A Sweet and Spicy Valentine's Dinner

Back in the day my Valentine’s Day dinner dates were nothing but spectacular. I can really say that my husband put a lot of effort in planning which new restaurant we would be trying. Now…this post is not me complaining about the fact that this year we have chosen to stay in, or that as the years go by our Valentine’s Day dinner dates get less fancy and more low key. This year will be the first time in two years that we will actually get to spend Valentine’s Day together. These last two years we have skyped on all major holidays due to being away at trainings or on deployment. So with that being said, this year’s Valentine’s Day dinner has a ‘sweeter’ meaning because I am very grateful to have my Airman home to celebrate this lovely holiday. I have been working on this post for a few weeks now, trying to plan a nice, sweet, and delicious dinner that my valentine would enjoy. I knew I wanted to make a special meal for him this year, but didn’t want to spend ALL day in the kitchen. I played around with a couple of recipes, including various dessert recipes that were a no-go, and finally came across two recipes that I liked and worked out! This year’s dinner menu ideas were provided by no other than my friend, The Pioneer Woman. Ok…maybe we don’t talk everyday, or ever, but I am a true fan of hers and her cooking. I decided on making Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp. This dish is not only easy to make, but the flavor is so delicious. What makes this dish even better is the ‘scampi’ style sauce that the shrimp are cooked in soaked up with some warm crusty bread! Considering that this dish is so rich (member the two sticks of butter the recipe calls for), I decided to pair it with asparagus roasted in the oven with a little olive oil, salt , and pepper. I didn’t want a side dish that was too heavy or rich because I already knew that the dessert I would be serving was…well lets just say…nothing from the Skinny Cow dessert line. The Molten Chocolate Cake was the perfect dessert for this meal. I wanted something that was chocolate, somewhat easy to make, and delicious. May I add that it’s the perfect portion for you and your sweetheart? A Valentine’s Day dinner date doesn’t necessarily mean reservations for two and a bottle of wine. It can also be just as sweet with a homemade dinner for two and, in my case, a bottle of white…sparkling grape juice. ;)

Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Serves 6

2 lbs raw shrimp, deveined, shells on

2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 tsp salt

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

½ tsp crushed red pepper

Zest and juice of 1 whole lemon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Arrange shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet.
2. In a bowl, combine butter, salt, garlic, parsley, crushed red pepper, zest and juice of lemon. Spoon chunks of butter mixture over shrimp
3. Bake until shrimp are opaque. (about 23 minutes)
4. Serve with crusty bread and a light side dish

Note: Using unsalted butter is very important. Otherwise, the shrimp will come out very salty using regular butter.

Molten Chocolate Cake

Serves 4

4 pieces semi-sweet Baking Chocolate

½ cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

6 Tablespoons all purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray four custard cups with pan and place on cookie sheet.
2. 2. Microwave chocolate and butter or 1 minute, until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is melted as well.
3. Stir in powdered sugar until well blended. Stir in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour
4. Divide mix between the four cups.
5. Bake cups for about 13-14 minutes or until sides are firm and center is soft. Let stand for 1 minute.
6. Invert cakes on dishes and top with whipped cream or ice cream.    

Source: Pioneer Woman.

