Pan-Seared Chicken Breast with Basil & Lemon Pesto Sauce

This dish gives me a warm cozy feeling that you would also get with chicken marsala. Just minus the mushrooms, loads of butter, and flour. This dish is lemony and creamy because I make a thick pesto sauce to coat the chicken in. I also thinly cut the chicken breast so the chicken cooks fast in the sauce and stays juicy all around. This can be enjoyed alone with an italian side salad or over even over pasta. Even throwing a few sliced cherry tomatoes in can jazz it up even more. I also recommend trying in in a sandwhich with fresh tomatoes and your favorite cheese or have it hot, and made into a pannini. Which ever way, I garentee you will enjoy this dish!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup of Lemon Infused Oil (If you do not have, Extra Virgin Olive Oil will work)
1 cup of Basil Leaves
1/2 of a Lemon juice
1 teaspoon of fresh Lemon zest
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
5 chicken breast thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of water

Directions:
In a blender, mix all ingredients together well. Pour over chicken in a bowl and let it marinate for 20 minutes. Place into a medium heat non-stick pan with all the sauce and let it cook for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Then Enjoy!

Dont forget to serve the chicken with the remainders of the sauce from the pan!

Cheddar & Scallion Biscuits with Garlic Butter

Here's a quick biscuit that can be enjoyed early in the morning ..as snack for lunch.. or for dinner. Its easy to make and it is sure to satisfy. So you should give it a try..

Ingredients:
1 cup of chopped scallions
3/4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cups of milk
2 1/4 cups of Bisquick
1/4 stick of butter melted
1/3 of a tablespoon of salt
1/3 of a tablespoon of garlic powder

Directions:
Heat oven to 350. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine Bisquick, Scallions, Cheddar cheese. Then add milk and mix with a spoon. Next, with your hands knead the dough making one large ball. On a large surface lay out more parchment or use a wooden cutting board dusted with a little bit of Bisquick to prevent sticking, and flatten out dough with hands or a rolling pin until its 1 inch thick. Using a cup or a cookie cutter, cut out biscuits and lay on the baking pan lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and cook until golden brown on top. I don't give a specific time because the width of your biscuit can only determine how long it will need to cook. So keep an eye on them. Once the tops are golden brown remove it from the oven. In a cup melt butter then add salt and garlic powder. Mix well. With a brush or a spoon, top the hot biscuits with the garlic butter mixture. Let the biscuits cool for 5 minutes, then enjoy!!!

My Favorite Egg

I can literally eat this every morning next to some hash browns. This IS my favorite way to eat an egg.

Ingredients:
Pinch of chopped fresh or dried chives
1 strip of bacon
2 tablespoons of chopped onion
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil on medium heat. Cook bacon until half way done. Add onions and cook until it starts to become transparent. Crack one or two eggs ontop. Add chives and a pinch of salt & pepper. Let the egg cook the way you like it!

Enjoy with wheat toast, tortilla, or any kind of breakfast potato.

Joe's Stone Crab, Miami (Review)

I don't really have the time to do restaurant reviews and I often times forget to take pictures. However, I just came back from my Florida vacation and can NOT stop thinking about how friken DELICIOUS Joe's Stone Crab restaurant in Miami was. I just have to share that if you ever get the chance to go, GO. Me and my boyfriend enjoyed the following with not a single complaint.

-Bread Basket with assorted bread, crackers, and muffins. Honey biscuit was our favorite.
-Florida Little Neck Clams – steamed with lobster lemongrass broth, andouille sausage, leeks, garlic, tomatoes & slice of french bread (the broth was to die for..and the bread hit the spot with this dish..)
-Joe’s Stone Crab Bisque (best crab bisque you will ever have according to my boyfriend and trust me he knows his seafood soups!)
-8 Select Stone Crab Claws (Big juicy crab claws..and we went when they weren't in season..so that means if you go when there in season you can get them 2 sizes bigger!! Season ends in May)
-Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes – with green tomato caper remoulade (Now up there with my favorite's from Faidley's from Baltimore and Legal Seafood from Boston)
-Skinny Fried Sweets (Deliciously fried sweet potatoes seasoned with sugar and cinnamon..I swear once you smell and taste these you will never forget these from Joe's and you will be hooked. I took the left overs home..I just couldn't bear to see them get chucked in the trash..)
For Dessert (even though we were stuffed)
Pecan Pie – with a honey caramel sauce à la mode (YUM!)
AND THE WINNER DESSERT
Joe’s Famous Key Lime Pie – a.k.a. the official Florida State Pie (HOLY &%*!%. IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERY BITE WAS LIKE A PUNCH TO EVERY SINGLE TASTE BUD ON MY TONGUE! SUPER DELICIOUS..A MUST HAVE IF YOU EVER MAKE IT TO JOE'S)

I miss you already Joe's!

