Creamy Fettucine with Andouille and Asparagus

This is a simple concept that I often put a twist on with whatever meats/veggies I have available. Andouille sausage is such a great addition to almost any dish - it's sweet with a little kick and will rev up even the most boring basic weeknight staple.  The asparagus has the perfect crunch to make you feel good about getting your veggies into this potenitally heart-attack-worthy dish.  There are, however, alterations you can use to try and make it a little more healthy.  You could substitute whole grain rice for the pasta, or chicken for the sausage, even out the heavy whipping cream with some skim milk (if you can tolerate a thinner sauce).  The veggies and sausage is also great all on its own.  My favorite alteration, which I'll post the next time I create, is using andouille sausage and shrimp. I often keep the pasta and meat/veggie sautee separate so guests can choose how much they carb-load :)

Ingredients:

serves 4

1 package (4 links) Andouille sausage (Aidell's is a great brand for my favorite sausages)

1 bunch asparagus, tough ends cut off and chopped into 1" sections on the bias

1 lg or 2 md cloves garlic, smashed and minced

handful chopped onions (optional)

1 box pasta

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 c shredded parmesan

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp EVOO

S&P

5 tbs  butter (a little more than 1/2 stick)

Directions:

1.  Get your pasta water salted and boiling.  I use this time to chop my veggies and meat.  Mix your chopped sausage and asparagus (leave out onion and garlic) in a bag or a bowl with the EVOO, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, cayenne pepper, and chili powder.

2.  Once the pasta water is boiling, get the pasta in there before starting to saute your meat and veggies. Tip: adding a little olive oil to the pasta once it's in the water will help keep your noodles from sticking together.  Giving it a couple of minutes (but not much more) after it's finished cooking will help the sauce stick to the noodles better

3. Add 1 tbsp butter to a skillet on medium heat.  Once it's melted, add your chopped onions and garlic and stir until translucent and/or fragrant (about 2 minutes).

4. Add your meat and veggies to the skillet.  Mix evenly and cover, stirring every couple of minutes.



5. In a smaller saucepan, melt the other 4 tbsp butter until melted on medium heat.  Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil.  Once bubbling, stir and remove from heat, add in your cheese and set aside to let it melt into the sauce and thicken.

6. Once pasta is al-dente (about 10 - 12 minutes), drain.  After getting your sauce and saute skillet ready, your pasta should be about ready depending on your speed.  Check on your meat and veggies, giving it a good toss, while the pasta drains fully.

7. Return pasta to it's pot/pan and place back on the stove over a burner that may be still warm or turn one on low heat.  Sprinkle your flour over top - this is optional, but helps the sauce cling to the pasta and thicken a little bit.



8. Stir your sauce up with S&P to taste and pour over pasta.  Toss until it starts to thicken and remove from heat.  You can let sit a little bit off the heat if you prefer to allow more thickening. 

9.  Serve hot, and top with your meat/veggie mixture.  You can also toss all together if you want (as pictured).  I like to keep the flavors separate and let guests experiment with which they want more of.





Great Guac!

HOLY GUACAMOLE!

I like to thing this is one of my "signature" appetizers.  Beginning with my Dad's guidance back in high school, I've been making this guacamole for about 10 years now iwth 100% success rate.  Spicy and salty is my preference, but you can adjust to your liking.  The key is getting to know your avocados - I like to buy the firm ones a few days ahead of time and let them ripen to perfection in my fruit basket.  There should be just a little give when you squeeze, but it shouldn't visibly give way to the pressure. *Tip: save the pit of at least one avocado and plop into the dip, cover, and refrigerate until you're ready to serve to prevent browning.

Ingredients:

4 avocados

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 lime

fresh cilantro (about 1-2 tbsp chopped depending on taste)

S&P

1 tomato (optional)

1 jalapeno (optional - or increase for spice!)

1/2 red onion (optional)

Hot Sauce (optional)

Instructions:

1.  I like to chop everything but the avocados and tomatoes first - they're the messiest.  Smash garlic cloves by hitting them with the back of your knife, peel, and chop.  Add to medium size bowl.  Chop 1 tbsp cilantro, red onion, and jalapeno, and add to bowl.

