Monday's Meal - Mac-n-Cheese & Baked Beans

Today you get two-for one!! On July 4th, I made mac-n-cheese and baked beans. They were both pretty tasty, so I thought I'd share the recipes with you. The baked beans are probably the best I've ever eaten - of course, it's a Paula Deen recipe, so I'm not surprised. The mac-n-cheese recipe is courtesy of my sister, Rocky (not her real name, but a nickname our dad gave her).

I did modify Paula's recipe a little, so I'll post my version and also a link to her original recipe:

Southern Baked Beans
(click here for original recipe)

• 1/2 medium onion, diced into teeny, tiny pieces
• 1 (20-ounce) and 1 (10 oz.) can pork and beans
• 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 pound bacon strips, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Directions:

• Brown bacon in skillet, remove, drain excess grease, cool, then cut into 1/2 " strips.
• Dice onion (whatever size pieces you like - we like them tiny), then brown in bacon grease. Drain excess grease.
• Add beans, mustard, syrup, brown sugar, ketchup, lemon juice, bacon, and onions to crockpot.
• Cook on high for 3-4 hours, then reduce heat to low for an additional 3-4 hours.
• Remove from crockpot and place in baking dish (I used a disposable aluminum baking pan). 
• If making the same day, you can serve the beans directly from the crockpot.
• If making a day ahead of time, allow to cool a little, then cover with foil, and place in refrigerator. The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees, then reheat beans for 45-60 minutes.

Southern Baked Beans

Rocky's Mac-n-Cheese

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup flour

salt to taste (I used about 2 tsp.)

pepper to taste (I didn't use pepper)

5 cups milk (I used skim)

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, colby, & Monterey Jack)

1 (16 oz.) box elbow macaroni

• Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
• In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter/margarine, remove from heat. 
• Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. 
• Return to medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly.
• Add milk, one cup at a time.
• Stir frequently until sauce thickens and mixture begins to boil.
• Add cheese, one cup at a time; stir until cheese is melted.
• Add cheese sauce to macaroni, mix thoroughly.
• Place in baking dish & bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. 
• If you like your mac-n-cheese "sloppy", you don't have to bake it in the oven.

Rocky's Mac-n-Cheese

Yummy!!

Monday's Meal - Crockpot Chicken

This is an easy crockpot chicken recipe that is great for summer (Gus gets moody when I turn the oven on in 100 degree weather) - and it's really yummy!!

Crockpot Chicken

• 2-3 lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
• 4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 can golden mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• seasoned salt
• garlic powder
• rice or pasta (to serve with the chicken)

Directions:

• Combine both cans of soup, cream cheese, and cheese in crockpot. Stir until thoroughly combined. Remove about half of mixture, and reserve in a bowl.
• Sprinkle seasoned salt and garlic powder (to taste) on both sides of chicken breasts, then slice chicken lengthwise into 1" strips. You could also use chicken tenderloins instead, but my family thinks tenderloins aren't as good as breasts. *rolls eyes*
• Place chicken in crockpot over the soup mixture, then carefully spoon remaining soup mixture over the chicken.
• Cook on high for 4-6 hours.
• Serve over rice or pasta. Gus & I had ours over basmati & wild rice, but Lulu & her boyfriend had theirs over penne pasta.

soup, cream cheese, and cheese mixture

seasoned chicken

chicken added to crockpot mixture

crockpot chicken over basmati & wild rice

Enjoy!!

Monday's Meal - The Marlboro Man Sandwich

I was watching The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network a couple of weeks ago, and Gus happened to walk through the room as she was making her Marlboro Man Sandwich. Of course, he immediately started drooling & insisted that I make it for him. What is it with guys, butter, and a ton of meat sandwich?

I made it, he loved it. I tasted it - it was yummy - but because of all the butter, I didn't eat more than a bite. I took pictures, which I'll post, but they are nowhere near the quality of the pictures that Ree has posted on her website. So be sure to check out her pictures.

The Marlboro Man Sandwich

(see original recipe here)

• 1 whole large (or 2 Small) onions
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 pounds (to 3 pounds) cube steak
• Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 cup (approximately) Worcestershire sauce
• Tabasco sauce, to taste
• 4 whole French/deli rolls

Directions:

• Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.
• Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with Lawry’s.
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown. Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides.
• Add 1/2 cup (at least) Worcestershire sauce, 5 to 6 shakes Tabasco, and 2 tablespoons butter. Add cooked onions. Stir to combine.
• Butter halved French rolls and brown in skillet.
• To assemble, lay bottom half of French roll on plate. Place meat mixture, followed by a spoonful of juice from the pan. Top with other half of roll, cut in half, and devour!

