Recipe for Cilantro Pesto Chicken

My brother had to run out, so I decided to post the pictures and do some writing for him. Lately I have noticed that my herb of choice is cilantro and I love to add limes to anything I make with cilantro. Thus, our dinner idea was born. Richy put the chicken breasts in a brine and let them refrigerate overnight. I made a cilantro pesto and Richy marninated them for a few hours and put them on the grill for 30 minutes or so. The chicken was moist and full of flavor. I had made a gazpacho salad earlier and we rounded out the meal with grilled corn on the cob and yellow rice. The dinner turned out really good and Madeleine said if it was close to her birthday, she would want that for dinner. That's the highest compliment she can pay anyone. Meredith ventured out a little bit and took a bite of the gazpacho but said it was too spicy. If it was up to me I would have added peppers to the point of no return, but I have a family to please with different levels of tolerance. Since we are dreaming of opening our own restaurant in the future, I think we'll tuck this recipe away as a keeper.

Cilantro Pesto Chicken

6 servings

Prepare the chicken by putting it in a brine made with 1 quart of water, 1/4 c of salt and sugar. Refrigerate overnight.

Prepare the cilantro pesto by putting in a food processor 2 cups of cilantro, 1/2 c of olive oil, 1 garlic clove, juice of one lime, touch of salt.

Marinate the chicken by rubbing it with the pesto under and over the skin for a few hours. Grill for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Something Fishy

Steven and I absolutely love fish. Steven makes a wonderful cedar planked Salmon on the grill. My daughter Madeleine is acquiring a taste for fresh fish and she is being exposed slowly but surely. A couple of weeks ago we had Father's Day at our house and we had a big crab feast. It was her first time trying them and she loved them. Whenever I need a sushi buddy and Steven isn't up for it, me and Maddie go out and have sushi. For Mother's Day this past year she took me out to lunch for sushi. I love our lunches out, it's like hanging out with one of my friends.

As a family we are trying to eat healthier and fish for dinner is an excellent choice. I read recently that flash frozen fish is better than fresh fish at the seafood counter, because the fish that sits in the case has time to accumulate bacteria. Yuck. I bought a pack of frozen tilapia the other day from Wegmans and decided to make it tonight for dinner. I seasoned it with lemon pepper seasoning and lightly browned it in olive oil. It came out perfect. The flavor was mild and tangy all at the same time. I put the cooked tilapia on top of slow cooked lentils and served it with a side of green beans.

After dinner, we made our own ice cream in our healthmaster blender. We took a cup of 2% milk, added 4T of honey and a lb of mixed frozen fruit. It took us barely 5 minutes and the consensus was that it was better than real ice cream. It wasn't as sweet and it tasted natural. More pictures to follow on this one.

Tomorrow night I have a guest blogger making dinner. My brother is making his faboo chicken. He'll be highlighting brining and cooking chicken in a dutch oven. In the future my daughters and my husband will also be guest bloggers. Cooking is a family affair.

Mom's Mac and Cheese

We went to my mom's for a 4th of July dinner and she made her homemade mac and cheese with her cornflake chicken. The way she makes her mac and cheese is simple and the results are better than any Top Chef could make. I remember watching Bobby Flay (who we just met recently) and he was competing with an old southern black woman to see who made the best mac and cheese. Guess who won? The southern woman of course. Bobby Flay overdid his recipe by adding way too many different cheeses and her recipe was like my moms, just pasta, cheese and cheese sauce. My thoughts are you don't tamper with a classic. You can kick it up a notch, but don't overdo it. She does that by using bow ties instead of macaroni.

Her cornflake chicken was delicious too. She dipped the chicken in egg and then coated it in seasoned cornflake crumbs and then baked it in the oven. She baked it just enough to brown the outside and kept it moist and tender in the inside. I topped off the meal with my famous "out the jar apple sauce" sprinkled with cinnamon and 4th of July cupcakes. Can you say lazy???? Hey, why mess with a master? Anything I would make wouldn't compare to my mom's chicken and mac and cheese. Ti Amo, Madre!!!

Recipe for Calypso Salad

Summer is not my favorite season, but I will admit that I do like grilled foods. I love to grill anything I can get my hands on. Especially veggies. Dinner tonight was a Calypso Salad. My neighbor's father passed away so I volunteered to bring dinner over and ended up making extra for us tonight. It was the perfect meal, low in carbs, loaded with veggies and fruit. A perfect summer meal.

Recipe for Calypso Salad
Makes 4 servings

2 chicken breasts

3 T Soy Vay (or any terriyaki marinade)

4 cups lettuce mix

1 celery chopped

1 small roasted red pepper

1 tomato diced

1 avocado

1 cup of pineapple chunks

4 T Asian Salad Dressing

Marinate chicken breast in marinade for at least a half an hour. Grill chicken for about 20 minutes or until done. In a bowl, add lettuce, celery, roasted red pepper, tomato and Asian Salad Dressing. Toss to coat. Divide salad among 4 plates. Slice chicken for bite size portions and add to top of salad. Peel and seed the avocado and cut into chunks, add to the salad. Place pineapple chunks to garnish.