Thursday, March 29, 2012

Key West Chicken

Here is a very tasty, very quick marinade for chicken.  We eat this often in the summer, it is a great way to cook chicken breasts on the grill.

Here's what you'll need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 heaping Tbl soy sauce ( I always use low sodium)
1Tbl honey
1Tbl vegetable oil
1tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1tsp chopped garlic
1Tbl brown sugar
fresh ground black pepper
dash of red pepper flakes



mix everything (besides the chicken) in a bowl with a whisk...pour over chicken and turn to coat.  Marinade in the fridge for at least an hour, I try for all day.  Put them on a preheated grill for 5-8 minutes a side, I use Perdue perfect portions so the breasts are thinner (trying to shed the winter weight!) and it only takes about 3-5mins a side with those.  So, basically cook yours according to your chickens thickness.


Saturday, March 24, 2012

"The Hunger Games" movie, my little review.

First of all, this was the best book to movie adaptation I have seen....I think that was largely due to the fact that Suzanne Collins co-wrote the screenplay.  The acting was superb, Jennifer Lawrence is definitely going somewhere good with her career.  I had my doubts about Josh Hutcherson as Peeta....not how I pictured him but he won me over.  On that note, there are things that I wish could have been included.

They needed to develop Haymitch a bit more, they barely touched on his alcoholism and why he was that way.

They changed where she got the mockingjay pin from...completely cut out the mayor's daughter.  I understand why they had to do it but I think her slight friendship with that girl made Katniss not seem so harsh.

They did not put Katniss's relationship with her father in at all, and that disappointed me.  They did not talk about him at all really, except that he was dead.  Same thing for why she had a hard relationship with her mother.  I think that all needed to be touched on more to develop her relationship with Prim.

Peeta and Katniss.  The cave seen was the most disappointing to me.  They did not develop their relationship enough at all.  They cut out all of the moments between them at the capitol before the games began pretty much.  They cut out the long conversations between them in the cave.  For the people who are seeing the movie and have not read the books, they just won't "get" it.  They won't understand Katniss's conflicted feelings.  Maybe she loves him, maybe she doesn't.  They just make it seem like she doesn't.

In the end, the film was GREAT, casting was GREAT, acting was GREAT. The way it was filmed was GREAT.  But the book is better.  

Friday, March 23, 2012

White House (or the world's easiest breakfast)

This isn't really a recipe, most people (I hope) know how to make this. My mother called this a "white house". Some call it "egg in a hole". whatever you call it one thing stays the same, its simple, delicious and, in my case, brings back memories of my childhood.

1 egg
1 slice bread
1Tbl butter
salt & pepper

Take those ingredients, and do this...
(if you don't like runny yolk, break up the yolk with a spatula or fork as it is cooking)
 

Designer, maybe.

Although the main focus of my blog is my love for cooking and reading, I also thought I would put up some of my "day" job.  I am a graphic designer by day, wannabe chef (the stay at home mom, my family likes my food kind, not the restaurant kind) by night.





Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Better for you Strawberry Banana Bread

I was bored and I had some (just about to get slightly soft) strawberries that I know my daughter would find "under par" for her tastes so I decided to make something with them.  I also had some aging bananas.  Viola! Strawberry banana bread!  I substituted light sour cream for oil, in my attempt to make this healthier.

1 3/4c sliced strawberries
1/4c sliced banana (cut into half moon shape)
1 mashed banana
1/2c light sour cream
1 egg
2c all purpose flour
1/2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/2c light brown sugar
1 1/2tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325˚.  Spray a 8"x4" loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, mash 1 banana and add the sour cream, mix well.  In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and powder, and cinnamon.  Add the egg, vanilla to the mashed banana/sour cream mixture.  Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet, mixing well.  Fold in the sliced strawberries and sliced banana carefully.  Pour mix into pan.  Bake on middle rack for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  This will make your house smell heavenly!  Enjoy.




Best ever flank steak marinade

This marinade makes the BEST fajitas!  And we love our fajitas around here!  It's best to marinade this for at least 4-6 hours, so give yourself time.  This will make the flank steak, which tends to be tough, nice and tender.

1 1/2lbs flank steak
1/2c vegetable oil
1/3c soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1/4c red wine vinegar
juice of 1 lime
2Tbl worcestershire sauce
1Tbl dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1tsp black pepper
2Tbl chopped cilantro



combine ingredients, cover and marinade in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours.  Then pop the steak on the grill, or into a pan on the stove and cook approx 5 minutes per side on high, depending on the thickness of your steak.  You want the steak medium-medium rare ideally.  Then slice into strips and use for fajitas, on salads, however you'd like!  I am making fajitas on the grill tonight with mine.  Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Brown Sugar Roasted Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is one of those vegetables that I could eat every day.  It's smooth, buttery, and good for you!  It is super easy to make this quick and delicious side dish on the grill or in the oven.

Take one of these...

If you are cooking it in the oven, preheat to 350˚.  If you are grilling, make sure you have either grill baskets or a roasting pan for the grill ready to go.

Next, peel it.

Then, cut the ends off and slice it in half.  Remove the seeds and stringy stuff.
Finally, cube it.

Put it in a big bowl with:
olive oil (approx 3/4c....just enough to coat it)
salt
pepper
brown sugar (approx 1c...you will develop your own taste after you make it the first time so you can alter the level of sweetness)
*I have also added a dash of cinnamon from time to time...just wasn't in the mood tonight.


mix well to coat, put it in a shallow sided pan and cook for about 30 minutes, or until easily pierced with fork.  Yum!  Tonight I served this with Greek style pork kabobs and fresh pineapple.






Go buy this.

Here's a deal to help you get those books I told you to read....DO IT! (limited time offer, so hurry!)

$10 Amazon Gift Card for $5

Kindle love affair.

My Kindle.  My most prized possession.  While I love "real" books, there is something so satisfying about carrying 1,000 books in my purse.  Let me start off by warning you that I LOVE dystopian novels.  Maybe it's that alternate world I get transported to.  Or maybe its that today's world is scary enough, and the future worlds in these novels make it seem less frightening?  I am not sure, but the fact is that I love them.  For my first post I am going to list my recent reads, and tell you why you MUST read them.  :)


1.  The Hunger Games (as well as Catching Fire and Mockingjay) by Suzanne Collins (my hero) - DUH.  I am not even going to elaborate on why.


2.  Divergent by Veronica Roth- Trust me, this series IS the next "Hunger Games".  I am counting down the minutes until book #2 (Insurgent) is released on May 1st.  AND I love that she is from Chicago, the story is set in Chicago and vicinity (where I live), oh I just love the whole thing.  Go ahead.  Read it.  Try to tell me you could put it down for a second.  


3.  Delirium (and Pandemonium) by Lauren Oliver - Book #3 of this series will not be released until February 2013. Oh. My. God.  That is TOO long to wait.  This book took me a few chapters to get hooked, but then it took me less than 24 hours to finish both.  Yes, my husband and kids were on their own once again while I entered another world.  That happened with The Hunger Games as well.  No one speak to me, feed and bathe yourselves, mom isn't here.  


I just started "Legend" by Marie Lu...so more on that later.