Fab with Five Entry #5

Creamy Chipotle Lime Lasagna

1.      1 bottle of Saucy Mama Chipotle Lime Dressing

2.      1 lb ground beef

3.      1 box of ready cook lasagna noodles

4.      1 jar of Salvadorian crema

5.      3 cups cotija cheese

Water

Directions

This real simple… you prepare it like regular lasagna, and if you’re like and you forget to grease the pan, it will be totally rustic.

1.      Brown ground beef, and drain. Mix with 1/2 cup of the Lime Chipotle Dressing.

2.      In a small sauce pan, combine 1 cup of Salvadorian Crèma with the remaining Lime Chipotle Dressing, and about 1/2 cup water to cut the richness of the creme.  Mix well, and season with salt and pepper.  Let simmer at very low heat.

3.      Next, begin your lasagna layering system.  First a layer of noodles, then meat, then crèma then cotija and repeat.

4.      Top with the creamy sauce and one last layer of Cotija.

5.      Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or as  long as the lasagna noodles require according to their packaging.  

Fab with Five Entry #4

Beef Carpaccio with Lemony Sweet Onion Dressing

1.      1 cup Saucy Mama Sweet Onion Dressing

2.      ½ lb beef tenderloin

3.      The juice and zest of 4 lemons

4.      1 red onion, thinly sliced

5.      2 TSP Chives (or Italian parsley)

Olive Oil   

Sea Salt

Freshly Ground pepper

Directions

1.      Prepare the beef for Carpaccio.  I used these instructions to make sure I did it right. 

2.      Next, mix Sweet Onion dressing with the juice of 2 lemons and the zest of 1.

3.      Lay out the thin pieces of beef on a serving dish and drizzle with 2 TSP of very good quality olive oil, then squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the top.

4.      Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and lemon zest.

5.      Artfully drizzle with the Sweet Onion and lemon dressing, and sprinkle with the purple onion.

      Carpaccio is an acquired taste that not all people enjoy.  I for one love it!  Saucy Mama's Sweet Onion dressing mixed with the acidity of the lemons really makes this a bright and flavorful dish.  So much so, that the traditionally used arugula and Parmesan cheese isn't even missed.  If you are skeptical of this dish, you can always just cook it up!  (That's what I did for my husband.) You could also substitute the beef for smoked salmon.

Fab with Five Entry #3

Why complicate things? Five ingredients are plenty….especially when one of the 5 is Saucy Mama’s Sweet Heat Marinade. It has the just right amount of heat and sweet and is super versatile.

Sweet Heat Beef and Broccoli
1. 1 bottle of Saucy Mama Sweet Heat, divided
2. ½ tsp of freshly grated ginger
3. 1lb beef sliced thin (I used tri-tip filet that I sliced)
4. 4 cups of broccoli florets
5. 1 small purple onion, sliced “French” style
Sesame oil

5 Easy Steps
1. Slice the meat thinly and place into a plastic bag and add the ginger and ½ of the bottle of Saucy Mama dressing. Seal tightly and allow marinate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. In a wok or large sauté pan, heat 1 TSP sesame oil over high heat. Drain off excess marinade from meat and pat dry. This allows the meat to get a nice caramelized coating.
3. Cook meat for about 5 minutes over medium high heat.
4. Next add the broccoli and onion, and stir. Cook for about 5 more minutes and then add the remaining ½ of the Saucy Mama Sweet Heat.
5. Cover the pan and remove from heat. Keep the pan covered for about 5 more minutes to allow the veggies to steam, but still stay crisp.

If you’d like to try some of Saucy Mama’s amazing products, leave a comment here, or on my Facebook page. A food memory would be great, but any comment will work. I’ll end the contest on June 5, 2011 and the random winner will be notified via email.

Fab with 5 Entry #2 Pacific Rim Pineapple Ceviche

Fab with Five Entry #1 (and a contest for you!)

Five. 5 is great number.  It's the age of my oldest daughter.  There's the five elements.  And then there's Saucy Mama's Fab with Five contest.  The challenge is to create a delicious dish using only five ingredients. That's right, five ingredients. At first I balked at the idea, but then i realized that some of my most fave recipes are very simple.  Most of my favorite dishes are composed of a few very good ingredients so why was I worried?  I can totally make a dish with only 5 measly ingredients, right?!?  Of course I can.  Here's my first entry.

Click the picture for a bigger and better view.

 Mini Burgers with Creamy Santa Fe Tomato Relish

Ingredients

1.      ½ cup Saucy Mama Santa Fe Creamy Chipotle Dressing

2.      1 pound of lean ground beef or turkey

3.      6 small gourmet rolls sliced lengthwise

4.      4 roma tomatoes, flesh removed and diced

5.      ½ cup sweet and hot pepper rings, drained

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Step 1

In an small bowl combine ½ tsp of salt and ½ tsp of freshly ground pepper and mix well.  Using your hands, form 6 small patties and lay on parchment covered late.  Refrigerate.

Step 2

To make the tomato relish, remove flesh from the tomato and dice finely. In a small bowl mix with the Saucy Mama Santa Fe Creamy Chipotle dressing and dash of fresh ground pepper.  Refrigerate.

Step 3

Heat in dry frying pan over high heat and add your patties.  Cook on each side for 3-5 minutes each. Once cooked your liking, removed from pan and set on paper towels to remove excess oil.

Step 5

Lay out your rolls, and put 4 pepper rings on the bottom of each roll.  Next add a hamburger patty, and top with the tomato relish. Add the other half of the roll and secure with a toothpick.

Click the picture for a bigger and better view.

I pride myself on making my own sauces, marinades and aiolis, so please take my word for it when I tell you that Saucy Mama's goods are amazing.  I love everything that I have tried, and I've almost tried it all. They more than pass my test and get the "Crissy Mathers' seal of approval."   The Creamy Santa Fe Chipotle dressing a creamy, smoky and slightly spicy dressing.  Like most of her products it's very versatile and full of bright flavor-2 things I love!

But don't take my word for it.  You could with your very own pack of Saucy Mama products.  Simply tell me about your favorite food memory either here on my blog or on my Gourmet Buffet Facebook page.  Each memory you submit via comment is worth 1 entry.  (Winner will be determined by random on or around May 24th, 2011.)

steak?

anyone?

Micro Mini Vacay

Last weekend the hubs and I took way too fast trip to Santa Barbara for an early un-birthday for me.  It was a great mini trip, but way too short.  

The venue was the historic Arlington Theater.

 There was lots of finger pointing, name calling and hilarity.

After a restful evening, we picked up the Naughties and headed to beach for quick minute.

It was a great weekend, indeed!