Tex-Mex BLENDABELLA Shakshuka

I have a new pantry obsession! 
It's called BLENDABELLA and it is a jarred blend of portobello mushrooms, veggies and herbs in three flavors: Rustic Tuscan, Coconut Thai and Zesty Mexican. 

They were so generous and sent me two jars of each flavor to play with and I was blown away at how versatile all of the blends were!

A few weeks ago, I poured some of the Rustic Tuscan blend on top of cream cheese and spread it on baguette slices- divine! Once I started testing out what I could do with the different flavors, I reached for the Zesty Mexican blend first. I love savory filling breakfasts and so the baked egg dish, shakshuka immediately jumped to mind. I'm so glad it did!

This is easy to throw together, and if you're hosting a brunch, it'll make you look like a rock star when you bring the skillet to your guests.

Tex-Mex BLENDABELLA Shakshuka

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 cup diced sweet onion
2 (14.5-ounce) cans chopped fire roasted tomatoes with garlic, undrained
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 (12 ounce) jar Zesty Mexican BLENDABELLA
¾ teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1/3 cup crumbled queso fresco
¼ cup chopped cilantro
6 warm corn tortillas

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large, oven proof sauté pan heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the diced poblano and onion until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, BLENDABELLA and ½ teaspoon of the salt and paprika and allow the mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and the sauce has thickened.

Using a spoon, create six wells evenly across the surface of the sauce. Crack the eggs and gently place one in each well. Sprinkle the eggs with the remaining salt and transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook until the whites are cooked through, about 10- 15 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the eggs with the crumbled cheese and cilantro. Serve with warm corn tortillas, for dipping.

Serves 4-6

#BLENDABELLA #zestymexican

If you can't find BLENDABELLA in your local grocery store, you can purchase it online HERE

Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest too for recipe ideas!

Cranberry Lava Flow

When I think of cranberries, I typically think of Fall and the holidays, not tropical, summery and bright flavors. My entries for the "Cape Cod Select Summer Breeze Recipe Blogger Challenge" have totally changed that for me! Cranberries pair so well with pineapple and creamy coconut that I think you'll agree when you taste it- cranberries are perfect year round! For my third entry, I created a Cranberry Lava Flow, perfect for your Labor Day weekend pool parties. They're so pretty, and they look way more labor intense than they really are.

Cheers!

Cranberry Lava Flow

5 oz CapeCod Select Premium Cranberries

¼ cup sugar
½ cup water
4 oz light (white) rum
2 cups ice cubes
4 oz coconut rum

1 cup frozen pineapple cubes

4 oz cream of coconut
Fresh pineapple, for garnish

In a small saucepot, combine the cranberries, sugar and water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the cranberries have softened. Set aside and allow the mixture to fully cool. Once the mixture has cooled, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid.

In a blender, combine the light rum, frozen cranberry and 1 cup of the ice. Blend until smooth and pour into 2 tall glasses.

Rinse out the blender and add the coconut rum, pineapple, cream of coconut and the remaining ice. Blend until smooth and slowly pour the pineapple coconut mixture into the glasses. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and serve immediately.

If you'd like to order their frozen cranberries for yourself, you can go HERE

To follow along for recipes and ideas you can find Cape Cod Select on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest

#capecodselect #frozencranberries #cranberriesforallseasons

I'm so excited to update and say that I WON the Drink Category and Grand Prize - $1500!! I am so thrilled that Cape Cod Select enjoyed my recipe as much as I did and I hope you like it too! Cheers!

Cape Cod Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Cranberry Sweet & Sour Sauce

My second entry for the "Cape Cod Select Summer Breeze Recipe Blogger Challenge" are these gorgeous grilled skewers glazed with a easy and homemade Cranberry Sweet & Sour Sauce! I know I shared with you how awesome I think these Non-GMO cranberries are before and I really think this recipe shows their versatility. Cranberries aren't only for the holidays anymore.

This sauce is so easy to make and can easily be made ahead of time. If you have any left over, which I doubt you will, it's equally delicious on grilled pork chops, frozen party meatballs and small smoked sausages!

Cape Cod Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Cranberry Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons chili garlic sauce

1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 cups Cape Cod Select Premium Cranberries

35 ¾ inch cubes fresh pineapple

35 ¾ inch cubes of green bell pepper

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon garlic salt

35 large tail on, peeled and deveined shrimp

¼ cup minced flat leaf parsley

  In a large sauce pot over medium high heat bring the sugar, pineapple juice, vinegar, salt, chili garlic sauce, ginger and cranberries to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and allow the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the cranberries have burst. Allow the mixture to sit and cool slightly then puree until completely smooth.

