Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

This is another favorite that I make frequently: Baked Shrimp in a Tomato Feta Sauce from Simply Recipes. Super easy to pull together quickly and tasty enough to serve to company, as I did the other night when we had a puppy playdate. We always serve it with toasted bread and, if we're lucky, a glass of wine.

Steak Fajitas

A super easy, fast, and tasty supper: Simply Recipes' Steak Fajitas.  Served with cheese, guacamole, and sour cream.  Could also skip the steak, and add in a bunch of mushrooms for filling veggie fajitas. (We do sometimes eat things not in tortillas, I swear.)

Turkey Meatballs

Had a hankering for some meatballs tonight, so went with Turkey Mushroom Meatballs with marinara from Simply Recipes. Served them over a bed of shredded and sauteed zucchini instead of pasta.  It was super, super tasty. The mushrooms made the meatballs very moist and flavorful.  Will definitely make again.

Super Easy Chocolate Souffle

For V-day dessert, we made these chocolate souffles.  They were super easy to make and super delicious! Highly recommend for a fancier-than-it-seems dessert for a special dinner.

Our vday dinner was also quite tasty: Surf and Turf with roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli. Super easy and fast, even after 1 round of martinis out on the town!

Crockpot Clam Chowder

This is another one that I make at least once every winter. Plus it's great because it can cook on high for just 2-3 hours, which is great for me because I love my crockpot but often forget to start things early enough.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 slices bacon, diced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 5 cans (6.5 oz each) clams, drained and liquid reserved
• 6 medium red potatoes, cubed
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Old Bay seasoning to taste 
• black pepper
• 2 cans (12 oz each) evaporated milk)

Directions:

• Cook bacon, onions, and celery in skillet under bacon is cooked and onions are tender. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Place in crockpot.
• Add water to clam juice to make 3 cups liquid. Pour into crockpot, and add potatoes, garlic, Old Bay, and pepper. Cover and cook on Low 5 to 8 hours or on High for 2 to 3 hours.
• Turn heat to Low. Mix in clams and milk. Cover and cook for 1 hour. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

[Adapted from Crockpot Best Loved Recipes.]

Carnitas Tacos

A variation on Brisket Tacos, but with pork instead of beef. The idea is the same: crockpot some meat, then make tacos all week with coleslaw and pickled onions.  I've been fiddling with a few recipes for carnitas. I basically end up with something like this:

Ingredients:

• 3 lb pork shoulder or butt
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• salt + pepper
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 jalepeno, chopped
• 1 orange, quartered
• 1 lime, quartered

Directions:

Rub oregano, cumin, coriander, and salt and pepper all over pork. Place pork in slow cooker. Top with onion, garlic, and jalapeno.  Squeeze the juice of the orange and the lime into the slow cooker and throw in the rind. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. When it's done, pull/shred with forks and discard extra fat as you go.

I've tried several variations on this recipe. Some call for liquid to cook it in, either beer or chicken broth.  But I found it comes out best without any liquid so that it just cooks in the fat as it renders. You can also try out other spices/flavors, such as chipotle (powder or canned chiles).

Most recently, when I sent Sam to the store for a 3 lb pork shoulder, he came back with 8 lbs! It fit in the crockpot (pic above) so I went ahead and made it all, but I didn't realize that I would need to add a lot more cooking time! I think it was done around midnight :), but we ate delicious carnitas all week long!

Also, to technically be carnitas, I think you need to brown the meat under the broiler after it's pulled but that's not our style. 

Brisket Tacos

Smitten Kitchen's Southwestern Pulled Brisket

This is a classic.  I make this several times a year. It's a great one to make in the crock pot on Sunday or Monday and then we eat tacos for dinner all week long.  Each night I take some bagged coleslaw, add in some chopped cilantro and add either this dressing or just some olive oil and lime juice. Then we make tacos with the meat, coleslaw, and pickled onions in flour tortillas for Sam and corn tortillas for me.  Delicious!