Mexican Rice Pudding

Ok….I am not one of those food bloggers that claim they always create these fabulous masterpieces. Lately, my cooking has been far from creating masterpieces and more like creating disasters. I know I have mentioned that I currently have a little bun in the oven and even though I am feeling so much better, my taste buds have been so out of whack. I mean…my appetite is back and I am finally able to enjoy food again, but whatever I end up whippin’ up in the kitchen ends up tasting like…..crap. And yes, some of the recipes are new and I just may not like the taste, but some of the stuff I am cooking are recipes I have made before. Personally, I think that when you don’t use it….you lose it! But I knew there had to be a light at the end of the tunnel! This Mexican Rice Pudding not only made me smile, but reassured me that I had not completely lost my cooking ‘swag’ ;) Rice pudding is a very universal dish. I have had various versions of rice pudding and I’m not talking about the cold kind that sits at the local buffet, but rice pudding dishes with different textures, various ingredient concoctions, and even from different cultural backgrounds. I have had this debate with my husband that rice pudding should have a slight watery almost soup like consistency, while he states that it should have a thick custard like consistency. And ‘I’ think.. well… what the hell does he know? Ha ha! Just kidding! Just wrote that in there to see if all of you were still listening J What I love about this recipe is that it uses brown sugar in the milk mix which gives it this delicious and rich flavor. It kind of reminds me of the taste similar to the burnt sugar in crème brulee.  Yes, this rice pudding has a thick custard-like consistency, but it seriously so good! I personally love making this dish in the winter because it is the perfect warm comfort food to have as a dessert or even breakfast. I hope you enjoy this little recipe as much as I do! Enjoy!

Mexican Rice Pudding

1 Cup of long grain rice

1 Quart of whole milk

3 Cinnamon sticks

1 Can of condense milk

¾ cup of dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon of baking soda

1 ½ cups of water

¼ cup raisins (optional)

1. In a cooking pot, bring the quart of whole milk and cinnamon sticks to simmer. Make sure that you stir the milk consistently to avoid the milk sticking to the bottom of the pot.
2.  Once you see that the milk is starting to bubble, rinse the rice under warm water in a Tupperware and fill with 1 ½ cups of water. Place Tupperware in the microwave and turn on for 2 minutes or until most of the water has been absorbed.
3. Now that the milk has come to a low boil, remove from heat and add the ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Note: this will make the milk foam up at first. Just stir milk to avoid it overflowing from the pot. Also, if you don’t want to leave in the sticks of cinnamon in, remove them before adding in the rice.
4. Add in the rice to the milk and stir. Also, add in the can of condense milk and ¾ cup of dark brown sugar.
5. Stir the rice until it’s fully cooked. (do not stop stirring rice or it will stick to the bottom of the pan)
6. Once the rice has fully cooked, pour mixture into a glass baking dish and top rice pudding with raisins. Let it set for about 30 minutes before serving.

Dish should be refrigerated, but may be eaten cold or warm. 

Source: H.Sandoval.

Happy Holidays!!

Foodie Friends!!

It has been a long time since we've chatted! I wanted to first and foremost thank each and every one of you for all your support. It may not seem like a lot, but to have all of you who follow or just stop by to read my blog occasionally means the world to me! I want to wish all of you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year with many blessings! Speaking about blessings...I think this is a good time to tell all of you that my husband and I are expecting our first baby! I guess this can explain why I haven’t blogged in a while. The slightly-annoying morning sickness has really made everything smell and taste like garbage these last few weeks, but I am starting to feel better and know that in no time I’ll be back to blogging full force! Enjoy your holidays!!

With love,

Everyone and their ‘mom’ loves Sweet,Spicy,and Sassy!

Word on the street is that everyone and their mom is lovin’ Sweet,Spicy,and Sassy! Ok, maybe not every single person in this world, but my followers and The DailyBuzz’ Moms seem to be showin’ some love for sure! I am so excited to share that the post “Green Eggs and Ham” has been featured in The DailyBuzz’ Moms Top 9 section. I still cannot believe they picked this post from my blog. And what makes this even more special is that it was written by my guest food blogger, my sister Michelle! So excited to share this news with you all, but even more excited to be featured on such an awesome site like The DailyBuzz’ Moms Top 9 section! Check it out!!

