"Alabama-Style" Chicken Kabobs

This recipe taught me two things. First, that "Alabama-style" is code for mayonnaise. Lots of mayonnaise. (But that it tastes good!) And second, that skewers and kabobs are not interchangeable. Skewers are actually the metal or wood sticks that you put the meat and vegetables on, and kabobs are the result. Learning! The more you know...

Anyway, back to the recipe. This is very simple, which is always nice. And it's actually really tasty as well. The chicken gets nice and juicy, with a little char and flavor from the grill, and a little kick as well. It's not the healthiest way to cook chicken, but it's not too bad for an occasional thing. Serve it with a nice big side of veggies if you need to settle your conscience. I found this recipe on my latest favorite food blog: food52.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups mayo
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp sambal oelek (more to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into kabob sized cubes

First, mix up the sauce (everything but the chicken). I eyeballed the ingredients, mostly because I hate scraping things like mayo out of a measuring cup. But it turned out fine. Then (carefully!) stick your chicken on the skewers, leaving a bit of space between each cube so it will cook through. Drizzle a little olive oil on the skewers, followed by a touch of salt and pepper to taste, then put them on the grill. Reserve about half the sauce, and use the other half to baste the kabobs as you grill them. Once they are cooked through and have a little bit of color on them (about 8-12 minutes depending on size) they are ready to eat. Serve with the reserved sauce on the side for dipping, or just drizzle a little on top of the chicken. There you have it. Kabobs on skewers, Alabama style.

Easy Duck Confit

The Hubs and I don't really do that much for Christmas. It's just the two of us, and we usually have already given our gifts (or bought them for ourselves) in early December (or November, don't judge). It's not for everyone, but it works for us. This year, we wanted to make a special meal for Christmas, just to give the day a little "Tjuz" (shout out to you Queer Eye fans). So, we settled on duck. Specifically, this recipe on Food52 for "Melissa Clark's Really Easy Duck Confit." Except... we didn't get our act together before Christmas, so we actually had it for New Year's Day. Hey, listen. Duck is really hard to find in the RVA. We checked our go to for good meat, Fresh Market, and they don't carry it. So the Hubs asked around and found a place called Yellow Umbrella. I'd never heard of it, but apparently it's the place to get duck (and seafood, I hear).

Anyway, once you get your hands on some duck, try this recipe and I promise you won't be disappointed. She's right, it IS really easy. Like, really. And it's seriously good. The right amount of flavor from the thyme and salt, but not enough to overwhelm the duck. The skin was delicious, the meat was mouth watering, and the bone...well, that was all that was left at the end. We served it with a easy side of pancetta & shaved Brussels sprouts. The only thing we'd adjust is the cook time. It was a bit overcooked. I've adjusted the times in my instructions below.

Ingredients
4 duck legs (about a half pound each)
1 1/2 tsps kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf, crumbled

If your legs are bigger than a half pound (ours were) adjust up the seasonings accordingly. Put the duck legs skin side up in a dish or tupperware, or if you don't like cleaning extra dishes like me, in the pan you will eventually cook them in. Mix up the salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf and sprinkle generously over the duck. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it hang out in the fridge for 24 hours.

Bring it out of fridge about 15 minutes before you're ready to cook just so it's not straight out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 325. Flip the legs so the skin and fat is down, and cook on the stove tope for about 20 minutes over medium heat. Watch it, as ours got a little burnt on that side (still good). What you're looking for is for the fat to render out into delicious fatty liquid. When that liquid is about 1/4 inch deep, it's time to cook. Flip the legs back over again (skin side up) and cover your pan with foil. Cook for about an hour with the foil on, then remove the foil and cook for another 45 minutes. The original recipe called for two hours with the foil on and an hour with it off, but that was far too long. We cut it down and it was still too long, so I think the hour with foil on and 45 with foil off will be perfect. It's just right to make your Christmas (or New Year's) special!

