Summer BBQWe’ll be spending Sunday at a friend’s house on the bay in San Diego.  Our son loves it here because of the sand and the calm bay water.  We love it because it’s a great place to hang out with friends, it’s a beautiful view and our son has a great time.

It’s a byobbq, so we’ll likely just bring one or two items, but one thing leads to another in my mind and I thought about full-on meals.  I think I was probably hungry while coming up with what to bring, but no matter here are my 2 ideas for which I haven’t yet decided on for this Sunday’s byobbq:

Fish Tacos with home-made corn slaw and white sauce; home-made guacamole served with tortilla chips and salsa and a side of beans; or

Southern unfried/grilled chicken with home-made corn slaw, red beans and rice and little baked potato balls.  I’ve never made these last little potato morsels and I thought them up in my head just now, so they would definitely be a fun experiment.

Whatever I decide to make, I’ll post the actual recipes and (hopefully) pictures too.  Whichever one I don’t make for Sunday, I’m sure I’ll be making at home sooner than later and will also post recipes and pictures (especially for the baked potato balls if they turn out tasty).

What will you be making/bbq’ing for your labor day celebration?  We’d love to hear your ideas, recipes, inspirations…

It’s smart to add fruits and veges to your family dinner…It’s easy too! 

As a parent, I am always trying to get my child to eat healthy.  Fruits are a tad bit easier than veges, and veges are even difficult for us adults to often work into our meals.

Check out these tips from www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.org on how to add fruits and veges to your family’s meals.

GoodOnYa Bar Sample Pack

 $10.00

Today, we are promoting one of our favorite lunchbox items, the GoodOnYa Bar.  It’s funny because I actually used to work next door to GoodOnYa Cafe in Sorrento Valley and was always a fan of all of their nutritious food.  When they came out with their GoodOnYa Bar, I was very excited and not disappointed at all.  It’s tasty and good for me?  How could it be? 

The Lunch Box provides schools with free, tangible tools to transform school lunch from highly processed foods to made-from-scratch meals using nutritious, fresh ingredients. It contains tools for real change including school-tested recipes with nutritionals and training tips, financial modeling guides, budget templates, downloadable, customizable calendars, and training videos. 

The Lunch Box Project’s goal is to raise $20,000Together we can change the way we feed our kids.

If you purchase the GoodOnYa Sample Pack (Click Here to Buy) before September 7, 2010, OpenSky will donate $1.00 to the Lunchbox Project for every sample pack sold.  As an added incentive, you can receive free shipping when you enter the code, FREESHIPSAMPLER at checkout.

I just spent a fun and educational weekend at Bloggy Bootcamp in San Francisco.  After the conference, we had a fun time at Club Slide where Igor the Bartender from Russia concocted a special drink called the Siberian Slipper.  One lady described the taste as a watermelon jolly rancher but not as sweet.  I have to disagree with that description, but to each their own.  For me, I could really taste the pear from the pear vodka and another flavor that I couldn’t quite put my finger on…turned out to be Elderberry from the liqueur St. Germain.  Regardless, it was a hit with everyone in attendance and made for a very pretty ‘martini’ drink as well.  Here’s the lo-down on how to make it (sorry, I didn’t get exact measurements, so you’ll have to experiment on your own):

Ingredients:

Pear Vodka (Grey Goose Poire was used in ours)
Juice of 2 wedges of lime
St. Germain

Instructions:

Chill martini glass with ice.  In a cocktail shaker shake the pear vodka and St. Germain.  Empty ice out of martini glass, pour in contents of shaker, squeeze the juice of 2 wedges of lime into martini glass.  Garnish with a lime.

The most important things you can do to stay healthy are: Get recommended screening tests, Be tobacco free, Be physically active, Eat a healthy diet, Stay at a healthy weight, and Take preventive medicines if you need them.

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and lean protein will help with your diet.  Checking your BMI can help you guage whether your at a healthy weight.  For an easy BMI calculator, you can go to http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ , enter some information and whallah, with a click of a button, you’ll get some valuable information.

Learn more at: AHRQ

Click Here to view some of our yummy, healthy recipes

Kids need good nutrition to help them stay alert and learn at school.  Fruits and vegetables are a big part of good nutrition. 

Follow the tips here:  Back to School.

from www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov

Take your slimming snacks and create magnificent meals.  Need inspiration?  Here’s one of my favorites:

2 of my favorite slimming snacks are low-fat cottage cheese and avocado.  Both of these are great slimming snack items on their own, but take it up a notch to create a magnificent meal. 

