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Sunday, May 31, 2015

Easy Rhubarb Crumble for #SundaySupper

Our challenge for this week's Sunday Supper, chosen by TR of Gluten Free Crumbly, was to share a recipe that uses 5 ingredients or less.  I had gotten a pile of rhubarb from my friends, John and Kirsten, so I knew that I wanted to make a dish that incorporated some of it before I put the rest in the freezer.


This recipe is quick to assemble and beautiful to serve.  You can add a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream to fancy it up a bit if you like.


Thank you TR for choosing such a wonderful topic for the week's Sunday Supper.

Rhubarb Crumble

6 stalks of  rhubarb, sliced into 1/2" moons
1 1/4 c. flour, divided
1 1/4 c.  cinnamon sugar, divided
3/4 c. old fashioned oats
6 T.  cold butter, cut into tablespoon portions
pinch of salt

Toss rhubarb with 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 c. sugar, salt and the cinnamon.  Place into an 8" square baking pan.  Place remaining flour, sugar, oats and the butter into a food processor and pulse briefly 3 or 4 times to create a large crumble.  Pour over the top of the rhubarb and bake in a preheated 375* oven until browned a bubbly, approx. 45 minutes.

Take a look at what the other's brought to the table today


Drinks
Appetizers and Snacks
Main Dish
Side Dish
Desserts


Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.


Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.
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Get Ready #HotSummerEats 2015 starts tomorrow!!


Hot Summer Eats is here. Rallied by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla, a talented group of 18 food bloggers will be posting recipes for a week. From June 1st through June 8th, we hope to inspire you for your summer grill dates and cookouts, provide you with ideas for your beach bonfires, and get you planning those ice cream socials and cocktail hours. Not only will you find over a hundred summery recipe posts, but you can enter to win our awesome giveaway, courtesy of some amazingly generous donations from sponsoring companies. See details below.
The Sponsors
(with links to their homepages, in alphabetical order)

The Prizes
BenBella Veganwill provide one winner with one print copy of each of their Spring 2015 releases:Love Fed, by Christina Ross (March 2015); PlantPure Nation Cookbook, by Kim Campbell (March 2015); Plant-Powered Families, by Dreena Burton (May 2015); Happy Herbivore Guide to Plant-Based Living, by Lindsay S. Nixon (May 2015); and China Study Quick & Easy Cookbook, by Del Sroufe (May 2015).


Casabellawill provide one winner with a trio of kitchen gadgets that are perfect for summer entertaining: a set of two large ice cube trays; a citrus juicer and reamer; and a cherry pitter.
Gourmet Gardenwill provide one winner with each of their stir-in pastes (basil, chili pepper, cilantro, dill, Italian herbs, garlic, chunky garlic, ginger, lemongrass, oregano, parsley, and Thai seasonings), each of their lightly dried herbs (basil, chili pepper, cilantro, ginger, and parsley), and two Gourmet Garden logo coolers.

Not Ketchupwill provide one winner with a prize pack of four fruit ketchups - Blueberry White Pepper, Cherry Chipotle, Spiced Fig, and Smoky Date.

Quirk Bookswill send one winner a copy of their cookbook Summer Cocktails by Maria Del Mar Sacasa, photography by Tara Striano.


Spicely Organicswill send one winner their Backyard Barbeque Gift Box.


T.Lishwill provide one winner with each of the three current flavors: Sweet Garlic, Asian Sesame, and Chipotle.


Members of the Sauceology Grouphave donated a summery prize pack that includes six delicious products. You will receive either the Calypso Kick or Island Thyme Spice Rub fromCaribeque, Garlic Goodness Hot Sauce and Chai Curry Chup fromIntensity Academy, Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette fromOut of the Weeds, Guava Girl Gourmet Grilling Sauce fromPirate Jonny's, and Southern Gold Barbeque Gold Sauce fromVoodoo Chef.


The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Disclaimer - Thank you to #HotSummerEats sponsors BenBella Vegan, Caribeque, Casabella, Gourmet Garden, Intensity Academy, Not Ketchup, Out of the Weeds. Pirate Jonny's, Quirk Books, Spicely Organics, T.Lish , and Voodoo Cheffor providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for#HotSummerEats without additional compensation.All opinions are my own.
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Saturday, May 30, 2015

The upcoming week and the Weekly Menu

Happy Saturday everyone.  We are supposed to be having storms all weekend but we are not going to let that slow us down.

