Grilled Pork Meatball Kebabs

Ingredients

  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp. finely chopped garlic
  • 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ tsp. black pepper (we used freshly ground black pepper)
  • 4 Tbsp. gochujang sauce (such as Bibigo Gochujang Hot & Sweet Sauce), divided (we used Annie Chun’s gochujang sauce)
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • ½ cup panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs)
  • 6 scallions, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
  • 3 Tbsp. soy sauce (we used reduced-sodium soy sauce)
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. granulated sugar
  • 8 Little Gem lettuce leaves or romaine lettuce heart leaves (we used romaine lettuce heart leaves)
  • ¼ cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped
  • Chopped fresh cilantro
  • Lime wedges

Directions

  1. Preheat your grill to medium-high (between 400 to 450 degrees) or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and lightly grease it. In a large mixing bowl, stir the egg, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the gochujang sauce together. Add the pork and panko into the bowl and gently mix everything using your hands until just combined. Divide the meat mixture into 24 (1 ¼-inch) meatballs (weighing roughly 1 ounce each). Thread the meatballs, alternating with the green onion pieces, onto 8 (8-inch) skewers (we used wooden skewers that we had soaked for at least 30 minutes).
  2. Place the kebabs on the lightly greased grill grate or grill pan (we used a grill and lightly greased the grate with vegetable oil). Grill uncovered for 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly charred and fully cooked, turning occasionally.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, vinegar, oil, sugar and remaining gochujang together until combined. Lay one skewer on each of the leaves, spooning 2 teaspoons of the sauce over each kebab, followed by sprinkling on the peanuts and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and the remaining sauce.
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You don’t have to but for ourselves, we slid the meatballs and green onions off the skewer and wrapped them in the lettuce leaves before eating.

We got this recipe from Southern Living.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Bibigo, Annie Chun’s, or Southern Living.

Take care everybody !

Margarita Chicken Salad

Ingredients

  • Margarita Dressing
    • ½ cup frozen (thawed) nonalcoholic margarita mix
    • ¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
    • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • Salad
    • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ¼ lb.) (we used 2 breasts that together weighed about 1 ¼ lb.)
    • 6 cups bite-size pieces mixed salad greens (we used a 50/50 blend of spring greens and spinach)
    • 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
    • 1 medium mango, seed removed, peeled and sliced
    • 1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced
    • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

  1. Preheat your gas or charcoal grill (we used a gas grill). Mix the dressing ingredients together with a wire whisk in a small bowl. Measure out ¼ cup of the dressing and pour it into a separate bowl to use for basting later.
  2. Place the chicken on the grill over medium heat. Cover grill and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, flipping halfway through or until the chicken is fully cooked in the thickest part (at least 165 degrees). Brush the chicken with some of the dressing from that ¼ cup you set aside earlier. Continue cooking for 2 to 4 minutes longer, turning and basting frequently with the dressing (we went for 2 minutes).
  3. In a large mixing bowl, toss the greens and strawberries together. Split the mixture up among 4 plates. Cut the chicken breasts into slices before equally dividing it between the 4 plates along with the mango and avocado. Sprinkle cilantro over the top of the 4 plates, drizzling any remaining dressing over the top of the salad portions afterwards.
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This salad is full of flavor ! The dressing has some acidity to it and you taste the margarita mix in it,  the greens are bitter, the strawberries and mango are sweet and the avocado is delicious and brings a creaminess to the salad. The chicken helps this feel like a salad you eat for dinner and makes it more filling. Mommy loves eating strawberries but I’m a lot pickier when it comes to enjoying them. This salad, it made me love eating strawberries !

We got this recipe from Betty Crocker.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Betty Crocker.

Take care everybody !

Mexican Corn Salad (Esquites)

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons lime juice, plus extra for seasoning
  • 3 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • 1-2 serrano chiles, stemmed and cut into 1/8-inch thick rings (we used 2 serranos and thinly sliced them)
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 6 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs (6 cups)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • 4 ounces cotija cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
  • ¾ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 3 scallions, sliced thin

