Orange Sweet Rolls

Mongolian Beef

Pork Souvlaki w/ Tzatziki

Souvlaki

Tzatziki

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced finely

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1 cup greek yogurt, strained

1 cup sour cream

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced

1 tsp. chopped fresh dill

Combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix until well combined. Using a whisk, blend the yogurt with the sour cream. Add the olive oil mixture to the yogurt mixture and mix well. Finally, add the cucumber and chopped fresh dill. Chill for at least two hours before serving.

*Recipe courtesy of http://greekfood.about.com/od/dipsspreadspures1/r/Tzatziki.htm

Coconut Cream Cake

BBQ Beef Sliders w/ Carrot Apple-slaw

Chili's Quesadilla Explosion Salad- Copycat

8 cups mixed lettuce

2 T. fresh cilantro leaves,minced

2 c. cooked Fajita-marinaded chicken, cooled - recipe follows*

3 med. tomatoes, diced

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained

1 c. frozen sweet white corn, thawed

1 small can diced Ortega green chiles (optional)

1-1/2 cups shredded cheese (half Cheddar and half Montery Jack cheese)

guacamole

1 c. Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette -recipe follows*

1 c. Chipotle Ranch Dressing-recipe follows*

Tortilla Strips-recipe follows*

Assemble the Salad

Wash salad greens and place in a large bowl. Add tomatoes. Mix black beans, corn, and green chiles together and add them to the salad. Sprinkle the shredded cheeses over salad. Add cooled chicken. Toss with desired amount of the Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette. Sprinkle the tortilla strips over the top. Drizzle chipotle ranch dressing over individual plates. Serve each plate with cheese quesadillas that have been quartered. Enjoy!

Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette*

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1/4 c. fresh orange juice

2 T. sugar

1/2 tsp. orange zest

pinch of ground nutmeg

Whisk ingredients in a pan over medium-high heat just until the sugar has melted. Refrigerate until ready to use

Chipotle Ranch Dressing*

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. buttermilk

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

2 T. fresh parsley, chopped fine

1 T. fresh cilantro, chopped fine

1 T. fresh basil, chopped fine

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper

2 tsp. canned chipotle pepper, chopped fine

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Fajita Marinated Chicken*

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 c. fresh lime juice

1/3 c. water

2 T. vegetable oil

1 large clove garlic, pressed

3 tsp. vinegar

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Dash onion powder

Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl. Pour marinade into resealable plastic bag with chicken breast and let marinate at least 2 hours.

Preheat barbecue or stove top grill. Grill meat over medium to medium high for 4-5 minutes on each side, until done. Dice cooked chicken into bite sized pieces.

Tortilla Strips *

6 corn tortillas

oil for frying

salt

Cut a stack of eight 6-inch corn tortillas in half. Stack the halves on top of each other and slice the tortillas into thin strips. Fry the tortilla strips in 2 cups of oil preheated in a large skillet for 3-5 minutes or until crispy. Salt lightly and cool on paper towels to drain.

*Recipe courtesy of http://meemoskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/02/chilis-quesadilla-explosion-salad.html#axzz1KYj3tBxY.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

My husband and I have tried several coffee cake-ish recipes and always feel that something is missing. I recently stumbled across a recipe for a Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake and it is seriously so good. The sour cream in the recipe keeps the cake incredibly moist and it's got just the right amount of cinnamon mixture. This cake is best served straight out of the oven with a cold glass of milk. Since the cinnamon-sugar filling tends to harden when cooled, I microwave the leftovers and that seems to soften it up a bit.

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 c. white sugar

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

1. In a small bowl, combine 1 c. sugar and 2 t. cinnamon. Mix well.

2. Generously grease the inside of your bundt pan with shortening, or spray heavily with cooking spray.

3. Dust the entire inside of your pan with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Be sure you get inside all the little nooks. Set aside the leftovers to use in the middle of the cake.

4. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set the mixture aside for later.

5. In a stand mixer or using hand held beaters beat the softened butter on medium speed for 1 minute.

6. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes.

7. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the brown sugar. Mix for 2 minutes.

8. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for a full minute after each one.

9. Stir in the vanilla.

10. Grab your dry mixture and add it alternately with the sour cream. When both sour cream and all of the dry mixture are added continue to mix for 2 minutes.

11. Spread 1/2 the batter into your pan. Pour the leftover cinnamon and sugar over the top. Spread the rest of your batter over the top.

12. Bake at 325 degrees for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

13. Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

*Recipe courtesy of http://jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com/2010/05/snickerdoodle-bundt-cake.html

Sweet 'N Sticky Babyback Ribs

I love BBQ. But it has to be good BBQ. We recently moved to Texas and I came with high expectations of indulgent, delicious BBQ. After all, this is cowboy country. So I was heartbroken to discover that I don't like Texas BBQ, at least not that I've tried thus far. Apparently, Texans don't do sweet meat. Seems a cryin' shame to me. So a couple of weeks ago when our friends from Louisiana invited us over for dinner and served us some juicy, tender ribs, slathered in a sticky, sweet sauce, I quickly got over my disappointment. I borrowed their recipe for the sauce with a couple of alterations. Go on and try these. The meat literally falls right off the bones. Who knew oven-baked ribs could taste this good? Okay, I'd better stop. I'm drooling.

Oh, and if you need a side to go with it...those chipotle cranberry corn fritters in the photo were awesome too. I didn't have pine nuts, I added extra cheese, and used about half the amount of cranberries. http://www.oceanspray.com/recipes/Chipotle_Corn_and_Cranberry_Fritters.aspx?id=2866&nid=1

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Ribs:

1 rack (about 2.5 lbs) babyback pork ribs
kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper (it really kicks the flavor up a notch)

Thaw your ribs. Remove the membrane on the underside of the ribs. The membrane acts as a barrier, so if you don't remove it the seasoning won't get through and your ribs won't be as tender. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, this video will help. http://www.ehow.com/video_2339996_pork-rib-membrane-removal-tips.html ). Put a huge strip of tin foil across a cookie sheet. Rub a generous amount of salt and pepper (and when I say generous, I mean go to town with the pepper. The results are amazing.) all over the ribs. Fold the tin foil up over the ribs and seal making a sort of tent to lock in the moisture, while not touching the meat. Cook 275 degrees in the oven for 3 hours. Remove ribs and baste with bbq sauce (recipe follows). Crank heat up to 325-350 degrees and bake another 30 minutes uncovered, basting every 10 minutes. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, just long enough to caramelize the sauce. Finally, die and go to meat heaven.

BBQ Sauce:

1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. + 2 T. brown sugar
1 T. brown mustard
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. honey + 1 T.

Throw all into a saucepan and stir on high heat until it starts to boil. Remove from heat.

Let's Get Started!

I'm so happy to finally have my blog up and running. The idea has been floating around in my head for several months and now I'm ready to jump in and tackle the great task ahead of me, which is to cook my way through all of the new recipes I've been collecting. You'll find I cook many ethnic dishes because they utilize so many beautiful spices and have rich, complex flavors, but hopefully there will be something for everyone on my blog. I hope you'll not only enjoy reading about my culinary adventures, but that you'll join with me in discovering delicious new recipes that you and your family will love. So, let's get started.