It's Tuesday... Taco Tuesday that is!

This recipe can be applied to either Tacos or Taco Salad, it all depends on how creative you wanna get... at the end of the day though, it's fast, it's relatively healthy and it's good!   

 I use ground turkey meat for my tacos just to cut down on the fat... you can use ground beef or even ground chicken... it's all muy rico if you ask me! 

And lastly... making tacos does not necessarily mean that you brown some meat and throw a package of sodium filled pre-made taco seasoning mix all over it... you can make a great seasoning blend/mix with the ingredients that I am SURE are already in your kitchen or use fresh ingredients and throw them in a blender... give it a try!!!

Taco Salad

1 lb. Ground Beef (Turkey or Chicken) 

1 Small Onion Finely Diced

Now there are a couple variations on this dish... you can go either way! 

The first is for the seasoning... 

Combine in a bowl: 

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. Chili Powder

1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin

1 tsp. Onion Powder

1 tsp. Paprika

1 tsp. Garlic Powder 

1/2 tsp. Ground Coriander

1 tsp. Tomato paste

The second seasoning mix uses fresh ingredients... 

Grab the old blender and jut throw in: 

1 Onion

1 Small Tomato

1/2 Jalapeno (seeds removed) 

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Heaping Spoonful of Chili Powder

A drizzle of Olive Oil

Brown your meat in a frying pan and add your seasonings... 

Shred some iceberg lettuce, dice an avocado, chop a tomato, get out your shredded cheese and some sour cream and top with a black olive. 

Baked Chicken Casserole with Spanish Rice & Black Beans

Sunday nights are generally a night where I am just pretty tired from an active weekend with the family and don't like to spend too much time in the kitchen.  

I found this recipe a while back in Southern Living magazine and forgot about it till I opened it up this afternoon and was reminded just how easy Sunday night dinners can actually be... and just cause it's easy and you get a little help, doesn't necessarily mean it's not equally as delicious! 

Baked Chicken Casserole with Spanish Rice & Black Beans

1 Cup White Rice

2 Cups Chicken Broth

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 green bell pepper diced small

1/2 red bell pepper diced small

1 clove garlic minced

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 large can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 small can diced tomatoes

1 small can diced chiles 

1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese

1/2 Cup Monterey Jack 

1 small can sliced black olives

3 or 4 scallions or green onions chopped

2 tbs. olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

In a saute pan with the olive oil, saute the onion, bell peppers & garlic. Add Chicken and allow to brown on either side.  Remove. Set aside. 

In a large oven safe casserole dish add your rice & tomatoes, onion, bell peppers & garlic, chicken broth, chiles, salt & pepper.  Arrange chicken breasts on top.  Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and pour the beans on top, sprinkle with the cheese, scallions and olives.  Cook uncovered in the oven for another 15 minutes. 

Super easy! Super delicious! 

**adapted from Southern Living Magazine Recipe**

Viva Oliva...Viva Balsamic... Viva Portabella!!! Marinated Grilled Portabella Mushrooms

Who doesn't love Olive Oil... and who doesn't love Balsamic Vinegar.... and who doesn't love them more when they have wonderful herbs & flavors infused into them. 


I was shopping this past week in town and I came across this store that I had never seen before... I went inside, and they told me they were open for about a month or so... and well, I fell in love in this store!    What kind of store is this you ask?  An Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar store! Viva Oliva to be exact...  This company infuses different flavors into these wonderfully delicious on their own anyways ingredients.  

They had Lavender, Pomegranate & Tangerine Balsamic... Persian Lime, Herbes de Provence, Truffle & Lemon Olive Oil... I sampled quite a few of them to say the least and they were all divine.  They have combos that are made up for you already... and you guys know me by now, I don't advertise for anyone that I don't absolutely love and think they have a stellar product... these people made an incredible product!  QUALITY infused balsamic & olive oil! 


They would seriously make delicious salad dressings and add to just about any dish you'll cook with them.   


So I picked out the Lavender Balsamic and Persian Lime Olive Oil... and I came across these beautiful Portabella Mushrooms yesterday in the market... I marinated the two together with a little freshly macerated garlic, salt & pepper... and then threw them on the grill... OH MY!  It was divine.   It had so much flavor and you could really pick up the mild aroma of the Lavender and the sweet tang of the Persian Lime...it was a match made in heaven. 

