One Pan Cilantro-Lime Chicken & Rice with Black Beans

I came across this recipe on Pinterest & it immediately piqued my interest because it's a one-pot meal and simple. I've since made it a couple times & I love it. I used chicken the first time and while it was good, I prefer using ground meat, which is what I've done since. I usually use 6 oz of whatever ground meat I have on hand. It just blends better with the rice & beans. And while this recipe states that's necessary to use minute white rice, which would probably make it have less liquid, I really don't like the way minute rice taste. So I've always used my rice cooker & altered how much liquid I put into the dish. Your choice in how you make the dish-I'll let you decide. I'll put the ingredients for the minute rice. This dish is just really easy to make & it's perfect the next day for lunches.

To find the recipe, click here



Ready to be simmered down...

Enjoy!...

Slow Cooker Bratwurst

I was craving bratwursts one day but I live in an apartment so I can't grill them like I normally like them. So I found a slow cooker recipe. My old boss made them in the slow cooker for a pot luck & they turned out really good so I thought mine would turn out just as good. They did turn out with lots of flavor but I wasn't a big fan of the color. And I think I was afraid to really brown them the way they weren't to brown...as you can see in the first picture. They barely look like they received any color at all. When they were done cooking in the slow cooker they were clearly done but I thought they weren't cooked through so I put them in the microwave for longer and I think I overcooked some of them. I ate most of them but I was uneasy eating them thinking I was eating them not fully cooked-I just wasn't used to the color of them. I'm using to eating grilled bratwurst that are charred & have grill marks. Not too sure I'll be making them in the slow cooker again, regardless of how they taste!

Find the recipe here



Browned sausages...

Ready to cook...

Ready to eat...Enjoy!...

Chicken Salad

I saw this recipe being made on the Food Network by Jamie Deen, one of Paula Deen's sons. I grew up eating chicken salad and this recipe looked really good so I decided to try to find it to make it myself. It was really easy to make & it was really good. You are supposed to serve it in toast cups but I didn't do that-I just ate like regular chicken salad. The addition of the grapes makes it have a sweet flavor, which is nice. I'll definitely keep making this!

To find the recipe click here




Enjoy!...

Slow Cooker Cuban Pork

I made this a while ago. I had bought a pork roast from Trader Joe's and then I came across this recipe on Pinterest. The roast came out juicy but not as much flavor as I thought it would be considering all the juices that went into making it. It was definitely good & I made use of it. Just not sure I'd make it again.

Find the recipe here




Ready to cook...

Ready to eat...enjoy!

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

We needed to make some desserts for a work meeting so I scoured Pinterest for some kind of bars to make up and I ran across these. They sounded good and simple to make. They were definitely good & really really rich! Almost too rich! If I make these again, I think I'd add more coarse salt on the top to take out some of the richness of it.

Find the recipe here



Ready to be baked again...

Enjoy!..

One Pot White Chicken Lasagna Soup

I love this soup. This is another soup that I ran across when I was looking for soups that didn't contain any tomatoes. I had made a lasagna soup before but it contained tomatoes & that one was really good too. This made a lot of soup & I was concerned about freezing it since it contained heavy cream and half & half. And while it did separate a little once it did thaw, once I mixed it up, it was good to eat again. It's just a really filling soup, since it contains white beans and chicken and noodles, which I love. I can't say once bad thing about this soup. So go make it right now!!

Find the recipe here




Noodles added...

Ready to be served...

Ready to eat...enjoy!

Tomatillo Salsa

I've been craving salsa lately but since I can't eat tomatoes I've been out of luck. I researched tomatillos and discovered that they aren't in the tomato family..score! I had bought some tomatillo salsa from Trader Joe's and I tried a tiny bit & waited to see if would have a reaction and when I didn't I devoured it. It was so good & definitely curbed my craving for salsa. In fact, it's still my favorite for salsa if I'm buying. And it tastes good on everything.

