Teriyaki Salmon w/ Sriracha Cream Sauce

Another delightful recipe found via Pinterest from the lovely Boogie Blog.  I really adapted this recipe to meet my needs for cooking it on a Tuesday night...and by adapted I mean made it as simple as possible while still achieving the awesome flavor!  We love salmon and I'm always looking for a new salmon recipe to switch things up.  If you love sushi, you will love this dish.  The tastes were all there.  It was delicious and so simple.  And no raw fish for the sushi haters...you'll still love this!

Ingredients:
2 salmon filets
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1-2 tablespoons half & half or cream

1 green onion

sesame seeds

Method:

1.  Combine cornstarch, soy sauce, teriyaki, & brown sugar in small bowl.  Place salmon in baking dish and sprinkle with ginger & garlic.  Pour sauce over salmon.  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until salmon flakes easily with a fork.  Whisk together Sriracha, mayo, and half & half until smooth (add additional cream if needed to get desired thickness).  Thinly slice green onion.  Once you remove salmon from the oven, place on plate (or over rice) and spoon pan sauce over salmon.  Drizzle salmon with the Sriracha cream sauce and sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds.

Crispy Southwestern Chicken Wraps

Have I told you guys yet how much I love Pinterest...obsessed.  I have found so many recipes, cute ideas, diy projects, fall style, etc.  I LOVE it!  Well this recipe from Mel's Kitchen was pinned by one of my friends, and as soon as I saw it I knew I needed to make it asap.  We loved it, and the best part, we had plenty of leftover filling to make seconds for another night this week!

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked brown rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (2 breasts)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Sour cream (optional)
6 burrito-sized wheat tortillas

Method:
Mix all ingredients together except sour cream.  Spread 1 or 2 spoonfuls of sour cream in the middle of tortillas.  Arrange chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Roll stuffed tortillas (see picture below, when I left the edges open everything fell out while flipping them in the pan.  If you fold the ends in first before rolling and then secure with a toothpick they stay much better when cooking.).  Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.
Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.

this is how I kept ours together while cooking!

Cilantro, Lime & Roasted Jalopeno Hummis

I have been wanting to try this Cilantro Lime White Bean Hummis from How Sweet for a while now.  We are also in love with the Cilantro Jalopeno hummis from Trader Joe's.  So I thought I would make up my own version by sort of combining the two!  I decided to go the White bean route rather than the typical garbanzo beans.  I've made hummis previously with garbanzos and had a hard time getting it smooth.  We loved it with the white beans and will definitely use them again.  I can't wait to make some more variations and flavors, the homemade hummis was soooo much better than store bought...bold statement!  The great thing is you can really use whatever flavors you want and make it to your own tastes.  Below is a rough estimate of what I used!

Ingredients:
1 15oz can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
1 bunch cilantro
1 lime
1 garlic clove
3 jalopenos
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Method:
Turn oven to broiler setting.  Roast jalopenos under broiler, turning, until all sides are blackened.  Remove from oven and either place jalopenos in a ziploc or cover pan with a towel so they can sweat for 5 minutes.  (While jalopenos are roasting) add beans, zest of 1/2 of the lime, juice from 1/2 the lime, garlic, 1/2 of the cilantro, & olive oil to your food processor.  Process until smooth adding more olive oil if needed to help it come together.  Taste the hummis.  Add more lime juice or cilantro if needed & season with salt & pepper (I used juice from the whole lime & close to 3/4 bunch cilantro).  Put hummis into a bowl to serve.  Once jalopenos have had a chance to cool, peel the blackened skin off and remove seeds and stem.  Put jalopenos in (clean) food processor with just a drizzel of olive oil and just blend a few times to roughly chop the jalopenos and combine with oil.  Place jalopenos in the middle on top of hummis and serve!  We like hummis with pretzel thins, but you can also serve with pita chips, crackers, or tortilla chips.

Homemade Biscuits & Gravy

Corey and I visited our friends Joe & Becca who live in Tulsa on the way back from vacation in Texas.  Joe is an excellent cook and became famous for his biscuits and gravy when we were in college.  Pre-tailgate anyone?  Well he of course was the best host and made them for us while we stayed with them a couple weeks back.  And now Corey has been begging me to try making them ever since.  It was actually pretty easy!  I followed the recipe I used to make the homemade gravy for chicken fried steaks and it turned out awesome!  Corey was in charge of making the homemade Bisquick biscuits which are pretty easy as well and taste amazing!

Biscuits:
makes about 9
2 1/4 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
Heat oven to 450.  Stir ingredients until soft dough forms.  Generously sprinkle counter with Bisquick, then place dough on surface.  Knead 10 times.  Roll 1/2 inch thick.  Cut out biscuits with the top of a drinking glass or similar shaped circle.  Bake for 8-10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet.

