Asian Tequila Lime Shrimp

I began this recipe intending on just doing Tequila Lime Shrimp, however a thought came over me about halfway through cooking the Shrimp. I should change this up a little bit. That's where the Asian inspiration happened. I can't take all the credit for the inspiration though...I was watching Jackie Chan on tv at the time.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Shrimp
2 Limes
1 Lemon
Italian Seasoning
Perfect Pinch Cajun
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Tequila

Alright, so I began by gathering the spices and Limes. The Lemon was an afterthought.

I then got my Tequila. For cooking purposes, I use Camarena as it is tasty and cheap enough to not break the bank. Take a shot of it to make sure it's still good.

I put the spices in a Ziploc bag. I don't have an exact amount since I just eyeball it. I do believe it was about 2 parts Italian Seasoning to 1 part Cajun. I then sliced the Limes and Lemon up into small pieces. Add in Tequila. Use as much as you want. I used around 1.5 cups worth. Add shrimp. Mix together. Take picture and think how awesomely tasty it looks.

Get a skillet on your stovetop going with the heat set at MEDIUM. Toss in everything in the marinade Ziploc bag. Take another picture...or shot of Tequila. Your choice.

Now I let it cook for a few minutes, pretty much until it was boiling and then changed it up. I poured out everything but the Shrimp. I added in about a 1/2 cup of Soy Sauce and 3/4 cup of Teriyaki Sauce. Sorry about the picture quality, a lot of steam was produced in this part.

Now once they turn pinkish-red the Shrimp is done cooking. Turn off heat and get ready to serve. I used a small plate with some spring salad mix to accent the Shrimp. Enjoy.

Simple Burritos

So I wanted something quick and easy to eat this weekend and I came up with Burritos. In the area I live there is a large influence of TexMex/Mexican/Latino cooking, which makes me very happy. So much good food around here that I have to try my hand at it quite often.

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Beef
1 can Black Beans
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeno Pepper
Lime Juice
Tortillas
Garlic Salt
Shredded Cheese

I began by gathering my ingredients. This is a pretty cheap dinner to make, so keep that in mind for during the week when you want something tasty, cheap, and quick.

I then diced up the Peppers.

Now I opened the can of black beans and put them in sauce pot and turned the heat to MEDIUM so they are nice and hot.

Time to cook up the Ground Beef. Very simple process, make sure to dice it up finely while cooking if you can. I added Garlic Salt to the meat, along with a healthy dash of Lime Juice. Makes the meat tasty and unique!

Alright, now get your Tortillas. I put some Gruyere cheese down first. I know an odd cheese choice for this, however I like the twist on flavor that it does in a Mexican themed dish.

Now I have everything ready to go.

I put it together quite simply, all lined up next to each other. Topped off with a Monterey Colby Jack Cheese mix. The second one I made was not so pretty looking, and did not last long enough to take a picture. Enjoy.

Beef Yakiniku

So sometimes I end up at these Sushi restaurants, and I have to find something that I want to eat. Mind you, I am not the biggest fan of seafood or raw meat. I know, I'm weird like that. However there are always a few dishes listed that involve grilling/fire. Most places have something called Beef Tenderloin in Teriyaki Sauce or something like it. That's generally Japanese inspired, whereas I went for more of a Korean twist. Edohana Hibachi does an amazing one involving a few more ingredients than I had on hand, however I do know it was tasty!

Ingredients:
1 lb Beef Stew Meat
2 Poblano Peppers, diced
Teriyaki Sauce
Sweet Sour Sauce
Stir Fry Sauce
Lime Juice
Garlic Salt
Paprika
Ground Black Pepper
Butter
Sesame Seed Oil

Tonight I was unsure of what to do for dinner, so I delved into my fridge. I knew I didn't have it packed full of goodies, but was confident something in there would work. Lo and behold, Beef Stew Meat. I originally was going to make another beef stew since I love making it and of course devouring it really fast. Well, I looked at the Beef Stew Meat and noticed the Teriyaki Sauce. Well, an idea was born.

Now I haven't gone out to a Sushi or Asian style restaurant in some time, not including Ghengis Grill(mongolian stir fry), but I still remember Yakiniku. So I gathered my ingredients by searching through my kitchen.

Now that I had a solid group of ingredients to work with, I diced up the Poblano Peppers. I sprinkled the Sesame Seed Oil and Lime Juice in with them.

In a large saucepan I added about a 1/4 stick of Butter. Turned the heat to MEDIUM-HIGH. Now once it began to melt, I added the Beef Stew Meat in.

After about 1 minute, I added in Teriyaki Sauce. A lot of it as you can tell by the amount in the saucepan.

I let that cook for about another minute, then added in a healthy dose of Ground Black Pepper and Garlic Salt. After this part I also added in about 1 spoonful of Stir Fry Sauce and Sweet/Sour Sauce.

Once I mixed it up, I covered and let cook for about 2 minutes. I then uncovered the saucepan and mixed the meat up again. Then added the diced Poblano Peppers in.

Mix.

Let cook until Peppers are tender. Then serve.

I thought this was good but I think some more Pepper was needed.

Spicy Chicken Snacktime!

This was just thrown together since I had just gotten back from Minnesota and the Christmastime holiday. It is ridiculously tasty and even opened my eyes to new flavor combinations!

Ingredients:
1 lb Chicken Breast, diced
Soy Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Caesar Salad Dressing
Lime Juice
Sweet Sour Sauce
Garlic Salt
Ground Turmeric Root
Ground Ancho Chili Powder
Asiago Cheese, shredded

First, freeze your Chicken Breasts. This makes cutting it into smaller pieces so much easier. Once frozen, dice them up and put them in a mixing bowl.

