Talk about next level tacos! Your Taco Tuesday will never be the same after trying my beef taco recipe.This is a recipe that you definitely must try out because it is packed with an  utter sensation of flavors that will explode in your mouth.

These tacos are very healthy yet mouth-watering at the same time! They go very well with tuna patties, but they are not a must-have in this recipe. Fresh lettuce leaves really just give this recipe its dynamite as they they elevate it to a whole new level.

Time: 2 hours
Yield: 6 tacos and 6 tuna patties
Main course
Ingredients
For the tacos

• 6 taco-size tortillas
• ½ green lettuce head
• ½ red lettuce head
• 1 large red onion
• 2 cups cooked and shredded beef
• ¾ sweet & sour bbq sauce
• 1 carrot (shaved into ribbons using a potato peeler)

For the roasted potatoes

• 4-5 medium sized potatoes
• 4 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons mixed herbs

For the sauce base

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 large carrot

For the tuna patties

• 2 mashed medium-sized potatoes
• 1 can tuna
• 1 small onion
• ⅓ cup green beans
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 ½ tablespoons chicken spice
• Oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To prepare the potatoes, wash them and cut them into cubes that are not too small. 
2. Boil them for 20-25 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
4. Drain off off the water and add them to a baking pan together with the paprika, salt, mixed herbs and black pepper. Ensure that they are evenly coated with all the spices.
5. Bake them for 45 minutes- 1 hour until they are golden brown and crispy.
6. (It is advisable to only toss them once while they are in the oven so they do not break and become mushy)
7. In the meantime, to prepare the tuna patties, chop the onion and green beans and fry them in a sizzling hot pan for 4 minutes.
8. Add the mashed potato and the tuna together with the salt, black pepper, mixed herbs, paprika, cayenne pepper and chicken spice to the pan and fry for 15 minutes until  everything is evenly cooked.
9. Cover the pan and put it aside until it is time to plate.
10. For the tacos,start by tossing the beef in the sweet & sour bbq sauce until it is evenly coated in a medium bowl.
11. To prepare the base sauce, add the mayonnaise and all the other ingredients for the base sauce to a small bowl and make sure everything is well combined.
12. Warm the grilled potato cubes in the microwave for 3 minutes. 
13. Slice the red onion into rings.
14. Peel the carrot and cut it  lengthwise into 2  and then cut those two halves lengthwise into 2 as well.
15. Use a potato peeler to make the carrot ribbons by shaving each carrot stick down to make thin transparent ribbons.
16. To plate, place two tortillas on each plate.Put a bit of mayonnaise on one end of each tortilla and stick the ends of the two tortillas in each plate to each other so  the centers are upright as shown in the picture. 
17. Spread equal amounts of the mayonnaise base sauce onto each tortilla.
18. Evenly distribute the potato cubes among all the tortillas.
19. Roughly tear some of the green and red lettuce leaves and add them to the tortillas.
20. Add a generous amount of the beef each of the tacos.
21. Heat the tuna-patty mixture for two minutes.
22. In each of the plates, spoon some of the tuna-patty mixture into a round cookie cutter and press it down before lifting off the cookie cutter, to create the pattie shape.
23. Repeat that with the remaining patty mixture in each plate.
24. Arrange the remaining lettuce leaves, carrot ribbons and red onions around the plate and your meal will be ready to serve!

I came up with this recipe after thinking to myself how I could revitalize
the tedious green salad we’re all used to. I opened the fridge and found a variety of fresh vegetables that simply needed to be collaborated artistically .

This salad is made of a pineapple salsa in a bowl lined with lettuce, red onion slices and yellow lemon slices. It  is very important not to toss the salad as it destroys the beautiful composition you
would have created. 

This is a great salad you should definitely try out and it does not require a lot
of skill and time yet it looks highly impressive!

Total time: 25 minutes

Yield: a medium sized bowl of salad

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized lettuce head
• 1 large red tomato
• 1 pineapple
• 2 medium sized lemons
• 2 medium sized red onions
• 95 g Feta cheese or Greek mozzarella
• 50 g fresh coriander

For the dressing

• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, black pepper, lemon and granulated sugar.
2. Gradually add the water whilst whisking vigorously, till it becomes smooth. Cover the dressing and put it aside.
3. On a cutting board, cut the tomato in small cubes and one red onion and put the cubes in a medium sized bowl.
4. Peel the pineapple and cut it into cubes and also cube the cheese and add them to the bowl.
5. Squeeze half a lemon into the bowl, making sure that no seeds enter the bowl and add two pinches of black pepper. Make sure everything is well combined.
6. Peel the lettuce leaves and wash them under cold running water.
7. Slice the other red onion into rings as well as one lemon.
8. Get the serving bowl and line it with the lettuce leaves, lemon slices, and red onion slices until it is completely covered (creating a ‘well’).
9. Drizzle the salad dressing over the lettuce leaves, lemons and red onions. 
10. Transfer the pineapple salsa from the small bowl into the bowl with the lettuce, lemons and red onions in the middle of the ‘well’ you created.
11. Slice the remaining half of the lemon you used earlier on and neatly layer it around your bowl (see the picture of the salad at the top).
12. Sprinkle the fresh coriander over the pineapple salsa and it will be ready to serve!

