Tag: Red Pepper Flakes

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos with Chimichurri

 Note: This post is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of tacos. I have over a dozen different recipes for tacos on my blog, including fish, pork, chicken and steak tacos. I somehow have not posted a shredded beef taco recipe, so my partnership with Moyer Beef is the perfect opportunity to rectify that! These Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos with Chimichurri are sure to become a staple in your house!

As a reminder, for the next few months, I’m partnering with Moyer Beef to share some awesome beef recipes. Moyer Beef sources beef and angus beef locally from small family farms in the Northeast.

I used Moyer Beef’s boneless chuck beef for this recipe. Chuck roast comes from the muscle between the neck and shoulder blade of a cow. It’s a relatively inexpensive and is a great cut for braising and slow cooking. (Note: “pot roast” is boneless chuck beef)

This recipe has a bit of Argentinian flair to it by adding a simple chimichurri and some diced red onions on top. Chimichurri is a herb-based sauce typically used for grilled meat. It’s similar to a pesto but uses multiple herbs (traditionally parsley and oregano) with garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and crushed red pepper.

The best part about this recipe is everything can be made ahead of time! I actually made the beef over the weekend and whipped up the chimichurri right before serving, but the chimichurri can also be made 1-2 days ahead of time.

Ingredients: (serves 8)

Shredded Beef:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 3-4 pound boneless chuck roast
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (sweet paprika can be substituted)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (normal oregano can be substituted)
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Chimichurri:

  • 1 cup firmly packed flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed cilantro
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Other:

  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
  • 8 flour tortillas

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Chicken Sausage and Peppers

Note: I was sent a variety of First Fresh Foods Chicken Sausages. Opinions are my own.

It may be relatively apparent on my blog that I really don’t eat much pork; I tend to gravitate towards other proteins. So, I also rarely eat sausage, and if I’m being perfectly honest, I’m not the biggest fan of them anyways.

So when First Fresh Foods contacted me about trying their chicken sausages, I figured why not! I decided to keep it pretty traditional and try their mild Italian sausages in Sausage and Peppers to make this recipe for Chicken Sausage and Peppers.

The Italian sausages resemble traditional sausages but are made from ground white breast meat, which delivers similar taste with 78% less fat. They are gluten-free, with no MSG and no hormones.

 

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 package First Fresh Foods mild Italian chicken sausage
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 (15-ounce) can tomato puree
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 5 hot dog rolls (omit to make gluten free, or use gluten free rolls)
  • fresh basil, for garnish

Continue reading Chicken Sausage and Peppers

One-Pot Chicken with Lemon & Rosemary

I am kind of obsessed with Zwilling JA Henckel’s knife of the month. It became my favorite knife overnight! The ZWILLING Pro 8″ Ultimate Serrated Chef’s Knife lives up to its name. This bad boy can be used for basically anything. The serrated edge is comprised of large and small scallops, which helps the knife stay share longer than a fine-edged chef’s knife.

From the website: Precision forged from a single piece of high-carbon, no-stain steel, the SIGMAFORGE® blade is exceptionally sturdy yet flexible. The FRIODUR® blade is ice hardened, making it extremely sharp and durable. The knife is hand ground and polished, then the angle of the cutting edge is checked with precise laser technology. The durable ABS resin handle is ergonomically shaped for a comfortable grip and is triple riveted to the blade.

I have been using it for anything and everything; fruits, veggies, meat, you name it! I typically gravitate towards Santoku knifes so I was surprised how comfortable I was using this chef’s knife. It works great to chop and thinly slice, but is super sharp so be sure to take care where your fingers are when using it (as you should when using any knife).

 

I chose a recipe highlighting this knife’s chopping skills, but it also works great on produce with more delicate out layers like tomatoes, and can even be used to slice chicken breasts with ease.

This recipe is adapted from a Rachel Ray recipe, so you know it’s a quick and simple recipe with tons of flavor. Per her suggestion, you should definitely have a loaf of bread on hand to dip into the yummy sauce!

