sorry, i suck

i have a backlog of recipes to share...but tonight,
i am going to write down what we had for dinner
b/c it was so awesome...

greek fish with salad

ingredients
filets of fish (i used a tilapia, salmon, and some shrimp)
lettuce
olives
tomato
red vinegar
onion
lemon juice
salt
pepper
greek seasonings

directions
take the fish/shrimp/yumminess.
pour red vinegar over it.
salt, pepper, and greak season.
spray a grill and throw them on there!

while cooking, chop up some lettuce.
take a tomato and cut it into cubes.
add olives (to your preference...i put in a lot)
add onion
add red vinegar
salt and pepper
pour over the lettuce.

take the fish off the grill
and serve w/ some pinot grigio :)

needless to say...i'm happy :)

ay carumba!

last night i decided to try to really kick our taste buds ass...and in a really simple way! i saw this recipe through my rachel ray emails and my stomach growled just looking at it. you see, i'm one of those people who could literally eat mexican every night. i never get sick of the taste/ingredients/etc. i find it best paired with a nice raspberry margarita, but last night we settled for some beer :) but i highly recommend this soup. super easy to make!

i added tomatos to the recipe b/c LPH loves tomatos (and through dating him, i've grown quite fond myself). i also only put in 4 1/2 cups of chicken broth b/c i wanted it thicker.

Mexican chicken lime soup

ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion chopped

6 cloves of garlic

6 skinless boneless chicken breast

2 canned chipotles in adobe sauce, chopped

2 tbsp adobe sauce

1/2 cup cilantro

juice of 2 limes

tomato, chopped

5 cups chicken broth

salt/pepper

avocado

can of corn (optional)

can of black beans (optional)

any other delicious ingredient you think would sound good!

directions

heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium/high heat.

add onions and garlic, and cook til onion is brown.

increase heat to high and add the chicken.

cook until golden brown.

stir in chipotles and adobe sauce.

stir in chicken broth.

add tomatos.

simmer for 15 minutes.

stir in lime juice, cilantro, and salt and pepper.

serve w/ avocado (i put it in the soup) and tortillas!

blue's clues

even though she kind of gets on my nerves
(for some reason)
i happen to covet almost all of her outfits.
this one is no exception.
i want it!

yummo!

Everybody, welcome chrissy for her first contribution to the cooking blog!

chrissy is sharing with us a wonderful chicken recipe (which is making my mouth water just reading it!)
chrissy made this for her friends the other night
and when she shared just the name on twitter,
christina tweeted back, "email it to jenny!"
and we're glad to have it (and hopefully eat it quite soon!)
in chrissy's words, this was delicious!!! and easy to make!
her friends were quite impressed!


almond dusted chicken breast

ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup finely chopped, unblanced almonds
1/4 cup minced shallots or green onions
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup strawberry jam
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (try the 18 year-old or strawberry)
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
10 ounces fresh spinach, cooked just until tender
non-stick cooking spray
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Finely chopped fresh parsley for garnish, if desired


directions
Coat a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray;
add oil and heat over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, dredge in almonds.
Place chicken in skillet;
saute four minutes on each side, turning once.
Remove from pan and keep warm.
Reduce heat to low;
add green onions to skillet and saute one minute.
Add chicken broth, strawberry jam, vinegar and rosemary;
simmer until slightly thickened, about two to three minutes.
Place spinach on heated serving platter;
top with chicken breasts and pour sauce over top.
If desired, sprinkle finely chopped parsley over chicken.

tennessee girl cooks louisana food? you betcha!

As you can see, the idea of this blog has kind of turned into a cooking blog. But it's more than that! It's a cooking blog run by all of my friends from home (and we all now live all over the states...) so this is a way since we can't eat dinner together, we can share our recipes that work and are delicious with each other!

so today's recipe comes to us from the deep south...from ms. pretty bride herself! enjoy!!

louisana chicken pasta

found here

When I first saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. After all, it had our favorite menu items (peppers, onions, and cayenne pepper) but was in a pasta dish. Normally these ingrediants are used in all of our mexican dishes, most casseroles, hell, we even put them in our burgers. Anyway, the only problem was that I am trying to make the commitment to being healthy, without going to extremes, because that would never work. I edited Annie's recipe a little to make it a little more healthy. Instead of using 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 cup half and half. I used 1-1/2 cups fat free half and half. To thicken the consistency a little from the absence of whipping cream I used 1-1/2 Tbsp of cornstarch mixed with 1-1/2 Tbsp of water (instead of 1 tsp of each). I also only used olive oil (no butter). And of course whole wheat pasta. I prepared garlic bread by broiling whole grain bread sprayed with spray butter, garlic salt and parmeson cheese. So, while it still isn't the healthiest of meals, it was great to have a creamy pasta dish without all the fat. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
For the chicken:
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and pepper
Cajun seasoning

For the pasta:
8 oz. bowtie pasta - whole wheat
Kosher salt

For the sauce:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1-1/2 cups fat free half-and-half

1-1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1-1/2 tbsp. water

Directions:
To cook the chicken, heat a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and a generous sprinkle of Cajun seasoning. Add to the skillet and cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and set aside.

Meanwhile, return the skillet to medium heat and heat the olive oil until the butter has melted. Add the bell peppers and onion to the pan. Mix in the salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add the fat free half-and-half the pan and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water, and add to the skillet once the cream mixture has started to bubble. Allow to cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

When the sauce has thickened, add the cooked pasta and chicken pieces to the pan. Stir well to combine and cook at medium-low heat just until the chicken is warmed through. Adjust the amount of Cajun seasoning if necessary to suit your tastes. Serve immediately and top with additional Cajun seasoning, if desired.

So we asked a genuine Louisana boy what he thought of it, Mr. Kyle Hornsby, and he said, "you give that girl a high five, wooooohooo!!!"