Chipotle Chicken Tacos, Citrus Sour Cream

Chipotle Chicken Tacos, Citrus Sour Cream

Ingredients: (Serves 4-5 people)

1 pack of Corn Tortillas

1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 package of shredded moneterey jack cheese

1 head of romaine lettuce, shredded

½ onion, julienned (cut into strips)

1 tomato, diced

1 package of chicken tenders or breasts

1 cup sour cream

1 lime, juiced

Basically, you have three parts, the tortilla, what you put inside and the awesome sauce you will make on top!

Begin by sautéing the Chicken tenders or chicken breast (cut into strips), 2 tbsp of chopped up chipotle peppers, ½ julienned onion in a skillet on medium-high heat.

Prepare the Citrus Sour Cream: Take 1 cup of sour cream and add the juice of a lime. Mix well. This will balance out the heat from the chipotle sauce on the chicken.

Warm up or toast the corn tortillas in the oven, toaster oven, or dry sauté pan until they are slightly brown.

Once all the fillings are ready start adding them to the corn tortilla in this order ( Iw will allow for the best blending of textures and flavors): shredded Monterey jack cheese, sautéed chipotle chicken and onions, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and top it all off with the zesty lime sour cream.

The spicy chipotle chicken and onions will be balanced out by the fresh cool tomatoes and zesty citrus sour cream, shredded cheese, and crisp lettuce. These mouthwatering tacos are fun to make and packed with delicious flavor. Enjoy!

Asian Infused Salmon, Butter Herbed Rice, Sauteed Vegetables, Soy Glaze

This recipe is very easy to make, very healthy, and has a lot of flavor. It serves two people (you can add more of the ingredients if serving more). This dish is best prepared using methodical steps to make your mise en place, french term meaning everything in place, then just adding heat. First you need to marinate the salmon.


Ingredients:
2 salmon filets (~1 pound)
1/2 soy sauce
1 stalk of lemongrass, take the leaves off
and chop the core into rings (can buy at asian market or specialty supermarket)
1 tbsp chopped ginger
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp ground pepper
(no salt because soy sauce has a lot of sodium)

Place the salmon and all the above ingredients in a ziploc bag or air tight container and marinate for about 2 hours.

Prepare the sauteed vegetables:


10 broccoli florets
1/2 red onion, diced

Soy Glaze:

1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar

Butter Herbed Rice:

Brown Rice (boil in bag)
Herbed Butter (can buy at supermarket)

Now, bring all the ingredients together to make the final dish. Start by preheating the oven on broil. We broil the salmon to cook it on higher heat to maximize flavor and tenderness. Preheat a saute pan on medium-high heat, and a sauce pan with boiling water for the brown rice. Place the marinated salmon filets in a baking dish or oven-safe pan, pour the remaining marinade on top, and place in the oven. This will broil for 8-10 minutes, or until flaky and firm to the touch. Begin boiling away the brown rice (I use boil in bag brown rice) for 10 minutes. While the salmon is broiling and the rice is boiling begin by sauteing the vegetables in olive oil until they have sweated and released some water, then add the soy glaze ingredients. Over medium-high heat, cook the vegetables, soy sauce, sugar, and water, until the vegetables have lost half of their size and the sauce can coat the back of a spoon. Once the rice has been cooked, drain the water and add the herbed butter and mix.

To plate:

Make the base of the plate the brown rice by forming a mound. Place directly on top of the butter herbed rice the broiled, asian-flavor marinated salmon. Add the vegetables to the top of the salmon and around the plate and drizzle the soy glaze wherever you choose. Enjoy!

Shrimp Cake, B-B-Q Shrimp, Sauteed Portobella, Spinach, Parmesan Cheese, Citrus Sour Cream

This meal is great for parties with friends or a romantic dinner. This dish is very low in carbs and calories, but is PACKED with flavor. A conservative sized-portion for dinner is always good, and this meal can be served with bread and wine. It will leave you with great taste and not a bloated stomach. Enjoy!



Ingredients: (Makes 4 servings)

1 pound medium shrimp (~28)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 whole egg
1 jalapeno, diced, leave seeds for heat, take them out for milder flavor
1 diced white onion
1 tomato, seeded and diced
bbq sauce (bottled or home-made, easy recipe on cooks.com)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 scallions, split, then diced
3 portobella mushrooms, sliced
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, fresh grated
tbsp canola oil, for frying cakes
1 tbsp olive oil, for spinach and portobella
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup sour cream
1 lime
salt and pepper

To begin, start by preparing the Shrimp Cakes:
In a mixing bowl, add about 2o of the shrimp, deveined and chopped, along with the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, egg, scallions, jalapeno, white onion, diced tomatoes (save some diced tomato and scallion for garnish), salt, and pepper. Once combined to a smooth and firm mixture, make 4 seperate cakes by hand, like making a hamburger patty. Set aside in a chilled refrigerator.

Citrus Sour Cream: 1 cup of sour cream, the zest of 1 lime, and the juice of 1 lime. Mix. Done.

Now, lets cook:
Begin by sauteeing the spinach, portobella, lemon juice, salt and pepper in olive oil. Saute the 8 whole shrimp (tail on) in another pan, and baste with the bbq sauce. In another large pan, heat the canola oil and begin browning the shrimp cakes. Once browned on both sides (about 10 minutes) begin plating.

