Fish Tacos

shredded cabbage

1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lime
honey
olive oil
tortillas
roasted garlic chili seasoning
tilapia filets (boneless/skinless)
cherry tomatoes, quartered (about a cup)
1 - 14.5 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
avocado, diced
salsa
salt and pepper for seasoning

Season fish by drizzling with honey (just a little will be enough), sprinkle with roasted garlic chili seasoning, salt and pepper. Also add the juice from half of the lime and finish by drizzling with olive oil. Turn to coat.

In a bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, black beans and cilantro. Season with salt, pepper and juice from the other half of the lime.

Wrap tortillas in foil.

Heat grill.

Make a flat grilling sheet out of foil (this is so the fish does not fall between the grates when it is cooking). Place on the grill and lay fish on it. Place foil wrapped tortillas on the grill. Turn the fish (be careful not to break it up) one time about 3 minutes after placing on the grill. You will want to keep turning the tortillas frequently. Cook fish until cooked through.

Top tortillas with fish, then with bean mixture and finish with cabbage, avocado and salsa. Serve and ENJOY!!!!

Wine pairing......Sauvignon Blanc.

Tortilla Soup

3 dried ancho chile peppers

olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 - 28oz diced tomatoes
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cups chicken stock/broth
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper for seasoning
boneless skinless chicken
southwestern seasoning
cotija cheese
avocado, diced
cilantro, diced for garnishing
blue corn tortilla chips

Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add ancho chilies. Turn heat off and cover. Let rest for about 20 minutes. Then place in a small food processor, puree until smooth.

Preheat grill. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and southwestern seasoning. Grill chicken until done. Once cooked cover with foil to keep warm.

While chicken is cooking, drizzle olive oil in a large pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onions are translucent, stirring occasionally. Add coriander and cumin, sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, chile puree, chicken stock/broth, bay leaf, thyme and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

Slice chicken. In a bowl place soup and then top with sliced chicken, avocado, crumbled cheese, crumbled tortilla chips (just place some in your hand and break it up) and cilantro. Serve and ENJOY!!!!

Wine pairing......Sauvignon Blanc or Shiraz.

Cajun Shrimp Pasta

In this dish, use any type of small pasta you would like. I used whole wheat fusilli pasta.

pasta of your choice
olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 white onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
shrimp, shelled, cleaned and patted dry
1 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp red pepper
salt and pepper for seasoning
1/2 cup half and half
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Drizzle shrimp with olive oil and season with cajun seasoning (season by sprinkling with seasoning, you will need the measure amount for later). Finish by seasoning with salt and pepper. Let marinade.

Bring water to a boil for pasta.

While you are bringing water to a boil, in a large non stick sauté pan, drizzle with olive oil and melt butter. Add onion, season with salt and pepper and sauté until cooked through and starting to brown. Add cajun seasoning and red pepper. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and sauté for a couple more minutes. Add half and half, mix completely and then turn off heat.

Preheat grill.

Once you begin cooking the pasta start grilling the shrimp. Grill until cooked completely through.

During the last couple of minutes of cooking time for the pasta, put the onion mixture on low heat. Once pasta is done, pour in a large bowl. Mix in onion mixture. Then mix in cilantro. Mix well to coat.

Top pasta with grilled shrimp. Serve and ENJOY!!!!!

Wine pairing......Chardonnay or Riesling.

Pepperoni Pizza

You can use store bought pizza dough or make your own. I used Trader Joes whole wheat pizza dough. Also, you can make your own sauce or use a store bought version. This was a weekday dinner, so I opted for the easiest way to make this pizza. This works best with a pizza stone, although you could use a baking sheet too. What makes this pizza unique is using a cheese blend....not just your normal mozzarella cheese.

pizza dough (make your own or use store bought)
pizza sauce (make your own or use store bought)
shredded cheese blend to include; mozzarella, jack and cheddar cheese
pepperoni
garlic powder
pepper
italian seasoning blend
crushed red pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees

Flour surface and roll out dough into desired pizza shape. Heat pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and lay pizza dough down on it. Top with sauce, then sprinkle with garlic powder and italian seasoning. Sprinkle with cheese blend, and then add pepperonis. Finish by seasoning with pepper and crushed red pepper.

