Margarita Marinated BBQ Shrimp Caesar Salad

Margarita Marinated BBQ Shrimp Caesar Salad

After riding our bikes from Midcity to Greek Fest, Scott and I were sun-burned and tired from our canoe ride on Bayou St. John. We had riden along Lake Ponchatrain and I started craving Gulf shrimp.  We luckily had some in the freezer so when we got home, Scott threw them in the marinade and I made Caesar dressing for this perfect dish on a HOT New Orleans Sunday.

Ingredients

Shrimp marinade

24 large head on shrimp
1/4 cup of margarita mix
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp of salt
2 ounces of tequila

One head of romaine lettuce

1/2 Packet of Cajun King BBQ Shrimp Seasoning

Croutons

Directions for Shrimp

Skewer and grill marinated shrimp about 10 minutes (depends on heat of grill). Remove from skewers and finish on stove top with 2 tbsp of butter and 1/2 packet of bbq shrimp seasoning mix.

Caesar Dressing
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 anchovies
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Directions

Add salt and pepper to the salad bowl. Using the back of a soup spoon, grind the garlic against the wall of the bowl until it becomes a paste. Then add the anchovies, and grind them into a paste. Follow the same procedure, adding the Dijon, egg yolk, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, 1 at a time. Toss with a couple of chopped heads of romaine. Place grilled shrimp on top of greens.

Inspired by: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/AUTHENTIC-CAESAR-SALAD-DRESSING-50000232#ixzz2Vm3u3iXA

Crock Pot Pork Carnitas

Crock Pot Pork Carnitas

This one is super easy and such a great use of your crock pot!

Ingredients:

2-4 pounds pork shoulder (bone or no bone)
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 Tb lime juice
1 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb olive oil
2 tsps oregano
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Rinse and dry pork. Salt and pepper liberally. Mix olive oil with oregano and cumin and use it as a rub. Cover the pork with it and place into crock pot. Cover with chopped onion and garlic. Add lemon and lime juice. Cook on high setting for 4 hours, then reduce to low for a couple hours if in a hurry, or just leave it on low for 8-10 hours. When done it will fall apart effortlessly.

(No you don’t need to add any other liquid to this)

Inspired by: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/pork-carnitas-recipe/index.html

Blue Cheese Stuffed Steaks with Mashed Maple Sweet Potatoes

Baked Wasabi Catfish with Bok Choy, Broccoli, and Brown Rice

Baked Wasabi Catfish

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons wasabi paste

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed oregano, or more to taste

1 pinch ground black pepper, or to taste

16 ounce catfish fillet

1 pinch Cajun seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s), or to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking dish with aluminum foil and grease with olive oil.
2. Mix soy sauce, olive oil, wasabi paste, garlic, oregano, and black pepper in a bowl. Cut a diagonal slash across each piece of fish and coat fish with wasabi mixture; spoon remaining wasabi mixture over fish and into the diagonal cuts. Place fish into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until fish is opaque and flakes easily, 7 to 9 minutes.

Inspired by: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/wasabi-trout/

Bok Choy

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon of diced picked ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 pounds bok choy (about 2 medium bunches), cleaned, ends trimmed, and cut on the bias into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. In a large frying pan with a tightfitting lid, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not brown, about 30 seconds.
2. Add the bok choy and, using tongs, fold it into the garlic-ginger mixture until coated, about 1 minute. Add the soy sauce and water, cover, and cook until steam accumulates, about 1 minute. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are just wilted, the stalks are just fork tender but still crisp, and most of the water has evaporated, about 2 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat, stir in the sesame oil, and season with salt if desired.

Inspired by: http://www.chow.com/recipes/28071-sauteed-bok-choy

 

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 cup sour cream
3 Tbsps Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsps ketchup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 medium onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp butter Egg noodles
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Brown the beef. Drain the fat. Add butter, onion, and garlic. Cook for a bit on medium then add mushrooms. Cook for a bit more. Add remaining ingredients. Turn down to medium low. While sauce is simmering, boil the noodles. Serve by pouring sauce over bed of noodles.

Crock-Pot Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs with Low Carb Pasta and Whole Wheat Garlic Bread

Crock-Pot Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs with Low Carb Pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (we used Classico something or other)
Dreamfields low carb spaghetti
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 an onion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic
1 egg
2 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup garlic and herb bread crumbs
Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Directions:

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil. Deglaze them with the wine and pour that into a slow cooker along with the spaghetti sauce, beef stock, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Set on low for 8 to 10 hours. Put the ground beef in a bowl along with the egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning blend. Mix that together and form them into balls. Place them under a broiler for 10 minutes, then add them to the Crock Pot. Let that slowly simmer for however many hours you can stand it before needing it in your face. Place over boiled spaghetti noodles that have been drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt.

Commentary: We actually did this with the leftover sauce from the grits and grillades we made for breakfast.

Inspired by: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/sunday-gravy-and-macaroni-spaghetti-really-recipe/index.html

Whole Wheat Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

1 fresh loaf of whole wheat french bread
Butter or margarine
Mayo
Parmesan cheese
Garlic salt

Directions:

Slice your loaf into about 1-inch thick slices, but not all the way through, just mostly all the way to the bottom of the bread. Spread butter on all the sides facing one way, and mayo on all the sides facing the other way. Then sprinkle Parmesan cheese and garlic salt in each gap. Wrap loaf in foil and place in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Commentary: This way of making garlic bread is a long cherished family recipe. If you think the mayo part is crazy. Just try it once and you’ll probably never not include mayo ever again.