To plate:
First, begin by adding the base of portobella and spinach to the middle of the plate. Grate fresh parmesan over top. Next, top the base of vegetables with the browned and thoroughly cooked shrimp-cake. Then take 2 bbq shrimp per plate and prop on the side of cake for unique presentation. Top the crab cake with a light tbsp of the citrus sour cream, and then garnish with sliced scallions and diced tomatoes from before. Enjoy this light, flavorful, fun, and beautiful meal!

Turkey Bacon Guacamole Wrap

This is a great meal for a big power lunch during a busy week to give you the nutrients and flavor needed to stay going. It is very easy to make and uses fresh, healthy ingredients. Follow along.






Ingredients: (makes 2 wraps)

2 whole wheat wraps
4-6 slices of turkey breast
2 avocados
1 bunch of cilantro
1 red onion
1 tomato
4 slices of bacon
2 slices of cheese (swiss, muenster, gouda)
1 handful of spinach leaves
salt and pepper

Begin by browning the bacon and rendering out all the fat in a saute pan or in the oven or microwave. Set aside once cooked and most fat has been rendered off.

Next, begin making the guacamole. In a food processor or mixing bowl (try to avoid a slim blender because it will be too thick to puree) add the avocados, rough chopped cilantro, rough chopped red onion, 1 tbsp of water, and salt and pepper. Tip: When preparing avocados, run your knife around the seed to make two halves. Once you have two halves, one will have the seed. To remove the seed, you need a medium-large sized chef knife and you strike the seed with the middle of the knife like shown above. Once your knife is lodged into the seed, just twist your knife and you will remove the seed. To remove the seed from your knife be very careful and use the back of your thumb or hit it on your cutting board.
After blending together your ingredients for the guacamole, set aside. Now you are ready to make the wrap. Microwave the whole wheat wrap to warm and soften for wrapping. First apply the guacamole as the base, then the bacon, tomato, turkey, spinach, cheese. Roll it up, slice on a bias and serve!

First Recipe of Blog!

Braised Short Ribs
with Horseradish-Cauliflower Puree and Sauteed Vegetables

This is a great dinner that is easy to make and comes through with strong and delicious flavors. It involves easy to get ingredients that you can find at almost any supermarket. This is a great meal for the carb-concious as well, as it does not have many carbohydrates. Any cook can master this dish, it just takes a little practice.

Here are all the ingredients:
For the Braised Short Ribs: Fresh gound pepper, salt (kosher or sea), 3 tbsp olive or canola oil, 4 chuck short ribs, 2×4″, about 3 cups Dry Red Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), 1 white onion (julienned), 3 cloves of garlic (smacked) , handful of fresh thyme sprigs (whole)
For the Horseradish-Cauliflower Puree: Fresh ground pepper, salt (kosher or sea), about 4 cups whole milk, 1 head of cauliflower, Handful of fresh thyme sprigs (whole), 1 tbsp horseradish, 1tbsp unsalted butter
For the Sauteed Vegetables: 1 tbsp olive or canola oil, 4 squash (julienned), 1 tomato (seeded and julienned), 1 handful of spinach (julienned), 1 clove of garlic (minced), salt and pepper

To start:
Braised Short Ribs: Liberally season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Bring a braising or roasting pan to a medium-high heat and add your oil. Once the oil has heated, begin browing the short ribs. Once you have turned the ribs enough to have browned them on all sides, add the julienned white onion, smacked garlic cloves (Smacked garlic: smacking the garlic with the side of your knife to break it out of it’s skin and release it’s juices), fresh thyme sprigs, and sweat the ingredients a bit, then add your 4 cups of red wine, or enough to almost cover the short ribs. Bring the braising liquid (wine) to a boil then reduce to a low heat and simmer for 2 hours.
Next, the Horseradish Cauliflower Puree: In a stock pot, bring together all the ingredients: your washed, cleaned, and rinsed Cauliflower bulbs, 4 cups of whole milk (reduced fat or low-fat can also be used to lower total fat of dish), handful of fresh thyme, 3 cloves smacked garlic, salt and pepper, and slowly bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. You bring this to a simmer rather a boil because we do not want the milk to scold (burn). Simmer for 1 hour or until the cauliflower has softened throroughly. Puree the cauliflowers and some extra liquid in a food processor or blender to reach a smooth consistency (A little thinner than mashed potatoes). Return to the now empty stock pot to reheat. Once all components of dish are ready, add the tbsp of unsalted butter (Mont-a beurre – french term meaning to mount with butter)to tie the whole puree together (and add great flavor).

Last Step, Sauteed Vegetables: In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil to medium-high heat. Begin sauteeing all ingredients, squash, tomato, spinach, and garlic until soft but with a bite.
To serve, we are going to build the food up on the plate to give it height, depth and complexity. Start out with a base of your Horesradish-Cauliflower Puree on the middle of the plate, then top the puree with the sauteed vegetables, and then top it all with a Braised-Short Rib. Drizzle the Short rib with the reduction of the red-wine and garnish the plate by placing a thyme spring standing up out of the cauliflower puree.
This dish is enjoyable on any night of the week and can surve as a great family meal or romantic dinner. It takes about 2-3 hours to prepare, however a lot of that time is just waiting for the short-ribs to braise and become tender. Enjoy this meal with the same bottle of wine you used to braise the ribs! Until next time.