My Top 10 Favorites for 2021

You'd think with as many new recipes as I try, that I'd have a TON of favorites. Oddly, I really don't. So many recipes are good, but not GREAT. I can't explain the science behind what I think are GREAT and thus make it to the Top 10 list. It's definitely preferential. 

Photo Credits below

This list is a solid list to me (link to all top 10 for 2021). I'm not surprised to see these 10 listed as my favorites. I can almost taste each one as I review them. 

So here's the list in alphabetical order (not ranked):

1. Basic Bulgogi
2. Bisteces a La Mexicana (Mexican Style Beef Stew)
3. Brown Sugar Bourbon Steak Tips
4. Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk (Adobo Sa Gatâ)
5. Copycat Cafe Rio Steak Marinade
6. Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta with Smoked Sausage
7. Madeira-Roasted Mushrooms & Shallots
8. Mom’s Sizzlin’ Steak Marinade
9. Sunny's Easy Beefy Texas Chili
10. Thai Cucumber Salad

Lots of marinades made the list this year. I love a good marinade. Often so versatile and really makes meat sing. 

So what's on the list for next year? Who knows! My goal is 150 new recipes. And I'm sure in those recipes I'll find some favorites to add to my list. 

**I take ok photos. But these bloggers take the BEST photos. Here are the photo credits from my photo collage:

• Basic Bulgogi - Bon Appetite
• Madeira Mushrooms - Eating Well
• Bistec a La Mexicana - SkinnyTaste
• Brown Sugar Beef Bites - NewEngland.com
• Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta - What's In The Pan
• Copycat Cafe Rio Steak Marinade - Six Sisters Stuff
• Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk (Adobo Sa Gatâ) - The Kitchn
• Mom’s Sizzlin’ Steak Marinade - Six Sisters Stuff

2021 In Review

I'm sure I'm not alone this time of year when I spend some time reflecting on the year that just passed and thinking about what I want to do moving forward. I do this for all aspects of my life from cooking, to finances, to work, to family, to health, etc. But since this blog is about cooking, I'll just cover that. I'll cover the other stuff on the "other" blog (which I'm going to try to write more on this next year...and maybe more interesting stuff).

My goal this year was 125 new recipes. I started doing this annual goal of "new" recipes when the pandemic hit in 2020. I was home, so why not cook. I have a ridiculously organized recipe index that allows me to select, randomly, recipes each week (maybe some day I'll talk about that process - it's intense). I set the goal of 125 because the previous year was 100 and I cooked 136. I felt like a sales person who hit their quota and therefore increased their next quota. In thinking about this next year, there's a very small chance I will be going back into the office occasionally, but I'll mostly be working at home. I considered not having a goal at all and just track the new recipes and see where I end up, but that's not very fun for me. So, I'm going to shoot for 150 New Recipes next year. 

Now for the nerdy stuff. 

This graph shows the total recipes by month. Clearly something was up in June and that something was that massive heat wave. NO ONE wants to cook when it's that hot. I averaged 14 recipes a month this year. 

I've been tracking my recipes since 2006. In the early days I randomly tried new recipes and "liked" to cook but didn't really focused on recipes. Then one day In 2010 or 2011 I decided to go through all my cookbooks and start a recipe index so I knew what was what. I mean, I had so many cookbooks and was not cooking anything from them. It's very clear by this next graph that the last two years cooking new recipes was a focus. 

I can't say my blog writing about recipes has gotten any better, but I believe this blog is ABOUT the recipe and not all the jibber jabber you find on so many other cooking blogs. Just get to the recipe. My aim is to cover these things: 

1. Did I like the recipe?
2. What did I change?
3. Would I make it again?

And on occasion I throw in a story about anything crazy that happened while I was cooking OR if the recipe pulls a heart string. But mostly, I'm about getting to the recipe. 

Because I have a recipe index (aka recipe data), I can also tell you the categories of recipes I cooked. This graph is not at all surprising to me. Beef and chicken are the two biggest categories of recipes I have, so naturally they are the bulk of new recipes. 

I feel like I cooked more stews than just 5, but maybe some of what I cooked wasn't a new recipe. I think I need to cook more fish for sure next year, maybe less beef. <insert sheepish grin>. I do love my beef though.

So that's the year in review. I find variety is the spice of life and the only way to get variety in my cooking is to continue to try new recipes. As of today I have over 1300 recipes in my index to still try. I will NEVER EVER get through all these. In fact, I add to it all the time and I remove recipes all the time. 

I will be doing a blog of my top 10 favorites, so stay tuned for that. 

Thank you for those who check in regularly and for those who just drop in occasionally. I love hearing from you when you try a new recipe. I hope this blog helps you try new recipes too. 

Happy New Year! 

Parmesan Roasted Carrots (Recipe 168 of 125)

Carrots are an underrated vegetable I think. At least under-rated by me. I never cook them enough. I love roasted carrots. This recipe was delicious. It's easy and went well with the tritip. 

I have a half of bag left so I'm going to need to find another roasted carrot recipe to try. 

Parmesan Roasted Carrots
Recipe from Cafe Delites

Serves 6

• 2 pounds (1kg) carrots, washed and halved
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic)
• 1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
• 2 T Panko bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh chopped parsley, optional

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease or spray a baking sheet with cooking oil spray.

Arrange carrots on baking sheet. Add the olive oil, garlic, parmesan, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Toss all ingredients together to completely coat the carrots. Spread out and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Toss with a spatula half way through.

Remove from oven and serve immediately. Top with fresh parsley if desired.

Grilled Tri-Tip Steak Marinade (Recipe 167 of 125)

Christmas dinner this year was a small group. Janet, Jerry and myself. I wanted to keep it low keyed so I grilled tritip, baked carrots and lemon spaghetti. All was good. Almost caught the grill on fire with the tritip, but that's another story for another day. 

This marinade was decent. It's a simple one and contains all the ingredients I see frequently in steak marinades. Nothing special about it. My Better Than A1 recipe is better than this one, so I'll keep that one handy. 

Grilled Tri-Tip Steak Marinade

Recipe from Modern Honey

Serves 6

• 2 - 3 lb. Tri-Tip Steak or Flank Steak or any steak of choice
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup Oil
• 1/4 c Fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 T Soy Sauce or GF Tamari
• 2 T Brown Sugar
• 2 T Worcestershire Sauce
• 3/4 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Pepper

Salt to generously coat the outside of steak

In a medium-sized bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and pepper. Whisk together.

Place steak in a Ziploc bag and pour marinade over steak. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 2 - 4 hours is more ideal.

Heat outdoor grill to high.

Once the grill is heated, place tri-tip steak on the grill. Generously salt each side of steak. Sear each side for 5 - 8 minutes per side.