I just wanted to add..I'm super excited to announce that Joe's website offered a few recipes including the Key Lime pie.. which I am going to attempt to make before the summer is over. Hell WHO AM I KIDDING.. I'd even eat in the winter..

Here's the link..
http://www.joesstonecrab.com/recipes/intro.html

Have a WONDERFUL day everyone!

Horchata!

This is such an awesome drink. It's a type of a Mexican 'Aqua Fresca'. I recommend it to everyone! It is a must try for the summer. I was told it taste like rice pudding. I'm not a fan of milk so I never had rice pudding but I'm sure it taste similar because it's made from rice and has vanilla and cinnamon in the mix. So enjoy this drink while there is still hot weather. I promise you will be hooked like I am. This recipe calls for the rice to sit over night. So it is not something you can whip up right away. I tend to make it during get togethers. I actually look forward to get togethers for this reason! :) Stay Cool everyone!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of long grain white rice
1 1/4 cups of warm water
1 cup of blanched almonds
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cups of water
3/4 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla


Directions:
Place uncooked rice in a blender. Blend until powdery. In a bowl combine blended rice, 1 1/4 cups of warm water, almonds, and the 2 cinnamon sticks. Cover and let it sit at room temperature overnight. Transfer mix to a blender. Add two cups of the 4 cups of water and blend until smooth. Line a fine mesh strainer with some cheesecloth and pour the rice mixture through it. Squeeze the remaining liquid into the bowl and throw away the solids. Pour the liquid into a pitcher or large bowl and add the remaining 2 cups of water, sugar, and vanilla. Serve immediately over ice. Garnish with a bit of cinnamon powder! Enjoyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*FYI* You can store this in the fridge up to 3 days before serving!

Jalapeno Chedder Corn Muffins

Awesome Savory Muffins. It is NOT spicy. It may have a little kick. Make sure your Jalapenos doesn't have any lines on it because that mean it will be more spicy. Anyway.. you are going to love this. So give it a try. Eat some alone, with chili, or BBQ meats.

Ingredients:
2 Boxes of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
3 fresh Jalapenos chopped and seeded
2 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 eggs
2/3 cups of milk

Directions:
Line a cupcake tray or two with baking cups. Set oven to 400 degrees. Blend milk and eggs with corn bread mix. Add 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese and chopped Jalapenos into the mix and blend good. Place a tablespoon and a half into each baking cup. Once finished filling each cup, you then add a sprinkle of the left over Cheddar cheese on to each cup. Place the trays in the oven and let it cook until golden brown on top. Should be done anywhere between 15 to 20 minutes.

My 'Mexican' Stuffed Sicilian Arancini di Riso - Mexican Style Rice Balls

I did a twist on the Sicilian Arancini di Riso Recipe. I decided to stuff them with beef that was seasoned with your everyday mexican spices. Next time I try these I am going to add lime zest and some juice to the rice along with some chopped cilantro to the rice as well. I will not add that to this recipe because the picture I am showing is made without it. However, if you want to be a bit daring go ahead without me! Don't forget to let me know! :) Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family did. Its a bit a work but well worth it in the end.

Ingredients:
Vegetable Oil for frying.
2 large eggs beaten for blending
2 cups of cooked white jasmin rice, cooled.(lime zest, some lime juice and chopped cilantro is optional *FYI* you would add this after the rice is done cooking.)
1 1/2 cups of dried Plain Bread Crumbs or Panko breadcrumbs for an extra crunch.
2 ounces ground beef
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of chipotle powder for a kick (this is optional if your dont want your filling spicey.)
Salt and Pepper for taste

