TUNA SALAD WITH WALNUTS & CRANBERRIES ON APPLE SLICES

July 7, 2024 Julie Sanchez

This is currently my new favorite weekend lunch. It’s super easy to prepare and satisfying with the crunchiness of the tart apple combined with the walnuts and cranberries. And what goes best with apples and walnuts… my personal favorite…cheddar cheese. I added a slice for added protein and yuminess!

Solid White Albacore Tuna packed in olive oil is my fav… it is simply more moist. I always use avocado oil mayo since it is made with a healthy oil. You can substitute pecans for walnuts. Broccoli Sprouts are great since they pack a punch healthwise. Organic Honeycrisp apples are my apple of choice. By the way, I always store my nuts and cranberries in the freezer… they stay much fresher that way.

Drain the tuna, add to a mixing bowl and break up with a fork.

Cut the celery into strips and then mince.

Chop up the walnuts.

Cranberries pack a punch, so I prefer to chop them so you get just a hint of sweet tartness.

Combine everything, add salt to taste and mix thoroughly. If you used tuna packed in water you will need more mayo or olive oil for moistness. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Slice off the top of the apple, then slice into about 3/8” thick slices. Use a teaspoon to carefully go around core and remove. It is too difficult to remove core with a knife… you will end up splitting the apple ring.

You really do not have to cut the cheese in rounds… but I like pretty food.

You can use a ice cream scoop or a spoon to mound the tuna on the apple. Serve 2 Slices per person.

Top with micro greens or sprouts.

TUNA SALAD WITH WALNUTS & CRANBERRIES ON APPLE SLICES RECIPE

Serves: 3-4 People
Prep Time: 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 cans solid white tuna packed in oil
1/2 cup celery, chopped (roughly 2 stalks)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (or pecans)
1/4 cup cranberries, chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise ( I prefer avocado oil mayo)
salt to taste
2 apples, sliced thickly (1 apple for 2 people)
cheddar cheese slices, 2 per person
sprouts or micro greens

PREPARATION

Drain tuna (If it is packed in oil…drain in trash not sink) and place in medium bowl. Break up tuna with a fork.
Cut celery into strips and then dice. Add to the tuna.
Cut up the walnuts and add to tuna.
Cut up the cranberries and add to tuna.
Add mayo and salt to taste. If using tuna packed in water you will need to add a splash of olive oil or more mayo to the mixture.
Slice the top off the apple and slice into 3/8” slices.
Add your cheese of choice on top of sliced apple.
Add tuna and top with sprouts and micro greens.
Serve 2 slices of apple topped tuna per person.

PRINT RECIPE

SLOW COOKED PORK TACOS

May 25, 2024 Julie Sanchez

Every couple of months I slow cook a pork butt and use it to make several meals. We use the pork to make tacos one night and baked potatoes stuffed with pork for another night.

When you walk into your house, after the pork butt has cooked for hours, the smell will instantly make you hungry. You open up the crock pot and steal a piece of fall off the bone meat and you will understand how delicious a pork butt can be.

You need your slow cooked pork butt, corn tortillas, avocado, and a mixture of finely diced onions and cilantro to sprinkle on top of your taco. Go here for my Slow Cooked Pork Butt recipe.

Chop the cooked pork into small pieces.

Chop up the onions as finely as possible.. you do not want chunks of onion in your tacos.

Remove only the large stems, the smaller ones will be chopped finely.

Chop up the cilantro finely.

Add the cilantro to the onions and stir to combine.. transfer to a smaller bowl since the bowl you mixed it in is messy looking. Store covered in the fridge till ready to use.

Sprinkle a little olive oil on a flat pan and heat your corn tortillas until warm. Pile on your pork butt, sprinkle with the cilantro/onion mixture, top with avocado slices and top with my Creamy Jalapeno Salsa (The recipe is also on my blog here).

Enjoy!

SLOW COOKED PORK TACOS RECIPE

Serves: 2 people
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1/2 Large White Onion, super finely chopped
Handful of Cilantro, finely chopped
4-6 Tortillas (2-3 per person)
1 Avocado, sliced
My “Creamy Jalapeno Salsa”
My “Slow Cooked Pork Butt”

PREPARATION

Prepare the Slow Cooked Pork Butt (on my blog here)
Once pork has cooked, chop pork into small pieces, you need about 1 1/2 cups for 4-6 tacos.
Slice one large white onion into super fine dices. Put onion in medium bowl.
Remove large stems from cilantro and chop up a handful of cilantro. Add cilantro to onions mixture and combine,
Transfer cilantro/onion mixture to a smaller neater bowl.
Slice Avocado.
Heat up pan with a sprinkle of olive oil on medium high heat. Heat tortillas till soft.
Place pork, then cilantro/onion mixture on tortilla and top with avocado slices and my Creamy Jalapeno Salsa.

