Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa and Yellow Rice

This is actually my second time making this meal - I wanted to make it again since it was SOO GOOD the first time.  This is really easy to make - takes about 25 minutes or less.  The chicken is marinated in lime juice, cilantro and olive oil and sprinkled with salt before cooking.  The salsa is a combination of avocado, tomato, onions, lime juice, salt and black pepper.  I make this with a side of yellow rice. Perfect summer dish! Enjoy!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Strip Steak with Ginger Butter Sauce and String Beans

Thanks to an awesome gift from Nancy Wanzer, I used my new Recipe Book to make the above meal.  The strip steak was seasoned with Chinese five-spice powder and black pepper and tasted really good. The ginger butter sauce was made with melted butter, grated fresh ginger and a little soy sauce.  I added string beans on the side as well.  I recommend boiling the ginger butter sauce for a minute or two and then letting it simmer until it thickens a bit.  All in all, I'd give this meal a 6 out of 10.  I'm not a huge steak fan but wanted to try it, plus as you've seen from my meals below, I'm down with the spices and this meal was a bit simpler...ENJOY!


This is the recipe book for anyone who's interested - seriously some of the best meals are in this book!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Spicy Tortilla Soup

This soup was not short on ingredients...Everything you can imagine is in there.  Chicken, corn tortilla strips, diced tomatoes, chopped red onions, jalapenos, corn, avocado, crumbled feta cheese, and cilantro.  I forgot to add the lime juice, which was a mistake and I would have also enjoyed some rice in there so maybe next time...It wasn't as spicy as I would have liked it to be either.  Also, I'm looking for onion goggles...I never realized how insane this cutting onions business is...

 If anyone wants to send me a gift, lol....

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Lemon-Lime Butter Flounder with Garlicky Roasted Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

My first official food critic, Deena Shanker, shared this meal with me, which was Flounder with lemon-lime butter with a side of potatoes and broccoli. When asked about the fish, Deena said, "The fish was cooked perfectly, but next time I'd bake it with the lemon and lime on top for a little extra zest."  The flounder was marinaded with melted butter combined with lemon and lime zest and salt & pepper, which I zested myself (quite the experience).  The flounder was topped with bread crumbs and thyme.  Deena really enjoyed the potatoes, "The potatoes were perfect."  I happened to find them a bit too crispy for my liking.  The potatoes were made with garlic, lemon rind and parsley.  I was a little lazy with the broccoli, buying the steamed broccoli in a bag and it showed...lol. "The broccoli was good, but could have been spiced a little," said Deena.  Overall, I think I did a fairly good job with this one, although I do feel a little bad about eating something related to this little guy:



Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Adobo Chicken with Spanish Rice

If you turn your head slightly to the left you can see the little character I made out of the food on the plate.  It appears as if (s)he's trying to run off of the plate, however, I was too hungry last night to let that happen!  Plus the meal was really good. The chicken was marinaded in a homemade adobo sauce which included onions, garlic, chipotle chiles, jalapeno peppers, and black pepper cooked and then boiled in chicken broth.  After boiling, I pureed the mixture in a blender and marinaded the chicken.  The rice is low in fat, only 188 calories and has onions, green bell peppers, dijon mustard, chopped tomatoes, tomato juice and black pepper.  And lastly, I decorated the plate with avocado slices which went perfectly with the meal. If you like spicy dishes, this is the meal for you!  Enjoy!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Fresh Mozzarella & Basil Pizza w/Fresh Mozzarella/Basil/Tomato Salad


Really easy to make but tasted awesome...The pizza has Rao's Tomato & Basil Sauce (my favorite) with thinly sliced tomatoes, green peppers, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and sprinkled with black pepper.  The side salad is a fresh mozzarella base with fresh basil and tomato on top and drizzled with balsamic vinegar....

This is the tomato sauce I always use...it's so good!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Spicy Shrimp Noodle Bowl

I made this very late last night. It was probably one of my quickest meals to date as well.  Its an Asian-style noodle (teriyaki-flavored) in a teriyaki-chicken broth with Shrimp, NAPA cabbage, snow peas, carrots, scallions, and topped with cilantro.  The spicy flavor comes from a spicy Szechuan sauce that i added.  Sorry you can't see the carrots - but they're in there!  Oh yea, Happy Birthday to me!

Here is the spicy Szechuan sauce I used:

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Spicy Pork Parmesan Cutlets and Angel Hair Pasta with Broccoli & Veggies

If you want to shake and bake in the kitchen, this is your meal...Pork Chops are topped with onions, garlic, pasta sauce, and red pepper (for that spicy kick) and Parmesan cheese.  On the side, angel hair pasta with broccoli, zucchini, carrots, cherry tomatoes and Pecorino Romano cheese.  Not too spicy for those who don't like spicy foods.  Highly recommended by yours truly.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Sriracha-Glazed Chicken and Onions/Snow Peas/Broccoli over Rice

This was absolutely one of my favorite meals!  If you haven't cooked with Sriracha sauce (hot chile sauce), I highly recommend you start today.  Very easy meal to make - Chicken, Broccoli, Snow Peas and Onions cooked in a Sriracha sauce over white rice.  Perfect amount of flavor kicks with a mix of Sriracha, Ketchup, Hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger and curry powder. 

This is the Sriracha sauce I used, which you can get at most large grocery stores or an Asian Grocery market:

Monday, August 1, 2011

Greek-Style Burgers with Feta Aioli

I made these over the weekend and I have to say they weren't my favorite.  The burger is stuffed with roasted bell peppers (you can add spinach as well), breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano, lightly beaten egg, garlic, salt and pepper.  The burgers are topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, and feta aioli.  The feta aioli is made with feta cheese, light mayo, fat free yogurt, black pepper and garlic.  Not my favorite option if you decide to grill burgers... Check out this cool indoor BBQ grill too!