These muffins are reminiscent of carrot cake or hummingbird cake without the frosting. Carrots, Zucchini, and Dried Mango combined with Whole Wheat Flour and Flax Seed make these muffins perfect for a nutritious breakfast or snack.
All the Tropical Flavors that you love blended into an American treat, topped with red, white and blue sprinkles making it perfect for Independence Day.
Today is the final day of our National Dairy Month celebration.......
Scrumptious skewers of delicate, tender shrimp, sweet pineapple and crisp green bell pepper served up with a tropical salsa. You will feel like you are on the beach in the Caribbean.
We were blessed to have our second daughter, Nicole, over for lunch on Tuesday to celebrate her birthday. Her birthday isn't until Sunday but she is the manager of a popular restaurant and since Michigan has been allowed to partially re-open, she is going to be busy. We were pleased that she spent her only day off with us this past week.
Since it was Taco Tuesday I cooked up some Pulled Pork Fajitas that I am sharing with you today. They were delicious. The fresh mango topping was a breath of the tropics in February. We normally are on a dive trip during February so I am craving and cooking foods that take me away.......
On Sunday we are having Jessica, Julien and Melody over for dinner. Jessica has an early appointment on Monday so Melody is going to spend the night here.
On Friday we are celebrating Chinese New Year. 2021 is the Year of the Ox. That includes 1973, the year of Amy's birth, so the celebration is extra special this year. Here is our Menu for this fun feast......
And here is the menu for the week....Do you celebrate Chinese New Year? What is your favorite dish to serve? You will find the Pulled Pork Fajita recipe following the Weekly Menu.......
Pork Shoulder Steaks seasoned and slow cooked to fall off the bone tenderness, served up on flour tortillas with a tomatillo salsa and fresh mango.
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 4 Hourinactive time: 3 H & 30 MTotal time: 7 H & 45 M
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder steaks, trimmed
1 t. chili powder
salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. water, divided
2 tomatillos, husked and chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and cut in small dice
1 t. cilantro paste
juice of 1/2 a lime
12 flour tortillas (fajita size)
1 mango, peeled, seeded and chopped
Sour cream and Shredded Mexican Style Cheese, if desired
Instructions
Season the pork steaks with chili powder, salt and pepper. Place in a slow cooker with 1/2 c. of water. Cook on low for 4 hrs, until fork tender.
Place the tomatillos, onion, jalapeno, lime juice and 1/2 c. of water in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally until tomatillo and onion is tender and liquid is partially absorbed season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
Heat a cast iron skillet over med high heat. Cook each tortilla for a few seconds on each side until lightly browned and warmed through. Place into a towel lined basket to keep warm.
Remove the pork from the slow cooker, trim any remaining fat and remove bones. Shred the pork and put into a bowl.
Pass the toritillas, pork, tomatillo salsa and mango to allow people to make as desired.
I also placed sour cream and cheese on the table for those who wished to add it.
We spent a couple of weeks enlarging our deck before Memorial Day. I was very happy when it was done and I could relax and enjoy it.
I had received some wonderful sponsor gifts from Adagio Teas including the pitcher that you see in this photo and some Blue Mango Iced Tea that is being released for sale today. I placed a pouch into the pitcher, filled it with cold water and set it out in the sun for a few hours.
We celebrated our 28th Anniversary on Saturday. This was a very different celebration than which we normally have. Sometimes we go out for dinner, but that was not an option this year. That's okay, we often have dinner at home but this is the first Anniversary dinner we have had at home since we adopted the Teen.
We still broke out the china, lit candles, opened a nice wine and created a wonderful dinner. We still toasted to our amazing life together and wished for many more years to come. And then, after dinner, we broke out the Yahtzee game and the Teen kicked our butts........
I received bottles of wine for sampling purposes. All writings, opinions and feelings are my own. I received no monetary compensation for this post.
