"Flavorful"...

...That's how my hubby described a new recipe I tried out this week. He also said that he wasn't sure which part he like best, the chicken or the sauce. I was a very yummy recipe, so I thought I'd share. Oh, and it's easy too (bonus!).

Cumin Chicken Breasts w/ Latin Citrus Sauce

Rub for the chicken:
2 tsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
3 Tbsp fresh mint (finely chopped)
salt to taste

1. Combine the brown suger, cumin, salt, and cayenne in a small bowl. Rub all over the chicken. Cook in the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for ~5 minutes per side until chicken is cooked through and golden brown. Put chicken on a plate and cover, set aside.
2. To make the sauce, add the garlic to the same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly for about 15 seconds. Stir in the lime juice, orange juice, and honey. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and mint and season with salt and cook another minute.
3. Serve the chicken on a plate (goes wonderfully with black beans and rice). Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

It's easy and will stimulate your tastebuds. Oh, and did I mention that it's pretty darn healthy too!

P.S. I have to thank my brother and future SIL, because this recipe comes from a cookbook they got me. It's a fantastic cookbook. I've tried 3 recipes from it and they are all healthy, delicious and easy! Thanks guys!!!

Family recipe - Dinner-in-a-Dish

This weekend I made one of my all time favorite family recipes and thought "I should share the yummy goodness". This one comes from my grandma and is healthy (lots of fresh vegies) and delicious! Hint: I don't really use exact measurements...I just eyeball it.

Dinner-in-a-Dish

4 Tbls. butter/shortening
2 medium onions, chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
2 green peppers, chopped
2 cups fresh corn, cut off the cob
1 lb. ground beef (or you could use ground turkey)
4 medium tomatoes, sliced thick
1-1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Saute green peppers & onion in butter/shortening, add meat. Add seasonings & remove from heat. Stir in eggs & mix well. In 9" x 13" baking dish, layer corn, meat mixure, tomatoes (repeat). Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Bake @ 375 degrees F for 35 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes.

Enjoy! And, if you decide to try it out, let me know what you think.

Frugal Friday - small savers

This week I just have a couple quick small savers. Neither of these will save oodles of $$$; however, if a bunch of small money savers are implemented, it can make a big difference over time.

When to use cash and when to use credit at the gas pump?
Well, it depends. If you use credit to purchase gas, make sure you are using ones with rewards programs (like cash back or frequent flyer miles, etc.). Otherwise, it actually saves you more to pay with cash, if the station offers a discount for paying cash. For example, using Discover can actually save you at least 2x what paying cash would because of their cash back program.

So, when is it better to pay with cash? If you spend a lot of time on the road and use either a debit card or credit card without a rewards program then you could probably save more by paying cash at the pump. Even though using your debit card is the same as cash, it tends to be treated as credit, so you would end up paying more $$$. I typically pay for just about everything using "cash" (physical cash or debit) and save credit purchases for larger or online purchases. I'm going to switch to cash for now so I can save the few cents each time I fill up. Since I have over a 30 mile commute each date (one way) and I visit my boyfriend every other weekend, who is over 80 miles away, and I visit friends once in awhile who also live a bit of a distance, that all adds up. I figured that with my basic weekly driving alone (not counting visits to friends or special trips), I could save around $100/year by doing this. I'm also going to look into switching to a credit card with a better rewards program.

It's funny that Dirkey's post was along similar lines of paying cash. I started this last night, then debated whether or not to post but I decided to go ahead. My brain is too tired to try to think of another Frugal Friday tip:)

Home playdough & cookie cutters:
I don't have many memories of my maternal grandmother, but one of my favorite memories is her making us kids her homemade playdough. Just writing about it I can smell it. Why pay for playdough from the store and all the nifty cutters, when kids will be just as thrilled to have homemade playdough with cookie cutters. I found some great playdough recipes on line. My grandmother always made uncolored playdough, which was great. But I love that the recipe on the link actually has ways to color the playdough. BONUS - Not only will you save a little $$$, but homemade playdough is easier to clean up than store bought and you will know what's in it!

Again, I realize neither of these tips is going to save you oodles of $$$, but every little bit counts, right?!?

Keeping it Simple - new recipe

I stumbled on a recipe this week and, in the process of making it created my own. The recipe was for Salmon with potatoes, peas, and tarragon. Well, I didn't have any tarragon in the house (can't remember ever cooking with it) and I reduced the amounts, but didn't keep track so the potatoes and peas turned out a little funky. Still working on that recipe and will post once I have it perfected.

However, I decided to use the seasoning for the potato/pea combination and put it on the salmon, substituting dill for the tarragon. All I can say is...YUMM-EE!!! Best salmon I've ever made! So here's what I did...measurements will depend on # of fillets you cook.

Ingredients:
6 oz salmon fillets
minced garlic cloves (~ 1/fillet)
lemon zest
dill weed (fresh or dried)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Mince lemon zest and combine in a bowl with garlic and dill. Salt and pepper the salmon to taste. Pat the lemon/dill seasoning on the salmon.

3. Put olive oil in a stove top AND oven-safe skillet or dish. Heat oil on high until nearly smoking hot. Put seasoned salmon in the skillet and sear on both sides.

4. Put the salmon in the preheated oven and bake until cooked through (6-10 minutes, depending on # of fillets).

This is an incredibly quick and easy recipe that is scrumptious and healthy! Doesn't get much better than this.

Keeping it Simple

Since I began a new job about 16 months ago, I haven't been cooking dinner as much at home. And when that happens I usually end up eating much less healthy food for dinner...if anything at all. I'm away from home for at least 12 to 14 hours a day (and that's on days when I go straight to and from work and home). By the time I get home I'm tired and quite frankly I'm not in the mood to spend a great deal of time cooking for just me, since I live alone.

That being said, I'm on the hunt for simple, healthy, tasty recipes that I can quickly throw together and that don't leave tons of leftovers. I thought that others out there may be interested on the hunt for the same so I decided to share my progress on my blog...the good, the bad, and the ugly. But mostly...the TASTY!!!

This week I tried a recipe that was absolutely delicious and so simple it's ridiculous! As I nearly always do, I modified the recipe so below is how I made Lemon Parsley Pork Chops:

Ingredients:
1 lemon, zested
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I used dried, but added water to soften)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (it might also be good to try lemon pepper)
~2 Tbsp olive oil
4 boneless loin pork chops

Directions:

1. Mince lemon zest and combine in a bowl with parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Put olive oil and about half of the lemon-parsley mixture in a large skillet over high heat. Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper and put in skillet. Cook in skillet until browned (2-3 minutes per side).
3. Add 1/2 cup water to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer gently until pork is cooked through (8-10 minutes).
4. Transfer pork chops to platter or plate; drizzle with pan juices as desired and sprinkle additional lemon-parsley mixture to garnish.

Want to amp it up and simplify even more? At step 3, I set some zucchini spears in the water and simmered along with the meat. They were perfectly done at the same time as the pork and they tasted delicious! You could probably do this with green beans, instant rice, carrots, etc. Prep time took me about 5 minutes and a little over 10 minutes cooking time.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think. Stay tuned next week for another Keeping it Simple recipe.

Oh, I almost forgot the nutritional information, per serving (minus the zucchini): 271 calories; 3g carbs; 1g fiber; <16g>