Today and tomorrow are going to be spent doing yard work and getting ready for our baby chicks to arrive.  I hope to get the mulch down and some flowers planted.  Perhaps we will get the pool opened as well...we'll see.  Tonight we are having Frank's brother, Dan, and his wife, Rebecca, over for dinner.

Monday evening I have a meeting at the church so a quick pasta dish is on the menu.

Wednesday evening Frank is going to the ballgame with a group from work so Ting and I are having a seafood feast!!

We leave early Friday morning to go on a dive trip.  This time we are heading to North Carolina where we hope to dive on a German Submarine, U352, that was sunk during WWII off the coast of our country.  I am even more excited that we are only a few hours from Chuck so he will be driving in to spend an evening with us.  This is a short trip.  We leave early Friday and return home late Monday.  You can be sure we will be sharing photos of our dives.

I hope you have a wonderful week.  Below you will find the Weekly Menu but as an added bonus this week we are celebrating #HotSummerEats 2015 so each day I and 17 others will be sharing great summer recipes with you as well.  It is going to be great!!  Hope to see you all here each day and, of course, at MPM on Monday.



Saturday
Steaks on the Grill
Mushrooms and Onions
Grilled Vegetable Salad
Baked Russets and Sweet Potatoes

Sunday
Grilled Pork Chops with Blueberry BBQ Sauce
Baked Beans
Potato Salad

Meatless Monday
Grilled Asian Vegetable Pasta

Tuesday
Hamburgers
Leftover Baked Beans
Leftover Potato Salad

Wednesday
Linguine with Clam Sauce

Thursday
BBQ Beef Sandwiches
Broccoli Salad

Friday
Leaving for our Dive Trip.  Wooohoooooooo



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Friday, May 29, 2015

Fish Friday--Cajun Spiced Tuna Salad

This has been a fun week of salads in our household.  We had salads every day except for last night when we ended up meeting Dick and Jackie at a local restaurant for dinner.  It was such a beautiful day yesterday that after Zumba, Jackie and I decided it was too nice to stay indoors.  Frank had a work meeting in an adjacent city which is right on the water so Dick and Jackie jumped on their Harley and Ting, Melody and I jumped in the car and we went to the Voyageur for dinner.  This is the same restaurant in which we celebrated Tingting's wedding last year.  It is right on the water and the food is always excellent.

So the Vietnamese Noodle salad will need to wait for another day but tonight we did enjoy the Cajun Spiced Tuna Salad.


It was quick and easy which was perfect for today when I had spent the day running errands.  First to Best Buy to get a new cord for my computer since the one we ordered was the wrong one.  Then to Home Depot to get wire for the underground fencing for the dogs.  The bank, Costco, lunch, Barnes and Nobles, grocery store and fish monger before finally coming home to put all the goodies away.

Now we have had dinner and Frank is our mowing the lawn since it is supposed to rain all weekend. Hopefully we will have some breaks in the weather because his brother, Dan, and his wife, Rebecca, are joining us for dinner Saturday and we are hoping to get the pool opened and some flowers planted on Sunday.  Keep your fingers crossed for us and print out this recipe for the next time you want a delicious and quick dinner.

Cajun Spiced Tuna Salad
adapted from Cuisine at Home, Issue #51

1 orange, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
2 T. sweet orange marmalade 
kosher salt
Cajun seasoning
1 lb. Ahi Tuna Steaks, cut into 2" pieces
2 T. coconut oil
1 pint grape tomatoes
2 T. Miracle Whip
2 T. Honey
8 c. Spring Mix Salad
1/4  of a red onion thinly sliced

Marinade:

Mix 3 T. orange juice, orange marmalade and a pinch of kosher salt together in a bowl.  Add tuna and toss to marinate.  Set aside for 5 minutes.

Dressing:

Whisk together remaining orange juice, lemon juice, Miracle Whip, Honey, salt and pepper to taste.

Tuna and Tomatoes:

Remove tuna from marinade and place on plate.  Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning to taste.  Heat coconut oil in non stick skillet over med high heat.  Sear the tuna so it is carmelized on the outside and rare on the inside.  Remove to a plate.  In the same skillet add the tomatoes and cook until they start to brown and blister, only a minute or so.  