Directions

  1. Mix the lime juice, sour cream, mayonnaise, serranos and ¼ teaspoon of salt together in a large mixing bowl, setting the bowl off to the side for now.
  2. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil into a 12-inch nonstick skillet, setting the heat to high. Once the oil’s shimmering, add half of the corn into the skillet, spreading it out into an even layer. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of salt over the corn and put the lid on afterwards. Cook the corn for 3 minutes or until the corn that’s touching the skillet looks charred, not stirring it all during that time. Take the skillet off the heat and let it stand, covered, for 15 seconds or until any popping stops. Add  the charred corn to the large mixing bowl from step one. Repeat this process with another tablespoon of oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and the remaining corn.
  3. Place the empty skillet back on the stovetop, pouring in the last teaspoon of oil. Once the oil’s hot, add in the garlic and chili powder, stirring constantly for 30 seconds or until they become fragrant. Add the garlic mixture to the bowl, tossing everything together to combine. Lex the mixture cool for a minimum 15 minutes.
  4. Add the cotija cheese, cilantro, and scallions to the bowl, tossing everything to combine. Try a bite of it and season with salt if you think it needs any, adding up to another tablespoon of lime juice if you want. Serve immediately.
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This is addictively good ! The serranos make this spicy but not unbearably so. You can really taste the cotija in this and we just love that funky (in a good way) flavor of the cheese. The dish is a little salty but it’s not unbearably so. It was hard to stop eating this because it was that good.

We got this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Cook’s Illustrated.

Take care everybody !

Slow Cooker Brisket (#2)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 (4-pound) beef brisket
  • 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper, divided (we used freshly ground black pepper)
  • 2 cups chopped yellow onion
  • 1 cup beef broth (we used Swanson regular beef broth)
  • ½ cup ketchup (we used Hunt’s 100% Natural)
  • 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

  1. In a large skillet (we used our 12-inch cast iron skillet), pour the oil in, setting the heat to medium-high. Trim away any excess fat from the brisket until there’s only about a ½-inch layer of fat still remaining. Season the brisket with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Once the oil’s hot, add the brisket to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes or until browned on both sides (we browned all sides of the brisket). Take a 6-quart slow cooker out and place the browned brisket in there, fat side up.
  2. Add the onions into the skillet, cooking them for 2 minutes or until they look lightly browned. Scoop the onions out of the skillet and add them to the slow cooker.
  3. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the broth, ketchup, chile powder, paprika, cumin, remaining salt and remaining pepper until combined. Pour the mixture over the brisket.
  4. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook it on HIGH for 6 ½ hours or on LOW for 10 hours or until tender (we cooked ours on LOW). Place the brisket (fat side up) on a cutting board, letting it sit for 15 minutes before eating. Skim away as much fat as you can from the gravy before serving it with the brisket.
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The brisket does taste good on its own but you’re missing out if you don’t eat it with the “gravy” ! We think this could be great being put into a taco. Look, we’re embarrassed that we don’t have a flavor description to go with this. It’s just that when we took a bite, we were like “Oh my god this is delicious !” and just enjoyed eating it, not really thinking about how to describe the flavor. You could say our flavor description was simply “Damn good !”.

We got this recipe from Slow Cooker Recipes magazine.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Swanson, Hunt’s, or Slow Cooker Recipes magazine.

Take care everybody !

Grilled Corn & Black Bean Salad

Ingredients

  • 4 ears fresh corn, shucked
  • 3 Tbsp. EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • Salt
  • 2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, rinsed and drained (we used one can of Bush’s reduced-sodium and one can of Goya’s black beans)
  • 1 bunch radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
  • 4 oz. queso fresco, crumbled
  • 1 avocado, thinly sliced

Directions

  1. Preheat your grill to medium. Place the corn on the grill grates and cook for 10 minutes or until it’s charred in spots. Take it off the grill and let the corn completely cool down.
  2. Take a large mixing bowl and whisk the EVOO, lime juice, chili powder and ½ tsp. salt (we used table salt) together in it. Once the corn’s cooled, cut the corn off the cob using a large sharp knife, putting the kernels into the large mixing bowl. Add to the bowl the beans, radish slices, scallions and the cilantro, tossing well to make sure all the ingredients are coated in the dressing and the salad ingredients are evenly distributed (the recipe doesn’t say to but we seasoned the salad with some kosher salt). Split the salad between 4 plates, topping the salad with the queso and avocado.
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This is such a delicious summer salad. There’s a variety of texture from the soft slices of avocado to the crunch of the radish slices. The beans really help make this a filling and satisfying dish.

We got this recipe from a Rachael Ray magazine.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Bush’s, Goya’s, or Rachael Ray.

Take care everybody !