HUDSON SAUCE: STEAK WITH SMOKY PEPPER SAUCE

My friend makes a fabulous steak sauce/marinade called Hudson Sauce.  It is flavorful, thick and perfectly balanced.  It has just the right amount of sweet barbeque flavor with a hint of tartness and smoke.  It can be used to marinate or baste grilled meats, and even as a dipping sauce.  I used it to both marinate and create a savory sauce to complement the steak.  I marinated the meat overnight, which made it super tender.  You can find Hudson's Sauce here #hudsonsauce

I found this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens and used it as a guide. Now, this was an amazing meal the night it was cooked.  But let me tell you, the leftovers we had for lunch the next day were INCREDIBLE.  It sounds crazy, but it's so true.  Next time I make it I might just put it directly in the fridge and wait until the next day! 

The flavors of fresh and jarred peppers meld perfectly together.

The smoky flavor comes from paprika, but if you want it to truly shine, you must use smoked paprika.  I love this stuff.

Simmer the peppers, seasonings and sauce together long enough for the flavors to become best friends.

Let the steak join the party.

We served it over white rice.  You could also serve it over pasta, or forgo the carbs and just dive in.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs angus beef sirloin tip steak
1 bottle Hudson Sauce (you'll use about 12 ounces)
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium green bell pepper
1 jar roasted red peppers, 15 oz
1 teaspoon smoked paprika, divided
1 tablespoon canola oil
salt, to taste
4 cups cooked rice or pasta

Trim meat and cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch strips.  Place in large ziploc bag with enough sauce to marinate.  Refrigerate and marinate at least 25 minutes, or overnight.  Remove meat from bag and discard marinade.
Cut bell peppers into strips.  Drain the roasted red peppers, reserving liquid.  Slice into strips. 
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon paprika over meat, then add to skillet.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until cooked to medium rare/medium.  Remove meat to plate, cover with foil to keep warm.  In same skillet, add red and green bell peppers.  Cook until slightly tender, about 5 minutes, then add roasted red peppers with their liquid.  Add about 1/2 to 1 cup Hudson Sauce.  Add remaining paprika, about half a teaspoon.  Simmer uncovered 5-10 minutes, until liquid has reduced by half.  Taste and add needed salt or additional paprika.  Return meat to skillet and heat through.  Serve over rice or pasta.  Makes 4 servings.

COOKING LIGHT PASTA WITH ZUCCHINI AND WHITE BEANS

The Cooking Light cookbooks have been making more regular appearances in our kitchen lately.  My sister and I have been obsessed with this recipe for years and both make it all the time.  A serving is definitely enough to fill you up AND that includes two tablespoons of full fat feta cheese.  Yum.

The recipe calls for spaghetti, but this time around I decided to switch it up.  Spaghetti has to be twirled around your fork, then you have to try and scoop up the veggies to make a good bite.  Sounds easy, right?  Not for me.  I prefer to shovel forkfuls of perfectly mixed, bite sized pasta in my mouth.  Don't judge.  So I used rotini instead, and it was much easier to inhale eat politely like a normal human.

This is perfect for summer because the vegetables are in season now.  I used a mix of green zucchini and yellow squash, and chopped a bit more than the recipe called for.  It's versatile, so use what you enjoy!

Since the recipe only needs a tablespoon of tomato paste, try and find a tube at your grocery store.  You won't have to buy a tiny can and then throw the rest away.

You'll cook your zucchini in an olive oil sprayed pan until it's lightly browned.

Add tomatoes with seasonings and juices, drained beans, water, tomato paste, salt and pepper.

Mix and simmer about 5 minutes, until all the flavors are deliciously blended.

Plate it up beautifully, or mix it up!

Oops.  I suggest using a spoon, rather than trying to shake directly from the container.

