Entrées

Beef

Beef

Barbacoa

Servings: 12-15 tacos (or 25-30 street tacos)

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Cut the beef into even size pieces, about 3" across. Season on all sides with salt.
  2. In a large dutch oven (or pot for which you have a lid), sear all sides of the beef over medium-high heat until browned. You'll likely have to do this in batches.
  3. Once browned, turn off the heat and add the beef back into the pot followed by the stock, garlic, chiles, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and cinnamon stick. Top with the water. 
  4. Bring the pot to a boil, then cover with the lid and turn the heat to low. Let the pot simmer for 4-5 hours or until the meat it tender enough to shred.
  5. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the meat to rest (with the lid still on) for an hour.
  6. Remove the meat from the pot and shred with two forks. Mix a few ladles of your braising liquid to the meat as you shred.
  7. Serve on tacos or in burritos/quesadillas/nachos. Goes really well on corn tortillas with salsa verde, chopped onions and cilantro, and some creamy jalapeño sauce.
Beef

Beef and Broccoli

Servings: 3

Ingredients 

Marinade

Stir Fry

Directions:
  1. Combine marinade ingredients together and cover beef. Let marinade for at least 2 hours or, ideally, overnight
  2. Heat a wok or fry pan over medium heat, then add the coconut oil. Stir fry the broccoli florets until they reach the desired tenderness, anywhere from 5-15 minutes depending on your preference.
  3. Strain the marinade off of the beef and reserve (it will become the sauce). Stir fry the beef until just cooked through, 3-4 minutes, before adding the marinade and broccoli back into the pan. Cook 1-2 minutes more, allowing the marinade to thicken and coat the beef and broccoli
  4. Serve over rice
Beef

Korean Beef Bowls

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Cook the ground beef over medium heat until cooked through and browned
  2. Mix remaining ingredients together to make a sauce
  3. Drain the oil from the skillet then pour the sauce over the beef, stirring it together
  4. Serve the beef (and the sauce) over rice and garnish with sesame seeds
Beef

Mom's Meatloaf

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Combine eggs and milk, then stir in bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt, sage, and pepper.
  3. Add the ground beef and mix well.
  4. Put the mixture in a baking disk or loaf pan for 50-75 minutes. Spoon off any fat that rises to the top.
  5. In a bowl, combine catsup, brown sugar, and dry mustard. 
  6. Spread about 1/4-1/2 of the mixture over the meatloaf, and return to the oven for 10 more minutes. 
  7. Serve with remaining sauce on the side.
Beef

Phở

Servings: 10

Ingredients:

Broth

For the Bowls

Directions:
  1. Add the bones to a large stock pot and cover with water
  2. Bring water to a boil and let it boil for 10 minutes
  3. While water is boiling, quarter the onions and half the ginger. Place on a baking sheet and put under the broiler until charred (7-8mins). Flip onions and ginger to char on all sides
  4. The first boil of the bones will release the “scum” and impurities. Dump this out, rinse the bones in cold water, and thoroughly wash the pot.
  5. Add the bones back in and fill the pot with cold water. Bring to a very gentle simmer and add the sugar, salt, onions, garlic, and seasoning cubes. NOTE: Do NOT let the broth boil, a simmer with just a few bubbles is all you need. Boiling again will make the broth cloudy.
  6. Let this simmer for 4-5 hours, checking every 30-60 minutes for foam and removing the foam/bubbles with a spoon.
  7. If slicing your own steak, put your steak in the freezer to let it harden (for about an hour or two, depending on thickness) which will make it much easier to slice.
  8. When 1 hour remains on the broth, fill the pot back up to replace any water that has boiled out and add the spice packet to the broth.
  9. Bring a different pot of water to a boil and add the noodles. Let them collapse, then pour into a strainer and rinse in cold water. This won’t take long, only let the noodles cook for 10-15 seconds. 
  10. Remove all solid items (bones, onions, ginger, spice packet) from the broth.
  11. Take the beef out of the freezer and slice as thinly as possible. Place raw meat and noodles in a bowl, then top with the hot broth. The broth will be hot enough to cook the beef.
  12. Add any other toppings to a plate and serve with the soup. 

Any leftovers can be easily reheated, just boil the amount of broth you need and pour it over the noodles and beef from the fridge. 

