Sweet Potato Jalapeno Popper Tacos

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This recipe came to be from a blissful kitchen mix-up when Jamie accidentally bought ingredients for two separate recipes she planned to cook. The original recipe we wanted to make was for sweet potato and pineapple tacos. We knew all of that starchy sweetness needed salt and spice and the first thing that came to mind were the ingredients in bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers. If all of this is sounding a bit weird to you, we get it. It’s a weird sounding recipe!! Trust us when we tell you that somehow it all works. There is a little bit of everything in this recipe – roasted sweet potatoes and pineapple, charred jalapeños and onions, salty thick cut bacon, and a cilantro lime crema. The flavors all meld together to create these deliciously unique tacos that simultaneously taste sweet and bring the heat. This recipe is perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon watching football and the perfect way to bring in fall flavors.

Sweet Potato Jalapeno Popper Tacos

  • Servings: 8 tacos
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We love the combination of sweet and spicy in this unique taco recipe.

Ingredients For The Tacos

  • 2 large sweet potatoes, chopped into large bite-sized pieces
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced in half and then quartered lengthwise
  • 2 cups pineapple, chopped into large bite-sized pieces
  • 2 tbs vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 6 slices thick cut bacon
  • 4 jalapenos
  • 8 taco sized tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • cilantro leaves, for garnish
  • 1 lime, cut into segments, for garnish

Ingredients For the Cilantro Lime Crema

  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbs mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup packed cilantro
  • 1 clove garlic
  • juice and zest of 1 lime
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Make the cilantro lime crema. Combine all of the crema ingredients (sour cream – paprika) in a small blender. Blend until the cilantro is evenly distributed in the crema and all of the ingredients are well combined. Season the crema with salt and refrigerate until you are ready to use.
  3. Make the tacos. Combine the first seven taco ingredients (sweet potatoes – coriander) in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
  4. Lay three slices of bacon in the center of each of two large cookie sheets. Divide the sweet potato bowl ingredients around the bacon on each of the two sheets. Spread everything into a single layer and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, flip the bacon and give everything a toss with a spatula so that all of the ingredients are equally browned. The bacon should be crispy and the sweet potatoes cooked through when you remove them from the oven. Leave the oven on for later use.
  5. While the bacon and sweet potatoes are cooking, turn on a gas burner to medium-high heat. Using tongs, roast the jalapeno peppers on all sides so that they are lightly charred. When the jalapenos are cool enough to handle, remove the stem and seeds, outside charred layer, and roughly chop the remaining peppers. Add them to the sweet potato mix and toss well to incorporate. If you do not have a gas range, you can replicate this step using the broiler of your oven after the sweet potatoes have finished cooking.
  6. Remove the bacon from the cookie sheets and onto paper towel to drain some of the fat, if necessary. Roughly chop the bacon from both cookie sheets and add it to the sweet potato mix. Combine the ingredients from each of the sheets onto one and tent with foil to keep warm until ready to serve.
  7. Lay the taco tortillas on the open cookie sheet in a single layer (as best you can). Sprinkle the cheese evenly over each of the tortillas and put in the oven to warm the tortillas and lightly melt the cheese. Remove the tortillas and assemble the tacos.
  8. Lay an even amount of taco filling onto each of the 8 tortillas. Top each taco with the cilantro lime crema and additional cilantro, if desired. Serve with lime wedges for garnish.

Spinach & Feta Turkey Burgers

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This is the recipe that changed the turkey burger game for us. Let’s face it, turkey burgers are notoriously dry. The meat is so lean that it often doesn’t lend well to grilling unless you incorporate additional fat like in our spicy turkey burger recipe. Instead of adding chicken sausage, we have incorporated feta and spinach to the burgers, which gives them moisture and adds a Mediterranean spin. The saltiness and creaminess from the feta gives a richness and fat to the turkey and the spinach is an added bonus for those trying to sneak in some vegetables for their kids. The result is a burger that can be served over a Greek salad, as a main entrée at a barbeque, or frozen and heated for an easy weeknight meal. We serve ours with sliced avocado and romesco aioli for a burger that is healthy, fresh, and full of flavor.

Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers

  • Servings: 4
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A staple Mediterranean turkey burger recipe that you will keep coming back to.

Ingredients for the Burgers

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 cup crumbled feta
  • 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 4 hamburger buns
  • 1 avocado, thinly sliced
  • leaf lettuce
  • any of your other favorite burger toppings

Ingredients for the Romesco Aioli

  • 1 roasted red pepper, patted very dry if you’re buying it in a jar
  • 2 tbs slivered almonds
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, drained from the oil
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Make the romesco sauce (roasted red pepper – mayonnaise) by combining all of the ingredients in a blender. Pulse to chop and then blend completely. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set side or refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. Heat your grill to high, about 500 degrees.
  3. Mix all of the burger ingredients (ground turkey – pepper) in a large bowl until the ingredients are well incorporated.
  4. Form the meat mixture into 4 burger patties. Grill for about 5 minutes per side, or until the meat is completely cooked through.
  5. Serve with sliced avocado and leaf lettuce, or any of your other favorite burger toppings.

Semi-Homemade Hot Dog Bar

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Entertaining does not have to be fancy to be delicious and delightful to your guests. We love having friends over in the summer for a backyard barbecue, and instead of spending hours prepping for a fancy feast, we like to have a really fun menu like this Semi-Homemade Hot Dog Bar. We love that we can cook hot dogs to order and let everyone fend for themselves with the hot dog bar ingredients to make their own meal. We have included suggestions for some of our favorite summer hot dogs below, and also encourage our guests to create their own flavors! If you are really in host and hostess mode, you can write out our ideas below (and some of your own!) to help guide your guests through the hot dog bar. The key to success with a menu like this is to think smart, not hard. You’ll notice that there are some repetitive ingredients amongst the list. We have also “semi-homemade” some of the ingredients, including the bbq pulled pork and chili, which have come from the prepared food section at the grocery store. If you want to make all of the bar toppings from scratch, by all means have at it. But if you don’t have time, you can still pull this off pretty easily. Having repeat and pre-made ingredients helps eliminate a ton of prep time in the kitchen, but doesn’t take away from the fun of the presentation. For reference, we like to plan for 2-3 hot dogs per person when making our ingredient list.

The Hot Dog Lineup:

  1. Asian Slaw Dog: Asian slaw, cilantro, sesame seeds, sriracha ketchup.
  2. The Cincinnati Dog: chili, onion, mustard, cheese.
  3. BLAT Dog: bacon wrapped dog, tomato, arugula, avocado, mayo.
  4. BBQ Pulled Pork Dog: pulled pork, barbecue sauce, everything bagel coleslaw.
  5. Chicago Dog: tomato, mustard, giardinara, sliced dill pickle.
  6. Mexican Dog: avocado (or guacamole), pickled jalapeños, cilantro,

Alaskan King Crab Rolls

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Every year for Calli’s birthday, we have a seafood birthday celebration with our best family friend, Leslie. We order a box of Alaskan king crab legs from Costco, steam the legs and serve them with lemon and hot butter. It is one of our favorite summer traditions and something we look forward to every year. The dinner is simple and the crab legs are just SO good. We had a few left over this year and didn’t want to waste one bite, so we decided to repurpose the crab into crab rolls. This recipe is intentionally simple as we want the crab to shine. If you don’t typically find yourself rolling around in leftover crab legs, you can typically purchase them by the leg at your regular supermarket.

Alaskan King Crab Roll

  • Servings: 4
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Our take on a classic lobster roll using Alaskan king crab legs.

Ingredients

  • 4 king crab legs (cooked, cooled and shells removed)
  • 2 tbs mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
  • juice of one lemon
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp dried dill
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp hot sauce
  • 4 brioche buns (or hot dog buns of your choice)
  • fresh parsley

Directions

  1. Combine the mayonnaise, greek yogurt, lemon juice, salt, dill, pepper and hot sauce in a bowl and thoroughly mix together.
  2. Gently break the crab meat into large, bite-sized pieces. Add the crab to the bowl and fold the crab in gently so that the dressing covers all crab pieces.
  3. Toast the buns (add butter if you would like). Add a generous portion of the crab mix to the bun and top with fresh parsley. Serve immediately with a slice or two of lemon.

