Category — Recipes

Are you looking for a healthy Meatless Monday meal?

Move along, this recipe is not for you!

This is decadence at its best!

Oh sure, I used chicken breakfast sausage and soy chorizo …  don’t let that fool you, this is not a healthy, low-fat, low-cal recipe. It is deliciousness to the max!

Are you still with me?

Good… Enjoy!

The recipe makes two skillets of Queso. It is best to do this in two small 8-inch cast-iron skillets, as it is best eaten hot from the oven.

A larger skillet would allow the queso to cool and harden, which is exactly what we don’t want! It’s best while hot and melty.

Now you don’t have to use cast iron, but look how good it looks! You just need to make sure your skillets are oven-safe, meaning the handle won’t melt. If your skillet is not oven-safe, or if you’re not sure, just wrap the handle with at least 3 layers of foil… now it’s oven-safe and ready to rock and roll!

Assemble both skillets at the same time, cover one, and place in the refrigerator until the other is about gone (This is guaranteed to happen within minutes of being placed in front of a hungry group!) then pop the second in the oven.

Hungry Queso fans will be hanging around the oven, waiting for it to come out… that’s fine, it takes less than 10 minutes to bake.

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My abbreviated week at Rancho La Puerta, although short, was wonderful!

When Barb, Kim and I first went to “The Ranch” in 2008, I thoroughly enjoyed the week.

This time, I really realized what a special and beautiful place it is. I’m not the only one who thinks so. Rancho La Puerta is one of the Top 10 Destination Spas of 2014 according to Conte Nast Traveler. Granted there are three Top 10 Spas that are closer, all right here in Arizona (Canyon Ranch and Miraval in Tucson and Mii Amo in Sedona)  but “The Ranch” is darn close too, only 45 miles south of San Diego, just across the US/Mexico border in Tecate.

One of my favorite meals was a lunch consisting of garbanzo bean soup and roasted vegetable pita sandwiches. I tried to recreate the soup at home, I think I got pretty close.

Along with the recipe, I’m sharing a few of the many (as in over 200) photos I took, including one at my daily yoga class above and another of Kim and my bedroom below.

Thank you, Barb, for once again taking me along on another of your wonderful adventures. xox

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Before we get to recipe #3 from the pork tenderloin in yesterday’s post, a quick update on The Give-Away. As of 9:00 p.m. Tuesday, we have 56 eligible entries and sixteen possible winners. Remember, you may comment up to five times and you have until tomorrow, Thursday, August 28, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. (PST) to enter. Click HERE to learn more.

Someone is going to win, don’t miss the chance … it may be you!

The third recipe from two pork tenderloins is a classic Cuban sandwich, minus the Cuban bread (French instead) and plus a panini press.

If you don’t own a press – no problem – a waffle iron (perfectly good) a grill pan (fine and dandy) or a skillet (better than nothing) all will work too.

The recipe makes four sandwiches, even though you only see three being made in the photos. That is because my panini press could only hold three sandwiches at a time. The fourth sandwich was made later.

Connor and I loved these sandwiches so much that we had them for dinner one night, then lunch the next day, and dinner again that second night. In fact, I’m craving one as I type!

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Pork tenderloin is the best. It is so versatile, plus it cooks quickly and goes a long way.

Pork tenderloin comes two to a package. I used the two tenderloins to make three separate meals. Each meal serves four, plus an extra seconds.

Meal #1 is simple grilled pork, seasoned simply with salt and pepper. About 3/4 of one of the tenderloins was used for this. Meal #2 used half of the other tenderloin to make a pizza.

The salt and pepper grilled pork and the pizza recipes are below. The rest of the tenderloin was used for meal #3, which I will share with you tomorrow. If you are a lover of pork, you could also try some other pork dishes as well. There is a delicious recipe for pork loin roast that you might be interested in trying. Some of these are available on the internet.

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Before we get to the tacos, a quick update on The Give-Away. As of 9:00 p.m. Sunday, we have 35 eligible entries and eleven possible winners. Remember, you may comment up to five times and you have until Thursday, August 28, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. (PST) to enter. Click HERE to learn more.

What is that you say? Do you need another incentive to play besides the fabulous prize? OK, you want it, you got it. Every Single Person who plays along will win a prize! That’s right, you play, you win.

The grand prize remains the same, the chef’s knife and the apron, but even if you don’t win big, you will still be a winner!

That’s how much I appreciate each and every one of you for your loyalty these past 5 years. xoxo

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Remember, tomorrow I’ll be having a 5th Blogiversary Contest. Be sure to come back and participate to be eligible for a great prize!

Tough woody rosemary stems make wonderful and flavorful skewers for the BBQ. The first trick is to take care to get thick woody stems and not fresh soft stems.

See the difference in the photo above? That top rosemary branch is what you’re looking for.

Trick number two is to soak the rosemary stems in water for at least 20 minutes before grilling. This will prevent the stems from burning to a crisp before the food you have skewered on them is cooked.

Finally, trick number three is to put foil down on the grates of the grill, under the rosemary leaves at the top of the skewers to keep them soft, fresh, and char-free.

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While Peggy and I were staying in Carlsbad, we spent an afternoon shopping in the Cedros Design District in nearby Solana Beach. It’s one of my “must-do treks” whenever I’m in the San Diego area.

Most often, I go shopping there by myself and don’t stop for lunch, but lunch was a must so we could keep with our theme of “Shopping, Drinking, and Eating.”

We actually ended up eating and drinking twice during the long afternoon, both times at the Wild Note Cafe, on Cedros Avenue. During our second stop, we had the best edamame of our young lives.

Of course, upon my return home, I promptly figured out the (very easy) recipe.

Enjoy!

First, a word about the Japanese seven-spice. It can be difficult to find. I looked in the grocery store, no luck. Then I went to Cost Plus World Market, and after much searching and armed with the fact that I knew exactly what I was looking for, I found it. It was not marked “Japanese seven-spice” but rather by one of its other names, Nanami Togarashi. You can, of course, also find it on Amazon.

Japanese seven spice, also known as shichimi togarashi or nana-iro (nanami) togarashi or simply shichimi, is a common Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients.

A typical blend contains:

coarsely ground red chili pepper (the main ingredient)
ground sansho
roasted orange peel
black sesame seed
white sesame seed
hemp seed
ground ginger
nori

Trust me, it’s worth taking the extra effort and making a special trip to find it.

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In yesterday’s comments, Vicki asked for more recipes using the new Sweet Chili Chèvre from Trader Joe’s that I was touting.

Your request is my command.

Rocket, Roasted Zucchini, Fennel, Chèvre, and Marcona Almond Salad

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup olive oil

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I don’t know if anyone noticed, but I took a little “blog vacation” and didn’t post for six straight days, my longest stretch of “time off” in 5 years! Coincidentally, my 5-year Blogiversary was on Saturday, August 16th … and I missed it!

Seems like a rather big day to miss, but missed it I did. The bad part about that is  … I was planning on holding a contest on the auspicious occasion, giving you a chance to win something very cool.

What to do?

How about we have the contest later in the week? In the meantime, start thinking about your favorite recipe that I’ve posted in these past five years. That will somehow be worked into the contest. Until then, another recipe for your consideration.

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It’s been so long since I put up the Friday Funnies, that I’m thinking this single Monday Funny may be needed to get your (my) week started.

Enjoy!

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