Blackened Baja-Style Tilapia

“This is needs to be in the regular menu rotation.”

Score!

Whenever Iron Chef Allana declares a dish to be in the regular rotation, I know I’ve made a winner dinner.

This Iron Chef Allan approved meal, Blacked Baja-Style Talapia, was a Pinterest find. Overall, the recipe looked and sounded good, except I thought the blackening spices needed a full teaspoon of cumin.

And the onion sauce needed a little salt and black pepper.

I sautéed the fish in canola oil, which surprised Allan, but I thought sautéing would bring out the blackening spices better than baking the fish.

The recipe recommends serving the fish in corn tortillas, but we don’t like the texture or taste of corn tortillas. Therefore, I served the fish on a bed of shredded romaine lettuce in flour tortillas, but the meal was missing something: texture. Ironically, the corn tortillas would offer that desired texture.

Allan suggested serving the tilapia on a bed of rice instead of a soft taco, like a Baja bowl. Brilliant! See this is why I keep Iron Chef Allan around.

Blackened Baja-Style Talapia
(Adapted from myrecipes.com via Cooking Light)

Ingredients
¼ cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of one lime
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup thinly sliced white onion
1 ½ tsp paprika
1 ½ tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
¾ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground red pepper (or cayenne pepper)
1 lb tilapia
Canola oil
1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
Shredded romaine lettuce
Lime wedges

Directions
Add sour cream, cilantro, lime juice and jalapeño to a food processor and process until smooth. Combine jalapeño sauce and onion in a small bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a small bowl, mix together paprika, brown sugar, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, salt and red pepper until well combined. Then, sprinkle evenly over fish.

Heat oil in an electric skillet set to 325 degrees F or a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to skillet and cook 3 minutes on each side.

Serve tilapia on a bed of romaine lettuce over rice or a warmed corn tortilla. Top with onion mixture, avocado slices and a wedge of lime.

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!

*Also submitted at*

Denise Mestanza-Taylor+

Grape Soda Cupcakes

Photobucket When Kirsten and I planned a purple picnic for our girls to celebrate Purple Day, purple cupcakes were on the menu. And since I’ve become quite the baker these days, I wanted to try my hand at a new cake recipe.

So as I perused the aisles of my favorite Publix supermarket to pick another box of King Arthur Cake Flour, I spotted a special low price for Publix Grape Soda (2 for $1) and then my wheels got to spinning. How could I do something really different besides a plain ol’ white cake with purple frosting? I’ve heard of cupcakes with Mountain Dew as an ingredient, but can you make cupcakes with grape soda? With a quick Google search in supermarket (yet another reason to love smart phones), I stumbled upon a Grape Soda Cupcakes by The Kitchen Magpie.

Once I purchased all my ingredients including Publix Grape Soda and a package of purple Peeps, I had a little look around The Kitchen Magpie later that day and I adored her site, her stories and all her recipes. However, for this particular recipe, I had to tweak it a bit because the directions were hard for me to follow as it was written like she was telling the recipe over the phone to a friend rather than actual directions. Since I’m new to cooking and baking, I lack the intuitiveness that most bakers have (or are even born with) to know how create a cake masterpiece. Therefore, I had to really read through it, understand it and reword it to where I could follow it with ease.

With my modifications, I also used less purple food coloring than the original recipe stated as I was trying to limit my kids’ overexposure to Red #40 and Blue #1.

For icing, I followed the Joy of Cooking “Quick White Icing”, which can also be found at TasteofHome.com.

In the end, I had the grape soda cupcakes I hoped for our Purple Day Picnic and the results were perfectly purplicious and delicious.

Grape Soda Cupcakes
(Adapted from The Kitchen Magpie)

Ingredients

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

4 cups cake flour

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp of salt

½ tsp baking powder

1 ¾ cups Publix Brand Grape Soda

Neon Food coloring pack

24 cupcake liners

Butter cream frosting

Purple Peeps or purple cake sprinkles

Directions

In a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add vanilla.

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in another bowl.

If using purple liquid food coloring, add a few drops to the egg batter to achieve desired color. (Add a few drops for a lavender shade. Add more drops for a darker violet shade.)

Then add the flour mixture and grape soda to the batter in mixer, alternating and ending with the flour mixture.

Ladle batter into cupcake liners about three-quarters full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes. Cool completely.

Once cooled, add icing and decorate as desired.

Yields 24 cupcakes.

