Pulled Pork Omelette w/ Black Bean Corn Salsa and Sweet Ranch Sauce

Pulled Pork Omelette w/ Black Bean Corn Salsa

 and Sweet Ranch Sauce

  Anytime you have leftovers from a party, use it to make amazing omelettes!  Made this for my middle school girls group sleepover this weekend.  I'm totally bragging now, but it was absolutely fantastic!  

If you don't own the Presto Extra Large Griddle, you are totally missing out!  Instead of making 8 individual omelettes (who knows how long that would take!) I made one gigantic foot and a half by six inch omelette that took me less than five minutes to cook.  Afterwards, I simply wiped down the surface with a damp wash cloth and that was all the cleaning I had to do.  No pans to wash!  One of the best $40 you will spend!  Almost all my stir fries and breakfast foods are cooked on this.  I use it so much, I just leave it out on our island most of the time.  

1) Crack eggs and mix in a bowl. Season with salt, garlic powder, pepper, cumin, chili powder, chopped scallions. Be generous!  

2)  On a griddle or pan with a little oil/non-stick spray, quickly fry chopped/sliced onions with pulled pork (or whatever leftover meat you have).  Add meat (with the yummy juices) into the egg bowl.  

3)  Wipe griddle. Add a bit more oil and pour egg mixture, spreading evenly.  If you're cooking on the griddle, allow mixture to spread into a thin rectangle.  When the majority of the omelette has cooked through, use a long and wide spatula to fold the sides towards the center.  You can do the same with the tops as well for a perfectly shaped omelette.  (Get creative! You can add cheese or avocado right before you fold for more flavor and texture.)  

4) Garnish with salsa, cilantro and Sweet Ranch Sauce. 

SWEET RANCH SAUCE:

1/4 cup ranch

1/4 cup mayo

1 garlic clove 

2 tbsp sugar

cracked black pepper

2-3 tbsp water to thin out.

Blueberry Ricotta Cake

Blueberry Ricotta Cake

I never really cooked with ricotta cheese. I just assumed it had lots of fat and calories. But actually, it's very similar to cottage cheese, but only more dense, which makes it a perfect candidate for an alternative to cream cheese and other high fat/sugar icing. If you love cream cheese icing, you're gonna love this Blueberry Cake with Ricotta Cheese Icing. Not only does it taste amazing, but the amount of ricotta cheese we use for this cake has 30 grams of protein and way less fat and calories. This was just for me and the boys, so I only used one 10 inch pan. But if you want to make a whole cake with 4-6 layers, just double the recipe and use an extra pan.  Keep this refrigerated. It tastes amazing when it's cold. If you want it to taste like regular frosting, just add more sugar.

2 cups flour

4 tsp baking soda

1 stick butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup milk or water

3/4 cup frozen blueberries or mixed berry mix (thawed for juice)

1) Preheat oven to 350

2) Grease and flour an 8-10 inch pan.  

3) In a mixer, cream softened butter with sugar

4) Add eggs and slowly blend

5) Add salt, baking soda and thawed berries.  

6) Add flour ½ cup at a time.  Add milk/water in between each addition. Scrape bowl down when needed.

7) Add batter to pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven when center is slightly firm and bouncy or when a toothpick through the center comes out clean.

8) Remove the cake from the pan and place in fridge or freezer until chilled.

9) Slice cake into two or three layers with a long knife.  I prefer more layers. Makes the cake less dense and allows you to add more filling.

10) Pour chilled ricotta icing on each layer and spread out.  You can also scatter more frozen or thawed berries on each layer for added texture and taste.  

Icing:  

1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/3 cup sugar (amount of sugar up to you. If you want it sweeter, add more.  If you like it slightly tangy, use 1/4 cup)

Blend ricotta and sugar until smooth.  You can also whip a little air into it to make it slightly fluffy.  Refrigerate to thicken.

Amazing Father's Day Dinner!

