Lime Chicken Tacos (And Back to Blogging)

I'm back!  To blogging that is.  It's been a year.  I stopped out of laziness and then found a new passion.  Knitting has become my new love!  So much so that my mom and I collaborate on Heartfelt Creations.  We've been selling our accessories and even opened an Etsy shop.  It's awesome to be able to work with my mom and we're definitely blessed.  Anyway, that's a blog post for another day.  On to the food.

Before Pinterest existed Food.com was my favorite place for recipes.  I still use it regularly.  Lime Chicken Soft Tacos is a recipe I found ages ago and it's stood the test of time in my ever rotating list of recipes.  It's a great Spring/Summer dish.  We eat a lot of Mexican inspired dishes and this one is a nice change.

First saute chicken in a saucepan over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.  The last 5 minutes I turn the heat to medium/high to brown it.  We like the flavor it adds.

Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic, and oregano.  When I took my green onions out of the fridge they had started to brown.  That ALWAYS happens to my precious green onions!  Next time I buy some I'm going to freeze them.  I found the idea on Pinterest.  You'll soon find I find lots of wonderful things on Pinterest.

Simmer 5 to 10 minutes then serve in warm tortillas with toppings of your choice.  Tonight we did cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa.  I used the delicious salsa we got at WeOlive.  Check out the cool shot of my Roasted Jalapeno & Garlic Salsa.  It looks like it's floating.

We also like them with rice and beans.

And speaking of tortillas, check out my new favorite things!  Tortillaland tortillas.  They come uncooked, ready to be heated up and munched down.

They only have 5 ingredients and are super tasty.  I bought 2 huge bags at Costco for a ridiculously low price and I'm so happy I did.  They are cooked in your skillet, 30 seconds on each side, no oil or butter required.  They're pretty fun to cook up too. They get all bubbly and poofy.  Then they look like tortillas.

Now enjoy your tacos!  I roll mine into mini burritos so nothing falls out.

Ingredients

1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 in pieces

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

juice of 1/2 a lime

1 tsp white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

2 green onions chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

tortillas

tomatoes

lettuce

cheese

salsa

sour cream

any other toppings you want

They're Sprouting!

A couple weeks ago I planted my first ever herbs.  I actually started with seeds which is ambitious for me since I am notorious for killing every plant I've ever had.  BUT Mom and I were out shopping at Do-It Center and I saw the little packets and decided this was going to be the year for me to grow something.  I have grand ambitions to grow a vegetable garden next year but I should start little so I know I can do it.  Well guess what folks?  My seeds have sprouted!  Yes...I am actually growing something.  I am quite proud of my tiny little parsley, oregano, and basil sprouts.

Luke's 8th Birthday!

I can hardly believe my baby boy is 8!  Time just seems to fly by.  I swear when he woke up on Sunday he even looked older. 

We are taking Luke and Ivy for a surprise trip to Magic Mountain this Saturday to celebrate so we just had a quiet family day on Sunday.  We went to lunch then it was off to Skatelab for a new deck.  Luke had been saving for 3 months to be able to contribute to it and I was proud of his patience.  He was so excited that the board he had picked out last month was still there.  The guy behind the counter was super nice and even gave Luke some free stickers since it was his birthday.  We are seriously lucky to live in the same city as Skatelab. 

Then it was off to meet up with Tiff and the girls to get Slurpees and play a little at the park.  It was a little chilly but what kid would turn down friends and a sugar rush. 

Ok so we broke the rules and let Luke skate without his helmet BUT how could I deny him on his birthday?

About this time Ben stole the camera to get some awesome shots of the park and of course cute kid pics.

Strike a pose!

After the park we went home so I could make Luke's Birthday Dinner.  He chose Creamy Chicken which is an easy recipe that I promise to post someday.  Then to end the day we had birthday cream puffs! 

Make a wish!

It was such a nice, quiet day.  We were so happy that Ben just happened to have the day off so we could all be together.  We are really looking forward to Saturday at Magic Mountain though.  The kids have been trying to guess where we're going for months now and they still haven't gotten it right.  Hopefully we'll be able to take a few pics with Ben's old camera...I'm definitely NOT taking mine.