 

 

 

 

 

Monday's Meal - Mississippi Mug Pie

Today I'm sharing another Hungry Girl recipe - and if you're a chocolate lover, this one's for you! It's full of ooey, gooey chocolatey goodness, and only 223 calories, 5g fat, 588mg sodium, 45.5g carbs, 2.75g fiber, 19g sugars, 6.5g protein (PointsPlus® value 7)!

Mississippi Mug Pie

(view original recipe here)

3 level tbsp. moist-style devil's food cake mix (not packed)

1 tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute

One 25-calorie packet hot cocoa mix

1 tsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

One 60-calorie sugar-free chocolate pudding snack, divided

Optional: Fat Free Reddi-wip 

Directions:

Spray a large microwave-safe mug with nonstick spray. Add cake mix, egg substitute, cocoa mix, and 2 tbsp. water. Mix well.

Add chocolate chips and about one-third of the pudding to the mug, and stir gently to combine. Microwave for 1 minute.

Fluff with a fork, and then gently mix in the remaining pudding.

Microwave for 1 more minute.

Let cool slightly. Top with Reddi-wip, if you like, and dig in!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Doesn't that look tasty?? I really liked it - and it's a HUGE serving. Next time I make it, I'll either share with someone or refrigerate half, because it was just too much (and too rich!) for me to eat the whole thing!

(Note: I used a very, very large mug and that's why it  looks like there's very little dessert! Next time, I'll use a smaller mug!)

Monday's Meal - Healthy Pasta Salad

Don't you love pasta salad in the summer? For some reason, I was never a fan of cold pasta - but the past couple of years, I've really grown to like it a lot. Problem is, most pasta salads don't really fit the dietary guidelines the dietitian & lipid specialist have set for me.

Fortunately, I found a recipe in the Women's Health Today publication that comes in the mail. I'm not sure where it comes from, but I think that either my gynecologist's office or the hospital where I have my mammograms done sends it to all of their patients. There is a website, too, if you're interested: www.womenshealthexperience.com.

Cold Fusilli Pasta w/ Summer Vegetables

8 oz. whole wheat fusilli

2 c. cherry tomatoes, rinsed & halved

1 lg. green bell pepper, sliced

1/2 c. red onion, thinly sliced

1 med. zucchini, shredded finely

1 15 oz. can low-sodium chickpeas, drained & rinsed

1 TBSP. fresh basil, cut into thin strips (or 1 tsp. dried)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1 TBSP. extra-virgin olive oil

2 TBSP. balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions, then rinse to cool. Place vegetables and beans in a large serving bowl. Season with basil, salt, and pepper. Add pasta. Combine oil & vinegar, then pour over contents of bowl. Mix until well coated. Divide into four equal portions. Top each with 2 TBSP. shredded Parmesan cheese. Serves 4.

Per serving: 418 calories, 11g fat, 3g saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 455mg sodium, 63g carbs, 13g fiber. 21g protein.

(Recipe courtesy of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.)

My notes: Of course, I made some changes. :-)

I thought I had whole grain fusilli, but apparently I used it - so I substituted whole grain penne. I don't care for onion or raw zucchini, so I left those out & added a red bell pepper instead. I also used grape tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes (not a huge difference, LOL).

I thought it was pretty good. Was it as good as the pasta salad my neighbor makes? Well, no. But this one isn't loaded with mayonnaise & cheese either, so it's a lot healthier. 

The serving size listed is HUGE. According to my dietitian, a serving of pasta (for me) is a half cup. The serving size according to this recipe is about 2 cups. So by just eating 1/2 cup, I cut the calories, etc. down to: 105 calories, 3g fat, 0.7g saturated fat, 2.5mg cholesterol, 114mg sodium, 16g carbs, 3g fiber, 5g protein.

Monday's Meal - Do-It-All Marinade

Gus & I really like a good marinade, so when i saw this recipe in one of the issues of "All You", I knew it would be one we would use a lot.

Do-It-All Marinade
Prep: 5 minutes
Yield: 2.5 cups
Cost per serving: $0.25

Ingredients:
3/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. Worchestershire sauce
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP. lemon juice
2 TBSP. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. pepper
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 TBSP. finely chopped fresh parsley

Directions: Whisk all ingredients together. Pour marinade over chicken, steak, or pork; cover and chill meat for at least 5 hours. remove meat from marinade, discarding marinade. Pat meat dry and cook as desired.