Broccoli & Chicken Open Faced Sandwiches

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Kidd grew up eating open faced subs that his dad would cook and has fond memories particularly of a chicken and broccoli sandwich. We spent time in the kitchen trying to recreate the nostalgia, and have landed on this open faced broccoli and chicken sandwich with Swiss cheese and balsamic glaze. The sandwich is packed with sneaky flavor from the spices in the sautéed broccoli. The balsamic glaze adds a tangy sweetness that ties all of the ingredients together. The result is the perfect lunch or dinner for the entire family. You can even recreate this on a baguette for a delicious appetizer.

Broccoli & Chicken Open Faced Sandwiches

  • Servings: 2 entrée servings
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An open faced sandwich recipe that reminds Kidd of his dad’s cooking growing up!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 4 tbs olive oil, divided
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups broccoli rabe
  • 1 tbs onion powder
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 1 ciabatta or hogey style sandwich roll
  • 2 slices of swiss cheese
  • 2 tbs balsamic glaze

Directions

  1. Cook the chicken. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the chicken strips. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tbs of olive oil. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2-3 minutes on one side. Add the balsamic vinegar and flip the chicken. Cook until the chicken is cooked completely through. Set aside to cool.
  2. Using the same pan (no need to clean it out) add the remaining olive oil (2 tbs). Once heated, add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes so the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the broccoli rabe and lower the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes until the broccoli wilts and becomes tender. Add the onion powder and chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
  3. Slice the sandwich roll or bread of choice in half lengthwise. You want to have the bread sliced thick so that it will hold up the weight of the ingredients. Toast the bread in a toaster or oven until it is lightly toasted on each side.
  4. Add a slice of swiss cheese to the bottom of each piece of bread. Melt in the oven or microwave until the cheese is nice and bubbly. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the cheese. Top the sandwich with the chicken and broccoli. Serve immediately.

Bouchon Bakery Inspired Brie.L.T. Sandwiches

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This recipe inspiration comes from our trip to Napa last October. Bouchon Bakery, from famous chef Thomas Keller, was at the top of our list of places to visit when we were in Yountville. We made an adventure of our day by riding bikes from Napa to Yountville and were pleasantly starving and ready for treats once we got there. To make sure we got the full Bouchon experience, we ordered everything from croissants to cookies and cupcakes – we weren’t going to miss out! To offset all of the sweets, we also got a sandwich called the Brie.L.T. Holy moly was it good! The sandwich was so flavorful and filling that is was perfect to split amongst the four of us and we have talked about it so much since our trip, that we knew we needed to make our version of it for Tuck & Tate.

What we loved about the Brie.L.T. at Bouchon is the rich and decadent spin they took from a traditional BLT. We have combined some of their elements with a few of our own to make the recipe below. We chose to incorporate sun dried tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes; a great spin for winter that also gives the sandwich an umami punch of flavor. Arugula breaks up the rich sandwich and also gives it peppery punch, while and the prosciutto adds some salt that we find addicting. Bottom line – makes these stat. You will not be disappointed.

Brie.L.T. Sandwiches

  • Servings: 4
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A rich and decadent sandwich, inspired by our trip to Bouchon Bakery in Yountville.

