Blue Moon Sausage Bites

It was fly by the seat of my pants tonight for dinner. I planned on making a stir fry using some sausage. Quick, lowcarb. Yummy. But then my life got in the way. No really. The veggies were bad. I buy the bag of pre cut stir fry mix. I waited too long to use them. Then ALL the kids happened to be home. In fact, The Ballplayer even had a friend over. Now what? Order a pizza! Of course! Blow that diet. But I still had the sausage cut up in the pan. Hmmm what to do? Appetizers! Yes! Grabbed some beer (hiccup) and some chili sauce and some cheap BBQ sauce and I've got a snack for my brats to eat while we wait FOREVER for the pizza to come. Hopefully I get REALLY full on them so I don't eat a ton of pizza. Ya right!

Blue Moon Sausage Bites
1 package spicy Italian Sausage
1 cup Blue Moon Beer
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup bbq sauce

Cut the sausage into bite size pieces. If you place in the freezer for 1/2 an hour to an hour before slicing, it is easier.
Place all in a saute pan.Once half way cooked, add the beer.Most the beer will evaporate.Once the sausage is cooked thoroughly add the chili sauce and the bbq sauce. Let cook for another couple minutes.
Garnish with green onions and serve with toothpicks

Meatless Friday! Grilled Vegetable Salad

This is salad I make mostly in the summer although it is perfect for Fridays during Lent. The Roasted Chickpeas give you the protein you need while providing a crunch needed while I am still low carbing. If you have never made Roasted Chickpeas you are missing out. I could eat the whole bowl and not even flinch. I am making this salad for two although you could easily make for the whole family.


Grilled Vegetable Salad

Slice One small onion, 1 large zucchini and 1 small eggplant. (mine was bad so you will see it missing)

Rub with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Grill on high. Excuse the smoke billowing out of my house. The fan is broken on my dinosaur of a kitchen. Thank God I am married to The Fireman. (giggles)



While the veggies are grilling, make the Honey Mustard Vinaigrette;
2 TB rice vinegar
4 Tb olive oil
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 TB honey
mix till smooth

Serve over baby greens with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette and garnish with roasted chickpeas.


Serves 2

Zatarain's Chicken and Rice Bake

Zatarain's was kind enough to send me some of their product to try. I've been a fan for years. Unlike other box mixes, it happens to be full of flavor. Tonight I'm making a "toss it into the oven meal" All you baseball moms can toss into the crock-pot while at a game. I love meals like that! They keep my kids from eating dinner at the concession stand.
Zatarain's Chicken and Rice Bake
1 package of chicken breast
1 box Zatarains jambalaya rice mix
1/2 cup of minute rice
2 cups of water


Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Add a little oil to a saute pan. Preheat the pan on High. You are only browning the meat. You are not cooking the meat. You will do this in the oven.Add the rice mix, the extra rice (this is because my brats like it milder in flavor) and the rice. Add the browned meat to the top.
Bake covered (I use foil) 1 hour

Let cool a minute. I like to slice the meat. It makes it go farther. I find none of my kids want an entire chicken breast.

Yeast Biscuits

It doesn't happen every weekend but sometimes I get up early on a Saturday morning and decide to make biscuits. The smell billows through the house until every child is downstairs asking "whatcha makin?"
I tend to make these more during baseball season when The Ballplayer has morning games. It's a labor of love but the kid needs some meat on his bones and some nourishment in his belly.
These are a little different from the traditional buttermilk biscuits as they have some yeast in them making them just a tad more tender.

Yeast Biscuits
1 pkg active dry yeast
3/4 cup water water (room temp)
2 1/2 cups biscuit mix
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Dissolve yeast in water. In a large bowl combine the biscuit mix and sugar. Add the yeast mixture, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle the work surface generously with flour or biscuit mix.Turn dough out onto counter or wooden cutting board if you have tile counters as we do and knead well, 15 to 20 times.Shape the dough into a round disk about 1 inch thick and cut into biscuits. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
They don't rise a whole heck of a lot but you will notice a difference.Just before putting into oven, I brush rolls with melted butter. Bake 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush the cooked biscuits with melted butter after you take them out of the oven.

These wont last...