PER SERVING (2 TBSP): 82 cal, 8g fat (1g sat), 0mg cholesterol, 0g fiber, 0g protein, 2g carbs, 43.1mg sodium

My notes: I used this on salmon - yummy!! I put the salmon in a gallon-size ziploc bag & poured about 1/2 c. of the marinade over it. Then I just zipped it up & popped it in the fridge with the fleshy part of the fish face-down in the marinade. No mess - no fuss - no clean-up - and my hands never touched the salmon! I let it marinate for about 5 hours (I know you're only supposed to marinate salmon about a half hour, but that doesn't give it enough flavor for us), then Gus grilled it. Absolutely delicious!! Even Buddy loved it.

I stored the rest of the marinade in a bottle in the fridge. I figure it should be good for at least a week, maybe two. I have some pork & chicken, so I plan to try the marinade on that as well.

Monday's Meal - Boston Cream Cupcakes

I love sweets. They make me smile - and they taste oh-so-good. Boston Cream Pie has always been one of my favorite desserts, but I rarely indulge. And since the doctor has put the kibosh on my fat, sugar, & starch intake, I haven't had many sweets at all. Sigh.

I found this yummy-looking recipe for Boston Cream Cupcakes on the Hungry Girl website - and since they're fairly low in fat, sugars, & carbs, I thought I'd give them a try.

Hungry Girl's Boston Cream Cupcakes

(click here for a printable copy of the original recipe)

Ingredients:
Half of an 18.25-oz. box (about 1 3/4 cups) moist-style yellow cake mix
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
3 tbsp. chocolate frosting, room temperature
2 tbsp. light chocolate syrup
One 60-calorie sugar-free Jello vanilla pudding snack 

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda or Truvia)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg substitute, and 1/2 cup water. Whisk thoroughly. Evenly distribute mixture among the cups of the muffin pan.

Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 - 22 minutes.

Allow cupcakes to completely cool. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine chocolate frosting with chocolate syrup and mix well. Cover and refrigerate.

Once cupcakes have cooled, use a knife or narrow spoon handle to create a small centered hole through the top of each cupcake, stopping about midway through the cupcakes. Set aside.

Open pudding cup and stir in vanilla extract and sweetener. Place pudding in one of the bottom corners of a sealable plastic bag. Remove air and seal. Snip off a small part of that corner with scissors.

Gently squeeze the bag and evenly pipe pudding through the hole in the bag's corner and into the holes in the cupcakes.

Evenly spread frosting-syrup mixture over the cupcakes. (Don't worry if some of the pudding filling gets mixed in!)

Serve and enjoy! (Refrigerate leftovers, if you've got 'em.)

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

PER SERVING (1 cupcake): 114 calories, 2.5g fat, 193mg sodium, 21.5g carbs, 0g fiber, 12g sugars, 2g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*

__________

My observations:

The cupcakes were very tasty & moist - not quite as moist as they would be if you followed the directions on the package, but still very good. They were a little more dense than usual - almost more like a poundcake (but not quite).

The pudding was really good with the vanilla & Truvia added. Unfortunately, it tended to get a bit runny after 24 hours (even refrigerated), so I recommend only making as many cupcakes as you can eat within 24 hours.

It was difficult to make an opening in the cupcake because the cake was "sticky" and wanted to stick to whatever I used to make the opening. I ended up with openings that were larger than I wanted. Next time, I won't try to save time & I'll use my frosting bag/tip to fill the cupcakes.

The frosting/glaze was tasty, but it was too runny for me. It didn't harden at all (even in the fridge), so it oozed off the top of the cupcakes & down the sides of the liners. MESSY!!! Next time, I'll make a true glaze that will harden & be less messy.

Overall, these cupcakes were really good & I will definitely make them again with a little tweaking!

Monday's Meal - Pork Chops Stuffed w/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Spinach

I saw Giada De Laurentiis make this and it looked soooo good, I had to try it. Trust me, it was delicious!! And the filling is great with chicken as well as pork!!

Pork Chops Stuffed w/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Spinach

(from Giada De Laurentiis - see original recipe here)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese
1/3 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
4 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions:
Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the goat cheese and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and set aside.

Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the pork chop. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.

Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm. Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon some sauce over the pork before serving.

__________

Since I'm supposed to eat fat-free as much as possible, I replaced the reduced-fat cream cheese with fat-free cream cheese. Honestly, we couldn't tell at all. The texture was still creamy & the goat cheese gives it a lot of flavor.

