Chocolate Raspberry Creme Cake

We invited some friends for dinner and they surprised us with the most delicious dessert. First of all Christina is a natural at inventing things in the kitchen. Here's what she did:

She baked a regular chocolate cake mix in a bundt cake pan. Then she mixed some raspberry jello mix and when she pulled the cake from the oven and removed it from the pan, she pierced it with a fork several times and poured the unset jello mixture over the top and put it in the refrigerator to soak in and set up.


Then, she served it with a freshly whipped spoonful of whipping cream and WOW, we were in heaven! Thanks Christina!

Lindy's Chicken Enchiladas

These are the best enchiladas I've ever tried and I must give credit to my old neighbor and dear friend, Lindy. She taught me how to make them and I am so grateful.

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped

vegetable oil

garlic salt

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

2-3 small cans enchilada sauce (I use 1 (or 2) red and 1 green)

1 lb. grated cheese (Monterey Jack and/or cheddar)

12-18 corn tortillas

Instructions:

Turn oven to 350 degrees. Chop onion and cook in an oiled frying pan until translucent.

Mix enchilada sauce in a shallow bowl and stir. Set aside.

Add shredded chicken to onions and heat through (sprinkle with a little garlic salt and add 1/2 cup or so of enchilada sauce.) Transfer chicken mixture to a plate or bowl and wash frying pan (or leave it and use a second one). Heat pan on medium high and coat with oil. Fry corn tortillas one at a time, just a few seconds on each side - softening them. You may have to add more oil after every 3 tortillas. Once the tortillas are done, assemble the enchiladas as follows:

First, dip the softened tortillas in the sauce.

Then fill with a little chicken and shredded cheese.

Roll and place seam side down in greased baking pan.

Drizzle remaining sauce over enchiladas.

Sprinkle with plenty of cheese and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until heated through.

Serve with refried [black] beans, rice, and a side salad.

Garden Fresh Chicken Tacos

My dear friend Emily had Marcela and I over for lunch last week. She's been working in her garden all summer and our lunch was filled with the delicious fruits (and veggies) of her harvest. She sent us home with the most delicious bunch of tomatoes and Italian Cucumbers (which are GIGANTIC). We had chicken tacos with fresh veggies and fresh peaches with vanilla-bean ice cream on top. Unfortunately we ate that so fast, I didn't get a picture, but I'm sure you can envision it. Here's how she did the Tacos:

Place 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast in a crockpot with taco seasoning and a little bit of water. Cook and shred.

Heat both sides of corn tortillas on skillet with a tiny bit of olive oil.

Dice the following: (most delicious if the ingredients come fresh from someone's garden!)
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Green Peppers
Spinach Leaves
(I might add fresh cilantro if I had some on hand)

Top with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream and ENJOY!

Thanks Emily! I'm still enjoying all the fruits and veggies you shared with us!

I love Harvest Season!

Super-Moist Banana Bread

I like my bananas a little green . . . unless I'm making banana bread, then the darker and mushier the better. Armando has always wished I made banana bread like they do in Honduras and I had never sampled anything like that (at least I didn't think I had) until our friend Christina dropped by the other day with a warm surprise - a freshly baked loaf of banana bread. When Armando tried it, he said, "THIS is what banana bread is!" So, thanks to Christina, we've adopted a new recipe in our family. I thought I'd share.

3 or 4 ripe or overripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour milk (1/2 Cup milk + 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice-let sit for 2 minutes)

Mix all ingredients above adding the milk last, then pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake for approximately 1 hour at 350 deg. (I baked mine for 70+ minutes)

Christina notes that she likes to add coconut and fresh pineapple but you can also add nuts or chocolate chips to taste. I personally like cinnamon and walnuts in mine and I think I'll try that next time.

A No Fail Fish Marinade

I apologize to all of you who check this site regularly and have found nothing for . . . too long. Life has been busy, but I think I may have time to add to this a little more often and I've also been thinking that I'd like to invite any of you who have found great recipes and tried them out to snap a picture next time you make the dish and send it along with the recipe and I'll highlight it on my blog. That way this site can be a great resource for all of us looking for new ideas. Anyway, I came across this TO DIE FOR marinade recipe on Stormy's blog and we tried it. It's one I'll refer to again and again - we LOVED it! Thanks for sharing Stormy.


Lime-Marinated Broiled Tilapia (The original recipe was Salmon)

Ingredients

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 (6-ounce) skinless Tilapia fillets (about 1 inch thick)
Cooking spray
4 lime wedges

Preparation

Place first 5 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Pour into a large zip-top plastic bag. Add salmon, and seal and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning bag occasionally. (I marinated it over night and it was great!)

Preheat broiler.

Remove salmon from bag, discarding marinade. Place salmon on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 8 minutes. Turn, and broil an additional 4 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with lime wedges.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 1 lime wedge)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 281(42% from fat); FAT 13.1g (sat 3.1g,mono 5.7g,poly 3.2g); PROTEIN 36.8g; CHOLESTEROL 87mg; CALCIUM 25mg; SODIUM 414mg; FIBER 0.1g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.9g

Cooking Light, MAY 2003

Mango Salsa

Just in case you're looking for a good compliment to any fish dish - try this mango salsa.

2 mangos, cut into small cubes

½ can pineapple chunks chopped *(I prefer fresh pineapple)

½ bunch of cilantro leaves chopped

½ red onion, chopped

juice of 1 lime

olive oil to taste

salt and freshly ground pepper

A little honey to drizzle on top.

Combine all ingredients and serve with fish or chicken and a side of rice.

What's a tomatillo?

I've had lots of questions about what a tomatillo is lately because it's a key ingredient in the salad dressing for a Mexican Chicken Salad I shared a few weeks ago.

Look for a tomato with a husk like this next time you're in the produce section of the grocery store - it's often by the jalepeños and other peppers used in latin-american cooking. (Although it's not really spicy)



Here's what Wikepedia says about the tomatillo:

The tomatillo (Physalis ixocarpa or Physalis philadelphica) is a small, spherical and green or green-purple fruit surrounded by a paper-like husk formed from the calyx. As the fruit matures, it fills the husk and can split it open by harvest. The husk turns brown, and the fruit can be any of a number of colors when ripe, including yellow, red, green, or even purple[1]. Tomatillos are the key ingredient in fresh and cooked Latin American green sauces. The freshness and greenness of the husk is a quality criterion. Fruit should be firm and bright green as the green colour and tart flavour are the main culinary contributions of the fruit.

The tomatillo is also known as the husk tomato, jamberry, husk cherry, mexican tomato, or ground cherry, although these names can also refer to other species in the Physalis genus. In Spanish it is called tomate de cáscara, tomate de fresadilla, tomate milpero, tomate verde ("green tomato"), tomatillo (Mexico [this term means "little tomato" elsewhere]), miltomate (Mexico, Guatemala), or simply tomate (in which case the tomato is called jitomate). Even though tomatillos are sometimes called "green tomatoes", they should not be confused with green, unripe tomatoes. Other parts of the tomatillo plant also contain toxins, and should not be eaten.

Fresh ripe tomatillos will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks. They will keep even longer if the husks are removed and the fruits are placed in sealed plastic bags stored in the refrigerator. They may also be frozen whole or sliced.

And if any of you haven't tried that Mexican Chicken Salad, yet, click here, cause you're missing out!