Lower to medium to medium-low heat and continue to grill for 6-10 minutes or until thermometer reaches 130 degrees in the center of the steak. Tri-tip steaks can range in thickness. It is suggested to use a meat thermometer to check the temperature to ensure the meat isn't overcooked. The total cooking time will be 20 - 25 minutes at the least. An average 2-lb. tri-tip will need about 25 minutes total cooking time.

Since tri-tip steaks vary in thickness, your best bet is to use a meat thermometer to check for temperature. The instant-read thermometer reads 120 degrees for rare, 130 degrees for medium-rare, and 140 degrees for medium.

Remove steak from grill and let rest for 10 -15 minutes before slicing. Slice across the grain for the most tender meat.

May serve with garlic parsley butter.

Chicken Adobo (Recipe 166 of 125)

This might be the last new recipe of the year. See, I decided for this last week in December, I'd eat out of my freezer and pantry. Which is stuff that is mostly already prepared. I might get one more new recipe but maybe not. 

This one wasn't great. It was too vinegar-y for me. I had to add some brown sugar to balance it out. Overall, still not great. Edible but not worth the effort. 

I will be doing my top 10 of 2021 soon, but this one won't make that list. If you want a good adobo recipe check this one out from 2020.

Chicken Adobo

Recipe from Once Upon a Chef

Serves 6

• 3-1/2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs (6-8), trimmed (see substitutions note below)
• 1/2 c soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
• 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
• 1/2 c rice or cider vinegar
• 2 T sugar
• 1-1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
• White rice, for serving

Toss the chicken with the soy sauce in a large, shallow bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove the chicken from the soy sauce, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Transfer the chicken, skin side down, to a cold 12-inch nonstick skillet. Set the soy sauce aside.

Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook until the skin is crisp and dark golden, 8-10 minutes. While the chicken is browning, whisk the coconut milk, vinegar, sugar and pepper into the soy sauce.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and discard the fat in the skillet. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel. Pour the soy sauce-coconut milk mixture into the pan; add the garlic and bay leaves. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 35 minutes, or until the chicken registers 175 degrees. Transfer the chicken to a platter and keep warm by tenting loosely with aluminum foil.

Fish out the bay leaves and skim any noticeable fat off the surface of the sauce. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (if it is too assertive, add a few tablespoons of water and/or a bit more sugar). Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with the scallions. Serve with rice. (Note: if you'd like the skin to be extra crispy, place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes before serving.)

MAKE-AHEAD NOTE: This dish is wonderful prepared ahead of time. After reheating, transfer the chicken to a foil-lined baking sheet, skin side up, and quickly crisp the skin under the broiler.

SUBSTITUTIONS: If you'd like to use white meat, use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. If you'd like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, skip the first cooking step of searing the skin, and reduce the simmering time to about 20 minutes.

Loaded Broccoli Casserole (Recipe 165 of 125)

Merry Christmas Eve! Tonight I'm headed to my sister-in-laws house for dinner and fun family shenanigans. My middle brother will be there tonight too. We haven't seen him in several years thanks to Covid. 

My assignment for tonight's dinner was to bring something green, and a casserole. Since I don't like green bean casserole, and we just had my world famous broccoli casserole, I decided to make a new version of the broccoli casserole. And I had to make it gluten free since Sherrie will be there. 

Enter Loaded Broccoli Casserole. 

I didn't follow the baking instructions because I felt like 30 minutes might be too long from fresh broccoli. I like my broccoli crisp not mushy. 

My first mistake was forgetting to get bacon out of the freezer. So I used the precooked bacon, which meant there was no bacon grease. Which was fine since I wasn't planning on pre-cooking the broccoli. 

So I simply mixed everything together except the bacon. Put the whole thing in a 9X13 pan, topped with cheese, topped with bacon, topped with green onions. Baked for about 20 minutes until the cheese was bubbling. 

Loaded Broccoli Casserole

Recipe from Eating Well 

Serves 8

• 3 slices bacon (I used more like 5 slices)
• 1 ½ pounds broccoli crowns, cut into bite-size florets
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt (I didn't add salt and pepper. Instead I did McCormicks Montreal Steak seasoning)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (if needed - it was needed because I didn't do bacon grease)
• 1 ½ cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
• .5 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 4 scallions, sliced, divided

Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Place bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to cool, then chop (reserve drippings in the pan).

Add broccoli, pepper and salt to the pan and toss with the bacon drippings until coated. If your bacon didn't render much fat, add up to 1 tablespoon oil; toss to coat. Transfer to the baking dish and roast, stirring once or twice, until tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine 1 cup cheese, sour cream and half the scallions in a small bowl. When the broccoli is tender, add the cheese mixture to the baking pan and stir to coat well. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and the reserved bacon. Bake the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions.

Asian Burger with Hoisin Ketchup (Recipe 164 of 125)

Oh Lordy. I think it's ironic that just today I tried to pick my top 10 favorites for this year. I had 10. Now I need to make room for one more. 

I was a little concerned with the number of ingredients for this recipe. The burger ingredients alone were daunting. I had all those ingredients in my fridge/pantry so that wasn't the issue. I usually think this many ingredients become too muddled and you can't really taste them. In this case, they all blended so well together you didn't really want to taste them individually. 

The slaw...oh man. I made it early and let the vinegar do it's think and soften the cabbage. I had some left over chili garlic mayo so I tossed the slaw with that and WOW, that made the slaw amazing. I'd eat the slaw just by itself. 

But the winner, the winner was the Hoisin Ketchup. I fear I may be making just that more often than I should. It really pulled the whole burger together. 

I made this an open face burger cuz I just knew it'd be too messy otherwise, and I'm glad I did. Less bread (always a good thing) and that meat the burger was the star along side the slaw and ketchup.

You won't regret making this! I promise you, it's 100% worth the ingredient list. 

Asian Burger with Hoisin Ketchup

Recipe from Carlsbadcravings.com

• 4 hamburger buns (You need a hearty bun. I used ciabatta and it was perfect)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

ASIAN HAMBURGERS

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 c chopped red onion
• 1-3 tsp Asian chili garlic sauce (like Sambal Oelek)*
• 1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 T quality hoisin (Lee Kum Kee or Kikkoman)
• 1 T lime juice
• 1/2 T brown sugar
• 1 tsp EACH salt, dried basil, garlic pwdr
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp pepper

CHILI GARLIC MAYONNAISE

• 1/2 c mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Asian chili garlic sauce (optional) DO NOT make this optional. This really adds to it.

HOISIN KETCHUP

• 1/4 c ketchup
• 1 T hoisin sauce
• 1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 T lime juice

ASIAN SLAW

• 4 c angel hair coleslaw (may sub regular)**
• 1 c Matchstick carrots
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp reduced soy sauce
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Photo from
Carlsbad Cravings

Add egg to a large bowl and gently whisk. Add all remaining Hamburger Ingredients and mix with your hands just until combined. Form mixture into 4 equal patties roughly the size of your hamburger buns then make a deep impression in the middle of each patty with your thumb (this will help the burgers cook evenly). Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together all of the Hoisin Ketchup ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate.

