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I was recently challenged to come up with some simple recipes to help bring families back around the dinner table.  As we will be sharing these ideas with a local food pantry, we want to keep the ingredients simple and those that you would most likely find in your own pantry, or those that are easy to obtain on a modest budget.  

Something that the Food Pantry has in abundance right now is fresh apples and Bisquick baking mix.  This is a delicious, quick and simple dessert that the kiddos would have a blast to help make.

I used New Hudson Apple Pie Spice mix for this recipe.  This is hand blended with Korintje cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger root and cardamom.  Sooo yummy!  Great in your coffee too!

This is great side dish to go with just about any southwestern dish.  It is a salsa/salad.  You can use it to top a dish as a salsa, or serve as a salad on the side.  It stores well in fridge so it lasts for several days.  You can add tomatoes, but then it would be best eaten right away.  Tomatoes deteriorate very rapidly in fridge, refrigeration damages the membranes in the tomato and causes it to taste gritty and mealy.

Taco Tuesday is such a wonderful blend of chili powder, domestic paprika, granulated onion, cumin, granulated garlic, Mexican oregano, brown sugar, black pepper medium, and cayenne pepper.  It is fantastic in just about any southeastern recipe.

A glass of chilled Chardonnay is great with this meal.

I used some leftover Black Bean & Corn Salad to top a plate of Nacho's for lunch the next day.  So yummy!

Wine & Spice Makes Everything Nice!

I am loving the quick and easy sheet pan dinners! Today I made a chicken fajitas sheet pan dinner. I used two 1/2 sheet pans for this but you can combine on one. I chose to use a mix of peppers—jalapeño, poblano, anaheim and bell pepper. You can create your own mix of peppers depending on your preference and level of spice tolerance.

Taco Tuesday is such a wonderful blend of chili powder, domestic paprika, granulated onion, cumin, granulated garlic, Mexican oregano, brown sugar, black pepper medium and cayenne pepper. It is fantastic in just about any southwestern recipe.

I served this with Black Bean & Corn Salad. Healthy and light!

A glass of Sangiovese is great with this meal.

Wine & Spice Makes Everything Nice!

I love cooking dinner on a sheet pan. It doesn't get much easier than that. This recipe uses Sumac which is very common in the Middle East and other countries around the world. Cooks in those regions use Sumac instead of lemon zest or lemon juice. It has an acidic lemony flavor that really enhances the flavors of what you are making.

I marinated the chicken in olive oil and Sumac for a couple of hours. You can do this in the morning and let it marinate until you get home from work. Throw it on a sheet pan and voila—dinner is prepared!  

I served this with our Israeli Chopped Salad and Zahtar sprinkled on pita bread. Lightly brush olive oil on pita and sprinkle with Zahtar. Bake at 350º until golden brown, around 5 minutes.

A glass of slightly chilled Pinot Noir is great with this meal.

Wine & Spice Makes Everything Nice!

Potatoes are a great side dish, but they can get a little boring.  Here is a flavorful and fun new take on individual servings of baked potato stacks.  The caramelized crunch of this side dish makes it a perfect pairing with a steak.

I used Ravensview Rosemary Garlic to complement my potatoes.  This is hand blended with sea salt, black pepper, garlic, onion, chives and rosemary.  Perfect for potatoes, amazing on lamb and other meats.

Enjoy!

Wine & Spice Makes Everything Nice!

Cooking your steak in a cast iron skillet creates a wonderful crust very much like you get when ordering steaks in the finest restaurants. Of course the most important thing when doing this at home, is buying the best steak you can find and/or afford! The second most important thing is of course the seasoning. We have many seasoning blends that pair beautifully with steak. Today I am using Mark’s Espresso Rub II.

Mark’s Espresso Rub II is hand blended with ancho chile powder, ground espresso beans, Spanish paprika, brown sugar, yellow mustard, sea salt, black pepper, Mexican oregano, coriander, ginger root and de arbol chile powder. It has just a little bit of heat...so delicious.

So today I chose Filet Mignon. I love really thick pieces of filet—my personal favorite. You can use any cut you like for this cooking method, you just have to adjust the cooking time depending on the size.

A key to ensuring that your meat is evenly cooked is to leave it on your countertop to become room temperature (no longer than 2 hours). And, you must let the steak rest when done cooking, at least 10 minutes. This is imperative or all the beautiful juices will be all over the cutting board, which is a colossal waste of flavor!

A glass of Shiraz goes well with steak and spice.

Wine & Spice Makes Everything Nice!

What is there not to love about a perfectly seasoned and cooked crab cake? It is decadent perfection! Big pieces of crab, with crunchy celery and French Seafood Seasoning. These hold together really well with wonderful textures and flavors.

French Seafood Seasoning is a wonderful mix that is hand blended from granulated garlic, black pepper, sea salt, domestic paprika, granulated onion, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper and basil. This is terrific on grilled fish, shrimp or seafood boils too.

We enjoyed a cold glass of champagne with this crab cake.

Enjoy!

Wine & Spice Makes Everything Nice!

What can be better than an almost guilt free dessert!  This is a sugar free and flourless cake that takes literally only minutes to make.  It is spongy, light and airy, almost like a soufflé!  To keep it totally sugar free skip the powdered sugar.  You can top it with fresh berries, whipped cream or ice cream.  Or enjoy just as is!

I used Saigon Cinnamon to enhance the flavor and it is amazing.  This cinnamon has the highest natural oil content, almost 5%, giving this a magnificent flavor and aroma.  You can use cinnamon in sweet and savory dishes, and it it good for you too!

Enjoy!

Wine & Spice Makes Everything Nice!