Carne Asada

This is a 3 piece meal that I put together a couple of weeks ago, and with the warming up weather, it was INREDIBLY satisfying. It was also really nice to be able to cook outside instead of heating up the house.

2 pounds carne asada
2 avocado
8-10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 limes
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 C white rice
1/2 packet Sazon seasoning
4 tortillas

Cook rice according to package directions, adding the Sazon seasoning to the boiling water.

Preheat the grill to 350F.

Slice open the avocado's and remove the pit. Spoon out the fruit, roughly dice it, and place it in a serving bowl. Add cherry tomatoes, juice of 1 lime, some cilantro, and then season to taste with salt and garlic powder.

If the carne asada comes unseasoned, then season as you desire. Cook the meat on the hot grill for approximately 3 minutes on each side.

Once everything is done, serve the rice, guacamole, and steak. If you want, you can also put this in a tortilla.

Super Easy Roast Chicken

The more pregnant I get (I'm 38 weeks right now) the less motivation I have to make spectacular dinners. It's just too much effort to stand up for that long. My desire for really tasty dinners however, has no decreased. So I decided to try my hand at a roast chicken. It's one of those meals that has always been intimidating to me for some reason, but this was really simple, super tasty, pretty healthy, and involved about 10 minutes total prep time for the entire meal.

1 whole chicken
2 T butter
Salt
Pepper
Marjoram
Savory
Stuffing mix - chicken flavored
Canned green beans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using several paper towels, pat the chicken until it is dry. With your hands rub the chicken with butter, then sprinkle generously with all of the seasonings. Put in a roasting pan (or 9x13) and place in oven. Cook 20-25 minutes per pound of chicken until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180F.

Once the chicken is done, cook the stuffing according to its package direction, and heat the green beans.

**The 'official' pattern for carving a chicken is as follows: First remove the back legs and thighs. Next remove the wings. Finally remove the breast, and slice as desired. Once you've done that, you'll have to essentially 'clean' the rest of the chicken by hand. These small pieces are really good in soups etc.

They're Still Amazing

I made these amazing muffins again this morning, and was reminded at how INCREDIBLE they are. I doubt that I'll bother ever buying a muffin mix again. If you want a different flavor of muffin, these would be incredibly easy to adapt to just about anything. Apple cinnamon, lemon poppy seed, chocolate chip, cherry, you name it, it'll go well in these amazing muffins. Though I still think the blueberry will always be my favorite. There's just something nostalgic about blueberry muffins with crumb topping.

Spicy Chicken Sandwiches with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

Spicy Chicken Sandwiches with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

From Cooking Light

Serves 4

Mayo:
1/4 C reduced-fat mayo
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 t fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced

Chicken:
1/4 C egg substitute (or 1 large egg)
3 T hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t salt
2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 1/2 ounces baked tortilla chips (about 6 cups)
2 T olive oil

Remaining Ingredients:
4 Kaiser rolls, split
12 red onion slices
4 lettuce leaves

To prepare mayo, combine the first 4 ingredients

To prepare chicken, combine egg substitute, hot sauce, oregano, and salt in a large zip-top plastic bag. Cut chicken breast halves in half horizontally to form 4 cutlets. Add chicken to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 2 hours or up to 8 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Place tortilla chips in a food processor; process 1 minute or until ground. Place ground chips in a shallow dish.

Working with one cutlet at a time, remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip off. Coat chicken completely in chips. Set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and chips.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned and done. Spread mayo evenly over cut sides of rolls. Layer bottom half of each roll with 3 onion slices, 1 lettuce leaf, and 1 chicken cutlet, top with top halves of rolls.

**Notes from Em**
We barely had enough of the mayo to do 3 sandwiches, so I would definitely at least double it next time. There was also a comment on the original website saying that Swiss Cheese was a good addition to this tasty sandwich.

I used the left over chicken to make a mock Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Just stick it on a hamburger bun with mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickle.

10/24 I made this again today and didn't do enough of the corn chips, so I used some Panko. I think that's what I'll use from now on. It was a lot easier, and it stuck to the chicken better.

Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

From Cooking Light

Serves 2

1 C dry white wine
1/4 C minced shallots
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T grated peeled fresh ginger
2 T whipping cream
1 T butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 C chopped seeded plum tomato
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 t salt
1/8 t black pepper
1 1/2 C hot cooked linguine
Cooking spray
3/4 pound large sea scallops
1/8 t salt
Chopped cilantro

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium skillet, bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 C (about 5 minutes). Drain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid; discard solids

Return wine mixture to skillet. Add cream; cook over medium heat 1 minute. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Stir in tomato, 2 tablespoons cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add linguine; toss well. Cover and keep warm.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Arrange scallops in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Add scallops to pasta mixture; toss gently to combine. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

**Notes from Em**
To get a good sear on scallops make sure you pat them dry. Once you think they're dry, pat them again. Seriously. They hold a lot of water and if you don't get it out, they will boil/steam rather than sear.

The sauce is really pretty runny. I added an extra 1-2 tablespoons of cream to help thicken it up.

If you don't like scallops, this recipe is fantastic on salmon, shrimp, tilapia etc.

Harvard Beets

Growing up my mom would make pork roast, parmesan potatoes, and Harvard beets fairly often for Sunday dinner. I was too afraid to try the beets because I was a picky child and beets were a scary vegetable. I've since come to appreciate how yummy they can be.

From Jean Patterson
Serves 4-6

1/2 C sugar
1 T corn starch
1/4 C white vinegar
1/4 C beet juice from can (add water to get full amount if needed)
1 can of beets (sliced or diced)

In a small sauce pan combine sugar and cornstarch, mix until well combined. Slowly add vinegar and beet juice/water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened. Add beets and return to a boil.

Steak, Sweet Potatoes, and Wild Rice Pilaf

My husbands birthday was yesterday, and as I expected he requested to have steak for dinner. He would be content with eating just a steak, but my stomach needs something more than just meat. So here's the meal that I put together for us, and his parents.

Ribeye Steak
White and Wild Rice Pilaf
Spinach Salad
Baked Sweet Potato
Chocolate Satin Pie

For the sweet potato bake at 450 F for 45. When they're done, slice it open lengthwise and top it with a little butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.