Directions:
Take a frying pan and spray with a thin coat of oil. Place the pan over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, cook the beef with the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and chipotle powder. Break the meat as best as possible. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Once the meat is completely done cooking. Let it cool. Pour 4 inches of oil in a deep pot and heat over medium. While the drying oil is heating up get a bowl and mix the beaten eggs into the rice along with 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. Place the remaining bread crumbs on a plate. Pick up 1 tablespoons of he rice mixture and a half ball in the palm of your hand. Create a small indent and pick of a small teaspoon of the meat mixture and fill the indent. Pick up another tablespoon of the rice and cover the meat to form a ball. Coat the ball in the breadcrumbs. After completing each ball, place on a chilled baking tray. Set the balls in the freezer for 10 minutes. Clean your area and prepare a baking tray or large plate with 3 layers of paper towels. Remove the balls from the freezer and in batches of 3 or 4(depending on the size of your pot- DO NOT PLACE TOO MANY AT ONCE)drop them in the hot oil cooking until brown, turning them frequently. This should take no longer than 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cooked balls onto your tray or plate layered with papertowels. Sprinkle a little bit of salt onto the balls once they are taken out of the oil so the salt sticks.

Enjoy!!!

Stuffed Italian Green Pepper's

My mother has a garden blooming with a million Italian green peppers. I decided to stuff them with what was on hand. Here is was I came up with....

Ingredients:
6 Italian green peppers sliced in half (giving you 12 pepper shells)
2 cups of rice
4 sweet Italian sausage links
1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
4 cups of water
1 1/2 cup of mozzarella
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of chopped onion
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
2 chicken bouillon cubes
salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoon of olive oil
1 handful of parsley finely chopped for garnish

Directions:
Over the stove pour two cups of rice in a pot with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Heat the rice over medium heat for 1 minute stirring the rice constantly coating every grain of rice with oil. Then add the 4 cups of water to the mixture. Lower the heat to low. Place the 2 chicken bouillons into the water. Cover the pot and let the rice simmer until it's done cooking. Be sure to stir the rice a couple times so the bouillons dissolve evenly into the rice. Once rice is finished cooking, sit the rice to the side. Next get a bowl and remove casings from the 4 sausage links. You will not need it. Break the meat in little pieces with your hand. Over medium heat, place a nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the stove. Once the olive oil is heated place chopped onions and finely chopped garlic into the pan. Once you begin to see the onion and garlic begin to turn brown, add all the sausage. Break the sausage up some more with a spatula or wooden spoon as much as possible. Once the meat is halfway cooked, add in the cherry tomatoes. Stir the mixture constantly. Once you begin to see the cherry tomato's begin to wilt add the cooked rice to the pan. Let the rice fry for 5 minutes with the sausage mixture in the pan then turn off the heat. Line trays with aluminum foil and turn oven on to 350. Let the rice cool enough so when you stuff you do not burn yourself. I found a wooden spoon to be an easy stuffing tool for this recipe. Scoop the rice and sausage mixture and stuff into each pepper. Load them as high as you like. Once all the peppers are stuffed you may enjoy any left over rice and sausage stuffing :). Sprinkle each pepper with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. You may then add some salt and pepper on top. Cover with some aluminum foil being careful not to let it touch the top of the peppers because the cheese will stick to it. You may even grease the aluminium foil to help prevent that from happening. Place the trays in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour depending on how hot your oven gets or how big or small your peppers are. Just keep an eye on them and check up on them every ten minutes or so. After a half hour or so remove the aluminum foil from the top and let the cheese on top brown. Once the cheese has browned remove the peppers from the oven. Garnish with fresh chopped Parsley. Serve 2 warm with some Italian salad for a yummy dinner!

Lemon Parsley & Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:
2 Handfuls of Parsley Finely Chopped
1 Lemon
1/2 of EVOO
2 pinches of salt
1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic

Directions: Add the chopped parsley, EVOO, salt, pepper, and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Chop garlic clove very finely and add. Mix well. You can add more or less of any ingredient.

This is not a pesto and should be tart. You can enjoy this over any grilled red meat, chicken, sausage, and/or shrimp.



I enjoyed it over some grilled beef kabobs that were seasoned only with salt and pepper.

Lemon Parsley & Toasted Garlic Orzo

Ingredients:
Half a Box of Orzo pasta
1 Handful of fresh Parsley finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of EVOO
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon zest
Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Directions: Cook Orzo as directed on box. Drain Orzo well and place into a bowl. Add EVOO and mix to evenly coat the Orzo. Let the pasta cool down. In the meantime heat a small frying pan on Low with an thin even coat of EVOO. Place garlic cloves into the pan once peeled and let it toast for 5 minutes or until soft and slightly brown. Once the garlic is done.. place on a cutting board and finely chop the cooked garlic cloves. Add the garlic to the Orzo along with the fresh chopped parsley, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Finally add a pinch of two of salt and some fresh ground black pepper. Adding more or less salt is optional. Mix well and Enjoy!