2. For the avocados, cut in half lengthwise around the pit.  To remove pit, whack your knife blad into it (carefully!).  In a ripe, not rotten avocado, the pit should pull out rather easily on your knife blade as you retract it - I will post a picture next time I do it to demonstrate for you avocado virgins out there.  I find that scraping out the insides lightly with a spoon (sort of like shaving it out a little at a time) makes the mixing/mashing process quite painless for smooth guacamole.  You can also peel the skin, chop, and mash the ingredients together after if you prefer chunkier guac or can't get the shaving motion down. 

3. Chop and add your tomato if you're choosing to use one - you should be pretty messy by now!  Go ahead and rinse off.

4. Squeeze 1/2 of the lime over the bowl.  Add a little S&P, and mash until everything is thouroughly mixed and mashed to desired consistency.  Continue adding your seasonings and/or hot sauce until it tastes right for you!

A Hearty Winter Dinner: Slow-Cooker Beef Short Ribs, Green Beans, and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This meal is great for Sundays.  You can prepare it in peices between the day's other domestic demands.  I love to get the short-ribs in the crockpot by about 10 or 11am so that dinner can be ready anytime between 6pm-8pm.  Spending the day in the slow-cooker makes the ribs fall-off-the-bone tender, and all feedback so far points to the leftovers being just as big of (if not more of) a hit!  I'm the queen of overserving - The meat and veggies from the crockpot alone are plenty, but I like to have mashed potatoes to absorb some of those cooking juices and green beans to add a little color and balance out the cholesterol!  This picture is actually of leftovers - I forgot to take one on Sunday when I made them.  Imagine how juicy and tender they were the first time around! 

FALL-OFF-THE-BONE BEEF SHORT RIBS

 





Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic
2-3 shortribs PER person (I usally get 3 so I have leftovers - I maxed out the crockpot with 15)
1 onion
3 celery stalks
15 baby carrots or 1.5 c sliced carrots
flour (approx 1/4 c per 4 ribs) - OPTIONAL
S&P
1 c red wine
1 c beef broth
EVOO

Intructions:
1. Rinse and pat dry your short ribs.
2. Mix together flour and generous amounts of salt (I always use sea salt) and pepper.  Put in a large ziploc with ribs and shake to coat.  The flour helps the ribs brown and seal in the moisture. This step is OPTIONAL, but if skipping the flour, don't forget the S&P!3. Coat the bottom of a pan with EVOO till about 1 cm high and heat on Med-High until the oil starts to bubble a little bit.
3. While waiting for oil to heat, chop your veggies.  You can substitute or add what you have in your fridge - chopped potatoes and mushrooms work well too.
4. Once oil is heated, brown your ribs on all sides (about 2 min per side) and transfer to crockpot.  I end up doing this in batches of about 4 so that I don't crowd the pan.
5. After browning all ribs and transfering to crockpot, turn heat down to Medium and add your veggies to the pan (don't dump the juices!).  Season with a little S&P - sometimes I add a little rosemary.  Saute until fragrant and spoon out over ribs in the crockpot. 
6. Add your chicken broth and wine to the juices and bring to a boil.  Turn off heat and let stand while you clean up a bit.  Pour over ribs and veggies and set your crockpot to cook on low.  This should be timed 7-9 hours before you're ready to eat.

MY DAD'S CREAMY GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

Ingredients:

(This recipe serves at least 4)

2.5 lbs yukon gold potatoes

6 cloves garlic, peeled

1-2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 stick butter

S&P

Instructions:

1. Slice potatoes into 1/4 in slices(leave skin on) and peel garlic. *Tip: smash clove with the back of your knife for easy peeling and flavor release!

2. Place potatoes and garlic in cold water and leave for upto 4 hours before boiling.  *Tip: I just do this in the pot I plan to boil in for easy transfer to the stove.

3. About 35 minutes before you plan to eat, place pot of water, garlic, and potatoes on the stove over med-high and allow to simmer until it's time to smash and serve.  Make sure you have enough water to completely submerge potatoes in your pot.

