Beachy Menu!

Beachy Menu

Last weekend I was lucky enough to get to hang with my book club girlfriends in a house on the beach. Not close to the beach, but RIGHT ON IT! Awwww yeah. It was pretty sweet. We lazed around, watched movies, had mimosas, and I got to take my sweet time cooking, which is right up there with my most favorite things to do!!! When I'm cooking at home, I'm usually rushed. The kids need something, everyone is hungry, the phone is ringing, and I'm trying to do 10 things at once. So, having the chance to talk, slowly assemble a meal, and enjoy some good tunes is HEAVENLY!!!

Since we were in Galveston, I thought seafood was in order. Also, two of us are gluten-free, so I assembled an entirely gluten free dinner and dessert. We had fiery fish tacos with crunchy corn salsa, refried black beans, spanish rice, and finished up with Babe Ruth bars for dessert. There was a small corn mishap but after picking all the corn out of a frozen bag of mixed veggies (that I got at the gas station in Jamaica Beach - HA!), we were all set! And it was GOOD!

Fiery Fish Tacos with Crunchy Corn Salsa
1 cup corn
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 cup peeled, chopped jicama**
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons salt
6 (4 ounce) fillets tilapia
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 corn tortillas, warmed

Preheat Broiler.

In a medium bowl, mix together corn, red onion, jicama, red bell pepper, and cilantro. Stir in lime juice and zest.

In a small bowl, combine cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, and salt. Brush each fillet with olive oil, and sprinkle with spices. Go easy - they are SPICY! (hence the name fiery....)

Place tilapia fillets on a baking sheet lined with foil. Broil fish 2-3 minutes per side in the center of the oven.

For each fiery fish taco, top a corn tortilla with fish, corn salsa, and any other garnishes you would like. Sour cream helps balance the heat!!

**Jicima is usually by the ginger, garlic, etc. It is a gnarly looking brown root. Use a veggie peeler to peel the tough brown outer layer. Then cut the white, crunchy inside. It gives your salsa an awesome crunch factor!!

Spanish Rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped*
2 cups chicken stock
1 (10 ounce) can Rotel**
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt


Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Saute rice, onion, and bell pepper until rice is browned and onions are tender.

Stir in water and tomatoes. Season with chili powder and salt. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed.

*You can use any color bell pepper you want!! I prefer red or orange. Green has kind of a funky taste to me. The red/orange/yellow variety have a sweeter flavor!!

**You can use Rotel, but if it's too spicy you can replace with plain old diced tomatoes!

For the beans...I am about to hand you a BEAUTIFUL Slap It Together favorite ingredient. It's called Santa Fe Fat Free Refried Beans. They are in the bean section but are usually up on the top shelf (cause they're the best!!). They come in a gold pouch and are dehydrated. Just boil water, pour in the beans, stir for 5 minutes, and BAM - DELISH beans!!!

Babe Ruth Bars
6-7 cups Corn Chex cereal
1 cup peanuts (roasted or raw)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
r1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix 1st 3 ingredients in large bowl.

In medium saucepan, combine remaining ingredients on med/low heat. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Do not boil.

Immediately pour PB mixture over corn flake mixture and stir to evenly coat. Pour into greased 13x9 pan, press down firmly and cool in fridge.

Cut into bars and serve.

We noshed on these bars ALL DAY! They are so delish! You can easily make them dairy free by choosing dairy free chocolate chips - which taste great, by the way!!

Hope you enjoy this beachy menu! I highly recommend a day away. Did wonders for my mental health, which can use all the help it can get :)

New year, new recipes!!

So, I'm going to attempt to do better at writing this blog. It's my goal for 2012. Now that I'm working, have kids at 2 different schools, work tons of night/weekend events for It's My Heart, I'm learning that I really do have to slap it together sometimes. And, yes, sometimes that means slapping McDonalds down for the kids on nights where we don't have any groceries, I'm late from work, or I just don't care. Don't judge... :)

I have been doing more cooking and freezing on the weekends too, which is a LIFESAVER! Nothing like pulling out a pot of soup or a casserole in the morning, throwing it in the oven when I get home, and VOILA - homemade dinner, people! Good stuff!

So, I'm starting with a few recipes that EVERYONE has been asking for. For a long time. A really long time. Here you go, friends...

Houston Salad
(OH.MY.GOSH. Delicious - Thanks Brooke!)

Salad:
4 c. mixed greens
2 green onions
1 c. crumbled blue cheese
1 diced Granny Smith apple
1/2 c. pecan mix (follows)

Dressing: (the best part of the recipe)
1 c. oil
2 T Worcestershire sauce
4.5 tsp onion juice*
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
2/3 c. sugar

*to make onion juice - use a food processor and process the HECK out of an onion. Put the onion mush in a sieve or a papertowl and squeeze juice out. SHAZAM - onion juice).

This dressing is super rich and yummy if you really wisk it for a long time. If not, it starts to separate pretty quickly!

Pecan Mix for Garnish: (Aka - pecan crack. SO good)
2 egg whites, beaten stiff
1.5 tsp salt
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire
2 T paprika
1.5 tsp cayenne pepper
4.5 c. pecans
6 T melted butter

Directions: Put on cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake at 325 for 20ish minutes. Turn periodically. Sprinkle over top of salad. The pecans will be sticky but will firm up when they cool.


Turkey Chili Verde with Hominy and Squash

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb cooked turkey sausage links, cut into 1 in. pieces
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano (I used regular b/c it was all I had)
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 15oz can hominy, undrained
1 cup green chili enchilada sauce*
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, divided
2 cups diced butternut squash**

1. Heat oil in a large heavy pot (invest - it's totally worth it!). Add sausage and saute until heated through - 4 min. Add onion, oregano, and garlic. Saute 2 min.
2. Add hominy, enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup cilantro and squash. Bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to med-low. Simmer until squash is tender - 20 min or so.
3. Uncover and simmer until desired thickness. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

*Don't hate on the canned goods - this is slap it together, people. And if it's good enough for Aaron Sanchez, it's good enough for me!!
**How to dice an uncooked butternut squash without losing a finger. Cut off the top and bottom to make flat surfaces. Use a serrated knife! I like to cut the squash in half horizontally to make it more manageable. Then half your squash vertically, clean the seeds out of the bottom portion. Use the knife to skin the squash then dice!!

This soup is going into my top 5 soup rotation. SO delish, healthy, and easy to make!!! AND gluten free! Have a great week!