So lets get to baking! I’ve converted this recipe to cupcakes, because I love pre-portioned servings. The pretty, festive papers dont discourage me any either. There’s just something about a cupcake that feels special and exciting, even if the only thing you are celebrating is that it’s a Tuesday.

As always, gather your ingredients first. Grate your zucchini using the large holes of a box grater. I choose small zucchinis so I dont have to remove the seeds. If using larger squash, slice lengthwise, and scoop the seeds out with a spoon before grating. Once grated, press gently between paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Measure out your flours, sugar, spices and leavening, chop the nuts, crack your eggs.

Mix your wet ingredients first (including the zucchini), on low speed in the mixer until well combined.

Then add all the dry ingredients and continue mixing until batter comes together.

Scoop into lined muffin tins (makes 18) and bake at 300 until done and tops are brown, approximately 1 hour.

The tops of these caramelize slightly during the baking process. It makes the tops have a crisp-chewy texture that is just heaven in your mouth.

You can spread them with butter, frost with cream cheese icing, or eat them plain. I don’t know if they freeze well because they rarely last even 24 hours at our house.

I also don’t normally put *this* much icing on, but it was pretty, so I couldnt resist! The icing is 8 ounces softened cream cheese, 2 TBSP room temperature butter and 1 C powdered sugar, with a  1/4 tsp of creme bouquet flavoring (or 1/2 tsp vanilla), whipped till light and fluffy and then piped onto the cupcakes.

ZUCCHINI CAKE

1.5 C flour (use any gluten-free flours you prefer. what I use is below)

• 1/3 C + 1.5 TBSP brown rice flour
• 1/3 C + 1.5 TBSP white rice flour
• 1/3 C sweet rice flour
• 1/3 C tapioca starch
• 1.5 tsp xanthan gum

1.5 C zucchini, grated
3/4 C vegetable oil or butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1.5 C sugar
1/2 C nuts, chopped (walnuts or pecans)
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Measure out your ingredients. Grate zucchini with large holes on a box grater. Press zucchini between paper towels to remove excess moisture. Blend wet ingredients (including the zucchini), on low speed in the mixer until well combined. Then add all the dry ingredients and continue mixing until batter comes together. Spoon into lined muffin tins (makes 18) and bake at 300 until cooked through and tops are brown, approximately 1 hour. Then cool on wire racks. If desired, frost with cream cheese icing.

So I peeled, sliced and cubed my apples and assembled a few basic “praline” ingredients: sweetened flaked coconut, brown sugar, nuts (my favorites are walnuts or pecans), flour (rice flour for me), and butter.

Also, this comes together in seconds, so it can be made in single serving size too!

This part is optional, but I always toss my apples with a bit of Fruit Fresh, which not only boosts the vitamin C content, but keeps my apples from browning after they’ve been cut. I’m not a fan when my apples look all icky brown, and this is also handy if I want to do my prep work hours or even days in advance.

Place cubed apples into baking dish. This can be a 8 or 9 inch square dish, or individual casserole dishes or ramekins.

Mix the dry praline ingredients together, add melted butter and mix to form your crisp topping.

Sprinkle crumb topping over apples. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon or “apple pie spice” if desired.

Bake at 350 approximately 25-30 minutes.

When topping is golden brown, remove from oven to cool.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

PRALINE APPLE CRISP

6 baking apples, granny smith and jazz are favorites
1/2 C sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 C nuts
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C flour
1/4 C butter, melted
cinnamon or apple pie spice, if desired

Peel and cube apples and arrange in 8 or 9-inch baking dish. Mix dry ingredients together, then stir in melted butter until mixture becomes crumbly. Top apples with topping mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until topping is brown and crisped.

For a single serving, use 1-2 apples, depending on size. for topping use 2 TBSP each of coconut, nuts and brown sugar and 1 TBSP flour and melted butter.

Please note that my directions involve using my Kitchenaid stand mixer, which I kind of have a serious love affair with. This recipe could be made with a strong hand mixer, or even the old fashioned way with a big bowl and a mixing spoon. If you have a mixer, show it some love and put it to work for you. And if you forgot to buy a present for your KA this year for Christmas, I highly recommend getting the SideSwipe paddle attachment which mixes AND scrapes the bowl for you. What’s that you say? You’ve never heard of buying your KA gifts? Well, start a new tradition, your mixer deserves presents too.

Prep work first: cream cheese softened in the microwave, 4 garlic cloves minced, jalapeno nacho slices chopped, jarred artichoke hearts rinsed and chopped, jack cheese grated. With all the chopping, mincing and grating, I must admit, I also sort of have a thing for my Cuisinart food processor. But don’t tell my Kitchenaid, k?

