Big fish in a little pond

With all the mix of chicken and beef sometimes it's nice to grub on some fresh seafood. One of my husband's favorites is fresh tuna steaks. Now you have to be cautious because tuna tend to be unusually high in mercury levels which in big doses can be toxic to our bodies. But if you shop for your seafood at a local market and they catch wild then you should be better off.

My favorite way to eat tuna steaks is rare, sashimi style with a wasabi-soy sauce drizzle but my husband likes his seared. So I decided to cook for my sweet husband that evening.

Tuna Steaks with Brussel Sprouts and Black Rice

1 tuna steak/person
1 package of brussel sprouts
1/2 yellow onion
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup black rice
olive oil
salt
pepper

This is a pretty simple meal, you want to save the tuna til last. If you want to flash marinate that is great or else keep cool in the fridge. I drizzled mine with olive oil to keep it moist and sprinkled salt and pepper on each side and set back in the fridge.

Next, I sliced up my onion and garlic and added that to a saute pan on medium heat. Once they were golden I added the brussel sprouts. I had chicken stock in a small sauce pan awaiting a boil, once the liquid starts to bubble drizzle in 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil and the black rice, stir occasionally.

When the brussel sprouts start to soften and sear turn the heat down to keep them toasty. Continue to stir the rice, adding more chicken stock if needed. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the rice for additional flavor. Black rice is extremely nutritious and adds a lil depth to your dish.

Once the rice is practically finished heat your saute pan or grill pan, drizzle with olive oil and place your tuna steaks on the pan. Depending on how "done" you prefer your tuna to be, you really should only cook each side for about a minute. Usually tuna is best served with a nice sear on the outside and rarity on the inside.

Plate your dish and serve. This meal is packed with protein, omega-3s, healthy carbohydrates and will give you a great kick start to your week or weekend.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Acorn Squash Soup

Nothing is better than a hot bowl of comforting soup when the winds are chilly and the clouds unleash rain across the city.

I stumbled upon this recipe as I looked in my fridge and found an acorn squash, the only thing I had made before with this gorgeous ghourd was chutney but this time I wanted to make something good for the soul.

Acorn Squash Soup with Fresh Sage

1 acorn squash/2 people
1 yellow onion
1 leek
1 bunch of fresh sage
1 carton of chicken stock
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup milk (or heavy cream)
salt
pepper

I started as you would with any squash, you cut them in half de-seed them and place on a baking sheet. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is heating up, slice up some onions, garlic, bits of fresh sage and leeks place those inside of the hole of the squash and drizzle with olive oil. Place the squash in the oven for one hour to soften and bake.

While the squash is baking light your Dutch oven or soup pot on low heat, add olive oil and the rest of the onion, leeks, a few sage leaves and garlic. When they become golden (30 minutes) add chicken stock, salt and pepper. Once the squash is done, remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Once the squash are cooled pour the contents inside the squash into the pot. Strip off the squash skin, chop up into inch cubes and add to the pot. Raise the pot's temperature to medium heat and stir. After 15 minutes use your hand emulsion blender to blend the squash soup together. Be careful not to raise the blender above the soup, blend for 10 minutes until creamy and smooth. Then add your milk/heavy cream. Let the soup finish for five minutes then you are ready to serve.

Once you pour the incredible soup into your serving bowls, grate fresh parmesan cheese on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh sage leaves. This soup will knock your snuggie right off, it is down right delicious! Perfect for entertaining or as a quiet Sunday meal.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Campfire Cookin'

My husband and I went camping this weekend and realized that many people don't understand how delicious your meals can be cooked over an open-fire with a starry night while spending quality time with those you love.

Our first night we chose something pretty simple:

Beer Brats with Blue Corn Tortillas and Mustard

1 package of beer brats
1 package of tortillas
mustard

First you need hangers, sticks or some long fork skewers to fire roast the brats over the open flame. Once the brats are sizzling and brown you toast the tortillas and add the brat, squirt a lil mustard on top and ta da! Simple and delicious.