I have one leftover today and I'm going to make a sandwich with some fresh arugula, buffalla mozzarella & fire roasted red bell peppers... that mushroom is going to be the perfect addition!  


To order some of these Oils & Balsamic Vinegars... check them out.  They have a page that's dedicated to all of the incredible flavors they have and the insanely delicious combos you can make!  These would make awesome gifts too... just sayin'! :-)  Check em out!  http://www.vivaoliva.com/

BBQ Ranch Tenderloin Lettuce Wraps

BBQ Ranch Tenderloin Wrap

1 Pork Tenderloin marinated in your favorite BBQ Sauce

1 Avocado diced

1 Cucumber diced

1 Tomato diced

1/2 Red Onion diced

1/4 c. Corn

Chopped Cilantro (optional)

2 TBS. Ranch Dressing

Romaine Lettuce, Butter Lettuce...Iceberg... any leafy lettuce.

Grill your tenderloin to sear on either side... I used my indoor stovetop grill. 

Remove and place in the oven on 400 until the internal temp reaches 150 degrees. (probably about 20 minutes)  Allow to sit for a few minutes when you remove it from the oven.  Cut into 1 inch thick slices. 

In a bowl, combine avocado, cucumber, tomato, onion & ranch dressing... 

Wash, clean & pat dry your lettuce leaves.... and begin layering.  

Place the bbq pork on the leaf, followed by the avocado salad mixture, a little chopped fresh cilantro and then a spoonful of corn.   SO YUM! 

Panko Crusted Asparagus

Veggies can be so boring sometimes... yes, yes, they're filled with many vitamins and nutrients and sometimes alone they can be spectacular... but every now and then... ya just need to shake things up a bit?  

I discovered this recipe recently and well, I fell in love.  It's my new favorite way of serving asparagus!  It's crunchy, it's flavorful and it adds so much to this vegetable that's already in my top ten!  Oh and as always, do I even need to say this... it's SO easy!!!

Panko Crusted Asparagus

1 tbs. Dijon Mustard 

1/2 juice of Lemon

2 tbs. Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper

1 Cup Panko Crumbs

Whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper.  Remove the hard bottom stems of the asparagus and toss in the mixture. 

Roll asparagus into the Panko crumbs and place in a sheet tray in the oven on 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. 

Squeeze a bit more lemon juice on top... and WOW!

It truly is so easy and adds so much to this already tasty vegetable... who knows, the kids might even be more inclined to eat it too!  Mine are! 

Eating healthy after the holidays... White Fish with Leek, Tomato & capers... YUM

After the holidays we are all looking to eat a little bit healthier... this is a delicious & easy fish recipe! 

White Fish with Leek, Tomato & Peppers

1 pound White Fish (any fish will do, I just prefer White Fish)

10 Cherry Tomatoes Sliced in half

1 Leek quartered and thinly sliced

1 Anaheim Pepper Diced

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

2 Tbs White Wine

1 Tbs Old Bay Seasoning

1 Tsp Fresh Dill Chopped
2 Tsp Capers

Cut White Fish into 4 pieces

Spray bottom of Pyrex with non-stick spray

Place fish, skin side down in pan

Sprinkle Old Bay Seasoning over the top of the fish

Add Leeks, Pepper, Tomatoes & Dill on top of fish Squeeze Lemon Juice & add wine over fish

Cook for 10-12 minutes covered in oven on 400 degrees

Uncover and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes until tomatoes and fish turn a golden brown.

Serve with steamed asparagus and rice pilaf...

Stuffed Grapeleaves

Everyone’s got their childhood memories.  For most children in America their earliest or first memories in the kitchen are probably sticking their fingers in some sort of ooey chocolatey batter and licking the bowl clean or eating some raw cookie dough while mom or grandma was making some cookies…. Well folks, I have an entirely different type of “first time in the kitchen” childhood memory.  Stuffed grape leaves. Stuffed grape leaves you say?  Yes…and oh how amazing they were!