30 Minute Teriyaki Chicken Bowls

30 minutes from start to finish.  My favorite recipes are fast recipes.  I am a notorious procrastinator and dinner is no exception.  I will wait until the last minute to start cooking and I often get my timing wrong.  I'm still learning how to multitask different dishes and I often end up with one thing done way before or way after everything else.  This one I have down though.  I found the sauce recipe on Food.com and tweaked it to fit our preferences.  I love it because I always have the ingredients in the house so I never realy have to plan ahead.  Plus it saves money.  Tastes like take-out but a quarter of the cost.

Ingredients

1 cup rice

broccoli

carrots

1 tbls vegetable oil

1 lb chicken cut in strips

1 cup teriyaki sauce

4 tbls light soy sauce

2 tsp rice vinegar

2 tbls cornstarch

 

Step 1:  Start the rice.  I use a rice cooker.  It's super easy and seeing as how I can't seem to ever get it right on the stove I stick with the rice cooker.  I think I paid about $15 for it 5 years ago and it's still going strong.  I use 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water and it comes out great.

Step 2:  Steam carrots and broccoli.  I use a vegetable steamer.  Like I mentioned in my last recipe post, my kitchen gets really hot when I cook so this is another lifesaver.  The veggies take 20 min in my steamer.  I've actually had this one for over 10 years!

Step 3:  Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  While it's heating cut your chicken in strips.  Add to skillet and cook about 8 minutes until no longer pink.

 

Step 4:  While chicken is cooking mix together teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar an large measuring cup.  I use regular soy sauce, not light, but it is definitely saltier than the light or reduced sodium kind.  I have regular because Ben hates the light stuff.  Also my favorite teriyaki is the SoyYaki Very Very Teriyaki.  This stuff is fantastic and I but it in a huge bottle at Costco.  Saves me a ton.

Step 5:  Mix cornstarch with equal parts water in a seprate cup.  Add cornstarch mixture to teriyaki mixture and stir well.  If you didn't know, cornstarch should always be added to water and mixed before adding to another liquid or sauce to avoid clumping.

 Step 6:  When chicken is no longer pink, add the sauce mixture and cook, stirring, until heated through and sauce has thickened.

Step 7:  By now your rice and veggies should be done.  Serve all together and eat up!

My Quick, Easy Pasta Sauce

This is one of my favorite things to make and the one of the family's favorite things to eat. Simple, easy, and delicious. I threw this together last summer when it was hot and I was out of ideas and it was an instant hit. As I am rarely one to not use a set recipe, I was pleasantly surprised that I could actually make something on my own.

Ingredients
Italian Sausage (as much as you think you need to feed everyone)
1 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
spices (you'll probably already have them all)
baking soda

Step 1: Cut italian sausage into 1/2 inch-1 inch coin pieces. Brown in skillet over medium heat.

Step 2: Dice red bell pepper and onion.
I use my Vidalia Chop Wizard for this. I actually use it to dice almost everything, tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes, etc. I literally use this thing every day and cant imagine life without it.

Step 3: Add to sausage and saute 3-5 min until veggies start to get soft

Step 4: Add minced garlic and saute 1 min longer
I use the organic minced garlic that I buy in a huge jar at Costco. I use garlic in almost everything and not having to peel and mince my own saves me tons of time.

Step 5: Add both cans of tomato
I also buy these in bulk at Costco. Organic, cheap, and a great tomato sauce base.

Step 6: Add spices to taste. I add italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and sugar. I never measure any of these out, just use what looks good. Don't forget the sugar (about 1/2 tsp or so) as it cuts the bitterness of the tomatoes.

Step 7: Simmer for 10 min or longer, it's really up to you. I don't have a magic number...it really depends on what time it is.

Step 8: About 5 min before you want to serve sauce add about 1tsp baking soda and stir. You will see it start to bubble and turn an orange color.


The baking soda will cut down on the acidity of the sauce and help prevent heartburn. Simmer until all the bubbling stops.

You are now ready to serve over your pasta of choice. Our favorite is angel hair.

I use a microwave pasta cooker and I love it. Angel hair only takes 14 min. My kitchen has the tendency to get really, really hat when cooking, especially in the summer, and this little thing has saved me. It not only cooks pasta but lots of other things, including potatoes. Being able to get rid of the boiling pot of water on my stove has made all the difference.