http://moms.dailybuzz.com/inspired-by-dr-seuss

Sweet and Savory Empanadas

 One thing I truly love, in addition to my tabloid magazines and Housewives’ episodes, of course, is going out to dinner with my husband. Some of the greatest memories I have when we first started dating was our adventurous and fabulous dinner dates. My husband and I would take turns in picking restaurants we had found, or that were recommended to us and would hit up these local hot spots to see what the talk was all about. Some of our early eating adventures were sushi, Spanish tapas, Columbian arepas, and Argentinean cuisine. Before I get into the recipe I am sharing with you today, I wanted to take the time to tell you where I got my inspiration for this post. One of our favorite places to eat back home is this tiny Argentinean restaurant that is tucked away in the city of Chicago. This restaurant is so small it must only sit about 100 people. The tables are so close you could probably be part of the conversation with the couple next to you. There is something about the ambiance of this restaurant that is so modern and European, yet very romantic. Could it be the flamenco music playing in the background, the modern display of Argentinean art, or the candle lit lighting at each table? Or even better, the option to bring your own favorite bottle of wine which is iced for you at your table. But what makes this restaurant so awesome is hands down their food. This restaurant is proof that taking simple ingredients really can create fabulous dishes. Considering that currently this restaurant is very far away from my house and my selection for great restaurants in my area are……very limited, I decided to make my favorite dish from this restaurant, which are empanadas. These little pockets of deliciousness are actually turnovers stuffed either sweet or savory fillings. The day I decided to make these empanadas, I ended up making four different kinds of filling to stuff them with! I guess you can say I was on a roll. Today, I am sharing two different types of filling along with two sauces to accompany them. One of the empanadas is stuffed with a traditional Argentinean beef mix that includes chopped green olives, hard boiled eggs, and raisins. Chimichurri sauce, a delicious yet tangy concoction of garlic, chopped parsley, and olive oil is what is normally served with traditional beef empanadas. The pumpkin empanada is a super simple pumpkin turnover paired with an easy sugar glaze dipping sauce. I totally encourage you to come up with sweet and savory fillings for these delicious turnovers and even better, creative and delicious sauces to pair them with. And if you do, please share with me! I will say…I was one happy girl the day I made these empanadas. I may have not been at this particular restaurant, but I did have my empanadas, glass of wine, and my sweetie next to me on the couch. Enjoy!

Beef Empanadas

Serves 4-5 as an appetizer

Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking powder

1 cup unsalted cold butter

1/3 cup cold water

                    

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine 3 cups all purpose baking flour, salt, baking powder, and butter with a pastry cutter.
2. Slowly add in the ice cold water and continue to use pastry cutter to mix all ingredients. Once all ingredients have been mixed, use hands to combine any little pieces that have not formed into the dough
3. Cover and set aside for 20 minutes
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ of an inch thick and use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles

Note: Did you mess up making the dough recipe? Don’t worry, I did too! Puff pastry can also be used to make these delicious turnovers. Thaw puff pastry for 20 minutes before use and cook at the same time and temp as you would for the dough recipe.

Beef Filling

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (80/20)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon cumin

½ tsp. black pepper

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ tsp. salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ onion, finely chopped

¼ cup rasins

¼ cup green olives, finely chopped

1 egg, boiled and finely chopped

1 egg beaten

Directions:

1. In a preheated pot, pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add ground beef
2. Add in cumin, black pepper, chili powder, and salt to ground beef and continue to cook
3. Add chopped onion and garlic to beef mix and continue to brown ground beef
4. Once beef has cooked, spoon out about 90% of the fat and remove from heat
5. Mix in rasins, green olives, and chopped boiled egg into beef, cover the pot and set aside for ten minutes
6. Once beef mix has slightly cooled, spoon about 1 tablespoon of beef mix onto pre-cut dough and fold into a half moon
7. Using a fork, press down the edges to seal shut the empanadas
8. Take egg wash and brush the top of empanadas.
9. Preheat oven to 400 and bake empanadas for 25 minutes.

 Chimichurri Sauce

 Ingredients:

½ cup finely chopped parsley

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 jalapeño ,chopped

½ tsp. dry oregano

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup white wine vinegar

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients and set aside until ready to use.

