Sunday Dinner: Stuffed Shells

You know life is getting back to normal when Sunday dinners are back in motion. And with a dinner like stuffed shells, I'd say I'm well on my way to a full recovery! *fingers crossed*

I never got the chance to write about my hiatus, but after enduring migraines for most of November due to another spinal fluid leak, I had my third surgery in December. Third time's a charm, right?

Another surgery meant I was out of commission for about 6 weeks, which also meant Sunday dinners weren't happening. Who wants soup ... again? Apparently, I was the only one.

While it's nice to be waited on, and the idea of handing over responsibility for our weekly meal planning is even better, I sure did miss my kitchen.

I'm trying to get back to my regular routine in the kitchen, but it's slow going. I'm not allowed to look down for very long or bend forward at all. So now imagine trying to cook an entire meal or get anything from the bottom cabinets. It's hard work, I tell ya.

That being said, I've managed to pull out a few winners with a little help from Jesse. The most memorable have been chicken cacciatore, tacos, shrimp fried rice, Reuben sandwiches, and stuffed shells. Oh stuffed shells. Those were my favorite on the list. The shrimp fried rice and Reubens were a close second and third, respectively. :)

Let's jump back to the stuffed shells though, since that's how this post started.

I love ricotta. I also love stuffing food with food, as evidenced by the stuffed peppers I once wrote about. And who doesn't love Italian food? I know it's at the top of my list. And when you combine those three things, plus a few key ingredients, you get an amazing dish ... Italian Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells.

I served mine with a side salad, but the shells were the star here. If you wanted to stretch this dish to ensure leftovers (which are equally good - tested and confirmed), you could throw in some garlic bread.

I made 23 shells for four people and there were six leftover. We were trying to save room for dessert (thanks to our guests for bringing cannoli* ... very appropriate!). Otherwise, I think we would've polished off the last six shells.

I hope you get a chance to try the recipe, and if you do, please let me know how they turn out. My recipe is a combination of a few others, plus my own flair, so I'd love to hear what you think. Enjoy!

*Did you know that the singular of cannoli is cannolo? I had to look it up because it looked weird when I added an 's' to the end. Thanks to Wikipedia for the lesson of the day!

Italian Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells
Servings: 4-5
Cooking Time: 45 minutes


23-25 jumbo pasta shells*
2 hot or sweet Italian sausages, crumbled (about 6 oz.)
3/4 bag baby spinach (5-6 oz)
15 oz. ricotta
1 egg
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup Italian cheese blend or mozzarella, plus extra for topping
1 jar (26 oz.) of your favorite pasta sauce

1. Begin by removing the sausage from the casing, if needed. Fry it in a medium size pan and crumble it as you go. When it is fully cooked, transfer it to a bowl and save about 1-2 tsp. of the grease (optional) for the next step. 

2. Steam the spinach in the leftover sausage grease until wilted. Add the spinach to the sausage and chill in the refrigerator or at room temperature until ready to use. 

3. Boil large pot of water and cook shells for 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain the shells and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. 

4. While pasta cooks, combine the ricotta, egg, cheese, and seasonings in a medium size bowl. When the sausage and spinach are cooled, add to the ricotta mixture. 

5. If baking right away, preheat oven to 350 degrees at this time.**

6. Pour 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish and spread evenly to coat. Stuff about 2 Tbsp. of ricotta mixture into each shell*** and fill the pan. Once the bottom layer is full, create a second layer, placing them in between the shells on the bottom. When all the shells are stuffed, pour pasta sauce over the top to cover everything. Sprinkle Italian cheese over the top. 

7. Cover pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes. 

*Doubling the Recipe: If using an entire box of shells, double all ingredients except spinach and pasta sauce. For spinach, use one full bag. For pasta sauce, you can probably still use one jar, but have a 2nd jar available, just in case. Doubling the filling means you can fill each shell pretty full. After first layer of shells are in the baking dish, pour a thin layer of sauce before adding the second layer, or place extra shells in a new pan.

**Make-Ahead Directions: Prepare recipe as directed, but do not bake. Cover with plastic wrap, then foil. Refrigerate up to 24 hours or freeze up to 2 months. Remove plastic wrap; replace foil. Bake: refrigerated jumbo shells at 350 degrees about 40-50 minutes; frozen jumbo shells at 350 degrees about 2 hours or until hot and bubbly. (times given are approximate)

***I dried inside of shells using a paper towel before adding filling - not sure if it's necessary.

Back in the Kitchen: Southern-Style Chicken and Dirty Rice

Hi, friends! Can you believe I'm back for the third week in a row? I'm pretty proud of myself! It's a lot less than I was posting this summer, but better than once a month. I'm hoping to keep up the once a week post from here on out. But I make no promises.