Beef

Skillet Steak with Compound Butter

Servings: 2

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1.  Temper the steak by pulling it out of the oven and letting it sit at room temperature for ~30 minutes
  2. Finely mince 2 garlic gloves and 1 shallot. Cook the shallot in butter until translucent (3-4 minutes), then add the garlic and cook until fragrant (1-2 minutes more)
  3. Add the cooked garlic and shallots to 1 stick of butter along with the chopped chives and blue cheese. Mix well, then transfer to the center of a 10" piece of plastic wrap. Spread the butter out longways, then roll the butter in the plastic wrap to make a tight log. Transfer to the refrigerator to harden while you cook, then freeze/refrigerate any leftovers
  4. Cut the remaining shallot into quarters and crush the 3 remaining cloves or garlic
  5. Generously season the steaks with salt and pepper on both sides and the edges
  6. Heat a large glug of oil (~2 Tbsp) in a skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the steaks. If cooking something with a fat cap, like a strip, start by searing the fat cap for ~1 minute. Sear each side for 2 minutes
  7. After searing the second side, lower the heat to medium-low/medium. Once the skillet has cooled down, add the stick of butter, crushed garlic, shallot, and thyme in with the steaks
  8. Baste the steaks with the butter, flipping every 30 seconds, for 2 minutes. This will make a medium-rare steak. Baste 1 minute for rare, 3 minutes for medium (this is assuming 1.25"-1.5" thick steaks)
  9. Let the steaks rest under foil for 5 minutes, then serve with the compound butter (I like to let the steaks rest with the butter on top to soften it up a bit)

Beef

Taco Soup

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Heat a dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and mix until cooked through and browned. 
  2. Add onion and cook until softened, then add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add tomato paste and taco seasoning and stir to combine.
  3. Stir in beans, corn, tomatoes, and broth. Add hot sauce and lightly simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Taste for seasoning, then serve with sour cream, cheese, and Fritos.

Chicken

Chicken

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Combine ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours.
Chicken

Chicken Wings (Air Fryer)

Servings: 2

Ingredients
Directions
  1. Fill the air fryer basket with wings
  2. Cook the wings at 380° for 18 minutes (raw) or 36 minutes (frozen), flipping halfway through
  3. Once cooked, add the wings to a bowl and toss with your sauce
  4. (Optional but recommended) Place the sauced wings back in the air fryer and cook at 400° for an additional 5 minutes to cook the sauce onto the wings.
  5. Serve hot with some buttermilk ranch dressing
Chicken

Creamy Garlic Chicken Tenders

Servings: 5

Ingredients
Directions
  1. Heat a large pan on medium-high heat.
  2. Season the chicken tenders on both sides with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, add the oil and let it shimmer. 
  3. Sear the chicken tenders on both sides until browned, but not cooked through. About 90 seconds per side. Remove them from the pan and turn the heat to medium
  4. Add the shallots to the pan and cook until slightly translucent, 1-2 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 90 seconds.
  5. Add the bullion paste and white wine and cook until reduced almost completely. When the liquid has thickened and barely covers the bottom of the pan, add the heavy cream and parmesan. Stir until melted and well combined.
  6. Taste for seasoning and add salt or pepper as necessary.
  7. Add the chicken back into the sauce to finish cooking, 2-3 minutes.
  8. Serve over noodles.
Chicken

Kimberly's Chicken Adobo (Instant Pot)

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Turn Instant Pot to saute and let it heat
  2. Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper.
  3. Add oil to the Instant Pot and brown the chicken in batches until all sides are brown.
  4. Once browned, return all chicken to the Instant Pot and add soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, onion, and the green onion whites. Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes.
  5. Once cooked, do a quick release and remove the chicken. Turn the Instant Pot back to saute and boil the sauce until reduced and sticky.
  6. Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.
Chicken

Pad Thai

Servings: 4

Ingredients 

Sauce:

Noodles

Toppings:

Directions:
  1. Make noodles according to package
  2. Combine sauce ingredients and set aside
  3. Cook meat with some oil in a skillet or wok until cooked through
  4. When the meat is cooked, add more oil to the skillet or wok and scramble the eggs with the meat
  5. Add noodles, sauce, peanuts, bean sprouts (if using) and bell pepper (if using) and toss to combine 
    Note: you can save half the peanuts for topping at the end, if you want it to look extra fancy
  6. Top with cilantro, green onions, and lime wedges 
Chicken

Roasted Chicken with Jus

Ingredients
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Remove any giblets from your chicken and check for stray feathers, then pat completely dry. 
  3. Season the whole bird with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Make sure to get under the wings and behind the legs. 
  4. Place the chicken in a roasting pan or high walled iron skillet.
  5. Slice the 1/2c (one stick) of butter into thin pieces and place on top of the chicken. Tuck some under each wing and behind the legs, as well as inside the cavity. 
  6. Roast the chicken until the thickest part of the breast reaches 145°F, which should take between 45-65 minutes, depending on the size of your bird.
  7. Turn the oven up to 450°F to brown the skin and finish cooking. Pull when the thickest part of the breast hits 155°F, which should take another 10ish minutes.
  8. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and tent with foil to rest for at least 20 minutes. 
  9. Place the roasting pan/skillet on the stove (if you cannot use your roasting pan on the stove, transfer as much of your drippings as you can into a skillet) and add the broth. Bring to a boil and reduce until it costs the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning.
  10. Turn off the heat and add in the remaining (cold) butter, 1 tbsp at a time, whisking constantly and adding more only when the last cube is melted. When the last of the butter is melted and incorporated, the jus should be thicker than before and should have a light shine to it.
  11. Carve the chicken and serve with the jus. 
Chicken