Sausage Gravy:
1/2 roll sausage (I use spicy)
butter if needed
1/3 cup flour
2 to 3 cups milk (depending on how thick you like it)
salt & pepper
Cook sausage in a saute pan.  Take our sausage leaving remaining grease in pan.  You need about 1/4 cup grease, but if it looks like less you can add additional butter.  Whisk in your flour until dissolved and starts to get bubbly.  Slowly whisk in milk and continue whisking over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes adding more milk if its too thick for you.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.  Add back in sausage and serve over biscuits.

its a must to top it with a runny egg!

Sweet Summer Roasted Vegetables

This awesome simple side dish comes from Kevin & Amanda!  I love throwing these summer veggies together and coming out with the easiest, tasty side!

Equal parts of the following but if you use about 1/3 cup each you will have the perfect amount for two people!
Red onion, diced
Red bell pepper, diced
Zucchini, diced
Frozen corn kernels
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

Toss all to combine & roast at 400 for 15-20 mins.

Stuffed Flank Steak with Creamy Grits

One of my friends Jess suggested making flank steak.  She marinated it in a soy/teriyaki sauce then grilled it, which is exactly how I planned to cook it, until our propane tank ran out when I tried to turn on the grill.  So then I remembered back to seeing this recipe on Confections of a Foodie Bride where she had stuffed the flank steak with peppers and served it with cheesy grits.  So I decided to go that route and cook it in the oven...it was seriously so good!  I didn't have time to marinade it, but you could absolutely do that with some worcestershire or red wine.  I wish I would have stuffed it with more of the ingredients so I up-ed them for you in the recipe below!  YUM!

Ingredients:
Flank Steak (mine was about 1.5 lbs)
1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup salsa verde
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
Steak seasoning to taste (I used Montreal brand)
1/2 cup half & half
1 1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons quick grits
1/2 cup shredded cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Butterfly steak if thick enough by placing it on the cutting board flat and slicing almost all the way through.  Layer red pepper, blue cheese, salsa, and pistachios inside.  Fold back over then roll up and tie with cooking twine or keep rolled with toothpicks (see pics below).  Season entire outside with steak seasoning.  Quickly sear all sides in saute pan on the stove.  Place saute pan in oven and cook at 375 for 15 - 20 minutes to finish out.  Bring water and half & half to a boil.  Whisk in grits and cook for 5 -7 minutes until water is absorbed.  Add in cheese to grits.  Slice steak on cutting board.  Place grits on plate, top with slice of steak, drizzle with pan juices.

butterfly-ed and stuffed!

First searing on the stove

Roasted Blueberry Cupcakes w/ Hot Fudge Frosting

A few weeks ago a couple from our bible study had their first baby, a boy.  I brought over dinner for them Monday and wanted to bring along something for dessert.  I decided to make these cupcakes hoping they would turn out blue for baby boy, but they ended up being more purple!  They were so good though!  How Sweet never disappoints!

Roasted Blueberry Cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries + a few additional ones rubbed with sugar for garnish
2-3 tablespoons milk, if needed (I used 2.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread blueberries on a baking sheet (with sides) and roast for 10-15 minutes, or until berries start to burst. Remove from oven and let cool.
Beat butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined, another 2-3 minutes. Add flour, baking powder and salt with the mixer on low speed, then gradually increase speed. Scrape in blueberries and beat on medium speed until the berries break down – about 2-3 minutes. At this point, the berries most likely have enough liquid that you only need to add a small amount of milk to the batter. Begin adding 1 tablespoon of milk at a time and beat with the mixer until the batter is smooth. You definitely want it to be cake batter and not dough.
Pour into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 of the way full, and bake for 18-22 minutes or until cake is set. Let cool completely, then frost.

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream
1 cup of butter (2 sticks), softened
3-4 cups of powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Dark, it’s what I had)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup hot fudge sauce (at room temperature or cold, and using store bought is fine)
1-2 tablespoons milk, if needed
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth. Gradually add in powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer on low, increasing it to medium-high speed once all the sugar has been added. Add the cocoa, vanilla and hot fudge, and mix until completely combined (while scraping down the bowl every few minutes) for about 5-6 minutes. If the frosting seems very thick, simply add some milk 1 tablespoon at a time and mixer for another minute or 2 until it comes together.
Note: this makes enough frosting for me to frost 12 cupcakes with a pastry bag. If you use a spatula for frosting, you will most likely have frosting left over. I used a spatula and had leftover.  Honestly, I thought this frosting was sweet enough, that I probably wouldn't have wanted more. If you have some leftover, store it in an air-tight container in the fridge (a few days) or the freezer (3-4 months).  And just a tip, pretzels dipped in the extra icing is not a bad idea.