Let's start with updates first, and then we'll get into the chicken and dirty rice. My TOMS arrived yesterday! Holla! (I hope the exclamation points adequately display my excitement!!)

Aren't they adorable? I am sooo ready to bust these out this spring. Bring on the warm weather!

In other news, Jesse and I went to Johns Hopkin's for the day for my pre-op appointment. We heard about what to expect the day of my surgery, I filled out a bajillion-page packet about myself, and gave some blood. Everything went pretty well, with the exception of the wait times between each part of my appointment (we were there for nearly 4 hours!), but the scariest part was finding out that I'll be in the neuro-critical care unit for the first night after my surgery. I guess it's good to know that they'll be monitoring everything so closely, but I have a feeling it means I'll be in a lot of pain. Boo. On the bright side, I'll have Jesse, my parents and his parents all there taking care of me. I feel very lucky that I'll have so many people nearby!

Enough of the scary stuff, let's talk about chicken and rice. I love that there are so many variations of this combination. When my mom was here a few weeks ago, she not only made my favorite chicken and rice casserole, she also made an amazing chicken and wild rice soup. You would think that two chicken and rice meals would be enough to satisfy my cravings, but as you can probably tell by the title of this post, I still wanted more.

In an attempt to ease back into the kitchen, while also getting more of my chicken and rice fill, I decided to try a slow cooker recipe for southern-style chicken and dirty rice. I found the recipe in the cookbook Slow Cooker Revolution, which was a Christmas present from my sister-in-law and brother-in-law (thanks, Corina & Neil!).

This recipe takes a little more work than some slow-cooker dishes, due to the fact that you brown the kielbasa and vegetables before adding them to the slow cooker, but it's definitely worth the effort! Sautéing the kielbasa makes everything smoky, meaty and deep in flavors. YUM!

I was really happy with the results of this dish and I'm excited that I have one more recipe to add to my slow cooker repertoire!

How about you, do you think you'll give this version of chicken and rice a try? Do you have any go-to slow cooker recipes? I want to add more slow cooker recipes into the rotation, so I'd love to hear about some of your ideas!


Southern-Style Chicken and Dirty Rice
Adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution

Serves: 6 to 8
Time: 4 to 6 hours

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8-12 ounces turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch pieces*
1 onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper**
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth***
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
salt and pepper
2 cups instant brown rice
2 scallions, sliced thin (optional)


Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown sausage well, about 3 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, thyme, chili powder, and cayenne and cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for one minute. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps.

Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper and add to slow cooker. Pour the vegetable and kielbasa mixture over the chicken, stir, cover with a lid and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low.

Break-up chicken into bite-size pieces using wooden spoon (or two forks). Stir in rice and 1 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook on high until rice is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.

*The original recipe called for 8 ounces of regular kielbasa sausage, but I substituted with the Trader Joe's 12 oz. turkey kielbasa and couldn't tell the difference.
**Cayenne pepper adds spice to this dish, but we found that 1/8 teaspoon wasn't enough for our liking. If you like mild dishes, I would leave the recipe along. Otherwise, I recommend adding another 1/8 teaspoon to the recipe.
**The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and white rice, but I used brown rice. I noticed that the rice absorbed all of the cooking liquid before the 20 minutes was up, so I wish I would've used more chicken broth. If using brown rice, I recommend adding another 1/4 cup chicken broth to the mixture.

I Fancy Myself a Bartender (sort of)

It's Friday! Let's talk alcohol. That seems timely and relevant, right?

Last fall I discovered a new cocktail at one of my favorite bars, Spider Kelly's (affectionately nicknamed Spider Kittens because I can't ever remember the name). SK's is a sports bar located in the popular/trendy neighborhood of Clarendon, in Northern Virginia. Regardless of the uppity feeling at some of the surrounding bars/clubs, SK's has figured out how to accommodate just about every type of patron. They have tons of TV's surrounding the bar, as well as pool tables, shuffleboards, video games and pop-a-shot nets scattered throughout. To balance out the sports theme, the interior is setup to feel more like a lounge – with dark lighting, loud music and comfy couches staged to look like a living room.