Pork Tenderloin coated in taco seasoning and roasted to a perfect, juicy, tenderness served with a side of Mango Salsa Rice and paired with a bottle of Texas Tannat Wine. Life is very, very good.
Howdy Y'all.....the Wine Pairing Weekend group is heading over to Texas this month. Come on in and join us......
Succulent, tender shrimp lightly spiced with turmeric and cumin are quickly stir fried and served with a flavorful, bright mango salsa in a Crazy Ingredient Challenge collision with a Fantastical Food Fight...…..
Join me as we see what happens when two exciting cooking challenges meet up on the same day.....
This gorgeous salad full of the flavors of the Tropics and topped with perfectly grilled Mahi-Mahi is the perfect summertime meal enjoyed al fresco poolside.
The French Winophiles are visiting the Bordeaux region of France this month. We were blessed with a virtual tour guide, Gabriela of TEUWEN, who sent each of us some wonderful wines and supplied us with tons of wonderful information. All opinions in this blog are completely my own. I received no monetary compensation for this post.
The Cotes de Bordeaux region consists of five appellations, Blaye, Cadillac, Castillon, Francs and Sainte-Foy. Cotes is hillside in French. The Bordeaux region is considerably larger than these 5 areas but for todays post we will concentrate on the Cotes de Bordeaux.
I was supplied with three bottles of wine for sampling purposes, two reds and one white. I paired the white and one of the reds for this post. I have yet to open the third bottle but will share my thoughts when I do.
The Cotes de Bordeaux consists of mainly small, family run wineries and only make up 10% of the production from Bordeaux. The clay/limestone soil make the perfect growing spot for these Merlot dominated wines, 97% of which are red. This made me very excited to try the white Bordeaux.
Both of the wines that I'm sharing here today were young and drank very well. This is characteristic of wines from this area, they are able to be enjoyed immediately but they also age well and can be kept for several years.
As I mentioned, I was very excited to try the White Bordeaux so that was the first bottle I opened to share with you today. This bottle from Chateau Peybonhomme Les Tours poured a beautiful golden color with green undertones. You can visit Chateau Peybonhomme on Facebook.
Chateau Peybonhomme Les Tours, is owned by the Hubert family, and is currently being ran by the 5th generation. They run the largest biodynamic estate in the Cotes de Blaye. This bottle is made 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Semillon grapes. It is very nicely priced at less than $20 a bottle.
I paired it with Grilled Chicken Skewers, Grilled Asparagus and a Mango Rice Pilaf that I created to share with you today. I wasn't sure how Mango Rice Pilaf would turn out, let alone how it would pair with this wine. Let me tell you, this dish was so amazing and the pairing was perfection. The creamy sweetness of the mango balanced out the zing often found in Sauv Blancs.
I was going to end this post with sharing just the White Bordeaux but then, for Mother's Day, my husband made dinner. When he served up the Grilled Strip Steaks with my favorite sides of Grilled Asparagus, Sweet Potato and Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions, he also opened the bottle of Chateau de Pitray. This pairing also deserved some attention.
Chateau de Pitray has been owned by the same family for the past 600 years. The grapes are grown herbicide free and are vat or barrel aged on the property. This bottle of Premier Vin is available for less than $15 and tastes as if it would cost much more. You can visit Chateau de Pitray on Facebook.
A blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon made it a perfect pairing for the grilled steak. I could easily see this becoming a regular pour in this household. We are Cab drinkers normally and this was a wonderful wine, especially considering the affordability.
This event is being hosted by Michelle of Rockin Red Blog. You can read her preview post and are invited to join us for Twitter Chat today following #winophiles. I won't be there because I will be on a plane heading to Granada for a week long dive adventure. YAY.....
I will be there in spirit though and I will be checking out what the others had to say about the Cotes de Bordeaux wines. Pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy the articles. You will find my recipe for the Mango Pilaf at the bottom of this post.
Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles shares “Côtes de Bordeaux pairings through Blaye, Cadillac & Castillon”
Tender rice pilaf studded with creamy sweet mango bits makes the perfect accompaniment for grilled chicken or fish.
prep time: 10 MINScook time: 30 MINStotal time: 40 mins
ingredients:
1 c. long grain white rice
1 t. olive oil
1/2 small onion diced
1/2 c. white wine
1 c. vegetable or chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 ripe mango, pitted, peeled and diced
instructions
Heat oil in skillet over med high heat. Add rice and onion, stirring to coat with the oil. Cook and stir until rice is translucent but not browned. Add the wine, cook and stir until evaporated. Add the stock, bring to a boil, stir and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, adding more stock or water, if needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in mango before serving.
Welcome to #IcedTeaDay hosted by Sue from PalatablePastime. We are so excited to have you join us as we cool off with drinks and treats made with Adagio Tea.
Several bloggers, including Yours Truly, received wonderful gift packages from Adagio Teas and given an opportunity to use these teas in creating a recipe to share with you today.
We each had $50 to spend and I had a great time going through the website and choosing what I wanted. I knew I wanted to get some Rooibos tea. The bush that grows this herbal tea is found only in South Africa. It is sometimes called red tea. They had one flavored with Mango and that sounded absolutely delicious to me. I had originally spotted and was intrigued with the vanilla chai rooibos so I got some of that, as well. I also chose some peach iced tea and some black tea flavored with coconut. The teas are very reasonably priced so I also had enough credit left to get an Iced Tea pitcher and a jar of honey. It felt like a holiday when that package arrived. That is only right since it is a holiday......National Iced Tea Day to be exact.
While I appreciate, very much Adiago Tea providing me with these teas and my readers with an opportunity to win a great package, I want to assure you that I received no monetary compensation nor was I required to offer anything other than the opportunity to you for the raffle and my honest opinion of the product I used in creating this recipe.
I was so excited to start experimenting with these teas. I knew I wanted to make a summery cocktail of some sort and since the Mango tea was screaming summertime to me, that is where I started.
I started off with 7 of the Mango and Rooibos tea bags. I placed them in the basket of my Bunn coffee maker and let it brew. When the water had run through into the carafe, I emptied the tea bags from the basket into the carafe and let it steep for another 15 minutes, off heat.
I ended up with 5 cups of brewed tea to which I added 1 cup of Mango Nectar and 1 cup of Coconut Rum. I cooled this to room temperature and then refrigerated it until well chilled. I served it over ice with a sprig of spearmint from our daughter's garden.
I ended up with a light, fruity drink that is perfect for hot summer days. It is lightly spiked so that you are able to enjoy a glass or two poolside without any worry of over imbibing. I am going to try making this non alcoholic by using the coconut tea so stay tuned for that next adventure.
Don't forget to stop by and see what the other's are sharing this National Iced Tea holiday. You will find links immediately below my recipe.
Iced Tropical Rooibos
5 c. brewed Rooibos Mango tea, cooled
1 c. Mango Nectar
1 c. Coconut Rum
Spearmint Leaves for garnish, if desired
Combine the tea, mango juice and coconut rum in a large pitcher. Place in the refrigerator for 4 hrs or overnight.
Fill a tall glass with ice cubes and add the iced tea mixture to cover. Garnish with spearmint leaves, if desired. Print Recipe
Take a look at what the #IcedTeaDay Bloggers are creating today!
Disclaimer: Thank you to our #IcedTeaDay Sponsor: Adagio Tea for providing the prizes free of charge. This company also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #IcedTeaDay. This recipe does contain alcohol and is intended for adults age 21 and older. As always, please drink responsibly and have a designated driver or alternate plan to travel home without driving after enjoying cocktails. All opinions are my own.
Adagio Teas is giving away a gourmet teas gift pack (valued at $92)
Enter the Contest~Giveaway
Giveaway is open to residents of the United States who are 18 years of age or older. Winner will be announced and the prize package sent after the giveaway ends on June 16, 2017. Bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. a Rafflecopter giveaway