PRINT RECIPE

SLOW COOKED PORK BUTT

May 25, 2024 Julie Sanchez

It is difficult to describe the smell and taste of this slow cooked pork. It can feed a crowd or like us two, feed us for several meals. We use it for tacos and stuffed baked potatoes. When I was growing up we would throw barbeque sauce on chopped pork and slap it on a hamburger bun with some pickles.

You will need spices for a dry rub, an onion, a beer, and chipotles in adobo sauce. If you can not find chipotles in adobo sauce you can simply use chipotle from the spice section of the grocery store and add it to your rub mixture. The chipotles are very spicy, so if you do not like it hot, you may omit. I only use 1 chipotle pepper in the mixture, so even though it is hot, it really does not make the pork really spicy… it just gives it a smokey flavor. I like a bone in pork butt… the bone adds depth.

Combine all your spices, with salt and pepper and stir to combine. You need a teaspoon of each, but I like to use a 1/2 teaspoon twice to scoop the spices out of the jars… a teaspoon is too big to fit in the spice jars.

I like to place the dry rub on the pork the night before…. it permeates the pork more… but I if you do not have time do not sweat it.

Dry off the pork butt first with paper towels, then sprinkle the dry rub mixture over the entire pork butt and rub in it every nook and cranny.

Slice the onion in half, peel off the outer skin and cut into thin slices.

Lay the sliced onions in the bottom of your crock pot and place your pork on top. You can also use a dutch oven and cook this in the oven at 325 for approximately 3 hours or until falling off the bone.

In a blender, combine the beer and 1 chipotle pepper and blend till smooth. Pour over the pork and cover. Cook for roughly 5 hours in the crock pot on high or until falling off the bone tender.

You can cook the pork the night before if you prefer. If you place the whole pork and juices in the frig overnight, then you can easily remove the fat from the top the next day. Cut the pork into pieces. You can add the onions or save them separately to add to your meal.

You will have enough pork for several nights if you are feeding just 2 people. When it is just me and my husband, we always make tacos the first night with the pork. My Slow Cooked Pork Taco recipe is on the blog here.

Our 2nd night we use the pork for loaded baked potatoes with butter, cheese, steamed broccoli, chopped pork, topped with onions from the pork. This is a real crowd pleaser!

SLOW COOKED PORK BUTT RECIPE

Serves: approx. 6 people
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 Hours

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 pound Bone In Pork Butt
1 Large White or Yellow Onion, sliced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 Beer
Chipotles in Adobo Sauce

PREPARATION

Slice onion in thin slices and place in crock pot.
Combine spices in small bowl. Dry off pork butt. Sprinkle all the rub on the pork butt. I like to do this the night before but it is not mandatory.
Place the pork on the onions in the crock pot.
Place 1 chipotle or 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce in blender with 1 beer. Blend to break down chipotle.
Pour over pork and cover. Cook 5 hours in crock pot on high or until tender and falling off bone.
Pork Butts have a lot of fat, so you can make this the night before, place in fridge, and skim off the fat the next day, or simply remove pork from pot that you need for that night and chop up into pieces. Save onions separately or chop up with the pork. I only chop up the pork I am using for that night. Otherwise I store the pork in some of the juices so it does not dry out in the fridge.
Enjoy the Pork for Tacos (on my Blog here) for stuffed potatoes, or add barbeque sauce and slap on a bun with pickles and slaw.

PRINT RECIPE

BRANDY FREEZE

December 21, 2023 Julie Sanchez

I had never heard of or tasted a Brandy Freeze till a couple of weeks ago. We were at dinner with friends…my hubby and I split a Brandy Freeze for dessert. We sucked it down in record time. This recipe is my delicious and decadent take on a cocktail which I consider dessert!

You only need ice cream, Creme de Cacao, Brandy/Cognac, and nutmeg to grate on top. (Cognac is simply Brandy made in the region of Cognac, France.)

Scoop the ice cream into a blender with the liquor and add 3 ice cubes.

Ready to blend till creamy.

Grate fresh nutmeg on top with a microplane.