Ok, I wanted to give you a clear vision of the bar, but now that this sounds like a review for Spider Kelly's, let's get to the point of this post – the drinks you see in the picture above.

Spider Kelly's has an amazing cocktail list that is updated throguhout the year to feature seasonal favorites. I usually prefer a good beer over any cocktail, but their happy hour special, which just so happens to feature $4 cocktails, is too good to pass up! They make really good mojitos in the summer, but the drink that stole my heart is one of their fall specials called Spider Cider.

It's not something that I want year round, but it's nice to have a seasonal favorite to fall back on. When October rolled around this year, and we threw our Bocce Party, I wanted to offer a variety of options to our guests. We were already planning to have several types of beer on hand, and I've always liked the idea of offering a signature drink, so I thought Spider Cider would be the perfect addition to the menu.

Best part? It met all of my novice-bartending hosting requirements: it's really simple to make, the ingredients scream autumn, and the chunks of honeycrisp apple mixed in make it classy enough to serve at a party!

I also liked the fact that aside from the apples, I only needed three ingredients - spiced rum, ginger ale and apple cider (if you're like me, you'll want a shot glass too).

With most of November left to go, there is plenty of time to make this drink for your friends and family, or just for yourself! You could even bring it to a Thanksgiving gathering - especially if you want to make new friends. :) Either way, I hope you get to enjoy it before fall is over. It snowed here last week, so I'm a little worried about how much longer we'll get to enjoy the season before Old Man Winter takes over!

But enough with the small talk, let's get to the recipe for my version of Spider Cider .....

Susan's Spiked Cider

Inspired by: Spider Kelly's Spider Cider
Servings: 1 (or as many as you feel like making)
Prep Time: 5 minutes


1 (generous) shot of Spiced Rum
2 shots of Apple Cider
splash of Ginger Ale
1 Honey Crisp Apple, cored and diced

Core and dice the apple (if you can't find honey crisp apples, any sweet variety will work). Add a handful of ice and apple pieces to a cocktail glass. Pour one shot of spiced rum and two shots of apple cider into the glass. Top off with a generous splash of ginger ale. Enjoy!

Notes: I pre-chopped the apples and put them in a bowl with a little bit of lemon juice and water to keep them from browning. I also made the drinks one-by-one, but it would be just as easy to pre-mix the cider, rum and apples, and then just add a splash of ginger ale to the top of each glass as you serve them. And one small recommendation, we had a group of 8 people, but a gallon of cider was wayyyy too much - I would opt for the half gallon. :)

Blogging Fail and Apples

By this point, you would think that I would know myself well enough to know that I'm not good at juggling life. Let me take that back. I can juggle life, but I always hit a point where I think I can throw one more ball into the mix and then they all come crashing down.

This time around the crash wasn't exactly a negative thing, but I definitely couldn't figure out how to make everything work together. It's been about 2 months (give or take) since I last posted and in that time I've gone out of town twice, painted the buffet (finally!), quit my job, got a new job, had a few weekend visitors, spent hours at Ikea, bought a new car, threw a party, and painted/decorated the office. Phew, reading everything makes me tired all over again!

So, I know it's no excuse for my absence, but I thought I should at least catch you up on my life.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about Fall.

Last October, Jesse and I went to a pumpkin patch called Cox Farms. We had a great time seeing all of the baby animals, picking out pumpkins and enjoying the fall weather.
Here's a quick snapshot of our afternoon at the farm.

We haven't made it out to any pumpkin patches this year, but we've still found several ways to enjoy the season. This past weekend we hosted a post-season bocce party at our house, which was full of fall treats. I made a big batch of chili, spinach artichoke dip, an apple dip and a nice fall cocktail for everyone to enjoy. We spent the afternoon watching football and playing bocce outside. Everyone seemed to have a great time, but more than that, they all loved the food. :)

Since everything was such a hit, I wanted to share a few of the recipes here on the blog. I especially want to share the apple recipes while there's still plenty of time to enjoy the fall bounty. (Yes, I just used the word bounty ... it sounds so mature!)

So let's get started!

