Braised beef, polenta, & sautéed kale

Asian-esque shrimp tacos

This Lenten dinner was a big hit! It's Inspired by these amazing Korean tacos we sometimes get at the Korean Taco Box food truck here in Orlando, Fl.

The tacos were made with flour tortillas topped with homemade spicy mayo and store bought popcorn shrimp. A squeeze of fresh lime juice, spring salad mix, tomato slices, more spicy mayo, and carrot and cucumber salad. Yum!

Homemade spicy mayo:
1/2 cup Light mayonnaise
2 tbsp siracha sauce (aka rooster sauce or thai chili sauce)
Lime juice & water until you get the desired consistency

Carrot and cucumber salad:
1shredded English cucumber (peeled)
2-3 carrots peeled and shredded
Pepper
Olive oil
Toasted sesame seeds
Red wine vinegar (lime juice would also work)

Cuban Style Beef Picadillo

Growing up my mother would make this a lot.  It's made very quickly (under 30 minutes), and it's healthy as you can make it with lean ground beef or even ground chicken or turkey.  Either way it is delicious!


Ingredients:
1lb lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken (if using poultry you will want to increase amount of liquid to keep meat moist)
1 large onion diced
1/2 green pepper diced
1 large tomato diced
1tbsp tomato paste or ketchup (I usually use ketchup because I very rarely ever have tomato paste)
1/2 cup of white wine or chicken stock (low sodium
1/4 cup of raisins
4-5 olives and a tbsp of their juice
5 minced garlic cloves
Garlic powder
Kosher salt
ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1tbsp olive oil


Directions:
Saute the onion and green pepper in the olive oil until onions soften.  Add tomatoes and ketchup/paste, olives, raisins, and garlic. Cook until tomatoes break down and have colored the onions.  Push all ingredients to the outer edges of pan and add meat to center of pan, and begin to break up meat with spoon.  Begin adding spices to taste, and gently mix ingredients in pan.  Add liquids (add more if you feel the meat is not moist enough) and bring to a boil, then drop heat to medium low and cover.  Cook for 5 minutes and turn off burner.  Serve over rice.

 

Whole wheat macaroni with bacon and zucchini

This macaroni is whole wheat and tossed in a homemade Alfredo sauce, which is surprisingly easy to make.  In fact the only thing that took any amount of time in this recipe is boiling water for the pasta.

Ingredients:
1 box of whole wheat pasta (macaroni, farfalle, penne, etc.)
1 zuchinni diced
4-5 strips of thick bacon cut into small pieces
1 large onion
5 cloves of garlic minced
pepper

Alfredo sauce:
1/4 tsp nutmeg 
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1/2 of milk
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil.  In  a seperate large skillet begin to cook the bacon over medium high heat.  Before it gets too dark in color and it releases its fat add the onion and zucchini.  Sautee until the onions get soft then add the garlic (this way it will not burn).  Once the water is boiling add some salt and toss in the pasta and cook for 6-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium.  Once the butter is melted add the flour, and whisk vigoursly in order to remove any lumps.  As soon as you see the mixture start to thicken and change color add the milk while whisking.  wait for it to thicken a bit, and then add the cheese and nutmeg while whisking.  

Once pasta is cooked, drain and toss into the large skillet and fold  into the bacon mixture, then add sauce and continue to gently folduntil sauce is fully incorporated. 

Enjoy!

Curry pumpkin and carrot soup & Hungry girl pumpkin brownies

Roasted carrots and leftover pumpkin purée

Ribs in a pressure cooker!

No need for a grill, just 15 minutes in a pressure cooker and a few minutes in the oven to get browned.

Puréed pears for baby

These pears come out awesome, so awesome that I would eat this myself over some ice cream for a treat!

Also don't discard the water as it makes an amazing pear juice, or if reduced a pear syrup!