Honey Soy Ginger Shrimp Star-Fry

In our house, each time we make a grocery trip, I let everyone choose their favorite meal to be made. Princess' favorite is "shrimp star fry." That's shrimp STIR fry for those who don't understand kidspeak. Regardless, it is always the most expensive, but the most delectable meal of the grocery round. AND I've never actually written down any sort of recipe for it. So again, the girls are challenging me to put some ingredients and measurements down so that they (and YOU) can replicate it down the road.

A note about stir fry is that you don't necessarily HAVE to use the same veggies that I use this time, as most of the time my veggies vary. Use seasonal veggies to your advantage, and this way you can make this special treat year-round. In addition to that, this marinade is easily adapted to other meats, so you aren't even confined to shrimp (especially if it's uber expensive). Try chicken or pork instead, or even just use this glaze for salmon or mahi. I like things to be versatile because I never know what I'm going to be missing in my kitchen that particular day ;)

What You Need:

Honey Soy Ginger Marinade
1/2 c soy sauce
1/4 c honey
2 tsp Sriracha
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1-2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Stir Fry
Tempura oil, a splash or 2
2 lbs large raw shrimp, peeled, tail-off
1 large zucchini, sliced into manageable pieces
1 large yellow squash, sliced
8 oz snow peas (pea pods)
2-3 large carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 head of red cabbage, sliced
1 head garlic, diced or sliced thinly (basically everything I cook has abundant garlic)
1 can water chestnuts, sliced

What You Do:

*Make up your marinade
*Put just enough on the shrimp to evenly coat all of them; put in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. Don't over-marinate the shrimp. 30 minutes is plenty, promise! Set the rest of the marinade in the fridge to use a bit later
*Once you're ready to prepare the main dish, heat your skillet/wok with a splash or 2 of tempura oil. First cook the shrimp and set them aside.
*Add another round of tempura oil, and add your garlic. Next I added carrots since they take the longest and let them cook for a couple minutes. Then add in your squash, zucchini, & onions. Then add in the rest of your marinade. Let that cook down for a few more minutes and then add the water chestnuts and snow peas. Finally, add in the cabbage, as it cooks the quickest. Mix it all around, and you have the prettiest stir-fry you've ever seen!
*Serve it with your favorite rice, topped with the shrimp -or- mix the shrimp back in at the end

Fancy Schmancy Goat Cheese, Spinach, & Porcini Stuffed Chicken

In an effort to give my girls the ability to cook like mommy when they grow up, at their request I have made an extreme effort to blog recipes for as many meals as I can. Tonight's meal they turned up their noses at, but I honestly didn't even care. More for me! They are still sniffly, and this is when I allow them to eat anything that they will actually eat. Tonight they chose pub mix & left-over sweet & sour pork. Cest la vie

Let's get to it, shall we?

What You Need:

Toothpicks (This was the toughest ingredient for me to find here on island)
Cooking spray (I used grapeseed oil in my PC Kitchen Spritzer)
Aluminum foil
Boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded out with a meat mallet to about 1/4" thick (I had 3 available)
Italian seasoning blend
8-16 oz porcini (baby bella) mushrooms, thinly sliced
Fresh basil
Baby spinach
Goat cheese
Breadcrumbs (I used Italian, but you can also use Panko, whatever you have on hand)
Asparagus, trimmed

What You Do:

*Preheat oven to 350
*Lay out chicken breasts on aluminum foil that has been sprayed with a bit of cooking spray. Layer the mushrooms, then basil to taste (I didn't completely cover the chicken with basil since I used fresh), spinach leaves, and finally goat cheese.
*Fold up tightly and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and a bit of Italian seasoning
*Bake for about 45 minutes, turning it over about halfway through.

Bonus side dish!
*Arrange asparagus in a 9x13" baking dish and drizzle with olive oil -or- spray with your cooking spray
*Add the rest of your porcini mushrooms on top of the asparagus, and again spray it or drizzle with oil
*Sprinkle with Italian seasoning blend and, if you have it, Parmesan cheese
*Halfway through the chicken baking, toss your asparagus in the oven too. This way, they'll be done at the same time

Make sure to remove the toothpicks before serving ;) And enjoy!

