Roasted Asparagus with Shallots

If you like asparagus, this is a wonderful dish that is an alternative than the typical boiled version.  The shallots offer a sweeter touch than typical onions.

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of asparagus spears, rinsed and trimmed
• 4 medium shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place asparagus and shallots in a large bowl.  Pour the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar over them.  Season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat evenly.  Spread the asparagus spears out in a single layer on a baking sheet.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven or until tender and bright green.  Shake the pan about half way through to roll the spears over so they cook evenly.  Remove from the oven and drizzle remaining vinegar over the asparagus.  Toss lightly to coat and served immediately.

Beef and Broccoli

This beef dish is one of the easiest to make.  The red pepper flakes adds a bit of a kick, but nothing too unbearable.  I make my version with all the lower sodium options, but you may use the regular ingredients based on your preference.  In my opinion, the lower sodium ingredients still produce a delicious meal but with lesser unhealthy levels of sodium.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of boneless beef sirloin steak or beef top round steak
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 (10.75 oz) can Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular or 25% Less Sodium)
• 3 tablespoons Regular or Low Sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 3 cups fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets
• 4 c. hot cooked rice

Directions:

1. Slice beef into very thin strips.
2. Heat oil in skillet.  Add beef and stir-fry until browned and juices evaporate.
3. Add soup, soy vinegar, garlic powder, and pepper.  Heat to boil.  Add broccoli and cook until tender-crisp.  Serve over rice.

Scallops Provencal

This is one of my all time favorite recipes.  I often serve it over Garlic Parmesan Orzo Pasta, but I'm sure it is perfect over plain pasta drizzled with olive oil.


Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
• 1 garlic glove, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 lemon, cut in 1/2

Directions:

1. If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each one in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.
2. In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on one side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total.
3. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops.
4. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning.
5. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwich

This is a good recipe for the times you don't have much time to invest in the kitchen.  This cuts your cooking time quite a bit with the help of a crockpot.  Slow-cookers can be a working girl's best friend.  And, it never hurts to come home to a house that smells like a delicious home-cooked meal, right?

Ingredients:

• 1 (14 oz) can of low sodium beef broth
• 3 pounds boneless pork ribs
• 1 (18 oz) bottle barbecue sauce (KC Masterpiece typically gets high reviews for standard store-bought brand)

Directions:

1. Pour can of beef broth into slow cooker, and add boneless pork ribs.  Cook on HIGH heat for 4 hours or LOW heat for 8 hours, or until meat shreds easily.  Remove meat, and shred with two forks.  It will seem that it's not working right away, but it will.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Transfer the shredded pork to a Dutch oven or iron skillet, and stir in barbecue sauce.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Lemon-Herb Chicken

This recipe is great dish if you are looking for something light, flavorful, and grilled.  Excellent summer dish!  The recipe can be made with whole fryer chicken cut up, but my laziness usually leads to me buying a pack of large wings - depends on your preference.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 4 pounds)

Directions:

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first seven ingredients; mix well.  Remove 1/4 cup for basting and refrigerate.  Add chicken to the bag; seal and turn to coat.  Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Drain and discard marinade from chicken.  Grill, covered, over medium heat for 20 minutes.  Baste with reserve marinade*.  Grill 20-30 minutes longer or until juices run clear, basting several times.
3. Remove from grill and wrap in foil.  Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

*For a more lemon taste, you can choose to hold off on basting during the cooking process.  When you pull the chicken off the grill, you can use the reserve marinade to drizzle a little over each piece before wrapping in foil to rest.

And so it begins...

There are many things that bring a smile to my face - spending time with my husband, snuggling with my awesome Boston terrier, traveling the world, a great glass of wine...and, of course, food.  Although my cuisine addiction has added a bit more padding to my backside over the years, I am sometimes surprised I'm not a 300-lb, 5-foot Filipino considering how much I like to consume, well, everything.  My love of culinary delights has taught me to appreciate the quality of foods, how it's prepared, and how it should be served.  In no way do I consider myself a sous chef, but I have learned a few recipes in my cooking escapades that I enjoyed enough to think they are worth sharing - some so extremely easy that a child can make and others that are a bit more time consuming.

When asked what my favorite type of foods are, I probably couldn't give you a straight answer.  As a Filipino who grew up in Texas and now lives in Florida (a.k.a. "A TexaPino in the Sun") who loves trying to recreate delicious meals from top-rated restaurants, my cooking has influences from all over the world.

I hope you find something in this hodge podge of recipes that you like.  If you try any of these recipes, please feel free to comment with your feedback.  I'd love to hear how it turned out (good or bad), and any modifications you did to make it better!

As a disclaimer, I have to go ahead and remind you all that not everyone's tastebuds are the same.  So what's good to me, may not be good to you.  If that is the case...then you suck!  HA!  Just kidding.

Happy cooking!

Sincerely,
Rice Spice