The first recipe is for an amazing fruit dip that I discovered on, the one and only, Pinterest. I didn't know I'd be throwing a party when I came across the recipe, but I pinned it anyway because I figured it might come in handy. Boy am I glad I did! People were a little skeptical at first, but as soon as the first person dug in, it didn't take long for everyone else to follow suit. I'll definitely keep this one in the arsenal for any upcoming potlucks!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Dip

Servings: 8-10

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hrs. - overnight

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 Tbs. heavy cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 small jar Caramel sauce

1/2 cup Heath milk chocolate pieces

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

2-4 Granny Smith or other crisp tart apples, sliced and soaking in
lemon juice and ice water until ready to serve

Line a six inch cake pan or springform pan with plastic wrap. Use enough plastic wrap to hang over the sides of the pan about 2 inches.

Place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the heavy cream and powdered sugar, mix well, until smooth. Place half of the cream cheese mixture in the lined pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. (If you dip the spoon into warm water before you start to smooth the cream cheese, it will be much easier to spread.) Spoon on a layer of caramel. Sprinkle with a layer of chocolate chips and the Health pieces.

Place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. This will help the caramel set up a bit and make topping it with the remaining cream cheese much easier.

Scoop the remaining cream cheese on top and smooth out using the back of a dampened spoon, like you did for the first layer. Add another thin layer of caramel, heath pieces and chocolate chips on top. Fold the overhanging plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate for at least two hours, but up to overnight for best results. Pull back the plastic wrap so that the top of the cheesecake is exposed. Place a serving plate on top of the pan and invert. Remove the pan and the plastic wrap. Spoon caramel sauce over the top of you cheese cake and top with more of the Heath pieces and chocolate chips. Place the sliced apples around the dip and serve.

*Note: If you want to throw this together super fast, just spread the cream cheese mixture on a serving platter and top with the caramel, Heath bits, and the mini chocolate chips.

I'm not sure if I have any readers left, but hoping assuming I do, what have you been up to? Does anyone have any good fall recipes to share? I'd love to hear any updates, if nothing else so I know you're still here!

I missed you guys and it feels good to be back! :)

Summer Lovin' Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Pork Tenderloin

Summer is by far my favorite season. I know a lot of people can't stand the heat and humidity, but I can deal. I actually kind of enjoy the heat as long as there's a pool nearby. And lucky me, there's a pool right down the street from my house.

My mom actually still talks about how when I was a little kid I always refused to take my swimsuit off after an afternoon at the pool. Now that I think about it, I still love lounging around in my swimsuit after I get back from the pool. It's like saying, "Yeah, I can go back whenever I want ... I still have my swimsuit on."

Speaking of things I love about summer, I love grilling. There's something about it that is just so wonderful. The prep-work for grilling is usually easy and it's very low maintenance once you start cooking. Oh and did I mention that cleaning a grill is much easier than scrubbing pots and pans?

Most recently, I grilled a fabulously flavorful pork tenderloin. It was super simple, which made it the perfect contender for the grill. By adding fresh green beans and a little rice pilaf you have an impressive dinner to serve to guests.

Here's how it all went down.

I whipped up a quick balsamic-garlic rub ...

Marinated the tenderloin for a few hours ...

And then grilled it until it got all crusty on the outside, while staying perfectly tender on the inside.

Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Pork Tenderloin

recipe from Kitchen Confidante

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Inactive Time: 2-10 hours

Cook Time: 35 minutes

4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds pork tenderloin

2 tablespoons canola oil

Stir garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl until the salt and garlic absorb most of the liquid. Rub the paste all over the pork and marinate for at least 30 minutes, but as long as overnight.

Heat the grill to medium-high (500 degrees) and sear the tenderloins on all sides. Turn the temperature down to medium heat (400 degrees) and grill for about 20-30 minutes over indirect heat, rotating every 10 minutes, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Are you grilling up anything fun or interesting this summer? 

I'm constantly looking for new ideas, so I'd love to hear what you've been up to!

Today I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday at Beauty & Bedlam and Hearth & Soul Blog Hop at A Moderate Life.

4th of July + Grill Fun

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend, filled with lots of free time, fireworks and food! I know we most certainly took advantage of the long weekend. Here are a few highlights from our weekend trip to visit Jesse's family. We got lucky that most of the I-95 travelers did their driving on Friday. Because of this, we got to visit with his parents for most of Saturday, and then spent the evening with a few of his friends. On Sunday, we went over at his sister's house where she and her husband hosted a fun little gathering! And of course, I couldn't wait to see my newest nephew, Sunny!