Vegetarian Breakfast Casserole

There's nothing like waking up in the morning, knowing exactly what you're going to make for breakfast, right? This morning I got up early, and I wanted to give King a chance to sleep in since he was up until almost 3 am. My little Monster was up most of the night coughing, and the Princess was pretty sniffly and miserable herself. That said, it was a quiet morning in our house, and I was really excited to try a new recipe that I found on Pinterest for these adorable spinach & cheese egg muffins. Much to my chagrin, I don't have a muffin pan. So that nixed that pretty quickly. I had to laugh at myself because it's so perfectly me not to have something that is a major requirement for a dish that I went to all the trouble of getting all of the ingredients for from the store and even having ZenMother pick up the spinach for me that I couldn't get at the grocery stores I went to the other day. #IslandGirlProblems ...I digress. The point is that I had to adjust my plans, but I still wanted to make something impressive. And so, I give you:

Vegetarian Breakfast Casserole

What You Need:

NOT a muffin pan ;) but instead, a 9x13" baking pan

Cooking spray of your choice

More than likely, a cup of coffee or 2 (Add a little Velvet Cinn if you wanna get wild ;)

1/4 c of butter

1 medium size onion, diced (I used sweet yellow)

16 oz mushrooms, sliced

2-4 potatoes, quartered, then thinly sliced (I used my  PC Simple Slicer set on 2)

12 large eggs

1/4 c milk (you can substitute water if you're out of milk, like I usually am)

1-2 c fresh baby spinach, enough to make one layer in the pan

4-8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you have is fine)

What You Do:

*Brew your coffee. It's early, and your kids are going to be up any minute, if they aren't already. 

*Turn on a nice wake-up playlist such as Brazilian Radio on Pandora

*Grease your baking dish, and preheat your oven to 350

*Melt the butter in a skillet on high heat; add in your diced onion

*Once the onion begins to look translucent, add in the mushrooms. Turn your heat down to medium. Saute for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms have cooked fully. Then, remove them from the heat.

*While the veggies are being sauteed, arrange your potato slices on the bottom of the greased pan in an even layer

*Mix your eggs & milk (or water) in your favorite fashion. I love my NutriBullet and think EVERYONE should have one. Mixing all of the eggs and milk took me all of 10 seconds. It actually took me longer to crack all of the eggs. 

*Arrange the spinach in a second layer on top of the potatoes

*Pour the egg mixture in next, making sure it's evenly dispersed throughout the pan

*Add the sauteed veggies in next, again making sure it's all evenly dispersed

*Top with the cheese

*Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes

*Take it out, remove the foil and bake for about another 20-30 minutes, long enough for the edges to brown and the cheese to get good and melty, maybe even slightly brown

Voila! 

This makes about 12 servings.

As always, let me know if you love it, tweak it, or hate it! 

xoxo

-Xile

Roasted Garlic & Chive Mashed Potatoes

I have been terrified of homemade mashed potatoes for years upon years. Everyone talks about getting the butter/milk ratio just right, gummy and sticky fails, and I am telling you this one worked for me on the first go, screw-ups and all...That has to mean something.

What You Need:

5 lbs of your fave potatoes (I used red)
1/2 c butter (I used salted sweet cream)
1 1/2 c milk (the fattier, the creamier your potatoes will be)
2-4 heads of fresh roasted garlic
Olive oil
1 handful of fresh-cut chives
pepper to taste

What You Do:

*Preheat oven to 400
*Pour a glass of white; I'm thinking like a Sauvignon Blanc or a nice Chardonnay. A bit of inspirational music from Michael Buble could be helpful. Cue: Pandora
*Prepare your garlic: peel off the excess skin on your heads of garlic, and trim off the head about 1/4 inch to expose each clove. Drizzle olive oil over the exposed surface and allow to penetrate the cloves. It will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-2 tsp per head. Wrap it together in foil, and bake it for 45-60 minutes on the middle rack. It's going to smell amazeballs. Enjoy it!
*Dice your potatoes, evenly sized, and put them in a big 'ol pan with enough water to cover them. I basically filled my dutch oven pan, and it worked out just fine. Bring them to a boil...Take care of your kids and forget about them until they nearly boil over; check them..Place a wooden spoon across the pan so they don't wreck your glass cook-top, and wait until they are slightly firm but break apart easily (about 20 minutes). Then drain them and pop them in a big mixing bowl.
*Right about now you will begin to remember that you are also roasting garlic. It smells soooo good that it inspires your husband to clean the bathroom. Check on it, but don't get overzealous. The longer it roasts, the better. Just don't let it burn. And that's pretty difficult, even while you're drinking wine. When you feel like it's uber soft and smelly, go ahead and pull it out of the oven.
*In a saucepan, add your milk and butter. Your garlic will have cooled enough by now to add it to the potatoes. I just squeezed it out right into the potatoes, and I might have tasted a bit that was left on my fingers ;)
*When you forget that you were supposed to only allow the butter to just melt, realize that the entire thing is about to boil over, and remove it from the heat. Let it set for a couple minutes while you begin to mash the potatoes just ever so slightly in the big giant bowl. I used my Pampered Chef Mix-N-Chop (AMAZING tool). Once the overly heated butter/milk mixture has cooled, add it to the potatoes slowly and use a hand mixer to blend it all together. Throw in a handful of chives, pepper to taste, and mix just a bit more.