Take a dollop of cottage cheese with chunks of fresh avocado and ground pepper then add sliced Balsamic Grilled Chicken breast to the top.  To finish off the meal, create a lovely spring salad.  Whallah!  Slimming Snack turned Magnificent Meal.

Click here to view our quick and easy Balsamic Grill Chicken Recipe.

Remember, avocado may be high in fat, but it’s the good fat (HDL) your body needs – you know, the kind that lowers cholesterol.  Your body needs this type of fat (monounsaturated) for healthy skin, hair, nails, helps decrease belly fat and of course, to help lower the risk of heart disease and regulate blood pressure.  Avocado is actually a fruit, not a vegetable (hence the seed) and is considered one of the world’s healthiest fruit because of its high content of nutrients such as vitamin K, dietary fiber, potassium, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and copper.  Additionally, avocados have a reasonable amount of calories and is often used by bodybuilders and nutritionists.

Low-fat cottage cheese is high in protein and low in carbohydrates and fat providing you with a tasty healthy, cheesy alternative to high fat cheeses.  Cottage cheese is a nice option for those on a low carbohydrate diet who are trying to reduce the risk of heart disease.  Cottage cheese is a good source of calcium and vitamin D and therefore it provides a great benefit to your bones, especially in women who lose bone density as they age and enter their menopausal years.

There are many other ways to utilize these two healthy, slimming snacks as meals.  Cottage cheese has been used throughout time with fruit, but take it a step further and get some veges into your diet too.  Add sliced zucchini and squash to your cottage cheese with chunks of tomato and freshly ground pepper.  One of our favorite, albeit odd sounding, ways to use cottage cheese is in place of full fat cheese in a quesadilla.  Yes, it sounds strange, but it is delicious.  Spread the cottage cheese onto a tortilla, add a little cinnamon on top of the cottage cheese (I know, it sounds gross, but it’s really not), roll or fold it up and put in the microwave just long enough for the cheese to melt.  Whallah, a healthier and tasty version of the full fat quesadilla.

Avocados are great when used as fillers in omelettes, sliced or chunked and combined with fruit such as papaya or mango salsa.  Of course, there’s the all time favorite of guacamole, but to keep it healthy, use plain greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise or sour cream.

These are just two of my favorite slimming snacks and how you can turn them into magnificent meals for you and your family.  Start looking at your favorite healthy snacks with a wider open-minded view and you too can probably create some amazing, yummy and healthy slimming magnificent meals of your own.

Balsamic Grilled Chicken
by Shauna Henry

Ingredients:

Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
1 tsp. Lemon juice
¼ Red onion
2 cloves garlic diced or squeezed with a garlic press
1 tsp. Poultry seasoning
Fresh Ground Pepper
Chicken Breast

Instructions:

Place chicken breast in a Tupperware container and cover with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, add lemon juice, garlic red onion, poultry seasoning and fresh ground pepper.  Cover and place in refrigerator to marinate overnight (or at least a couple of hours).  In a skillet, add 1 Tablespoon olive oil, heat over medium heat, add chicken breast and marinade, cover and grill until inside of thickest part of chicken is no longer pink, or until a meat thermometer registers the internal temperature at 165 degrees.  Slice and place over greens, cottage cheese w/avocado orzo, quinoa or rice.

KamikazeYes, we’re posting from TheSpir.it.com again.  We can’t help it, they have good info that our readers will love too.  This week they discuss the Kamikaze, a drink that many think of as an ‘amateur’ drink meant to be slammed like a shot.  Goodness knows, it was once my favorite shot and never did I think it could be an actual classy drink.  But now, now that they write this and I think about yummy those shots actually were, I find myself asking, “why not?  why can’t this delicious cocktail be exactly that – a classy cocktail?”  The ingredients don’t scream ghetto, or amateur, so why has the Kamikaze turned into ‘that’ drink?

Here is how to make a Kamikaze and you can see by the ingredients and the pretty picture from The Spirit that it would, in fact, be a wonderful and refreshing Signature Cocktail for your wedding – perhaps you’d like to name it a special name personalized to the two of you just so your guests drink it in a more sipping and refined manner rather than trying to slam it like a shot;)

 

The Kamikaze

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Vodka
2 teaspoons Cointreau
1/2 oz Lime juice
Lime wedge (for garnish)
Ice

Preparation:

In a ice-filled cocktail shaker, combine the vodka, Cointreau, and lime juice. Shake vigorously. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass, garnish with a lime wedge.