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!

*Also submitted at*

Denise Mestanza-Taylor+

Peanut Butter Delight Pupcakes

Photobucket It’s been one year since we adopted our little Pomeranian, Lucy and we simply had to celebrate the occasion, which meant baking some kind of doggie birthday treat for her, of course. But what kind of cake to bake? I didn’t know the first thing about dog-friendly cakes other than the ones I could buy from our local doggie bakery.

A quick Google search returned some very simple, easy to follow dog-friendly and people-friendly recipes. Many sites said to avoid anything with butter, chocolate or sugar and if your dog has a wheat allergy, rice flour can be used as an alternative ingredient.

My mini-chef, Emmalynn, assisted me because she loves to bake. After reviewing the selection of recipes, we decided to bake Peanut Butter Delight Pupcakes because I had all of the ingredients on hand.

As you can imagine, Lucy loved it.

Chowed down on the Milk Bone, licked all the icing off of it and ran outside to gobble down the rest of her pupcake in her favorite spot kind of love. That’s how much she loved it.

If you most know, yes, we tried the pupcakes too. They were tasty, like a bran muffin without sugar, but our brains were expecting something sweet. So, the kids and I nibbled one between the four of us, just to try it.

At least Lucy enjoyed it and that’s all that mattered. After all, it was her day.

Peanut Butter Delight Pupcakes

(Yields six pupcakes)

Ingredients

1 cup white or whole wheat flour (I used white wheat flour.)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare a muffin pan with paper muffin liners.

In one bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda. Then, in another larger bowl, add the remaining wet ingredients and mix well. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well to combine.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Fill each cup about ¾ full. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool on rack.

Once completely cool, decorate the pupcakes with dog-safe peanut butter icing (recipe follows below) and top each with a Milk Bone or dog-safe treat, like jerky.

Peanut Butter Icing

Ingredients

4 oz low-fat cream cheese

2 oz all natural creamy peanut butter

1 Tbsp canola oil

Directions

Combine all ingredients with a hand-held mixer until well blended.

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!

*Also submitted at*

Chicken Sausage Gumbo

You know you’re a foodie when you plan themed meals around holidays, observances and any and all ethnic festivals. This past weekend was no exception. Some celebrate Fat Tuesday. Others flip over Pancake Day. In this house, we do both.

It’s fun to throw some new meals in the mix and for Fat Tuesday (which we celebrated on Presidents’ Day), I wanted some true New Orleans style gumbo. So, of course I turned to Pinterest and shared its wonderful world with Iron Chef Allan. Better than a Google search, within seconds I had hundreds of visually appealing recipes.

As we read the different versions, we both agreed that Kaela of Local Kitchen’s Chicken Sausage Gumbo looked and sounded best.

However, making a roux was definitely out of my cooking comfort zone, but I knew Iron Chef Allan could handle the challenge. Boy, did my man ever deliver!

In her recipe write-up, Kaela explains the importance of okra in the recipe if not for anything but authenticity, however, Iron Chef Allan is not an okra lover. And really, is anyone? Although I was willing to give okra infused gumbo a go, Allan was not and since he was preparing the dish, the okra got eighty-sixed.

But sometimes you don’t miss what you don’t know, because my man made some crazy good gumbo! This had to be the best tasting gumbo outside of New Orleans, even if he did omit the okra.

And of course to wash it down, only an Abita beer would do. The sweetness of an Abita’s Purple Haze is the perfect complement to this savory and oh so spicy dish.

For dessert, we had king cake which was store-bought. (Hey, only one new recipe challenge at a time!) Next time, maybe I’ll try my hand at this interesting bread machine king cake recipe.

On second thought, being President’s Day and all, cherry pie may have been a better choice for dessert. Nah, the king cake was a perfect finish to our NOLA meal. I cannot tell a lie.

Do you like to plan themed meals that revolve around holidays, observances or ethnic celebrations?