Meatless Friday Chipotle Shrimp Tacos With Creamy Lime Sauce

Normally, Taco's are saved for Tuesdays but being that it is Lent and we are not eating meat on Fridays, I thought that this would be perfect! Not that I can make EVERYONE happy...The Ballplayer doesn't like Shrimp tacos. Oh well...cheese quesadillas for him.

Chipotle Shrimp Tacos With Creamy Lime Sauce

1 bag of uncooked frozen shrimp (get the biggest the store has)
2 TB chipotle adobo sauce ( that's the tomato sauce the chipotle peppers are packed in)
1 clove of garlic minced
1 tsp cumin
juice of one lime
zest of one lime
olive oil
salt and pepper

1 pack of corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Dump the tortillas into a Pyrex dish that has a lid. Plop into the oven. They will be perfectly warm when the foods done. You could use a tortilla warmer or warm them on the stove top but this works great for me.

Here's the tip on frozen shrimp. Leave them frozen. Dump into a colander and run some COLD water over. They will defrost in a minute. Drain off really good. I actually line my bowl with a couple paper towels and dump the shrimp onto it. Let sit a minute and then pull the paper towel out from under it.

Dump onto the raw shrimp the 2 TB chipotle adobo sauce ( that's the tomato sauce the chipotle peppers are packed in), 1 clove of garlic minced, 1 tsp cumin, zest of one lime and the juice of one lime (same lime you zested). My limes are a little lacking in the juice area so I am using one more. Drizzle a little olive oil and some salt and pepper.
Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes.
While the shrimp are marinading, place the grill pan on the stove and turn on to high. Let it get smoking hot!

Make the Sauce
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
handful of cilantro (no stems please) chopped
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
2 green onions sliced extra thin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (just do it! It wont be spicy!)

Mix all well. Pop into the fridge while you work on the shrimp.
Spray the grill pan with some cooking spray. Place the shrimp in a even layer on the grill pan. By the time you get each on onto the pan it will be time to flip. I am stickler on this! Do not over cook the shrimp. They cook literally a minute on each side! You want them juicy and cooked perfectly! Dump onto a plate and cover loosely with foil. (just to keep them warm) This also keeps the two teenage girls from picking at them.

Your tortillas will be perfectly warm.
Place four shrimps into each tortilla. We like to double the tortillas up. Cover with shredded cabbage, avocado and sauce.

St. Paddy's Days Meals

Maybe it's the red hair, or the website title, or maybe it is my hot spicy temper but St. Paddy's day is pretty special to me. St. Paddy is probably my favorite of ALL holidays even Christmas. I know, a shock!

Here are my FAVORITE Irish recipes.

Scones
Probably the most desired in my house. My kids will bug me weeks ahead hoping each year I am going to make them. I only make them on holidays. These are very tender rather than the hockey pucks you see in coffee houses.Twice Baked Corned Beef
I try to make TWO just for the leftovers. The sandwiches that this makes is amazing.
Whiskey Peppercorn Steak
If you do not care for Corned Beef with Cabbage, try this for an alternative. Use a good Irish Whiskey (Jameson) for the festivitiesGuinness Beef Stew
The name says it all!Pistachio Cake
It's green!!


And finally, for the day after!
Corned Beef Sandwiches

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breasts...say that five times really fast! I love to stuff chicken. And I think...really....anything can be made better when wrapped in bacon. So the last time I stuffed some chicken, I did just that! I wrapped it in some bacon. After all, I could get my kids to eat just about anything if I add bacon to the mix. That is how my brats eat most vegetables. No really, add bacon to veggies and suddenly they like them!

4 chicken breast
1 jar pesto
4 slices mozzarella cheese
8 slices bacon
toothpicks
plastic wrap

It is important to get all the ingredients out and ready so there is no cross contamination.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat cast iron pan over high heat. I like to spray with cooking spray.

Line a cutting board (I like to use the plastic ones for meat) with plastic wrap. Place the chicken breast on one side and cover with the other half of the wrap. Either use a heavy pan or a meat cleaver and pound till thin.

I like to pound all the chicken first, placing on a plate.
Next place 2 TB of pesto and mozzarella on chicken.

Carefully roll up
Wrap in bacon and fasten with tooth picks. Place into the cast iron skillet. This is only to brown the bacon quickly. The chicken will continue to cook in the oven.
Place in oven and continue to cook until thoroughly cooked. The Fireman likes his cooked like an old shoe.

Emma is waiting for dinner