Legend has it that the Kamikaze was first poured on an American Naval base in Japan in the late 1940s, and that the name (not unlike the Zombie) is meant to give you an idea of its effect.  Click here to keep reading the entire story from The Spirit

I love to create excitement for my guests when it comes to parties.  I believe that little unexpected surprises adds that little extra touch that makes someone feel special and that they’ve made the right decision to come to your party.  After all, we’re all super busy and it’s never any fun when you’ve decided to go somewhere only to have it be a total drag.  I believe that when you host an event, you should make your guests feel as welcome as possible.  And, yes, I am one of those ‘weirdos’ who leave travel size soaps, candles, fresh flowers and sometimes even candies in our guest room when someone is staying – I just believe that it’s important to make someone feel important, comfortable and special.

So, for part 3 of my (40th) birthday party planning series, I am sharing with you what I found to leave as little surprises for my guests.  For those of you who haven’t read the other posts, we are renting a retro kitchy B&B for the weekend called Palm Springs Rendezvous which has a great 50′s vibe.  I created and sent out 50′s themed surprises via the mail, and now I want to make sure that when my guests arrive, there are some fun little surprises in their rooms too.  Knowing that we are going to drink (a lot), I decided to put a little munchy and a thirst quencher in the rooms for each guest, but wanted to keep it in that retro theme.  Take a looksy at the perfect pairing I found – so excited!

Stirrings Cocktail Sodas that come in a variety of flavors including Pink Grapefruit, Ginger Ale, Tart Cranberry & more.

Retro Popcorn minis from Just Pop In in an amazing array of flavors.  Even the odd-sounding flavors are delicious – cinnamon popcorn?  check; Orange flavored?  check.  Fresh and delicious, retro and different – check!  I can’t wait to taste all the different flavors we ordered.

Is it just me or is all Mommies that find themselves just eating the leftovers of what their child eats?  Granted, my son is only 2 years old and while discovering what he likes and doesn’t like (which can change daily), we tend to have a fair amount of leftovers.  It’s amazing how even while happily eating something, he will suddenly exclaim, “I no like it” and be done with what he was just so happy to be eating.  What I’ve come to discover is that my son is a snacker.  Let no ‘real’ food pass those lips – no way.  Just yesterday a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut in the shape of a whale held his attention for approximately 2 1/4 bites.  I have become quite the snacking connoiseur.  Here are some of our favorites that please both of us especially when having to run out of the house.  *Note* we like to use a quick and easy lunch bag that can hold an ice pack easily.

String Cheese:  I love it more than he does, but it works.  Between the protein and the low in fat and best of all, the ease with which it takes to grab n’go, string cheese is one of my favorites.  According to Ann Marier at Food Editorials.com ’most string cheese in the United States is made from mozzarella, a fresh cheese traditionally made from buffalo’s milk. Because of this, it is an extremely healthy snack food, containing a high percentage of the recommended amount of calcium for individuals. In addition, it is naturally low in calories, so for those who are trying to lose weight, it’s a great snack to have without feeling guilty.’

Almonds.  Most of my snack choices are built around ease and nutrition and almonds are no exception.  Lucky for me (and you) Trader Joe’s sells these little delights raw and packaged in individual snack packs to easily grab n’go.  According to FormerFatGuy.com,   almonds provide high quality, highly absorbable protein and almonds contain six grams of protein per ounce, making them a good source of protein. With a TPD of about 88% and a PDCAAS of about 0.44, almonds offer a highly digestible and quality protein. However, the protein is incomplete so combining almonds with legumes and vegetables is a great way of enjoying a quality plant-based protein along with essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin E, zinc, manganese, magnesium and calcium.

Mai Tai CocktailWell, my 40th birthday is just around the corner which means that so is my 40th birthday party.  My husband, who is not nearly as passionate about parties as I am, agreed to me planning a big blow-out for my 40th birthday party.  It is, in essence, his gift to me;)

As the days get closer (we’re celebrating August 13-15th), I find myself constantly looking in my planning folder for little things to do - this is how a party planner gets and stays excited about a party you see?

So, here’s the low down:  we’re renting out a small hotel/b&b in palm springs called the Palm Springs Rendezvous, inviting 20 of our friends and having a great party on Saturday night. 