Heat a large grill pan or outdoor grill to high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Grill the pineapple for 3 minutes per side, or until grill marks appear. Remove the pineapple from the grill and place in a medium mixing bowl. Toss the bell pepper cubes in half of the oil and garlic salt and place on the grill for 3 minutes per side. Once the bell pepper cubes have grill marks, add them to the bowl with the pineapple.

Toss the shrimp with the remaining oil and garlic salt. Grill the shrimp until they are just opaque but still juicy, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add the grilled shrimp to the bowl with the peppers and pineapple and pour 1/3 cup of the Cranberry Sweet and Sour Sauce and toss to coat evenly. Using bamboo small skewers or toothpicks, thread a piece of pineapple, a green bell pepper cube and a shrimp on each and place on a serving platter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately with remaining sauce to dip.

If you'd like to order their frozen cranberries for yourself, you can go HERE

To follow along for recipes and ideas you can find Cape Cod Select on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest

#capecodselect #frozencranberries #cranberriesforallseasons

Summer Trips and Wins

Between trips to Mexico, New Orleans, Port Aransas and Canyon Lake, celebrating our 12 year Anniversary, our son's Birthday, July 4th week celebrations, a BBQ Competition Cook-off and a 9 day Boy Scout camp out trip in Georgia our summer was the busiest we've ever had and I can't believe it's over already and school is in session.
I now have a 4th and 6th grader......who let that happen?!

 As happy as I am to get back into a routine, I'm beyond pumped to be going to St Louis to visit the Weber Grill Headquarters in a few weeks for the trip that I won from Nature's Sweet Tomatoes contest! I have been loving my new grill they sent me and it looks so pretty on our porch. I've never been to St Louis, so if there's anything I shouldn't miss please let me know!

A few updates for contests I've placed in:

My Greek Garden Zucchini Spiral Salad with Shepherd’s Sumac Salsa won First Place in the Vegan Category for the #SimpleButTwisted recipe contest! They will be featuring the winners on their website soon and I'm pretty proud to have won something for the first vegan recipe I've ever made!

My Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Buffalo Meatloaf  won Honorable Mention in the Budweiser BBQ Sauce contest and is featured on their website along with the other entries as well. There's some pretty delicious looking dishes in there!

These two are just happy when I'm in the kitchen and praying that I drop something soon...

Cranberry Jalapeno Cornbread Panzanella Salad

I am so excited to be participating in another Cape Cod Select Premium Cranberry recipe challenge. This year the Cape Cod Select Summer Breeze Recipe Blogger Challenge is looking for creative and delicious recipes that highlight their Non-GMO gorgeous cranberries. Cape Cod Select is a small women-owned family business that has been growing cranberries for more than 75 years. These are literally the prettiest, sweetest cranberries I've ever used, and they generously sent me 2 huge bags to cook with! 

For my first entry, I made a Cranberry Jalapeno Cornbread Panzanella Salad. Sweet and spicy cornbread croutons are tossed with roasted Brussels sprouts, chopped bacon, crisp pistachios and a maple apple cider vinaigrette. The cornbread can be made ahead, it's delicious at room temp, and the flavors really shine the longer it sits. That means it's the perfect dish to serve when entertaining since you won't be worried about serving it hot or as soon as your guests arrive.

Look at those crispy croutons!

Cranberry Jalapeno Cornbread Panzanella Salad

1 (8.5 ounce) box cornbread mix

1 egg

1/3 cup buttermilk

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh jalapenos

1 cup CapeCod Select Premium Cranberries, roughly chopped

1 pound Brussels sprouts

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

6 slices cooked and crumbled bacon

¼ cup chopped pistachios        

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the cornbread mix, egg, buttermilk and chopped jalapenos in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together until smooth. Pour the batter into a well-greased 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle the cranberries on top of the batter and, using the back of a spatula, press them down into the batter. Bake for 25 minutes.  

While the cornbread cools, prepare the Brussels sprouts. Raise the temperature of the oven to 425 degrees. Trim the stem ends of the Brussels sprouts, cut in half lengthwise, and then toss them in a very large mixing bowl with 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil, ½ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Pour them on a large foil-lined cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes.

In the same large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup.

While the Brussels sprouts are roasting, cut the cornbread into 1-inch cubes. Once the Brussels sprouts are roasted, remove them from the oven and place them back into the mixing bowl with the dressing.  

Lay the cubed cornbread squares onto the same cookie sheet and spray liberally with nonstick cooking spray. Place in the oven and toast for about 10-12 minutes.

Add the crumbled bacon and chopped pistachios to the marinating Brussels sprouts. Gently stir in the toasted cornbread croutons and serve immediately.

If you'd like to order their frozen cranberries for yourself, you can go HERE

To follow along for recipes and ideas you can find Cape Cod Select on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest

#capecodselect #frozencranberries #cranberriesforallseasons