Salad:

Combine Spring Mix Greens and red onion in a bowl, toss with most of the dressing.  Top with the tuna and blistered tomatoes.  Drizzle with remaining dressing.  Print Recipe

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I scream, You scream, We all scream for Ice Cream!!


Guess what I pulled out of the storage room?  Yep, my handy, dandy, cuisinart ice cream maker.  It's that time of the year when you don't want to heat up the house by turning on the oven but you still want something delicious and impressive to serve guests for dessert.  Everyone loves ice cream and I have been know to buy premade ice cream and Sander Hot Fudge. (Which is, without a doubt, the best Hot Fudge in the entire world.  Just my opinion but try it and see if you don't agree with me.) But serving store bought, no matter how good, is just not the same as serving something that was made with love as one of the ingredients.

This recipe is straight from the little booklet that came with the ice cream maker and it is a keeper. Especially if you are a Resee's Addict like me.

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream  
Very slightly adapted from Cuisinart

1 1/3 c. good quality peanut butter (not natural)
3/4 c. sugar
1 2/3 c. whole milk
2 1/4 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2  of an 8 oz bag of Resees minis

In med bowl of stand mixer affixed with paddle attachment, combine peanut butter and sugar at low speed until smooth.  Add the milk and continue to mix on low speed until sugar is dissolved, 1-2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.  Cover and refrigerate over night.

Pour mixture into an ice cream maker following manufacturers directions.  Five minutes before mixing is complete add the Resees Minis and let mix in completely.

The ice cream will have a cream texture.  If firmer ice cream is desired transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hrs.  Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving. Print Recipe





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Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Holy Cow....is it still Wednesday??

I feel like I have lived a whole week in this one day.  It's incredible how some days are calm and relaxed and others are just a whirlwind of activity.  The morning started off intense.  I was sitting in bed with my coffee when Ting yelled for me to come quickly.  I thought I was going to be coming out of the room to see one of Melody's new tricks.  There are many, she is crawling, she is pulling herself up to standing, she stood without holding on for a couple of seconds yesterday, she is refusing to be fed and wants only to feed herself.  It is that feeding herself trick that caused the problem this morning.  Tingting had put Melody into her high chair with some cheerios, strawberries and some cheese.  Melody has had all these foods before but this morning the cheese she was given was the processed slices wrapped in plastic....you know the ones.  Poor little Mel was breaking out in hives all over her eyes, back of the neck and chest.  Her breathing was fine, thank God, so Ting got on the phone to call the pediatrician and we got on line to look up cheese allergies.  It seems that these processed cheese slices are often the cause of contact allergies because of the dye they use in the cheese.  This made sense to us because Melody rubs her eyes and scratches around her neck so she would have touched herself in the places where the welts were.  We gave her a bath and a bottle of water and it started to subside.  She went down for a nap and when she awoke she was as good as new but it was a scary way to start the day.

After Mel went down for her nap I had to go to the hospital for an ultrasound of my right breast because the mammogram was showing some discrepancies and they needed a closer look.  Bottom line is I have several cysts that they will need to keep an eye on so now I get to go for a mammogram every 6  months instead of once a year.

I then went and met my sister in law for lunch and did some shopping for the upcoming color swap . I stopped to see Mom, I had picked up some corn pads for her because yesterday she complained her toe was hurting and I took a look and saw the corn.  As I was putting on the corn pad the nurse came over and advised that the padded panties Mom has been wearing are no longer doing the trick so I ran up to the corner drug store and Mom is now officially wearing "diapers".  That kind of breaks my heart.  When I left Mom the second time, I ran to the grocery store, another drug store to pick up some prescriptions that were ready and then got home and started dinner.

Phew...that get's me to here....sitting with a glass of wine and posting another salad recipe for you. Today I am sharing the Chinese Chicken Salad.  I was going to also share the Steakhouse Salad but it was soooooooo good that I decided to save it for #HotSummerEats so you will just have to wait for that recipe.  Not that the Chinese Chicken Salad was not good.  In fact, it was delicious and I am very happy to share this recipe with you.  I found this recipe in Cuisine at Home but, as always, I only used it as a guideline and incorporated the ingredients I had on hand and switched things around to meet our tastes.


