughly with the egg. Lastly, dip the pork chops in the ranch breadcrumb mix.
6) Place the pork chops in the skillet, and allow each side to cook to a golden brown. The internal temperature of the pork needs to be between 145-160 F. Enjoy!

Jambalaya

Now as a precursor: I'm not from Louisiana, I don't usually cook cajun, I didn't follow a recipe... and this was amazing!This recipe is also quicker because some of the items are canned, which is good if you don't have a lot of time. I froze half and my husband ate it while I was away for a month, he said it was just as delicious as the day we made it. Now, I'm sure all of you know an authentic recipe, or one you think is better, but don't knock it til you try it.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes






Ingredients:
1- 1 lb bag brown rice
4- links sausage of your choice (I used garlic chicken sausage)
20-40 shrimp peeled, deveined (You can use the frozen stuff at walmart if you want, I used fresh shrimp, I think it has more flavor)
1- can diced tomatoes
2- cans kidney beans (low sodium)
Chili powder
Paprika
Cayenne
Onion powder
Crushed sea salt.

1) Cook rice according to bag directions.
2) After the rice is al dente, add tomatoes and kidney beans (drain off the juice from the kidney beans.)
3) Season to desired preference of spiciness. If you want more cajun flavor, add more cayenne.
4) In skillet cook sausages until they are lightly browned, you could also grill them for a char flavor, remove from heat, cut into cubes or slices.
5) In same skillet, cook shrimp just until pink, don't over cook or it will become rubbery.
6) Add sausage and shrimp to rice, continue cooking until all the spices have melded and the majority of the liquid in the rice is gone.
7) Serve and enjoy. (using brown rice, low fat chicken sausage, shrimp, low sodium beans, and tomatoes is a healthy and filling meal!)

Goat Cheese & Chorizo Rellanos

This recipe is a sort of adaptation from some amazing food I had in a restaurant in St. Louis, MO called Milagro Modern Mexican... if you get a chance, GO! Anyway, I must warn you the sauce is kind of hot, so if you are not very good with heat, you might want to substitute for a tomatillo sauce or maybe queso. I hope you like this one as much as I do.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes





Ingredients:
1-link of fresh chorizo (about 8-10")
5- small white mushrooms
6- poblano peppers
1/2-3/4 cup high quality goat cheese
1- can adobo chipotle chili (remove the chipotle peppers or its crazy hot, unless you like it that way)
1- avocado diced
1- can tomato sauce
1- cup flour
4- eggs
Salt
Fryer or pot with 1" oil heated

1) Turn the oven on broiler, and arrange the poblanos on a cookie sheet.
2) Put poblanos in the oven and leave them in there until you see the skin blister and begin to turn black, flip them so that both sides look the same.
3) Remove poblanos from oven allow to cool then carefully remove all the skin. Slice from top to bottom down the pepper careful not to pierce the other side and remove all the seeds. Set aside.
4) In a skillet combine the chorizo (removed from the casing) and the mushrooms, finely diced.
5) When chorizo is thoroughly cooked, remove from heat. In a bowl combine chorizo and goat cheese, mix well.
6) Put a cup of flour on a plate and set aside.
7) In small sauce pan combine adobo minus peppers and tomato sauce, allow to simmer on low.
8) In a bowl whip egg whites until stiff, carefully fold in scrambled yolks and a pinch of salt. Should resemble a meringue but yellow.
9) Quickly fill poblanos with chorizo mixture and make sure they are fully closed, cover in flour, and thoroughly coat in egg mixture.
10) 1-2 at a time place poblanos into your heated oil (to test if it is ready toss a dollop of egg mixture in and it should sizzle and begin browning but not burn).
11) When all the poblanos are done, coat with your sauce that has been simmering and diced avocado. Enjoy!


Again, like a dork, not knowing I was going to do this blog I forgot to take a picture. Photo from http://www.restlesschipotle.com/2011/10/easy-chiles-rellenos (No copyright infringement intended.)

Peach Cobbler

 

 This recipe is for what I like to call Peach Cobbler, but my Granny always called it Fruit Pudding. I always thought pudding was more of the Bill Cosby, J-E-L-L-O brand type of thing. Now this cobbler won't make you shoes, but it will make you smile! I made a few changes to my Granny's recipe to make it my own, and also to keep the family secret, but I've been assured this version is just as delicious. 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time- 40-60 minutes

Ingredients: 

Dough:

1- cup peach cider, peach juice, or milk (Personally, I use peach cider from a local farm here, but you may not live where the peaches grow, and that's just fine.)

1- cup sugar

2- cups flour

2- teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4- teaspoon salt

1/2- teaspoon cinnamon

1/2- cup vegetable oil

Fruit Mixture:

2- cups Peaches (Again, I use fresh peaches, peel and slice them, about 3-4 peaches depending on the size, but you can use a can the 1lb 13oz can)

2- teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4- cups of  sugar

1/4- teaspoon salt

2- cups peach cider, peach juice, or milk

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2) In a 9x13 pan mix all of the dough ingredients, make sure the consistency is like cake batter.

3) In a large mixing bowl, combine the fruit, vanilla, sugar, and salt.

4) In a medium pot bring the cider/juice/milk and margarine to a boil. Stir constantly to keep from separating. 

5) Pour the boiling mixture over the fruit in the bowl, stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved. 

6) Carefully pour the fruit mixture over the dough, and place in the oven.

7) Cook for 40-60 minutes depending on the oven. Dough should rise around the fruit and should be golden brown. (See picture above.)