Chili Beef Tenderloin

Bacon Wrapped Scallops w/ Mango Lime Sauce 
Garlic Rice
Orange Scallop Ceviche

Strawberry Salad w/ Candied Pecans

What a great way to tell someone you love how much they are appreciated.  There's too much to say about this dinner.  It was so good that while I was eating this, I thought of my last days on this earth and what I would eat.  And I can tell you without hesitation that this would be it!  It has everything I love on one plate...bacon, tender melt-in-your mouth steak, mangoes, seafood, salad, berries and candied pecans.  I also made garlic rice to go with this, but I haven't been eating much rice and starch lately.  But for my last meal, there will definitely be a nice heap of rich and savory garlic rice on my plate!  I made this for an early Father's day dinner for my sweet Dave who always misses it every year due to an annual training for the National Guard.  Believe it or not, it's all very simple.  Just prep everything in advance and let the tenderloin and scallops be the last thing you cook.  

CHILI BEEF TENDERLOIN:   I highly recommend getting tenderloin for a special occasion.  Dave said it was one of the best beef he's eaten.  But it's not cheap, so whatever you end up using will work. 

About 2 lbs of beef tenderloin

2-3 cloves pressed garlic

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp paprika

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

salt (a generous sprinkle for each piece of beef)

• In a bowl, mix all ingredients. Add beef and marinate if you can. Otherwise, just coat well and proceed to grilling. 

GRILLED BACON SCALLOPS W/ MANGO LIME SAUCE:

1 - 1 1/2 lb scallops

1 pack of bacon

olive oil

salt

pepper

garlic powder

1 mango 
1 lime (juice and zest)
2 tbsp sugar
1 garlic clove

• Peel mango and remove the seed by sliding a knife right up against it.  Place mango pieces in a blender with the lime juice, some lime zest, sugar and 1 garlic clove.  Puree until smooth.
• Place scallops in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss to coat.  
• Cut bacon strips in half and wrap around scallops. Thread through skewers to make grilling easier.
• Grill on medium/medium high heat for 2-3 minutes each side or until scallops are no longer soft in the center.  Be careful not to cook it too long, it will be too chewy.

GARLIC RICE:

5-6 cups of cooked rice

1/2 small onion thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

salt about 1/2 tbsp to 3/4 tbsp

In a small sauce pot drizzled with olive oil, cook onions and garlic on medium/medium low heat. Cover and allow it to cook until it becomes very soft and mushy.  Make sure to stir every couple of minutes to make sure garlic doesn't burn.  Once done, place cooked rice in a large mixing bowl.  Add onion mix, olive oil, salt and garlic powder and stir to combine.   

ORANGE SCALLOP CEVICHE Recipe
STRAWBERRY SALAD W/ CANDIED PECANS Recipe

Strawberry Salad w/ Candied Pecans

Strawberry Salad w/ Candied Pecans & Berry Vinaigrette

This is one of my favorite salads.  So easy and so amazing! You can also try feta and cranberries with this or add watermelon as well.  An unbelievably delicious summer salad!

mixed greens

onions

strawberry slices

CANDIED PECANS:

1/2 cup pecans

2 tbsp melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

• mix butter, brown sugar and salt together in a small bowl until it's completely blended.
• heat mixture in a non-stick pan and constantly stir.  Once it begins to bubble and caramelize add pecans and coat evenly.  Remove from heat and place on a baking sheet or plate to cool.

BERRY VINAIGRETTE:  mix all ingredients together

1 - 1 1/2 cup frozen berries (thawed, with juice)

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

Orange Scallop Ceviche

Orange Scallop Ceviche

I really really like this dish.  It's delicious, healthy and so refreshing.  This is great with steak and garlic rice!!! Yum! (Recipe coming up!)

ORANGE SCALLOP CEVICHE:

about 1/2 lb of scallops

1 large orange (juiced)

1 lime (juiced)

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves

crushed red pepper

1 large orange (cut in between the membrane and use the meat of the orange only.)

1/2 cup grape tomatoes (halved)
1/3 cup sliced onions (very thin)

chopped cilantro for garnish

• Rinse and drain scallops.
• Using a sharp knife, slice each scallop horizontally to give about three 1/4 inch slices. 
• Place scallops, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper in a glass or ceramic casserole dish. Stir well to coat and cover the scallops in the acidic mix.  Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Half way through, stir and place orange slices, onions and tomatoes on top just so it will be chilled by the time you're ready to eat.  
• When you're ready to serve, stir another time and garnish with cilantro and some black pepper.