(thanks to Neil for these first three pictures!)

Look at how much hair this boy has - it's enough to make me jealous!

Jesse's mom made a blueberry pie that we all enjoyed! She used fresh blueberries and made the crust from scratch. What more could you ask for on the 4th of July?!

Since we were only gone for two and-a-half days, Rooney spent the weekend at home (no worries, we stocked him up with extra food, water and litter). He was extra happy to see us when we got back and followed me around for most of the afternoon. While I felt bad leaving him at home for so long, it was nice coming home to an extra loving kitty! :)

watching as I boiled water for deviled eggs

Once we settled in at home, I realized that I hadn't gone grocery shopping in more than a week. For being out of food, I managed to pull together a pretty impressive array of grilled kabobs. We enjoyed grilled shrimp and veggies, BBQ chicken and grilled potato rounds. Grilling potatoes was a new adventure, but they turned out really well!

I actually tried out the grilled veggies shortly after the 4th of July last year (it must be a seasonal thing), so be sure to check out the recipe.

For the shrimp, I cleaned, peeled and deveined them and then refrigerated until I was ready to start grilling. As I was warming up the grill, I strung the shrimp onto the kabobs and then seasoned them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and the juice from half a lemon. Shrimp cooks really fast, so I only grilled the kabobs for 2-3 minutes per side.

As for the chicken, I cut one chicken breast into seven equal pieces, strung the kabob, seasoned it with salt, pepper and olive oil, grilled it for about six minutes per side and then brushed it with BBQ sauce. I grilled the chicken for another 2-3 minutes on each side to help the sauce caramelize onto the chicken and then served it with extra BBQ sauce. Maybe it's a Kansas thing, but I love BBQ chicken!

The potato rounds were also easy to throw together, but oh so tasty! This is a very simple recipe, but sometimes that's all you need to get the creativity going. It certainly helped me!

Grilled Potato Rounds

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Grill Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

2 large or 3 medium russet potatoes

2 Tablespoons olive oil

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper


Optional Additions:
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
1 teaspoon thyme or rosemary

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Preheat grill to medium high heat (about 450 degrees).

Scrub potatoes, pat dry, and slice into 1/2 inch disks. In a medium bowl, combine potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and seasonings until the potatoes are well coated.

Grill for about eight to ten minutes per side (until grill marks appear), and then flip every two to three minutes until the outside is brown and crispy.

Serve with grilled shrimp, veggies, and/or BBQ chicken.

Today I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain, and Hearth & Soul Blog Hop at A Moderate Life.

Spicy Thai Chicken with Mango Basil Salsa

I love Thai food. It's one of my favorite cuisines, second only to Italian food. The perfect balance of spicy and sweet lures my taste buds every time. My favorite dishes are the curry dishes - spicy curry, balanced perfectly with sweet coconut milk - but I also love the classics, like Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles and Pad See Ew.

As I plan our meals each week (I always plan before grocery shopping), I try to incorporate at least one new recipe into the cycle. By doing so, I feel like dinner is more of an adventure, and it allows me to push myself into new flavor profiles. Last week's adventure involved a lot of prep work, but the results were so worth it. In fact, even though I managed to use three-quarters of the dishes in the kitchen, Jesse said he would eat this meal again. (read: it was a hit)

But before I share this fabulous recipe, I owe a HUGE thank you (and hug) to my friend, Kelsey, for showing me the recipe. In my original post about Buster 2 (see his story here), I mentioned that I'm looking forward to a summer full of basil. Kelsey commented on my post and said that she had an amazing dish for me to try. As soon as I saw that it was Thai food and it called for basil, I was hooked. I went out to the store, bought all of the ingredients, and tried it right away. Now it's your turn ... go buy these ingredients and make this dish. You won't regret it.

I sliced up a mango for the first time ...

and used fresh ginger, too ...

And after combining all of these wonderful, fresh ingredients (along with a few more), I ended up with this amazing creation.

Spicy Thai Chicken with Mango Basil Salsa
Inspired by: Good Deal by David Lieberman & Can You Stay for Dinner

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Salsa:
1 mango, peeled and finely diced
3 scallions, sliced
5 basil leaves, julienned
1 lime, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chicken:
2 fresh jalapenos, sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2–inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 lime, zested
1/4 cup coconut milk
Small handful basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
15 grinds pepper
1 lb. chicken breast, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced

Rice: (optional)*
2 cups Jasmine Rice, pre-cooked
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 lime, zested

For the salsa: Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Make up to a day in advance. Keep covered in the refrigerator.

