Tri Citrus Steak Street Tacos and bonus Chicken marinade recipe

Tri Citrus Steak Street Tacos

2 lbs. New York Strip Steak, excess fat trimmed

Marinade:

1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

juice of 1 orange

juice of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lime

2 T. apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup avocado oil

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Toppings:

Red onion, minced

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Fresh pineapple, minced (We had fresh pineapple on our tacos in Hawaii and it was the bomb dot com)

Tomatoes, chopped

Avocados, chopped

Corn

Cheese

Lettuce

Lime wedges (for the juice)

Cafe Rio Sauce (I just straight up buy my sauce by the pint from Cafe Rio now but you can use this recipe too)

Mission street taco tortillas either flour or corn (warmed)

1. Mix ingredients of marinade together and place with steak in a ziploc bag.
2. Marinate 1-6 hours (Don't marinate too long or else the meat gets mushy)
3. Grill or pan fry steak until desired doneness.
4. Let steak rest 5 minutes before cutting it so that it stays juicy.
5. Chop steak into tiny pieces
6. Assemble tacos with desired toppings

Chicken Street Tacos:

1 1/2 lbs trimmed skinless chicken breasts

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup avocado oil
• 3 cloves garlic , minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Mix ingredients of marinade together and place with chicken in a ziploc bag.
2. Marinate 1-6 hours
3. Grill or pan fry chicken until desired doneness.
4. Let chicken rest 5 minutes before cutting it so that it stays juicy.
5. Chop chicken into tiny pieces
6. Assemble Tacos with desired toppings

Rice Pudding

Rice Pudding:
5 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 cups COOKED rice (Cal-rose or medium grain)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

1. Start cooking rice at the same time you start to cook the pudding mixture.
2. In a large saucepan warm up the milk.  When warm, add sugar and salt.
3. Then add eggs by tempering.
4. Stir slowly with wooden spoon at medium heat for 45-60 minute until the mixture has evenly thickened.
5. Add the cooked rice by placing the rice in a large glass measuring cup and adding a little of the milk mixture.  Use a whisk to break up the rice grains and then add to the pot.
6. Let thicken until the rice and pudding mixture coat the back of a wooden spoon.
7. Then take off heat, put pudding in glass dish and cover with saran wrap.
8. Let cool in refrigerator for 6-24 hours.
9. Whip 2 cups of heaving whipping cream and 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract.
10. Fold the whipped cream into the cooled pudding mixture until fully incorporated.

Chocolate:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In the microwave melt chocolate chips with whipping cream for 2 minutes.  Whisk until shiny and add to the cooled pudding before adding the vanilla whipped cream.

Raspberry:
1 bag of frozen raspberries
Rice pudding mixture

Add frozen raspberries and mix into the pudding.  Fully incorporate before folding in the vanilla whipped cream.

Almond:
Omit vanilla extract and replace with 2 teaspoons almond extract

Vanilla Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got this recipe from HERE. I just posted it on my blog for easier finding for me! They are so soft/chewy/delicious.  Definitely one of my favorite oatmeal cookie recipes.  The recipe calls for part cake flour and part bread flour but you may be able to substitute both for all purpose flour since cake flour is finer than normal flour and bread flour is heavier than normal flour so you would think if you mixed them you would get regular flour right haha?! I haven't tried them with regular flour though so fair warning they may not turn out the same!

Ingredients:

10 T butter

1/2 c + 2 T sugar

1/2 c + 2 T brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. cake flour

3/4 c. bread flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. old fashioned oatmeal

1 c milk chocolate chips (the big ones!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add remaining dry ingredients, minus chocolate chips, mixing until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

3. Arrange medium scoops 2 inches apart. Bake for 14 minutes or until lightly golden around the edge. Take out of oven and let rest on pan for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in airtight container.  

Cajun Sweet Potato Fries with BBQ Fry Sauce

Cajun Sweet Potato Fries
1 bag of frozen sweet potato fries
Rosemary olive oil
Creole seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's)

1. Preheat oven according to sweet potato bag instructions.
2. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Spread out sweet potato fries in a single layer on baking sheet.
4. Drizzle rosemary olive oil on top of fries.
5. Sprinkle creole seasoning on top of fries.
6. Bake in oven according to package directions.
7. Take sweet potato fries out of oven halfway through baking time and flip.
8. You can add more seasoning at the time if desired.
9. Put fries back in oven and cook for remainder of cooking time.