Chinese Chicken Salad
adapted from Cuisine at Home, Issue # 45

Chicken:
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, cut into 1" chunks
1 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
3 T. sesame seeds
2 t. paprika
large pinch of kosher salt
Oil for frying (I used coconut oil)

Place chicken in a sealable plastic bag, add buttermilk, seal and refrigerate for at least an hour. Combine dry ingredients in a second plastic bag.  Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and place into the dry ingredients, shake well to coat.  Fry chicken, in batches, in hot (375*) oil.  Drain on a paper towel.

Dressing:
1 c. Miracle Whip
1/2 c. Cilantro leaves (I used slightly dried from Garden Gourmet)
3 T. rice vinegar
2 T. Dark Sesame oil
1 T. sugar
2 t. minced ginger (I used Garden Gourmet)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

Toppings:
Toast 2 T. sesame seeds in a small dry skillet until golden brown.  Set aside and allow to cool.

1 T. butter
2/3 c. slivered almonds
1/4 c. brown sugar

Melt butter in same pan that was used for sesame seeds.  Add the almonds, stir and cook until golden. Add the brown sugar, stir and cook until melted.  Spread onto a piece of aluminum foil and allow to cool and harden.  Crumble and crush into bite size pieces.

Salad:
1 head Romaine Lettuce
1 small can chow mein noodles
2 carrots, shredded

Place lettuce, chow mein noodles and carrots in a large bowl and toss with the dressing.  Place into serving bowl, top with the chicken, sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and candied almonds. Print Recipe



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Monday, May 25, 2015

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Shells for #SRC

Yes, it is time!!  Every month, on the fourth Monday, I get to try a new recipe from one of my fellow bloggers who belongs to the Secret Recipe Club.


Let me tell you a little bit about our club.  We are a group of over 100 bloggers who are divided into 4 groups.  I am in group D with a bunch of great people including the owner and brainchild of this group Sarah E.  Sarah started this group with the idea that each month bloggers would be assigned someone's blog and secretly go into that blog to learn more about the person and to recreate on of the recipes from the blog.  It was a great idea as is evident by the fact that we grew so large so quickly.

I was lucky enough to be assigned to Sarah's blog, Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, this month.  To say that Sarah has a lot of recipes is the understatement of the century.  You would think that it would be daunting trying to figure out what to make with hundreds of recipes to go through but Sarah makes it very easy for her followers and readers.  All the recipes are listed by course and then again by ingredients.  Each recipe in the index also has a photo included so that you can see what it is before opening the link.  Genius.  

I could spend days reading recipes and I did but when it finally came down to the nitty gritty I chose to make a main dish and I chose to look for one containing chicken for my Weekly Menu.  That narrowed my search down to 152 recipes....yes, Sarah has 152 main dish recipes that contain chicken!!

I was tempted by the Bacon Wrapped Gouda Stuffed Chicken and I am going to revisit that recipe but I had some chicken that was already cooked so I was looking for a recipe that would incorporate that.
There were several different quesadillas which we love and some great soups but I had just made my Chicken Noodle Soup which was why I had some cooked chicken to use up.  Luckily, for me, Sarah had numerous casseroles from which I could choose.  I chose the Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Shells because my husband is an Alfredo addict.  The only change I made was to use my Homemade Alfredo Sauce.

This recipe was a winner on many different fronts.  It used leftover chicken which made it a quick and easy dish for a weeknight meal.  It incorporated a lot of ingredients I had on hand from sponsors for our Brunch Week that just ended and our Hot Summer Eats soon to begin.  It contained flavors that I knew my family would love and it was delicious.

Thanks, Sarah, for a great recipe and for all your hard work running this great club you created.


Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Shells
very slightly adapted from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

1/2 lb Medium Pasta Shells
1 bunch fresh broccoli crowns
2 c. shredded, cooked chicken
1 jar Alfredo Sauce or Homemade Alfredo Sauce
1 1/2 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used Cabot)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t. garlic ( I used Garden Gourmet Chunky Garlic paste)

Cook the shells and broccoli together, according to the package directions on the pasta.  While the pasta and broccoli are cooking make your Alfredo Sauce or heat the jarred sauce.  Add the cheese and chicken to the sauce, season with salt, pepper and garlic.  Drain the shells and broccoli, toss with the sauce and serve with additional cheese, if desired.  Print Recipe

Take a look at what everyone else found on their Secret Recipe Club search!