Pumpkin Empanadas

Serves 4-5 as a dessert

(use same dough recipe mentioned above)

 Pumpkin Filling

Ingredients:

1 can pumpkin puree

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. vanilla extract

¾ cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients and set aside until ready to use.

Sugar Glaze

Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk

Splash of vanilla

Directions:

1.Combine all ingredients and set aside until read to use. 

Source: L.Chavez, inspired by my favorite meal at Tango Sur, in Chicago, Illinois

(Chimichurri sauce, is from simplyrecipes.com and slightly modified. 

Shrimp Ceviche

I can’t believe that summer is almost over. Personally, I love this time of year because it’s not too hot, yet still warm enough to enjoy being outside. And the end of summer only means that fall, my favorite season of the year, is only days away! Within the last couple of weeks, I noticed that I have grilled a lot and have kept dinner pretty light. One of my favorite summer recipes happens to be shrimp ceviche. Ceviche is a dish that uses fresh seafood (either fish or shrimp) and cooked in fresh lime juice and salt. There are a million ceviche recipes that are found all over the world. I know that in certain countries ceviche is simply fish and raw onions cooked in lime juice and salt. I have had the opportunity to eat ceviche made out of raw ahi tuna and ceviche made out of tilapia as well. The recipe I am sharing today uses shrimp and a variety of chopped fresh vegetables. I love this recipe because it’s a really simple recipe packed with big flavor. I love making it on days that I’m outside grilling because it’s not only a great appetizer, but it is also very versatile where it can be served with any meat or fish that you’re cookin’ up on the grill. And may I add this dish taste even better with my guacamole salsa ! So why not whip up this recipe, grab a beer, and sit outside and enjoy our last few days of summer.

Shrimp Ceviche

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb raw shrimp, cleaned and deveined

½ onion, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, and chopped

1 small tomato, chopped

1 jalapeño, chopped ( remove seeds for a mild taste)

7 limes total

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 Tablespoon of salt total

¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Begin by cleaning shrimp. Remove shell and remove the sandy vein that is on both sides of the shrimp. Chop into small bite size pieces and place into a flat glass baking dish.
2. Add ½ of the onion the recipe calls for into glass dish along with the juice of 5 limes, ½ tsp salt, and pepper. Refrigerate the shrimp for at least 2 hours or once the shrimp have turned from gray to an orange color.
3. In a separate bowl combine chopped cucumber, tomato, cilantro and remaining onion, lime juice of 2 limes, and remaining salt.
4. Once the shrimp has fully turned color and cooked in the lime juice, remove from baking dish using a slotted spoon and pour into the bowl with the other chopped vegetables.
5. Mix all ingredients and serve with tortilla chips.

Note: It is extremely important to cut shrimp into small pieces so that it cooks well in the lime juice. Also, using a baking dish with a flat surface will allow for all shrimp pieces to cook evenly. If you would like for the ceviche to have a slightly spicy taste, use ½ of the seeds of the jalapeño. For best taste use fresh lime juice rather than any bottled lime juice.

 Source: J.Chavez

Greetings From Cloud 9

Foodie Friends!

It has been a while since we have last talked! Please forgive me, but the love of my life is finally home and we have been out and about enjoying life! Even though I have not posted anything in a couple of weeks, I have cooked some of the delicious recipes I have shared here with you guys for my husband and he has loved each and every one of them! It is crazy to think that this whole time that I have been blogging with you guys that he’s been gone for work and is finally home to taste my delicious creations! I will be taking one more week of vacation, but I promise when I get back, I’ll have recipes lined up and ready for ya’ll. Trust me. I have still been doin’ my cooking homework. I want to take a minute and thank http://phyllo.com/phyllo-posts/ for their support and linking back my Cannoli Cups’ recipe on their site. I truly enjoyed looking through their site and have been inspired even more to create more recipes using phyllo dough. If you guys have a minute, check them out!