GRILLED STEAK KEBABS RECIPE FOR TODAY

GRILLED STEAK KEBABS
Serves 4 to 6

Delicious steak kebabs with bell pepper and red onion!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds sirloin steak, cut in 1-inch cubes
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1-inch pieces
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1-inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1-inch pieces
1 red onion, cut in 1-inch pieces
8 (12-inch) metal skewers

INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, garlic and pepper. Add the cubed sirloin steak to marinade and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
Once the meat has marinated, thread it onto the skewers alternating with pieces of bell pepper and red onion.
Grill kebabs over medium heat, turning often, until all sides of the meat is well brown and vegetables are tender. (About 12 to 15 minutes)
Serve and enjoy!

By Holly

Chipotle BBQ Chicken Skewers RECIPE FOR TODAY

Chipotle BBQ Chicken Skewers

YIELD: 4 PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 16 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 thick-cut bacon strips
1 cup sweet bbq sauce
2/3 cup Musselman's Apple Butter
2 chipotle peppers (canned in adobo sauce)

Directions:
Soak 8 wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the grill to medium or medium-low heat. (Between 300-350 degrees F.) Cut the chicken breasts into 3/4 inch bite-sized pieces. Then cut the bacon into 3/4 inch strips. Alternate threading the chicken and bacon onto 8 skewers, leaving a bare handle on one end of each skewer. Sprinkle the chicken skewers with salt and pepper.
Place the bbq sauce, Musselman's Apple Butter and chipotle peppers in the blender. Puree until smooth.
Grill the chicken skewers for 4 minutes per side. Then brush the skewers with the chipotle apple bbq sauce and grill another 3-4 minutes per side, until the edges of the bacon is crisp, but not burned. Serve warm.

OVEN DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Thread the skewers with chicken and bacon, then puree the bbq sauce as directed above. Lay the chicken skewers on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and brush well with the bbq sauce. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges of the bacon are crispy.

Grilled Jerk Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers RECIPE FOR TODAY

Grilled Jerk Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers
from Closet Cooking

Ingredients
1 pound (20-25 or 16-20) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup jerk marinade
2 slices pineapple, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions
Marinate the shrimp in the the half of the jerk marinade for at least 20 minutes and up to over night, skewer the shrimp and pineapple and grill over medium-high heat until cooked, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Jerk Marinade
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 10 minutes Servings: 4
A quick and easy homemade jerk marinade!

Ingredients
1+ scotch bonnet pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
2 green onions
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon allspice
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 orange, juice and zest
1 lime, juice and zest
directions
Puree everything in a food processor.

Tip: Scotch bonnet peppers can be a little hot so you may want to start by adding half a pepper, test the heat level and continue adding more until the marinade is as hot as you want.

20 Minute Honey Garlic Shrimp RECIPE FOR TODAY

20 Minute Honey Garlic Shrimp

Ingredients:

1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use reduced sodium)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
optional: 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 lb medium uncooked shrimp, peeled & deveined1
2 teaspoons olive oil
optional: chopped green onion for garnish

Directions:

Whisk the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger (if using) together in a medium bowl.

Place shrimp in a large zipped-top bag or tupperware. Pour 1/2 of the marinade mixture on top, give it all a shake or stir, then allow shrimp to marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or for up to 8-12 hours.

Cover and refrigerate the rest of the marinade for step 3. (Time-saving tip: while the shrimp is marinating, I steamed broccoli and microwaved some quick brown rice.)

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place shrimp in the skillet. (Discard used marinade2.) Cook shrimp on one side until pink-- about 45 seconds-- then flip shrimp over.

Pour in remaining marinade and cook it all until shrimp is cooked through, about 1 minute more.
Serve shrimp with cooked marinade sauce and a garnish of green onion.

The sauce is excellent on brown rice and steamed veggies on the side.