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Sunday, May 24, 2015

Kielbasa and Cabbage Salad

Last week, when I was at the Farmer's Market , I had picked up some smoked kielbasa made by a local farmer.  It did not get on the menu for last week so I wanted to have it this week for sure.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. My normal recipes using kielbasa are more suited for winter meals.  Then I remembered a recipe that I have made numerous times called Beer and Brats.  This recipe came from the June 2011 edition of Cuisine at Home and we enjoy it a couple of times each grilling season.  I knew it would be an easy transition from Beer and Brats to Hard Cider and Kielbasa.


First I made the dressing, using Hard Apple Cider instead of beer.
I kept the horseradish but changed the type of mustard and vinegar used in the dressing.


I kept the technique from the Beer and Brats recipe.
Throwing everything on the grill makes for easy cooking and clean up.


When everything is done cooking, chop it up, toss it with the dressing and serve.
An Easy Peasy Summer Salad Meal!!

Grilled Kielbasa and Cabbage Salad
very loosely adapted from Beer and Brats, Cuisine at Home


For the Dressing:

2/3 c. Hard Apple Cider
2 T. Prepared Horseradish
2 T. Champagne Honey Mustard
1 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together.  Set aside.

For the Salad:

1 small head or 1/2 med head of red cabbage,cored and quartered
1 small head or 1/2 med head of green cabbage, cored and quartered
1 Vidalia Onion, cut into 1" thick slices
1 lb. Smoked Kielbasa
3 thick slices of Onion Rye Bread
1/4 c. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Place cabbage quarters, one or two, depending on the size, onto sheets of aluminum foil.  Drizzle each with 2 T. of the dressing. Seal the packets, and set aside.

Place the olive oil in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Brush onto both sides of the onion slices and bread slices.

Place the cabbage packets and the kielbasa onto a preheated hot grill. Cook, turning occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes.  Add the onions to the grill and cook along with the cabbage and kielbasa for another 5 minutes, turning all as needed.  Add the bread slices to the grill and cook along with the rest until the bread is toasted on each side, another 2 or 3 minutes.  Remove all items to a large cutting board. 

Remove cabbage from foil.  Roughly chop everything into bite size chunks and place in a large serving bowl.  Toss with the remaining dressing and serve.  Print Recipe


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Saturday, May 23, 2015

A Week of Salads

Happy Memorial Day.  The day set aside to remember all of those we have loved and have gone before us and all of those who have died for us serving our country.  No greater love is there than this.  Let us never forget.

Image result for memorial day

For many of us, Memorial Day also marks the beginning of summer.  We start working in our gardens, cleaning up our yards, breaking out the barbecue, opening up the pools.  I love this time of year when the weather is nice enough to spend time out of doors but not yet so hot that you can't breathe.  The bugs are not yet out in full force so you don't have to drench yourself in insect repellant to be able to enjoy a cocktail on the patio.  Our menus change from soups, roasts and stews to grilled meats, fresh veggies and salads.  It just makes me smile.

Image result for grilling clipart

I decided to take that train of thought and continue it throughout the week with a Weekly Menu filled with salads.  I hope you enjoy them. Please stop by each day for photos and recipes and join me on Monday at MPM so we can see what other's have on the menu this week.

Saturday
Grilled Kielbasa and Cabbage Salad

Sunday
50th Wedding Anniversary in the afternoon.
BBQ at Roz and Ron's in the evening

Meatless Monday
Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad  BBQ at John and Kirsten's

Tuesday
Chinese Chicken Salad

Wednesday
Grilled Steakhouse Salad

Thursday 
Vietnamese Noodle Salad

Fish Friday
Spiced Tuna Salad



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Friday, May 22, 2015

Lengua Tacos for Food n Flix



This month's Food n Flix  selection was The Goonies from 1985. This party is hosted by Heather of Girlichef and there is still time to join us.  You will find Heather's invitation post here.

Food‘nFlix

I had never sat and watched the entire movie before.  I did see bits and parts of it because my kids were of an age to watch it when it came out even though it contains some "naughty words".

Since I am probably the only person in the world who had not seen this movie in the 80's, I will not bore you with a recap.  Suffice it to say it is a typical 80's genre movie with kids getting themselves into trouble and coming out heroes.  It was fun seeing all the actors in their younger days.

