What to Cook During a Blackout.......

Things got interesting in Southern California last night. About 3:30 in the afternoon the entire region lost all electricity. I was on the road trying to meet up with my boss, but even the cell phone towers were down so we could not make phone calls. Traffic became a nightmare with all the traffic signals down, it amazes me how many people don’t know what to do at an intersection when the lights are flashing!

Did I mention today is my husband’s birthday?

By the time I got home, it was clear that the power was not coming back on soon, and it was going to be a long night. Fortunately, I had time to gather an assortment of candles, flashlights, BATTERIES, water, and matches, before the sun went down.

The one thing I was not prepared for was what to eat. Mark was scheduled to work late, I had a simple grilled cheese sandwich in mind before all the chaos, when he got sent home early, we had to reevaluate the dinner situation.

Thank goodness we still had propane in the BBQ.

Since you shouldn't open the refrigerator unless totally necessary, we quickly grabbed the half frozen Italian sausage and the yellow mustard, oh, and the bottle of white wine that was luckily still a little cool!

We found just enough sliced wheat bread for each of us. Then Mark mixed up some of his famous mustard sauce, simply yellow mustard, honey and a little cayenne pepper. Yes, by candlelight.

The sausages were perfectly grilled, and of course nice and spicy! 

It was not a fancy meal, and it was certainly NOT a photo op evening, but it was kind of fun. Our "first Crisis" as a married couple! I think we both agree, we need to get better prepared for this type of thing, our fathers would both be disappointed....

The rest of the evening was super fun. With no phones, TV’s or computers to distract us, we sat outside, looked at the stars, visited with the neighbors, and of course we sort of felt compelled to eat as much perishable cheese as humanly possible, it was going to go bad, right?

We are all back to normal today, our power came back around 10PM last night. Now, I need to go through the fridge and figure out what can be salvaged and what has to be tossed out. According to this, I should throw out most everything in the fridge, but the freezer stuff should be OK. 

I better get to work....batteries, I NEED to put batteries on my shopping list.....

Stay tuned to find out what we make for Marks REAL birthday celebration meal!

PS. Please notice I highlighted a bunch of words in my post today.....these are all IMPORTANT things to think about in case of an emergency!

Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos

These guys don't need a big write up. You have probably had them at a party or a BBQ and thought that they are too complicated or too much trouble to make, right? Well, guess what? They are super EASY to make!

So, go ahead and make a batch of the stuffing and fill up your favorite peppers. You can stuff just about anything, not just jalapenos, try mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini......there is no end to the possibilities!

Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos (print version)

serves 6 as appetizer

Ingredients:

6 oz. whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup cooked and chopped bacon

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

few dashes of hot sauce (we use Tapatio)

salt and black pepper

12 large jalapeno chili’s, halved lengthwise, stemmed and seeded

1 tbsp. sweet paprika

Instructions:

Heat grill to medium.

Mix together the cream cheese and the bacon in a medium bowl until blended. Fold in the cheddar, green onions, garlic and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Fill each jalapeno half with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture; sprinkle the top with sweet paprika.

Place peppers on the grill (or use a grill basket, if preferred), filling-side up, and cook until slightly charred and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Optional: To get a nice charred look on top, pop the poppers into a preheated oven set on broil for 2-3 minutes.

Optional: We made this simple sauce to top off our poppers. It would be great on fish tacos too!

Whisk together (or use a small food processor)1/4 cup of sour cream, about 1 clove chopped garlic, a spoonful of adobo sauce from chipotle chilis, and a handful of chopped cilantro..... delish for your dish!

Recipes for the Holiday Weekend

It's been 3 weeks since I have had a real camera. You probably noticed the drab and dull photo in my Fathers Day post, that was taken with my husbands cell phone, which actually came out better than the one with my iphone camera...... but that is another story.

Since I just can't take a good picture right now, we thought this would be a great time to recap some of our favorite Summer recipes that you might consider making for the upcoming holiday weekend.........