4. Just before you're ready to serve, drain the potatoes and garlic and turn off heat.  Add butter to pot and return potatoes/garlic overtop.  Pour in 1 c cream (you can sub or mix in skim milk if looking to cut the fat).  Let the potatoes absorb the butter and cream while you set the table or clear some counter space.  Smash potatoes to desired texture.  Add cream in small doses until you reach desired creaminess and sesason with S&P to taste.  Serve hot!

CITRUSY GREEN BEANS

This recipe is super-fast and super-easy.  Typically, I take a break from my Sunday laundry or school work about 2 hours before I hope to serve dinner to prep the potatoes and green beans, so that all I have left to do is turn on the burners!  But you can wait until the last 10 minutes before serving for the green beans if you choose to.

Ingredients:

Green Beans (I grab at least a handful per person)

1 lemon

1 tbsp butter

Sea Salt

Instructions:

Boil green beans for 4-8 minutes depending on desired tenderness (beans should be submerged with water boiling for this time period).  As I mentioned above, I typically submerge the beans in water when I'm prepping the potatoes and just place on the stove until about 15-20 minutes before serving.  This allows time for the water to simmer and boil and eliminates the waiting for water to boil element.

Turn off heat and drain when beans reach desired tenderness.  Return pan to stove and add butter.  Return beans over butter and grate some zest from the lemon overtop.  Season with salt, toss, and serve.  In the above picture, I added a bit of orange zest as well.  Easy!



'Rita on 'Roids

This powerful, not-your-everyday-margarita was inspired by a great friend of mine's mother.  While visiting the Mills' condo in St. Pete, FL, I was the only girl on spring break with 5 of my closest guy-friends.  When Joe's parents came to join us, needless to say, Joe's mom (Kay) and I were quickly ready for some girl time.  Little did I know, I would soon be introduced to the most deceivingly delicious margaritas that I had ever tasted - I did not anticipate the spill-all-your-secrets-knock-you-on-your-ass effect they had on me!  All it takes is some good quality tequila, some elbow grease, and the wise words of Kay Mills to make the appropriately dubbed "Millsarita."  Here's my twist on the Millsarita:

Ingredients: 

(makes a pitcher - approx. 6 margaritas)

6 limes

6 lemons

3 oranges

1 grapefruit (optional)

6 oz simple syrup*

9 shots of amazing tequila (I use Herradura - Mama Mills uses Don Julio)

3 shots triple sec (or Grand Marnier for a Mama Mills version)

3 shots club soda

Directions:

Juice the fruit for some fresh-squeezed citrus and strain to remove any chunks or seeds. Combine freshly-squeezed juice with the other ingredients and pour between two pitchers to blend well.

Blend with or serve over ice in your favorite margartia glasses! Garnish with any extra fruit if desired.

*To make simple syrup, bring 1 cup water to a boil.  Add 1 cup sugar, remove from heat, and stir until sugar is disolved.

To Feed a Fiesta...

CROCKPOT CHICKEN FAJITAS

Thanks also to Sherry Haubert for inspiring me with a similar recipe!

*This recipe can feed at least 10 people for lunch, so feel free to make and freeze leftovers or halve!

Ingredients:

6 - 8 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp lime juice

1/4-1/3 c balsalmic vinegar

1/4 - 1/2 c taco seasoning (I use Ortega brand)

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 jalapeno

1 sweet onion

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 can diced tomatoes ( I use roasted garlic flavor from Hunt's)

The night before:

Slice up your chicken into strips.  Place chicken in large ziploc and pour the lime juice, balsalmic vinegar, and taco seasoning over it.  Shake to evenly coat, and place aside in the refrigerator.  Slice up all your peppers and the onion and place in the fridge until morning.

Morning of Fiesta!

Place half your veggies and the peeled garlic cloves at the base of your crockpot.  Dump in the chicken over top - if you have a ton of excess marinade, I would opt to spoon the chicken out and add only a tbsp of it to the pot to avoid soggier fajitas.  Spread remaining veggies over the chicken.  Strain the excess juice from the diced tomatoes and add on top of the veggies.

