Weekend Recipe Warrior

Well, the weekend is almost over and it's time for menu planning and my Sunday cook-a-thon! We celebrated this weekend with a crawfish festival in New Braunfels so next week's menu is going to be dedicated to....that's right seafood!!! I love all types and cooking styles of seafood. Grilled, boiled, fried and even, yes, raw. 🍣 My top favorites are ahi tuna, shrimp (yes, I think I'm a mermaid because I even eat the tails!) and crab. The recipes I'll be highlighting next week are black sesame crusted ahi tuna, Argentinian red shrimp in a white wine garlic butter sauce, crab cakes with a lemon dill sauce and a family favorite shrimp and pea salad. Come and see me tomorrow for the best  black sesame crusted ahi tuna. This delicious easy recipe takes about 20 minutes to prepare but your friends and family will think you slaved all day in the kitchen!!  But wait a minute, before you go I have to tell you about a great product that will make your cooking taste  amazingl

What a great day!!! While doing my normal weekly grocery shopping, I found the best deal ever at Sam's Club!! I'm sorry I love my HEB but this deal was too good to pass up! Two 18oz jumbo tubs of Cool Whip for......$0.51!!! That's only $0.25 a tub!! A savings of over $3.00 per tub! All I can say is...thank goodness for chest freezers!! 😊 So after I got home and unpacked my trunk full of cool whip, I decided to make,,,you guessed it a cool whip dessert! Now normally this dessert is packed with way too many calories to mention, but I decided to do a slim down version that has only 100 calories per serving! That's over 50% less calories than the normal recipe. If you like chocolate, pecan shortbread and cream cheese this is definitely your dessert! To make it almost calorie free, I used fat free cream cheese, low-fat milk, sugar free chocolate pudding and of course Cool Whip. One of the best things about this recipe is you only have to bake the crust for 20 minutes and ev

I'm so happy today I decided to make it a double recipe Saturday!! Most of you who know me know I love to cook but I also love to bake. Well, today was a I feel like baking day! I told my husband I was making this muffin recipe, which I actually created last year, and he said, "Oh, those sound really gross! Cinnamon with bananas and chocolate chips...yuck!" Now, keep in mind this was not the first time I made these. The last time I made them he ate 3 jumbo muffins the first day!! So I began to make them in the oven and he comes running down the steps, "What smells so good! You didn't tell me it was THOSE muffins you were making". Really (ShakingMyHead).....Well, anyway, here is the recipe and a picture. I hope you enjoy! Banana Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Streusel Muffins Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 4 bananas, mashed 3/4 c white sugar 1 egg 1/3 c butter, melted 1/4 c chocola

Wednesday is Wine Day!! Well....red wine spaghetti day! I saw this recipe on a Food TV show, Giada at Home ,    a few years ago. It looked so easy to prepare, looked delicious and got rave reviews so I decided to make it. This dish is so tasty that it has become one of my husband's favorite meals. Even if you are not an avid  wine connoisseur,  you'll love this pasta. By reducing the red wine, all the alcohol is cooked out and you are left with the robustness of the wine. This recipe takes about 45-50 minutes to prepare and amkes about 4-6 servings. I'm sure you can add your favorite veggies to the dish and that will only enhance the flavor. I'd love to hear your variation of this simply amazing dish! Spicy Red-Wine Spaghetti Ingredients: Kosher salt 1 pound spaghetti  1/4 c avocado oil  3 large cloves garlic, chopped  1 large shallot, halved, thinly sliced into strips  1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper  1 750ml bottle zinfandel  1 tbs tomato paste 

