Spicy Cilantro Butter

I absolutely love herb butters! This is one of my favorites. Really.....they are all my favorites. Herb butters have such a fresh taste and they add so much to fish, vegetables, and breads. Hope you enjoy this one. It is great on fresh corn on the cob.

3-4 cloves garlic, minced
4 generous tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 jalapenos or 1 serrano chile (preferably red), seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon lime zest
2-3 teaspoons fresh lime juice
salt to taste
crushed dried red chile to taste
1/4 pound unsalted butter (1 stick) softened

Roll corn on the cob in this butter, then sprinkle with fresh lime juice and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It's wonderful with just the butter if you don't want to do the lime juice and Parmesan cheese.

FAITH sees the invisible
BELIEVES the incredible and
RECEIVES the impossible !

Grilled vegetables on Ciabatta bread

I'm always looking for new ways to fix veggies and I was at a restaurant recently where they had a grilled vegetable sandwich on the menu. This is my version of the sandwich.

1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
1 egg plant, sliced
7 mushrooms, sliced
1 sweet onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
Ciabatta Bread (l large loaf or 4 individual rolls)
6 0z. Asiago cheese
Basil Pesto

There are two ways to do these vegetables. One, is to grill them. Take 2 pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil and lay them on a flat surface. Cut all of your veggies on the thin side. Divide veggies in half and place half of the veggies (zucchini, squash, eggplant) on piece of the foil and the other half of the veggies on the other piece of foil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Then bring the sides of the foil together and make a pouch. Place both pouches on the grill and shut the lid and cook 15 minutes on each side. Or you can saute the veggies in 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter until they are crisp tender. Again add just a pinch of salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut your bread in half and place on a baking sheet then on one side place shredded Asiago cheese. Put in the oven until the cheese melts. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Then spread basil pesto on the other side of the bread. On top of the pesto place your cooked vegetables. Then place the top on your sandwich. If you have used the large loaf of Ciabatta you will need to slice the loaf into individual pieces.

Recipe for Basil Pesto

2 tightly packed cups of fresh basil
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Put basil in blender or food processor and chop lightly. Add remaining ingredients one at a time until all is well blended. Store with a thin layer of olive oil on top of pesto in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, or you can freeze it for several months.

The potatoes I served with this are a healthy version of french fries.

Oven French Fries

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons of oregano
2 (8 oz) baking potatoes unpeeled
1 egg white
vegetable cooking spray

Combine Parmesan cheese and oregano and set aside. Cut potatoes into wedges (length wise). Dip into egg white and dredge into Parmesan cheese mixture. Place fries on baking sheet coated with vegetable spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. 137 calories per 4 wedges. Pretty good huh! :)

I love this quote!

How could there be any question of acquiring or possessing, when the one thing needful for a man is to become, to be at last, and to die in the fullness of his being.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery

That's beautiful!

Stuffed Garden Peppers

These make wonderful little appetizers in the summer. I have used the small peppers that are yellow, orange, and red and I have also used the large sweet banana peppers from my garden. These make an very tasty appetizer as well as a colorful presentation.

Cut the very end off of your pepper and remove the membrane and seeds out of the pepper.

Filling
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
4 Tablespoons chopped fresh garlic chives (you can use plain chives)
3/4 cup frozen peas (thawed)
4 strips of crispy fried bacon

Blend Ricotta, cream cheese and Parmesan with a blender until creamy. Stir in chives, peas and crumbled bacon. Use a knife with a rounded end and stuff the filling into the pepper.
Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes... just until the cheese melts.

Mexican Brisket

This is one of my family's favorite meals in the summertime. It is a very simple and easy meal to prepare. I get a 6 to 7 pound brisket (trimmed). Place the brisket in a baking dish and add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. One jar of country style Dijon mustard. Spread the top of the brisket with the mustard. Then cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 300 degrees for about 4 hours. We like our meat well done. If you want the brisket medium well I would suggest cooking it for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

When the brisket is done, I let it cool about 20 minutes. I then place it on a platter and separate the meat with a fork. Be sure to leave the mustard on the meat....it adds a lot of flavor.

I make a salsa with garden tomatoes, fresh garlic, fresh jalapenos, sweet onions and salt. I chop the tomatoes and onions in small chunks and the jalapenos and garlic are finely chopped. I add salt to taste.

I then put strips of the brisket on a whole wheat flour tortilla with a dollop of sour cream and a generous amount of salsa. I serve this with guacamole and Spanish rice. The mingled flavors of the brisket with the fresh salsa is amazing.

Enjoy! :)

Great Faith

For Abraham, when hope was gone, hoped on in faith. His faith never quailed.

"The only way," replied the patriarch of faith, "to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings." This is very true. The time to trust is when all else fails.

Be not afraid, only believe. And if you are afraid look up and say, "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee."

Great faith must have great trials.

If you are ever to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, your strength will be born in some storm.

Help me to stand strong and not give way to unbelief.