Last night I served it with raw broccoli and ranch dressing to dip.


Yummy!

Well it has been a while again since I blogged but there hasn't been to many happy things to blog about lately. No one wants to read a blog about funerals and surgeries. But I did want to post some pics of the kids from our last trip to Disneyland. We got season passes for Christmas and it's awesome.

Christmas '08

After a few days rest it was time for Christmas. On Christmas Eve we spent the evening with Ben's extended family, most of whom we were meeting for the first time. We had such a good time and darn it if I didn't forget my camera. Ben's cousins, most in their 20s also, are absolutely hilarious and his aunts made comments about how nice it was to have little kids in the house as all the kids in Ben's family are at least teenagers. We played the present raffle game where you could pick a wrapped present or steal someone else's and it was so fun. The kids had never played it and I hadn't for years. They all made us feel so welcome and we are definitely looking forward to sharing Christmas Eve with them all again.

We woke up Christmas morning and Santa had come! The kids tore through their presents and loved everything. They are so funny. Just the way they interact with eachother even in the midst of the craziness of Christmas morning. They show each other what they got before they even show us and they get excited to play with each other's toys. They love between them is so special. After we got everything cleaned up and Grammy, Auntie Pooh, Uncle Curtis, and Grandpa Jeff came over (Nana was already here). And I started cooking. I was really excited to do this since I had never hosted a holiday dinner for my family before. I cooked a pot roast and a corned beef . Since my Grammy is famous for her corned beef I was a little scared but it turned out AMAZING! I made the most delicious corned beef ever (I think). We exchanged our gifts and YAY! we got season passes to Disneyland. I knew the kids were getting them but had no idea I would get one too. We have already been once since Christmas and we are going back in a few weeks. Well after we ate and visited for a little while it was time to say goodbye and rush to my brother Aaron's house to spend some time with them and Dad and Lisa. My nephew Troy has gotten so big and gorgeous. Plus we played trains and that made him like me. We hadn't seen them in so long and it was the perfect end to Christmas day.

After another days rest we headed to Vegas to spend some time with the rest of our family. Grandpa Larry had been battling cancer for the last year and the doctors had said he wasn't going to make it much longer. We wanted to make sure that while he and Grandma Debbie were visiting from Colorado we got to see them. On the way up our Explorer died and so we called mom to come pick us us, drove back home, put everything in the VW, and hit the road again. After a very long 12 hours in the car (for a trip that should have taken 5 hours) we made it to Henderson. We spent the next day with everyone and it was great. Christopher, my nephew, is just the cutest thing. Everything is "Auntie" and "Uncle Ben". He melted both our hearts every time he talked to us.

The next day was not so great though. I got a call from my mom on the morning of the 29th, while we were still in Vegas, that my Uncle Curtis had died. We knew he was sick but he hid so much of it from us all. I am so glad that we got to have one last Christmas with him. And on Christmas day him and I shared a special moment. I'm choosing to keep that moment private and in my heart always as my last memory of him. Never was there someone so full of love, acceptance, and a willingness to help someone in need. I will miss my "Uncle Cursis" dearly.

We decided to drive home that night instead of staying as originally planned but before we did Uncle Steve got off of work early and took us to the snow. Ivy had only been as a baby and Luke had never been in it. They both had been bugging Ben and me to take them since last year. When we got to where there was snow on the ground they could hardly contain themselves. They were practically screaming and couldn't wait to get out. Uncle Steve found the perfect spot and we pulled over. The kids were in awe. And while I hate the snow, it was so beautiful out, and seeing my kids could be so happy on such a sad day reminded me again that life goes on and it's alright. They all made snowballs and Chris kept throwing them at Uncle Ben. It was so great. Ivy even got me really good in the head. It was a good way to finish the day. Thank you Mindy and Steve for that memory. After that we made the drive home so I could be with my family but we will never forget our time there that weekend. I am so glad we went and got to love on our family a bit and see grandpa one last time. A few days after we got home I received a call from Mindy saying Grandpa wasn't going to make it much longer. And a few days after that, on the 4th, Grandma called to tell us he passed away. I will miss him too. He was such a strong man yet still tender. You felt his presence as soon as he walked in a room. He loved his family more than anything.

RIP Grandpa and Uncle Curtis. I know Chris greeted you both with open arms!