Hot Mexican Cabbage Salad February 7, 2007

It’s not everyday that I pat myself on the back because of a recipe, but this one deserved it. Husband agreed, he gave it a 5 out of 5 days.

Ingredients
½ can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ bell pepper, chopped, you choose the color
½ jalapeno, seeds removed and diced
½ can corn, drained
1 roma tomato, chopped
2 Tbsp lime juice
½ tsp garlic powder
3-cups shredded cabbage
¼-cup ranch dressing
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1 tsp chili powder
2 flour tortillas

In a skillet combine the black beans, pepper, jalapeno, corn, tomato, lime juice, and garlic. Cook until heated through. In a bowl stir together the cabbage, ranch dressing, hot sauce, and chili powder. Lightly spray the tortillas with non-stick cooking spray. Lay the tortillas over something like a small ramekin, so that the tortillas make a bowl shape. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and place in a 325-degree oven for 10-15 minutes, until the edges are turning light brown and the tortilla is crisp. Remove from the oven and let set for 5 minutes. Place the cabbage in the bottom of the tortilla bowl and top with bean mixture. Makes 2 servings.

Southwest Salad

This is an excellent and easy to make summer salad/side dish. I feed it to husband in the middle of winter when it was 4-degrees outside. I don’t think he felt the summer vibe I was going for.

Ingredients
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ can corn, drained
1 roma tomato, diced
½ bell pepper, diced, any color you choose
1/8 cup red onion, diced
½ jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp cumin

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and refrigerate for an hour. Makes 6 servings.

Screwdriver Steak Salad January 23, 2007

During our return from our honeymoon, husband and I discovered the duty free liquor store at the airport. It was amazing, the same brands we have in the States but at a fraction of the price. We decided to purchase a few bottles, we couldn’t pass up these bargains. One of our purchases was Absolut Peppar Vodka. Neither of us had tasted it, but we figured we’d give it a try. We got it home and excitedly opened it up, curious to what this vodka was going to taste like. Needless to say, it didn’t taste good. We tried several different concoctions, Bloody Mary, Peppar Tea, straight, but nothing could save this vodka. But I can’t just waste the vodka by throwing it away, so it has been demoted to a cooking vodka. It makes a pretty good vodka sauce. But husband has been craving steak, so I came up with a Screwdriver Steak Salad.

Ingredients:
¾ – 1 lb strip loin steak, sirloin would work too, but the strip is a bit more tender
4 cups lettuce
1 carrot, chopped
1 tsp ground peppercorns

Marinade:
½-cup Absolut Peppar Vodka
¾-cup orange juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Dressing:
½-cup orange juice
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
dash hot sauce
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil

Mix together the ingredients for the marinade. Place steak into a resealable plastic bag and pour marinade on top. Place in a pan to catch any possible leakage and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 8 hours. Cook the steaks to your liking (husband likes his steak rare inside, so I cooked his over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side). Once cooked, slice against the grain into thin strips. Place on top of salads.

To make dressing combine the juice, mustard, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Once mixed, slowly drizzle in the oil while mixing swiftly. Toss the dressing with the salad and carrots. Then sprinkle ground peppercorns onto lettuce. Serves 2.