Mexican Coleslaw

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients:

1 head of green cabbage - sliced

1 tomato - sliced

2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro

1/2 of a jalapeno (optional)

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 lime - juiced

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

In a small bowl combine the last 6 ingredients. Mix well.

In a large bowl add first 3 (or 4) ingredients. Add dressing. Put in fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to all mix together.

Serve as a side dish or as a topping on your taco.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Costco had a sale on strawberries ... 4 pounds for $6.49, so my friend Jessica and I made some freezer jam! This is seriously SO easy, SO fast and SO yummy - you'll never want to buy jam again because now you can make it! You can get your canning supplies almost any where but Lowes (yes the home improvement store) always has a huge selection and good prices. This recipe is on the back of the Ball No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin. The package and says it will make enough to fill five 8oz. freezer jam jars (like in the picture) however this  recipe made 5 jars + 2 small Ziploc Twist ’n Loc Containers ... so I'd buy 2 of the 5  packaged freezer jam jars for this recipe.

Ingredients:
(5) 8oz. Freezer Jam Jars
1 ½ Cup Sugar or Splenda
1 pkg. (1.59oz.) Instant Fruit Pectin or No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin
4 pounds of fresh strawberries

Directions:
1. Stir sugar and pectin in a bowl.

2. Wash and cut the stems off the strawberries. Place in a blender and puree. Then transfer to a large bowl.

3. Add sugar mixture to fruit and stir for 3 minutes.

4. Ladle jam into clean jars & let stand 30 minutes.

You can freeze for up to 1 year or refrigerate up to 3 weeks

Marinated Carne Asada

Sarah says "I cut the recipe in half  and I only do 1 pound at a time. Plus I don't use two limes...I think that it is too limey. I also marinate mine over night...I think that it gets more flavor."

Recipe From: Sarah via Simply Recipes


Yield: Serves 4-6.


Ingredients:

2 pounds flank or skirt steak
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Marinade Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño chile pepper, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon cumin 
1 large handful fresh cilantro
Kosher salt 
Freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:
1) Lay the flank steak in a large non-reactive bowl or baking dish. Combine marinade ingredients and pour the marinade over the steak. Make sure each piece is well coated. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-4 hours.


2) Preheat your grill over medium-high flame (you can also use a cast iron grill pan on high heat for stove-top cooking). Brush the grates with a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking. Remove the steak from the marinade. If you are cooking indoors, you may want to brush off excess marinade as the bits may burn and smoke on the hot pan. Season both sides of the steak pieces with salt and pepper. Grill the pieces for a few minutes only, on each side, depending on how thin they are, until medium rare to well done, to your preference. You may need to work in batches. Remove the steak pieces to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak across the grain on a diagonal.


(Optional) Serve with warm tortillas, pico de gallo and chopped avocados. Or on top of rice and beans.

Cinnamon Honey Butter {like Texas Roadhouse}

Recipe From: Fly Through Our Window via Melissa

You’ll need:

2 sticks of butter at room temp

1 cup of powdered sugar

1 cup of honey

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

Directions:

I used the whisk attachment for my mixer and whipped the butter {make sure it’s soft and room temp}. I added to it the powdered sugar, then the honey, then the cinnamon. Whip it good. Scrape the sides. Whip it again.

Then spoon it into your precious little 4 oz jars {I found ‘em at Wally World}. If you can’t find the small ones, your friends and neighbors would be more than happy to receive a larger jar of it! The measurements above yielded 6 small jars. You can doll them up with a fabric scrap and tag!

 

I put my jars in the fridge but it spreads easier at room temp! You can eat it by the spoonful or serve it on English muffins, bagels, biscuits, rolls, or toast… or sweet potatoes… or oatmeal

sweet chili dipping sauce

I'm always looking for a good dipping sauce for pot stickers, egg rolls, crab rangoon and sometimes I even use the dipping sauces as marinades for chicken for salads or just grill the chicken. I found this delicious recipe on Pinterest. It's simple, fast and yummy!! {I used it as a marinade for chicken, then grilled the chicken & served it with pot stickers and Sweet & Spicy Coleslaw}

Makes little less than 1 cup

4 tablespoons light soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
2-3 garlic clove peeled and minced
Red pepper flakes to taste
Hot mustard to taste (optional)

Whisk everything together till the sugar dissolves.

If you want the recipe for the spring rolls click HERE

Jalapeno Cilantro Salad Dressing

Recipe From: Jessica

 

Ingredients:

• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Place the jalapeno pepper, garlic clove, and ginger into a food processor or blender; pulse until the jalapeno and garlic are finely chopped.
2. Pour in the lime juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, and salt, add the cilantro leaves; pulse a few times to blend.
3. Turn the food processor or blender on, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until incorporated into the dressing. Season to taste with salt before serving.

Balsamic Glaze / Caprese Salad

Oh my gosh ... this stuff is AMAZING!! We were invited over to some friend's home for dinner and she served a caprese salad with this balsamic glaze on it, it was so delicious I had to drive to the Boise Co-Op the next day and pick me up some! It says it can also be used in pastas or as a marinade ... I would just drink it if Eric didn't think I was crazy - it's that good people!