There were lots of food references in this movie.  Mostly by Chunk who was forever hungry but my favorite food reference scene is the one I shared with you at the top of the post when Mouth sasses off to Mama Fratelli and says he wants some Veal Scallopini and Fettuccine Alfredo.  Mama grabs him and a knife and says they only serve tongue.

I loved the look on the kids faces when she asked them if they liked tongue.  Had she asked me, I would have said "yes, please but make it cow's tongue".  Now, if you try to feed your family tongue they will probably have that same look of horror on their faces so.....Don't tell them.  Instead let them know you are eating Lengua, a wonderful delicacy, and unless you are Spanish or Mexican or they are fluent in the Spanish language, they won't have a clue and they will love it!


Don't let them see it like this.
Unless you have kids like my friend, Cam, who will be excited.
Make this on a day when they are in school or out playing.

I have fond memories of watching my Mom cook Beef Tongue.  I was fascinated as I watched her peel the skin off revealing beautiful pure meat.  Mom always sliced hers and we would make sandwiches with it.  I did slice some of mine up for sandwiches as well and then used the rest to make Mexican Sandwiches aka Tacos.  It is also good in soups or any braised dishes.  Tongue is all muscle so it needs to cook a long time to break it down and make it tender.


Cover the tongue with cold water, add your seasonings and aromatics.
I use salt, pepper, garlic, onions, celery and bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let simmer for at least one hour per lb or longer.
The skin on the tongue will turn white and the visible flesh will be easily pierced with a fork.
Add water as needed to keep tongue submerged.
Alternately, you can place it all in a crockpot for 8 hrs.


When done cooking, remove from pot and immediately submerge into ice water.
The skin will easily pull off.  Trim off any hard nodules or roots on the bottom side of the tongue.
You can now slice or dice your meat to use in sandwiches or meals.


I sliced some to use in sandwiches.


And diced the rest to use in today's recipe.



Now that you have done all the rest in secret, you can make dinner in the open.
Saute up some onions and pepper in butter.
Add the diced meat, some cilantro and some garlic.
Add a 1/4 c. of Tomatilla Salsa and cook until warmed through.
Serve on warmed flour tortillas topped with additional salsa and avocados.

Lengua Tacos

1 beef tongue
half an onion, quartered
1 stalk celery, broken into thirds
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, smashed
large pinch of kosher salt
5 or 6 peppercorns

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot.  Cover with cold water and place over med high heat.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least one hour per pound or longer, covering with additional water as needed.  Alternately you can place all ingredients in a crock pot and cook for 8 hrs.

Remove tongue from cooking pot and plunge immediately into an ice bath. Peel off the skin and cut off any hard nodules or roots from the bottom of the tongue. Dice up the remaining meat.

For Tacos

Remaining half of onion, sliced
1 jalapeno, cored, seeded and minced
3 sweet peppers, cored, seeded and sliced (I used one each of yellow, orange and red)
2 T. butter
Diced meat from lengua
1 t. Garden Gourmet Cilantro (or 1 T. fresh cilantro, chopped)
1 t. Garden Gourmet Chunky Garlic (or 1 garlic clove, minced)
1/4  c. Tomatilla Salsa,store bought or make your own, plus more for serving
1 Avocado, sliced
1 pkg. Flour Tortillas

Saute onion and peppers in butter over med high heat in a large skillet until tender.  Add lengua, cilantro, garlic and salsa, Continue to cook until heated through.  While filling is heating warm tortillas on a griddle or in a microwave.  Place filling onto tortilla, fold in half and drizzle with additional salsa and top with avocado slices.  Print Recipe











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Thursday, May 21, 2015

It's a long and Rocky Road for #BundtBakers this month

Our host for this month's Bundt challenge is none other than Laura of Baking in Pyjamas.  Don't you just love that blog name?!!  Laura has challenged us all to create a Rocky Road Bundt.  You know the Rocky Road you usually find in fudge or ice cream?  That Rocky Road.  I was up for it because I love Rocky Road.....that mixture of chocolate, marshmallows, cherries and nuts....how can you not love it.

I decided to go the easy route and just toss all my rocky road ingredients into a boxed cake mix, put it into a bundt pan and hope for the best.....



Well?  What do you think?  This is how it looked when I pulled it from the oven.  You can see the marshmallows peeking through.



Then I held my breath and turned it out onto the cooling rack.  Perfection!!