Whisk together Chili Garlic Mayonnaise ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate.

Add coleslaw and carrots to a large bowl and toss with remaining Asian Slaw ingredients. Refrigerate.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add patties and cook until brown and slightly charred on one side, about 3-4 minutes, flip, reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook an addition 3-5 minutes or to desired doneness. [JW Note: I did not fry mine. I grilled them instead.]

Spread hamburger buns with Chili Garlic Mayonnaise, top with Asian hamburgers, top with Hoisin Ketchup followed by Asian Slaw and dig in!

Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas (Recipe 163 of 125)

Beautiful photo from The Mom 100

Quesadillas are such an easy meal. You can put almost anything between two tortillas. I've made a lot of these in my life. The first on being in Mexico when I was there as an exchange student. The group of us American students took a trip to some beach and stayed in some friend's house. We were students, therefore, broke - even in Mexico which was cheap. So we existed on quesadillas. No meat. Just cheese and hot sauce. 

This recipe was super fun to make. The beef mixture had the added flavor of tomato paste which really added to the depth of the beef. I usually season my taco meat with just chili powder. That's what mom did, so that's what I do. 

I did not add the green stuff (kale or spinach) to this! Blech. Neither belong in a quesadilla. I did have a small spinach salad on the side though - so that kinda counts. 

Don't skip the cilantro in the beef though. I almost decided to not bother, but at the last minute figured I could use up a bunch of cilantro I had. So glad I did. It adds such a nice, fresh flavor to the mixture. 

The real winner for this quesadilla was the havarti. WHY haven't I ever thought to put havarti in a quesadilla? Game changer for me for sure. It melts so nicely...it may be my new go to cheese for quesadillas.

Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas
Recipe from Themom100.com

Serves 4

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 T vegetable or olive oil
• 1 c chopped onion
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3 T tomato paste
• 1 c roughly chopped spinach or baby kale
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 T minced fresh cilantro optional
• 4 tsp unsalted butter divided
• 8 8-inch flour tortillas
• 1 c shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 c shredded havarti

Guacamole, sour cream, salsa and lime wedges to serve

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, and brown the beef, breaking it up with a spoon until it is all browned and crumbly, about 5 minutes. Turn it into a colander to drain, and carefully wipe out the skillet.

Return the skillet to medium heat and add the vegetable or olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 3 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Add the tomato paste, spinach, garlic and chili powder and stir for another minute until the spinach is wilted and everything is well combined. Return the beef to the skillet and stir until everything is blended. Stir in the cilantro if using, turn the mixture into a bowl, and wash and dry the skillet (or grab a new skillet).

Combine the cheddar and havarti in a bowl. Place the skillet over medium heat and add a half teaspoon of butter. Place a tortilla in the pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture over half of the quesadilla, and distribute 1/8 of the beef mixture over the cheese. Top that with another 2 tablespoons of the shredded cheese. Flip the bare half of the tortilla over the filling, cover the pan, and sauté for about 2 minutes until the bottom is golden and the cheese has started to melt, then use a spatula to flip the half-moon quesadilla, and continue to cook, uncovered, until all of the cheese is melted and the underside is browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove the quesadilla to a cutting board and let the quesadilla sit for a minute before you slice into 2 or 3 wedges. Repeat until all of the quesadillas are cooked. Serve with guacamole, salsa, sour cream and lime wedges.

Cilantro-Lime Salmon (Recipe 162 of 125)

At the last book club Mrs. Braspir served a cilantro lime salmon and it was fantastic. I was meaning to ask her for the recipe, but never did. Then this one came up in my recipe selection and I feel like it was really close.

Salmon rarely needs that much to it for it to be good. When I crave salmon I usually make my old stand by - which is also delicious. 

What I didn't do is put this in the microwave. That seems sacrilegious to me. Instead I put it in the oven at 400. I also put a little lime juice in the sauce because, well, why not?

Cilantro-Lime Salmon

Recipe from Taste of Home

Serves 2

• 2 T sour cream
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 T minced fresh cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp minced fresh gingerroot
• 1/4 tsp grated lime zest
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Dash ground cumin
• Dash pepper
• Dash crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 salmon fillets (6 ounces each)
• Lime wedges

In a small bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients. Place fillets skin side down in a greased 1-1/2-qt. microwave-safe dish; top with sour cream mixture.

Cover and microwave on high for 4-6 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with lime wedges.

Grilled Chicken Kabobs (Recipe 161 of 125)

I tried a new spice tonight! Za'atar! Its from the Middle East and I may have had it on things before, but I've never cooked with it. I must say, I'm hooked. 

What is it anyhow? 

According to Bon Appetite: Za'atar is so multifaceted and dynamic because it's a blend of so many different flavors, textures, and fragrances. Even though it varies greatly depending on where you are in the Middle East (specific recipes are sometimes closely-guarded secrets!), za'atar is generally a combination of dried oregano, thyme, and/or marjoram (woodsy and floral), with sumac (tangy and acidic) and toasted sesame seeds (nutty and rich). And, as if that weren't enough, za'atar sometimes contains salt, dried orange zest, dried dill, or the wild herb za'atar (also called hyssop, it grows throughout the Levant and is the mixture's namesake).

I purchased the Spicely brand and it included: Ingredients: organic white sesame seeds, organic thyme, organic sumac, organic marjoram, organic savory, and traces of salt.

This is a simple recipe and one I'd make again for sure. I mean lemon, za'atar, and olive oil

Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
Recipe from SkinnyTaste

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp dried za’atar or oregano
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• lemon wedges for serving

To make the marinade:

Mix lemon juice, olive oil, za’atar, garlic, salt, and pepper together. Put chicken in a zip-locked bag and pour marinade over it. Marinate the chicken at least 2-3 hours or as long as overnight.

For the kabobs:

If using wooden skewers, soak in water at least 30 minutes if grilling outdoors. 

Thread chicken onto the skewers. You should have 4 kabobs total.

Preheat the grill over medium heat, oil the grates and cook (indoor or outdoor grill works fine) until the chicken is cooked though, turning often about 12 to 15 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Haricots Verts with Warm Shallot Vinaigrette (Recipe 160 of 125)

Oh I do love a good Haricots Verts. Or as a friend of mine calls them "harry armpits". These babies are sometimes hard to find. In fact, I can only find them at Trader Joe's in a bag. A BIG bag. I can never eat them all before they start to go a little bad. So this time, I'm freezing servings. I just popped a couple of handfuls in the food saver and tossed them in the freezer. I read up on different ways to freeze them and found that while blanching them is a good way, they sometimes turn out "squeeky". So most the articles I read said to wash them, make sure they are VERY dry, and pop them into the freezer like that. We shall see how that turns out. 