Basil Pesto

So its a beautiful hot summer day. I am sitting outside bathing in the sun relaxing in my mother's backyard. I decided I want pasta today. My mom has a garden with an abundance of herbs, tomatoes, eggplant, strawberries, and pretty much every veggie you can think of. I decided to pick some basil leaves and make a pesto sauce. Here's what I had for lunch today over some whole wheat spaghetti topped with Parmesan cheese.

Basil Pesto Ingredients:
2 cups of fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup of pine nuts
2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
2/3 cups of EVOO
1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese
salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:
Toast the pine nuts and garlic in pan with a teaspoon of olive oil on low heat. Mix ingredients in the pan until you begin to see them brown. Remove the garlic and pine nuts from the pan and place it in a food processor or the magic bullet (which i love) along with the basil, EVOO, Parmesan cheese, and a bit of black pepper. Blend ingredients until smooth.

Boil your favorite pasta and mix in the pesto. I used whole wheat spaghetti. Serve your dish either warm or chilled for a light refreshing summer meal. You may add grilled chicken to your pasta for some protein or you can serve it along with any grilled meats.

Strawberry Mint Salad

Strawberry Mint Salad

This delicious italian dessert is great alone or on top of vanilla icecream. It's a quick, fresh, healthy dessert that I promise you, & everyone else you share it with, will love! This dessert is made with an italian sweet anise liqueur called Sambuca. This strawberry salad only calls for a shot and a half of the Sambuca to help carmelize the strawberries. It gives the strawberries a sweet anise flavor along with the sugar.Do not be afraid to serve a little to the children!


Ingredients:
2 cups of strawberries thinly sliced
1 handful of mint leaves chopped..(chop leaves in thin slices for a nice presentation)
1/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 shots of Romana Sambuca (I prefer this brand!)

Directions:
Mix all these ingredients in a bowl. Let it chill and marinate in the fridge for a half an hour. Then serve cold.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Its very easy to make. Quick & Healthy. Its a great meal to have with some toasted pita bread for lunch. Chickpeas are also known at garbanzo beans. They are used in hummus. They are very high in protein and fiber and when added with vegetables it makes a great light & healthy Mediterranean salad. You can use different vegetables such as red peppers, cucumbers, celery, olives and so on. There are a million recipes for this but this is the one I made because of what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

1 can of Goya chickpeas, washed & rinsed

1 handful of plain parsley, chopped finely

1 clove of garlic, chopped finely

1 quarter of a small red onion, diced finely

1 large tomato diced finely

1/2 of a yellow bell pepper diced finely

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1/8 of a cup of red wine vinegar

Salt & Pepper for taste

Directions: Add all ingredients together. Add more red wine vinegar to suit your taste. Cool for an hour or two in the fridge then enjoy!

Roasted Corn & Black Bean Salsa

This is a light healthy treat I enjoy having for lunch alone or for dinner as a side dish for a Mexican inspired meal. It goes great with fresh corn chips which are simple to make or a bag of your favorite brand of tortilla chips. Its very easy to make because it pretty much only requires dicing the vegetables. In this dish I use a bag of steam corned however if you own a BBQ or have a grill for your stove top, I would recommend grilled 2 corn cobs and then slice the grilled kernels off for this dish.

Ingredients:

1 can of Goya black beans, drained; washed
1/2 of red onion diced finely
1 bag of steamed corn
1 large lemon
1 large tomato diced
1 handful of cilantro finely chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
a dusting Salt & Pepper
a dusting of onion powder, garlic powder, and chili powder (be careful not to over do it!)
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Steam the corn as directed. Heat a large nonstick pan to medium/high with a few sprays of olive oil. Place the steamed corn into the hot oiled pan and let it sit there for 2 minutes. To not stir in the meantime because we want the kernels to brown a little. Stir after you notice the kernels are browning (check a certain area with a spoon first). Place the cooked brown kernels in a bowl to cool off while you chop up the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to rinse the can of black beans in a strainer under cold water. Mix all the ingredients up. Squeeze one whole lemon (make sure you don't add the seeds!!). Add a little salt & pepper and then add a dusting of onion, garlic, and chili powder making sure you don't over do it. Give it a taste. You may add more salt if you like.