We have a fruit/veggie truck that comes to our work a couple times a month from CA and they sell things for really cheap. I bought some tomatillos from them & I thought I would find a recipe for tomatillo salsa. My coworker sent me a pretty basic recipe her mom uses & between her mom's recipe & the one I found on Pinterest, they were pretty similar.

I roasted my jalapeno instead of boiling it with the jalapenos. I think it brought out more of the flavor of the jalapeno that way. It wasn't as good as the one at Trader Joe's but it was pretty decent. I think when I make it next time, I'd make more and freeze them in mason jars.

Tomatillo Salsa (2 cups) (Pinterest):

10 tomatillos
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and ribs removed (keep ribs & seeds if you want it hotter)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Remove husks from the tomatillos and rinse. Place tomatillos & jalapeno (if boiling-or roast jalapeno) in pan and cover with water. Place over med-high heat and boil until tomatillos are fully cooked and a dull olive green color, about 10 min.

Strain mixture, then place tomatillos and jalapenos in a food processor. Add garlic and cilantro and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Enjoy!




Ready to eat...

Enjoy!...

Italian Sausage Bake

I'm always up for a good bratwurst/sausage meal. I've tried making them in my slow cooker (recipe to come) and I wasn't too happy with the way they turned out. They had good flavor and all but I'm used to the way they are cooked on the grill so I keep looking for that flavor. I came across this recipe on Pinterest & of course I had to give it a try. This recipe was soooo good! And since I browned the bratwurst before I roasted them, they still had that charred flavor that I would normally find on the grill. I may have to roast more bratwursts! And of course the potatoes & veggies turned out well. I also added some balsamic vinegar to my bake during eating to add more flavor-yum!

To find the recipe, click here




Ready to roast...

Ready to eat...Enjoy!..

Garlic & Rosemary Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin

I came across this recipe after another craving for some pork. This recipe called for small red potatoes but after using radishes in a soup recipe & loving it, I decided to try using radishes instead of the potatoes for a healthier version. I had had roasted radishes before-my aunt had roasted some & they were really good. The pork came out nice & juicy, with a lot of flavor.

To find the recipe, click here




Ready to be baked...

Ready to eat...Enjoy!...

The Best Raspberry Bread

I was craving bread one day & I've made blueberry & strawberry bread before but I hadn't made raspberry bread. So I started researching Pinterest & came across this one. The title alone piqued my interest so of course I had to try it. I was going to use those throw-away bread tins but when I was at the Le Creuset store to buy my braising dish & they had a bread pan for uber cheap, I decided to use that instead. I don't have an after picture of the bread because when I thought my bread was done, I was very wrong. I took the bread out of the oven, tested it, let it rest & then turned it out on a wire rack. It caved in in the middle & while I thought it looked wrong, I let it sit there a while. When I went to turn it right-side up, that's when I discovered the middle was completely raw. The wire rack was over a sheet pan so I just threw the entire thing back in the oven for another 30 minutes & by the time the bread was actually done, it was a mess to look at. It was really good, just not picture worthy. I think the combination of using fresh raspberries & using the type of loaf dish I used-which is a really good dish, I should have cooked it for a lot longer. I'll definitely try making this again. It was really moist and had a lot of flavor.

Find the recipe here




Raspberries & flour...

Dough mixture...

Ready to be baked...

One Pot Creamy White Bean & Ham, Tortellini Soup

I've developed an allergy to tomatoes & anything with tomatoes in it, including tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, etc. So it's been a little interesting trying to find soups & meat sauces without anything containing tomatoes. I love soups but a lot of the thicker soups have some kind of tomato base to it. Usually I stay away from milk-based soups but since I can't eat tomatoes I've been going back to the milk-based soups, but just a little bit of them. I made this soup because it sounded interesting with the ham & beans-I figured it would be equally as filling. And I was right, plus it freezes well.

Find the recipe here




All cooked down...

Topped with cheese & ready to eat...Enjoy!...