BRANDY FREEZE RECIPE

Serves: 1 person
Prep Time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
3/4 ounce Creme de Cacao
1 1/2 ounces Brandy or Cognac
3 ice cubes
nutmeg, grated

PREPARATION

In a blender add the 2 liquors, the ice cream, and ice.
Blend till smooth and creamy.
Use a microplane to grate nutmeg on top.

PRINT RECIPE

SOUTHERN CHICKEN & RICE

February 11, 2021 Julie Sanchez

I grew up in Atlanta, and in the south, Chicken & Rice is considered true comfort food….especially on a cold winter day. I have definitely added more flavor than the chicken and rice I ate as a child, by bringing fresh thyme and mushrooms to the party. I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine does!

I prefer Baby Bella or Crimini mushrooms over white button mushrooms, because they are heartier and have more flavor. I also buy Basmati rice because I love the long grains and flavor.

To finish off the chicken and rice and to give it some freshness and color, you need fresh parsley.

This Chicken Bouillon powder simply enhances chicken flavor goodness!

Cut the celery into strips and then into a small dice. You need 1 cup finely chopped celery.

Finely chop 1 1/2 cups of onions.

Peel and carrots first, then slice into thin coins. You need 1 1/2 cups total.

In a large stock pan combine celery, onions, and carrots with 1 tablespoon olive oil and turn the heat on high. Saute, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

While veggies are cooking, mince 4 cloves of garlic. Also remove the leaves from your thyme stems to measure 2 tablespoons of thyme leaves.

After 5 minutes of cooking veggies, add garlic, thyme, 2 bay leaves, 7 cups of broth (save 1 cup of broth for later) salt, chicken bouillon, and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, add the chicken thighs, reduce to medium, cover and set timer for 15 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking saute the mushrooms on high heat with butter in a separate saute pan. You may wonder why I do not just throw the raw mushrooms into the broth mixture; it is because I prefer the look and taste of sauteed mushrooms over boiled mushrooms. Discard the stems and thinly slice the mushrooms. Put a saute pan on high heat and place 2 tablespoons butter in pan.

Once the butter has melted saute the mushrooms till golden brown on high heat. You want the mushrooms to have some color. After the chicken has cooked 15 minutes and the timer has gone off, add the rice and sauteed mushrooms to the broth mixture. Cover and cook on medium heat for another 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the chicken thighs and search and rescue the 2 bay leaves. Turn off the heat and let the mixture rest while you cut up the chicken.

Once the chicken has cooled slightly, cut into small pieces and add back to the rice mixture along with the fresh parsley. Taste for salt, and add more pepper, because I believe this dish needs a lot of pepper. Add the last cup of broth if you want the mixture more juicy. As the rice sits and cools it will absorb more of the liquid. But the last cup of broth is based on your personal choice of juiciness.

Turn on the fireplace and enjoy!

SOUTHERN CHICKEN & RICE RECIPE

Serves: 5-6 Servings
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup celery, chopped finely
1 1/2 cups onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced into thin coins
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
7-8 cups chicken broth (two 32 ounce boxes)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, stems removed, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely

PREPARATION

Cut the celery into thin strips, and then cut again into a small dice to make 1 cup.
Finely chop a onion to measure 1 1/2 cups.
Peel and slice carrots into coins to measure 1 1/2 cups.
Combine celery,onions, carrots, and 1 tablespoon olive oil on heat high in a large stock pan. Saute for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
While and veggies are cooking mince the garlic and remove the leaves from the fresh thyme stems.
After 5 minutes of veggie saute add the garlic, thyme, 2 bay leaves, 7 cups of broth (reserve 1 cup for the end), salt, bouillon powder, black pepper and the chicken thighs. Bring to a boil.
Once boiling, cover, reduce heat to medium and set timer for 15 minutes.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms, and thinly slice the mushroom caps. Put 2 tablespoons butter in medium saute pan and turn heat on high. Once the butter has melted, add the mushrooms and saute on high till golden.
After the 15 minute timer has gone off, add the rice and mushrooms, cover and set the timer for 30 minutes.
Finely chop the fresh parsley and set aside.
Once 30 minute timer has gone off, remove the chicken thighs, and search and rescue the 2 bay leaves. Turn off the heat and let the mixture rest. Once the chicken has cooled slightly cut into small pieces
Return the cut chicken to the rice mixture, along with the parsley. Stir to combine. Taste for saltiness and add more black pepper because this dish is better with lots of pepper. At this point you can decide if you want to add the last cup of broth. The juiciness factor is up to you…. remember the rice will absorb more liquid as it rests.

PRINT RECIPE