Yummy Yummy Guacamole!

Bragging alert:: I have to confess, I make the most amazing guacamole ever! I don't think it's hard to screw up guacamole, but I've tried a few recipes and this one I think I've nailed. It's soooooo good!! The camera wasn't working very well, so I wasn't able to take a picture of it. Next time, though!

Here's the recipe:::

2 California Haas Avocados
1 red plum tomato, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 bunch of cilantro (about 1/4 cup total... i eyeballed it,) finely chopped
1/8 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Mash up the avocados really well and then stir in everything. Refrigerate for about an hour to get all the flavors to mix. Serve with some delicious tortilla chips and you're golden. Enjoy!!

I got tagged!

So Dori tagged me and I have to post 7 facts about me and then tag 7 more people. But since this is a blog with a bunch of different people, I am going to tag everyone so that we can get to know each other better and so that the other bloggers out there can see what an awesome group of women we are. Here are my 7 facts:

1. I have a super cute 12 year old poodle named Perla.

2. I leased my first car this year and it's a 2007 Toyota Camry. It's grey and looks gorgeous when my husband drives it!

3. Although I grew up in Miami, FL I was born in Waukegan, IL (a Chicago suburb).

4. I own 18 dresses and they take up half of my closet space.

5. I live right next to Fenway Park and can hear the crowd from my apartment when there's a game.

6. I only have 24 teeth thanks to 8 extractions.

7. I have the HUGEST crush on Clive Owen!

Now it's everyone else's turn!!

Shake and Bake and I helped!

This is really a super easy recipe for chicken and potatos.
These recipes call for some store-bought items, but it's

fast and simple.

Chicken
2 or more Chicken breasts
1 egg
Vigo Italian-style bread crumbs
Salt and Pepper

Simply beat the egg and baste the chicken in it. Spread breadcrumbs and salt and pepper over chicken (like Shake and Bake). Bake for about 45 mins in oven at 400-425 degrees or until thoroughly cooked.

Potatos
Potatos
Lipton Recipe Secrets Golden Onion Seasoning
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Cut the potatos and use only as much as will make one layer in a pan. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and the Lipton seasoning. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45-60 mins at 400-425 degrees or until potatos can be poked through with a knife "like butta."

Serve and enjoy!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

These are my DH's favorite cupcakes. He really loves them, and is always begging me to make them, so I figured that you ladies might want to share them with your mint chocolate chip loving husbands :)

They are easy, and all I did was take my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe, I modified it to be able to add a nice amount of peppermint extract, added chocolate chips, and made a special frosting and that's it! Anyone can do it with their own favorite cupcake recipe :)

1 and 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon peppermint extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 cups of semi sweet or milk chocolate chips (your choice, I like semi-sweet, DH likes milk)

For the frosting (this is a buttercream frosting)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

6 or more cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

a few drops of green food coloring

1 cup of mini chocolate chips (your choice - i like semi-sweet)

To make cookies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 4 parts, alternating with the milk, vanilla and peppermint extract. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

For the frosting:

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. Then add a few drops of green food coloring, enough to make it a light pastel green!

When cupcakes are cool, frost them and top with mini chocolate chips :)

They come out fabulous!

Dill Chicken and Angel Hair Pasta

Can you tell I'm having fun in my kitchen?

Here is another quick and simple recipe.

Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts (cut into strips)

Dill

Olive Oil

1/4 onion finely chopped

Lemon

Salt

Pepper

Marinade the chicken with the olive oil, lemon, dill, onions, and salt and pepper. Butter pan and cook on medium until thoroughly cooked (can also be baked or grilled).

Pasta

Ingredients:

1/2 box of Angel Hair Pasta (whole wheat or multigrain)

1 Tomato (diced)

Mushrooms (cut into halves or fourths)

1 can of tomato sauce

1 garlic clove (minced)

Balsamic vinegar

Olive Oil

Basil

Oregano

Parsley

Salt

Pepper

Boil the pasta for about 7 mins. Strain and set aside when done. Sautee the rest of the ingredients except the tomato sauce until the mushrooms are tender. Add the tomato sauce

and stir it into the pasta.

Salmon and Vegetable Orzo ( w/ Optional Teriyaki Glaze)

This is a really quick and simple recipe. I don't really follow measurements, so I apologize in advance that I don't have exact measurements. But, here goes:

Salmon

Ingredients:

Salmon

Butter

Salt
Pepper

Teriyaki Glaze (optional)

First, preheat oven to about 400-4250 degrees Fahrenheit. Place salmon in bakeware, salt and pepper on each side to your taste. Place about a square inch or less of butter on each piece. Bake for about 30-45 mins.

I love the teriyaki glaze, but my hubby prefers the salmon without it.

For the teriyaki glaze, take about 1/4 cup of ginger teriyaki sauce and 1/4 cup or a little less honey and whisk until thoroughly mixed. Makes a great sauce for the salmon and/or Orzo.

For the salmon without the teriyaki glaze, but a little more taste: sprinkle dill and spritz some lemon on the salmon before baking.

Veggie Orzo

Ingredients:

Orzo Pasta

Mushrooms

Onions

Broccoli

Butter or Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Garlic Powder

Salt

Pepper

Boil the the orzo pasta until tender, strain, and set aside. Sautee the mushrooms, broccoli, & onions, (and any other vegetables you would like to add) in butter (or olive oil), garlic powder, salt and pepper (to taste), add 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Add orzo pasta and stir together.

This can also be served as is with the plain salmon or with the ginger teriyaki glaze for a more Asian-inspired meal.

Arroz con Cilantro

At 3pm on Saturday, my husband told me that he had invited some people over for dinner and to watch a fight. MEN! Anyhoo, we instantly started planning, what are we gonna serve so last minute. We decided on Beer Can Chicken, Grilled Veal Chops, and my contribution, Cilantro Rice. Now, I love rice with a passion, but sometimes you want to serve up your guests something with a little more pizazz, well this is the PERFECT go-to side dish.