Caramel Apple Empanadas RECIPE FOR TODAY

Caramel Apple Empanadas

Ingredients
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
1 Tbls lemon juice
1 Tbls granulated sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
dash of allspice
½ cup caramel bits
1 tsp milk
1 refrigerated pie crust
1 egg, lightly beaten
sugar to sprinkle on top

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Toss apples with lemon juice.

Combine sugar and spices and sprinkle over apples. Toss to coat and set aside.

Unroll pie crust on a lightly floured surface. Roll out just slightly.

Cut out 7-8 rounds using a 4 inch cutter.

Place pie crusts rounds on parchment-lined sheet.

Place each apple wedge on the rounds - slightly off center, leaving room to seal the empanada later.

Melt the caramel bits and milk together in a microwave safe bowl on high for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until caramel is fully melted and smooth.

Drizzle 1 tsp of caramel onto each apple being careful to stay away from the edge.

Brush edges of rounds with egg and press edges together to seal.

Use a fork to crimp the edges shut.

Brush the tops of the empanadas with egg and sprinkle with sugar if desired.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown and let cool slightly.

Reheat caramel if necessary and then drizzle over the top of empanadas and serve.

Butter Rum Caramel Apple Pie RECIPE FOR TODAY

Butter Rum Caramel Apple Pie
Dough:
1 cup flour
½ tsp salt
4 tbsp salted butter (diced and chilled)
¼ cup ice water
Filling:
5 Granny Smith apples or any bargain green apples you can find…(peeled cored and sliced)
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup flour
4 tbsp salted butter (diced)
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Rum or Rum extract
½ cup heavy cream
1/ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Dough: 
Place diced butter in freezer for 5 minutes.

Put flour, butter and salt into food processor. 

Pulse 10 times. Then pulse 10 additional times while slowly dripping the water into the chute of the food processor. Mixture should look wet and crumbly.

Drop mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap.

Cover with a second sheet of plastic wrap. Using a rolling-pin tap down the dough then roll it out to an 11’” circle.

Place dough while still wrapped in plastic in fridge for 20 minutes to an hour. After letting the dough rest in the fridge remove top sheet of plastic then flip the dough over and place in pie pan. Then remove final piece of plastic. Pierce the dough with a fork (bottom and sides).

Place pie pan into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow the shell to cool on a rack while preparing the filling.

Filling: 
Place the apples into a large bowl. Add lemon juice, sugar, brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Toss to coat the apples.

Pour apple mixture into a large skillet and cook for about 8 minutes at medium heat. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir for about 4 more minutes.

Pour apple mixture into cooled pie shell. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees then place pie pan on a sheet pan to catch drippings. 

Place pie into oven and bake for 45 minutes. Place cooked pie on rack for 1 hour to cool then place in fridge over night. This allows the caramel to firm up.

Slow Cooker Mushroom Spinach Lasagna RECIPE FOR TODAY

Slow Cooker Mushroom Spinach Lasagna
A vegetarian lasagna recipe made with a mushroom-spinach-tomato sauce layered with uncooked lasagna noodles and cheese in a slow cooker.
Ingredients
Cooking Spray
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pkg (8 oz each) fresh sliced mushrooms
1 pkg (6 oz each) baby spinach leaves
1 can (14.5 oz each) Hunt's® Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano, undrained
2 cups Tomato Sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 container (8 oz each) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 dry lasagna noodles, uncooked
1-1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese, divided

Directions
Spray inside of 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach; cook 3 minutes more or until mushrooms are tender and spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, combine ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and pepper in small bowl; set aside.
Spread 3/4 cup sauce mixture over bottom of slow cooker. Layer 3 lasagna noodles over sauce mixture, breaking noodles to fit. Top with 3/4 cup sauce mixture, ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup Italian cheese. Top with 3/4 cup sauce mixture and remaining 3 lasagna noodles, breaking to fit. Spoon remaining sauce mixture over noodles.
Cover; cook on LOW 5 hours or until noodles are tender. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Italian cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover; let stand 5 minutes or until cheese melts.