We spent that evening laughing and holding hands in the middle of the woods.

The next day we planned a big breakfast:

4 eggs
6 slices of thick-cut bacon
2 red potatoes
2 slices of toast (preferably homemade)

Firstly, when you are cooking while camping you want to start with the bacon because it naturally creates grease that you can use to cook everything else. Place bacon in the pot and set over the open flame, take one strip of bacon and slice it up into little pieces. Place these pieces into a separate pot with the chopped potatoes. Once the bacon is sizzled, remove from pot and add to a paper towel and crack the eggs into the greased pot. Once the potatoes are done, pile them into the serving bowls, add bacon on top. Place bread in a pocket of foil and toast on fire grate. Once the eggs are done place them on top of the bacon/potato pile and lastly grab your toast.

For dinner our last night camping we had to create something out of nothing, we had a backpacker's meal of freeze dried chicken and dumplings. Which didn't seem like enough so we had two red potatoes left, some bacon and some extra barbeque sauce. We decided to bake the potatoes, sizzle up the bacon and crumble it on top of the potatoes with barbeque sauce on top...that was a surprisingly, yummy side dish!

Use your imagination while camping, anything you want to have you can...you just have to be creative.

Enjoy life every moment at a time! xoxo Lo

Wowza White Chicken Chili

Now that the fall months are among us and colder weather has started to prance its way into the day...it is time for comforting, warm meals.

One of my family's absolute favorites is white chicken chili...for some reason I've never been a huge fan of regular ole joe red bean and beef chili. Maybe it's too filling, maybe it's too heavy but this particular type of chili is not only scrumptious but it is packed with healthy nutrients and not too heavy.

White Chicken Chili

4 chicken breasts (or thigh meat)
6 cans of Great Northern beans
1 package of chicken stock
3 celery stocks
2 medium yellow onions
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 bunch of cilantro
avocado
1/2 cup monterrey jack cheese

Grab your Dutch oven or stock pot and add 1 Tbsp of olive oil on medium heat, when the pot starts to sizzle add the chopped onion and chopped celery. Once the onion and celery turn golden add the chicken (cut into inch size pieces). After a few minutes add the beans and chicken stock. Stir and add the spices. After about 20 minutes taste and add more spices if necessary. Cook another 10 minutes then the magnificent chili is ready to serve!

Once you add the chili to the serving bowls, add sprigs of cilantro, chopped avocado and shredded Monterrey Jack cheese then take a bite and savor the explosion of fantastic flavors!

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Trick or Treat Casserole

My mom used to make this warm, comforting casserole dish with chicken, orzo, cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms and any other veggies we had at the time. I decided to recreate this delicious meal from my childhood. I already had beer brined chicken, the orzo and cream of mushroom soup, I just needed to put the rest together.

Since Halloween is right around the corner, I decided to make my casserole similar to the traditional outing every child makes on October 31st, decked in their best costume to boot. My casserole would be full of treats and would remind adults why they love Halloween and the Fall season so much.

Trick or Treat Casserole

2 chicken breasts (marinated in whatever you prefer)
1 package of orzo noodles
6 button mushrooms (rinsed)
1/2 head of cabbage
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
2 cups of chicken stock
1 small yellow onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Heat your Dutch oven or large pot on medium heat, add olive oil and start chopping your onion. Add onion to the Dutch oven and start chopping your mushrooms. Add mushrooms and dry orzo to the pot. Let the orzo crisp up with the onions and mushrooms before adding any liquid. (You may need to add more olive oil, to prevent sticking to the bottom or getting too dry). Next add the chicken stock and stir around. Chop up half the cabbage and add that to the mixture. Pour in the cream of mushroom soup, salt and pepper. Then chop up the chicken into small pieces and add to pot. Place lid on the Dutch oven and cook for 10 minutes. Then finish the casserole in the oven at 375 covered for 15 minutes then lower heat to 350 and remove lid to let the top crisp up for 10 minutes before serving.