For the chicken: In a mixing bowl, combine jalapenos, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime zest, coconut milk, basil, vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Set aside a quarter of the marinade in a separate container. Add the meat to the remaining marinade and refrigerate both containers for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.

Heat a nonstick skillet over high heat. Use tongs or a fork to remove the meat from the marinade and place in an even layer in the pan. Flip the meat after about 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute peppers, mushrooms and onions until tender.

Let the chicken cook for another 5 or so minutes, until cooked through. Stir in the vegetables.

In a separate saucepan (I used the vegetable sauce pan), add the reserved marinade, bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

For the rice: Pour the marinade over the cooked chicken or shrimp and serve with coconut-lime Jasmine rice*. Top the plate with the basil-mango salsa.

* If using pre-cooked rice (I use Trader Joe's Thai Jasmine Rice), cook the rice according to the directions, mix coconut milk and lime zest into the rice, and serve. If using traditional rice, cook according to the directions, using half coconut milk and half water with zested lime.


Today I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain, and Hearth & Soul Blog Hop at A Moderate Life.

Fiesta Chicken Salad

With summer in full swing, I find myself looking for lighter, more refreshing menu options. I love anything that I can make on the grill, as well as anything that I can make in large enough batches to have leftovers! Jesse, from Good Girl Gone Glad inspired me with her recipe for Fiesta Chicken Salad last week. It's an easy recipe, and it leaves plenty of room for modifications and substitutions.

I have my own recipe for homemade chicken fajitas, so I'll break my version of the recipe into two parts. You can have chicken fajitas for dinner one night and fiesta chicken salad as it's own meal later in the week.

I couldn't wait to try Jesse's recipe, so I skipped fajita night and made the chicken specifically for the salad. I got two full dinners out of it, plus I froze a small portion of the chicken, in hopes that we can use it in a few weeks. It was raining the night I made this, so I had to cook the chicken inside, but it was still delicious!

Chicken Fajitas
Inspired by Cook This, Not That: Kitchen Survival Guide

Serves: 4 (or 2, plus leftovers for salad)

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. chopped chipotle peppers
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. ground cumin
salt and black pepper to taste
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
8 small (6") flour tortillas, warmed
Guacamole
1 cup shredded jack or cheddar cheese


1. Combine the orange juice, chipotle peppers, lime juice, cumin, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper in a sealable plastic bag. Add the chicken and marinate in the fridge for an hour.

2. Preheat a grill or stovetop grill pan until hot. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard what's left in the bag. Grill the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until lightly charred and cooked all the way through. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

3. While the chicken cooks, heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Cook the bell peppers and onion until charred and caramelized on the outside, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper

4. Slice the chicken into thin pieces. Serve with warm tortillas, guacamole, and cheese.



Fiesta Chicken Salad
Inspired by Good Girl Gone Glad

Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

2 chicken breasts (leftover from fajitas)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 ears of corn, boiled (kernels sliced off the cob)
1/2 cup salsa
1 (10 oz.) package mixed salad greens
1/2 small onion, diced
4-6 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, pitted and diced
1/4 cup Southwest Salad Toppings (optional)
tortilla chips (optional)


In a large saucepan, mix chicken, black beans, corn and salsa. Heat over medium heat until warm.

Meanwhile, prepare the salad by dicing onions, tomatoes and avocado.

On dinner plates, prepare a bed of lettuce and surround it with tortilla chips. Top salad with chicken mixture, onions, tomatoes, avocado and salad toppings.

Today I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam &  Hearth & Soul Blog Hop at A Moderate Life.

Buster 2 and Sunday Dinner

If you've been reading my blog since last summer, you probably remember the Tales of Buster (seen here, here, and here). :)

However, like I mentioned in this recent post about gardening, Buster didn't survive his first winter. While it was discouraging to lose him, I didn't let that stop me from buying another basil plant at Trader Joe's this weekend. If you ask me, a summer without basil is like a winter without snow. Basil and summer are just meant to be!

I am looking forward to using basil in several of my summer recipes, so I hope everyone will welcome Buster 2 with open arms mouths! I was so excited to have fresh basil that I already used it as garnish for our Sunday Dinner of Chicken Parmesan. It was D-licious!