THAT'S IT!!! Super easy mashed potatoes that aren't scary!

Please comment if you make them, how it works for your family and if you have any tweaks to share!

xoxo
-Xile

Pancakes for People Who Don't Like Pancakes: Apple Pecan Pancake Bake

I have been on a mission to make pancakes that *I* like for most of my life. I am just not a fan of them. I feel like they're overrated, having restaurants named after them and such. I mean, I know that waffles have restaurants named after them, too, but seriously...pancakes aren't that amazing...until today, that is. Today, even those of us who don't care for pancakes are going to lose their minds in an orgasmic food coma. Or maybe not, but I can promise that even pancake skeptics will love this recipe that is perfect for fall brunches!

What You Need:

2 cups flour (better for bread is awesome. Don't use whole wheat flour because it's too heavy)
2 Tbs white sugar
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs baking powder
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 small or 1 large granny smith apple (don't use a red or golden delicious. You need something a bit tart), sliced thinly
1 c pecans, chopped
An indefinite amount of cinnamon (whatever you are comfortable with, I used close to probably 2 Tbs)
A dash of nutmeg
A dash of ginger

Your favorite syrup
Butter

What You Do:

*Preheat your oven to 350.
*Pour yourself a mimosa, and turn on Pandora ;)
*Mix your dry ingredients together. I put enough cinnamon to change the color of the mix to a beige-y color. It's really impossible to measure, but go with your gut. Then add your wet ingredients and mix until it's nice and smooth.
*Add your apples and pecans and mix a bit more until it's even
*Pour into a greased 9x13" baking pan of your choice.
*Pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes, until you can stick a toothpick/knife in the center and it comes out clean. The edges will start to be a bit brown

Serve topped with a bit of butter and your favorite syrup. I swear, I don't like pancakes, and this stuff is incredible. Let me know how it turns out for you!

-xoxo
Xile

Goddess-Worthy Sweet & Sour Pork Tenderloin

Hi there, it's me! I'm still alive and well out floating in the Caribbean Sea. Okay, well, I mean...I am on an island that is floating. Anyway, I know it's been forever, but that's what you get when it comes to me ;) Today I'm going to make everyone in your house love you by giving you a recipe for amazing sweet & sour pork.

I cannot tell a lie: this recipe is adapted from this one, BUT I made enough changes that I thought it worthy of posting my own. So let's get to it!

This recipe will give you at least 6 servings, depending on how many boys/men you have in your house that like to go back for more. That said, here's what you are going to need:

1.5 lbs of pork tenderloin, trimmed of the fat
An undisclosed and indefinite amount of Simply Asia® Sweet Ginger Garlic Seasoning
⅔c ketchup
⅓c rice vinegar (seasoned or plain, I used plain)
2 cans (20 oz)of pineapple chunks drained, save the juice & make sure it's pineapple juice, NOT heavy or light syrup. ew.
¼c brown sugar (dark or light, whichever you have)
2-4 tsp of Sriracha® I used only 2 because I have young ladies that can't agree on how much spice they prefer
2 tsp soy sauce
A splash of Sesame Tempura oil
2 tbs butter (REAL butter, people, no margarine)
1 bunch of green onions, chopped and separated white part from green
1 head of fresh garlic, sliced paper thin. Alternatively, you can mince it, but I prefer it shaved --don't be lazy and use a jar, please ;)
1 sweet onion, diced
2 green peppers, I like to dice them large
1 red pepper, also diced large
2 cups rice of your choice (We used Jasmine white rice)

