Jam Hands

Big Crumb Coffee Cake with Rhubarb

2013-06-18T13:58:00.001-05:00

I tried out this delicious recipe from the wonderful blog Smitten Kitchen. The only thing I forgot was to add a dusting of powdered sugar on top. I love rhubarb so this was a winner. Enjoy!

‘Big Crumb’ Coffeecake with Rhubarb
Makes an 8"x8" pan

Butter for greasing pan

For the rhubarb filling:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, melted
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour (ditto on the all-purpose flour–worked just fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

2. To make crumbs [this step now updated, see comment #150] in a large bowl, whisk sugars, spices and salt into melted butter until smooth. Then, add flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. It will look and feel like a solid dough. Leave it pressed together in the bottom of the bowl and set aside.

3. To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

4. Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

5. Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Recipe Sharing Monday #53 + Features!

2013-06-16T16:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! It is time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes. If you would like to put a Recipe Sharing Monday button on your blog, the code is in the right sidebar.

I will be picking the features and sharing them each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up. I'll be pinning the featured posts on the Recipe Sharing Monday Pinterest board, as well as some of my other favorite shared boards.

Features from the last Recipe Sharing Monday:

Congrats to our features!

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My button is over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

Angry Bird 4th Birthday Party Recap

2013-06-16T14:10:00.002-05:00

My son Jack turned 4 last weekend and we celebrated with a themed birthday party of his current favorite - Angry Birds. How about those angry piggy cupcakes? I thought they turned out really cute. The tongues sticking out were a spur of the moment addition, along with a few mustaches. I had planned to do more for the party but as I mentioned, I have been very sick lately so I just didn't have the energy to do more.

We were outside for most of the party and set up a kiddie pool, sprinklers and a radio. (Who picked the country station for music??) We grilled cheeseburgers and hot dogs, along with the Best Ever Broccoli Salad, a traditional potato salad with diced sweet pickles, punch, chips with homemade chip dip (Penzey's Chip Dip is awesome!), Piggy cupcakes and we got a angry bird sheet cake from a local grocery store.

The Angry Piggy Cupcakes were made with a yellow cake mix, a homemade frosting tinted green, lime marshmallows cut in half and dipped in green sanding sugar, mini M&Ms for the eyes, and for the ears, tongues and mustaches we bought a pack of gummy sour candies that come in rectangle strips and we cut them to the appropriate shapes.

The wind was pretty crazy and popped all of the balloons outside, blew away the plates and napkins and blew a bunch of grilling smoke in our faces, but even with all of that it was a nice time. The kids enjoyed the warm weather, which we haven't had much of yet, mainly just rain and more rain.

Leading up the party my son had been pretty adamant in saying that he was NOT turning 4, but instead was gonna stay 3 years old instead. By the time the party finally came around he finally had accepted that he was turning 4. It was a fun and low key party for a little angry bird loving kid. Happy 4th Birthday to my little man!

Bursting Blueberry Muffins

2013-06-16T12:48:00.001-05:00

These muffins truly are bursting with blueberries. As such, I will note that they were a little bit tricky to get out of the muffin pan if you don't use any sort of muffin/cupcake liner, so I would suggest using those.

This recipe came from Tasty Kitchen. In the description of the recipe, the person who submitted it said that they were a whole grain muffin, but in her recipe there was no whole grain flour mentioned. I used regular flour and it turned out delicious. I am not much of a blueberry fan in general but I thought these were delicious, especially with the sparkly sugar topping. Enjoy!

Bursting Blueberry Muffins
Makes about 12

½ cups Butter
1 cup Sugar. Plus 1 Tablespoon For Topping
2 Eggs
½ cups Milk
2 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
2 cups Fresh Or Frozen Blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 12-count muffin tin. Set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in milk.

3. Combine dry ingredients (everything else except the berries) in another bowl then add this into the creamed mixture. Stir to combine. Gently fold in blueberries.

4. Fill greased muffin cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with the remaining sugar. Bake in the preheated 375 F oven for about 20 minutes (or until lightly browned).

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen.

Cucumber Salad

2013-06-16T12:31:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes from my mother. It is nothing fancy but it is a standard side dish at our house, particularly during the Summer. It is refreshing and tasty. Enjoy!

Cucumber Salad
Makes several servings

2-3 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin
Miracle Whip, amount varies, just enough to coat the cucumbers.
Optional: Garnish with fresh dill or chives

1. Mix both ingredients until coated. Chill and serve.

Recipe from my mom.