Another thing - if you use thicker pork or chicken, it can take a long time for the meat to cook (way more than the 4 minutes per side that the recipe states). Then when you cook it that long, the filling starts to come out. I tried opening the meat after I sliced the pocket & placing that face-down on the pan to partially cook it. That definitely helped. But I think next time I will try to use meat that is slightly thinner.

I have some pictures, but they're of chicken, not pork (I've made both and they're equally good!):

Monday's Meal - Exploding Chicken Taquitos

Love this recipe from Hungry Girl!!

Exploding Chicken Taquitos

(copied from Hungry Girl - see the original recipe here)

Ingredients:

8 small (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas

One 9.75-oz. (or 10-oz.) can 98% fat-free chunk white chicken breast in water, drained well

1/2 cup salsa

1/3 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp. dry taco seasoning mix

Optional: red enchilada sauce, additional salsa, fat-free sour cream, for dipping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and salsa, and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Remove chicken mixture from the fridge, and drain any excess liquid. Add cheese and taco seasoning, and mix to combine. This is your filling. Set aside.

Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with nonstick spray, and set it aside.

Dampen two paper towels, and place tortillas between them. Microwave for about 1 minute, until tortillas are warm and pliable.

Take one tortilla (keep the rest between the paper towels), spray both sides lightly with nonstick spray, and lay it flat on a clean dry surface. Spoon about 2 heaping tbsp. of filling onto the tortilla. Spread it evenly across the entire surface, and roll tortilla up tightly, so that you have a cigar-shaped tube. Secure with toothpicks and place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

Bake for 14 - 16 minutes, until crispy. Allow taquitos to cool for 5 minutes. If you like, dunk in enchilada sauce, salsa, or sour cream!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 2 taquitos

Calories: 197

Fat: 2.5g

Sodium: 594mg

Carbs: 22.5g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 2g

Protein: 20.5g

POINTS® value 4

The first time I made the recipe, I followed it exactly. We found it to be a little "bland". So the second time I made it, I made a couple of changes. Instead of a 1/2 c. of salsa, I used 1/2 c. of taco sauce - and 1/2 tsp. instead of 1/4 tsp. dry taco seasoning. We found this to be more to our taste, but I will probably add a little more seasoning next time. I will also double the recipe since everyone likes it!

This is really quick & easy to make - and it's a night light meal for warm weather. If you're using them as a meal, you'll probably want more than two - or you'll want to also have a salad and/or some refried beans. I think the filling would also be good in a tostado shell taco salad.

Monday's Meal

My family really likes bean soup. I have an old family recipe that is delicious, but it only calls for Great Northern beans - and I've been wanting to mix it up a bit. I tried a package of the Hurst 15-bean soup, but even after soaking the beans for 30 hours and cooking for 6 hours, some of the beans were still hard in the center - plus the seasoning mix has a lot of smoke flavor, which is not a favorite of mine (or my family).

So I decided to just work with canned beans (no hard centers, LOL!) and the basic "soup" part of the family recipe (with a few minor changes). Here's the result:

Bean Soup

1 can chicken broth

1 pkg. Lipton Beefy Onion soup

1/2 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 can Bush's black beans (drained)

1 can Bush's pinto beans (undrained)

1 can Bush's light kidney beans (undrained)

1 can Bush's cannellini beans (undrained)

1 can Bush's Great Northern beans (undrained)

2 8 oz. pkgs. diced ham

Simmer on stovetop for 2 hours. If you like a "soupier" soup, you can add a cup or two of water or broth (just be careful if you choose broth - the Lipton beefy onion packet adds a lot of saltiness to the soup, so additional broth might make it too salty for your taste).

Notes:
1) Next time I plan to add lentils and garbanzo beans and maybe butter beans.
2) You don't have to drain the black beans, but if you don't, the broth will be almost black. :-)
3) Hawaiian sweet bread goes really well with salty bean soup.

Monday's Meal

Gus & I went out to lunch last weekend and the restaurant had the most delicious gumbo I've ever tasted. That's when I decided that I really needed to learn to make my own gumbo.

I scoured the internet looking for recipes, comparing ingredients, etc. - and this is the one I decided to try. I tweaked the original recipe a little - we like thicker gumbo, so I decreased the liquid; and we also like just a little rice in the gumbo rather than serving the gumbo over rice. I was pleased with the results!

