Baja-Style Grilled Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

4 Limes
4 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Salt
1 Cup Olive Oil (or Vegetable oil)
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 lbs White Fish (Rockfish, Cod, Monkfish, or skinless Halibut
Cajun Rub
16 Corn Tortillas

Extra Toppings (as needed):
Cabbage, shredded
Red Onion, diced
Cilantro, diced
Pickled Jalapeno Slices
Avocado, diced
Pico De Gallo or Salsa
Sour Cream

Directions:

Juice two limes. Cut the other limes into wedges; set aside until serving time.

Make the marinade:
In a small mixing bowl, combine the lime juice, mustard, and salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil, then stir in the garlic.

Place the fish in a resealable plastic bag, pour the marinade over it, and refrigerate for no more than 1 hour.

When ready to cook, set temperature to High and preheat, lid closed for 15 minutes.

Remove fish from the marinade and pat off any excess marinade with paper towels. Season on both sides with cajun rub.

Arrange the fish on the grill grate and grill until the fish is opaque and flakes easily when pressed with a fork (about 10 minutes, 145°F internal temp). Remove to a cutting board and cut into bite-size chunks. Meanwhile, warm the tortillas until warm.

Arrange the fish, tortillas, and suggested accompaniments on a large platter. Garnish with the reserved lime wedges. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This year my husband was diagnosed with Celiac. He LOVES banana bread with chocolate chips and this is a recipe that both he and I really like!

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4-5 bananas)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil (vegetable oil is a fine substitute)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat over to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, bananas, sugar, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened. Gently mix in chocolate chips.

Transfer to two greased 8x4" loaf pans (or a muffin pan if you want to do muffins). Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes for a loaf, about 25 minutes for muffins. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Smoked Salmon with Orange Hoisin Glaze

Ingredients:

1 salmon fillet, about 1 1/2 - 2 pounds
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup honey
1 TBSP Sriracha sauce
2 TBSP Sesame Oil
1 tsp Garlic powder
2 oranges, sliced
1 TBSP sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

Make the marinade by mixing together the hoisin sauce, orange juice, honey, sriracha sauce, sesame oil and garlic powder together in a small bowl. Measure out 1/2 cup of the marinade and set aside. Place the salmon in a flat dish (a 9"x13" casserole dish works well). Pour the remaining marinade over the salmon. Flip the salmon a couple of times to ensure that all the salmon is coated in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Flip the salmon every hour.

Set the smoker to 250°F using apple, cherry, alder, or maple wood chips.

Place the sliced oranges on the grill. Lay the salmon on top of the orange slices, this will keep the fish from sticking to the grill. Smoke the fish for about 2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the fish reaches 145°F.

During the smoking time, pour the 1/2 cup of reserved marinade in a small saucepan. Let it come to a low boil and let it reduce until it thickens and turns into a nice glaze. This takes about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Once the salmon has finished smoking, place it on a serving platter. Brush with the glaze. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Nice to be served with rice.

Apple Jalapeño Smoked Ribs

The night before grilling make the BBQ sauce and chill in the refrigerator. BBQ sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. You can however make it same day and it will still work.

Ingredients for Apple Jalapeño BBQ sauce:

1 1/2 cups ketchup
1 cup apple juice
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP molasses
1 TBSP black pepper
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp ground coriander
1 medium jalapeño finely diced (if you want a more mild sauce remove seeds)

Directions for BBQ Sauce:
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients (ketchup, apple juice, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, ground coriander, and diced jalapeño. The spice level is adjustable. If you like it spicy, you can dice the whole jalapeño (seeds and everything). If you like it more mild, remove the seeds and white ribs inside the pepper before dicing.


Ingredients for Ribs:

2 racks baby back ribs
4 TBSP sweet rub (I like using Pit Boss's Tennessee Apple Butter Rub)
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 cups apple juice
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 medium jalapeños (sliced into rings)
1 cup Apple Jalapeño BBQ sauce (see below)

Directions for Ribs
Begin by removing the membrane on the back of the ribs.

Slather both sides of the ribs with the yellow mustard and season liberally with the sweet rub.

Prepare your smoker for indirect smoking at 225°F. Apple wood is a good one to use for this recipe. Place the seasoned ribs on the smoker and close the lid. Leave them to smoke for 3 hours.

Tear off a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and place it on a large working surface. Transfer the ribs to the foil, bone side up so the bones don't tear through the foil. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar, top with the butter cut into small pads. Slowly pour apple juice over the top. Once the liquid has settled, top with the sliced jalapeños.

Tightly crimp the foil together to create an airtight seal. Return to the grill and keep your cooking temperature to as close to 225°F as you can. Let the ribs braise for 2 hours in the foil.

Carefully remove the ribs from the grill and place on a large working surface. Open the foil package (be careful of hot steam). Carefully remove the sliced jalapeños and set aside. Use tongs to remove the ribs from the foil and place them back on the grill, bone side down. Discard the foil and excess cooking liquid.

Brush the ribs with the Apple Jalapeño BBQ Sauce and arrange the jalapeño slices, you set aside, on top of the ribs. Close the lid of your grill and cook at 225°F for an additional hour until the ribs are done to your desired tenderness and the sauce is sticky and set. I like to brush the ribs with additional BBQ sauce after about a half hour.

After removing the ribs from the grill slice into individual ribs and brush with additional BBQ sauce. Any remaining sauce leave out for anyone who wants extra sauce.

Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

1 Mango

1/4 C Red bell pepper (finely diced)

1 green onion (finely chopped)

2 TBSP fresh cilantro (finely chopped)

1 fresh jalapeño (finely diced)

2 TBSP lime juice

1 TBSP lemon juice

1/2 avocado (diced)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Allow to sit for a couple hours in the fridge before serving.

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 TBSP Peanut Butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add water as needed to help make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff. Roll the dough into a 1/2 inch thick roll. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

Bake in preheated oven until hard, about 40 minutes.

Steak Marinade

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 TBSP garlic powder

3 TBSP dried basil

1 1/2 TBSP dried Parsley flakes

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/4 cup pickled jalapeño juice and jalapeños