Orange, Pineapple & Dijon Glazed Ham

2013-06-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Orange, Pineapple & Dijon Glazed Ham
Makes enough for one ham

1 bone-in ham (precooked)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Place ham in a roasting pan, bake according to directions on the package.

2. Meanwhile, stir remaining ingredients together in a saucepan.

3. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10 minutes.

4. When ham has baked two hours, brush the ham with the glaze, continue doing so every 10 minutes while baking for another 30 minutes.

Recipe from Food.com

Asian-Style Teriyaki Grilled Steak

2013-06-15T14:26:00.000-05:00

If you are breaking out the grill this Summer, I have a delicious grilled steak recipe to check out. I posted it over at Mom Spark so please hop on over and check it out!

Sickie Update

2013-06-05T11:26:00.000-05:00

Hey all! Sorry to say that I'll be quiet around here this week. I got hit with both strep throat and a double ear infection so I am taking it easy on blog updates. Jack's 4th birthday is this weekend so I am trying to get better quick so I can prepare for his party.

I was thinking of doing chicken salad wraps, burgers and dogs on the grill, my best ever broccoli salad with cranberries, punch and for dessert green piggy cupcakes and a layered cake in the an Angry Bird theme. Nothing too crazy but it should be fun. Have a great week and I'll update when I am feeling better!

Recipe Sharing Monday #52 + Features!

2013-06-02T11:21:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! 52 Weeks of Recipe Sharing Monday and just a touch under 5 million views to this site. Thank you so much for being a part of it.

It is time to link up your latest food posts. My weekly link party, Recipe Sharing Monday, features your best recipes. If you would like to put a Recipe Sharing Monday button on your blog, the code is in the right sidebar.

I will be picking the features and sharing them each week. I'd love to give your blog more exposure by featuring you, so please link 'em up. I'll be pinning the featured posts on the Recipe Sharing Monday Pinterest board, as well as some of my other favorite shared boards.

Features from the last Recipe Sharing Monday:

Prosciutto, Melon & Herbed Provolone at Soliloguy of Food & Such
Strawberry Margarita Shortcakes at Cooking on the Front Burner
Crusted Chicken with Zesty Jalapeno Sauce at Lori's Culinary Creations
Coconut Cheesecake at Will Cook for Smiles
Carrot Salad at Turnips 2 Tangerines

Fruit Salad at Picture Perfect Cooking
Oven Baked BBQ Chicken at Cooking with K
Chicken Alfredo Pizza at Orchard Girls
Tropical Souffle Pudding at Teenage Cakeland
Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole for Two at Jo & Sue

Congrats to this weeks features!

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My button is over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

Garlic Shrimp & Cheesy Grits

2013-05-24T09:13:00.001-05:00

This is the second recipe I've made from Mrs. Happy Homemaker this week and both have turned out fantastic. I've actually never made grits before and I cheated and made a good quality quick cooking style of grits. They turned out delicious. My only mistake was that I didn't cook the bacon longer, I think it needs to be a bit crispy to offset the grits. Many thanks to Mrs. Happy Homemaker for another winning recipe. Enjoy!

Garlic Shrimp & Cheesy Grits
Makes about 4 servings

4 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup stone-ground grits
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 slices bacon, crumbled
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 large clove garlic, minced

1. Bring water to a boil. Stir in a teaspoon of salt.. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

2. Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. Saute for 3 more minutes.

3. Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp mixture. Serve immediately.

Recipe from Mrs. Happy Homemaker

Stealing food bloggers photographs and passing them off as your own is not okay.

2013-05-23T19:21:00.000-05:00

Would it be surprising to hear that pretty much on a daily basis I get emails from my readers letting me know that they have found my photographs, (and whatever recipe accompanies the photo), stolen and posted somewhere else online? It is sad, but true.

I have touched on slightly similar topics on my blog when I asked if it is okay to post other food bloggers recipes at your site when the recipe had turned out bad. Be sure to check that post out and leave a comment with your thoughts.

Today, though, I am addressing a bigger issue of people stealing copyrighted photographs and posting them as if they were their own work. A lot of work goes into maintaining a food blog. Picking out the recipes, shopping, prepping, cooking, photographing and finally editing photographs and writing up a post. It is so discouraging when someone simply copy and pastes your work and posts it online, not even bothering to link back to you or to ask for permission before taking your photographs.