Sausage and Apple Risotto

Last weekend was the first truly cold couple of days that we've had since last winter, which on one hand is really nice because I hate the cold. But on the other, I do miss those crisp fall days. In Richmond, autumn seems to last a week or two before we descend into winter, so we definitely like to take advantage. Which leads me to this dish: Sausage and Apple Risotto, which I found on a blog called Buttercup and Bourbon. I'm not sure if you could have a more "fall" dish. It's hearty and warm, and the addition of apple just takes me straight to autumn back home in Indiana. It could not be a more comforting meal. So get out a blanket, build a fire, and curl up in a chair with this dish.

I will say that if we made this again there are a few things we might change and I'm incorporating those changes into the recipe below. There didn't seem to be enough broth, and therefore the rice was still a little too al dente by the time we finished, so I've increased the amount. We also would prefer a little heat (shocker!) so next time I would use hot sausage instead of regular.

Ingredients
5 cups chicken broth

8 ounces mild pork sausage (or hot!)

1 small onion, diced

2 medium crisp apples, diced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

1 cup Arborio rice

1/2 to 1 cup apple cider

Shaved Parmesan cheese, for serving

Start by heating your chicken broth and keeping it at a simmer. In another small saucepan, simmer the apple cider as well. In a large skillet, start cooking the sausage, breaking it apart as you go. Once it's just begun to brown, add in the onions and apples and cook for about 7 minutes, until the onions soften. Add in the rice and thyme, and toast for just a minute before adding in your first cup of broth. Stir until the liquid is absorbed before adding another half cup of broth. Keep adding the broth a half cup at a time, letting the rice absorb the liquid between additions. It should go quickly at first, and more slowly as you go on. Make sure to keep the heat medium so you aren't boiling away the liquid.

Once the broth has been incorporated, add in a half cup of the cider and let that soak in. Taste and if the rice is not yet where you like it (too al dente) add the rest of the cider and stir until it's absorbed. Season with salt and pepper (we didn't really need it since the sausage is salty). Serve and enjoy this little taste of fall! 

Jägerspätzle (German Noodles with Mushroom Sauce)

The Hubs and I recently took a trip to Germany. To celebrate his upcoming 40th birthday, he really wanted to go to Oktoberfest (the real one), so we headed off to Munich! Now, I expected this leg of our trip to be more focused on the beer (or bier!) than on the food. And there was plenty, PLENTY, of beer. But I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the food, particularly one night when we ate at a biergarten called Augustiner-Keller. If you are ever in Munich, I highly recommend it. Anyway, since we've been back I've thought about German food in a new way, and that's what led me to try this recipe for Jägerspätzle. Well, that and how delicious the photo looked on this Savory Nothings blog where I found the recipe. Even though we have a pretty solid spätzle recipe (here's the link), we decided to give this new one a try. It made a lot more spätzle, but it didn't have the flavor that our other recipe had, and it was a bit chewy for me. But the mushroom sauce was really good. As always, I could have reduced it a little more to get the sauce a little thicker, but the flavor was nice and warming. Perfect for the cooler weather we've been having, and it definitely reminded me of our trip to Germany.

Spätzle Ingredients

2½ cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

⅓ cup water

⅓ cup milk

3 eggs

Butter for finishing

Sauce Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter, divided

1 shallot, finely chopped

1½ pounds mushrooms, sliced

1 ounce white wine

2 cups broth (I used chicken, but you can use beef or vegetable)
1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ cup cream

We started with the spätzle dough so that it could rest a bit while we started the sauce. Whisk together the water, milk and eggs first, then put the flour, then salt on top of the wet ingredients and use a spoon to gently mix the dry ingredients together a bit before mixing everything together. I personally added a little white pepper and a little nutmeg to the dough, and I felt they could use probably a half teaspoon more of salt. Use a wooden spoon to rapidly stir the dough until there are no more lumps and bubbles start to form. You'll also feel like your arm's about to fall off. Cover and let it rest for about 30 minutes. 