Chicken Gumbo

1/2 c. Smart Balance cooking oil

1/2 c. flour

1 large Vidalia onion, small dice

3 stalks celery, small dice

1 green pepper, medium dice

1 red pepper, medium dice

1 yellow pepper, medium dice

6 c. chicken stock

2 cans crushed tomatoes

1 c. okra, sliced

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cooked & shredded

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 TBSP. dried basil

1/2 TBSP. dried oregano

1/2 TBSP. dried thyme

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 TBSP. dried parsley

1 c. Minute Rice

Directions:

1) Heat oil in large stock pot over medium-high heat and add flour. Cook and stir until mixture is the color of an old penny.

2) Add onion, celery, & peppers. Cook for several minutes until they begin to "weep" and are fragrant.

3) Add chicken stock slowly while stirring ,and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender - about 20 minutes.

4) Add tomatoes and simmer another 10 minutes.

5) Add chicken, okra, rice, and all seasonings.

6) Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

(adapted from this recipe by Anne Coleman) 

I couldn't find my usual cornbread recipe, so I used this recipe instead. This one is pretty good, but I think I like the other one better.

Asian Coleslaw

Our street had a party this weekend, and one of our neighbors made Asian coleslaw. I usually don't like coleslaw, but this one looked so tasty, I decided to give it a try. It was delicious!! So delicious, in fact, that I bought the ingredients and made some yesterday! It's not the healthiest coleslaw due to the sugar & oil, so I'm going to try to find a healthier version that is just as tasty. In the meantime, I used a "healthier" vegetable oil blend. I didn't think of it at the time, or I would've used stevia instead of the sugar.

Asian Coleslaw

2 pkgs. (3 oz. size) oriental-flavor ramen noodles

16 oz. coleslaw mix

1 c. sunflower kernels

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 c. vegetable oil

1/3 c. white vinegar

Crush the ramen noodles and place them in the bottom of a large bowl (save the flavor packets to use later).  Top with coleslaw mix and sunflower kernels.

Whisk together contents from flavor packets, sugar, oil, and vinegar. Pour over slaw. Cover and chill for 24 hours (or at least overnight). Toss before serving.

Makes about eight 1 cup servings.

(adapted from Asian Coleslaw recipe by tastyrachel
on cdkitchen.com)

Thoughts: I think if the ramen noodles were precooked, rather than relying on the liquid in the coleslaw to soften them, you could reduce the amount of oil - possibly replacing some of it with water since the flavor packets are used. Using stevia or erythritol instead of sugar and using a healthier oil would also increase the "healthy" factor.

Does anyone have a healthier version? If I find one, I'll be sure to post it!

Back when...

Anyone else a Tim McGraw fan? I love his song "Back When"...

Don't you remember
The fizz in a Pepper
Peanuts in a bottle
At ten, two and four
A fried bologna sandwich
With mayo and tomato
Sittin' round the table
Don't happen much anymore...

When I was a kid, I ate fried bologna sandwiches with mayo and tomato all of the time. Mmmmmmm - warm, just-picked tomatoes. Yum!! (I do draw the line at fried Spam - ewwww.)

Imagine my surprise when I learned that Gus had never experienced the gustatory delight of fried bologna!! I decided that in order for him to be recognized as a true Son of the South, he would need to eat a fried bologna sandwich. Since he hates tomatoes, I told him it would be okay to eat it with just mayo. (There was a lot of eye-rolling on my part, but I realize you can only do so much with a city boy.) However, I did insist that we stop at a local farm and buy home-grown tomatoes for my sandwich.

Yeah, yeah - I know. Not the healthiest thing in the world. But we eat healthy stuff most of the time, so this was us being "bad" for one meal. I was in fried bologna heaven when I took the first bite. And I think Gus liked it - and he can now cross another thing off the list of things he needs to do in order to be more "Southern".

So who else likes a fried bologna sandwich with mayo and tomato?

Monday's Meal

I admit, when I first heard of fish tacos, I almost gagged. It sounded totally disgusting. Last summer, Gus and I were at The Pub, and they had fish tacos on their summer menu. They were served with some type of Caribbean salsa, which caught my eye - so I thought I'd give them a try. Okay, I admit, a pint or two of Young's Double Chocolate Stout may have lowered my resistance a little, too.

But whatever it was that prompted me to try them, I'm glad - because I loved them! I've had them several times since then, but have never attempted to make them until now. (Mainly because I haven't been able to convince anyone else in my family to try them. Sigh.)

I decided that I was going to give the Cilantro Lime Rice recipe from Annie's Eats a try because I knew Gus would at least eat that, LOL. (Just click on the name of the recipe to go to Annie's Eats and see the original recipe.)

