Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado

My Dinner

                                                                                                  D's dinner 

Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• Chicken:
• 2  tablespoons  minced fresh cilantro
• 2 1/2  tablespoons  fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• Cooking spray
• Salsa:
• 1  cup  chopped plum tomato (about 2)
• 2  tablespoons  finely chopped onion
• 2  teaspoons  fresh lime juice
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  avocado, peeled and finely chopped

Preparation

1. To prepare chicken, combine first 4 ingredients in a large 

bowl; toss and let stand 3 minutes. Remove chicken from 

marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4

 teaspoon salt. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat

 pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes 

on each side or until done.

2. To prepare salsa, combine tomato and next 4 ingredients 

(through pepper) in a medium bowl. Add avocado; stir gently 

to combine. Serve salsa over chicken.

Busy Day Pork Chops

I'm at the point where I have too many saved recipes.  I have an email folder and another folder on my bookmarks bar.  I have hundreds of recipes and add to them each day.  I need to stop saving them and start cooking more! This recipe came to me via email from Taste of Home.  If you're looking to get recipes mailed to your inbox, I would suggest Taste of Home and Cooking Light.  Definitely my top 2 magazines and now emails.  I had another recipe planned for tonight, but after the crappy day I've had I decided for the easy route.  Mine didn't come out looking like they do on the website, but they were good.  I would probably dip them in egg beaters instead of milk next time and brown them on the stove before baking them.  We used the left over asparagus from last night along with the brown rice to go with the chops. Enjoy! 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 4 boneless pork loin chops (4 ounces each)
• Cooking spray

Directions

• Place milk in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine the cheese, bread crumbs, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Dip pork chops in milk, then coat with crumb mixture.
• Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; spritz chops with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 9-11 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160°. Yield: 4 servings.

Tilapia Milanese

This is the first of many upcoming tilapia recipes.  Reason being, I bought 6 large pieces of fresh tilapia for $7.00 (thank you buy one get two free from Albertsons).  The picture below is just HALF a piece of tilapia.  I was able to cut and freeze 12 pieces of fish.  Thankfully, I love tilapia and am looking forward to finding some creative recipes! This one was fabulous.  The lemon zest definitely made the meal.  I didn't use the flour, butter and bread in order to eliminate some calories.  Instead, I dipped the fish in egg then Panko crumbs before throwing it on the stove with a little olive oil.  Other than that, I followed all directions from the Food Network Magazine recipe. I served it with asparagus and brown/wild rice.  Enjoy!

 Ingredients

• 4 6-ounce tilapia fillets
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 6 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves
• Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon, plus lemon wedges for serving
• 5 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 cups baby arugula

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Soak the fish in a bowl with the milk and 2 cups ice, 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the flour with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly beat the eggs in another dish. Pulse the bread, parsley, lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until crumbs form, then transfer to a third dish.

One at a time, remove the fillets from the milk and dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip in the eggs, then coat with the breadcrumbs, gently pressing to coat both sides. Transfer to a large plate.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Heat 2 tablespoons each olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 fillets and cook until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 2 fillets, adding 2 more tablespoons each olive oil and butter. Transfer the fish to the oven and bake until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Toss the arugula with the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve the fish with the salad and lemon wedges.

No Sew Tutu

What little girl doesn't need a tutu?  I made one for one of my best friend's baby shower last month. I found a few tutorials that were very helpful.  There's no need for me to reinvent the wheel and create my own, so check out Samster Mommy or Sumo's Sweet Stuff.  Now mine definitely didn't take me 10 minutes, but it sure was easy.  I can't wait to see it on baby Callie! 

Chicken Tamale Casserole

This recipe comes to you from Cooking Light.  I had most ingredients at home and didn't want to spend lots of time on dinner tonight.  This recipe was ah-mazing.  I was really nervous that we'd end up having to get take out about half way through.  But, it turned out great.  Hubs event went back for thirds! And...there's enough left over for at least 4 more meals! 

Ingredients

    * 1  cup  (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
    * 1/3  cup  fat-free milk
    * 1/4  cup  egg substitute
    * 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
    * 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
    * 1  (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
    * 1  (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White)
    * 1  (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
    * Cooking spray
    * 1  (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
    * 2  cups  shredded cooked chicken breast
    * 1/2  cup  fat-free sour cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Pink & Green Baby Shower

I threw a pink & green baby shower for my MOH last month.  I spent lots of time working on the little details that I knew she would love.  Here are the pictures from the shower.  Below, you will find the links to the tutorials for each DIY project.  Also, another fabulous resource I used was a baby shower checklist I found at BabyShower101.com. It was a huge help in planning the day.  

Onesie Sugar Cookies.  I used pre-made sugar cookie dough, a onesie cutout from Michael's and this recipe for royal icing.  I love how these came out! 

No baby shower is complete without a diaper cake!  I stepped a little outside my box for this design using the flowers instead of stuffed animals.  I also doubled the amount of ribbon I usually use and love that added detail.  Click on the link for the diaper cake tutorial.  

Read a little about the advice jar here.  

I'm a big fan of edible favors, whether it's for showers or weddings.  Guests will most likely eat edible favors as opposed to a picture frame or wine opener or coaster.  I can't tell you where all the favors I've received at events end up.  So, I decided to make baby carriage shaped rice krispie treats.  I made a batch of rice krispie treats according to the directions on the package.  I made the royal icing (recipe link above) for the icing on top and the decorative work.  The cutter used was found at Michael's.  I wrapped all the favors in clear bags and tied them with a ribbon.  

I used the ribbon above to decorate pretty much anything I could for the shower.  I used this apothecary jar and filled it with gumballs to match the colors for the shower.  It was placed next to the diaper cake and advice jar.  

Even though I wanted to make cupcakes from scratch, time did not permit.  So, I went with the trusted box of cake mix.  I used strawberry with cream cheese icing and chocolate with vanilla icing.  I tied in the colors with the sprinkles on top.  

I'm now a huge fan of cake pops.  L-O-V-E them! And...I would say they were the guests favorites (any a favorite of my family who was in town that week).  Visit my post on Bakerella's cake pops for the link for directions and more pictures! 

center table

dessert table

drinks table

food table-cheese ball, spinach dip, pasta salad, subs, fruit salad, brie and more 

Diaper wreath used at the door as guests walked in.  Of course, it's pink and green. 

Party Punch.  Super simple to make and everyone was asking for the recipe!

I made this clothes line and banner to go in the front of the room. Since the shower was in my classroom, I wanted to cover all of my teacher stuff.  It worked perfectly!  I also made all of the white onesies and bought the rest at Target to match the shower.  

Cupcake toppers

Centerpieces used on each table.  Bought the flowers at Michael's, used clear vases filled with pink and clear marbles.  Love that these can be used over and over again!

Here is the beautiful mommy to be and myself.  

Love it? Share it! 

Necklace Onesie

Love, love, love this necklace onesie! I found the tutorial over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff. These are so incredibly easy to make and turn into a perfect baby shower or welcoming baby gift.  All you need to make this is heat and bond, fabric, a plain onesie, an iron and a sewing machine.  Once you make one, you wont be able to stop! I can't wait to see these two on baby Callie!

Brown & Pink Baby Shower

These pictures are from the second baby shower I helped throw for my MOH.  I can't take credit for everything you see in the pictures, everyone involved worked hard on every little detail.  My work can be seen in the diaper cake, diaper wreath, clothes hanger bows and the cookies.  The shower was perfect and we can't wait to meet baby Callie! You can find the diaper cake tutorial here, diaper wreath tutorial here, smores cookies here, lemon cookies here and bow directions here.  That's a lot of heres! Enjoy!