Huevos Rancheros and His & Hers Nachos

     I was watching Cooks Country on tv last weekend & was completely intrigued by this recipe I saw for Huevos Rancheros.  Now I'm not a big fan of eggs, but I loved how they rendered down the tomatoes to concentrate the flavor by draining out the liquids, roasting the tomatoes, then adding the liquid back in.  The flavor was really great.
 I cut the recipe in half & served them with some nachos for lunch.

Here is the recipe from Cooks Country:

http://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/8000-huevos-rancheros?ref=videos_related_content_1

(While your there, look up their recipe for Braised Lemon Chicken - it's my favorite dinner recipe of all time!)

 My favorite part, the tomatoes!

 Yum!

 His & Hers Nachos!

I like everything on them & he likes almost nothing on them. 

I put Pulled Pork, Tomatoes, Pickled Jalapenos, Mild Chiles, Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese, Velveeta, Refried Beans, Roasted Tomatillos, Scallions, Cilantro, & Avocado.
Eric just likes Meat & Cheese, like his Sandwiches.

The Way to a Man's Heart

    In continuing with the Valentine's theme this week, I tried this new recipe for what I would call a Seafood Bake.  It is a delicious creamy seafood & mushroom dish that really was excellent and impressive.

Here is the recipe:
It is called "The Way to a Man's Heart":
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/17170/the-way-to-a-mans-heart/

I left out the Red Peppers completely (my man does not like them), and I thought Shallots would be much better in this dish then onions, so I substituted that.
Also, I think Sherry would also go really well in this dish & I think next time I make this I might add a little to the mushrooms while they cook. 
I used Sauvignon Blanc for the wine to cook the fish, which is my favorite for drinking.

Cook Fish first (I used Flounder) in white wine & white pepper.

Fresh Crabmeat makes this dish.

 This sauce was fantastic!  I would use this too in other dishes. Very easy & simple.

 

Fill those Ramekins! 

Delicious!

Some homemade Italian Bread too.

Best Tacos Ever!

       I wanted something different then your standard Tacos w/ the Crunchy shells and Ground Beef filling.  I found this wonderful recipe for Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/slow-cooker-pork-tacos-recipe.html
 I left out the Chiles & Chipotles, since we don't like things too spicy.   I liked the Honey & Cider Vinegar in the recipe, actually that is what caught my attention.  Also, I only had Regular Oregano to use, not Mexican, but I would love to try the Mexican version some day - it sounds great.   The bay leaves & cinnamon stick too sounded great & the cinnamon flavor you could taste in the meat, slightly - not too overpowering.

The recipe calls for Corn Tortillas, but we didn't care for them too much, after a minute they cool down & the texture gets weird.  I would prefer to use the mini Flour Tortillas.

Also, this recipe calls for "Assorted Taco Toppings", but here is where it gets good.

This is what we put on our Tacos & they came out really great:

Cilantro
Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Avocado
Mango
Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
A dollop of Creme Fraiche (instead of sour cream)
Tomatillo Salsa (or Salsa Verde) from this recipe:
       http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/tortilla-omelet-burrito-with-pulled-chicken-and-salsa-verde.html?soc=socialsharingpinterest

(Picture is before I added the Avocado & Cilantro - I will update with a better picture when I make this again, which I definitely will soon)

Valentine's Day Dinner

  This year for Valentine's Day I made the most delicious & romantic meal for my family that I love so much.

 Here is the menu:

Beef Tenderloin w/ Strawberry Balsamic Glaze

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp w/ Crusty Bread

Mushroom Risotto

And for Dessert:   Valentine's Ombre Cake

It really was so delicious, everything.  My Fiance even said it was "Restaurant Quality", which made me happy that he liked it.  I really enjoyed the shrimp w/ the bread to dip in the sauce - Fantastic!

The recipe for the shrimp is Here:
http://www.closetcooking.com/2015/02/new-orleans-bbq-shrimp.html
I only put in a smidge of hot sauce compared to what they say in the recipe & it had a Wonderful kick to it, but was NOT too hot to eat.  I can't imagine how spicy it would have been with the entire 1/4 cup of hot sauce.  Also, I used Blue Moon Beer in the recipe.

<3

Red Velvet Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pie

Red Velvet Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pie

by Sarah Deller

For Crust:

1 package Red-Velvet Oreos, about 24 cookies (or regular Oreos if red velvet is not available)

5 TBSP. SALTED butter, melted

For Chocolate covered Strawberries:

About 15 – 20 strawberries

10oz. Ghirardelli Chocolate Baking Chips, melted

½ TBSP. Vegetable Oil

Toothpicks

Foam Block

For Meringues:

4 egg whites, room temperature

1 TBSP white vinegar

1 TBSP corn starch

1 cup sugar

3 TBSP strawberry JELL-O gelatin powder

8 oz. dark chocolate melting wafers, melted

½ TBSP. Vegetable Oil

For Filling:

3 cups of sliced strawberries

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 TBSP. lemon juice

2 TBSP. corn starch

2 TBSP. Cocoa Powder

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. red food coloring

½ tsp. kosher salt

            Make Meringues first.  Preheat oven to 200F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  In standing mixer, mix egg whites with whisk attachment until foamy (about 30 seconds).  Add in vinegar & cornstarch & continue running machine on medium-high for about another minute until soft peaks form.  Slowly add in sugar and gelatin powder.  Beat for 3 minutes or so until stiff peaks form.  Fill pastry bag with meringue & pipe onto baking sheets.  Bake for 90 minutes.  Turn oven off & leave in over for an additional 2 hours.  Remove & cool completely.  Then dip meringues into the melted dark chocolate (use vegetable oil to help w/ the consistency) & let set on fresh parchment paper lines baking sheet in refrigerator.

            Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries.   Wash & dry strawberries completely – Leave green stems in-tact.  Melt chocolate with veg. oil.   Stick a toothpick into the stem of the strawberry.   Dip in chocolate & then place toothpick into foam so strawberry is sticking up & this way won’t have a flat side to the strawberry.  Repeat with remaining strawberries.  Refrigerate to set.

            Make Crust.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Crush Oreos using a Food Processor.  Add melted butter (most recipes call for unsalted butter, but I like the salted butter better for this crust).  Press into pie pan.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Cool completely.

            Make filling.  Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil.  Continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.   Let cool.  Pour into pie crust & refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

            Assemble pie.  Line the perimeter of the pie with the chocolate covered strawberries. Remember to remove toothpicks first & slice off green stems.   Fill the center with the chocolate dipped meringues.   Store pie in the refrigerator, but let sit out for 20 minutes before serving.

Lamb Chops with Farro, Arugula, & Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

This is my last post for the 2016 Healthy Recipes.  This was a bonus recipe for the month, which was a great way to end the healthy streak.
The recipe is here from "My Recipes":
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lamb-chops-farro-arugula-vinaigrette

I didn't have a grill pan to use, so instead I used the Broiler.  I also added a little olive oil.

The vinaigrette was delicious.  We really liked the Farro!  I was so surprised that even my picky fiance & 4 year old liked the Farro (Well, I did have to put butter on theirs ;-) )