Next you can start on your sauce. Melt three tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat, then add the shallot and cook until it begins to brown. Then add in the mushrooms. Cook for about 7-9 minutes until the mushrooms begin to soften and get a little color, then deglaze with the white wine and reduce. Next pour in the broth and tomato paste and let it simmer until it becomes a thick sauce. I could have been a little more patient with this part, I believe. Finally, add in the last two tablespoons of butter and let them melt, then pour in the cream. Let the sauce warm back up, and it's ready to go.  
To make the spätzle, get a large pot of salted water on to boil. We have a $7 spätzle maker that works awesomely and is so worth the money, but if you don't, just use a coarse grater. Gently use a spoon to help the dough fall through the grater into the water. It will fairly quickly float to the surface and it's done. Use a slotted spoon or a small mesh scoop to get them out. Melt a little butter in a skillet and lightly fry the spätzle for a few minutes until it gets a little bit of color, and then move to the plate. Top with the mushroom sauce, and enjoy a little taste of Germany. 

Cider-Beer Braised Chicken Tacos

I bet you thought I couldn't possibly find another taco recipe to post on this blog. Well, you were wrong! There are MILLIONS! I can go on for years! Tacos forever!!

Ok, sorry about that. I just love tacos, you guys. This recipe looked sufficiently different from the other recipes I've posted, and it is. And it looked sufficiently delicious, and it is. So here we go. It's a pretty simple recipe that I found on a blog called Half-Baked Harvest. But don't let the simplicity fool you. These pack a ton of flavor (and a good amount of heat). I also made a little psuedo-salsa to top it with, mixing some apple into some pretty normal ingredients, which brought some really nice crunch and flavor to the taco. I recommend you try it!

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

2 chipotle chilies in adobo, minced

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

salt and pepper

1 cup beer 

1/2 cup apple cider
3/4 cup enchilada sauce 

1 jalapeno or serrano, diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup diced apple
Handful of cilantro, chopped

In a small dish, mix together the spices: chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, brown sugar, cayenne and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cut your chicken into big chunks and put them in another small bowl. Pour the olive oil over and then add the garlic and chipotle chiles. Stir a little to spread the chiles and garlic around and then pour in your spice mix and mix well until the chicken is evenly covered.

Now, heat your dutch oven on high until hot, then sear the chicken about 2-4 minutes a side. It will cook more later so don't over cook it now. Also, be careful of breathing in the spices while they cook. It will definitely make you cough! Once the chicken is seared, turn down the heat and pour in the beer and apple cider, scraping the bottom of the dutch oven to deglaze it. Simmer on low for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is simmering, you can make the salsa. Just mix together the jalapeno, onion, apple and cilantro with the lime juice, and stir. Leave it in the fridge while you finish the chicken.

Once the chicken is done, shred it with two forks. Turn up the heat on the sauce in the pot and reduce it down to about 3/4 of a cup and then add the chicken back to the pot along with the enchilada sauce. Let that warm up for a few minutes and once it's hot, it's ready to serve! We used sour cream and a little cheese on our tortillas, as well as the chicken and apple salsa and the mixture was really tasty. I know the apple seems a little weird, but go ahead, be daring and give it a chance! You will be happy to find yet another taco to love. 

Shrimp Scampi with Linguini

Sometimes when you make a recipe you immediately want to post it. This is one of those recipes. I've never made a recipe by Tyler Florence, but maybe I should start making more. This Shrimp Scampi was EXCELLENT! Seriously, it tasted like a restaurant quality entree. I did make it a couple weeks ago, but it was too late to take pictures. So, I made it again tonight and it was just as good as the first time I made it. It has a ton of flavor thanks to the butter, olive oil, lemon juice, and wine. Plus, the addition of red pepper flakes gives it a nice kick. I highly, highly recommend this recipe for your next dinner. It's that good! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 pound linguini
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 shallots, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c dry white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c finely chopped parsley leaves (or basil)

Boil the linguini (or spaghetti) in a large pot of water with a bit of salt and olive oil. When the pasta is al dente drain into a colander and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil at medium-high heat. Add in the shallots and garlic and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the shrimp and add to the skillet. Once the shrimp has turned pink (after 3 minutes or so) remove from the skillet and set aside. Add the lemon juice and wine and bring to a boil. Then, add in the remaining 2 tbsp butter and olive oil. Add back the shrimp and pasta to the skillet. Sprinkle the parsley or basil into the skillet. Season with salt and pepper if needed and drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately.