Do these people really have no clue that what they are doing is just down right gross? It sickens me, it really does. I have worked with some very nice people in the past who took a moment to email me and ask for permission to post my work on their websites, websites where they earn money from each hit they get, and I have been happy to work with them. People who steal, who crop out your watermark, who take your photograph and recipes and repost it to earn money off of my hard work -- that is disgusting.

There is one particular person doing this to many food bloggers as of late, and when I asked her to take my photograph down, she told me it was my own fault that she took my content. I was and still am a bit flabbergasted. Get a clue and get the hell off my blog, lady. *grin* That is as polite as I can be to rude and nasty people. In the past I have had more patience with this sort of thing, but as of late it is just getting to be too much.

Do the right thing. Stop stealing things online and passing them off as your own, providing no courtesy link back to where you took it from. Be a good human being and stop trying to profit from other peoples hard work, work that they put their heart and sweat into. What say you blog readers?

Lemon Supreme Rice Krispies Treats

2013-05-23T09:21:00.001-05:00

Rice Krispies Treats are a childhood favorite of mine, so when I saw this recipe at Sweet As A Cookie, I had to try it out. My secret to the perfect rice krispies treat is to use an 8-inch pan for thicker squares, as well as having a gentle hand when pressing the treats into the pan, being careful not to compress the treats too much. Many thanks to Sweet As A Cookie for this delicious recipe. Enjoy!

Lemon Supreme Rice Krispies Treats
Makes an 8" x 8" pan for extra thick squares

5 Tbsp. butter
the zest of 1 lemon
the juice of 1 lemon
1 and 1/2 bags of marshmallows (10 oz. bags)
2/3 cup Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme cake mix
6 cups Rice Krispies

1. Prepare a 8-inch pan with butter; set aside.

2. In a large saucepan melt butter over low heat with the lemon zest and juice. Add in marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Slowly stir in the dry cake mix.

3. Once combined remove from heat and stir in the cereal. Scoop into prepared pan. Very lightly spray your hands with cooking spray and smooth the top of the treats and fill in along the edges to get an even layer. Let cool for about an hour.

4. To cut them up easily, put down a big piece of parchment paper on the counter top. Run a knife along the edges of the pan of rice krispies treats to loosen them, then invert the pan and they should pop out. Use a sharp knife to cut into squares.

Tiffany Punch

2013-05-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

This Tiffany Punch is perfect for Summer. The combination of tart lemonade with sweet berry punch is refreshing and so tasty. Many thanks to Mrs. Happy Homemaker for this recipe. Enjoy!

Tiffany Punch
Amounts vary

1 part prepared lemonade
1 part Berry Blue Typhoon Hawaiian Punch

1. Stir both ingredients together and serve over ice.

Recipe from Mrs. Happy Homemaker.

Nutella Puppy Chow

2013-05-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Standard Puppy Chow recipes usually call for a combination of chocolate and peanut butter to coat the cereal. While the classic recipe is delicious, it is a good idea to mix things up a bit and Nutella is a great option to do this. For our house, this recipe for Nutella Puppy Chow is preferred as there is a peanut allergy. Many thanks to The Way to His Heart for this recipe. Enjoy!

Nutella Puppy Chow
Makes one large batch

1/2 cup butter
1 cup Nutella
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
12 oz. box of hearty wheat/corn/rice cereal like Chex
2 – 3 cups powdered sugar

1. In a pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and chocolate chips, stirring constantly. When all is melted and smooth, remove from heat and stir in the Nutella.

2. Slowly pour the chocolate Nutella mixture over cereal in a large mixing bowl. Use clean hands to mix everything together until evenly coated.

4. Add the cereal to a gallon sized plastic bag. Pour in the powdered sugar and shake, starting with 1/2 cup at a time, until coated evenly. (I didn't have any Ziploc bags so I used an extra large mixing bowl and stirred by hand)

Recipe from The Way to His Heart

Recipe Sharing Monday #51 + Features!

2013-05-19T11:20:00.000-05:00

Mini Pepper Poppers at Or so she says
Strawberry Lemon Tart at Red Cottage Chronicles
Thai Chicken Pizza at Joyful Healthy Eats
Mexican Chicken with Doritos at Koupon Krazed
Tuscan Tomato Soup with Creole Croutons at Creole Contessa

Cinnamon Streusel Dessert Pizza at Mommy On Demand
Smothered Chicken at Cooking with K
Asian Mandarin Salad at Silver Boxes
Lemon Puppy Chow at Plucky's Second Thought
Spinach, Artichoke and Brie Crepes at Half Baked Harvest

Congrats to this weeks features!