Happy Monday!! First day back after a long weekend at the beach enjoying the sun, surf, sand and the seafood. Since it's the first day back I decided to do a very easy delicious dish that a friend at work told me about. Thanks Sue and The Pioneer Woman ! If you love shredded pork, Dr Pepper and spicy peppers this is the recipe for you. Basically you put all the ingredients in a pot and cook 6-8 hours in a low temp oven. How much more no fuss can you get! I served these delicious shredded pork sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls, with a side of onions, pickles and homemade coleslaw. I used Hawaiian rolls because the sweetness of the rolls really brings out the spice of the pork. Honestly, this is so good you can use any bread, bun, roll, tortilla or just serve it in a bowl by itself and your family and friends will love it! 😋 J udging by the oohs and aahs by my husband and son, this dish will be a regular!   Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork Ingredients 1 whole large onion - cut into

Happy Wednesday!!! I love vegging out and watching Food TV on the weekend. A few weeks ago I was watching Valerie's Home Cooking and saw the amazing recipe I'm talking about today. How many of you love fries and who doesn't love jalapenos! Well, you're gonna love this....jalapeno fries with roasted garlic (not just plain garlic, but roasted garlic) ranch dip. Now, if you're not a fan of jalapenos (although I don't know why) you can use zucchini or green beans in place of the peppers. The recipe is easy to make but does take a little time, so be patient. You really need to watch out though, my family was eating this up as fast as I was making it!!   Roasted Garlic Ranch Ingredients:   1 large head garlic, top third cut off 1 tsp avocado oil   1/4 c buttermilk    1/4 c mayonnaise    2 tbs sour cream    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper    1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives    Preparation:   1. Preheat the oven to 425 deg

Welcome back!!! Yesterday I served the spicy grilled pork chops and spaghetti squash. I only posted the spicy pork chop rub recipe so today I'm sharing my quick and easy spaghetti squash recipe. Spaghetti squash is such a versatile veggie. If you are trying to cut down on the pasta, you can serve it with your favorite sauce on top and it's delicious! 😋 The recipe I used is so simple, it will be cooked and on your table in less than 15 minutes!! You can't get much quicker than that for an amazing "pasta" dish. Remember, you can change up the spices to your liking. 🙂 Spaghetti Squash Ingredients: 1 spaghetti squash 2tbs parmesan cheese 1tbs butter Chives Salt and pepper to taste Preparation: Wash outside of squash and poke holes in the skin all around squash using a fork. Place on microwave safe dish and cook on high for 6 minutes.* Turn squash over and microwave for another 6 minutes.* Test to see if done. To test- Carefully push the top of the squ

Happy Monday!!!! It's such a beautiful day outside I decided to grill! ☀️ 🥘  It is one of my favorite ways to cook, especially since we switched from charcoal to propane. Grilling with propane is just like having an amazing outdoor kitchen and adds that extra touch of flavor to any food!! Today I'm cooking a spicy grilled pork chop with a side of spaghetti squash (come back and see me tomorrow for this recipe) 😉 . Spicy Pork Rub Ingredients 2 tbs avocado oil 1 tbs chili powder - I use New Mexico chili powder 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper Preparation Mix all ingredients together and rub on pork chops. Cover and refrigerate for an hour. After an hour, place on hot grill and grill until temp is 165. I grilled mine about 4 minutes per side.

What a great weekend spent with family! We did a little shopping, talking and lots of cooking! I remember growing up, my Mom cooked for us every night, all while working fulltime!! She made the most delicious meals and amazing desserts!! One of my favorite foods that she made was potato pancakes! Well, you guessed it...potato pancakes for dinner tonight! This recipe is so easy to prepare yet tastes like it took hours.. Potato Pancakes Ingredients: 10 medium potatoes (I use Yukon gold), peeled and diced 1c all purpose flour 4 eggs 1 tsp baking soda - stops potatoes from turning brown 1.5 tsp salt pepper to taste Preparation: Heat oil in a pan over medium heat Put all ingredients into blender and blend until liquefied (should look like pancake batter) Place a scoop of potato pancake batter in hot oil Fry on one side until you see bubbles forming on top and then flip over and cook until browned. Place pancake on paper towel to soak up excess oil