Homemade Chicken Stock

For Thanksgiving this year, my work gave all of their employees a small turkey & 2 bottles of wine-one red & one white. If we didn't want the turkey we could have given it to charity but I wanted it. I had my dad grill it for me when everyone was in town & I froze the meat-it's always good to have frozen turkey meat to eat over time. I was just going to throw away the carcass but my mom & aunt convinced me to keep it & make chicken stock with it, especially after telling me how easy it was. All I basically had to do was buy the canning jars for it so I could freeze it after. And they were so right! After my dad grilled the turkey, we destroyed it and took all the meat off of it to freeze. I took the carcass home with me in a separate bag & stuck it in the freezer until I was able to make it the following weekend.

Homemade Chicken Stock (12 16-oz canning jars-the kind you can freeze)

3-4 carrots, peeled & cut into chunks
3-4 celery, cut into chunks
2-3 onions, peeled & cut into chunks
Assortments of fresh herbs (I used sage & rosemary)
Assortment of seasonings to your likening (I used vegetable pepper, salt, celery salt, oregano & Italian seasoning)

Put carcass in bottom of large Dutch oven or deep pot & fill with water to cover carcass. Place vegetables around & in pot. Place seasonings & herbs in pot. Place over med-high & bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer 3-4 hours, uncovered.

Stock is done when most of the meat has fallen off the bones & the carcass has broken down. Take the pot off the heat & let cool down; enough so you can handle the carcass. I placed a strainer in another deep pot and strained out the smaller bits of the carcass and scooped out the broth into the jars that way. It was a bit messy but worth doing it that way in the end. You will have bits of meat in the broth but that makes the broth even tastier. Don't over-fill the jars before you freeze otherwise the jars will explode in the freezer.

I thawed out some of the broth a couple weeks later to use for some soup & it was soooo good! It was really flavorful & so tasty! I need to hurry up & make another chicken or turkey so I can use the carcass & make me some more broth!




Ready to boil...

Ready to freeze...Enjoy!...

Glass Noodle/Stir Fry Salad

I make this dish a lot when I'm craving noodles & stir-fry but don't want the carbs. This stems from a recipe that my best friend taught me that had tomatoes in it. Originally it also had chicken and it was served over rice. There's a Thai dish called Glass Noodle Salad and it has a lot of the same ingredients, minus the tomatoes. I can't eat tomatoes anymore so I thought I'd alter the chicken recipe and instead of the chicken, use ground chicken or pork or sometimes ground turkey if I couldn't find anything else. And I use bean sprouts noodles, which are usually used in my egg rolls. I heat them up under hot running water. They don't tend to fill me up as quickly & they aren't as thick as regular noodles, so they tend to soak up the sauce a little bit better. Then I throw whatever I have in the fridge in the rest of the salad. I usually use the same thing every time. I don't normally measure out the sauce ingredients-normally only to taste.

Glass Noodle/Stir Fry Salad (4 servings):

3 pack bean thread noodles, softened under hot running water, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1 2-inch piece ginger, chopped or minced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
6 green onions, rinsed & chopped
8 oz ground turkey
Soy sauce
Sriracha
Hoisin Sauce
Fish Sauce

Cook turkey until no longer pink; drain & set aside. Saute bell peppers until softened, about 5 minutes. Add green onions, garlic & ginger & saute about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the turkey back to mixture & stir to combine. Start adding your sauces a couple 1 tsp at a time and stir to combine. Keep adding whichever sauce here & there, tasting to your liking. I usually add a small squirt of Sriracha, a couple big squirts of Hoisin & several dashes of Fish & Soy sauce to even out the mixture. Once everything is mixed, stir in the cilantro. Add the noodles at the end; you may need to add some more sauce at this point or you could serve the mixture on top of the noodles. Those of you who like peanuts, this dish may taste good with chopped peanuts on top. Enjoy!




Enjoy!...

Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies

Again I didn't take any after pictures, which I should have because these brownies turned out GOOD! We had to make sugary goodies for work for one of my coworkers for her bday so I took to Pinterest & this recipe made me drool so of course I had to make it. I didn't realize how rich they were going to be until I actually started making them. Once I brought them, I made one of my coworkers cut them into fudge-size pieces. They were really good! In fact I still have some of the leftovers (I made them in April!-I shoved them in the freezer). I'd definitely make them again-they were really easy.

