Verde Chicken over Brown Rice

You will need:

• 1 can Las Palmas green enchilada sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 3-4 chicken thighs
• Brown rice
• White onion
• Ortega diced jalapenos (optional)
• Cayenne Pepper
• Pepper
• Salt
• Sour Cream

Prep:

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces 
2. Rough chop about 1/4 cup Onion (or more if desired)  
3. Heat a sauce pan with a tablespoon of vegetable oil
4. Steam 1 cup (per 2 people) Brown rice. Salt the water.

Throw the chicken into the oil and let chicken brown for about 2 minutes. 

Once the chicken is brown on both sides, add Enchilada sauce, Chicken Broth, diced jalapenos to your liking, half a tablespoon cayenne pepper (+/-), pinch of pepper and pinch of salt. Simmer about 20 minutes until onions are soft.

Spoon Brown rice into a bowl and cover with chicken enchilada sauce. Garnish with sour cream and serve with warm tortillas.

Chimichurri Marinated Flank Steak Fajitas

You will need:

• Taco size flour tortillas
• 2-3 large red bell peppers (substitute any color peppers you like)
• Med-Lg White onion cut into long strips
• Half of a medium Red onion (roughly chopped)
• 1-2 lb Flank steak
• 1 bunch fresh Parsley 
• 1 bunch fresh Cilantro
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons Salt
• 3 tablespoons Pepper
• 4 tablespoons Red wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Sour cream  

Chimichurri marinade/sauce:

Pinch all the Parsley and Cilantro from the stems (some stem is fine) and place into a food processor or blender. Add red onion, garlic cloves, salt, pepper,  red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and blend until smooth. Add more salt to taste, and olive oil to the mixture if it's too thick.

Place steak in a baking pan and puncture holes in the steak with a knife. Cover the steak with Chimichurri sauce, flip over and cover the other side as well. Let sit out in room temperature for at least 1 hour. 

Reserve at least a half cup (if not more) of sauce to use on fajitas.

Grill Steak on BBQ until medium rare. Take off the grill and tent with tinfoil 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Start at the corner of the steak and slice diagonally. Slicing the long strips in half for shorter strips.

Fajita Veggies:

Cut peppers and onions into strips and place in a pan with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus seasoning to taste. I just use salt and pepper. Saute veggies in the oil on medium heat with the lid on until tender. Remove the lid and cook on high heat until most of the moisture is gone and veggies blacken slightly.

Heat your tortillas on a flat griddle or in the microwave/oven until warm and slightly crispy.

Layer Meat, veggies, sour cream and chimichurri sauce into tortilla and serve.

Chipotle Tabasco goes great as a hot sauce with this recipe.

Fish Tacos with Tangy Yogurt Sauce and Spicy Green Salsa

You will need:

• 1 single serving size Plain Fage greek yogurt
• Mayonnaise 
• Taco size tortillas
• Tempura Mix (I use an "onion ring tempura batter mix" that I find at my grocery store)
• 1 lb Talapia/Mahi Mahi or any other white fish you would like to use
• Salt
• Cumin
• Cayenne powder
• 6-8 whole peeled medium-large tamatillos 
• 2 whole medium-large jalapenos
• White onion
• Cilantro
• 2 Garlic cloves
• Green cabbage 

Green Salsa:

1. Peel your tamatillos and garlic, and place on a baking sheet with the jalapenos. Place baking sheet in your oven under the broiler on HIGH for about 8-10 minutes or until blackened. Turn tomatillos and jalapenos over and return to the broiler for another 5-8 minutes or until blackened also.
2. Place broiled tomatillos and jalapeno (take the stem off!!) into a blender along with salt (more or less to your liking) and about 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro leaves and blend until smooth. You may add water if the salsa is too thick. Add small amounts until you get to your desired consistency. It will also thicken a little after it cools. 
3. Add desired amount of diced onions to your blended salsa and cool in the fridge, or eat it after its cool enough to eat. You can also add a tablespoon or so of lime juice if you desire. 

Tempura Fish:

1. Make tempura batter as directed on the package and set aside. 
2. Cut your fish into taco length pieces about 1/4 of an inch thick. This way they will cook fast. You can also make them thicker if you want meatier pieces.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a medium pan.
4. Dip pieces of fish into batter and place immediately into oil and fry both sides until golden brown. Transfer fish to a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. 

Tangy Yogurt Sauce:

1. Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of yogurt into a small bowl 
2. Add 1 tablespoon of mayo and mix thoroughly.
3. Add cumin and cayenne powder to the mixture for some flavor and let sit in the fridge while all the flavors marry.    

Shred Cabbage and heat the tortillas. Place fish into tortilla and top with cabbage, yogurt sauce and green salsa. Enjoy!

Guacamole

You will need:

• 3 ripe Hass avocados 
• 1/4 cup chopped Cilantro (measure after chopped not before)
• 1/8 - 1/4 cup chopped Jalapeno (with seeds or without. Your preference)
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup Red onion finely chopped 
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• Sea salt

Prep:

1. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Spoon out Avocado into a medium mixing bowl.
2. Add salt and lime juice to the avocado halves and mash with a potato masher or fork until smooth. A few lumps are ok, just make sure you break down the avocado enough so that you don't have large chunks.
3. Add onions, jalapeno and cilantro to the mashed avocado and fold ingredients in until they are distributed evenly throughout the mix.
4. Taste, and add more salt, lime juice or other components to suite your liking.
5. Serve chilled with chips, and enjoy!

This recipe can be doubled.