Ingredients

6 ounces uncooked spaghetti
Olive oil flavored cooking spray
3 cups (1/4 inch) diced zucchini (2 medium)
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 can Great Northern Beans (15 oz) drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (undrained)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  While pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add zucchini to pan, cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.  Stir in water and next 5 ingredients, cover and simmer 4 minutes.  Place pasta evenly on 4 plates.  Top pasta evenly with zucchini mixture and cheese.
Note: serving size is 2/3 cup pasta, 1 cup zucchini mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese.  311 calories per serving.

CAJUN ALFREDO PASTA WITH CRISPY SHRIMP

This pasta looks and tastes super fancy, but you can get it on the table in less than 30 minutes.  Pasta, creamy spicy Alfredo sauce, and crispy flavorful shrimp.  So simple, yet so amazing.  This recipe was inspired by Kevin and Amanda's Crispy Shrimp Pasta.  Their version uses heavy cream and fettuccine, but I wanted to make a dairy friendly dinner.  I used my favorite alfredo sauce mix and made it with Lactaid milk.  The original recipe serves two, but this modified version will serve four.

Simply season shrimp with salt and pepper, then coat with two tablespoons flour.  Saute in butter and olive oil until lightly browned on both sides, about 6 minutes total.  Remove to a plate and prepare the sauce in the same skillet.

Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente.

Fun shapes are more delicious.  Scientific fact!

Season alfredo sauce with your favorite cajun seasoning.  Or seasonings.  I have two faves, and I don't want either of them to have hurt feelings, so I use both!  Season safely at first and taste as you go, since most cajun seasonings are very salty.  Remember: you can always add more, but you can't take any out!

Drain pasta and add to skillet with shrimp.  Mix to combine and enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lb (8 ounces) pasta
1 packet Knorr Alfredo Sauce + required milk (or 1 3/4 cups prepared Alfredo)
Cajun seasoning to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions.  In a large bowl, season the shrimp with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Toss shrimp to evenly season.  Sprinkle on 1 tablespoon flour, then gently stir to coat.  Add the second tablespoon and stir.  Melt butter and olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, then add shrimp in a single layer.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, until lightly brown.  Flip and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until shrimp are crispy.  Do not overcook!  Remove to plate and cover with foil to keep warm.  Add packet of Alfredo seasoning and milk.  Follow package directions to prepare.  When sauce is thickened and done, add a couple shakes of Cajun seasoning.  Taste and add more if necessary.  Add drained pasta and shrimp to skillet, stir to combine.  Serve immediately.

CHILE COLORADO BURRITOS

Shredded beef burritos smothered in meaty sauce and cheese.  That's all you need to know before you make this meal.  Oh, and the meat is cooked to tender perfection in a crockpot all day long.  If you aren't sold, I feel sad for you.

Now, this recipe adventure could be filed under failure AND disaster.  There are tons of recipes out there for homemade enchilada sauce, so I decided to give it a shot.  It was awful.  Not sure if it was that particular recipe, or I just love the canned stuff too much.  Anyone out there have a fabulous, homemade version to share with me?

Onto plan B.  Luckily, there are always several cans of enchilada sauce in our pantry, so this meal wasn't ruined.  It was the opposite.  This was amazing.  Please make this meal ASAP.   This made 8 burritos, but if you don't want leftovers or aren't feeding a crowd, just halve the recipe.

Quickly give the stew meat a quick browning in the skillet, then throw it in the crockpot.

Pour in enchilada sauce, chopped green chiles, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, bay leaves and salt.  Cook on low allllllllll day long.

Usually, flour tortillas get a weird, sticky and gummy texture when they get super saucy.  Luckily, Trader Joe's Trader Jose's exists.  My friend Kat served these amazing tortillas with tacos and I was instantly converted.  They keep their texture when smothered with sauce and taste like they're from a restaurant.  Do yourself a favor and get some.

You can stick with an all meat filling, or throw some beans in there as well.  These chorizo refried beans are deliciously flavorful and have a slight kick.  Found them at World Market.

The first night we had this meal, we did beans and meat.  The burritos were super filling and one was enough for a meal.  Spread on beans, top with drained beef.