Now I make this the old-fashioned way, in a pot, so ladies, put the hitachis away.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp oil (I use 1)
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup cilantro leaves
1.5 cups chicken stock (I prefer Swanson’s 99% fat free, Organic)
1 cup white rice
1 tsp of salt ( I completely omit it, since the cilantro and chicken stock add enough flavor, plus I prefer to cook without salt when possible)


Instructions:
Blend together Cilantro and Chicken stock and set aside

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add Onions and garlic and sauté for about 2-4 minutes.

Add rice and stir, coating it with the oil.

Add Cilantro/Chicken Stock blend.

Let the rice simmer, until you see the liquid absorb just below the top of the rice. Lower the heat to low, and cover. Cook for 20 minutes.

WARNING: If you should decide to send Darling Husband to the grocery store, make sure you drill it in his head that he needs to buy cilantro, and not parsley, unless of course he wants you to shoot him dirty look for an hour or so. :)

enjoy,

Sarah

Mini Food-A-Thon

I decided to take advantage of my stress-free Sunday and spend some time in the kitchen making some of my favorite recipes. I started off with a deliciously sweet breakfast, had too many cookies for lunch, and then finished the day off with a simple but flavorful dinner.


Nutella and Banana Stuffed French Toast

Not only do I have two huge tubs of Nutella that I bought from Costco, but I woke up craving it. So I decided to whip up a quick breakfast for one that included French toast and hot chocolate. This recipe is from Recipezaar



Ingredients
2 slices of your favorite bread
1-2 tablespoons Nutella
Thinly sliced ripe banana (about half of a banana)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Butter
Confectioner's/Powdered sugar

Directions
Spread Nutella on both slices of bread. Place sliced banana on one slice of bread and then cover with the other slice.

Beat egg, milk, and vanilla together. (This is enough mixture for 2 servings)

Dip the sandwich in the egg mixture, flipping to cover both sides.

Heat butter in skillet over medium heat.

Place sandwich in skillet and cook about 3 minutes per side until golden and cooked though.

Dust the French toast with the confectioner's/powdered sugar and eat immediately.


Nutella Hot Chocolate

This recipe is so easy to make and it's a chocolate lovers dream because of how rich and creamy it is. This recipe is also from Recipezaar



Ingredients
3 tablespoons Nutella
1 1/3 cup milk

Directions
Put Nutella and 1/3 milk in a small saucepan over medium heat and whisk together until blended.

Add the remaining milk and continue whisking until hot and frothy.


Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Nestie Joelen&Louis posted it in her blog when I was in search of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. The cookies come out really soft and chewy and are super addictive. The recipe itself creates about 3 dozen cookies and can easily be doubled if needed.



Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flowers
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla (or French vanilla) pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees F.

Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets

Bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.


Marinated Steaks with Chipotle Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

The marinade has quickly become my go-to recipe when I want juicy, soft, and flavorful steaks. This recipe was recommended to me and comes from AllRecipes. It can be halved if you have less than a 1 1/2 pounds of steak and it's a perfect recipe for making fajitas too. Since Alex wanted mashed potatoes, I used whatever ingredients we had in the house and came up with something that's creamy, spicy, and mouth-watering good.



Marinade Recipe

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds flank steak (or your favorite steak)

Directions
In a medium bowl, mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, and ground black pepper. Place meat in a shallow glass dish. Pour marinade over the steak, turning meat to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours.

You can cook this on a skillet or on a grill.

Chipotle Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients
4 medium Russet potatoes
1 ounce cream cheese
1 1/2 cup Sargento chipotle cheddar cheese
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions
Boil water in a medium sized saucepan.

Cut up potatoes into chunks (with skin or without) and boil them for 10-15 minutes or until soft.

Mash the potatoes to your liking and add the cream cheese, chipotle cheddar, and milk until well blended and the cheese has melted.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

New Kitchen!

The kitchen is finally done! All that is left to do is paint, but I didn't want to wait any longer to share some pics. You can still get an idea of the final product. We are going to paint the ceiling white and the rest of the walls the same shade of yellow you see below the counter. Below are some before and after pics. It was quite a dramatic change. I can't wait to start using my new appliances. I also can't wait to share some recipes and try some of yours. Let me know what you think.

Before:

After:

Chicken & Mushroom Casserole

This recipe is definitely a crowd pleaser. It's creamy and especially delicious over a nice helping of white rice, QUE RICO!!!

I got the recipe off of allrecipes.com, but as usual I've made my own adjustments. It takes about an hour for it to be ready, so it's relatively easy to make. I went ahead and modified the original recipe with my adjustments which are significant (and it comes out much better!)

a 9X13 baking dish
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup butter
6 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 cup half-and-half

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 bags of spinach leaves
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 1/3 cup bacon bits
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Boil Chicken breasts until cooked. Once cooked, cut into cubes and set aside.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, mix in the garlic, lemon juice, cream of mushroom soup, Italian seasoning, half-and-half, and Parmesan cheese. Add chicken cubes. Let it simmer on very low heat.

In a large sautee pan, melt a little butter and garlic and add the mushrooms and spinach leaves. Let them cook until all the spinach is wilted and most of the liquid has burned off. If it takes too long, just drain the liquid. Cover the bottom of your baking dish with the spinach and mushrooms. Pour the white sauce with the chicken over the spinach. Sprinkle with bacon bits, and top with mozzarella cheese.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the oven, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Hope yours comes out as good as mine! Happy cooking :)

P.S. It looks a little watery in the picture, but that's because it was JUST made. It thickens upon standing a little while. :)