A Food Connoisseurs Guide For Spicing Things Up In The Kitchen

A Food Connoisseurs Guide For Spicing Things Up In The Kitchen

Sandwiches aren’t just for lunch! I love to serve them for dinner and since they are so easy to make it gives me a chance to experiment with different sauces and everyone knows a great sauce can take any sandwich to the next level.

This first recipe combines plump shrimp seasoned to perfection with some of my favorite spices then baked in the oven, which means easy cleanup, but the sauce—tart Greek yogurt combined with smoky chipotle peppers in adobo sauce with avocado—is definitely the star of the show!

Spicy Shrimp Sandwich with Chipotle Avocado Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Chipotle avocado mayonnaise
  • 1 baguette, cut it into 3-4 equal pieces, toasted, for serving
  • Romaine lettuce leaves, for serving
  • Sliced avocado, for serving

For The Chipotle Mayonnaise Seasoning 

  • 1-3 chipotle peppers, in adobo sauce

  • 1 avocado, pitted and chopped

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise

  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

  • Juice of 1 lime

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For instructions visit: Damn Delicious

One fool proof way to add flavor to a dish is to throw in some sausage. Since sausage is available in your local grocery store in many different flavors you can tailor this next pasta meal to whatever flavor you are craving. Pasta tossed in fresh garlic sautéed in olive oil and chicken broth and seasoned with some more of my favs cayenne and red pepper flakes! I used Andouille sausage, which carries a nice kick.

Spicy Smoked Sausage Alfredo Bake

Ingredients
  • 16 ounces dry pasta
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 (12 oz) fully cooked smoked sausage, any variety
For Instructions visit: Let's Dish 

When I first started cooking, chicken was one of those items that I had more meal fails than I care to discuss. A mild flavored meat, chicken needs a little extra care. This phenomenal recipe combines honey glazed bacon spiced just right with chicken marinated in balsamic vinegar!

Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Spicy Honey Bacon Glaze

Ingredients

    • 4 chicken breasts*, left whole or cut into thick strips diagonally
    • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
    • 3/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
    • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
    • 2 tablespoons steak seasoning
For the glaze:
  • 6 slices bacon, chopped
  • 3/4 cup honey
  • 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon hot sauce

For instructions visit: The Food Charlatan

Since quinoa is one of those items my husband and I do not agree on, I get him to clean his plate by serving one of my favorite grains with a lot of spice. The dressing for this quinoa salad combines all my favorites, cumin, chili flakes, garlic and not one but two hot sauces. It so full of flavor and spice that my husband doesn’t even complain when he gets a spoonful of yummy kale! We are a Tapatio family so I substituted our favorite hot sauce for the Cholula but really, you could use any hot sauce you have on hand or leave it out if you are looking for less heat. Either way the dressing is tasty enough you won’t miss it.

Spicy Kale and Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

1 cup dry quinoa

3-4 curly kale leaves (about 2.5 cups chopped)

1 can black beans

1.5 cup frozen sweet corn

1 avocado chopped

1/2 cup thinly chopped red onion (optional)

Dressing:

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup lime juice

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup cholula hot sauce

1 tsp sriracha sauce to taste

1/8 tsp cayenne red pepper powder

3/4 tbsp dried chili flakes

1 large garlic clove (pressed or finely chopped)

1 heaping tsp honey (helps the flavors really come together)

pinch of cumin, salt, pepper to taste

For directions visit: My Santa Monica Life

Traditional meatballs are ok, but this next recipe uses red pepper flakes, Dijon mustard and cayenne pepper to take the flavor of a few notches. Baked and then tossed into a skillet where they are smothered in sauce and then covered in Burrata cheese, only the softest and best mozzarella out there, they can be served on a roll or with pasta or if you are looking for a low carb option with spaghetti squash. This recipe calls for turkey, but I find that turkey has a strong flavor, I always substitute ground chicken, which is still healthy and in my opinion doesn’t interfere with the flavor of the spices.

Turkey Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Basil Sauce with Burrata

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs (can leave out if GF)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For the sauce:

  • 2 cups tomato sauce or your favorite pasta sauce (marinara works well)
  • 4-5 large basil leaves, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • Optional: 2 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 4-6 ounces of Burrata cheese, cut into large pieces

For instructions visit: Ambitious Kitchen

So if you are looking for a meal with a lot of flavor and maybe even a little heat, these are great go to’s. If you know cayenne or red pepper flakes are too much for your palate leave it off, any of these recipes will still be great without them!

Let Us Know What You Stirred Up!





6 Comments

  1. Fashionzhome
    Fashionzhome June 10, 00:58

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  2. Ms Skinny Wrap
    Ms Skinny Wrap August 14, 21:00

    Nice 🙂

    Reply to this comment
  3. Rico365 for Everyday Fitness Tips
    Rico365 for Everyday Fitness Tips August 14, 21:00

    Awesome ! very interesting :p

    Reply to this comment
  4. Daily Kitchen and Cooking Tips
    Daily Kitchen and Cooking Tips August 14, 21:30

    oh my … sure looks yummy 🙂

    Reply to this comment

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