Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa= Happy Tongue

Another Pinterest hit!!! Tonight we had cilantro-lime chicken with avocado salsa. It was so freakin’ GOOD! We are big fans of avocado and lemon so this was right up our alley. I would suggest this to anyone and everyone. Besides it being super tasty delicious, I hit it big nutrionally! The salsa for this dish has tomatoes, which are abundant with nutrients; onion, which are rich in vitamins; and cilantro, which is rich in vitamins, oils, and minerals. Score! For several months we were sharing an avocado every night with dinner. Steven and I like ours topped with lemon juice and sea salt…so good.  It feels really good to like something that is so good for you! According to the California Avocado Commission each avocado provides nearly 20 essential nutrients including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. Also, avocados were known as “fertility fruit” or “the fruit of kings” to the Aztecs because it was thought to increase a man’s ability to father children. In fact, according to www.justmommies.com , “avocados are largely used to treat infertility in men (because) it helps increase sperm mobility and keeps sperm from grouping together as they make their journey to the egg.”  Avocados aren’t only beneficial for men’s fertility. They are also packed full of folic acid, which women want plenty of to aid in the prevention of birth defects. Avocados are also a source of monounsaturated fat, which is a good fat for our bodies. So load up on the guac, y’all! It’s good for ya!

Cilantro-Lime Chicken and Avocado Salsa

Here’s what you need:

Chicken Marinade:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I only used two and I cut them into smaller pieces so that it would cook quicker.)
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 ½ tbsp fresh lime juice
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
Cooking spray or additional olive oil for the pan

Salsa:

1 cup chopped plum tomato (2 should do)
2 tbsp finely chopped white onion
2 tsp fresh lime juice
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
Additional fresh lime juice for avocado

Here’s what you do:

First you will make a marinade for the chicken. Mix together all of the ingredients for the marinade (minus the cooking spray or additional olive oil) and add the chicken. This is a pretty strong marinade so only leave the chicken in for 3-5 minutes.

While the chicken is sitting in the marinade prepare the salsa by mixing all of those ingredients together. The avocado will go in last. Avocado has a tendency to get brown and yucky looking pretty quickly once it is peeled so I thoroughly coated mine in additional lime juice prior to gently mixing it into the salsa mixture. I refrigerated mine until it was ready to use. Oh, I also added a little bit of cilantro that was leftover from the marinade. I had chopped too much and didn't want to be wasteful.

The recipe (which looks to be originally from www.cookinglight.com) says to cook the chicken on a grill pan. Well, we don’t have one anymore as ours got all wonky from being used in the oven a few too many times so I just used a large pan and sautéed it. I would think that grilling it on a George Foreman grill would be good, too. Anyway, you want to cook the chicken until it is cooked (165 degrees).

Serve the salsa on top of your chicken and enjoy! We also had frozen corn which I mixed with leftover steamed white rice from our Chinese food from the other night. I topped my mixture with some of the salsa and it was yummy! Let me know what you think if you try it!

Mushroom Soup and Jeremy Sisto

In an attempt to be healthy tonight we tried another recipe on Pinterest. We've been out of town for the past weekish and I was ready for home-cooked food instead of Subway or restaurant food. Steven really liked this soup. I'm not the biggest mushroom lover so it was "eh" for me, but if you are fond of mushrooms you should try this. I ended up kind of veering away from healthy to some degree. Steven and I decided that we didn't want the soup by itself so I pan fried a chicken breast for us to share and served the soup over steamed white rice. It was kind of a throwback to my childhood because my mom used to make this same meal except with Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup. Anyway, even though it was "eh" for me I still felt pretty good about the fact that mushrooms are jam packed full of Vitamin D. There are two cups of chopped mushrooms in the soup, so I hooked it up.

I'm gonna put the recipe down a little ways, but can first can I just talk about Jeremy Sisto? Remember him from "Clueless"? He was El-Un. He was also on "Six Feet Under" and some other stuff, but to me he will always be El-Un. He's in the new show called "Suburgatory", and it is really cute! I think he's doing such a good job with the gal that plays his daughter. So cute! If you haven't seen it, it's about a single dad and his high school aged daughter who move from NYC to the 'burbs and how different their lives are compared to before. The daughter Tessa is played by Jane Levy, and she is adorable. I can see her doing great things with her career...as long as she doesn't go all Lindsay Lohan and stuff.