Now, get your marinade ingredients.

Alright, good work. Now you mix everything together that is in the picture. I did not use exact amounts. I can say I used a large portion of the Caesar Salad Dressing and then added from there. Then I mixed everything together.

Find your Garlic Salt. Pay no attention to the hand in the picture, it's just my grubby old mitt!

Alright, now put a skillet on the stovetop and turn the heat to MEDIUM. Give it a few seconds and pour in the marinade and Chicken. Give it a healthy dose of Garlic Salt. I love Garlic Salt, so you might want to use a little less.

Now add a dusting of Ancho Chili Powder and Ground Turmeric. Mix them in.

Let it cook for a few minutes, stir a few times somewhere in there. Should be easy to taste when they are done.

I took them out, sans sauce, and sprinkled some shredded Asiago Cheese on top. It was delicious!

Chef's Original: Mixed up Breakfast

As some of you may know, I like to have my lunch and or breakfast for work cooked up the day before. This is generally done because I hate actually cooking right after I wake up since I know I'll probably burn and or cut myself. So I do it the night before. Tomorrow I needed a breakfast and this is the delicious result.

Ingredients:
1 lb White Button Mushrooms
7 XL Eggs
2 Green Bell Peppers
3 Anaheim Peppers
1 cup diced Scallions
Couscous (2 cups Couscous, 3 cups Water)
1.5 cup Pearl Barley
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
1/4 stick Butter
Lime Juice
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Olive Oil
Archer Farms Asian-Inspired Sweet Chile "wing sauce"
Italian Herb Mix
Shredded Asiago Cheese
Shredded Gruyere Cheese

Alright, I did do this kind of in stages. I began with starting my Couscous in my Rice Cooker. If you do not have one of these, I highly suggest picking one up! Once I got the Couscous going, I put the Pearl Barley in a small sauce pot with 4 cups of Water. I turned the heat to MEDIUM. I also diced up the Peppers and Mushrooms.

In a large saucepan I put in about 2/3 cup of Archer Farms Asian-Inspired Sweet Chile "wing sauce". To this I added 2 decent squeezes of the Lime Juice bottle, a good 1/4 cup or so worth of the Soy and Teriyaki Sauces. Turn the heat to MEDIUM.

Once this begins to boil, I threw in the diced Mushrooms. I moved them around to get some of the mixture on each one.

Now about 3 minutes later, I added in a dusting of Black Pepper and Sea Salt. Mix some more.

After about 2 more minutes, the Mushrooms should be done. Check by taste testing and make sure it's cooled when tasting. When done, place in a mixing bowl and put to the side.

I cleaned out the large saucepan and put it back on the stovetop where I left the burner at MEDIUM. It will sizzle with the water on the bottom. I threw in the diced Peppers and a good dollop of Olive Oil. Mix.

I then added some Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper to the mix. I want to say a good dusting, maybe a dash less. Mix.

Once that's done, which should be about 3 minutes total, put in a mixing bowl.

Eggs time. I whisked the 7 Eggs together first. Using the same saucepan, cleaned out again, I put in the Butter. Once that was mostly melted, I added in the whisked Eggs.

Right away I added in the Scallions. I put in about a 1/4 cup's worth. I also added a good amount of both Cheeses listed above.

You should know how to cook eggs, so follow that plan. Look, they're done!

Now just plate how you want. I plated them differently. One way was with the Mushrooms and served on a Tortilla with a dash of Italian Herb Mix. The second way was on the Couscous.

Center Cut Pork Chops w/Tomato based Sauce

Today before I went out for my NFL team's game, I decided that Pork Chops in the afternoon was a great idea! After creating that sauce the other day for my Short Ribs, I thought that a sauce would be a great idea.

Ingredients:

For the Chops
2 Center Cut Pork Chops
Fennel Powder
Fenugreek Powder
Ancho Chili Powder
Aleppo Chili Powder
Garlic Salt
Ground Black Pepper
0.5 stick Butter

For the Sauce
2 Anaheim Peppers
2 Tomatoes
3 Carrots
4 Scallions
2 White Onions
Ancho Chili Powder
Aleppo Pepper Powder
Turmeric Powder
Sweet Paprika
2 cup Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine
1 cup Vegetable Broth
0.5 cup Red Wine Vinegar
0.5 cup Lime Juice
Fresh Oregano

Alright, so this recipe is very split up between the sauce and the Pork Chops themselves.

The sauce was created by getting the ingredients together first.

I then diced up the Anaheim Peppers, Scallions, and Carrots. I put these in the saucepan along with the Cabernet Sauvignon and Vegetable Broth. I also added the Lime Juice and Red Wine Vinegar at this point.

I then turned the heat to HIGH-MEDIUM and diced up the White Onions and Tomatoes and added them in, along with a sprinkling of fresh Oregano.

I then turned to the Pork Chops. I had the spice mix I used on the Short Ribs the other day pre-prepared so I spooned it out and added it to the Chops. In case you don't want to go look it up, it's roughly 1 spoonful of each ingredient with 2 spoonfuls of the Ancho Powder.

Using a large saucepan, I put in the Butter and let it mostly melt. Once it was at that point, I added in the Pork Chops spice side down. One spoonful of the spice mix went on top.

After about 2 minutes, I flipped the Pork Chops. They aren't that thick so they cook quite quickly.

About 2 minutes after that, the sauce should be almost done. I took everything but the liquid out and put it into a blender. I then pureed the mix for 1 minute. Then poured back into the liquid from before and heated to boiling. Shut it off at that point and stir together.

Your Pork Chops should be done about the time you turn off that Blender. Take them off and put them on a plate to serve. Add the sauce once you are done. Enjoy.