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

(adapted from Local Kitchen)

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken meat, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 lb Andouille sausage

2 Tbsp canola oil

For the roux

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 cups chicken stock

1 large onion, diced

3 ribs celery, with leaves if possible, sliced

2 bell peppers, any color, diced

1-bunch scallions, white & light green parts sliced

6 – 8 cloves, peeled & minced

1 red jalapeno, with seeds & ribs, minced

½ lb okra, sliced

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

2 tsp Cajun seasoning (a mix of paprika, salt, celery, sugar, garlic, black pepper, onion, oregano, red pepper, caraway, dill, turmeric, cumin, bay, mace, cardamom, basil, marjoram, rosemary, and thyme)

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp celery salt

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp dried thyme

1 dried bay leaf

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Brown meat. In a large skillet, brown the sausages over medium-high heat in canola oil. Remove sausage to a clean plate. Liberally sprinkle chicken pieces with salt, pepper and Cajun spice. Brown lightly in the sausage grease (add oil if needed), without crowding the pan; cook in batches if necessary. Do not cook all the way through; remove to the sausage plate when lightly browned on the outside. Strain sausage grease into a clean bowl.

Make roux. In a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, cook the flour and canola oil (using any leftover sausage grease as part of the oil) over medium to medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until roux becomes smooth, silky and a deep chocolate brown, about 30 minutes (or longer at lower heat). Monitor the roux carefully as you stir: if you smell the flour burning, lower the heat; if you see black flecks in the roux, it is burnt, throw it out and start over. When the roux reaches the right color, add the onion, bell pepper and celery to the roux, turn off the heat, and keep stirring until the roux cools down.

Assemble and cook the gumbo. Add stock, meat (with any juices accumulated on the plate), white & pale green scallions, garlic, jalapeno and spices to the roux and vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for about 45 minutes. Add the okra and cook for another 30 minutes, partially covered. Add fresh parsley (add any seafood now if using). Taste and adjust seasonings. Remove cover and simmer an additional 15 minutes or longer to thicken the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings one more time.

Serve hot over rice. Garnish with parsley and sliced scallions.

Serves 12.

*Also shared at*

Inaugural Rock ‘N Roll St Pete Half Marathon Recap

The temperature for the start of the Inaugural Rock ‘n Roll St Pete Half Marathon had been predicted to hit 42 degrees. Therefore, I had to rethink my whole outfit which is a big deal to a stunner runner like me, especially since my friends, Chrissy, Faith and I had planned our race outfit months ago.

Layers would be essential. So, the night before the race I tried on all my old winter gear to make sure everything still fit and wouldn’t rub my unmentionables. I also had to find a fleece pullover, some gloves and other warm articles of clothing, which would be waiting in baggage check at the end of the race.

After studying the course map for water stations and food stations, I decided against wearing my fuel belt and opted to wear my SPI belt instead to carry my phone and camera, the most important gear next to my shoes.

Chrissy, Faith, Heather, Jillian and I arrived at Tropicana Field a good hour and half before the start and even in all our layers, we were freezing our Rock ‘n Rolls off. Before the start of the race, the overnight low had dipped to as low as 35 degrees.

Crowds of people huddled around the propane powered halogen lights for warmth. What’s a few brain cells? Oxygen is so overrated. It’s a small price to pay for warmth and my friends and I gladly paid it once I stripped off my fleece pullover before the start.

Our bib numbers corresponded to our corrals, which placed me in corral 6. After a few potty breaks and baggage check, the line into corral 6 spilled past corral 8. The start time would be delayed approximately two minutes for each corral and I became a bit obsessive with trying to get into corral 6, like a scene from European Vacation, “Look kids! Corral 6! If I could just get over, I could get into corral 6.”

Finally with a little fancy footwork, I managed to find my way into corral 6 and joined the masses to start on time or as close to “on time” for those of us in the back (about 7 minutes after the offical start).

The first mile looped around and led us back to Tropicana Field. During the first mile, my socks felt a bit strange, like they had slipped down and bunched up in my shoes. Then, I felt a sensation like pins and needles in my toes and realized my socks were fine. My feet were defrosting.

I ran that first mile pretty hard, harder than I had intended (~8:30), but I was so bloody cold. The warmth and pace felt good.

Local bands and DJs entertained us about every mile along the course, which broke up the distance and kept things moving along.

I hit the 5K split at around 30 minutes. At mile 5, I tossed my gloves because my hands were starting to sweat. At the 10K split, I appeared to be meeting my 2:15 goal.

And then, we turned the corner and headed towards the bay. The wind off the bay nearly froze me all over again. When that first arctic gust hit me, I wished I still had my gloves. Why didn’t I stuff them in my SPI belt?!

With the wind, blew my chances of finishing around 2:15. I just couldn’t fight it. Every time it hit me, I would clench my fists, cringe and shake. I am such a Florida girl.