Asian Fried Chicken Salad

Oh, Applebee’s. I remember in my hometown for awhile, Applebee’s was actually a decent choice for a restaurant (it was the Midwest). When my friend turned 21, it was the logical place to take her and we spent the night testing the limits of a newbie bartender (I had the the worst, and strongest, Long Island Ice Tea of my life.) But today, Applebee’s is not a place I would visit under normal circumstances. Especially since Richmond has so many great non-chain restaurant options. Still, I wanted to try this copycat salad, which I found on a blog named “Tastes Better From Scratch.” It looked good whether it came from “the neighborhood” or not.

It turned out great, surprisingly. Nice crispy chicken that could have maybe used a touch more salt. The slaw and salad mix was different, but a nice way to add crunch without going full slaw. And the dressing was really good. Sweet with an Asian flair. I liked that it was a meal salad so that was a good way to get us to eat relatively healthy (fried part aside). It was a lot of steps though, so I don’t think this would go into my “easy dinner” pile.

Ingredients

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cornflake crumbs (I used Parmesan Herb crumbs)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 chicken breast

3 cups vegetable oil, for frying

3 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Bag of rainbow or broccoli slaw

            -OR-

1/2 cup chopped red cabbage

1/2 cup chopped napa cabbage

1 carrot, shredded

1 green onion, chopped

1/4 cup chopped cucumber (optional)

1 Tbsp sliced almonds (optional)

Dressing

3 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1/8 tsp sesame oil

Start by whisking your dressing ingredients together in a small bowl, making sure they mix completely. Refrigerate this until you’re ready to use it. Get out two more small bowls (lots of dishes, sorry) and in one beat the egg and milk together. In the second mix the flour, crumbs, salt and pepper. Cut your chicken into long thin strips, as evenly as you can.

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, preheat your oil. I don’t think you need the full 3 cups of oil, just enough to make about a half inch in the pan. Heat the oil to about 350 degrees. One by one, dip your chicken strips in the egg mixture, and then the flour mixture, making sure they get completely coated, then CAREFULLY put them into the oil. Don’t just plop them in or you’ll have hot oil going everywhere and that’s a danger to everyone. I did about 4 chicken strips in each batch so I could watch them. You want to fry for about four minutes, turning over halfway through to get a good golden brown on the crust. Then set them aside on a paper towel.

Ok, that’s most of the work. Now you just have to mix together the salad ingredients, add the chicken on top and pour some of the dressing over the whole thing. It’s a great meal, and you don’t have to deal with the strange folks eating at Applebee’s to enjoy it.

Summer Pasta with Asparagus and Ricotta

It's interesting to think about how the pasta we crave in the winter is so different from the pasta we crave in the summer. In the winter, I want a robust red sauce, braised for hours, with plenty of meat. In the summer, pasta needs to be lighter. I tend towards more lemony sauces with veggies and plenty of basil. That's probably why this recipe caught my eye when I saw it on the Willow Bird Baking blog. It's made with ricotta cheese and probably isn't all that healthy, but it's ok to splurge every once in awhile (or most of the time, in my case). It was pretty good! Bright and flavorful, like summer in a bowl.

Ingredients

20 ounces dried pasta

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 shallot, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 green onions, sliced diagonally

1/4 cup white wine

2 ounces unsalted butter

8 spears asparagus, sliced into 2-inch chunks

8 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese

1/4 bunch fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, rough chopped

12 fresh basil leaves, rough chopped

lemon juice, salt, freshly ground pepper, Parmesan as needed

You can use whatever pasta you want. The original author used fettuccine, but I prefer a thinner pasta like angel hair most of the time. Start by making an ice water bath in a small bowl for the asparagus. Bring some water to boil in a small pan, or if you're like me and love economy of pans, use the same pot you'll later use for pasta. Blanch the asparagus for just 2 minutes and then fish them out and put them in ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside. If you're smart like me, you now have a nice pot of boiling water for your pasta. (It's slightly green but don't be weird about it.) Cook the pasta, drain and set that aside as well. Reserve a small amount of the pasta water just in case.

Over medium heat in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil before adding the shallots. Cook them for about a minute before adding the garlic and cooking for another 30 seconds. As always, don't burn the garlic. Deglaze with white wine and then whisk in the butter until it's melted. I'm not sure what the whisk does here, but I also don't know what would happen if you didn't whisk, so just whisk!