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken (I used a chicken broken down- 2 breasts, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 bulb fennel, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
  • Crusty bread, to pass at table

 

Continue reading One-Pot Chicken with Lemon & Rosemary

Steamed Spinach with Curry Butter

Sometimes your sides need a bit more pizzazz. This simple recipe for Steamed Spinach with Curry Butter from Cooking Light adds a ton of flavor (and a little bit of heat if you want it) with little effort and time. The recipe below makes enough for 4 people but can easily be multiplied to fill a crowd (this would be a yummy side at Thanksgiving!)

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (or olive oil to make paleo)
  • 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
  • 2 (16-ounce) containers fresh spinach
  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Continue reading Steamed Spinach with Curry Butter

Shrimp Florentine Pasta

My boyfriend is allergic to shrimp. And I swear knowledge of this allergy makes me inexplicably crave shrimp. All. The. Time. So I wait for weekdays to make shrimp as much as my little heart desires. Another plus is that shrimp is a super quick meal. This Cooking Light recipe took a whopping 30 minutes from start to finish. And who doesn’t like shrimp, pasta, lemon, and spinach?
Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine (I used fresh pasta so it would cook faster)
2 tablespoons Melt buttery spread (or other margarine)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
the juice and zest of 2 lemons
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions. If using fresh pasta, it will be done in 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Add Melt to a saute pan over medium heat. When melted, add the shrimp, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the pan. Cook for 4 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked. (It’s easiest to use tongs so that you can flip the shrimp after 2 minutes).
Add the cooked pasta, lemon juice and zest, black pepper, and spinach. The spinach will wilt significantly, so don’t worry if it seems like there is too much.
Cook for 3 minutes, or until the spinach begins to wilt. Serve immediately with a lemon wedge on the side.
I was not prepared for how strong the red pepper would be. If I made this again, I’d cut the red pepper in half. I actually ended up adding a tablespoon of whipped cream just to cut some of the heat.
I also wanted a bit more of lemon. I ended up adding lemon to  the pasta throughout eating the dish. But the base flavors here were good! I just need to adjust the amount of ingredients and it would be a keeper! So, to recap: more lemon, less red pepper = perfect.

Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels in a Red Pepper Sauce

I’m on a slight mussel kick at the moment. I can’t stop thinking about Eulogy’s beer mussels, Bona Cucina’s mussels in white wine, and most recently, a mussels in red sauce I had back in college. I found a recipe for Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels in a Red Pepper Sauce in an old Cooking Light I thought I’d try. I was hoping for a slightly spicy dish, so I altered some of the ingredients.
Ingredients:
  • 8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/2 a yellow onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 bag mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain, and keep warm.
I wrote in my paella post how to clean and debeard mussels. It’s not terribly complicated, but it took me a while to be ok with debearding. Once the mussels are cleaned and debearded, you can begin cooking.
Add olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Chop your onion, garlic and bell peppers.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add the bell pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
Remove the tomatoes from the can, reserving the liquid. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, liquid, and wine to the pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Add mussels, increase the heat to medium and cover.
Cook for 7 minutes or until the shells begin to open.  If any do not open, throw those out; do not eat them. Add the pasta to the same pot and mix to coat with the sauce.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
When I first tried this, I didn’t add any cheese. And there was a little something just missing. It was ok, but somewhat bland.
I’d add a bit more spice next time. Maybe more red pepper flakes, or even a few drops of hot sauce.
My boyfriend suggested adding Parmesan cheese, and it did really help the flavor of the dish, so be sure to add some at the end!
This could be a really stellar recipe with a few modifications. What would you add to change this from a three star recipe to a five star recipe?
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Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels in a Red Pepper Sauce

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/2 a yellow onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 bag mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain, and keep warm.
  2. Clean and debeard the mussels.
  3. Add olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Chop your onion, garlic and bell peppers.
  4. Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Add the bell pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
  6. Remove the tomatoes from the can, reserving the liquid. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, liquid, and wine to the pan and bring to a boil.
  7. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Add mussels, increase the heat to medium and cover.
  8. Cook for 7 minutes or until the shells begin to open. If any do not open, throw those out; do not eat them. Add the pasta to the same pot and mix to coat with the sauce.
  9. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
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