This recipe is a keeper for sure. So, so flavorful and super easy.  It will be a repeat for sure.

Haricots Verts with Warm Shallot Vinaigrette

Recipe from Cooking Light

Serves 4

2 T extra-virgin olive oil 

1/4 c minced fresh shallot 

2 tsp sherry vinegar 

1/2 tsp grainy mustard 

1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary 

1/4 tsp kosher salt 

1/4 tsp black pepper 

1 (8-oz.) pkg. microwave-in-bag haricots verts

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low. Add minced shallot; sauté 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat; stir in vinegar, mustard, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook haricots verts according to package directions; toss with shallot mixture.

Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri (Recipe 159 of 125)

I've had several chimichurri's in my lifetime. Each one slightly different. The same basic ingredients,
but depending on how heavy handed one might be on either the cilantro or the parsley. I got heavy handed on the parsley tonight and not so heavy handed on the garlic. 

This was a good dish, but nothing special. I marinated the steak for 6 hours. I really think that's the answer with these type of marinades. 

Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri

Recipe from Butteryourbiscuit.com

Serves 4

1 1/2 lbs skirt steak

1/2 c olive oil

1/2 c orange juice

1/2 c lime juice

1/2 c Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c soy sauce

2 T red wine vinegar

4 large garlic cloves minced

CHIMICHURRI SAUCE

1 c fresh cilantro

1 c fresh parsley

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 c diced onion

3 garlic cloves

2 T red wine vinegar

3 T lime juice (about 2 limes)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

In a air tight container or large freezer ziplock bag add all the marinated ingredients and mix, then add the steak. Marinate over night for best flavor.

In a food processor add all the ingredients for the chimichurri sauce. Pulse until blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat a grill or cast iron pan on high heat. When its ready, add steak and cook over direct heat approx 3-4 minutes then flip and cook another 3-4 minutes.

Remove steak and let rest 6-8 minutes, then slice against the grain for tender meat.

Hot Chocolate Cookies (Recipe 158 of 125)

Last night was the annual Cookie Exchange Sunday Dinner. As is usually the case, we had more than enough treats. Everyone always brings such great options. 

I wanted to do a new, different recipe and I found this one from The Pioneer Woman. 

These were super delicious. A little too sweet for me with the marshmallow on top. Without the marshmallow they were almost perfect.

These cookies take a little bit of effort and watching when you put the marshmallows on, but other than that a pretty regular cookie recipe. 

Pro tip: I bought the Baker's bar of unsweetened chocolate. I didn't read the box and made the assumption that it was 6 oz of chocolate. Those boxes are only 4 oz. Missing the two oz didn't really make much of a difference, but just a warning to know your recipe before you buy.

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Recipe from the Pioneer Woman

Makes 4 dozen (though I got 5 dozen out of this recipe)

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour

3 envelopes hot cocoa mix without marshmallows (about 1.38 ounces each)

1 tsp instant espresso powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature

1 3/4 c sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 c white chocolate chips

24 marshmallows, halved crosswise with kitchen shears

Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan filled with a few inches of simmering water over low heat. Let melt, 3 to 4 minutes, then stir until smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and let cool slightly.

Combine the flour, hot cocoa mix, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to get rid of any lumps.

Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the melted chocolate. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until smooth and light, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the white chocolate chips. Cover the dough and refrigerate until it just begins to firm up, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350˚. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into balls (about 1 tablespoon each) and place on the baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until the edges just begin to set, 9 to 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and place a marshmallow half on the center of each cookie, cut-side down. Continue baking until the edges of the cookies are set and the marshmallows are stuck on, 2 to 3 minutes more. Let cool 5 minutes on the pans; remove to racks to cool completely.

Santa Maria Tritip with Bloody Mary Salsa (Recipe 157 of 125)

Photo from Cuisine at Home

I do love a good tritip. Dad introduced us to them in California. It's now THE cut of meat that reminds me of my dad. I endeavor to grill one as good as he ever did. I get close, but I miss his charred outside and pink inside with cloves of garlic pushed inside the meat. MMMM.

This was a good recipe. The rub was a nice combination of flavors. I got a little carried away with it on the chunk of meat, but it wasn't too bad. 

The salsa that went along with it was delicious. Weird by salsa standards, but delicious. The Bloody Mary part of this made it quite interesting and full of flavor. I'd make it again for sure.

Santa Maria Tritip with Bloody Mary Salsa

Recipe from Cuisine at Home

Serves 4

FOR THE RUB, COMBINE:

1⁄4 c granulated garlic

2 T black pepper

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp white pepper 

1⁄4  tsp cayenne pepper

1 tri-tip beef roast (2–3 lb.) 

Canola oil

FOR THE SALSA, STIR: 

6  Roma tomatoes, diced 

1⁄2 c diced celery 

1⁄2 c sliced scallions 

1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

3 T red wine vinegar

2 T minced fresh garlic

2 T minced jalapeño

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1tsp prepared horseradish 

Salt and black pepper to taste 

For the rub, combine granulated garlic, 2 Tbsp. black pepper, brown sugar, 2 tsp. salt, white pepper, and cayenne. 

Lightly coat roast with oil; rub with spices. 

Wrap roast in plastic wrap; refrigerate 4–24 hours. 

Remove roast from refrigerator and unwrap; let rest while preparing grill. 

Prepare grill for indirect grilling, heating one side to medium-high and other side to low. 

Brush grill grate with oil. Grill meat over direct heat, covered, until browned, 3–5 minutes per side. 

Move roast to indirect heat and grill, turning every 5–7 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 125°, 10–16 minutes total. 

Transfer roast to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 15 minutes. 

For the salsa, stir together tomatoes, celery, scallions, cilantro, vinegar, minced garlic, jalapeño, Worcestershire, and horseradish; season with salt and black pepper. Slice roast and serve with salsa. 

Crispy Sheet Pan Lemon Parmesan Garlic Chicken & Veggies (Milanese) (Recipe 156 of 125)

After last nights carb-fest I thought I should lighten it up a bit. This isn't the lightest I could go, but it was better than pasta.

This was a good recipe. The sheet pan recipes are all the craze these days. I find that often what ends up on the sheet pan all cooks at different rates, so you gotta watch if you're doing veggies that you don't overcook them. 

I did not have green beans. Well, that's not entire true. I went ALL THE WAY to Trader Joe's specifically to get their Haricot Verts (French green beans) and while there bought asparagus. Then tonight I saw the asparagus and just used it - completely forgetting about the haricot verts in the veggie drawer. Why was the asparagus not in that same drawer? Good question. 

