Picadillo

Picadillo is a traditional Latin dish. This dish is one of my all time favorites! It's easy to make and has amazing flavor. One of my best friends got me hooked on this dish far before I knew the power of a vegetable. Oddly enough, this particular friend can't even successfully cook a frozen lasagna, but somehow she manages to make a mean picadillo dish along with homemade chips!

Finely chopped veggies are the essence of this dish.

Basamati rice is a key ingredient. The brand above is the best out there. I've tried several and none of them stand up to this one. No matter what brand of rice you choose, be sure it's basamati and rinse the rice when it's done cooking.

The finished product!

Recipe
1lb Ground beef
3-4 serano peppers (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 red onion
1/2 clove of garlic
1  jar small green olives
1 can tomato paste
1 can black beans
olive oil
salt & pepper
celery salt
basil
red pepper flakes
cumin

Cook the rice according to the directions on the package. Rinse rice when fully cooked.

Season the hamburger with celery salt, basil, red pepper flakes and cumin. Dice all vegetables. Put 1-2T. in pan. Cook all peppers, onions, garlic, and black beans. Season the veggies with salt & pepper. In a separate pan, cook the hamburger. Once hamburger is fully cooked add the veggies, strained green olives and tomato paste. You may need to add water or tomato sauce in addition to the tomato paste, dependent upon the consistency you'd like. I added a can of water.  Serve the mixture atop a bed of rice and enjoy!

Haute Brunch

About three weeks ago, Dan and I were out and about and decided to grab brunch. Haute Dish in downtown Minneapolis was near and happened to be on our list of brunch spots to try. Although I heard the Biscuits & Gravy are a menu item not to be passed, I must say that my Pig in a Blanket was the right choice!

The Pig in a Blanket (contrary to your initial thought) consists of smoked pork shoulder, pepperjack cheese, and a johnny cake smothered with poblano gravy, topped with fresh cilantro. If you haven't been to brunch at Haute Dish yet, don't wait any longer. When you're there try the Pig in a Blanket alongside a mimosa and I promise, you won't leave disappointed!

70 and Sunny

After many months of cold temperatures and snow, it finally feels like spring. A few weeks ago we were teased with a 70 degree weekend. Everyone thought THIS IS IT, warm weather is here; but everyone was wrong, snow came again the following week. As we near the end of the first straight week of temps above 70, I'm optimistic that warmer weather is here to stay!

With warmer weather comes outdoor activities, projects inside and outside of the house and best of all... delicious food and fun cocktails. Dan and I kicked off the warm weather with a round of golf. It then snowed the following week. Last weekend it warmed up and we decided that white wine, grilled lobster, broccolini and fingerling potatoes were the perfect meal to celebrate.

Forgot to get the pic of the lobster, but rest assured, it was delicious!

Recipes

Grilled Broccolini

Toss in extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle red pepper flakes and salt. Place in tin foil on the grill for about 10 minutes. When fully cooked, squeeze fresh lemon over them and serve. 

Baked Fingerling Potatoes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice fingerling potatoes in half , length wise. Drizzle olive oil (I used Rosemary flavor) over a baking pan. Sprinkle garlic salt, pepper and parmesan over the pan. Place potatoes (cut side facing down) on the pan and bake for 60-70 minutes.