Find the recipe here




Ready for the chocolate chips to be melted...

Slow Cooker Brisket

When I was at the butcher shop for the beef short ribs, I had to get brisket, I had to! The butcher was super nice & he cut the brisket down to size for me-I had him cut it down to 3 lb for me. I had no idea how I was going to cook it-I just knew it was going to be in the slow cooker but I figured I'd find a good recipe on Pinterest. I came across this recipe and only had to buy a couple of the ingredients. When I first looked at it, I thought it said apple cider vinegar, not realizing I had to buy a 12 pack of hard cider. I don't drink so I don't know what I'm going to do with the other 5 bottles. I'll have to look on Pinterest to see what else I can do with them for recipes. This recipe was really easy and the brisket had a lot of flavor. The size of the brisket was perfect for me too. I also put a whole onion on the bottom as well, because who doesn't like cooked onion & brisket? Yum! (I didn't get any after pictures but I can promise you it turned out good!)

Find the recipe here




Ready to cook...Enjoy!

Braised Red Wine Beef Short Ribs

I've been wanting to try beef short ribs for a long time now. I had originally found a recipe for a slow cooker but I decided instead to braise them in the oven for my first time making them instead, with red wine. The next step was finding a recipe that did not include tomato paste, since I'm allergic to tomatoes. Finally I found a good, simple recipe. The next step after that was locating the ribs, since I couldn't find them in a regular store. Luckily I mentioned it to my aunt, who found a decent priced butcher shop here in Vegas-I was in meat heaven! Besides the ribs, I bought some homemade bratwurst & a small brisket, which I'll share in a later recipe.

This rib recipe was so easy to make & the meat fell off the bones. Definitely a good recipe to use for a first-time recipe for making these kind of ribs!! This recipe suggested to serve it over polenta but I ate mine over egg noodles. You could actually eat them over whatever you want. There are optional steps listed to make a pan sauce, which I didn't do, since there's enough liquid left over after braising and to get a crispy exterior on the ribs, which I also didn't do. Once they rested for the 20 minutes, I was starving & couldn't stop eating them while I waited for my noodles to cook. They probably would be good with the crispy exterior but I just didn't care at that point! :)

Find the recipe here




Ribs browning with splatter lid...

Browned ribs...

Veggies in red wine...

Ready for the oven...

Ready to eat...Enjoy!...

Crock Pot BBQ Pork

I'm waaayyyy behind on posting anything on here so I'm just going to post a lot of recipes all at once over the next couple of days. I started working last year so I blame that for my reason for not posting as often. I'm still making food, just not as often. I go through spurts.

I needed something to get me through at least a couple days of work and I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer. Although I was at Trader Joe's on Saturday and I decided to just buy an unfrozen one since I forgot to thaw mine out in time for the weekend. I started searching on Pinterest for a recipe, something that I had all the ingredients for and came across this one-I've never made a tenderloin that had a dry rub before & I definitely had all the spices, thanks to my mom getting spices for me at her Co-Op in MN for super cheap. I only made one tenderloin & halved the recipes for the spices. It still made a good amount of rub. And man it made the tenderloin so moist; it literally fell apart when I took it out of the slow cooker. I was just planning on slicing the tenderloin like I usually do but this one shredded all on its own. I didn't need to add anything to it-the rub did a good job of adding so much flavor to the tenderloin but I did add some bbq sauce I had in the fridge. I ate the meat by itself last night with some mac & cheese on the side. I was going to eat it again for lunch today but there's free food at work so that will be my lunch tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to make tacos with the meat...yum! I'll definitely make this again! And the recipe calls for 6-7 hours in the slow cooker-I only cooked it for 5 1/2 hours=perfection!

Find the recipe here




Falling apart...

BBQ Sauce & Ready to Eat! Enjoy!...