This sweet and tangy salsa is the perfect companion to chips and guacamole or along with grilled chicken and a margarita. The perfect scoop-able summertime dish with lots of exciting flavor!

I absolutely love slow cooked, bone in, skin on, juicy thighs from the oven. Summertime means less oven time and lots more grill time now that Mr. Weber isn't covered in 3 feet of snow. With the change in weather, its also time for a change in the way chicken is prepared. The fresh tastes of lime & cilantro mixed with spices and tangy yogurt give this chicken insane flavor. It's always a hit at backyard barbecues and pairs awesome with this Black Bean and Mango Salad or fresh Pineapple Salsa!

These Rice Crispy Treats couldn't be easier to whip up for a quick crowd pleasing dessert. There's no baking involved, and if you're not a fan of peanut butter, just use plain chocolate or a candy of your choice. Any substitution works great! 

Summertime In a dish! I always look forward to making this bean salad when the weather is finally nice enough to sit outside and hang by the grill with some friends. Turn this into a meal on its own or serve with grilled meats, veggies, pasta or potato salad for the ultimate summer feast!

One day while searching for new flavors to liven my dull spice cabinet I happened to stumble across a seasoning blend I had never heard of. It was called Tagine. I immediately added it to my cart without hesitating, knowing the wonderful exotic flavors would add excitement to any dish. The blend made by Frontier contains paprika, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, crushed red chili pepper, black pepper, and cardamom. I couldn't wait to try this mixture and when it arrived in the mail I opened the jar right away to inhale the amazing aroma. It was like being in my grandmothers kitchen if my grandmother happened to live in some far off land. I wanted to learn more about this tagine spice and where it came from. 

The Tagine is actually a special pot originating from Morocco. It was originally a heavy, unglazed clay pot with a round, shallow-sided base and a conical lid with a knob on the top that acts as a handle. The shape is very beautiful, but it is functional as well as aesthetic, being designed to send the steam from the cooking food back down into the base to keep the dish moist.

Basically, a tagine is a sort of stew. It incorporates ingredients that do well with slow braising at low temperatures, such as lamb. Depending on the origin of the tagine, the spicing of the dish varies widely, and is possible to find them with vegetables, beans, and various grains in addition to meat stews. After several hours of cooking, the ingredients are extremely tender and very intensely flavored, and diners can ladle the tagine over rice or scoop it out of the dish with hunks of bread

Although these meatballs are not cooked in a traditional tagine, they are seasoned with spices that would traditionally be added to a tagine type dish. I hope to cook in a tagine someday to understand exactly how it works and taste the wonderful flavors, or better yet visit Morocco and learn from the experts! 

It's Always Tagine O'Clock In Morocco

I am always so disappointed in the selection of 'healthy bars' at the grocery store. NONE of them are actually good for you. It drives me nuts when the package is stating all kinds of health claims but the first ingredient is some sort of sugar. Hello! if the first ingredient in your piece of crap energy bar is sugar then its NOT good for my freaking body. Some candy bars would actually be healthier than those bricks of junk. They also use all kinds of other waste like soy, whey proteins, corn oil, high fructose corn syrup, GMO's and "natural flavors".  

The food industry has led us to believe that whey protien is healthy but its just not true. When cheese, butter and cream were made on the farm, the whey and skim milk were given to the pigs and chickens. But today these products are made in factories far from the farms where they originated, so the industry has a "whey problem," solved by drying the skim milk and whey at high temperatures and putting the powders into energy drinks, body building powders and high-protein bars. Hmmm, ill have to pass on that.

Energy Bars Are Not Your Best Option

Pork always pairs wonderfully with sweet flavors. Just like Pork Chops n'Applesauce, the sweet taste of pear and caramelized onions works perfectly with juicy pork. This dish is sweet, but not overpowering. When served alongside some brussels sprouts with a touch of bacon & stone ground mustard, you have yourself an easy to prepare gourmet meal. 

What really made this meal stand out was the addition of a Balsamic Sweet Onion Jam I received for Christmas from my future mother in law. She picked it up at a local farm. The complexity of the sweet and savory flavors gives this dish an amazing kick. Surowiec Farm in Sanbornton, NH is where the Jam came from but Williams-Sonoma carries their own if you cant find it locally.

These stuffed peppers make the perfect Paleo meal. The cauliflower 'rice' is a wonderful alternative to rice or other grains. The spinach is sautéd in coconut oil to add extra healthy fat and flavor. I like to use any herbs I have available or spice it up with some cumin, paprika, or garam masala. Sometimes I substitute the beef for lamb, buffalo or sausage. The variations are endless.