Okay, so here's the recipe. I got it from Pinterest, but it looks like it was originally from here: http://blog.seasonwithspice.com/2011/12/cream-of-mushroom-soup-recipe.html. But here it is, y'all:

Mushroom Soup

(The above picture is from the website noted above. Mine looked similar..minus the yummy looking bread.)

2 cups fresh mushrooms - cleaned and chopped finely (I used baby bellas and some white mushrooms from Whole Foods)
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic - chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 - 2 bay leaf
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp flour dissolved in 1 tbsp water
Salt to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
Dash of nutmeg
Black pepper to taste

*I didn't notice that whole heavy cream thing when I was making my grocery list so I just added more milk and more flour...came out fine.
* Also, I used vegetable broth instead of stock and I added a good amount extra to keep the soup from getting too thick.

Here's what you do:

1. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add butter and lightly sauté garlic on medium heat.
2. Add in mushrooms, thyme, bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the moisture from the mushrooms disappears.
3. Add in chicken broth. Stir occasionally until broth boils, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
4 Add diluted flour and stir constantly (while simmering) until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and nutmeg.
5. Add milk and heavy cream, and bring to a simmer.

Tasty Goodness Lemon Bread

So, can I just say that I love Pinterest? I don’t just like it. I LOVE it. I am addicted and I’ve found myself having to NOT pin things because I feel like I’m over-pinning. I found a sign on there that said “Pinterest = Crack”. I agree. Pinterest is my crack. But it’s so awesome! I love that you can click on one thing and that leads you sooooo many more THINGS….recipes, pictures, clothing ideas, crafting ideas, ideas, ideas, ideas, ideas…..

I happened to find the following recipe on Pinterest (originally from http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/2009/03/recipe.html) and tried it tonight. It was pretty tasty! I am a lover of lemon, so I perked right up when I saw the recipe on my screen. I had never thought of lemon bread! I’ll say that, because I love lemon so much, I’m going to add more lemon zest next time I make this, I think.  Also, the recipe says to wrap the bread up and let it sit for a while after it has cooled and the flavor will enhance. But….that didn’t happen. I cut into that bad boy pretty quickly. I have no willpower. The first picture is the one off Pinterest. It looks better than my picture so I'm going to include it. Mine didn't turn out as pretty, but HEY! Don't judge a bread by what it looks like...and stuff.

Lemon Bread

1-3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
2 tsp. shredded lemon peel
1 TB. lemon juice
2 TB. lemon juice
1 TB. sugar

Stir together the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl combine the egg, milk, oil, and 1 TB. lemon juice. Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture and stir until combined. Add the shredded lemon peel and stir.

Pour batter into greased 8X4X2 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean.

While the bread is baking, stir the 2 TB. lemon juice and 1 TB. sugar together. Sugar should be dissolved before brushing on the bread.

When the bread is done, brush the lemon juice mixture on the bread (it will seem like a lot, but go ahead and use it all). Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove. Cool completely on a wire rack.

This is clearly my bread. I didn't burn the edges...that's just the lighting. Promise.

It is so good! You can see the flecks of lemon zest.

Let me know what you think if you decide to try it!

Yucatan Lime Soup

I found this recipe on Pinterest (originally from this website: http://www.sayyestohoboken.com/) and made it last week. It is seriously some of the best soup I've ever had! I haven't calculated the nutrition information just yet, but looking at the ingredients, it can't be bad for you at all! Y'all should definitely try it! (This made enough for my husband and I to eat for two nights with a little left over.) *For some reason when I post this it's all squished together. Sorry if it looks funky.

Yucatan Lime Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1-2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup white onions, finely chopped

1 tsp essence (2 tbsp paprika, 2 tbsp salt, 2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp pepper, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp thyme)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 cup seeded chopped tomatoes (or 2 cans diced tomatoes)

1 jalepeno, chopped with seeds removed

1 1/2 boxes of chicken stock (4 cups)

the juice of two limes

2 cans of black beans, rinsed

1 avocado, diced (for topping)

*****Season the chicken with cumin and salt. In a large pot, saute the onions, essence, and 1/4 tsp salt in 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the cubed chicken, garlic, tomatoes, and jalepeno. I added more olive oil to moisten the mixture. Saute this mixture for about three minutes. Add the chicken stock, lime juice, and black beans. Simmer for 10-15 minutes then serve. We topped our soup with diced avocadoes and chopped cilantro and ate it with corn tortillas. Adding shredded cheease to the top would be tasty, too.