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My button is over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

Nutella Cream Cheese Turnovers

2013-05-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

I am posting over at Momspark today. Please be sure to drop by and pin this recipe for these yummy Nutella Cream Cheese Turnovers. Enjoy!

Raspberry Layered Coffee Cake

2013-05-14T11:55:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday I shared this delicious dessert for Raspberry Layered Coffee Cake over at Mom Spark. A new change is that from here on out, the recipes I post at Mom Spark (usually every Saturday) will not be published at Jam Hands, so please be sure to hop on over there and pin the recipe. Enjoy!

-Back next week-

2013-05-14T11:37:00.000-05:00

Posting here has slowed down a bit as I have been sick, but I will be back next week with new recipes. In the mean time, check out my Visual Recipe Index for recipes to try, as well as tons of recipes from past Recipe Sharing Monday posts. See you next week!

Recipe Sharing Monday #50 + Features!

2013-05-13T10:30:00.002-05:00

Shrimp Cocktail Dip at Mostly Homemade Mom
Broccoli Cheddar Soup at the Seven Year Cottage
Churro Chocolate Donut Holes at Chica Chocolatina
Grasshopper Bars at Life's Simple Measures
Tres Leches Cake at Crumbs and Chaos
Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce at Joyful Healthy Eats
Lemon Mousse at Red Cottage Chronicles
Caramel Banana Cream Pie at Busy Mom's Helper
New York Coffee Cake Dunkers at Rook No. 17
Strawberry Tiramisu Angel Food Cake at Lemons for Lulu

Congrats to this weeks features!

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My button is over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

15 Recipes for Cinco de Mayo

2013-05-03T10:28:00.000-05:00

I gathered up some of my favorite recipes to hopefully inspire you for a Cinco de Mayo feast. Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken Haystacks

Layered Bean Dip

Flat Bread Taco Supreme

Chicken w/ Spinach & Sun Dried Tomatoes in a Creamy Chipotle & Adobo Sauce

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Chimichangas

Creamy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Chili Frito Corn Salad

Chili and Lemon Chicken Burgers

Mexican Chicken Dorito Casserole

Sangria Punch (Non Alcoholic)

Shredded Beef Nachos

Spicy Sriracha Burgers

Mexican Street Corn

Carne Asada Tacos w/ Roasted Pineapple

Cream Cheese Flan

2013-05-03T09:27:00.001-05:00

I decided to go a flan recipe with a twist this year. Cream Cheese Flan is a bit like a marriage of flan and cheesecake. I loved the taste and how simple it was. It is a perfect ending to a big Cinco de Mayo meal. If you have never tried it, the liquid around the flan is sweet and caramel flavored. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Flan
Makes an 8×8-inch pan

3/4 cup sugar
1 (14 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and heat sugar in a small, heavy-duty saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and caramel colored. QUICKLY pour into bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

2. Place evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla in a blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into the casserole dish (over the dissolved sugar).

3. Place casserole in a 13×9-inch baking dish; fill baking dish with warm water to 1-inch depth.

4. Bake 1 hour and 20 to 30 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Remove flan from hot water. Cool at room temperature in casserole on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

5. When ready to serve, run knife around rim; gently shake to loosen. If you are worried about it sticking, you can let the dish soak in a pan with about an inch of hot water to loosen the flan. It shouldn’t take longer than 10-20 seconds to loosen.

6. Invert onto your serving dish. I recommend doing this over the sink encase there is any splashing from the sugar topping as you invert the dish. Also have your apron on!

Recipe from Food.com

Mexican Street Corn

2013-05-02T08:49:00.001-05:00

Mexican Street Corn is my new favorite side dish. It is a very simple dish, basically corn is prepared and then rolled in yummy toppings. What isn’t to love? Queso Fresco is a very mild crumbling cheese found in most grocery stores. My Queso Fresco came as a solid round shape but it very easily crumbles into smaller pieces. Enjoy!

Mexican Street Corn
Makes several servings

4 large ears corn (Ours were already cut into smaller sections, probably thirds)
butter
kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup mayo
1 1/2 cups Queso Fresco, crumbled
4 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, minced
4 tsp. Ancho chile powder
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

1. Preheat oven to 400-f degrees. Brush corn lightly with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 20-25 minutes. Alternatively you can grill or broil the corn.