This past week, I ordered and picked up the alcohol, but not before deciding on 3, yes 3 signature cocktails:  Black Cherry Lemonade, The Classic Mai Tai and a Tequila Cosmo Martini.  Here are the deelicious details:

Shauna’s Signature Cocktail Recipes for 40th Birthday Bash
The Mai Tai
Ingredients:
Crushed ice
1 oz Dark rum
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orange Curacao
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
1/2 oz Orgeat / Almond Syrup 
Preparation:
Pour each rum into the shaker filled with ice.
Add lime juice, Curacao, Simple Syrup, and Almond Syrup.
Shake vigorously and strain into a double old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with mint & attractive fruit of your choice. 
 
Black Cherry Lemonade 
1 part Stirrings Lemon Drop Martini Mixer
1 1/2 parts Smirnoff Black Cherry
1 part Stirrings Bitter Lemon Cocktail Soda
Layer ingredients in a glass. Stir gently.
 
Tequila Cosmo Martini
1 1/2 oz Nacional® silver tequila
1 oz triple sec
1 ozfresh lime juice
1 oz cranberry juice
1 splash lime juice
 
Shake tequila, triple sec, fresh lime juice and cranberry juice together with ice in a cocktail shaker. 
Strain into a whiskey sour glass and squeeze a further wedge of lime on top.
Discard lime, and serve.

Wine Splash; Wine SwirlA Good Swirl
Swirling wine helps to release all its complex perfumes. If you have a good glass, swirling is easy, especially once you get the hang of it. Check out this short video from our friends at Snooth.com for a tip to get you started.  Please note, this is not a professionally edited video, it is a short and sweet video to give you some Wine 101 Tips.

We’re so excited, one of our etsy items (the Parent/Child BBQ apron) was featured on an Etsy treasury for summer cookouts.  Check out us and all the other cookalicious etsy items that were featured:

Cook Out with Style

Summer Barbecue Hand Printed Linen Napkins (set of 4)

 

 Mid-Century Cook Out - Picnic and Camping - Cookware and Caddy
Summer Barbecue Hand Pr… Mid-Century Cook Out – …
handmadebysima retrovertigo
$20.00 USD $80.00 USD
MODERN HOSTESS APRON - Hot Pink, Orange and Coral Fireworks

 

 cherry halter picnic dress aw aw aw .medium
MODERN HOSTESS APRON – … cherry halter picnic dr…
jcassdesign gimmeNICOLE
$29.00 USD $28.00 USD
the grill guru gourmet bbq blends. specialty dry rubs with recipe suggestions. a great idea for the man who loves to grill.

 

 Hot Dog Earrings
the grill guru gourmet … Hot Dog Earrings
purposedesign fuzzybunnystew
$16.00 USD $30.00 USD
Large Vintage Wicker Picnic Hamper or Picnic Basket, Great for Summer Picnics, Cookouts

 

 vintage Wooden Barrel Drinking Mug
Large Vintage Wicker Pi… vintage Wooden Barrel D…
FindMeAMemory TheBeadStorm
$20.00 USD $15.00 USD
Green Gingham Condiment Bowl with Spoon

 

 BBQ Apron - Parent and Child Apron Set/FREE SHIPPING
Green Gingham Condiment… BBQ Apron – Parent and …
SweetDelaney yourlifevents
$8.00 USD $39.90 USD
barbecue salt and pepper shakers vintage  50's

 

 BBQ - Gold Plated Charm with a dainty 16 inch Gold Plated Cable Chain Necklace
barbecue salt and peppe… BBQ – Gold Plated Charm…
CafeKOKO charms4you
$14.00 USD $8.00 USD
Vintage Thermos Ice Bucket

 

 Firebird Grill handcut from Recycled Steel
Vintage Thermos Ice Bucket Firebird Grill handcut …
kitchencupboard johntunger
$13.00 USD $100.00 USD
Vintage Barbecue Condiment Set

 

 Rams head steak turner
Vintage Barbecue Condim… Rams head steak turner
RedHenStudios toughandtwisted
$15.00 USD $80.00 USD

So, what does one do when life (or a family member) gives you lemons?  Well, if you’re me (or anything like me – you poor thing), you make Vodka Raspberry Lemonade – Freshly Squeezed of course.