Ingredients

  • 1 baguette, cut into 4, 6-inch pieces
  • 2/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 oz prosciutto (8 slices)
  • 1 wedge of brie
  • 2-3 cups of arugula

Directions

  1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sun dried tomatoes with their oil and the garlic to the pan. Cook over medium heat until the garlic starts to become fragrant, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the tomatoes from the pan and toast all eight pieces of the bread in the oil. You want the bread to soak up the sundried tomato oil and may need to do this in batches so that each piece of bread comes in contact with the pan and gets toasty. Remove each piece of bread and set aside until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches.
  2. Assemble the sandwiches by spreading the sun dried tomatoes on the top piece of bread in each sandwich. Thinly slice the brie and add a full layer to each sandwich on the bottom piece of bread. Top the brie with two slices of prosciutto and the prosciutto with arugula. Slice each sandwich in half and serve.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

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The great sandwich debate is open in our homes recently. Some of us love sandwiches and others, not so much. The one thing we can agree upon is that everyone in our homes loves some sort of buffalo chicken. We set to find a happy medium with this buffalo fried chicken sandwich. We have infused this sandwich with spice, it’s everywhere from the buffalo infused egg wash to the breading of the chicken to the jalapeno ranch dressing. The result is a finger licking good sandwich that is everyone in the family can enjoy.

Buffalo Fried Chicken Sandwich

  • Servings: 4 sandwiches
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A spicy buffalo chicken sandwich perfect for a summer time dinner or game day entrée.

Spicy Ranch Dressing Ingredients

  • 1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 2 tbs ranch dressing seasoning
  • 1/2 jalapeno, diced (if you prefer less spicy, ditch the seeds – more spicy? do a full jalapeno)
  • 1/2 English cucumber, diced

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Ingredients

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1 inch tenders
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 cups buffalo sauce (we used Blonde Beard’s Chicken and Waffles)
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 4 brioche buns
  • 1/4 red onion, sliced
  • iceberg lettuce, cleaned and cut into large pieces

Directions

  1. Make the spicy ranch dressing. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients (yogurt, seasoning, jalapeno and cucumber). Stir until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Set aside in the refrigerator.
  2. Prepare your breading workstation. Use three separate shallow bowls and fill them with the flour, eggs and bread crumbs – separately. Scramble the eggs with 2 tbs buffalo sauce. Season each of the three bowls with salt and pepper.
  3. Use one hand for dry ingredients and one hand for wet ingredients and place one chicken tender in flour, egg mixture and bread crumbs in that order. Make sure the tender is fully covered in each ingredient before moving it on to the next step. Once the chicken tender is coated with bread crumbs, set aside. Repeat until all chicken tenders are breaded.
  4. In a 2″ pan, heat the canola oil until it is very hot. You will know it is ready if you put a splash of water from your hand it immediate sizzles. Once hot, add the chicken tenders and fry for 4 minutes on each side. The chicken tenders should become crispy and golden. Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to allow the grease to drain.
  5. When all chicken tenders have been cooked, place the chicken tenders in a bowl and toss with the remaining buffalo sauce until the chicken tenders are thoroughly coated with sauce.
  6. Assemble the sandwiches. Spread a generous amount of the spicy ranch dressing on the top bun. Layer a few pieces of the chicken, lettuce and onion on the bottom bun. Add additional hot sauce as desired. Serve immediately.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

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Our dad was born and raised in Chicago, and one of our favorite traditions when we visit our family is to go to Portillo’s for their famous Italian beef sandwiches. We have great memories of doing this often with our grandpa and grandma – scrambling for a table, getting everyone’s order, our grandpa saying he only wanted half (but he wanted a whole sandwich), and the joy we all had scarfing down these delicious, messy sandwiches. When we have a hankering for an Italian beef sandwich, and haven’t thought enough in advance to order them frozen from Portillo’s, we make this and feel all the same nostalgia and joy as though we are in Chicago.

These sandwiches are a great football day main dish, and the star of our 2021 Super Bowl Menu. You can prepare the peppers and beef ahead of time and assemble the sandwiches last minute to serve. The best part of this recipe is that you can add and update the condiments however you like. We like our sandwiches served with provolone, giardiniera and a little extra jus for dipping. We can’t wait to hear how you like yours!

Italian Beef Sandwiches

  • Servings: 8-10 sandwiches
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An interpretation of our favorite Chicago subs!

