Thank you it is nice to be back! I took a sabbatical leave from my blog publishing to create new recipes in my own kitchen. Yes- we finally got our house after a 16 month wait. I'm soooo excited to be in my kitchen. I've been busy cleaning, unpacking, and setting up my big kitchen.
I'm still receiving my produce boxes at my new house. It has been quite delightful with the introduction of summer produce. My latest boxes have brought blueberries, melons, tomatoes, green beans, and so much more!
As promised new recipes:
Spicy Rotini, Zucchini, and Italian Sausage Caramelize about ¼ an onion, diced
Add in about 5 hot cayenne peppers, whole
Once the onion is almost browned and translucent, add about 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
Remove the peppers.
Preparing the Sausage:
I used 3 pork sausage links about ½ foot long.
I placed my sausage in a pot of water and brought it to a boil for about 15 minutes.
I set aside to cool and drained the water
Once the meat is ready to handle, I removed the casing and tore the sausage into pieces.
Set aside.
Boil the pasta to al dente
I used a ½ box of rotini
Allow the meat to brown and become crispy
I diagonally sliced two zucchinis to place around the edges while the meat was cooking
Carefully toss the meat in the middle to cook on the other side without disturbing the zucchini
Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water.
Add on top of the meat.
Next add in about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.
Toss the pasta, meat, and zucchini to coat with the tomato sauce
Season with pepper and salt
Allow the dish to cook a little longer about 5 minutes and stir with an additional 5 minutes.
Serve with garlic bread and a green salad.
Greek Couscous SaladI prepared the couscous to box directions. 1 cup of dry couscous and 1 cup of water
Let it cool.
Need:
1 cucumber
¼ cup of sun dried tomatoes
¼ cup of feta cheese
¼ cup kalamata olives
Toss together and fresh with a little lemon juice, pepper, and salt.
Optional Idea: Use Orzo for the carbohydrate.
Deliciously Quick FajitasPrepare your meat first.
I learned through trial and error that if you brown the sides of the meat it will hold in the moisture and keep it tender. This technique can be used to for many recipes like stir-fries, stews, or pasta dishes.
Cut your meat into small strips.
Heat-up a frying pan with enough oil to cover the bottom. I used canola oil. (In the past I have used sesame oil too.)
Then in small batches just toss in handfuls of meat. Cook just enough to brown the edges. The insides will still be pink. (This is OK because the meat will be tossed back into the pan later on.)
Remove the meat and place on a paper towel. I like to salt it at this time.
Use the same pan for the remaining cooking preparation.
Keep the pan on medium heat.
I slice up half of a white onion into slivers and toss it in with the remaining oil.
Let the onions cook until tender. (Optional: toss in whole cayenne peppers for heat.)
For a little moisture, I diced up a tomato and tossed it in.
For those who love bell peppers, add in slivers of the colorful bell peppers.
Let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add in the beef and squeeze fresh lime juice over the top. Then toss in the limes to the pan. (Optional: Bottled lemon juice will also do the trick.)
Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer together.
Prepare the tortillas of choice: corn or flour.
Final dish: Grab a tortilla, add in the meat/vegetable mixture, add in shredded cabbage, and a dollop of sour cream. Then get ready for the mouth watering bite of your own homemade fajita.
Options: Various fish or meats can be used for the meal. Follow the simple reasoning of not overcooking the fish or meat the first time because it is cooks a second time.
Checca SauceCherry tomatoes are in season!!
This is a wonderful fresh tomato sauce. I have to share it because I love making it during the summer season. It tastes great hot or cold. Raw food at its best!
In a food processor add the following items:
- 1 package of cherry tomatoes
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ onion
- 1-2 teaspoons of fresh garlic
- Handful of fresh basil
- ½ cup of fresh Parmesan
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Puree until well mixed and taste.
Cube up a ½ chunk of fresh mozzarella.
Cook up a fresh batch of pasta.
Toss all the checca sauce, fresh mozzarella, and pasta in a bowl.
Serve up and Enjoy!
Homemade Corn ChipsOne thing I love to eat at Mexican restaurants is the corn chips. I like to eat these plain chips with salsa, or avocado. Learning how to make these chips is easy on the budget. Just remember it does require a little extra time to prepare. It took me about a half hour to prepare about a bag of chips.
Set-up
Heat-up the oven on a low temperature. Grab a cookie sheet and line it with aluminum foil.
Grab a plate and place about 3-4 layers of paper towels to drain the oil of the chips.
Grab a sauce pot and heat-up on medium-high heat. Pour in the oil about a fourth of the way from the bottom.
I like to cut the corn tortilla into triangle eighths.
Test the oil by throwing in one triangle to see if it starts to bubble on the edges. If it ready throw in about 10-14 tortilla triangles...this depends on the size of your pot. Don't overcrowd the oil it will reduce the temperature and take longer to cook.
As the chips starts to cook to a light brown, flip the tortilla chips.
Once the other side is cooked and the corn tortilla has firmed up, then transfer to the cookie sheet.
To finish the cooking process with crisping of the chip, place in the preheated oven.
Deserts:
What can you do with fresh nectarines or peaches if you can't eat them quick enough? My solution is to make turnovers. I like to use a pie crust made simple: Krusteaz Pie Crust. Thanks to my Dad he introduced me to it. A great pie crust in seconds.
Tip: I found this product does not require much water just enough to pull it together.
Nectarine or Peach TurnoversPreheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare the crust:
Use enough pie dough mixture for one pie with a crust.
Prepare the pie filling:
I grabbed my freshly delivered nectarines (or peaches) that had been ripening in a brown paper bag on the counter. I left the skin on as I sliced into slivers into my mixing bowl. I sprinkle a little lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon. One additional item is a little corn starch to gel up the liquid. The recipe use intuitive measurements.
Flour a board with a little flour. Partition into about 7-8 small golf size dough balls.
Roll out the dough into a triangle/oval shape. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
Add a little of the fruit mixture to the middle of each the rolled out dough.
Close the flap and place in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Check it to see if the dough is cooked and the bottoms are slightly browned.
Let it cool.
In picture above I used for this batch fresh blueberries.
Optional: If you have fresh strawberries or blueberries, try with a little fresh whipping cream for summer shortcake.
It can measured out and placed into the freezer for later use. 