Cream cheese goes into the mixer, and mix it at medium speed briefly to break up the blocks.

Add jalapenos, and garlic and mix well.

In go the artichokes and mix some more.

Add the cheese and mix until blended. Then scoop into baking/serving dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.

This can be made days ahead, up to a week in advance. When ready to serve, warm in oven or microwave.

JALAPENO ARTICHOKE DIP

4 bricks (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 C jalapeno nacho slices, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 C jarred/canned artichoke hearts, rinsed and chopped (1/2 of the 33oz jar from Costco)
1.5 C (6oz) jack cheese, grated

Place softened cream cheese in mixer bowl and beat on medium speed just to break up the blocks. Add jalapenos and garlic, mix well. Add artichokes and blend. Add cheese and continue mixing until well-incorporated. Cover and store up to 7 days. Serve warmed with tortilla chips.

Excess chicken can make delicious enchiladas. Leftover carne asada can become breakfast burritos or steak tacos. A variety of meats can be chopped and put into quesadillas or make a tasty nachos platter with the addition of some beans, cheese and salsa. But it’s not always Mexican food. Cooked meats make excellent sandwiches, wraps and salad toppings. Many can be used to make casseroles, soups and skillet meals. Don’t be afraid to chop and freeze extra for use on another day when you are short on ideas for dinner.

Lettuce cups are a favorite at our house. We prefer romaine lettuce to iceberg, so I guess it’s more of a taco-shape than a cup, huh? Well, you can call it whatever you desire. I took leftover BBQ chicken thighs, shredded and reheated with a bit of BBQ sauce, spooned into romaine leaves, topped with leftover coleslaw, a bit of red onion and a sprinkle of cilantro. It’s kind of like a little handheld salad!

and as you can see, even the kids chowed down!

I haven’t forgotten that I still owe you a post on how to BBQ the perfect chicken thighs. Don’t worry, it’s coming, I promise. It had to wait until I could have the hubby man the camera while I had my hands in chicken

Most often, I put a chicken or turkey carcass in overnight with some water and wake up to chicken stock to freeze for later use in recipes. It’s also my favorite way to use up a ham bone for split pea soup and a great way to cook beans with minimal tending. My other favorite use it to make relatively cheap cuts of beef or pork tender and delicious.

The local supermarket had roasts half off this weekend, so I grabbed a tri-tip, planning to season and grill it. But life got a little crazy, it didnt get grilled and it needed to be used or frozen. I decided that with my hubby gone the next couple of nights, I would cook it in the crock pot and have shredded meat for use in tacos, enchiladas, and I might possibly even make some tamales. Best shredded beef ever. Like, seriously. I can’t stop eating it. I love when Plan B works out! Wanna see how? Of course you do!

First gather and measure out your spices. It sucks to be mid-recipe and find that you need, say 2 tsp of something and only have 1.5 left in your jar. Ask me how I know this… nevermind. Let’s not go there. Here you see one dish with my McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning and one dish with a mix of black pepper, cayenne pepper and ancho chili pepper.

Next prepare your onions and garlic. You could use any onions for this. Red was what I had on hand. Chop and set aside. I see now that a piece of garlic got into my onions and despite the fact they cook together, it’s really bothering me, so pretend not to see that, k?

Season your tri-tip with the steak seasoning. This stuff is awesome. I use it on steaks and burgers, and even to season veggies for grilling.

Pour a bit of olive oil into a skillet and get it good and hot over medium to medium high heat. Add roast to skillet and allow to brown, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Transfer to slow cooker crock with fatty side up.

Add onions and garlic to your skillet. Saute about 5 minutes, then add your ground peppers.

Keep cooking a few minutes more, until the spices become fragrant. Add to crock.

Add your can of crushed tomatoes and beer.

Cover and cook on low 8 hours.

Remove meat from slow cooker to rest on cutting board 10 minutes. Trim fat by scraping a sharp knife along the top of the roast. The fat layer should peel right off. Use a fork to shred the beef and toss shreds back into the sauce.

Fold meat into sauce, then cover to keep warm until time to serve.

Serve in warm tortillas as tacos, wrapped in tortillas and smothered in sauce for enchiladas, piled into a bowl with rice and beans, or alongside eggs for breakfast. Yes, I would eat this with breakfast. Best part is all of these are gluten-free. Yay!

Be warned it has a little kick all by itself. If flavor and spice intimidate you, you may wish to cut back the cayenne, or substitute plain old regular chili powder for about half the cayenne.