My husband’s uncle (I suppose that makes him my uncle too, but whatever) gave us a bag of deeelicious lemons the other day and Chris (that’s my DH) suggested we make lemonade.  In a rare Martha Stewart inspired moment, I promptly brought our juicer down from the top shelf of our cupboard and set out to making freshly squeezed lemonade.  Wanting to get it just right, I also set out to making Simple Syrup – it really is simple which I think is rare for a name to actually mean that which it is, but I digress.  The end result was actually puckeringly good – we like it slightly sour, but mostly just tart.  To make it even better, I added Raspberry Vodka and some frozen raspberries.

Here’s what I did – keeping in mind that when experimenting I NEVER measure:

I filled a regular size saucepan with water and dumped A LOT of sugar and honey into it (to taste of course) and brought it to a boil.  That, my friends is the pure ease and simpleness of making simple syrup!

Juiced about a dozen plus lemons in our fancy shmancy 1970′s juicer that my Mom gave me when I moved into my first apartment.  It has held up quite well and the bonus is that just about every piece and part can be put in the dishwasher.

Dumped the lemon juice in a pitcher, dumped the simple syrup in the pitcher and whallah – Tasty Tart Lemonade.

Now…into a shaker goes: LOTS of ice, 1 and 1/2 jiggers of raspberry vodka, 1 jigger of triple sec, a few scoops of frozen raspberries, fill with freshly squeezed lemonade – SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE, SHAKE YOUR BOOTAY, SHAKE YOUR BOOTAY – pour it all (sure even the ice cubes) into your glass of choice (I choose the largest pretty glass I can find that will hold the entire shakers worth of this deeelicious drink) – done!

It is quite yummy – a little tart, a little bit kid-like in its kool-aid’ness, definitely refreshing!

We live in San Diego ergo We Eat A LOT of Mexican Food.  It is delicious, but not always veggie filled.  Traditional cooked vegetables and salads really don’t lend themselves to pair well with a carne asada burrito, so I took some inspiration from both Salsa Fresca and Ceviche and made a Fresh N’ Easy salad that tastes delicious with our Mexican Food Fare – and gives us the bonus of feeling good that we’re eating vegetables with our meal.

Here’s the over-the-top simple recipe for you:

Ingredients:

Cubed avocado
Freshly Chopped Cilantro
Freshly Chopped Tomato
Freshly Chopped Red Onion
Lime Juice
Freshly Ground Pepper

Directions:

Mix it all together and serve in bowls – easy peasy!

As I’ve said before (ad nauseum) our neighborhood is very social.  We are often in our front yards talking and letting our kids play – it was a main reason we chose where we live.  In that same vain, it was important for me that we buy a house with a front porch, I just love the idea of sipping wine/lemonade/insert drink here on the front porch, enjoying the day and being social with my neighbors. 

While most people entertain in their backyards, we have recently undergone a major re-landscaping of our front yard with entertaining in mind. 

We decided to create a low-water maintenance yard, but also something kinda Tuscan yet that lends itself nicely to our craftsman home.  My husband, who sadly has been ‘put on the injured list’ for soccer has filled his time with massive amounts of research to grow wine vines.  Our new and improved front yard now boasts a mini ‘urban vineyard’ (that MAY produce wine in about 5 years), a little stone patio where as soon as we put a table and chairs will provide a lovely seating area for us and our friends and neighbors, a mini meandering pathway (aka, the mini bike track for the kids), and low fence – again a seating area for us and our neighbors (aka, a barrier from doggies pooping).  Here are some pictures of our new Front Yard Entertainment area – I can’t wait to host a mini get together and celebrate summer.

Here is the Before:

Frontyard - Current by somefoolonline

And now…for the After Shots:

Frontyard-June Morning by somefoolonline

Finally Planted by somefoolonline

A stretch by somefoolonline

Urban Vineyard by somefoolonline

Inspection by somefoolonline

This recipe is provided to us from JJ Virgin, celebrity nutrionist and wellness expert and Leanne Ely of www.SavingDinner.com.  Whether you’re trying to lose those last few pounds of pregnancy weight, trying to look your best on your wedding day, or just wanting to improve your overrall health and wellness, JJ is chock full of information that will keep you on the right track.

This delicious recipe is from JJ Virgin’s 28 Day Break Free Boot Camp starting Monday!  In fact, JJ and Leanne just had a call on “Six Surprising ‘Health’ Foods (That You Are Probably Eating Every Week) That Are Holding Your Health Hostage”… if you weren’t on the call JJ did with her pal Leanne Ely, the Dinner Diva, you can listen to the AUDIO recording here.