This meal will feel like your mouth is trick or treating, full of flavors, textures and nutrients this meal is Halloween approved!

Happy trick or treating! xo Lo

Spooky Spaghetti Squash

During the Autumn season there are several different kinds of produce to take advantage of, there are many squashes, gourds, etc to dive into for your meals. One of my favorite kinds of squash is the spaghetti squash, not only is this squash pretty awesome in creation but it's tasty too. The best part about spaghetti squash is you can make savory or sweet dishes when using it. This time I decided to go savory.

Spaghetti Squash with Baby Portabella Mushrooms and Marinara Sauce

1 spaghetti squash
1 package of baby portabella mushrooms
1 jar of marinara sauce (or see recipe below to make your own)
1 yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
olive oil
fresh oregano
salt
pepper

Firstly, you want to get your spaghetti squash tender, cut in half length-wise, de-seed and bake at 425 degrees for an hour.

Meanwhile, saute mushrooms, onion and garlic in a saute pan over medium heat until tender. Put marinara sauce over medium heat to warm and add mushroom mixture.

Once the squash is tender, let cool for 10 minutes then take a fork and scrape the squash, as you scrape pieces that look similar to spaghetti pasta should start to come off. Scrape all of the "spaghetti" into bowls.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

3 12 oz cans of plain tomato sauce
1 12 oz can of plain tomato paste
2 12 oz cans of tomato pieces
2 yellow onions
5 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 bunch of fresh oregano
water (as needed)
salt
pepper
meat (if you are making a meat sauce, use ground beef, ground turkey or turkey sausage)

Cook tomato sauce, paste and pieces over medium-low heat. Add in spices (if dry), water, onion, garlic and herbs. Let simmer for one hour and add fresh herbs for last 15 minutes. Marinara sauce should reduce down, add any veggies or meats you like to it.

Pour marinara sauce over spaghetti squash and grade a little bit of mozzarella or parmesan over the top and dig in!

xoxo Lo

Pork 'n Pumpkin Chili

For those of you who are getting to know me...I LOVE the holidays. Any holiday...I will go above and beyond to celebrate, in a classy way of course! :) When Fall arrives, which is my favorite time of the year, I love to cook with seasonal produce (aka pumpkins), watch scary movies, sip on Pumpkin Ale and submerge myself into the season.

The other day they had sugar pumpkins at the market so I grabbed three and a massive piece of pork butt to make some fabulous, comfort food.

Here's the recipe:

3 medium sugar pumpkins (or as many as people you have plus one extra for in the chili)
1 package of 15 bean soup (15 different kinds of uncooked beans, discard seasoning package)
5 lbs pork butt
1 bunch of mustard greens
5 cups of chicken stock
1 yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
salt
pepper
nutmeg

First I put the oven on 425 degrees and baked the pumpkins (after de-seeding the inside) for about an hour. Meanwhile I started slicing up the pork butt into inch cubed pieces. I placed my Dutch oven on the stove on medium heat and drizzled some olive oil inside. I chopped up the onion and garlic and let that saute for a few minutes, until golden. Then I added the chicken stock and beans. After cutting up the entire pork butt, I placed that into the chicken stock and cover for 30 minutes.

Once the pumpkin is tender the skin should peel off easily, chop up one of the pumpkins into one inch cubed pieces and add to the chili. (The other pumpkins are for serving in.) Add nutmeg, cook for another hour on low heat while stirring occasionally. In the last 10 minutes add chopped, mustard greens.

While chili is cooking, make the pumpkin-nutmeg cream sauce with:

1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp pumpkin (from cooked pumpkin or canned pumpkin)
salt
pepper

Mix all ingredients up until smooth and refridgerate until serving. Once beans are tender and pork is cooked through then served the chili inside the sugar pumpkins and top with cream sauce.

If this recipe doesn't get you into the Halloween/Autumn mood, then I don't know what will...maybe put on Hocus Pocus while eating and sip on a Pumpkin Ale...that should do the trick!

xoxo Lo