Slow Roasted Lamb Tacos

This isnt a quick process. But it is SO good and SO easy. Lamb shoulder is tender and delicious, and slow roasting it just amplifies its delicious qualities.

I put my roast in the crock pot on low with two eigthed onions, a cup of chopped cilantro and season it with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder and smoked paprika.

Now let it cook on low for 18 hours. Yes eighteen. What does that mean? Well if you wanna eat at 5pm the next day, throw it in at 11pm. The night before. Of course you cant just leave it be. You have to add a little water or lamb stock every so often. Fresh outta lamb stock but loathe to water down all that flavor? Vegetable stock works great too.

As you know shoulder roasts have bone. Fight the temptation to take the bone out. Fight it! Bones keep meat moist! The bone can be removed at the last minute.

After the meat is prepared, whip up some mango cilantro sauce (thats another blog) and chop up any fixings you desire. We had lettuce, black olives, onions, cheese, sour cream and taco sauce. Spread refried beans onto your tortilla then top it with your fixings. Drizzle on your mango cilantro sauce and you have an amazing slow roasted lamb taco from my kitchen to your table.

Mango Cilantro Sauce

This sauce is pretty universal. I put it on pork, lamb, tacos, in meatloaf, on a salad, everything. Sometimes I add jalapeno, sometimes I add pineapple.

Cut up one large mango into large chunks. Chop a half cup of fresh cilantro, half a cup of onions and two cloves of garlic. Put all the componants into a food processor and puree. Now you have a light fresh tasting sauce that really adds to any dish from my kitchen to your table.

Sweet and Sour Pork Sandwiches

Sometimes we need to try something new. At least in my house we do. So since I have been trying to do things a little healthier, I decided to make my own sweet and sour sauce. Its very simple.

Pour one can of diet orange soda, a quarter cup of soy sauce and one teaspoon of ginger paste. Fresh grated ginger works just as well. Let this come to a simmer before adding bite size chunks of pork tenderloin. Simmer the meat covered for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork is 165°. Uncover and allow the sauce to thicken.

I added half a cup of crushed pineapple before spooning onto a split cibatta loaf. I topped it with white american cheese before popping it into a 400° oven for ten minutes.

The result was a delicious easy meal from my kitchen to your table.

Healthy Apple Strawberry Tart

Sometimes a rich dessert is just what you want, but other times a nice light dessert is really refreshing. I made a beautiful tart that was delicious AND low calorie.

I sliced up two large granny smith apples and a pound of strawberries. I tossed them with a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice and a cup of splenda.

I filled a store bought crust with my strawberry apple filling and brushed the edges with some melted butter. I baked the tart at 350° for 40 minutes. A nice healthy dessert from my kitchen to your table.

Easy Banana Poke Cakes

Need a dessert in a pinch? Only have twenty minutes? Then this is the dessert for you! All you need is two packages of six personal sponge cakes, two ripe bananas, one tub of cool whip some banana cream instant pudding and a plastic straw.

Make your pudding according to the directions on the box and let it set up in the fridge while you use the straw to poke hokes in six of the sponge cakes. Once your pudding has set spread a liberal dollop of it onto each cake. Add banana slices onto each cake and top with cool whip. Repeat these steps for the second layer, then add one more slice of banana to each cake for garnish. Then you have a super quick super easy dessert from my kitchen to your table.

Catfish Po'boy Sandwiches

My local butcher shop had fresh catfish nuggets on sale for $1.50 a pound. What is a catfish nugget you ask? Basically the leftover chunks of catfish fillets. Thats why its so cheap. I dont cook a lot of seafood and this was my first time cooking catfish. I am very pleased with how this turned out.

To start, I cut my catfish into bite size chunks, careful to trim off any skin that was left. Then I soaked it in a bowl full of milk to plump it up and leech out any extra fishy flavor.

Then I drained the milk off and prepared my shake n bake. I chose shake n bake for this because I wanted a healthier alternative to breaded, fried fish. I dropped in my catfish pieces and coated them well.

I baked my fish for 35 minutes at 350°. While my fish baked, I prepared the other componants to the sandwiches. Since I bought pre made cole slaw I only needed to jazz it up a bit. I added some hot sauce, cheddar cheese and cracked black pepper. Then I made a special sauce composed of honey mustard, buffalo sauce and sour cream. Then I split my beautiful ciabatta buns.

I put sauce on the buns, then the catfish. I topped the fish with some of my doctored cole slaw. I served these beauties with steamed broccoli and cheese sauce.

This is a delicious and quick meal for the whole family to enjoy. From my kitchen to your table!

Stuffed Pancakes

Sometimes you just get bored. You look in your freezer and sigh. Breakfast is my least favorite meal to make, because I find breakfast food monotonious to prepare. Today I decided to try something new.

The construction of a stuffed pancake is simple. Fry your sausage patty to the crispness you desire. Scramble an egg and fry it into a patty. Aim to make it a little smaller than your sausage patty, but a bit thicker. This can be accomplished by folding the egg over on itself as it cooks. Season the egg patty with pepper and salt.

Remove your eggs and sausage from your griddle or frying pan and prep your cooking surface to make pancakes. I use a griddle so I just used the sausage grease to grease the griddle and provide a non stick zone for my pancakes.

Using your favorite batter, make a pancake the is just a little bit bigger than your sausage patty. As the pancake starts to bubble and is ready to be flipped, place your egg and sausage patty on top and GENTLY press down. Top your egg and sausage with more pancake batter. Carefully flip and allow to cook through.

Now you have a stuffed pancake! Another tasty dish from my kitchen to your table!