Oh, hey feet.

OR fill with meat and cheese, like we did with the leftovers.

Roll them up burrito style, smother with sauce and cheese, then stick under the broiler for a few minutes.

Serve these with rice and beans or a side salad with sour cream and guacamole.

With white rice and chorizo refried beans.

With Uncle Ben's chicken rice and refried black beans.

Ingredients

3 lbs lean stew meat
3 cans enchilada sauce, 10 oz each
1 can chopped green chiles, 4.5 oz
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cumin
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt

shredded cheese
refried beans
rice

Brown meat in skillet until browned on all or most sides.  Do not cook the meat all the way through.  Place in crockpot, and top with enchilada sauce, chiles and spices.  Stir, cover and cook on low about 4-5 hours.  Meat is done when it is falling apart.  Remove bay leaves.  You want your sauce to be almost gravy-thick at this point, but the meat juice has probably watered it down.  If your sauce is too thin to use as a topping, mix together 3 teaspoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water in a tiny bowl, then stir into crockpot.  It'll thicken up quickly.  Taste your sauce, add more spices or salt if necessary.

Assembling burritos:  scoop meat from crockpot using a mesh strainer, so the burritos will be meaty, not runny.  Fill each burrito with half a cup of meat (or beans and meat, or meat and cheese, or all three!) slightly fold in both sides, then roll up.  Place on baking sheet or baking dish, then smother with meat sauce.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Place under broiler set on high for about 3 minutes, watching carefully the entire time until cheese is melted.  Serve with beans, rice, or additional sauce.

FRESH AND LIGHT TORTELLONI PRIMAVERA

Say it with me, people: EASY MEALS ARE BEST!  WASHING DISHES IS THE WORST!  You'll love this fabulous pasta dinner because it only requires two pots.  Hooray!

This meal is also fab because it's super versatile.  If you want a meatless meal, use cheese filled pasta.  Substitute your favorite veggies, or add even more.  I was in a rush, so I used a frozen steamer bag of broccoli and canned tomatoes (sorry, Adam).  Surely, this would taste even more scrumptious with all fresh vegetables (just ask Adam).  Fresh mushrooms are a MUST, as is refrigerated tortelloni.  The dry kind is cheaper, but those little guys just don't cook up as plumply.  Another plus about this meal is the lack of a heavy sauce.  The simple combination of extra virgin olive oil and pasta water make it perfectly saucy.  Seasoning here is key: use the amount of salt, pepper and crushed red pepper that suits your palate.

The main lineup

The flavor (tomatoes in both pics, oops)

 
Harris Teeter brand is my favorite, especially this flavor.  But use the kind you love!

Begin by sauteing your mushrooms with salt and pepper.  When they look done, after about 10 minutes, stir in your garlic. 

Pour in the undrained tomatoes and add some crushed red pepper.  Toss in the cooked broccoli.  Boil the pasta.  The directions call for 5 minutes, but it always seems crunchy, so I let it go 10 minutes.

When pasta is done, drain it and add it to the veggie filled skillet.

Cheese time!

Mix it up!



Ingredients


2 packages fresh tortelloni (9 ounces each)
1 lb sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella)
1 can petite diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, oregano (undrained)
1 bag frozen broccoli, prepared according to package directions (or a fresh head of broccoli)
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup to 1 cup fresh, shredded parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
crushed red pepper, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste


Begin boiling a large pot of water for the pasta.  Saute mushrooms in large nonstick skillet with salt and pepper.  When the water begins boiling, salt it and add the pasta.  Your mushrooms should be nicely sauteed by now, so add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about one minute.  Add the can of tomatoes, crushed red pepper and cooked broccoli.  Simmer while pasta cooks, about 10 minutes.  Before draining the pasta, scoop out 1-2 cups starchy pasta water and set aside.  Add drained pasta to skillet with the olive oil and give it a stir.  Add pasta water until it's easily stirrable.  Mix in the cheese, adding additional pasta water if necessary.  Serve immediately.