Place in the oven and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until starting to brown and cheese is bubbling. Keep an eye on it. Pizza can burn really fast if you are not careful.

Remove and keep on the pizza stone or baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Then transfer to a large cutting board. Cut in to pieces, serve and ENJOY!!!!!

Wine pairing......Chianti or Barbera.

Shrimp Tacos

shrimp, deveined, cleaned and patted dry

1 tsp lemon juice
olive oil
southwestern seasoning
salt and pepper for seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced
1- 14.5 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 yellow red pepper, finely diced
1 tsp hot sauce
1/4 cup chicken stock/broth
tortillas
avocado for garnish
cilantro for garnish
tomato for garnish
salsa

Season shrimp with salt, pepper, southwestern seasoning and add half of the minced garlic and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Toss to coat.

While shrimp is marinating. Drizzle sauce pan with olive oil. Sauté onion, bell pepper and the other half of the garlic until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add black bean, chicken stock and hot sauce. Keep under a low simmer, stirring frequently. Most of the broth will reduce and this is what you would like to happen.

Heat grill. Wrap tortillas in foil. Once grill is heated, grill shrimp until cook completely through. While shrimp is grilling, place tortillas on the grill. Keep flipping so that both sides of the tortillas get warm.

Once shrimp are cooked. Top tortillas with black bean mixture, shrimp and garnish with avocado, cilantro, tomato and salsa. Serve and ENJOY!!!

Wine pairing......Pinot Gris.

Bacon Chipotle Burgers

This was great served with grilled corn on the cob.  You can always make this with ground turkey or ground chicken and eliminate the bacon if you wish.

ground beef
salt and pepper for seasoning
roasted chili seasoning
chipotle chile in adobo sauce (just enough to season your mayonnaise)
mayonnaise
bacon
sliced red onion
sliced tomato
pepper jack cheese
cilantro sprigs
sliced avocado
crusty bun (sliced)

Cook and crisp up enough bacon for how many burgers you are serving (I used two pieces of bacon per burger). Once cooked, set on a paper towel to rest and absorb the fat.

Season ground beef with salt, pepper and roasted chili seasoning. Shape burgers.

Begin to heat the grill.

While grill is heating up, mix mayonnaise with as much chipotle sauce (just the adobo sauce, not the chilies – reserve the rest for another use) as you would like. Taste along the way. Start off with a little and add as needed.

Grill burgers until just about done. Top with pepper jack cheese and lay bun sides down on the grill to toast. Once cheese is melted and buns are toasted, remove. Spread chipotle mayonnaise and on each side of the bun. Top with burger, bacon, then tomato, onion, cilantro sprigs and avocado. Finish with the other side of the bun. Serve and ENJOY!!!!!

Wine pairing......Zinfandel.

Chili Glazed Ribs

I served these with roasted potatoes, bell peppers and onions.

2 racks baby back ribs
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 garlic cloves minced
italian seasoning, for seasoning
ancho chili powder, for seasoning
cayenne pepper, for seasoning
salt and pepper for seasoning
2 cups apple cider
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Marinade ribs with brown sugar, garlic, italian seasoning, ancho powder, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. Allow to marinade for at least two hours.

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Wrap baby back ribs in foil (tightly) and place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until meat is tender.

During the last hour of cooking the ribs, bring cider, ketchup, dijon and worcestershire sauce to a light boil in a sauce pan. Reduce down until you have the consistency of a sauce.

Once meat is cooked, pull back foil and baste ribs with sauce every 10 minutes until the sauce has started to caramelize on the ribs. Baste and then place back in the oven, then baste again and so on. You can also finish the ribs on a hot grill. Just about the same method. Baste ever 10 minutes or so. Serve and ENJOY!!!!!

Wine pairing......Syrah.