Brisk Tea Cocktail

 Orange Pasta Asparagus Salad 

Potato Salad

Colorful Tomato Salad

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Pinto Beans That Rock!

Turkey Burgers

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

A new camera is being carefully researched and I can't wait to start photographing again. Until then, wishing you and yours a wonderful Fourth of July weekend brimming with good eats and lots of fun!

Spiced Sweet Potatoes on the Grill

We have been experimenting a lot with sweet potatoes lately, mostly trying to perfect baked sweet potato fries. We have gotten pretty good at them, learning that a higher heated oven and thinner cut potato gives us the best results.

This was the first time we grilled them.

It turns out you pretty much have to boil them on the stove for a few minutes before you grill them. Even though they taste really good just plain, the flavor of the grill adds a whole different layer, and this hot and sweet spice mixture will leave you wanting more.

These sweet potatoes turned out fantastic! We served them with steak and some skewered mushrooms, onions and bell peppers. We will definitely be including more sweet potatoes on the grill this Summer!

Spiced Sweet Potatoes on the Grill

Serves 2-3 - Printable recipe here

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5 pounds)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Cover potatoes with cold salted water in a large pot, and then bring to a boil. Simmer until slightly resistant when pierced with a sharp small knife, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool, slice potatoes lengthwise.

In a small bowl mix together salt, herbs and spices, then add honey, apple cider vinegar and oil, stir well. Brush this mixture on both sides of the sliced sweet potatoes.

Grill potatoes on a lightly oiled grill rack over medium heat, until they have nice grill marks and potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Serve potatoes warm with other veggies, steak, pork, chicken….. or just eat them plain, they have a wonderful natural sweet flavor and nice texture. And it’s true, everything tastes better when it's grilled!

Fish Tacos - San Diego Style

My husband and I are both native to San Diego. I am the daughter of a builder. He is the son of a fisherman. These facts combined, we know how to build an awesome fish taco!

San Diego Fish Tacos – Serves 6

Ingredients for Marinade - (10 ounces tilapia fillets)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1/8 cup chopped cilantro

1 tbsp adobo pepper sauce

2 tbsp lime juice (I like to add some zest as well)

2 tbsp honey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Salt and ground black pepper

For the marinade, whisk together in a medium bowl the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, adobo sauce, honey, garlic, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, salt and black pepper until blended. Place the tilapia in a shallow dish, and pour the marinade over the fish. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 8 hours.

Dressing Ingredients:

4 oz light sour cream

3 tbsp mayonnaise

3 tbsp adobo sauce

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp honey

1/8 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

To make the dressing, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise and adobo sauce in a bowl. Stir in the lime juice, honey, cumin, chili powder, cilantro and garlic. Add salt, and pepper in desired amounts. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Set grate 4 inches from the heat. Remove fish from marinade, discard excess marinade. Grill fish pieces until easily flaked with a fork, turning once, about 8-9 minutes.

Assemble tacos with warmed 6” corn tortillas, a layer of red cabbage, desired amount of fish, cilantro, avocado slices, crumbled queso fresco cheese, a spoonful of dressing, and a splash of your favorite hot sauce or salsa. Squeeze a wedge of lime all over it, devour, and repeat.

That is how we do it in San Diego. How do you do it?

Turkey Burgers

Judging from the popularity of our Turkey Meatloaf recipe, it seems that ground turkey is making it's way into America's hearts and onto their dinner plates more and more these days.


This is a simple and healthy meal that we make a couple times a month, not only because they are easy, but they taste so darn good! I love chopping up fresh basil and parsley from the garden, it gives the burgers a little something extra.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. Ground turkey
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/8 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (parsley, basil, chives....)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 egg white
salt and pepper

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix ground turkey, seasoned bread crumbs, onion, egg whites, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form into 4 patties.

Cook the patties over a hot outdoor grill until done or in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees. 


Serve on toasted sesame buns with your choice of regular burger fixings, or try them alone with a side of Summer Squash. Enjoy!