World’s Best Tuna Sandwich

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The World’s Best Tuna Sandwich (According to my Dad).  I just like a plain ‘ol basic tuna sandwich myself.

Tuna Mixture

  • Albacore Tuna
  • Mayonnaise
  • Yellow Onion
  • Hot Chili Peppers, sliced (The ones you get whole in a jar)
  • Cilantro

Lay Out your sandwich like this:

  1. Lightly toasted bread (buttered)
  2. Layer of Avocado (salted)
  3. Layer of the Tuna Mixture
  4. Flavored Dorito Chips
  5. Lettuce
  6. Bacon
  7. Mustard (If you like it)

How much of everything you use is up to you.  Adjust the amounts to your liking.  Enjoy!

Pork Carnitas

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There’s many different uses for Pork Carnitas.  Mmmmm.  It’s good too!

Ingredients:

  • 2 pork roasts
  • 1 quart beef broth
  • 2 cups onion, quartered
  • 1 cup cilantro
  • 2 Tablespoons Oregano
  • 1 Tablespoon Cumin
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 bay leaves

Preparation:

Combine ingredients in a slow cooker and cook for 4 hours.  Remove pork from broth and let stand until cool.  You may keep the broth aside for use in other recopies, like tamales. For a spicier meat also add Chili Powder and/or chilis to taste before cooking.

Break pork into small pieces removing any pieces of fat in the process.   Use meat for any of many types of Mexican dishes.  Combining the carnitas with salsa makes a great and quick taco meat.

Tri-Tip Steak Marinade

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This recipe is my Dad’s favorite way to grill up some steaks.  The marinade adds an incredible flavor.

4-5 Trimmed Tri-Tip Steaks

Marinade
  • 1 Tbs Minced Dried Onion
  • 1 Tbs Garlic Powder
  • 1 Tbs Paprika
  • 1 Tbs Lemon Pepper
  • 1 Tbs Kosher Salt
  • 2 Tbs Black Pepper
  • 1/4 cup White Sugar
  • 1 Tbs Onion Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Canola Oil
  • 3 Tbs Minced Garlic in Water
  • 1/2 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
Directions
  1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Add the other ingredients to make the marinade.  
  2. Place 4-5 trimmed Tri-Tip steaks in a glass baking dish and pour the marinade over the steaks.  Let stand in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.  
  3. Heat grill to medium temperature.
  4. Place Tri-Tips on grill at a 45° angle to establish grill marks and cook about 35 minutes, or until cooked to desired doneness. 

Salt-Baked Potatoes

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Salt-Baking your potatoes is a great way to add flavor to an otherwise normal potato. It’s fun, it’s easy, it’s cool! 🙂

  • 4- 12 ounce Idaho potatoes
  • 2- 48 ounce boxes Kosher salt
  • 1 cup cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 cup coriander seeds
  • 8 bay leaves
  • 6 large egg whites

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Wash potatoes and pat dry.
  3. Combine salt, pepper, coriander seeds and bay leaves in a bowl, mixing well. Reserve 1 cup of the salt mixture on the side.
  4. In a large casserole dish with tall sides, spread a 1-inch layer of the salt mixture evenly on the bottom of the dish. Place the potatoes on top of the salt mixture, leaving a 1-inch space between them. Cover the potatoes with the remaining salt mixture.
  5. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until they become frothy. Add the reserved cup of salt mixture until combined. Pour the egg-salt mixture over the salt covered potatoes, spreading evenly. Cover tightly with the casserole lid or aluminum foil.
  6. Bake for 2 hours.
  7. Carefully remove potatoes from the encrusted salt and serve hot

Double 7 Layer Dip

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A favorite around our house.  Especially around the TV on game day.  We call it Double 7 Layer Dip because over the years the layers started piling up and we soon realized we had 14.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. seasoned ground beef
  • 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans (seasoned with Taco Meat)
  • 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 cups of your favorite salsa
  • 3 cups guacamole
  • 1/2 cup of Cilantro
  • 1/2 cup onion
  • 1/4 cup Jalapeños
  • 1/4 cup Serrano Chiles
  • 1 bunch chopped green onions
  • 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

  1. Mix the sour cream and cream cheese in a medium bowl.
  2. Spread refried beans out in the bottom of a 9 x 13 Pan.
  3. Place a layer of the other ingredients over over the beans.

Guacamole Salsa

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My Dad’s guacamole salsa is kinda famous in these parts.  He was inspired to create his own salsa after tasting a really good salsa at a local restaurant.  It has since closed but not before he convinced them to give him a list of ingredients.  For 5 years he tried different combinations of the ingredients, adding some of his own and finally created his perfect salsa.  One day when cleaning up, he decided to mix the left over salsa with some fresh guacamole that was on the counter.  Whamo!  His famous Guacamole Salsa was born!

To make the guacamole salsa hotter or milder, just change the amount of Jalapeños.

Ingredients

  • 12 Medium Roma Tomatoes, diced
  • 1 Large Yellow Onion, chopped
  • 1 bunch of Green Onion, chopped
  • 5 Serrano Peppers, chopped
  • 1 Pasilla Pepper, chopped
  • 1-3 Jalepeno Peppers, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of oregano
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • 8 Avocado, mashed

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients except the Avocado to make Salsa
  2. Slowly add the Salsa to the Avocado until the desired mix is achieved.
  3. Usually we have about 1/4 of the salsa left over for those who don’t like avocado.
  4. Serve with Tortilla Chips.

My dad always makes a side batch of his Guacamole Salsa extra hot.  He adds one chopped Habanero Pepper to the side mix.  Oh, its fun to see him cry.  🙂

Quick, 1st Place Chili

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This is our quick, first place chili.  It’s quick because you can make it in an hour rather than spending all day preparing it.  It’s first place because when we first created it, we entered it in the annual Chili Cook-Off and won first prize!  Hope you like it.  🙂

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups beef broth (from bouillon)
  • 1/2 cup chili powder (more if desired)
  • 2 heaping teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 (14 oz)can Kidney beans
  • 1 (14 oz)can of Black beans
  • 1 (14 oz)can of Pinto beans
  • 1 (14 oz) can of Corn
  • 1 Generous Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Salt

Directions:

  1. Brown beef in large saucepan.  Add onions, stir well, cook until translucent, add garlic, cook another minute
  2. Gradually add broth scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Stir in chili powder, cumin and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes
  3. Add beans, corn, salt & vinegar.  Stir well.  Simmer at least 10 more minutes but more is recommended (30-45 minutes) for best consistency.

Gorilla Bread

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Gorilla BreadHere’s a great recipe for Gorilla Bread that we discovered on Paula’s Home Cooking.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
  • 2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)
  • 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

Homemade Lasagna

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LasagnaMmmm.  Lasagna.   This recipe serves up to 12 people or in our case 5 people 2 times with some left over for lunch.

  • 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
  • 3/4 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup minced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
  • 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 12 lasagna noodles
  • 16 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.