Serve with BBQ fry sauce

BBQ Fry sauce

Homemade avocado mayo (Recipe below)
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce

1. Mix BBQ sauce with homemade mayo.  The proportion should be somewhere between 30-50% BBQ sauce.  Depends on your preferences.

Avocado Mayo
1 large egg yolk
1 T. water
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. honey dijon mustard
1 scant cup avocado oil (too much oil will make the emulsion break and not get thick)
kosher salt and pepper to taste

1.  Combine all ingredients and whip with an immersion blender.

HERE IS A VIDEO to show you how to mix it if you are nervous :)

Canned Raspberries for Raspberry Lemonade

Super delicious to add to lemonade!!

Canned Raspberries:

1.5-3 lbs. fresh raspberries

4 cups water

1 cup sugar

1. Boil sugar and water together for 5 minutes.  Skim if necessary.  After the 5 minutes keep water and sugar mixture hot but boiling. 
2. Wash fruit and drain.  Then fill hot sterile jars with raspberries leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
3. Remove any trapped air bubbles (you can use a wood skewer or chopstick) and place lids securely on jars.
4. Process in a boiling water bath 10 minutes for pints and 15 minutes for quarts.
5. Let cool completely.

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade:

1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 cup sugar

5 cups water

1. Add fresh squeezed lemon juice and sugar to pitcher.
2. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add water and stir until well mixed.
4. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to chill.

Faux Chicken Carbonora (Cheesecake Factory Copycat)

This is inspired by my favorite dish at Cheesecake Factory their Pasta Carbonara with chicken.  I'm pretty sure they don't use a traditional carbonara sauce with eggs and that they just use a garlic alfredo sauce.  So here is my copycat version! I have to say its VERY close and delicious :) I used the sauce from the cajun chicken alfredo recipe and improvised the rest. Sorry the picture isn't that great but I forgot to take one when it was fresh and beautiful haha. This makes ALOT so you could halve it.

Faux Chicken Carbonora
1 box spaghetti
3-4 chicken breasts (cubed, salt and peppered)
1-2 T. butter to sauté the chicken breasts
6-8 slices of bacon (reserve 2 T. grease to saute garlic for alfredo sauce)
3 T. minced fresh garlic
1/4 c. white cooking wine
3 c. heavy whipping cream
3/4 c. freshly grated parmesan
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. sliced green onions
1/2 bag of frozen peas

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Reserve 2 T. grease. Chop the bacon after it is done cooking.
2. While the bacon is cooking you can start the spaghetti. You can also sauté the cubed chicken in butter while the bacon cooks. Let the frozen peas boil in water for a few minutes until warmed.
3. Sauté the 3 T. minced garlic in the bacon grease until lightly caramelized.
4. Deglaze the pan with the white cooking wine.
5. Add in the heavy cream.
6. Let the cream simmer and wait for the sauce amount to reduce by about half and is thickened.
7. Stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper.
8. When spaghetti is finished cooking place in large bowl and pour the sauce over top.
9. Add sautéed chicken breasts, chopped bacon, and peas.
10. Garnish with green onions and more Parmesan.

Smore's Bars

Ingredients
(1) 16 oz. bag mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
5 T. butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
(1) 13 oz. bag of golden grahams cereal (or 8 cups)

Directions

• Grease 13x9-inch pan with butter. In 3-quart saucepan, melt chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup and 4 1/2 cups marshmallows over low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. OR combine all ingredients in a microwave safe dish except the vanilla and microwave on high and stir after every minute until melted (About 2-3 1/2 minutes).  Stir in vanilla after everything is melted. 
• Pour cereal into large bowl. Pour marshmallow mixture over cereal; stir until evenly coated. Stir in remaining marshmallows from bag.
• With buttered back of spoon, press mixture in pan. Cool at least 1 hour or until firm. Store loosely covered at room temperature.