If serving for lunch: Cook on HIGH for 4 hours

 

*Note: Timing doesn't have to be exact, but I wouldn't go more an hour past 4

My Mantra - A Meal of Appetizers

"BANG BANG SHRIMP"

I made this mock-up of the Bonefish Grille dish as one of our appetizers for Valentine's day.  We LOOOOOVE appetizers in my house, so Valentine's Day was the perfect excuse for a diversion from chicken and veggies! I have to thank a long-time family friend, Ro Fiore, for inspiring me to recreate this dish! I sampled a delicious version at her house a couple of years ago, and on special occasions, it is a fantastic crowd pleaser (shell-fish allergies excluded!!!).

For the Shrimp:

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp (your choise about tails on or off - I leave them on)

1.5 cups flour, divided roughly in half

1 c panko breadcrumbs

1-2 eggs, beaten in a medium to large bowl with a touch of water

Extra Light Virgin Olive Oil (enough to go about 1cm up in your pan)

Heat oil in a large pan on the high side of medium-high.

While heating:

Rinse and pat-dry shrimp.  Toss in a large ziploc with half the flour and shake to coat.  Transfer coated shrimp to the large bowl containing the egg wash, and toss to coat.  Put remaining flour and panko breadcrumbs in a ziploc, and again, toss to coat.

By this point, the oil should be hot enough (if it's crazy boiling, turn it down a little, but mild bubbling is ok).  Put the shrimp in a few at a time, so you can keep the peices visible and separate.  As you see them shrink a bit and turn a little golden, flip.  Once both sides are golden, remove shrimp and place on papertowels to drain.

For the Sauce:

1.4 c chopped green onions

3/4 c mayo

1/4 c sour cream

1 c Thai sweet chili sauce

1 tbsp chili hot pepper sauce (Sriracha make a good one in a small jar with a green lid - you want the thick kind, not just hot sauce)

a sqeeze or squirt of lime juice

S & P to taste

Mix all ingredients while shrimp is cooking.  Once all shrimp is removed from pan, turn heat off, dispose of cooking oil safely, and return shrimp to pan on the burner.  Pour on sauce and toss to coat.  Serve immediately.

BBQ BUFFALO BACON BITES

This was the other hit appetizer in my home last night.  The way I make it, it is NOT for the faint-of-tongue!  You, could, however skip the "buffalo" and jalapeno elements to tweak for fans of the mild.  You could also add some cheese on top to make the most delicious, heart-attack worthy nacho, but I skipped that in this experiment!

Ingredients:

10 pieces of bacon

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I use my leftovers)

1/2 c chopped sweet onion

3/4 c of your favorite BBQ sauce (I sue Sweet Baby Ray's or Montgomery Inn)

2-4 tbsp of your favorite hot sauce (I use Marie Sharp's habanero variety)

1 tbsp butter

jalapeno slices (optional)

salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper.  Form bacon into some shape that will hold a topping (I attempted hearts for Valentine's day, but they didn't turn out so heart-y!).  Having it fold over itself in couple of places makes for a sturdy bite!  Pop in the oven (total cooking time should be 15-20 min - you will want it to be crsipy enough to carry that chicken from the plate to your mouth!).

While the bacon is crisping up, melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan or saute pan.  Add onions and and shake a little salt over them as they become fragrant.  Add shredded chicken and both sauces.  Stir until all ingredients are combined and warm.  Keep on low heat and stir occasionally until bacon is ready.

Once bacon is crisp enough, remove from oven and place on papertowels to drain.  Give the bacon a couple of minutes to cool and really crisp up.  Then top with chicken mixture and a jalapeno slice.  Serve!

Welcome!

Hi friends!  I'm totally new to the "blog" idea, though I'm guessing it's kind of like extended updates to your Facebook status with the hope/assumption that people view it on purpose!  Anyway, as most of you know, I absolutely LOVE to cook - almost as much as I love to eat.  At first my pictures probably won't look to impressive because I am relegated to my iPhone camera, but I hope to start posting pictures that will make you want to replicate my recipes soon!

As a warning, you should know I'm not much of a measurer.... I'm much more of an eyeballer, so I'll try my best to be deliberate and descriptive!  Hopefully you will see that as an opportunity to use your favorite flavors liberally!