These particular asparagus (I swear I'm getting to a point) were super thin, like pencil width. I couldn't put them in at the same time as the potatoes and chicken. So I cooked the chicken for about 7 minutes, then pulled it out, flipped it, and added the asparagus. It turned out great. 

I also neglected to get eggs during the grocery trip this weekend, so I did not use the egg in the marinade. Frankly I don't think you need it. 

Crispy Sheet Pan Lemon Parmesan Garlic Chicken & Veggies (Milanese)
Recipe from Cafedelites.com

Serves 4

For The Chicken:

• 1 large egg
• 2 T lemon juice (or juice of 1/2 a lemon)
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 T fresh chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper , to season
• 1/2 c breadcrumbs
• 1/3 c fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 4 skinless , boneless chicken breasts (or thighs)

For The Veggies:

• 8-10 (1 pound) baby potatoes, quartered
• 1/2 c butter , melted
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• salt to taste
• 1 pound green beans , cut into thirds

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking tray / sheet with cooking oil spray, or a light coating of oil. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.

Dip chicken into egg mixture, cover and allow to marinade in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour (if time allows).*

In another bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the parmesan cheese.

Dredge the egg coated chicken in the breadcrumb/parmesan mixture, lightly pressing to evenly coat.

Place chicken onto the baking sheet / tray and lightly spray with cooking oil spray. Arrange the potatoes around the chicken in a single layer. Mix together the butter, 2 teaspoons garlic and salt to taste, and pour half of the butter mixture over the potatoes. Toss to evenly coat.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Remove baking tray from the oven and carefully flip each chicken breast. Move the potatoes to one side and place the green beans around the chicken on the other side of the baking sheet. Pour over the remaining garlic butter and return to the oven to broil (or grill) on medium-high heat for a further 10 minutes, or until chicken is golden and crisp, and potatoes are cooked through.

Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley (optional), and serve immediately.

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta with Smoked Sausage (Recipe 155 of 125)

Photo from What's in the pan

This one, my friends, is going into the favorites drawer. Holy smokes was this good. 

I am 100% convinced, however, it has everything to do with the right sausage. I went to Double DD Meats to get their Polish sausage because I believe it's some of the best around. I had the BFF over for dinner and she and I agreed that the sausage was the winner in this meal. In fact, we thought the chicken didn't even need to be there. 

The sauce turned out creamy and flavorful. It had a kick to it because of the cajun seasoning, but that's okay. If you like things less spicy, uses less seasoning. Like maybe just season the chicken with it and not add more later. 

I used Farfalle pasta because that's what was in the pantry. I think any pasta would work fine for this.

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta with Smoked Sausage
Recipe from Whatsinthepan.com

Serves 4

• 3 T butter (unsalted and divided)
• 1 lb. chicken breasts
• 6 oz. smoked sausage (sliced into ¼ inch pieces)
• 8 oz. baby Bella mushrooms (sliced)
• Cajun seasoning to taste
• Italian seasoning to taste
• Salt and pepper (to taste, optional)

Creamy Parmesan Sauce:

• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 c chicken broth (sodium free)
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 c heavy cream
• 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp Paprika
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¾ c Parmesan cheese  
• sea salt (to taste)

Pasta:

• 8 oz. penne pasta

Boil pasta in salty water according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Chicken, sausage and mushrooms:

Generously season chicken with salt, pepper, Cajun and Italian seasonings. Do not slice it yet - you will be cooking it whole. Slice sausage into ¼ inch circles and slice mushrooms.

In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon butter and melt it over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add whole chicken breasts and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side until browned for a total of 8-10 minutes. Remove chicken onto a plate and slice into strips.

Add sliced sausage pieces and brown them on medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side until darker in color around the edges. Remove from the skillet onto a plate.

Deglaze the pan with a splash of water and add 2nd tablespoon of butter and sliced mushrooms into the skillet (add more butter as well, if needed). Saute until your mushrooms should look nice and moist, and dark. Once cooked, remove them from the pan as well.

Sauce:

To make the sauce, add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to the pan, allow it to melt and then cook garlic in it until slightly browned – only for a couple of minutes. Next add chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce and heavy cream and bring to a light simmer. Add Cajun seasoning, paprika and garlic powder and mix into the sauce.

Add Parmesan cheese and whisk to blend for 2-3 minutes to thicken the sauce. Taste the sauce and add salt to taste.

Add cooked pasta into the sauce and mix in well. Next add the chicken, sausage and mushrooms back into the pan and allow them to reheat for 2-3 minutes. Close the lid to help the heat stay in. Serve immediately!

Bulgogi (Recipe 154 of 125)

Photo from TheKtichn.com

I've made Bulgogi a couple of times this year. My good friend Paul sent me the best so far. The others have been just meh. (Bulgogi Damn Delicious, Slow Cooker version)

This one I think had potential. I am the one who screwed it up. Pro tip: When the recipe says an Asian pear, put it on your list and buy it. Don't, instead, forget and think using canned pears is a better alternative. Cuz it ain't. 

The sauce was WAY too sweet and really didn't have that signature bulgogi flavor. I'll try this one again maybe, and next time with a real pear.

Bulgogi

Recipe from Thekitchn.com

Serves 4

• 2 large green pears, such as Asian or bosc
• 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 2 T tamari or soy sauce
• 1 T packed light brown sugar
• 1 T toasted (Asian) sesame oil
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 pounds flank steak
• 2 T vegetable oil, divided

Grate the pear, ginger, and garlic. Grate the pears on the large holes of a box grater into a large bowl. Don’t worry about getting too close to the core, just make sure to collect the juices along with the peel and flesh of the pear. Grate the ginger and garlic on the small holes of the grater into the same bowl.

Make the marinade. Add the white parts of the scallions, tamari or soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine.

Thinly slice the steak. Slice the steak into thin pieces across the grain of the meat. Add to the marinade and toss to coat.

Marinate the steak for 30 minutes to 8 hours. Cover the bowl and let the beef marinate for 30 minutes to 8 hours (refrigerate if marinating for more than 30 minutes). Alternately, you can transfer the marinade and meat to a gallon zip-top bag and freeze for future use.

Cook over medium-high heat in two batches. When ready to cook, remove the bulgogi from the refrigerator if needed. Heat a large, wide skillet over medium-high heat — cast iron is best, but avoid nonstick. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and half the meat. Sear until slightly charred and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Trasfer to a serving dish. Repeat with the remaining oil and bulgogi.

Finish the bulgogi. Add the scallion greens to the bulgogi and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Roasted Salmon with Herbed Yogurt (Recipe 153 of 125)

Photo from Martha Stewart

Last night at book club, we had salmon. It was delicious. I will definitely be asking for that recipe. 

Tonight's recipe was also salmon. Though this one was not as great as last nights. It was good for sure. And I think it could have been way better had I added salt to the darn mix like I was supposed to.