I still have the very vivid memory of standing in my grandmother’s kitchen with the leaves all lined up on the counter, the stack of cigar shaped leaves that were already done and running by and stealing a few of them before they were cooked.   She would be screaming as I whizzed by… “Don’t eat them raw! You’re going to get sick!” so began my trek of living on the edge!  I never got sick and still to this day, even when I’m making them myself I steal a few! (I don’t recommend that you do this by the way… you can get sick! HA!)  But back to my point… what was my point… oh! I know, my point was that I never got around to asking her for this recipe, nor did anyone else for that matter… she made them the best! As good as I’ve ever had, and over the years I’ve learned to adjust my recipe to what I think hers tasted like…I think I’ve come close!

Making stuffed grape leaves or Sarma as it’s properly called is sort of like the Ceviche I did yesterday… every region has it’s own take on how to do this… some make theirs with only rice and onions, some add parsley, some don’t… some use lamb some use beef… some add coriander some don’t.  It’s all about the region that you are from.

So here it is… the step by step guide with my little tricks for making Grandma Margaret’s Sarma - A.K.A. The best darn stuffed grape leaves you’ll ever eat! (did I just say darn?) 

Armenian Style Stuffed Grapeleaves

1 ½ pounds of ground beef

1 can or 16 oz of plain tomato sauce

2 cups uncooked white rice

½ small onion finely diced

3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

½ lemon juice

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 16oz jar of grape leaves

Preparation of the grape leaves and the meat filling:

Remove the grape leaves from the jar… this takes a little bit of jiggling to get them out… they are packed in brine, I suggest sticking a finger in there, and tilting it to the side to remove all of the liquid first, then gently pull the bunches out.  There should be 2 or 3 neatly folded bundles in there, depending on the size of the leaves.  Drain, open up the bunches and allow them to sit in some clean cold water for a few minutes to remove some of the excess salty-ness.

Once they’ve sat for a few minutes, begin removing the stems from each leave.  (If you leave the stems on, they will be too tough to chew) 

While the grape leaves are soaking, in a separate bowl mix together the beef, rice, spices, lemon juice and ¾ of the can of tomato sauce- reserving ¼ of the can for use later. Now get in there and use your hands and mix mix mix! Making sure everything is combined well. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Get ready to roll….

Place the leave with the shiny side down, vein side up on a flat surface and spread out.  Place about a teaspoon to tablespoon (depends on leave size) and using the tips of your fingers, pinch it outwards until your’e about 2 inches from each edge. 

Fold up the bottom leave

Fold in the sides

Roll upwards tightly.  Don’t roll it up too tight as while the rice and meat are cooking, they will expand and it will tear the leaf or unravel.

Repeat this process with the remaining leaves and meat mixture. (reserving about 5-10 leaves)

Now here comes the tricky part… (as if this wasn’t hard enough!)  If you don’t place your little grape leave cigars properly in the pot while they’re cooking… well, all this is for nothing. Ha ha ha. I’m KIDDING! You’re doing great!

In a large saucepan or medium sized pot, lay a few leaves on the bottom of the pan.  Lay each stuffed grape leave side by side next to each other tightly, seam side up and continue making even layers.  Do not fill it all the way to the rim of the pan, as it will as I said expand and well, you’ll have a mess on your hands… or your stove rather.  Layer about 2 inches from the top of the pan and place a small plate upside down on top of the grape leaves and apply pressure to hold it down.

In a large measuring cup mix together:

2 cups cold water

Remaining tomato sauce

1 teaspoon crushed mint

2 cloves crushed garlic (mortar & pestle it into a paste)

¼ teaspoon cayenne

½ lemon juice

Pour this mixture over the leaves, making sure that they are covered just over the top of the edge of the plate on top.  If you don’t have enough liquid, add more plain water.  Cook on high heat until it comes to a boil and then reduce heat down to a low simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, making sure that the leaves don’t move around inside the pot.

You’ll know it’s cooked once you open it and the rice is cooked.

Allow to sit for a few minutes before removing plate from the top-  remove leaves from the pot and serve with some lemon wedges… or as we do with some plain yogurt on the side.

**sidenote**

You can omit the cayenne if it’s too spicy for you.

Look for leaves that aren’t too thick.  Use only the flexible soft leaves

This meat filling can be used to stuff bell peppers, small eggplants, zucchini, or even tomatoes. You’d cook it using the same process.

Once you get the hang of rolling the leaves you’ll be on a roll… ha ha ha (bad joke)

Just know, they don’t have to be perfect!

I hope that you try this recipe… it’s a little bit a work… who am I kidding… it’s work!  But you’ll really love the end result!  I know I always did and still do!