You can get your own bottle online at Gia Russa 

Caprese Salad

Ingredients:
Ripe Tomatoes, Sliced thick
Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced thick
Fresh Basil Leaves Balsamic Glaze

Directions:
Arrange tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter. Arrange basil leaves between the slices. Drizzle balsamic glaze over the top of the salad, getting a little bit on each slice. Serve as a lunch, with crusty bread, or as a side dish to your dinner.

Fish Tacos

My Aunt & Uncle gave us some ground crappie so Eric and I made some fish tacos tonight! I just came up with the sauce so you could pretty much do whatever you wanted this just sounded good to me. Enjoy!!

Sauce:
5 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons Salsa Verde
1 whole lime (juiced)
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
fresh chopped cilantro
tiny bit of garlic salt

Tacos:
White Crappie (or any fish you like)
Seasonings of choice for fish
Shredded cabbage
tomatoes
fresh cilantro
limes

Directions:
Make the sauce in a small bowl and keep to the side.

Heat some oil in a skillet on medium heat (you'll fry your taco shells in this later)

Cook fish in another skillet

While the fish is cooking cut up all your taco toppings and then fry up taco shells. I just place a taco in the oil for about 45 seconds on each side then take it out and place it on napkin and fry another one and so on. I like my tacos crunchy so if you like them softer it would be less time.

Once your fish is cooked dress your taco shells anyway you like. We do the sauce first then the cabbage then the fish then the tomatoes then the cilantro then squeeze a lime on top.

Baked Rigatoni

I used the spaghetti sauce recipe below (let it simmer for hours) & add to it some fresh cooked rigatoni, top with fresh Parmesan chesse & enjoy! The recipe below made me enough for 4 meals this size and then I froze enough for 2 meals of spaghetti.


Ed’s Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
 Ingredients:
4 cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce (16 oz)
1 small can of Hunt’s tomato paste (4 oz)
1 pound of Italian Sausage, 1 pound of ground round
½ a white onion
½ a bell pepper (red or green)
two cloves of garlic
1 basket of baby bello mushrooms (Fred Meyers)
Seasonings: ¼ cup of Italian Seasoning, Use “Italian seasons” in one container
1 cup of red wine
1 cup of sugar


Directions:
Put 4 cans of sauce, wine, sugar and Italian seasonings in a pot on medium and bring to a low boil. In a separate pan use a little olive oil and add onion, bell pepper and garlic and sauté until golden. Add sausage and ground round add sauté until meat is brown. (For real authentic taste use 1 pound of ground veal instead of ground round). When sauce starts to boil, reduce heat to simmer and add mushrooms and everything in the meat pan. Sift oil that rises periodically and season to taste with additional wine, seasonings or sugar. Add tomato paste if the sauce seems thin and you want it thicker.

Crab Rangoons

Recipe from: http://blogchef.net

Ingredients:
12 ounces of cream cheese (at room temperature)
50 wan ton wrappers
1 cup imitation crab meat (or canned)
2 green onions (minced)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon soy sauce
1 egg (beaten)
oil (for frying)

Directions:
Step 1: In a bowl cream the cream cheese, soy sauce, green onions and garlic powder. Stir in the crab meat (if using imitation crab it should be chopped into pieces).

Step 2: In a separate bowl beat 1 egg. Lay out a wanton wrapper so it forms a diamond shape and place 1 teaspoon of filling just below the center of each wrapper.

Step 3: Brush the opposite corners of the wanton wrapper with the egg mixture. Fold over the edges of the wrapper to form a triangle and seal tightly.

Step 4: Deep fry the rangoons in batches at 375 degrees for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.



Sweet and Sour Sauce:
½ cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cornstarch


Directions:
Make sweet and sour sauce by mixing vinegar, sugar, salt, orange juice, pineapple juice, and ketchup. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch in 1/8 cup of juice and stir in until thickened.

Awesome Steak Marinade

This is a more sweet teriyaki type marinade . We grilled it up along with some pineapple rings (I used the pineapple juice from here. The steak was easy and yummy!


Recipe From: www.realmomkitchen.com


Ingredients:
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
3 garlic cloves crushed or finely minced


Directions:Combine all ingredients thoroughly and use as marinade. If marinading steaks, marinade the meat overnight (about 12-14 hours) before grilling.

Subway Sweet Onion Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon minced white onion
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon buttermilk baking mix
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon poppy seed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch cracked black pepper
1 pinch garlic powder

Directions:
1- Combine all ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl.

2- Heat mixture uncovered in the microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on high until mixture boils rapidly.

3- Whisk well, cover and cool.

**Makes 2/3 Cup**

Sesame Chicken Marinade

When I was planning Kim's bridal shower I asked everyone who was coming to send me a recipe card and I was going to make her a recipe book and this is one of those recipes that she got and I made a copy for myself because it sounded so yummy and it is! It's so fast and easy!

8 teaspoons sesame oil
1 Cup soy sauce
6 Garlic cloves minced
8 Tablespoons brown sugar
Chopped green onion
Sesame seeds

- Marinate chicken breast for 1-2 hours
- Grill chicken, serve over rice or in a salad or pasta
*This is the recipe doubled because it never seems to make enough, however if you want a smaller amount then divide everything in half