Put in the green onions and asparagus and cook for just a minute to heat them before reducing the heat to low. Now add in the ricotta cheese and stir. Give it plenty of salt and then add in the pasta plus a little pasta water to loosen up the sauce if it needs it. Add the parsley, basil, and the rest of the olive oil and mix in well. This is where you need to start tasting. Add more salt & pepper, and some lemon juice. I probably added 3-5 tablespoons of lemon juice because I like that bit of acid. Once it's tasting great, serve with some grated Parmesan on top, and enjoy the flavors of summer! 

Balsamic Grilled Chicken Drumsticks

It's been awhile since we made chicken legs, so I reached deep into my well of recipes and pulled out this one. I do love a good balsamic recipe, and it's perfect grilling weather. These turned out ok, but not crazy flavorful. That's the problem with some marinades... they just don't get into the meat enough. I think that was the case here. The chicken was good, but the balsamic flavor was just a hint. I think this would be better if there was some sort of glaze you could brush on so that the taste would be a little more pronounced. This was very easy though, so there's that.

Chicken legs, skin on (about 2 lbs.)

1 tbsp mustard (I used Dijon)

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt & pepper

Whisk all the ingredients (minus the chicken legs, of course) in a small bowl until the oil and vinegar have put aside their differences and joined together. Put the chicken legs in a large ziploc bag, pour the marinade over them, and put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. We had them in there for a few hours. Take them out about 10 minutes before you grill them. Every grill is different but remember with a bone in they need to cook longer than regular chicken breasts. About 20-30 minutes should do it. Then serve with a side of paper napkins. 

Salmon with Fennel, Citrus & Chiles

Fresh salmon is so delicious that you don't even have to do much to it to make it mouth-watering. This recipe is a great example of that. You get a lot of just pure salmon flavor, bumped up a bit by citrus, fennel and some spicy chiles. I made this once before when blood oranges were in season, and although it's good with regular oranges, the blood oranges were definitely better. They have a much brighter, more tart flavor that fused with the fennel and salmon better, so if you can find blood oranges, I recommend using those. This is a really simple recipe (found in Bon Appetit) that only requires a little prep, and some slow roasting time in the oven, and before you know it you're eating some spectacular-tasting salmon. 

1-2 lb. skinless salmon filet

Salt & pepper

1 fennel bulb

1 blood orange (or navel orange)

1 lemon

1 Fresno chile or jalapeño

Fresh dill sprigs

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

Sea salt

First, preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Place your salmon in a glass baking dish and season it with salt & pepper. If you have skin it's not a big deal, just put it skin-side down and make sure to remove it before serving. Now it's time to prep your fruits and veggies. Thinly slice the fennel bulb, orange, lemon and chile. You can do this with a nice sharp knife, or if you are like the Hubs and are obsessed with the mandoline, that works for the fennel and chile, not so much for the citrus. Once you've sliced everything up, arrange the fennel, chile and citrus plus four sprigs of fresh dill over the top of the salmon. The first time we made it, we followed the directions and put this on the bottom but the result was really tasty fennel, and absolutely no flavor in the salmon. We switched it around this time and that helped. Season one more time and then pour the olive oil all over the top. The original called for 3/4 cup of oil but that just seemed like a ton to us. 

Now, bake for about 30-40 minutes. We went for the full 40 this time and it was perfect. Sprinkle the salmon with sea salt before enjoying. We also found it helped to squeeze some of the citrus over the top of the salmon. Hope you enjoy the clean, simple flavor!

Spice Rubbed Chicken Tacos

It's taco season! Well, for me it's always taco season, but for the rest of the world, this is the time. It's hard to try new taco recipes because I already have so many I like, but this one seemed a little different, using chicken thighs, and it was dead simple so it's perfect for weeknights. Seriously, it took under 15 minutes from start to delicious finish. I found it on a blog called Food, Fashion & Fun. It's a good mixture of spicy and sweet, with some great char thanks to cooking it on the grill. And the toppings are simple too. Of course, you can put whatever you want on it, but I enjoyed the onion & jalapeño combo (even though one of the jalapeños was extra spicy and about burned my tongue off). If you're looking for a new taco that you can make in a jiffy, this one's for you.