Keeping with the "It's beautiful outside and I don't want to spend this gorgeous day in the kitchen" theme, I continued with the easy peasy by opening up a jar each of marshmallow and hot fudge ice cream topping and poured them over the cake once it cooled.  Sprinkled the top with nuts, mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows and Voila....



The next test was cutting a slice and seeing if the ingredients all sank to the bottom (top) of the cake or if they stayed scattered througout.  Here is what I found..... Well, you can't win them all.  The marshmallows melted right into the cake along with the chocolate chips and the dried cherries are dark also so they don't stand out but...... The tastes were all there.  The cake was moist and delicous and presented beautifully.

What a great theme Laura.....THANKS!!

Rocky Road Bundt Cake

 1 box chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 c. water
1/3 c. canola oil
1/2 c. miniature chocolate chips plus extra for garnish
1 c. miniature marshmallows plus extra for garnish
1/2 c. dried cherries
1/4 c. coarsley chopped pecans
1/4 c. marshmallow ice cream topping
1/4 c. hot fudge ice cream topping

In large bowl combine cake mix, eggs, water and oil with a mixer set on low speed until moistened and then on med speed for two minutes.  Stir in the chocolate chips, marshmallows and cherries. Pour into a Bundt pan that has been treated with baking spray and bake in a preheated 350* oven for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the thickest part of the cake removes cleanly.

Cool in pan on baking rack for 10 minutes.  Invert the pan, releasing the cake to the rack and cool completely.  When cake is completely cooled transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with the marshmallow and hot fudge toppings that have been heated in the microwave.  Sprinkle with nuts and additional chocolate chips and marshmallows.  Print Recipe

BundtBakers

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page. 
Take a look at what we all baked up for you this month

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Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Pulled Pork with Mango BBQ Sauce for the Crazy Ingredient Challenge

HunngryLittleGirl

It's easy to join just email Dawn at spatulasonparade@gmail.com

I love this Crazy Ingredient Challenge each month.  I always pretend like I am a contestant on Chopped and just opened the basket to learn what ingredients I must use in the dish I make.  This month our ingredients were Mango and Chipotle Peppers.  



I am glad that I'm not really on Chopped because the 30 minute timer would kill me especially this month since I decided to make a crock pot meal.  The recipe I am sharing is very loosely based on this one that I found on Allrecipes.com.  From this recipe, I borrowed the idea of braising the mango pits with the pork and adding pureed mango to the bbq sauce.  The rest of the recipe was adapted to our tastes and what was available in my pantry.

While the pork cooked I made the BBQ sauce by first pureeing the mango, chiles and rum and letting it cook down a bit before adding the remaining ingredients.  When the pork was done cooking I removed it from the crock pot, discarded the mango pits and liquids, shredded the pork taking care to remove any bones and fat and then returned everything back to the crock to heat through.


I placed the pork on onion roll.  The mango sauce was sweet and spicy.  It was a perfect pulled pork sandwich.


I served the sandwich with some store bought coleslaw and some sweet potato fries sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  It was a wonderful dinner and I was pleased with the results of this challenge.

Don't forget to check out what the other bloggers created out of Mangoes and Chipotle Chiles.

Pulled Pork with Mango BBQ Sauce

Pits and attached flesh from 2 Mangoes
4 lbs. Country Pork Ribs (or Pork Shoulder Roast)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t. dried chipotle chile pepper
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. water

For Sauce

1/2 t. dried chipotle chile pepper
Flesh from 2 mangoes, peeled
2 oz. Dark Rum
2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
juice from 1/4 lemon
4 garlic cloves, minced

Season the pork with salt, pepper and chipotle chiles.  Place mango pits into the crockpot and lay the pork on top.  Pour in apple cider vinegar and water.  Cover and cook for 6-8 hrs.

While pork is cooking prepare the sauce by placing the mango, rum and chipotle chile into a food processor and pureeing until smooth.  Pour into a saucepan and cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently until mango sauce is reduced, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the remaining ingredients bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to cook for 5 or 10 minutes until flavors are melded.  Taste and season with salt, pepper and additional chile peppers if needed.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the pork and discard the cooking liquid and mango pits.  Shred the pork, using two forks, taking care to remove any fat, gristle and bones. Return the shredded pork to the crock pot.  Add the BBQ sauce and stir to combine.  Cook on low heat for an hour or longer.  Print Recipe

Here is the rest of the group's creations!

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