Chili Colorado Tri-tip

1 beef tri-tip roast, approximately 3 pounds
2 tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning

3 TBSP minced fresh garlic
1.5 C chopped onion

2 tsp ground ancho chile pepper
2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground black pepper

6 ounces beer
1 can crushed tomatoes, 28oz

Season roast with steak seasoning. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium to medium-high heat and brown tri-tip approximately 4-5 minutes each side. Place fat side up in slow cooker crock. Saute onion and garlic in skillet about 4-5 minutes, add peppers and continue cooking a few minutes until fragrant. Add to crock. Add beer and tomatoes to crock. Cook on low 8 hours. Remove meat and allow to rest 10 minutes before shredding and returning to sauce. Serve with rice and/or beans or use as a filling for tacos, burritos, enchiladas or tamales.

First, chop your cabbage. This should be mostly green cabbage. Feel free to use some red cabbage too. Green is what I usually have on-hand though. I have a mandolin slicer that slices it super thin in a jiffy. It’s not like doing it by hand takes long either though. Sometimes I do angel hair shreds, other times, I do a confetti chop. You’ll need about 9 cups. Grate 1 large or 2 small carrots. This should be about a 1/2 cup. Not only does this boost the nutritional value, it also adds some pretty color. Toss carrots and cabbage and set aside. If time is limited, buy the bagged stuff. I won’t tell anyone!

Next step is to make your sauce. Whisk together mayo, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, a few grinds of salt and a generous bit of fresh-ground pepper.

Pour sauce over cabbage and carrot mixture. Toss gently, cover and place in fridge until serving time. This can be made up to a couple hours in advance. Sometimes, I make the sauce the night before and then toss with the cabbage and carrot mixture an hour or two before serving time.

See what a perfect little salad/side dish this makes? Uh-oh… now you’ve seen hubby’s awesome BBQ chicken thighs… yes, friends, that recipe is coming very, very soon…

As I said above, makes a perfect replacement for lettuce on sandwiches too. Here, you see it on a pulled pork sandwich served on fresh challah rolls.

and here, served with the leftover BBQ chicken in romaine lettuce leaves.

*note: some people like onion in their coleslaw. I am one of those people. However, my family prefers it without, so this is how I make it for them and then I sprinkle a tiny bit of finely diced red onion, into my serving only, at serving time. If your family likes onion, feel free to add it, BUT don’t go overboard and wait to add it until time to serve, as the flavor can be a bit overpowering if left sitting with the other ingredients.

COLE SLAW

• 9 cups shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1 TBSP diced red onion, if desired

Mix cabbage and carrots and set aside.

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together, then toss with cabbage and carrot mixture. Cover and refrigerate until time to serve. If desired, add diced red onion at serving time.

Anyway, the prep work is the same, so just like with the fish tacos, you’ll need: shredded cabbage, pico de gallo and that delicious creamy sauce (which is just mayo, lime juice and more pico de gallo), oh and some lime for squeezing and sliced avocado if you have some.

As for seasonings, all you’ll need is some seasoning salt and paprika. Have them ready to sprinkle on your cooked shrimp.

Prepare to cook your shrimp. They should be defrosted, deveined and shelled. This is 1lb (of the size which is 31-40/lb), which feeds 2 adults and 2 kids, with beans on the side, though for heartier appetites, plan on 1.5lbs just to be on the safe side.

Heat canola oil in large skillet until hot. Add shrimp, all at once, and cook 90 seconds. See how the tails turn pink at 90 seconds? Turn over with tongs and cook another 90 seconds. Don’t overcook your shrimp. They get all tough and rubbery.

Remove from pan with slotted spoon and onto paper towel to drain excess oil. Sprinkle with seasoning salt and paprika.

Warm flour tortillas over flame, till hot and lightly browned.

Place shrimp into tortillas, top with cream sauce, cabbage, pico de gallo, and serve with side of beans topped with pico de gallo. This was hubby’s plate.

Since I have to eat gluten-free, I use corn tortillas. As before, place shrimp, sauce, cabbage and pico de gallo in warmed tortillas. Serve with beans. Oh, and I remembered I had avocados that needed using. yay, me!

I’m part of a program called bzzagent, so I recently got some coupons and samples from Lawry’s to try some of their products. I have been making these tacos with their seasoning salt for years, so w00t for coupons! I have plenty of coupons to share with my local friends, so hit me up for them, k?