Roasted Salmon with Herbed Yogurt

Recipe from Martha Stewart

Serves 8

• 1/2 c Greek yogurt (2%)
• 2 T Dijon mustard
• 2 T finely chopped fresh dill, plus sprigs for serving
• 2 T finely chopped fresh parsley
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 side of salmon (3 pounds) or 8 fillets (6 ounces each)
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine yogurt, mustard, dill, and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Place salmon, skin side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread yogurt mixture on salmon.

Roast until opaque throughout, 15 to 20 minutes (8 minutes for fillets). Sprinkle with dill sprigs and serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup (Recipe 152 of 125)

Photo from Carlsbad
Cravings

Tonight is windy, rainy and stormy. A perfect night for soup. This particular soup has been in the rotation a couple of times, but I never made it for one reason or another. Tonight was the night for it's debut. 

The only thing that would have made this soup better is if I didn't have to go to work tomorrow. So delicious. Lemony flavor that isn't tart, but enhances the entire soup. 

I dropped in about 1 tsp of lemon pepper too. It sure did make it lemony. 

I'd make this again for sure. It hit the comfort spot tonight for sure.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Recipe from Carlsbadcravings.com

Serves 6

2 T olive oil

2 T unsalted butter

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs patted dry OR rotisserie chicken (see notes)

salt and pepper

1 onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

pinch -1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional for a kick)

10-12 c low sodium chicken broth

2 tsp chicken bouillon or better than bouillon

1 tsp EACH dried parsley, dried oregano

½ tsp EACH dried basil, dried thyme, rosemary

ADD LATER

1 c orzo pasta (uncooked)

1 zucchini, quartered, sliced thick

¼ c freshly grated Parmesan

2-3 T lemon juice, more or less to taste

2 T chopped fresh dill, more or less to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven/soup pot. Season chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper then sear until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate but leave drippings.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium low heat in drippings. Once melted, increase to medium-high heat and add onions, carrots and celery; sauté for 4 minutes scaping up the golden bits on the bottom of the pan. Add garlic and red pepper and sauté for 30 seconds.

Add chicken back to the pot along bouillon, all seasonings and chicken broth. Cover the soup to bring to a simmer, then displace the lid so it’s partially covering the pot, with about a one-inch opening. Simmer the soup for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is tender enough to shred, stirring occasionally and replacing the lid.

Once chicken is tender, remove to a cutting board and shred once cool enough to handle; wait to add back to the pot. Meanwhile, stir in the orzo pasta and zucchini to the soup and cook until the orzo is al dente, about 7 to 8 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and add Parmesan add shredded chicken to the soup. Stir until Parmesan is melted, then add lemon juice and fresh dill to taste. Stir in additional broth if desired for a less “chunky” soup. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired (I like more salt).

Thanksgiving menu

 Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It is full of traditions to me and I really like the slowing down and taking a moment to think about what I'm grateful for.  I think I'm most grateful for the Parental Units teaching me to cook. If they hadn't then Thanksgiving would just be another day. 

As I sit here this morning making my list for Thanksgiving tomorrow I started thinking about the food I'll prepare. Ok, let's get serious. First, I am not "making a list". The "list" is already done and on a template that I print out and use every year. I mean...

So what was really happening is I was looking over the menu and thinking about how none of my Thanksgiving foods have a real recipe to them. I've made this meal so many times over the year, with Mom and later without her, that I could probably make it in my sleep. 

That thought led me to my legacy. I am not going to say that the Thanksgiving meal is what people will remember most about me, but the recipes are important. I have history with these recipes. And I suddenly feel like documenting them is important. 

Let's start with the appetizer. Clam Dip. This has been the appetizer for every Turkey day I can remember. Mom and I made two of them. One for her and I to much on while making dinner. And a second to share with the guest. We'd never make them together, but two separate ones. And almost always they tasted different. We used to laugh at how making two in a row would taste so different and yet the same. Mom used to say it never turned out right if you doubled the recipe, so we made them separately.

Clam Dip (Recipe to make one)

• 1 pack cream cheese, room temperature. (DO NOT use the whipped cream cheese. We made that mistake once).
• 1 can minced clams in juice
• 1-2 tsp garlic salt
• 1-2 tsp garlic powder
• 2-3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Open the clams and drain the juice into a cup to keep for later. I tend to not drain them completely. You want a little of the juice in the first mix. 

Add in a bowl, the cream cheese, clams, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce. Mix to combine. If you use a hand mixer don't over mix. It'll make the dip elastic-y. Add clam juice a little at a time until the consistency is like a thick stew. 

Now here's the important part. You must have Ruffles to use as the chip. Taste the dip. Usually we determine it needs more garlic powder. Add a dash or so. Taste it again. Keep tasting it until it's what you like. This usually meant at least three tastes for mom and I each. 

Next on the list is the actual meal. It ALWAYS consists of Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli casserole and stuffing. Mom would make yams, but I hate them so I never make them. Funny tradition is every year dad would tell me to put some on my plate and just "taste" them. And every year I would not. Blech. 

Let's start with the bird. 

We used to get up at the butt crack of dawn and prepare the bird for the oven. Then spend HOURS basting and watching the bird. Then enter turkey bags. 

These little gems cut cooking time in half and always ends up with a juicy turkey. 

It starts with preparing the bag. You put a couple of tablespoons of flour, salt and pepper in the bag. Close it up and shake it to distribute the flour. This part actually makes zero sense to me. The flour always ends up as a clump at the bottom of the bag. 

Once you've done that, the the pair of you try to wrestle this 22lb bird into the bag. Laughter ensues. Giggling next. And before you know it you're on the floor laughing your ass off and the bird is not in the bag. The Niece, who used to help me, can attest to this particular part of the event. Along with tearing the bag and then having to double bag it. 

I don't stuff the cavity of the bird with anything. I usually just salt and pepper the heck out of the bird and call it good. 

I should mention too that you need to get your bird out early to come to room temperature. It's important that you don't put a cold bird in the oven. Like any meat, room temp is what you want. 

Once you get the bird in the bag, put that baby in the oven. The box the bag came in will tell you how long to cook the bird for the size of the bird. 

Next up is preparing the stuffing and the broccoli casserole. Both require sautéed onions and celery so I was usually on the chopping of all these things. We would cook them together and then split them in half. It's just easier. 

JoEllen's Dressing
Serves a small army

2 boxes boxed stuffing

1 quart (or more) chicken or turkey stock

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained and rough chopped

Sautéed onions and celery (it's a whole onion and about 4 stalks of celery)

Poultry seasoning to taste

Salt and Pepper

I think mom used to put in one egg too. I don't and I can't say I miss it. 

Right, so you saute the onions and celery in butter until they are just soft. 