2. Working with one ear of corn at a time, brush with mayo. Roll the cob over the cheese and sprinkle with cilangro and Ancho chile powder, pressing the toppings into the corn so it adheres. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper if desired. Serve with lime wedges.

Slightly adapted from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice and Saveur.

Carne Asada Tacos

2013-05-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

While this recipe may seem long and fussy, it is very simple to put together. To save time you can prepare a few components ahead of time. The combination of spicy peppers, grilled pineapple and Carne Asada is downright delicious.

Carne Asada Tacos
Makes several servings

1 recipe Carne Asada (recipe follows)

1 ripe pineapple, prepared and cut into spears or slices (Optional step: Roast them next to the Carne Asada on the grill)

8-16 tortillas, warmed (depending on size of your tortillas the amounts vary)

1 recipe Salsa de Aguacate (recipe follows)

1 recipe Chipotle Crema (recipe follows)

Garnish: Freshly chopped cilantro

1. Prepare the marinade for the Carne Asada. Let marinate in the fridge.

2. Prepare the Salsa de Aguacate and Chipotle Crema. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

3. Grill the Carne Asada according to directions below. If grilling the pineapple you can place the spears on the sides of the grill where the temperature isn’t as hot.

4. To assemble: Warm the tortillas. Add a layer of Salsa de Aquacate. Add sliced Carne Asada. Sprinkle with chopped pineapple, freshly cut cilantro and Chipotle Crema.

For the Carne Asada:

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (some stems in it are fine)

2 Tbsp. white vinegar

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

1 Tbsp. black pepper

1 tsp. sugar

2 lbs beef flank steak, trimmed of fat, cut into large sections, about 6 inches long

1. In a medium non-reactive bowl combine cilantro, vinegar, garlic, lime juice, oil, salt, pepper and sugar; whisk until salt and sugar and dissolved. Add flank steak and turn to coat well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours, turning meat occasionally.

2. Remove steak from marinade, discarding marinade. For a charcoal or gas grill, place steak on the rack of a grill directly over medium heat. Grill, covered, for 17 to 21 minutes for medium (160-f degrees), turning once halfway through grilling.

3. Transfer steak to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil; let stand for 10 minutes. Cut steak against the grain into thin strips; cut strips into 2 inch pieces. Transfer steak pieces to a bowl and toss with any juices left on the cutting board.

For the Salsa de Aguacate:

1 large tomatillo

1 medium avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and cut up

1/4 cup chopped onion (whatever color you prefer, I used red onion)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 fresh habanero or serrano chile pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced (I subbed habanero hot sauce instead)

1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat broiler. Husk one large tomatillo and rinse it. Place tomatillo on a broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 10 minutes or until soft and lightly charred, turning once halfway through broiling time.

2. In a blender or food processor combine the tomatillo, avocado, onion, garlic, habanero pepper and salt. Cover and blend or process until smooth.

For the Crema de Chipotle:

1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream

1 tsp. minced canned chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce

1. Combine the crema or sour cream and the minced peppers in a small bowl and stir. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

Carne Asada Taco recipes adapted from Better Homes and Gardens and Simply Recipes.

Recipe Sharing Monday #49 + Features!

2013-04-28T20:01:00.000-05:00

Farmers Sandwich w/ Chorizo Sausage, Egg, Ham & Jalapeno Cream Cheese at Creole Contessa
Fresh Strawberry Lemonade at Spend with Pennies
Butterfinger Muddy Buddies at Crumbs and Chaos
Streamliner Cake at Yesterfood
Cincinnati Chili at The Salty Kitchen
Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Smoked Bacon Ranch Dip at Back for Seconds
Mock Orange Julius at Food Talk Daily
Cheddar Ale Dip at Will Cook for Smiles

Congrats to this weeks features!

The Guidelines:

Link back to me either by a text link on the post or by putting a button on your blog. My button is over on the right sidebar of my blog.
Please link up as many recipe posts as you'd like, as long as they haven't been submitted to this party before. Link to your direct post, not just your main blog URL.
I would love it if you became a follower of my blog, and also clicked around and commented on the other submissions. Saying hi and making new friends is part of the fun after all.

Cinco de Mayo Feast

2013-04-26T20:07:00.000-05:00

Coming up next week! I thought you might like a sneak preview.