Tropical Sunset Cocktail

There is nothing that screams ‘Summer!’ to me like a refreshing

 ice-cold cocktail as you watch the sunset with your family or friends.

 This cocktail is great for when you’re hosting a party, as you can 

make it in bulk, picnics or just any occasion that calls for a good

 cocktail! It is a definite crowd pleaser and does not require a lot of

 prep time as well.

Feel free to use whatever type of glasses you have at home as long 

as they are transparent, so you clearly see the magnificent colour

 gradient formed!

Time: 35 minutes

Yield: about 1 medium sized jug

Ingredients

• 1 can lemonade (can be substituted with sprite or sparkling water)
• 1 litre orange fruit juice
• 500 ml mango fruit juice
• A few drops pink, or orange food coloring
• 600 ml ginger beer/juice (homemade or store bought)
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 1 small lemon
• Ice cubes
• A few sprigs of fresh mint

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place all the liquids in a refrigerator for at least 2 hours before use.
2. For the sugar coating on the rim of the glasses, place the sugar in a medium sized flat plate.
3. Add about three drops of the food coloring to the sugar rub it into the rest of the sugar using your clean hands until all the sugar is evenly coated. Feel free to add more food coloring depending on the intensity you want to have of the color.
4. Cut the lemon in half and run it around the rim of the glasses then immediately dip the rim of each glass into the colored sugar and let them dry up, before pouring in the cocktail. 
5. Make sure the rims of the glasses are evenly and entirely coated.
6. Pour the orange juice, mango juice, lemonade, ginger and beer/juice into a jug and mix
7. When filling your glasses, add one or two drops of food coloring to the bottom of your glass before poring the cocktail in. Do the same for all the glasses.
8. Leave the glasses untouched and after about 10 minutes the color gradient will become visible!
9. Garnish with one sprig of mint on each of the glass rims and your cocktails will be ready to serve.

Recipe notes: You may double or triple the amount depending on the number of cocktails you need .You may also make half the amount if you do not need as much as the  recipe makes. Be sure to either double or half all the ingredients (not just some) if you decide if you need more or less than what the recipe caters for.

Caramel Popcorn

Ice-cream Cake

Caramel popcorn and vanilla ice-cream taste great separately, but when merged with decadent chocolate fudge sauce on the top, they become totally irresistible! This is a stupendous comfort dessert that you are undoubtedly going to place on your Top 7 Comfort dessert list!

It is crucial to let the ice-cream cake freeze completely before you slice into it, so that it retains its shape for about 10-15 minutes before melting. The chocolate fudge sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge till needed.

Time: 5 hours

Yield: a 7-inch circular ice cream cake

Dessert

Ingredients

• 2 litres vanilla ice cream

For the caramel popcorn:

• 4 cups popped popcorn

• ¾ cup brown/dark brown sugar

• 1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract

• ¼ tsp baking soda

• ½ cup butter

• ¼ cup golden syrup

For the chocolate fudge sauce

• ⅛ cup butter or margarine

• ½ cup milk

• 1 tablespoon water

• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

• ¾ cup sugar

• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• ¼ cup chocolate chips (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To make the caramel popcorn, melt the butter over medium heat in a small-medium sized saucepan.

2. Add the sugar, salt and golden syrup to the saucepan and stir until it starts boiling.

3. Let the mixture boil for 4-5 minutes without stirring.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add in the vanilla extract and baking soda whilst stirring. 

5. Carefully add the hot caramel to the popcorn, ensuring that the popcorn is as evenly coated as possible.

6. Soften half of the vanilla ice cream. Spoon it out into a 7-inch circular springform pan. Spread it out until it is even and the top is fairly smooth.
7. Add two cups of the caramel popcorn on top of the ice-cream layer, ensuring that it evenly distributed throughout the pan.
8. Freeze for 2 hours 30 minutes.
9. Remove the pan from the freezer and layer the remaining ice-cream on top of the caramel popcorn layer.
10. Add the remaining two cups of caramel popcorn on top of the ice cream layer and freeze for another 2 hours 30 minutes.
11. In the meantime, to prepare the chocolate fudge sauce, place the: sugar, water, milk and cocoa powder in a small saucepan and whisk until well combined.
12. Turn on the stove to medium-high heat and bring to a boil ,whisking after every 15 seconds or even continuously.
13. Add the butter and vanilla to the saucepan and continue boiling for about 3-5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
14. Turn off the heat and remove the saucepan from the stove.
15. Add the chocolate chips immediately if you want the sauce really sweet,though it already is sweet enough as it is. Stir until all the chocolate chips melt completely.Leave the sauce to cool.
16. When the freezing time for the ice-cream cake is up, remove the pan from the freezer and run a table knife around the sides of the pan before gently lifting off the rim of the springform pan.
17. After lifting off the rim, using a sharp knife, carefully slice the ice-cream cake and drizzle some of the fudge sauce over each slice. 
18. If the sauce is too thick to drizzle, just add about 1-2 tablespoons of milk and whisk in the pot and then it will become pourable.
19. The remaining ice-cream cake (if there is any) can be kept in the freezer for up to 48 hours.

Recipe notes: Dip the sharp knife into hot water before slicing
the cake. If it is very hard to slice, just let it sit for about 5-8
minutes after removing it from the fridge, then slice into it.