In a bowl you dump everything in. Start adding turkey stock a cup or so at a time. Stir. Add more. Stir. Taste. Add salt. Taste. Add stock. Taste. Add poultry season. Taste. 

Eventually you get a wet-ish stuffing. Some people like the dressing dry, I like mine kinda wet. 

Pop that bad boy in a 9X13 pan sprayed with Pam and bake for 30 minutes or so. 

(Pro tip: When you take your bird out, put your casseroles in. They will cook in the time the bird is resting).

The Broccoli Casserole side dish morphed through the years. The way I make it today is how I learned to make it. But when mom passed I found the Broccoli Casserole recipe in her Gray Box. That recipe does not have sausage in it, nor does it have cream of mushroom soup. I suspect Dad added the sausage and Mom probably thought cream of mushroom would go well with it. And it does. 

Broccoli Casserole

9X13 pan

1 lb sausage (I use Jimmy Deans regular)

1 cup Minute Rice

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1 small jar CheezWhiz

2 bags frozen broccoli pieces

Sauted onions and celery (same amount as the dressing above)

Get yourself a BIG bowl. 

Cook the sausage and then drain. While the sausage is cooking, cook the minute rice in the microwave. Dump that in a big bowl. 

Cook the broccoli in the microwave. Dump it in the bowl. 

When the sausage is done, dump it in the bowl. Dump the onions and celery into a bowl. 

Add the CheezWhiz and cream of mushroom soup. 

Stir it all together. Add pepper. You most likely don't need to add salt. The Cheeze Whiz and sausage usually have plenty. 

The last side dish is mashed potatoes and gravy. I won't go into how to make those cuz I think everyone knows how to do that side dish. Be sure to use your turkey drippings in your gravy though. It makes a world of difference. Mom used to boil up the neck, and innards that come with the turkey. She'd strip the next of it's meat, chop up the innards, add a chopped hard boiled egg and voila, her turkey gravy. Me? I don't want any of that in my gravy. Blech. 

So as you set your table, open the wine, and perhaps cook your Thanksgiving meal, take a moment to think about the recipes you're making. Where did they come from? Have they changed over the years? And most of all, be thankful for the loved ones you have around you. 

Irish Beef Stew (Recipe 151 of 125)

Photo from Damn Delicious

I lost count of how many times I had Irish stew, or Guinness stew in Ireland. And in every case they served it over mashed potatoes. Which blew me away. One time, they asked if I wanted a side of vegetables with it and I figured some veggies would be good. It came with the stew (that had potatoes in it) over mashed potatoes, with a side of French fries! 

This recipe is simple, quick, and delicious. I did NOT make the mashed potatoes. While I loved it in Ireland, I just don't think stew goes on tip of mashed potatoes. 

I added a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce. It was just missing something savory to it. 

Irish Beef Stew

Recipe from Damn Delicious

Serves 6

1 T olive oil

1 pound stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 leek, thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 T tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 c dark stout beer*

2 T chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup frozen peas

FOR THE GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup half and half*

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To make the garlic mashed potatoes, place potatoes and garlic in a large stockpot or Dutch oven and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes; drain well and return to the stockpot.

Stir in half and half and butter. Using a potato masher, mash until smooth and creamy; set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season beef with salt and pepper, to taste. Add beef to the stockpot and cook until evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.

Add garlic, onion, leek and carrots to the stockpot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste until well combined, about 1 minute.

Whisk in beef broth, beer, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and beef; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until the beef is tender, about 90 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine butter and flour. Add mixture to the stockpot until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in frozen peas until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.

Serve immediately with garlic mashed potatoes.

Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice (Recipe 150 of 125)

Photo from Carlsbad
Cravings.com

5 STARS! This was a fantastic recipe. Worth the time to put this one together. 

One ingredient I couldn't find in the grocery store was tomato bouillon. I had never heard of that and am now intrigued to find it and try it. I replaced the flavor with tomato paste. 

I also took a page from another recipe and used V8 Spicy instead of tomato sauce. It adds a little more flavor, but very little spice. 

Be sure to salt your rice too. If you don't it'll be bland and boring. 

Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice

Recipe from Carlsbadcravings.com

Serves 8

3 T olive oil

1/2 medium onion chopped

2 c basmati rice well rinsed and drained*

3 garlic cloves minced

1-3 jalapeno peppers seeded, deveined, minced

2 3/4 c low sodium chicken broth

1 c (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1 14 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes well drained

2 tsp (or 2 chopped cubes) TOMATO bouillon with chicken flavor see notes**

3 T mild chopped green chiles

1/2 tsp EACH ground cumin, chili powder, dried oregano

1/4 tsp EACH ground coriander, smoked paprika, salt

GARNISH

finely chopped cilantro

lime juice

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onions and rice and sauté for 3 minutes then add jalapenos and sauté until rice is toasted, approximately 2-3 more minutes. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds.

Stir in all remaining Rice ingredients (except for cilantro and lime juice garnish). Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to LOW. Simmer 12-15 minutes, or until water is evaporated and rice is tender, stirring once at 8 minutes and replacing lid.

Once water is evaporated, remove from heat, stir, cover and let sit undisturbed for 10 minutes.

Add cilantro and lime juice if desired and fluff with a fork. Taste and season with additional salt or lime juice if desired.

Jalapeno Popper Spread (Recipe 149 of 125)

Its Sunday dinner night and it's being hosted by the Bader's. They're doing carnitas and we are all bringing something to accompany it. I'm bringing an appetizer, Mexican rice and a dessert. 

The appetizer was this Jalapeno Popper Spread. I changed it up every so slightly because I knew I'd have one person who doesn't do spice. 

I didn't use the pickled jalapenos, instead just chopped up a seeded and deveined jalapeno in to very small pieces. I used 1 small can of green chilis (Mild) with their juice. 

Still this needed something else. So I put in about a tsp of garlic powder and garlic salt. That did the trick.

I also didn't bake this. I knew I wouldn't have an oven at the Bader's house available, so I decided to just serve it cold. And it was great. 

Jalapeno Popper Spread

Recipe from Keyingredient.com

Serves 16

• 2 (8-ounces each) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 c mayonnaise
• 1/2 c Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1/4 c canned chopped green chilies
• 1/4 c canned jalapeno peppers, diced
• 1 c Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1/2 c panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
• Sweet red and yellow pepper pieces and corn chips

In a large bowl, beat the first five ingredients until blended; spread into an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; top with bread crumbs. Bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve with peppers and chips.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie (Recipe 148 of 125)

Photo from Pinch of Yum

I've had many peanut butter pies, and all of them have the same basic combination for peanut butter, cream cheese and whipped cream. 

This one is no different. Except I swapped the powdered sugar with Swerve low carb powdered sugar. 

Well, that and I completely missed folding in the whipped cream. So the pie was very dense, and very good. I did put the whipped cream on top, but not inside the filling. Oh well. It was still delicious. 