Doesn't this look yummy? Fresh cilantro, garlic, olive oil, fresh lime juice, and water!

Um, it's not looking so yummy now. It's bright. It's neon. Hmmmm.

It's perfect!! And very tasty!! So don't let the bright neon green scare you!

Then I found a recipe for Mango Papaya Salsa at allrecipes.com, and did just a little tweaking. You can see the original recipe by clicking on the name above - and my version is below:

Mango Papaya Salsa

1 mango - peeled, seeded, and diced

1 papaya - peeled, seeded, and diced

1 large sweet red pepper - seeded and diced*

1/2 Vidalia onion, peeled and diced

2 TBSP. chopped fresh cilantro

2 TBSP. balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. (I chilled mine for about 3 hours.)

(*I chopped the red pepper into larger pieces because while I like the flavor, I don't like to actually eat them. Making the pieces larger allowed me to remove them easily.)

(recipe modified from allrecipes.com)

The salsa was beautiful! And yummy!

Of course, I needed some type of sauce for the tacos, so I found a recipe for San Diego-style Fish Taco Sauce on Soup Addict's blog and modified it a little by leaving out the capers and hot pepper. You can see the original recipe by clicking on the recipe name above.

This is what my fish taco sauce looked like - it was really good and I think it would make a great dip, too!

And last, but not least - the fish. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com for grilled tilapia with mango salsa - and just used the part for the grilled tilapia. The original recipe can be found at the link above - and my adaptation is below:

Grilled Tilapia

1/3 c. olive oil

1 TBSP. lemon juice

1 TBSP. fresh minced parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

2 (6 oz.) tilapia filets

Whisk together first 7 ingredients in bowl and then pour into a resealable bag. Add the tilapia filets, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour.*

To grill the tilapia: I made little foil pockets, sprayed them with Pam nonstick cooking spray, placed the fish inside, and sealed them. Then we placed those on the grill for about 10-15 minutes, opening the foil packets for the last 5 minutes.

(*I know that you're not supposed to marinate fish for a long time, but we prefer the flavor of fish that has marinated for 3-4 hours. So I marinated our tilapia for 3 hours.)

(recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)

After the fish was cooked, we assembled the tacos as you can see below (I used Mission White Corn Tortillas):

Gus gave one a try (Minus the salsa because he doesn't eat fruit. Ever.) and said it was "okay". Another sigh. He did like the tilapia and rice a lot - just not on a tortilla. I thought they were delicious!! But if you're not into fish tacos, I do recommend the grilled tilapia - it was very moist and had a ton of flavor. The cilantro lime rice is a great side dish for the fish, too.

If you give it a try, let me know what you think!

Monday's Meal

Blogger has been on the fritz since late yesterday and wouldn't allow me to make any new posts. I wonder if it's trying to tell me something? How annoying!!!

Since the weather has been so warm and humid, we've been trying to use the grill to make dinner instead of turning the oven on inside and heating up the house. I found some new recipes for marinades and am loving testing them out! The one I used yesterday is called "Chicken Tikka". Tikka refers to small pieces of chicken, so this recipe was for kebabs. I opted to keep the chicken breasts whole, so I guess mine would technically be called "Chicken Tandoori". It was very tasty - and received Gus's approval.

Chicken Tandoori

1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts 
1 c. plain low-fat yogurt
1 tsp. finely minced garlic
1 tsp. finely minced peeled gingerroot
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix together yogurt, garlic, gingerroot, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and salt in large bowl until combined. Add chicken and turn to coat with mixture. Cover bowl and marinade in the refrigerator for 1-3 hours. Remove chicken from marinade and broil or grill until no longer pink in the center.

You can view the original recipe from Jeanne Benedict here.

Monday's cupcakes?

I totally forgot to do a "Monday's Meal" post...so I'm just going to post pictures of cupcakes!

These are some that I made - and I am in love with the cute little polka-dot liners from Bake Me Pretty! These first four pictures are chocolate cupcakes (with mini chocolate chips) topped with vanilla buttercream frosting that I made to take to a class reunion.

The three cupcakes pictured below are made from leftover mix/frosting from Lulu's birthday cupcakes - I was just goofing off, trying to use up the leftovers. They're yellow cupcakes - some of them had mini chocolate chips and some were plain - topped with vanilla buttercream frosting.

And this last cupcake is one that I purchased at Servatii's bakery - it was called "Chocolate Coma". And boy, did it live up to it's name!

Happy Monday, everyone!