Bombay Chicken
Serves 4
4 (6-oz.) boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons minced fresh gingerroot
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder, or to taste
1 cup diced fresh peaches
1/2 cup gluten free chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons arrowroot starch

Heat the oil in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat; add chicken and cook for 3 minutes per side or until golden; remove from skillet and set aside. To the same skillet, add onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Return chicken to skillet. Add broth, salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper, curry powder, peaches and wine; stir to combine. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender. In a cup, combine coconut milk and arrowroot starch; gradually add to skillet; bring to a boil and cook until thickened.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Serve chicken on a bed of brown rice (1/2 cup serving size), a serving of steamed broccoli and a spinach salad with avocado on the side.

Recipe by Leanne Ely
What’s for dinner? Go to www.SavingDinner.com and always know!

©2010 JJ Virgin & Associates, Inc. Celebrity nutrition and wellness expert JJ Virgin is a public speaker and author of Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy, The 5-Step Plan to Sleek, Strong and Sculpted Arms. Order Your Copy Today!

Wine DecanterSoiree Wine AeratorWe love finding new blogs to feature and we LOOOOOVE wine, so when my husband forwarded me this blog, Snooth.com that is all about wine (and recently about spirits too), I just knew I would enjoy it.

Today’s ezine article from Snooth is about decanting your wine.  My husband and I recently bought a really cool wine aerator called the Soiree Wine Aerator that you attach to your bottle and we also decant into a beautiful clear glass pitcher.  We do this mostly for the taste, but there truly is something decadent about drinking wine that has been poured lovingly into a decanter – kinda makes me feel like I’m travelling or out to dinner at a place where they decant it for you.  As always we believe life should be celebrated – use your good dishes even when there are no guests and decant your wine just for yourself because you’re worth it;)

Here’s a snippet of the article from Snooth.com as well as the link to the full article:

Wine 101: Decanting

Why you should let your best bottles breathe

 After last week’s introductory Wine 101 email, I thought the logical next step would be tips on serving wine. Now, I know you’d all rather dive right in to the wine once it’s open, but the truth is that there are several factors worth exploring to make sure you get the most out of your bottle.

There are three main points I will be covering in the next few installments: Decanting wine, the serving temperatures for different wine types, and how to select your wine glasses, each of which can have a major impact on how a wine shows. Unfortunately, even if you get everything right there are still a slew of things that can go wrong – over which we have sadly little say.

Since things like the quality of the cork (or alternate closure), barometric pressure, and winemaking faults are beyond our control, we might as well focus on what we can do to make each wine show us all its got!
Read the Full Article »

I created this recipe awhile back with the intention of videotaping myself making it – best intentions…I haven’t even had a chance to make it.  So, I’m putting it out there to all of you so you can let me know what you think – and maybe even send in a picture or two.  I swear, I really will get around to making it (and maybe even with a little video) in my spare time – ha ha! 

Without further ado, here’s my recipe – Manja!

Southwest Spicy Chicken Salad
by Shauna C. Henry

1/2  cup frozen (thawed) or canned kernel corn
1/2  cup ranch dressing
4  boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 1/4 lb)
6  cups bite-size pieces assorted salad greens
1  teaspoon lime juice
1 ½  tablespoons Tapatio or Cholula hot sauce (or to desired spiciness)
1  medium avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/4  cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4  cup tortilla strips
1/2  cup chopped red onion grilled in olive oil & balsamic vinegar (set aside to cool)
1/2  cup black beans
1/4  cup chopped tomato

1.  Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat.  Grill/Saute red onion in olive oil and balsamic vinegar until soft.

2.  To make dressing, in a small bowl, stir ranch dressing, Tapatio or Cholula hot sauce, lime juice and half of the chopped cilantro with wire whisk until well blended. Measure 1/4 cup dressing for basting chicken; reserve remaining dressing for serving.

3.  Cover and grill chicken over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, turning and brushing occasionally with 1/4 cup dressing, until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

4.  Cut chicken into slices. In large bowl, toss salad greens, chicken, cilantro, onion, black beans, tomato and corn; divide among 4 plates. Arrange avocado around each salad. Sprinkle with tortilla strips. Drizzle with reserved dressing.

Do-Ahead
Prepare the dressing a few days ahead, and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Serve With
This salad is perfect for a summer luncheon, potluck, bbq party, after golfing or as a summer family entree.  Serve with cornbread or warm tortillas.
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