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This was my first girls trip ever. I had to live up to my cooking expectations from my girls. The pressure was on, we have been going in circles trying to come up with a simple dish that didn’t involve too many ingredients. All of a sudden I spotted this beautiful big juicy mango and something in my head just seemed to feel right. We picked up the mango and everything else that was needed. Both of my friends enjoyed it so much that I had to put this up on the blog. Here is the recipe for both, Lisa and Shannon 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

  • Vegetable oil cooking spray
  • Baby spinach – 8 cups
  • Couscous – 1 cup
  • 1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
  • Chopped fresh cilantro, divided – 1/2 cup
  • Extra-virgin olive oil 1 Tbs
  • Salt, divided – 3/4 tsp
  • 1 large mango, peeled and diced
  • 1 medium avocado, diced
  • 1 medium tomato, diced
  • Mushrooms – 1 cup
  • Chopped red onion –  1/4 cup
  • 1/2 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
  • Fresh lime juice – 1Tbs

DIRECTIONS:

I did not have a grill out there, so I cooked everything on the stove top. If you want to use your grill. Please follow the recipe below.

  1. Place 2 cups spinach and the mushrooms in a pan and cook well.
  2. On a saucepan combine couscous with 1/4 cup water. Cook it following the directions on the packet.
  3. Combine shrimp, 1/4 cup cilantro, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in another pan, after that is cooked mix the shrimp with the cooked spinach and simmer them for 3-4 minutes.
  4. Combine remaining 1/4 cup cilantro with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, mango, avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeño and lime juice in a bowl.
  5. Place the couscous on a serving dish, top it off with the mango salsa and the cooked spinach and shrimp on top.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/shrimp-with-avocado-mango-salsa-365851

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Over time, I learned that people who can make the best out of any kind of situation are the people who are the happiest. I am not one of those people. But sometimes it may come as a surprise and I end up trying to make the best out of a bad situation unknowingly. This weekend was one of those days where none of my plans took place. I don’t get many weekends to waste, so I was very much upset. I have literally made the situation better by baking these biscuits. Delightfully delicious warm biscuits. I made my biscuits from scratch but you don’t have to. I have both the recipes here.

Biscuit Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

  • All-purpose flour- 1 cup
  • Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp.
  • Granulated sugar- 1 1/2 tsp.
  • Salt- 1/8 tsp.
  • Unsalted butter, cold 4 Tbs. or 1/4 cup
  • Buttermilk, at room temperature- 1/2 cup

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Slice the cold butter into cubes and cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until a crumbly dough forms. Add the buttermilk slowly and stir until the dough becomes moistened.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough gently a few times. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Dip the edges of a 2-1/2 inch circle cutter in flour, then use it to cut the dough into circles. Re-roll the remaining dough to cut additional biscuits.
  3. Place the biscuit dough circles in a cast iron skillet or on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the edges are slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Place the biscuits on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with the toppings of your choice.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Mild sausage (or Hot, I use turkey sausage) – 1 pound
  • All-purpose flour – 4 Tbs
  • Milk – 2 cups of Cream cheese (cubed)- 6 oz
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Red pepper flakes (optional)- 1 pinch
  • Biscuits (Pillsbury Grands) – 18 5/16 oz

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9×13-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray.
  2. In a large non-stick skillet cook and crumble sausage over medium-high heat until browned. Drain any grease.
  3. In a medium saucepan heat milk over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Stir constantly until thickened. About 3 or 4 minutes. Add cubed cream cheese to milk and cook and stir until cream cheese is melted and all combined.
  4. Pour gravy into a prepared baking dish. Spread out evenly. Sprinkle cooked sausage evenly over gravy. Top with a little black pepper and pinch of red pepper flakes, if desired.
  5. Remove biscuits from can and place on top of sausage and gravy. ( I only fit 6 for looks. You can squeeze in the other 2 if you’re not worried about that. You can bake the other 2 alongside the casserole OR you can cut up all the biscuits into quarters and place the quarters all over the top.)
  6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until biscuits are golden-brown and cooked through. (You may need to cover the top with foil the last five minutes to prevent tops from burning.)

https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Quick-_-Easy-Buttermilk-Biscuits-2132947

https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Biscuits-and-Gravy-Casserole-1268276