I also didn't use the graham cracker crust because I made this for Sunday dinner that included some gluten free folks. So instead I used gluten free oreos. I pulverized them in the food processor and put in about 4 T of melted butter. Then baked it for 10 minutes at 325. Works just fine.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Recipe from Kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com

Serves 8

Crust Ingredients:

14 whole chocolate graham crackers

1 T light brown sugar

7 T unsalted butter

Filling Ingredients:

1 container 8 oz cream cheese

¾ c + 2 T powdered sugar

1 c creamy peanut butter

1 c mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

Topping Ingredients:

1 container 8 oz Cool Whip

Heath Bar Baking Chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Prep the 9-inch pie pan with nonstick spray.

Crust Directions:

Process the graham crackers and sugar in a food processor.

Continue to process until finely ground.

Add in the butter and process until everything is moist.

Scoop into the pie pan, using the bottom of a glass to press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes

Filling Directions:

Add the cream cheese, ¾ cup powdered sugar, and creamy peanut butter in a large mixing bowl.

Using the electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and creamy peanut butter for about 3 minutes or until creamy.

Set aside.

In a chilled mixing bowl add the heavy whipping cream. Using the whisk attachment, whip until the heavy cream is thick and light. Add in the remaining powdered sugar and vanilla. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold the whipping cream mixture into the peanut butter mixture. Fold in the semi-sweet mini chocolate chips.

Scoop this into the pie crust. Evenly spread the filling on the pie crust. Place pie in the freezer for 3 hours

Topping Directions:

Scoop Cool Whip in a pastry bag with a star tip. Cover the top of the pie with the cool whip. Sprinkle the Heath Bar chips on top of the pie.

Garlic Beef and Broccoli Noodles (Recipe 147 of 125)

Beef and broccoli is one of my favorite foods. The saucy sauce with the pan seared beef and yummy broccoli. It really is good. I've struggled with finding a recipe that I like as much as when you order it out. Tonight I found that recipe.

This isn't a traditional beef and broccoli because it has the noodle element. I couldn't find rice noodles so I used regular pasta. When I make this again, I'll just stick to rice (or cauliflower rice). 

But the sauce is what made this recipe. I used low sodium soy and hoisin together make such a great sweet/savory combo. I cut the soy with water because it tends to get too salty for me. So I used 1/4 c water and 1/4c soy.  I also only used half the brown sugar (and the low carb version). Anyhow, it all came together in a wonderfully magical sauce. 

Garlic Beef and Broccoli Noodles
Therecipecritic.com

Serves 4

• 8 ounces wide rice noodles
• 3 c broccoli florets
• 1 T olive oil
• 8 ounce flank steak, sliced against the grain
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 ounce mushrooms, sliced
• ¼ c packed brown sugar
• ½ c reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 T hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

In a large pot with boiling water, cook the noodles according to package directions. Add the broccoli the last 5 minutes of cooking and let them cook until tender. Drain the noodles and broccoli.

While the pasta is cooking, add olive oil to a medium sized skillet. Cook the steak until no longer pink. Add the garlic, and mushrooms and cook for a minute more.

In a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, ginger, red pepper, pepper and cornstarch.

And the noodles to the skillet and pour the sauce on top and toss until incorporated.

Red Curry Coconut Chicken (Recipe 146 of 125)

Photo from Taste of Home

I love red curry chicken. It's often my go to when at Thai restaurants. It's a pretty easy recipe to make and yet it never tastes as good as when you buy it out. 

In an attempt to go back to doing low carb, I found one that is low carb. It was good. The only bad part about it was the cauliflower rice. No matter what they say, cauliflower rice is not rice. I like it, but I like rice better. 

Red Curry Coconut Chicken

Recipe from Lazy Keto Cookbook

Serves 4

• 2 T olive oil
• 10 chicken tenders
• Salt and pepper
• 1 T red curry paste
• 1 (14oz) can full fat coconut milk
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 4 drops stevia
• 1 10 oz bag cauliflower rice

In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. When hot add chicken seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes per side. 

Add red curry paste to skillet and toast for about 1 minute. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and stevia. Let simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes over medium heat until thick and creamy. 

In the meantime, steam your cauliflower in the microwave or in a separate skillet. 

Grilled Chicken with South Carolina-Style BBQ Sauce (Recipe 145 of 125)

This was an interesting recipe for me. Not only have I never had South Carolina BBQ sauce, but I've never grilled drumsticks before. I love drumsticks, but have never thought to grill them. 

SC BBQ is a yellow mustard base BBQ. It's tangy, a little sweet, and super easy to make. I cooked it on low the whole time since the instructions had me concerned I'd burn it. 

I didn't baste the chicken, which I should have. I made the mistake of dunking the drumsticks in the BBQ before putting it on the grill. That means raw chicken has now invaded the sauce. Hindsight I would have taken a little out to baste. 

I'd make this again for sure. It was different and super delicious. And eating drumsticks make me feel like a kid.

Grilled Chicken with South Carolina-Style BBQ Sauce

Recipe from Simplyrecipes.com

Serves 4

For the BBQ sauce:

1 c prepared yellow mustard

1/4 c packed dark brown sugar

2 T apple cider vinegar

1 T ketchup

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp bottled hot sauce, plus more to taste

For the chicken:

4 chicken thighs, bone-in with skin

4 drumsticks, bone-in with skin

1 T sea salt

Make barbecue sauce at least 30 minutes ahead of grilling:

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a 2-quart saucepan and set over medium-high heat on a back burner. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes or until mixture is very steamy. 

Turn the heat to medium-low, and cook until sauce has thickened, 5 to 7 minutes more. When done, the sauce should be thick enough that a spoon will leave trails through the sauce when you stir. Set aside to cool.

Once cool, measure 3/4 cup into a small bowl for the chicken. Set aside remaining sauce for serving. 

Twenty minutes before cooking, rub the chicken pieces on both sides with sea salt. Bring the chicken to room temperature

Brush chicken generously on both sides with 3/4 cups of prepare barbecue sauce

Grill the chicken over high heat to sear:

Place the chicken on the hot side of grill directly over coals, placing thighs skin-side down. After 2 to 3 minutes, flip chicken and grill another 2 to 3 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned or even slightly blackened on both sides.

Finish cooking the chicken over indirect heat. Move the chicken over to side without coals to finish cooking over indirect heat. Brush once more with barbecue sauce. Cover the grill.

After 5 to 7 minutes, flip chicken. Cook another 12 to 15 minutes until chicken is a rich golden brown, cooked through, and reaches an internal temperature of at least 175°F when tested with a meat thermometer.

(I usually cook these thighs and drumsticks to a slightly higher internal temperature to be sure the meat is thoroughly cooked; the sauce and indirect heat keep the chicken from drying out.)