Happy Friday!!!! The weekend has finally arrived 😊 . I took the day off to travel to see my mom, sister and grandson. My mom and sister said they wanted challah bread. So I did the only thing I could think of...call my Aunt. My Aunt, who is an amazing baker, gave me her secret recipe (yes, that's right, sorry I can't post it).  I have made bread and rolls from scratch several times but have never attempted challah. I was a little worried because I wasn't in my own kitchen, have never made this type of bread and have never tied bread in knots!! Ok, so here it goes...two hours later we have challah knot rolls!. Wow, that wasn't so bad! They came out sweet and delicious!! The picture below are the rolls I made using my Aunt's recipe. However, the recipe you see is different but uses almost the same ingredients. If you have never baked bread before, you will find this recipe much easier than most bread recipes. Tips:  One thing to remember when preparing the yeast 

Hope you all have enjoyed this weeks recipes!!! Tonight I'm using the left over ground beef from Tuesday's lettuce wraps to make homemade sloppy joes. My kids have always loved sloppy joes and this recipe won't disappoint!! I know you usually serve this on a bun, but since my son is eating low carb, I use low carb tortillas baked in the oven until crisp. The recipe below uses the ingredients my family likes, but remember you can add your families favorites!!! 😋 Sloppy Joes Ingredients 1 lb ground beef 1 8oz container tomato sauce 1/2 c low sugar ketchup 2 green onions chopped 1 tbs garlic powder - more or less to taste 1 tbs onion powder - more or less to taste 2 tbs worcestershire sauce Preparation Brown ground beef Add remaining ingredients and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Happy Wednesday!!!! Today I was thinking about our upcoming trip to Port Aransas and decided to make scallops. I love scallops but they can be a little tricky making them. I found a super easy solution!!! I get a microwave bag put broccoli, you can use any veggie, and frozen scallops inside. Before sealing the bag, I put some pieces of garlic butter on top. Seal the bag and microwave for 7 minutes. Your cooking time may vary so start with 5 minutes, check them and then add more time if needed in one minute increments so you don't over cook them. I like my scallops a little browned... put scallops in a hot pan with some of the garlic butter from the bag and sear them on each side for a minute. Plate your scallops and broccoli and you have another easy delicious meal!!!

Today was a gloomy day outside but it was bright and shiny in my kitchen!! Tonight's dinner, Spicy Beef Lettuce Wraps, was requested by one of my friends at work. Leticia, this one's for you! I really love quick, easy delicious recipes and this one is all that and more! You use one pan, it takes less than 30 minutes to make AND it tastes 100% better than take out!! I used beef this time but have also made this recipe using ground chicken, ground turkey or minced up fully cooked or grilled chicken breasts. I have found that butter lettuce works best but you can use romaine, iceberg or any other lettuce you choose. To me the best recipes are the ones you can experiment with and make them your own! If you make this recipe, I'd love to hear how it turned out and what ingredients you changed. Please feel free to share pictures of your dish! Spicy Beef Lettuce Wraps Ingredients 2 teaspoons avocado oil 1 pound lean ground beef 2-inch piece ginger, pee

Today's been a really long rainy day so I'm gonna get right to it, what's on the menu for dinner... Tonight we had grilled ribeye's (med rare) topped with grilled mushrooms in herb butter and a side of campfire potatoes! Herb Butter 1 stick softened butter Herbs of your choice ...I used 1/2 tablespoon thyme and basil and 1 tsp of sage. You can use as much or as little as you like. If you love summer grillin' as much as I do, post some of your grillin' pics! Got a great side dish to go with it, post your recipe to share 😋. Come back and see me tomorrow! We're having delicious Beef Lettuce Wraps!!

