You all know how much I love grilling season! This might be the simplest marinade recipe of all time yet it is so incredibly delicious. My favorite way to serve this skirt steak is to make a big platter with tortillas, delicious salsa, guacamole, grilled spring onions and jalapenos. Everyone can make their own taco or just eat it smothered in guacamole or my tomato and red chili salsa. The presentation looks rustic and beautiful with the charred veggies and there are options for everyone’s taste. Mexican food is one of my favorite things to make! I just love the fresh flavors especially this time of year when all the veggies are in season. Skirt steak can tend to be a bit tough so a marinade really helps to break down the meat and then with just a quick sear on each side it turns out perfectly. I get my skirt steak from Riven Rock Farms, they have amazing pasture-raised meat that is not ridden with GMOs and their animals are healthy and humanely raised. They have incredibly high standards which means the meat I get from them is out of this world delicious. This marinade is the simplest but shockingly delicious. The original recipe comes from Rio Grande Cafe which is one of our favorite Tex- Mex restaurants in Washington DC. Our friends, David and Jackie were able to obtain their  secret and sweetly shared it with us! The pineapple juice has enzymes that not only help to tenderize […]

   I love using my leftover Crockpot Carnitas to make a quick and easy enchilada casserole! This recipe is a great one to try when you still have a fair amount of shredded meat leftover and really is a completely new meal that your family will love! This recipe builds off my Crockpot Carnitas recipe, but you can also use shredded chicken, ground beef, or even black beans! Many of you have asked me how to use leftovers that taste good and hold up when reheated and this is the perfect solution.  Since I have a stocked pantry, I’m was able to grab some canned tomatoes and chili powder to make a quick sauce. Here is my stocked pantry list here if you want to see what I stock regularly. It is invaluable when it comes to repurposing leftovers! This was a recipe that my Mom made quite often and one that I made for my children. I am now passing it down to you!  ENJOY!!   Enchilada Sauce Ingredients:  1 28-ounce can whole, peeled San Marzano Tomatoes 2 T Chili Powder 1 tsp. Ancho Chili Powder ½ tsp. Garlic powder ½ tsp. Onion powder 1 tsp. Salt Pepper to taste   Directions: 1. In a blender, add tomatoes and all the seasonings.   2. Blend until smooth and set aside.     Enchilada Ingredients: 5 C leftover Carnitas, Mexican Shredded Beef or Grilled Chicken, chopped.  2 C Shredded Cheddar, pepper-jack or Mexican melting cheese 15 corn tortillas (or Siete tortillas for […]

 In anticipation for spring, I am sharing these delicious fish tacos with you all! Although tomato salsa is my favorite, I like to make this mango salsa in the spring when mango and kiwi are in season.  The sweet element to this salsa really compliments the spicy seasoning on the fish. The cilantro lime slaw is a twist on my basic slaw recipe  and is a MUST to finish off these fish tacos.   My favorite fish to use is Wild Mahi Mahi but one tip to remember is that Mahi can become too “steaky” if overcooked so the key here is to just to saute’ until almost done. It will continue to cook for a few minutes once you remove it from the heat. Take a bite and just wait….tastes a bit like summer!!! You can almost imagine that the sun is shining and its 75 degrees outside. Enjoy!!   Ingredients:  For the Tacos: 1 lb. wild Mahi Mahi or other white flaky fish ¼ tsp. cumin ½ tsp. sea salt ¼ tsp. smoked paprika pinch of cayenne pinch of coriander ghee or olive oil 8 corn tortillas     For the Salsa: 1 ½ cups diced mango 2 kiwi sliced and caramelized 2 T red onion, finely chopped 2 T cilantro, chopped 2 T red bell pepper, chopped 1 jalapeno’, seeded and finely chopped pinch of chile de Arbol, crushed (I get this from the international store) or pinch of crushed red pepper sea salt juice of ½ a lime     For the Cilantro Lime Cole […]

Before summer is officially over, I thought I’d slip in another “summer recipe”, although, truth be told, we eat this all year around! These Jerk Pork Lettuce Wraps are very easy to make and can be made ahead of time in the crockpot. Also, they are gluten-free, Paleo, lowfat and sugar-free. The ingredients for these are simple and easy, I often have everything I need on hand and just need to buy the pork at the market when I’m there. Add this to one of your favorite, easy crockpot recipe files.  For this recipe I’m going to highlight a few little tips I have for cutting down on waste. Very little should be thrown away in my opinion and once you grow accustomed to this you never go back Ingredients: 1 pastured pork tenderloin ( I like to use the tenderloin since it doesn’t have that excess pork fat and also cooks fairly quickly) Jerk seasoning (You can make your own or buy this at Penzeys) Salt and pepper Ghee, coconut oil or rendered pork fat (since I buy clean pork, I save my bacon fat for sautéing. Again, waste nothing.) A bottle of beer, some white wine, chicken, beef or veggie stock (enough to deglaze the pan.) 1 large onion of any kind 8 large lettuce leaves (romaine, red leaf, or butter lettuce.) 1 TBS. Brown mustard (or any kind you might have.) 3 drops Sesame oil 1 TBS. Raw honey or coconut amino acids (the acids are a great exchange if you are eating Paleo or sugar-free) […]

For me, Chicken Masala is perfect for this time of year, especially on Halloween night. I love being home then, making something so yummy with all these amazing smells wafting through the house. You can make it as spicy as you would like but it is not difficult to make and has a ton of flavor. Many recipes for Masala include heavy cream but since I don’t include much dairy in my diet, I added coconut milk and coconut cream instead. The coconut cream is absolutely divine. It still gives it that creamy texture that you would otherwise get from heavy cream but adds much more flavor. If you are not familiar with curries than this will be a great place to start! When choosing a curry powder you may want to start with a mild one unless you love some heat! Although it is not difficult to make a curry and Garam masala spice mixture from scratch, you can find excellent blends at Penzey’s spices. Here is the recipe for Garam masala for those who prefer to make their own. Garam Masala Ingredients: 3 tsp. ground cardamom 1 tsp. coriander 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. ground cloves 1 1/2 tsp. ground pepper 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg There will plenty of spice mixture for this recipe and some leftover for another day. Store it in an airtight container.   Chicken Masala Ingredients: 1 1/2 Tbs. coconut oil 1 large red onion, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 1 Tbs. finely grated ginger (you can […]