Food Pic of the Day! ~ May 10, 2012

STRAWBERRIES! Yum....so delicious.

 

Food Pic of the Day - Cinco de Mayo

May 5, 2012

Happy Cinco de Mayo Everyone!

If you are planning on heading out for the afternoon and need a quick lunch before you go, why not make a toasted tomato and cheese sandwich!? I love these, they are a lunch-time staple for me. Toasted bread, fresh off-the-vine tomato, cheddar cheese, regular and Dijon mustard, mayo, and pickles (or cucumbers), and lettuce.

Toasted Tomato Sandwich!

Food Pic of the Day - May 4, 2012

BaKed Potato!

How quick and easy is it to make a baked potato? ....Very. Wash, poke holes in it with a fork (to avoid explosions) and place on a plate in the microwave. Cook for approx. 8 min. on one side and then flip and cook for another 8 min. on the other side. Remove potato and place in a pot with lid. Allow to stand for 10 min. Remove from pot, mash potato with butter, add dollop of sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, and green onions. Voila!

Food Pic of the Day - May 3, 2012!

The clouds have subsided this afternoon and have been replaced with sun and blue skies, so it seemed appropriate to choose a summer food item. Watermelon!

Watermelon

Tasty Taco Salad

Perhaps its the San Diego influence, or I just really love Mexican food, but this home-made taco salad is very tasty...and super quick to whip up.

Tasty Taco Salad

Ingredients:

Beef Mixture

1/2 package    lean ground beef          
1 tblsp             taco mix                                                                   
1/2 can            black beans
1/2 cup            frozen corn
1/2                   large onion
1 bunch           red leaf lettuce
1/2 sm. can      canned jalapenos
1/2 bunch        cilantro
3/4 cup            cheese
1                      orange pepper
1                      tomato
1                      cucumber
1                      avocado
                        salsa
                        light sour cream

mise en place the vegetables 

     

Directions:

Wash all veggies and lettuce. Prep by chopping the lettuce into bite size pieces as well as the pepper, tomato, cucumber, avocado, onion, and jalapenos.

Cook the beef and add a small amount of water and taco powder after meat is browned. Once beef is cooked through add chopped onions and jalapenos, as well as the frozen corn, and black beans to the pan. Cover to allow flavours to infuse. Stir beef mixture and allow to simmer.

In a bowl place a bed of lettuce, then sprinkle the raw veggies over the dish. Add the beef mixture, then the cheese, a dollop of salsa & sour cream....and finally top with some chopped cilantro!

Food Pic of the Day

Saturday, April 28, 2012

For today's food pic of the day I choose a very ripe, juicy kiwi! It's a hot day out in San Diego, CA and what better way to start a sunny Saturday than with a fresh kiwi. Enjoy the weekend!

Cheers, Annie

Kiwi Fruit

Tomato and Salsa Chicken Thighs

Hello! Today is a great day….for the reason that: if you choose to make these tomato and salsa chicken thighs you will have a wonderful dinner, and be trying a very new recipe. I created this recipe one night when I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to have for dinner but had a general idea of the flavors (and the ingredients in my fridge/cupboard) that would taste good.

Yesterday, I found my little scratch pad that I had quickly jotted notes on for it and decided to try the recipe again. Turns out, this recipe is a keeper and one that should be shared for all to enjoy! And, I think it can go on the healthy list.

Tomato and Salsa Chicken Thighs

4                                 chicken thighs

796 mL (28fl oz)        canned tomatoes

1 ¼ cup                      salsa (any kind you like, spicy…chunky, your choice!)

6                                 cloves of garlic (pressed)

1 ¼ tsp                       cayenne pepper

¼ cup or so                parmesan cheese

1 swirl/glug                olive oil

a handful of                cilantro (chopped)

a bit of                        salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to about 375°F

The convenience of this dinner is that you can make it all right in the dish that its going to be cooked in. And, as per my style of cooking, all of the measurements are approximates and to be used as a guideline. I am always straying from the recipe when I use cookbooks...so estimates seem good to me!

Using a medium sized casserole dish, put half of the canned tomatoes, salsa, and garlic (pressed) into the pan. Then add all of cayenne pepper and half of the chopped cilantro and mix the sauce together. Place the chicken thighs on top of the tomatoes et al. (side note: much more than 4 chicken thighs can be made, just used a little more of the ingredients than listed and a bigger pan). Now add a swirl of olive oil over the chicken.

Continue by adding the remaining canned tomatoes, salsa, garlic, and cilantro on top of the chicken. Add a bit of salt (not too much) and pepper as well as the parmesan cheese. Spoon some tomato sauce over top to wet the parmesan and mix in the salt and pepper. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 37-40 minutes at  375°F or until juices run clear.

Serve and enjoy….p.s. your house will now smell like a fancy restaurant.