But I kept pounding the pavement. Although technically for this little stretch, it was cobblestone and I began running through neighborhood yards to avoid the cobblestone. Like I said, it was only for a little stretch, so no yards were harmed in the making of this half marathon post.

For the most part, the course was flat. There was the occasional bridge and incline, like around mile 7, but I found the wind more of a challenge than the inclines.

Along the Pier around mile 9, I caught up with the 2:15 pace group. After my sad experience with the Space Coast pace group, I vowed to avoid them because they make me feel all insecure and unworthy if I can’t keep up, which wreaks havoc on my self-esteem and breaks my stride. So I did my best to not focus on the pace group, especially when they seem to be slipping away. No matter. I was still having fun with or without a super hero pace group.

However, the real super heroes are the entertainment and spectators who fought the frigid temps to cheer us on.

* Stilt men photo captured by Tracey of Suncoast Running*

King Tut danced for us, but the girls holding these signs stole my heart, because they spoke honey badger.

Just after mile 10, a food station offered Gu, but the cold air made it as hard as a rock. Once I managed to squeeze out the contents, I was disappointed with the flavor. I should have packed a Cliff Shot.

Once we reached the Vinoy Hotel, my panic over another path of cobblestone took my mind off the after taste of the vanilla Gu. I opted to run through the grass of Vinoy park to avoid the cobblestone.

As we approached mile 11, we faced another bridge and I began to struggle a bit more. At this point, my heels started bothering me due to a previous plantar fasciitis injury and I had to walk a little.

We circled around the Vinoy Country Club and mile 12 led us back over the bridge. This was the homestretch now.

Oh how the term “homestretch” never felt truer as this short distance of the race seemed to go on forever!

I could see the finish line, but it felt as though it kept slipping away from me. A few Suncoast Striders cheered for me as I ran towards the finish line which helped me pick up the pace. I knew I was almost there.

Yep, I rocked 13.1 miles in the cold.

And I would totally do it again, even if it was cold and windy. It was that much fun.

Bib# 6465

Overall 4227 out of 7006

Division 455 out of 822

Gender 2349 out of 4562

5 Km 31:00

6 Mi 1:01:04

10 Mi 1:43:08

Pace 10:43

Chip Time 02:20:28

Clock Time 02:27:32

Garmin Time 2:20:34

Garmin Ave Pace 10:32

As for Chrissy and Faith’s first half marathon, they finished at 2:45:26 and 2:45:28 respectively. They wanted to finish under 3 hours, so they were very happy with their times. We were all proud of them!

Jillian finished a few minutes behind me. I didn’t even know she was behind me!

Due to a bad T-band situation, Heather finished around 2:35.

After the race, Jillian and I heard Flo Rida bellow, “Where them girls at?” So, these Flo Rida girls found their way over to the stage and the post-race party reunion area. Flo Rida was the a perfect headliner to keep spirits high.

The weather was cold, but Flo Rida was HOT! He created a fun party atmosphere.

*Photo of Flo Rida in the crowd by Jillian*

Although we just ran 13.1 miles, we found the energy to bounce with Flo and got low, low, low. Between a great race and hanging at a jumping post-race party with friends, we really did get a good feeling…yeah.

Spinach Empanadas

Photobucket Three weeks after my wisdom teeth extraction and I’m still on a forced soft foods diet and probably will be for another three weeks since my steenky holes are slow to heal and still pretty sensitive. *sigh*

Besides losing weight, another upside to my soft diet is that it’s forcing Iron Chef Allan and me to think beyond our family favorite menu staples. During the process, we’ve dusted off some long forgotten cookbooks to find new dishes to try. This Williams-Sonoma Spinach Empanada recipe was found in one of those dusty old cookbooks, The Best of Taste. While rediscovering this cookbook, I found a few more recipes I’d like to sink my ~~teeth~~ gums into and if they’re tasty, you’ll find them here on Fridays for my weekly Friday Food Fight.

Although the recipe calls for pastry dough, I opted to use the empanada dough found in the freezer section of my supermarket.

Oh and see those yummy crispy edges? Um yeah, about that…I couldn’t eat that part but the dough and filling was yummy for my gummy!

Spinach Empanadas

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

½ lb spinach, chopped

¼ cup pine nuts

1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped

½ tsp ground nutmeg

Salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 package of frozen empanada dough (10 count)

Directions

In skillet, heat olive oil over a medium heat. Cook onion until soft, stirring often. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and cook until softened, about five minutes.