Here's what you do:

*Prepare your pork. (HAHAHA, okay I'm immature) Using a meat tenderizer, pound out the meat until it's about 1 inch thick. Coat it with the Asian seasoning on both sides, then slice it up into manageable pieces, maybe about half an inch thick and 1.5-2" in length. Toss it in a bowl in the fridge to marinate for a couple hours. It's not major, but it will definitely add flavor.
*Prepare the initial sauce mix. In a bowl, whisk together the ketchup, rice vinegar, pineapple juice (NOT syrup!) from the canned pineapple, Sriracha, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Pour a splash (just enough to coat) of that into your pork marinade. 
*Now is a good time to start your rice. I like to make mine in the microwave with my super awesome Pampered Chef rice cooker so that it's done before I forget in the midst of making the meal that I forgot to make it. 2 cups of dry rice will give you 4 cups of prepared rice. If you need instructions on how to make rice, please see the package on whatever rice you bought :p
*Have a glass of wine. Turn on your favorite Pandora station and jam out for a minute or 2. Remember that you have to chop all the veggies, jam out some more, and then put everything in the fridge until you're ready to cook the pork and put everything together. Maybe have a second glass of wine, who knows?! 
*Heat your favorite tempura oil in your wok or a very large skillet...like probably 14" or so. Toss some more of that Asian seasoning in with the oil. What can I say, I'm addicted! Once it's nice and hot, stir fry the pork. This will take about 5 minutes probably. Do NOT overcook the pork. It's going to keep cooking a little while later. Take it out and put it aside in a big mixing bowl. Drain whatever grease and oil is in the pan and saute your veggies (sweet onion, green/red peppers) for a couple minutes until they have a bright color. Seriously like 3-4 minutes tops. Toss the veggies in the same bowl with the mostly cooked pork. 
*Brown your butter over medium heat and once it begins to brown...toss in the pineapple. Cook the pineapple over medium/high heat until it's a beautiful golden yellow and more opaque. Add your initial sauce mixture, along with your sliced garlic and the white part of the green onion. Reduce your heat to medium/low and let it simmer until the garlic is translucent. Then add the pork and veggies back to the pan and heat it through.
*Serve it over your rice with a green onion garnish. 

Remember to let me know how your family enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!

xoxo
-Xile

West Is Best ...Well, at Least For Today It Was!

I am beginning to notice that what they say is true: positive thought begets positive thought. And positive thoughts in succession beget positive action. And pretty soon, you realize that being positive is so much better than being pissy all the time, regardless of just how much crazy you've been handed in your life. 

That being said, one of my dearest sisters returned to our beautiful island home just 9 days ago...and is leaving again to go back Stateside to take care of some family and business matters that came up less than 24 hours after she landed here. (UGH! WHAT?!) However, we thought we better enjoy our time together since it has been so brief.

In that spirit, and the spirit of new adventures (still occurring even after living here for a year!), we headed to Frederiksted this morning after a "walk" (read: hike) down to the beach near our houses. I had heard of a labyrinth that was way out west, and I thought it would be a great sort of end to her (all-too-brief) trip here and a great springboard for her time back in the States.

As a bonus, the labyrinth is located on the grounds of an old plantation, and the grounds were just unbelievably beautiful!

After exploring the ruins and walking around the plantation, we decided to take a dip at one of everyone's favorite beaches here, Rainbow Beach. It's so beautiful there, and the water was just perfect today! 

After our refreshing swim at Rainbow, we noshed at our very favorite West End spot for lunch: Teres Veho. I can't recommend this place enough times, not just for the amazing eats, but also they have a small SUP (stand up paddle) shop where you can rent paddle boards and other fun water accessories! The view is also amazing, especially on cruise ship days with an unobstructed view of the gigantic ships that visit our piece of paradise :)

Finally, as our grand finale, Tan-Tan requested that we jump off the pier. As I'd not done it before, and it's kind of a rite of passage (and also because of peer pressure), I reluctantly agreed to get crazy and do it! As scary as it was, I did it twice, and it's one of those things that is scary and amazingly FUN at the same time! And I'll definitely do it again...and again...and again!

Where we jumped!

I will most definitely miss our Zen Mother (Maw), but I am incredibly grateful that we were able to spend this very special day together with another one of our beautiful sisters, our hoop queen :-) Love you both very much!