Of course, feel free to substitute the battered variety of fish and just skip the fish cooking portion of this recipe. Besides, we all know that what you really want to know is how to make that amazing sauce. Because, truth be told, if you replace the fish with some chopped carne asada (mmmm, steak!) and the cabbage with lettuce, you’ll have some pretty awesome steak tacos. But back to fish tacos…

For the fish in this recipe, I am using Wahoo, also known as Ono to the people of Hawaii. Interestingly enough, Ono is also the Hawaiian word for tasty. Yes, my dear Hawaiian friends, I agree wholeheartedly! I get it in frozen fillet portions at Costco and after defrosting, I cut the fillets into appropriate-size pieces for laying in tortillas. At $15.99 for a 3 pound bag, that’s just $5.33/lb for great fish. I get about 16 very generous taco-size servings from one bag, and most adults with a hearty appetite will eat about 3 tacos, so once you figure in the minimal cost of tortillas, seasoning and toppings, you can have a great meal for about $4 per person and about $1-2 per child. Who said eating healthy is expensive?

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves with the fish. We need to prep our veggies first. By getting the veggies all prepared, the tacos come together in just seconds once your fish is cooked.

1. Do your slicing/chopping stuff. Slice your limes. Slice up some avocado. Chop green cabbage into angel-hair type shreds. Do this by hand or with the help of a mandolin slicer. Set aside. Isn’t cabbage pretty?
2. Make pico de gallo salsa and set aside. Yay, food processor!

3. Make your cream sauce. Oh that’s right, you don’t know how! This is really earthshaking, groundbreaking, painstaking stuff. Mix 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 1 TBSP fresh-squeezed lime juice. Whisk until smooth, then stir in 1 TBSP pico de gallo. Set aside. Yep, that’s it.

Prepare fish with your favorite seafood rub.

Heat a thin layer of canola oil in a skillet; use cast iron if you have one. Once a few drops of water (sprinkled into the oil) start to crackle and pop, lay seasoned fish into oil and cook until slightly browned and the seasonings just start to blacken a bit.

Turn fish pieces onto the next side and repeat, continuing until all 3-4 sides are done.

Once the fish are turned onto the last side to brown, warm corn tortillas in a separate hot skillet.

Remove fish pieces to a paper towel to drain any excess oil then place fish pieces onto warm tortillas.

Spoon cream sauce generously over the top of the fish. Don’t skimp. You’re eating fish and fresh veggies and whole grain tortillas. You can splurge a little on the sauce!

Top with cabbage, pico de gallo and avocado slices. Garnish with sliced limes for squeezing over the tacos. Serve with warmed black beans that are topped with a spoonful of pico de gallo. Take a bow!

First lets start with the salsa. I’m going to tell you how I make it. I recommend trying it my way the first time, then experimenting with the ratios of ingredients to suit your own tastes. Here’s all the ingredients you’ll need. Is your mouth watering yet? It should be!

Get ripe, yet still firm, red Roma tomatoes. You hear that? ROMA tomatoes. Yes, the variety of tomatoes matters. Wash them, slice them in half and remove the core, seeds and that icky jelly stuff. Then dice and set aside.

Red Onions are up next. Again, the variety matters. Don’t use yellow, white or brown onions. They do not taste the same. These add gorgeous color and flavor to the mix. They can vary in size, so finely dice about 1/4 cup and set aside. Then chop your cilantro. This is the parsley of Mexican cooking. Rinse and chop lots of it because what you don’t use in your salsa can be sprinkled on the food you prepare. Mince your garlic next, 2 cloves. Don’t use that junk from the jar. With all these wonderful fresh ingredients going on here, do you really want to add jarred stuff to it? I didn’t think so. You deserve better. Serrano chilies add some heat. They look a lot like jalapenos, but they are skinnier in shape. If you cant do any spice, remove the seeds and ribs. If you like flavor AND spice, leave them in and chop one up.

Now it’s time for the citrus. You should already have plenty of these on hand from making margaritas with me, so get out an orange and a lime. Yes, I said lime, not lemon. Just trust me on this, okay? Squeeze the juice a half of a lime and 1/4 of an orange and add to your salsa.

Next add a twist of salt. We do not have pinches of salt in our house, as we keep a grinder filled with sea salt. So a twist of salt is just that, a twist of the grinder. Now toss all your ingredients gently and you have the best and freshest salsa you’ve ever eaten.

If you are in a time crunch or just don’t like chopping by hand, this can easily be made in your food processor. I have the Cuisinart 14-cup food processor which does the job quickly and can be used for large quantities too, which is nice. If using this method, the the ingredients go in with the reverse order (except the citrus and salt is still last): garlic and serrano go into food processor until finely chopped, then cilantro and some onion, pulse a few times until chopped almost the size you are after. Next are the tomatoes (seeds and jelly removed) and PULSE till tomatoes are nicely chopped. This is the spot that can ruin it if you over process. You do not want a pureed mixture of mush. Keep the tomatoes chunky! Sprinkle with salt, toss with citrus juices and serve. I made some in the food processor just so you can see the difference appearance-wise.