Ingredients

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 2 white onions, sliced
  • 2 red peppers, sliced
  • 2 green peppers, sliced
  • 8 cups beef broth
  • 2 tbs salt
  • 1 tbs onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp red chili flakes
  • 3 lbs sliced roast beef
  • 8 french bread rolls
  • 8 slices provolone cheese
  • giardiniera (optional)

Directions

  1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, red pepper and green pepper and sauté for 5 minutes until the vegetables are fragrant.
  2. Add the beef broth, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and red chili flakes. Stir everything to combine and bring the broth to boil. Lower to simmer and simmer for 30 minutes so the vegetables are completely soft. **
  3. Separate the beef into individual slices and add the beef to the broth. Let the beef absorb the broth and cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Prepare the sandwiches. Toast the french bread rolls and melt half a slice of provolone cheese on each side of the bread. Add beef, peppers and onions to the sandwich. Top with giardiniera or any of your favorite condiments. Serve with the cooking broth for dipping the sandwiches.

    5. ** At this point, you can turn off the heat until you are ready to serve the sandwiches. You can refrigerate the broth and reheat when you are ready to serve.


Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Sandwiches

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We love Thanksgiving leftovers as much as the next person, but we find that half the fun of eating all the leftovers is creating new recipes to “reinvent” what we have in the refrigerator. Last year, we cured our Thanksgiving hangovers with an epic leftover breakfast. Knowing that this year is going to be more low key than other years, we decided to go a more traditional route with these leftover turkey sandwiches. We love the mix of the cranberry sauce and barbecue- a combination that might sound a little funky but is the perfect blend of tangy and sweet. We added lots of arugula for a nice peppery freshness and onion for a little zip. The result is the perfect turkey sandwich, and a great way to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers!

Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Sandwiches

  • Servings: 4
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One of our favorite way to reinvent and use up all of those Thanksgiving leftovers!

Ingredients

  • 8 slices sourdough bread, toasted
  • 1 lb leftover turkey, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup leftover gravy
  • 1/4 cup bbq sauce
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup leftover cranberry sauce
  • 4 thick sliced sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 heaping cup arugula
  • 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

  1. Heat the gravy, turkey, and 2 tbs water in a skillet over low heat, just until the turkey is heated through.
  2. Mix the bbq sauce and mayonnaise together in a small bowl.
  3. Assemble each sandwich by spreading the bbq mayo on one piece of sourdough and cranberry sauce on the other. Layer 1/4 lb turkey, a slice of cheddar, arugula, and red onion onto each sandwich. Serve immediately.

Tuna & Avocado Melt

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Tuna salad is one of those things that can be easily made but if you spend just a little extra time to make it well, it is SO darn delicious. In an effort to cut down on some calories this summer, we have been making tuna salad with avocado, lots of lemon, and just a touch of mayo as a base. The result is a refreshing spin on a classic tuna melt, still made decadent with melted sharp cheddar, but trimmed way down on the calories.

Tuna Avocado Melt 
Makes: 2 servings 
Prep Time: 15 minutes     Total Time: 15 minutes 

Ingredients

  • 4 slices of your favorite bread 
  • 2 large slices of sharp cheddar or Swiss cheese 
  • 2 handfuls of arugula 
  • 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced 
  • 2 cans of white tuna in water, drained 
  • 1 ripe avocado 
  • 2 tbs mayo 
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon 
  • salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions 

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
  2. Lay the four slices of bread on a cookie sheet and give them a light spray with cooking spray. Cook until they are toasted, about 6 minutes. 
  3. While the bread is toasting, make the tuna. Use a fork to mash the avocado with the mayo and the zest of the full lemon and the juice from 1/2 of the lemon. You want to mash thoroughly so this is a mostly smooth texture. Add the drained tuna and toss to coat. Depending on how you prefer tuna, you can break it down to be as smooth or chunky as you prefer. Season the tuna to taste with salt and pepper. 
  4. When the bread is toasted in the oven, remove two of the slices from the cookie sheet and put the cheese on top of the remaining two slices. Turn the broiler on in the oven and cook the cheese until it is melted- just a few minutes. 
  5. Make the sandwiches by layering a slice of cheesy toast, 1/2 of the tuna, a few slices of red onion, a handful of arugula, and the remaining slice of toast. Serve immediately.