Add pine nuts and spinach.

Cook until spinach wilts, about five minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped egg and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray baking sheet lightly with cooking spray. Using a slotted spoon, add 1 Tbsp of filling to each round.

Lay on flat surface and fold dough in half. Pinch edges with fork prongs to seal.

Carefully move filled empanada to baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Then, repeat steps with remaining empanada rounds.

Bake for 25 minutes or until slightly golden brown on edges.

Serve plain, with side of aioli or a dash of Tabasco hot sauce. (I served mine with a cup of homemade tomato soup, but I’ll tell you all about that next week.)
‘
Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!

*Also shared at*

Chicken Pot Stickers for Chinese New Year

Photobucket Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Did you know that Chinese New Year is a 15-day long celebration?

That’s 15 more reasons to eat Chinese food!

Of course, I didn’t cook 15 Chinese dishes, but I did serve my family Chinese Chicken Pot Stickers this week, which are always a huge hit with my family.

The preparation is a bit time consuming (about an hour), but if my whole family eats without complaint, then it’s totally worth it.

I’ve modified the Steamy Kitchen recipe to include ground chicken, because we prefer chicken and we typically don’t eat pork. Also, my local supermarket doesn’t carry dumpling skins, so I use wonton wraps, which seem to work fine. The pleating part gets a bit tricky, though.

Of course using the wonton wrappers, I make way more dumplings than my family could ever eat in one sitting, but they are great leftovers.

One of these days I’ll visit an Asian market to buy dumpling skins to make real Chinese Pot Stickers. But for now, this will have to do. Like I said already, it works and it’s just as tasty too.

(By the way, that’s Hot and Sour Soup in the background from our local Chinese take-out restaurant. I have yet to learn how to make that.)

Chinese Chicken Pot Stickers

Ingredients
1 package of frozen dumpling skins, defrosted overnight in refrigerator or 40 minutes room temp (Do not microwave or set in water.)
1 pound ground chicken
3 stalks green onions, cut into 2 inch sections
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 Tbsp canola oil
¼ cup water

For the slurry
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water in a small bowl water

Dipping Sauce
1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions
In a food processor, add the chicken, green onions, garlic, ginger and bamboo shoots and pulse several times. Then, in a large bowl, combine soy sauce, salt, cornstarch, ginger, rice wine. Add chicken mixture and combine well.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of the filling onto dumpling skin. With your finger, dab a bit of the cornstarch slurry around the edges of the dumpling skin. Fold over and press to secure edges. Make sure edges are sealed tightly. Shape the dumpling so that it has a flat bottom. Cover loosely with plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry out.

When ready to cook, heat a large nonstick pan with canola oil over medium-high heat. (I use an electric griddle.) When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the dumplings, flat side down to the pan. Let fry for 1 minute until the bottoms are light golden brown.

Pour 1/4 cup of water into the pan and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid. Turn heat to medium and let the dumplings steam for 3 minutes. Open lid and let the remaining liquid cook off about 1 minute. Cut into a dumpling to make sure that the filling is cooked through.

Remove to plate covered with paper towel to drain excess oil and water.

Wipe the pan clean with paper towels (or wash) and repeat with remaining dumplings.

Serve with dipping sauce. (Serves 6-8)

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight. Link up and see what everyone else is flinging this week.

*Also shared at*

Five Pins from Pinterest

“Are you on Pinterest? Share the last five items you pinned, choose one and let it inspire a blog post.” – Mama Kat’s Losing It

Just five?

Yesterday, I pinned my Love My Abs button to encourage others on Pinterest to join me in the February challenge. I’m so proud of my little bloggy button. Isn’t it cute?

To help with the challenge and mix it up a bit, I pinned this.

Then, there are all the yummy recipes I’ve pinned this week, like the Honey Lime Tilapia. I can’t to sink my teeth into that one!

Forget Valentine’s Day! I’m already thinking about St. Patrick’s Day and baking these Guinness Butterscotch Brownies.

But the item I am most proud of this week are the magazine files in my pantry, which was inspired by this pin.

I found a pair of magazine files at Ikea for $6.99. Target has similar ones, but they are sold separately for a tad bit more money.

The magazine files look so great in my pantry, but I especially love that I’ve stopped an avalanche of food storage items from happening on my head. Boxes of cling film and sandwich bags are no longer rolling all over my shelves or falling and hitting my in the face when I open the pantry door. And like Martha Stewart always says, “It’s a good thing.”