Shredded Garlic Chicken (sous vide)

Servings: 6

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat a water bath to 150°F
  2. Generously coat each chicken breast in equal parts salt, pepper, chili powder, and paprika (and cayenne, if using).
  3. Place the seasoned chicken in a sous vide bag with the whole garlic cloves and vacuum seal.
  4. Place the chicken into the water and cook for 2 hours.
  5. Remove chicken to a bowl and shred, mashing the garlic and mixing it into the chicken

Pork

Pork

Al Pastor

Servings: 10-12 people (25-35 tacos)

Ingredients

Marinade:

For Serving:

Directions:
  1. Slice the pork shoulder into 1/4"-1/2" slices and place in a bowl or gallon ziplock bag
  2. Mix the remaining ingredients except the pineapple slices and add to the meat
  3. Let marinade for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days (longer is better)
  4. Preheat oven/grill/smoker to 300° F
  5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and stack alternating layers of pineapple and pork. You can stack them on a wooden or metal stake to keep them upright. Here is the one I use, it's ~$12 on Amazon.
  6. Bake for 2 1/2 - 3 hours until the pork is slightly charred and deep red
  7. Remove the meat and let rest for 10 minutes
  8. Carve the pork and pineapple into thin slices
  9. Assemble tacos and enjoy
Pork

Baked BBQ Pork Chops

Servings: 6

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat your oven to 400° F
  2. Mix sugar and your BBQ rub together
  3. Pat dry all your pork chops
  4. Coat all sides of the pork chops with the seasoning (it's a lot of seasoning, so really cover those things)
  5. Place the chops in a casserole dish and bake in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes
Note:

You can cook these anywhere from 350° F to 450° F and they'll turn out great. Here's a table for cook times at those temps:

450° F

 14-16 minutes
425° F
 15-17 minutes
400° F
 17-19 minutes
375° F
 21-24 minutes
350° F
 30-34 minutes
Pork

Honey Garlic Pork Belly

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
Instructions:
  1. Cube the pork belly into 1 inch pieces and fry on medium high heat until cooked through (5-7 mins each side) NOTE: helps to keep the meat moving so that none burns on the pan
  2. Add honey, garlic, and tamari and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let it simmer gently until it looks sexy I mean sticky. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds 

This is great on tacos (make your own tortillas) or just served over white rice.

Pork

Mustard & Apple Cider Glazed Pork Chops

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
Directions
  1. Let the pork chops sit out for ~20 minutes to temper
  2. Rub the pork chops down with oil, then generously coat with salt and pepper (both sides)
  3. Heat ~2 tbsp oil in a pan over med-high heat and cook the meat 5-6 minutes on each side until golden brown
  4. Move pork chops to a plate and drain the oil from the skillet but DON’T wash it or wipe it out.
  5. Over medium heat, add the mustard, cider, honey (if using), and thyme and simmer until thickened, 4-5 mins (if using fresh thyme, strip the leaves from the stem)
  6. Add the chops back into the skillet for a minute or two to make sure they’re hot and coat them with the sauce. Pour any additional sauce on top to serve

Other

Other

Fathead Pizza Crust

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 425° F
  2. Combine cheeses in a bowl and microwave for 60 seconds, stirring after the first 30 seconds, until uniform
  3. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine, using your hands if needed to incorporate
  4. Add the dough to a greased pan (I like to use an iron skillet) and spread until it looks like a pizza dough. Usually about 12" across.
  5. Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes
  6. Remove the crust and add any toppings to the pizza
  7. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and toppings are cooked to your liking

Birria

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Combine ingredients in a large pot and cover with water and bring to a simmer
  2. After 30 minutes, remove the peppers, onion, carrot, and garlic and place in a blender (squeeze the garlic out of the skin)
  3. Blend until very smooth, adding a little bit of the simmering liquid if needed to loosen it up
  4. Pour the blended mixture through a strainer, then add back to the pot, stirring to combine
  5. Cover the pot and simmer for another 3-4 hours, until the meat is tender and easily shreds
  6. Taste and season as needed, then turn off the heat and allow the meat to cool in the broth for at least an hour
  7. Remove the meat, discarding any bones, and shred. Keep the liquid, including the fat on top.
Tacos:
  1. If making tacos, dip the tortilla in the top layer of oil in the broth, then add to a medium heat pan
  2. Build the taco in the pan, adding the shredded meat and some good melting cheese (mozzarella is what we usually use), and fold together like a quesadilla.
  3. Serve with a small bowl of the broth topped with diced white onion and cilantro
Soup:
  1. Put the meat back in the broth
  2. Serve in bowls with diced white onion and cilantro