St. Patrick's Day Tini

2 oz vodka

1½ oz Irish cream

¾ oz green crème de menthe

Swirl chocolate syrup inside a well-chilled martini glass. Combine ingredients over chipped ice and shake well. Strain into glass.

Valentines Day Grilled Shrimp Tostada Bites - Z Tejas

I love these at Z Tejas, so for Valentines day I thought I would try to make them on my own. They're fantastic!! I've already made them again. This time I made extra cilantro pesto and froze the extra. You can also puree the whole can of chipoltes and freeze it too.

Guacamole - the recipe for guacamole is below. I used my own.

Ingredients
Avocado 3 each
Tomato (diced) 1 each
Red Onion (diced) ½ each
Lime for Juice 1 each
Cilantro 3 Tbls
Jalapeño (diced) 1 each (deseeded)
Sour Cream ¼ cup

Preparation
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mash using a whisk.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Shrimp

Ingredients
Shrimp (peeled/deveined) 24 each
Cilantro Pesto 1 cup (cilantro, almonds, olive oil)
Guacamole
Chipotle Puree ¼ cup (chipolte in adobo sauce pureed)

Chip I fried up some bite size corn tortillas.

Preparation
Marinate shrimp with cilantro pesto and place on skewers. Grill approx 2 minutes per
side. Using your favorite chip, place a dollop of guacamole then chipotle puree then top
with shrimp.

Here's what they look like before you put them on the grill....

And the final product!!

And my honey brought home these! Maybe I should cook like this more often. :)

Chicken Cacciatore

I got this great new recipe, read through it and changed it up a little. The changes are mentioned below.

What you will need:
1/2 cup flour
all season salt (calls for kosher salt)
pepper
Italian seasoning
cayenne pepper or red chili flakes
chicken breast with skin (calls for chicken thighs)
3 tablespoons pure olive oil
1 can of mushrooms (calls for fresh, canned works just fine)
1 green bell pepper
1 onion
2 carrots (calls for 1 carrot, I liked two)
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons basil paste - I like the kind in a tube that you can keep in the freezer. (calls for fresh)
1 tablespoon oregano (calls for parsley, I didn't have any)
1 can chicken broth
1 cup red wine

Combine flour, all season salt, pepper, Italian seasoning. Dredge chicken breast lightly in flour mixture, patting off excess. (Next time I will cut the breast off the bone, but leave skin attached). In a cast iron round pot over medium-high heat add olive oil, when oil is hot add chicken, brown both sides, about 8-10 minutes. After chicken is browned, remove chicken and set aside. Add onions, bell pepper and carrots, sauté until tender. Add mushrooms, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, oregano, cayenne and wine; bring to a boil add chicken. Cover and cook on medium-high for about 20 minutes. Cook on simmer for another 20. Serve with mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Sweet Pork Salad with Cilantro Dressing

I've been playing around in the kitchen a lot this year. I'd like to start documenting some of my favorite recipes...but you all know how timely I am with any kind of post. So we'll just see how things go. This is one of my favorite recipes so far. The sweet pork is great on a salad or in a sandwich. It's so yummy. Below is the recipe, feel free to change it to your likings.


Sweet Pork Salad with Cilantro Dressing

2-4 lb pork roast1 ½ Cups Coca Cola, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Seasoning Salt Sauce:1 Cup Coca Cola1 Cup ketchup

Dressing:1 jar Herdez Salsa Verde (mild tomatillo salsa, any size)

Equal amount of prepared ranch dressing (Hidden Valley)

1 Bunch Cilantro

10 inch wheat or flour tortillas

Shredded green leaf lettuce

Black beans (caned/drained)

Cilantro lime rice (steamed rice with chopped cilantro leaves and fresh lime juice, as much as desired) Diced tomatoes, cheese, guacamole….etc

Crispy Tortilla Strips (flour tortillas cut into thin strips and fried in vegetable oil until browned)

1. Place roast in crock-pot with Coke; season with salt, pepper and garlic seasoning. Cook on low overnight, until tender. Remove roast from crock-pot, discard juices. Shred pork into bite size pieces and place back into pot on low.

2. Place Cola and ketchup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Heat to a low boil. Pour over shredded roast. Cook on low until ready to serve.

3. For dressing, place equal parts salsa verde and ranch dressing into food processor or blender. Add Cilantro leaves and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

- I changed this up a little. I added different dairy products until it was the right consistency and flavor. Try adding milk, sour cream or more mayo. Whatever you like.

4. To serve: Place tortilla onto a large bowl or plate. Layer with lettuce, beans, rice, pork, dressing and tomatoes, cheese and guacamole/avocado.

Long Time

I know, it's been a long time since I've posted about anything. I'm not as good at blogging as I thought I would be. I will try to get better. Promise. So there has been a lot going on lately.

I just completed another wedding with STC. It was the first all inclusive package with Angel Springs. I have to say it went great! I wish Laura and Brett all the happiness in the world. It was so nice to work with Laura's family!

STC was also featured in The Knot best of 2008. Woohoo!! Congratulations STC!!!

Dad celebrated his 65th birthday a week ago. Happy Birthday Dad!

A belated happy birthday to Megan & Kody, who celebrated their birthday on May 24th! Last but not least happy anniversary to Jarrod & Brandie who celebrated their first wedding anniversary in April.

Megan

Kody

Brandie & Jarrod

Ted and Carla's dog Toyota had her babies; they're a month old now. Aren't they cute?

Kris & I got a new cat; his name is Spike. (top) Mom and Dad have his sister, Tabby. (bottom)



I got a great new recipe:
Strawberry Basil Lemonade
-Crystal Light Lemonade
-Fresh Strawberries (about 4-5 per pitcher; diced up small)
-Fresh Basil (about 4-6 leaves; grind them up to get the juice going first)
-Add Vodka to preference

Ever wonder how your name gets on all of those mailing address list? Well here is a way to remove your name and get less mail: http://www.dmachoice.org/consumerassistance.php

We had a rat snake in our garage last night. Kristopher was so kind to get it down today.