Now comes the really, really painstaking part. Are you ready? I’m kidding, of course. The only reason I’m telling you how to make guacamole is because you already make it, minus the avocado. So just cube a few avocados and scoop into a bowl.

Add a couple heaping spoonfuls of your pico de gallo.

Gently fold into avocado and you’re ready to serve. If you like yours more mashed, feel free to mash while mixing. I prefer mine chunky, which just makes less work for me. How’s that for a 2-for-1 recipe? Make the salsa and the guacamole makes itself.

I’d love to rave to you some more about how awesome this tastes. I could go on and on, but it takes at least one hand to type and I’m too busy shoveling all this fresh goodness into my mouth with tortilla chips. I’m hungry, so it takes two hands. Make some for yourself and you’ll see.

Pico de Gallo Salsa

4 Roma tomatoes, large, seeded and diced
¼ C diced red onion
¼ C cilantro leaves (measured after rinsing and chopping)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 serrano chili, minced (remove ribs and seeds if you don’t like spicy)
juice of ½ lime
juice of ¼ orange
sprinkling of salt

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl, serve with chips or as a topping for any Mexican dish.

Guacamole

Cubed and scoop 3 avocados into bowl. Add 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of pico de gallo and toss gently. If you prefer a less chunky guacamole, mash with fork when mixing.

Start with potatoes. I’ve made this with red potatoes, yellow potatoes, and more recently, a melange of baby potatoes that are a mix of red, gold and even purple mini potatoes! Truth be told, I dont buy them because they are cute and tiny and colorful, though that is plenty of reason. I really buy them because a local store sells them by the 28oz bag for $1.00 and I’m a sucker for a bargain. Wash, cube and set aside.

Chop some red onion. These vary in size, so chop however much gives you about a 1/2 cup. Then mince 2-3 cloves of garlic. Open beer and grab the olive oil.

In a large pot, heat a bit of olive oil till hot. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are tender, but not caramelized or starting to brown.

Add potatoes, cook potatoes for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add beer. This is usually about 8 ounces. Drink the other 4 and open yourself up another beer to drink. Add a few grinds of salt and pepper.

You don’t want your potatoes swimming in the beer, just plenty around the potatoes to cook them. Bring to a boil and cook a few minutes while you get to cutting up your kielbasa (there are all-beef and even lower-fat turkey versions out these days). Yes, I know Oktoberfest is German, and kielbasa is supposed to be Polish or something. But whatever, it’s sausage.

Cut the sausage lengthwise in fourths, then slice into bite-size pieces.

Add to potato mixture, cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

Test potatoes to see if they are done. They may need to go up to 5 minutes longer, depending on how large your potato cubes were. If, at this point, you still have too much liquid, finish your cooking without the lid on the pot, to let the excess moisture evaporate. If most of the moisture is gone, you will want to cover the pot to finish cooking. Be careful not to overcook the potatoes or they get mushy and gluey and the potatoes lose their shape since the edges get the softest.

Serve with chopped cilantro and grated cheddar cheese, in a bowl. My hubby loves to sprinkle chopped serrano chilies on his.

I like mine with sour cream and hot sauce. The kids love it with ranch dressing.

Leftovers, warmed and wrapped in a tortilla with scrambled eggs and cheese, makes for one heck of a tasty breakfast burrito in the morning. Sadly, we rarely have leftovers. Though, I do sometimes double the recipe to guarantee an easy breakfast on the weekend

Potatoes & Sausage in Beer

1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 C diced red onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

20 ounces potatoes, washed and cubed

12 oz bottle beer
salt and pepper to taste

keilbasa, one rope, 12-16 ounces

cilantro, washed and chopped
cheddar cheese, grated
condiments, as desired

Heat oil in a large/deep pot over medium-high and saute onions and garlic until tender. Add potatoes, cook 5 minutes.

Add 8 ounces of beer, drink remaining 4 ounces. Add a few grinds of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil while cutting kielbasa.

Slice sausage into fourths lengthwise, then cut into bite-size pieces. Add to potatoes. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring once midway through.

Test potatoes for doneness. Cooking time may take up to 5 minutes more. If your liquid is mostly evaporated, do this cooking with the lid on. If your mixture has too much liquid, cook uncovered to allow excess moisture to evaporate.

Serve sprinkled with cilantro and cheese. Top with condiments of your choosing. We like ranch and hot sauce.

Makes 4 reasonable portions. If you have a big appetite, serves 2.