Now, I just need some help with the rest of pantry, but it needs to be cheap affordable and practical. Got any more bright ideas Pinterest?

Gasparilla and The Great Bead Booty

Argggh!
There be a pirate invasion once again in Tampa.

Aye, wearing snarls and yielding swords, me krewe set sail upon the Black Pearl in search of treasure known as The Great Bead Booty.

The Great Bead Booty be the gem of all the scurvy pirates at the Gasparilla Children’s Parade. The secret, me hearties, is to keep ye good eye on all that is casted from the krewes that sail along Bayshore as ye never know what treasures lie in front of ye.

Be it beads or candy, scurvy pirates need to be ready. Aye, that be the story of how ~~Captain Madre got hit in the head with a Tootsie Roll~~ some pirates lose an eye and are forever cursed to wear a patch.

Even me youngest scallywag found treasure…

…and tried to steal some more.

Legend tells, some pirates hunt for treasures of giant burritos.

But one scallywag set her sights on cotton candy only to have her plan foiled when Mean Captain Madre grunted, “No” and threatened a long walk off a short plank if she didn’t become a jolly pirate.

Then, a loud thunderous boom shook the land as Jose Gaspar’s ship invaded and began firing cannons. But we did not withdraw, me hearties! Aye, the Great Bead Booty was still ours for the taking!

After hours upon the bay, our voyage had ended and the time had come to find a new destination to feed me hungry krewe. Aye and motley krewe we be.

Until next year, Gaspar! ARRRRRRGGH!

Chicken Salsa Soup

Photobucket A few weeks ago, as part of our New Year’s resolution, Iron Chef Allan and I thought it would be fun to have soup for dinner on Sundays, which we would appropriately call “Soup Sundays”. Original and clever, I know.

Our Soup Sundays would help us spice our usual menus by trying some recipe as well as returning some forgotten favorites into the mix. Upon our first installment of Soup Sunday, we decided to try a new recipe and Rachel Ray’s Chicken Salsa Soup.

Does anyone tear recipes out of magazines and store them into a notebook? Well, this particular recipe had been tucked away in my notebook for a couple years. Such a sin, because this soup is too delicious not to try! And it was a perfectly delicious pick to start our Soup Sundays!

We modified the soup recipe by adding chicken breast instead of thighs, because we don’t like dark meat.

Also, before you start the soup, you have to make the Rachel Ray’s Salsa Fresca. It’s the base for the soup, but it is also delicious with tortilla chips or as topping to any Tex-Mex dish. There’s a ton of cilantro in it, which I love, because you can never have too much cilantro in salsa!

Rachel Ray’s Salsa Fresca (Borrowed from Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine.)

Ingredients

1 cup packed coarsely chopped cilantro

2 cloves garlic

½ onion, coarsely chopped

1 jalapeño chile, halved lengthwise

2 ½ pounds ripe tomatoes (7 or 8), cored and quartered

Juice of 1 lime

Salt

Directions

Using a food processor, pulse the cilantro and garlic together for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides, add the onion and jalapeño and pulse until finely chopped; transfer to a medium bowl.

Working in batches, add the tomatoes to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add to the cilantro mixture. Stir in the lime juice; season with salt.

Rachel Ray’s Chicken Salsa Soup (Borrowed from Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine.)

Ingredients

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 head garlic, cloves finely chopped

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts

One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken broth

1 ½ cups Salsa Fresca

Salt

1 avocado, thinly sliced lengthwise (optional)

1 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

¼ cup sour cream (optional)

Directions

In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken breast and broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup salsa, cover and remove from the heat. Let stand until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred.

Return the broth to a simmer; season with salt. Add shredded chicken to pot.

When ready to serve soup, top each bowl with avocado, cilantro, sour cream and remaining salsa.

Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are flinging for this week’s Friday Food Fight.

*Also shared at*

Run DMT

I'm a mom on the run!

Category Archives: Finer Things Friday

Blackened Baja-Style Tilapia

Grape Soda Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Delight Pupcakes

Chicken Sausage Gumbo

Inaugural Rock ‘N Roll St Pete Half Marathon Recap

Spinach Empanadas

Chicken Pot Stickers for Chinese New Year

Five Pins from Pinterest

Gasparilla and The Great Bead Booty

Chicken Salsa Soup

Follow Run DMT