Chicken Parmesan
Inspired by Cook This, Not That: Kitchen Survival Guide

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes


4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4-6 oz. each)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup bread crumbs, preferable panko
2 Tbsp grated parmesan
1/2 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups tomato sauce, divided into 1 cup portions
1/2 package spaghetti noodles
4 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella
fresh basil leaves (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover the chicken breasts with parchment paper or plastic wrap and, using a meat mallet or a heavy-bottomed pan, pound the chicken until it is uniformly 1/4" thick. Season with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour on the chicken, and coat both sides.

2. Place the egg whites in a shallow bowl. Mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and Italian seasoning in a pie pan.

3. Dip each breast into the egg whites to coat both sides and then into the crumb mixture, patting the crumbs so they fully cover the chicken. Drizzle 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large baking dish, place chicken in the baking dish, and drizzle remaining olive oil over the top.

4. Bake the chicken breasts in the preheated oven until the crust is golden and the meat is firm, flipping halfway through, about 20 minutes total. Meanwhile, prepare the spaghetti by boiling water, cooking until al dente, and adding 1 cup of tomato sauce.

5. Spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the chicken pieces, then top with the cheese and place underneath the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted and bubbling. Serve with a side of spaghetti, and garnish with basil (if using).

Comfort Food and Cabinet Organization

Sorry I've been MIA this week, but I've been miserable. I woke up Sunday morning (still in PA) and could tell that my allergies were a lot worse than usual. I spent the entire car ride back to DC sleeping and wondering why I felt so awful. As it turns out, I wasn't suffering from allergies. I have a sinus infection. Booooooo!

I spent Monday curled up on the couch in hopes that resting would solve my problems, but it didn't help. I had to go into the office on Tuesday, so I fought through it and left feeling worse. By yesterday, I broke down and went to the doctor. She put me on an antibiotic, but it hasn't kicked in yet. I'm back at home today, worse than I was yesterday.

The worst part of it all is that it's 90 degrees and sunny here. If I'm missing work, I want to be outside enjoying myself - not cooped up in my house feeling lousy. Woe is me.

Since I am stuck inside and feeling miserable (have I mentioned that I hate being sick?!), I made myself a little comfort food this morning. Whenever I was sick as a child, my mom would either make rice pudding or egg custard. So as an adult, I naturally want one of those two items when I'm sick. I called my mom this morning to whine catch up, and she immediately recommended the rice pudding. It takes about an hour to make, most of which is spent baking, and it's the perfect pick-me-up to soothe and comfort.

Baked Rice Pudding

Serves: 6

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hr. 10 min.

4 cups milk, divided into 2 cup portions

1/2 cup long grain rice

1/2 cup raisins

1 Tablespoon butter

3 beaten eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

ground nutmeg

In medium heavy saucepan bring 2 cups milk, uncooked rice and raisins to a boil; reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until rice is tender; about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter. 

Meanwhile, combine beaten eggs, 2 cups milk, sugar, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl.

Gradually stir rice mixture into egg mixture (temper to avoid scrambling the raw eggs). Pour into 10x6x2 inch baking dish (or a dish of comparable size).

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Stir well; sprinkle with nutmeg. Continue baking an additional 20 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Serve warm or chilled.

Waiting for something to bake is the perfect amount of time to tackle a small kitchen challenge. So while the rice pudding was baking, I decided to clean out my spice cabinet and reorganize a little bit. 

While the pictures don't look all that impressive, I managed to get rid of six spice bottles and a few sample spice packets that I don't need. I also checked for expired bottles, so I have a small list of spices that I need to replace. Lastly, I better organized the baking side of my spice cabinet, so I'll be able to find everything I need when I'm baking. I think that this small re-org is really going to help as I transition into my summer recipes. 

Here is a breakdown of my process:

Step 1: Empty out the cabinet and clean the shelves.

Step 2: Sort by date and throw out any expired spices. Make a list of any that you want to replace.

Step 3: Sort miscellaneous items by category. I sorted by wet and dry ingredients because that's how I wanted them to go back into the cabinet.

Step 4: Put everything back in the cabinets by category.

And admire the spices one more time ... 

The back row are spices I rarely use (i.e. fennel and ground mustard), the middle row is for my go-to spices, and the bottom row is reserved for small bottles.

Once you relish in your hard work, sit back, relax and eat rice pudding ...

And then go take a nap! :)