1 1/2 pounds Chicken thighs

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus more for grilling

1 onion, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 jalapenos, cut in half and sliced

Mix all the spices together in a small bowl, then add the olive oil to make a paste. Rub the paste onto the thighs (use gloves to keep clean). Heat up your grill and cook the chicken. Depending on how thick they are it might be 7-10 minutes or so. While the chicken is grilling, you can throw your onion and jalapeno in a pan with a little olive oil and saute them for about 5-7 minutes. You could also do them on the grill, but you might want to leave the jalapenos unsliced for that. After the chicken is done, toast up your tortillas, and then serve! I just added a little sour cream but you can put anything you want on them. That's the glory of tacos! 

Pork Tenderloin Lettuce Cups

Recently, I wanted to try a new pork tenderloin recipe, and one that I didn't have to grill. So, as any technologically savvy individual would do; I went to the world wide web to find a great recipe! The recipe I ended up using was courteous of the Food Network. Ellie Krieger created this Pork Tenderloin Seasoned Rub, and the reviewers gave it 5 stars. The good thing about it is I had all the ingredients in my kitchen already. I like not having to go out to the grocery store to purchase just one or two ingredients for a recipe. Anyway, I have to say the pork tenderloin turned out delicious. Originally, I had the pork tenderloin just by itself with a baked sweet potato accompanying it. But, I decided to use the leftovers in these lettuce cups as pictured. I included my pineapple salsa in the lettuce cups, and it turned out simply divine! Please see the recipe below for the Pork Tenderloin Seasoned Rub recipe. And, click here if you'd like to include the pineapple salsa. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt (I used half a teaspoon)
1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic

First go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees. Now, take out a small mixing bowl and combine the garlic powder, dried oregano, cumin, coriander, thyme, and about half a teaspoon salt. Stir with a fork until well combined. Take out your pork tenderloin, and sprinkle the rub all over and pat the seasoning into the tenderloin so it adheres well. 

Next, go ahead and grab a medium to large skillet (depending on the size of your tenderloin) and add the tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Make sure the temperature is set to medium-high, and then add the minced garlic. Once the garlic becomes fragrant go ahead and add the tenderloin to the pan. Sear the tenderloin for about 10 minutes making sure to flip to the other side, so both sides are nice and seared. Then, transfer the mean to a roasting pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until the tenderloin is about 165 degrees internally. Enjoy!

Shrimp with Orzo, Asparagus and Feta

We’ve been on a roll of dinners that are…fine. Just *yawn* fine. We make them. We eat them. Everything is copasetic. So this dish was a slap in the face, wake up call for our tastebuds. It was so good, you guys. SO good. Tons of flavor. Super easy to make. And it felt very fresh and spring-appropriate with the lemons and green veggies. The Hubs insisted that it be added to the “rotation” and I obliged. In fact, I’m making it for dinner again tonight. It’s on the Serious Eats blog and the only thing I changed was to use regular orzo instead of whole wheat (we really aren’t whole wheat pasta people.) It took about15 minutes from prep to plate and I seriously suggest you try it as soon as you possibly can.

1 cup (about 5 ounces) orzo

1 1/2 Tbsps vegetable or canola oil, plus more for the pasta

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1/2 Tsp red chili flakes

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and roughly chopped into 2-inch pieces

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Oregano

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

4 Tbsps fresh juice from 2 lemons

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Start by making the orzo according to the instructions on the box, in a small saucepan. Let that cook while you multitask, then drain it and set it aside. Use a skillet over medium heat to heat up your vegetable oil until shimmering. Put in the garlic and red chili flakes and cook about 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant and golden (don’t burn it!). Add in the asparagus next and season with salt and pepper. You don’t need to cook it for too long, just enough so that it’s tender but still crisp: about 3-4 minutes. Push the asparagus to the side and add in your shrimp. Sprinkle them lightly with oregano and cook on both sides until they are pink, about 4 minutes total. Now add in the orzo, basil, lemon juice, olive oil and feta and stir in, letting it all warm back up for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and then serve! I promise it will be much more than just “fine.”