Sunday Eats!

Now that football season has officially kicked off, I can't WAIT to start making snacks again! I found this Lawry's Garlic Spread a while back and spread it onto some mini baguettes. All it took was 10 minutes in the oven and we were in garlic bread heaven! Of course, you can't have garlic bread without some warm marinara sauce for dipping!

And what could be better than grilled lamb on a Sunday night? I marinated these lamb loin chops in a mixture of olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and thyme then simply grilled a few minutes on each side in my grill pan. Served over some curried couscous and the best way to end the weekend!

Labor Day Weekend!

Labor Day might be the unofficial end of summer but the weather in SF made it feel like summer was just beginning! We FINALLY got some heat and totally took advantage of the gorgeous weather. Here we are getting ready for some fun in the sun and BBQ!

This is our friend's house in the Marina who was kind enough to host the BBQ. We had WAY too much to eat and drink as usual!

Now onto some actual food and no party is complete without a dip! I made a 5-Layer Mexican version that was super easy and pretty healthy too. The layers were Wholly Guacamole, TJ's Cowboy Cavier, Salsa, Light Sour Cream and finally Reduced Fat Mexican Shredded Cheese. YUM!

I found lamb loin chops on sale and of course, had to get some. I marinated the chops in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and Dijon mustard for a few hours. Then just grilled them about 5 minutes on each side in my grill pan. Served over couscous and it was the perfect summer meal!

Finally for the perfect Sunday dinner that didn't heat up the house, slow cooked short ribs! I just browned the meat for a few minutes and then tossed them into the slow cooker with a can of Guinness. The meat was falling off the bones after cooking for 10 hours and I served them over a new find, Potatoes Au Gratin. SO much easier than making those potatoes from scratch and tasted just as good!

That's a wrap for our awesome long weekend!

In n Out AND Indian Sliders!

WE LOVE SLIDERS! Ok we love burgers but sliders are just so much cuter! I decided to satisfy our In N Out cravings but making some Animal Style sliders over the weekend and they were AMAZING! Almost like the real thing and will hold us over until the next time we can make it to In N Out.

Another recent creation were Indian Sliders inspired by Rachael Ray's lamb burger. I just turned them into sliders and used beef instead of lamb. YUM YUM!

Lots of Meaty Dinners!

We're definitely meat lovers at our house and we've been having some yummy meaty dinners! First off some pork chops braised in a sauce made with a combo of Mango Pineapple Salsa and broth. It's so simple yet perfect for summer. Don't you just think of mango and pineapples when the weather gets warm?

We received some Stonewall Kitchen gourmet jams and jellies as a gift and one of the jars was Hot Pepper Jelly which I found is perfect with lamb. So I made some grilled Lamb Loin Chops and served the jelly on top. AMAZING!

We also had some huge chicken legs braised in a Coconut Curry Sauce. The sauce was just curry powder, ginger, garlic and coconut milk with LOTS of red chili peppers! So simple yet so flavorful served over rice noodles, hubby favorite!

Next we have some pork chops simmered in a spicy pickled jalapeno sauce. Our favorite brand is Embasa and it comes in a can with pickled carrots as well. SO perfect to add a Mexican twist to anything!

I found a recipe for Greek Braised Chicken Thighs and thought I'd give it a try. I'm so glad I did! We don't eat a lot of Feta but we're definitely gonna start! I just love the texture and saltiness!

AND last but definitely not least, I made the most amazing Pepper-Stuffed Pork Chops! Yes the filling fell out a bit but who cares? :)

Yummy Appies!

We LOVE appies especially healthy ones so when I saw these Mini Salmon Cakes I knew I had to make them. I healthified them with Fat Free Mayo and omitted the butter. The mixture was a bit too wet so I freezed it for about 15 min before forming the cakes. Turned out perfect and how much do you LOVE my mini dishes?

I LOVE Athenos Hummus especially the Roasted Red Pepper flavor. I like using it for a dip and I also like making Mini Pita Bites out of them. I baked the pita in the oven for about 10 min and then topped them with the hummus, red onion, fat free feta and pepperoncini. Delicious!

More Deviled Eggs!

More deviled eggs from my D'Lish Deviled Eggs cookbook! These are Thai Shrimp. SO good!

Next up more Shrimpy goodness with Cocktail Shrimp. Not as good as the Thai but still tasty.

Finally our favorite so far, Boursin Garlic Cheese! Can't beat cheese in our deviled eggs!

4th of July Meal!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! The weather started out beautiful in San Francisco but then got foggy just in time for fireworks (of course)! We still have a wonderful time though and started our patriotic meal with a Red White and Blue Cocktail. It's just vodka and cranberry juice garnished with some blueberries.

Moving on to the main course, I made Ribeye for the first time in my life and it turned out awesome! I can't believe I've never made it before but it was super simple. I just dredged the meat in some flour, salt and pepper and browned it about 4 min on each side. DONE! Served over some couscous and dinner was served!