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Given the right situation, a person can find out his/her strength. They can learn what they are capable of and what they can do without. I always thought that I couldn’t cook anywhere except my own kitchen, with my own things, and most importantly my own privacy. It has been a while now that I don’t have my own place where things are my own to call and organize. But now I know that cooking is something that I can do anywhere as long as I have ingredients to work with. I made these sweet potatoes while I was helping someone house-sit. I looked around and found these sweet potatoes and got inspired and put together a meal within an hour for 6 people. Sometimes, it really takes one little spark to ignite an idea and you just have to run with it. I’ve made these a few times since then, they will not be crispy but they are delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Butter (melted)- 3 Tbs
  • Olive Oil- 3 Tbs
  • Rosemary crushed- Dried 1/4 tsp, fresh 1/2 tsp
  • Sweet Potatoes- 3 lbs, (3-4 medium, peeled and sliced thinly)
  • Shallots- 1 (peeled and sliced thinly)
  • Kosher salt- 1 dash
  • Black pepper- 1 dash

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2.  Combine melted butter, oil and crushed rosemary in a small bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of butter-oil mixture in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Arrange potato slices vertically in the dish. Add a sliver of shallot between every few slices of potato. Brush top with remaining butter-oil mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  3.  Cover dish with foil and roast for 1 hour, covered, until potatoes are tender (If your potato slices are thicker than shown, you may need to increase cooking time). Increase oven heat to 450 degrees F. Remove foil and roast another 10-15 minutes until tops of potatoes are browned and crisp.

Crispy Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

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To get into the spirit of the world cup soccer game this year. I tried to make this appetizer. I learned of it from a Facebook post made by Tashfee at the time. She invited people to go over and have this appetizer if Brazil won that round. Being that we live thousands of miles apart, I couldn’t possibly go over and have a quick bite at her place. So I decided to make my own Coxinha – Brazilian street food. I am happy to say that they turned out to be quiet tasty.

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING

  • Olive oil- 1 Tbs
  • Garlic cloves minced – 4
  • White onion diced – 1
  • Chicken cooked and shredded- 2 cups
  • Paprika or cayenne pepper- 1/2 tsp
  • salt- to taste
  • Cream cheese- 4 oz
  • Fresh parsley chopped- 3 Tbsp

DOUGH

  • Unsalted butter – 1 Tbs
  • Whole milk- 2 cups
  • All-purpose flour- 2 cups
  • Egg
  • Panko breadcrumbs – 2 cups
  • Oil, for frying

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a medium pot, heat olive oil, then sauté garlic and onions until soft and brown. Add shredded chicken, salt, and paprika (or cayenne pepper). Stir to incorporate.
  2. Transfer mixture into a bowl, add cream cheese and parsley. Mix well.
  3. In the same pot, add butter, chicken broth, and milk. Bring to a boil. Stir in flour until dough is formed.
  4. Transfer dough to a flat surface. Knead the dough while it is warm, but not hot.
  5. Pinch a piece of dough, about the size of a large egg, and roll into a ball. Using your hands, flatten the dough and spoon filling into the center. Wrap the dough into a pear shape and make sure there aren’t any holes.
  6. While heating a pot of oil to 350ËšF/180ËšC, dredge the dough in egg and panko, then deep-fry till golden brown and cooked through.
  7. Drain on a towel, or wire rack and serve immediately.

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These were the perfect little things to serve on the 4th of July celebration. It is super easy to make and is very filling. You cannot go wrong with this one. If you follow the link at the bottom, you will see the possibilities of sliders are endless.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Dinner Rolls
  • Ground Beef- 2 pounds
  • Salt- tsp
  • Pepper- 2 tsp
  • Garlic Powder- 2 tsp
  • Onion- 1/2 cup
  • Cheddar cheese- 6 slices
  • Melted butter
  • Sesame seeds

DIRECTION:

  1. Mix the ground beef, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together.
  2. Bake on 350 degree Celsius for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove the beef and drain the juice. Place the bottom half of your dinner rolls in the baking dish. Put your beef patty on top of the bottom half of the dinner rolls.
  4. Spread the chopped onions. And set the cheese slices on top.
  5. Close off the burger by placing the top half of the dinner roll above the cheese.
  6. Brush the melted butter on top of the buns and sprinkle the sesame seeds as well.
  7. Bake on 350 degree Celsius for another 20 minutes
  8. Cut the pieces and enjoy!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Ub38YwpAA