Hope everyone had as great of a weekend as I did! It was such a beautiful day outside that it made me think back to my childhood and our fun family camping trips.  This brought back memories of an amazing campfire dish my mom used to cook. She called it Campfire Potatoes.  The recipe is so delicious and easy that we still make it 40 years later (ok, I'm not a spring chicken...). I think the best thing about this recipe is you can use any ingredients you choose. There are no measurements because you decide how much of each item you want to use. The recipe I use is below, but keep in mind you can use any ingredients you choose!!  Campfire Potatoes 6 large butter potatoes (I like the taste if these potatoes the best but you can use any potato) 12 pats of butter (I made 4 packets with 3 pats in each) bacon bits minced onions salt pepper 8 pieces of the precut foil (use can use regular foil and cut into 8.5"x11") 1. Clean potatoes and dice into bite siz

Happy Saturday! Today I spent most of the day with my son and his girlfriend. We tried a new spot for brunch and it was great! It's called Snooze on 38th and Lamar. The wait was pretty long, about an hour and 10 minutes, but the food and friendly staff made the wait worth while! After filling up on some of the best pancakes I have ever had, and doing a little shopping at Kendra Scott, we headed back home. After such a great meal, I decided to brush up on my brulee skills. After only two crème brulee, I figured it out. Here's what I learned...use only a little sugar to cover the top, keep the torch on low, move the dish around as you torch the sugar and use a circular motion when going over the sugar with the torch. Below are the results...what do you think? After Practice Before Practice  

I hope you all are having a great Friday night!! Just got back from the grocery store after planning the menu for next week. Gonna be a busy cooking weekend. I had a request to post the chicken lettuce wrap recipe so I'll be making that and posting this weekend. Also on the menu, is grilled ribeye steak with mushrooms and a garlic herb butter sauce, red argentine shrimp in a white wine sauce with grits, spicy grilled pork chops with parmesan spaghetti squash, chocolate covered cherries (for a friend at work who just had her birthday) and a new recipe, Collin Street Bakery Cherry Ice Box cookies (these are soooo yummy). I think I may even give the  vanilla crème brulee another try. My first try a few weeks ago (pics shown below) wasn't too bad. The vanilla crème came out amazing but I have to work on my brulee skills as you can see  😉 . Better keep the phone close by just in case I have to call the fire dept! 🚒 This is going to be a great weekend of cooking and blogging!

I took the night off from cooking. Yes, I actually had leftovers from last nights Orange Beef! It's even better the second day!!  Tonight, I thought I'd tell you about an amazing product that I 💖💖💖 . It's HEB Sunflower Oil with Garlic and Herbs . You will find it in the baking aisle, by the flavored oils, of your local HEB. It's great for marinades, for dipping bread and for sautéing. A friend at work told me about it about it last year and I now stock pile it in my pantry!!!  Last week I used it to marinade my ribeye's before I grilled them. I seasoned the steak with some garlic powder, onion powder and pepper (sometimes I use Adam's Reserve Spicy House All Purpose Rub), poured the sunflower oil in a gallon Ziploc bag, put the steaks in the bag, sealed it and placed the bag in the fridge. After about an hour or so, I took steaks out and grilled them until medium rare on the grill. The taste in unbelievable!!! Next time you bake a potato, try rubbing the oi

If I do cook on a weekday, which isn't too often, I love an easy delicious recipe. Tonight's dinner is an amazing  Orange Beef  recipe that I found online.  This meal takes less than an hour and can be made in one pan for easy clean up. I have made it several times now and can't ever seem to make enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day!! I normally tweak the recipe a bit to my taste. I love the orange flavor so I double the orange rind and juice. Because I use more orange juice, I cut the brown sugar in half and the sauce comes out AMAZING!!! This recipe goes great with some broccoli and steamed brown rice. I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine does!! 🙂 💖 🍊 NY Times Orange Beef FOR THE SAUCE: 1   tablespoon neutral oil – I use Avocado Oil 1   1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced 2   tablespoons orange zest, plus the juice of one orange – I use the zest and juice of 2 oranges