Chicken, Shrimp and Chorizo Paella

You will need:

• 5 cups of low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces
• 12 medium (or approx 1 lb) raw de veined shrimp (shell off)
• 1- 6 oz raw chorizo or link dry spanish chorizo, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons (+/-) cayenne pepper
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 large cloves of garlic minced or pressed
• 2 cans stewed tomatoes (drained)
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 (+/-) teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 large red bellpepper cut into 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch pieces

Directions:

Heat oil in a wok, or other wide based/deep skillet over low heat. Add chicken, chorizo, and shrimp. The chorizo will splash a lot at first so I suggest starting cooking heat on low and then turning it up slowly. When shrimp is done, take it out and set it aside until later. We don't want it to continue to cook. Leaving chicken and chorizo in the pan.

Add paprika, bay leaves, garlic, tomatoes, onion, salt, pepper and cayenne. Cook until thickened, stirring often for about 10 minutes. Add 5 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Add 2 cups Arborio rice, red bellpepper pieces, and stir gently to get bellpepper distributed evenly and and cook without stirring, until most of the liquid is absorbed, approximately 15-18 minutes. Reduce heat to medium -low, and add the shrimp you cooked earlier, tucking them down into the rice and let sit approx 5-7 minutes until shrimp are warm.

Sushi with Ahi Tuna and Pot Sticker Appetizer and Plum Wine Sake Spritzers

You will need:

1. 2 cups uncooked short grain sushi rice
2. 3 tblsp Rice wine vinegar
3. 2 tblsp Sugar
4. 1 tblsp salt
5. Pepper
6. 1 pack Nori sheets
7. 1 Cucumber
8. 1 package Cream cheese
9. 1 Avocado
10. 3 large Jalapeno
11. 1 bunch of Green onions
12. Sriracha
13. Mayonnaise
14. Soy Sauce  
15. 1 pack Tempura shrimp (sold pre made/frozen, usually 6 to a pack)
16. 1/2-3/4 lb (each depending on how many rolls you plan to make) sushi grade salmon and Ahi Tuna filet. Preferably not previously frozen. Visit your local fish market for best quality!
17. 1 bag Pot stickers (frozen)
18. 1 Bottle of  Kinsen Plum Wine
19. 1 Bottle of Gekkeikan Sake
20. 1 bottle Club soda
21. A bamboo sushi roller

Prep:

1. Make a Spritzer!!! Fill a wine glass 3/4 with ice. Then fill the glass with equal parts Plum wine and Sake, then splash some club soda and stir! The club soda will help take away sweetness of the plum wine, so more/less depending on your taste. 
2. Steam 2 cups of sushi rice in 3 1/2 cups water and set in fridge to cool while you prep everything else.
3. Prep all vegetables/condiments for sushi rolls except the tempura shrimp. You will want to do that just before making the rolls so they stay crispy. Cut cucumber in long thin/thick (depending on your preference) pieces. Half the Avocado and thinly slice.Chop the green onions to top your rolls as garnish. Cut Cream cheese into long slices.Cut jalapeno into thin coins. Cut salmon to your desired thickness into long pieces (if going inside the roll) or cut into short pieces approx 1 inch x 2 inches long to drop over the roll. Set all ingredients aside in the fridge to stay cool until needed.
4. Prepare Pot stickers. I boil mine, then drain and fry with light sesame oil in a pan on both sides before serving. 
   
5. In a small bowl, mix mayo and sriracha sauce to taste for use on the roll, and for the tuna steak app!
6. Heat some sesame oil in a frying pan on medium heat and Lightly season your tuna steak with salt and pepper. Place tuna steak in the pan and let it cook about 1-2 minutes on each side depending on thickness of the steak. You want the middle of the steak to still be raw, only cooking the outside of the steak. Remove from pan and slice into pieces to dip in soy sauce or sriracha mayo sauce with a slice of jalapeno!
   
7. Take the rice out of the fridge once it's cool and place into a large wooden or glass bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix Rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt until sugar is dissolved. Add mix to the rice and gently stir making sure the all the rice is coated in the mixture. Don't over stir the rice, it will start to break down.  
8. Heat the tempura shrimp just before sushi assembly according to package directions.
9. Time for sushi! grab a small bowl and put some warm water in it and keep it next to you for assembly. Place a piece of Nori on your bamboo roller and cover with a thin layer of rice, leaving about an inch of nori bare at the top. Now fill the roll with whatever ingredients you want. start about an inch from the bottom of the roll, keeping the ingredients tight and in an orderly fashion. I usually put a piece of tempura shrimp in, (I cut the tail off so you don't have to mess with it later, or you can leave it on) then some cucumber, avocado slices, and cream cheese. Then pick your bamboo roller up from the counter to roll the nori over. Keep pressure on the roll to keep everything tight. This will take practice. when you get around to the bare nori, dip your fingers in the warm water you have next to you and wet the nori. then continue rolling until the nori is completely gone. The bare nori should stick to itself now that is wet completing the roll. Transfer the roll to a cutting board and use a very sharp long non serrated knife to cut the roll into equal pieces about an inch thick. 
10. Once you make all your rolls and they are cut, place onto a large plate and add sriracha sauce, additional pieces of tuna or salmon, jalapeno and green onion in any way you like. Enjoy!!
    

Mushroom Gruyere Pasta

You will need: 

• 1 pound uncooked Farfalle
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 16 ounces Cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Prep:

Heat butter and olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  
Add chopped onions to pan and season with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Cook onions until golden and caramelized.  Remove onions from pan and set aside.  
Melt remaining tablespoon of butter in empty pan.  Add mushrooms, thyme, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.  Cook mushrooms until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are tender, about 12 minutes.  
Add chicken broth; cook 2 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally.  To the mushroom mixture,  add the cooked pasta, whipping cream, Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, nutmeg and parsley.  Toss gently to coat, allowing enough time for the cheese to melt.  
Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.  

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.