I wanted to find a new "Chicken Taco" recipe yesterday, without much luck. I just get sick of the same ol' taco and fajita way I make chicken, and wanted to try something new. I found a chicken soft taco recipe on www.allrecipes.com that sounded like an interesting mix of ingredients, but it was highly rated, so I figured I would give it a whirl.
Let me first say, this is extremely easy, and very tasty, but I can't decided whether it was best for tacos. It almost tasted like Greek food tacos or something. Either way, I served it with Cheesy Corn as a side and it was great.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2.5
Chicken for Greek or Tacos
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
Tortillas
Olive oil
Heat 1-2 Tbl olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Saute chicken for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime, sugar, salt, pepper, green onions, garlic, and oregano, and mix well. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve in tortillas with favorite taco condiments OR over salad.
I improvised on the salad thing. I was just thinking that this chicken would probably be so good over salad! Throw in some chopped tomatoes, olives, feta cheese and red onion? You have yourself a nice little Greek Salad.
Like I said, random mix of ingredients. Especially the lime? Weird. Anyway, it all came together quite nicely and tasted very good.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Ft. Wayne, Indiana Mashed Potato Bar
My cousin Kelly got married this weekend to an awesome awesome girl, Fabiana, and the wedding was nothing less than amazing. We are all so very excited for them, and so happy to have Fabi in our family. It got me thinking about wedding planning. I've decide to "broadcast" the best piece of wedding planning advice that I have: Make your wedding your own.
James and I had the exact wedding that we wanted, and it was very "us". We had lots of little fun, unique ideas that represented our personalities, and were able to incorporate them into our wedding, even if they posed challenges or costly. We had a very Do-It-Yourself wedding that was less than "traditional" so to speak.
One of the amazing things about Kelly and Fabi's wedding was they took a very traditional wedding (ceremony in church, reception at Country Club), and added fun unique twists to make it true to them:
A) The ceremony was in two languages. Fabi is from Brazil and her family doesn't speak English. They had one of the readings said in Portuguese and had it printed in English in the program. They also had the priest do a short second homily in Portuguese (he did so awesome!). And finally, as a surprise to everyone, even the wedding planner, they said their vows in both languages. It was so touching and thoughtful.
B) Their entrance to the reception was one of the best I have seen (aside from ours, of course): Kelly and Fabi and their wedding party marched down the 18th fairway of the golf course behind an Irish bagpiper and drummer while everyone was watching on the balcony over-looking the hole. It was AWESOME. We have a hard-core Irish family and it was such a cool way to incorporate some of our culture and heritage.
C) The Guestbook: they had a "Faux-tographer" open-photo booth where guests went in groups for pictures by a mannequin holding a camera in front of a back-drop. Then the pictures printed out on a custom sleeve of 4 in two copies within like 2 minutes: one was for you to keep, and one was to put into their "guest book" with a note you wrote to them.
For anyone looking to do this, it was so cool. They used www.iduweddings.com. P.S. if you have had a few adult beverages, you might think the mannequin was a real person at first. Not me, of course, but someone. But not me.
D) Glow sticks! So random, but so much fun. My cousin Timmy, the groom's brother, ordered 600, yes, 600, glow-sticks. Once the party got going and people were dancing, the glow sticks flowed and it was so cool. People were making them into head-bands, wrist bands, putting them in their belt buckles, you name it. Then, when they made their exit, everyone held up the glow sticks for them to walk under and it looked so cool.
E) Mashed Potato Bar! (See below)
I could go on and on about the little things they did. Kelly had belt buckles made as his groomsman gift that was personalized to each guy (Timmy's said "Bestman", his dad's said "Wingman", etc.) and they all wore them with their tuxes. So many little details!
There is a food-ending to this story: Mashed Potato Bar. This is a great idea for a party or group gathering at your house too. You can serve them in martini or wine glasses to make for a fun presentation.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): what is a mashed potato bar without cheese?! Get serious!
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): could be time consuming if you make all toppings yourself
Mashed Potato Bar
Mashed potatoes
Shredded Cheese
Bacon bits
Chives
Mushroom gravy
Baby shrimp
Sour Cream
Chopped tomatoes
Serve mashed potatoes into bowl, martini glass, or wine glass. Put all chosen toppings into separate containers and allow eaters to make their own, buffet-style.
For the mashed potatoes, you can even buy the bagged/instant ones. Otherwise, peel potatoes, boil until super soft, then blend with milk until creamy and desired consistency. For the bacon bits, obviously cooking your own bacon and crumbling it will taste better, but they make some decent bagged bacon bits that you can find in the salad dressing aisle of the grocery store now. Mushroom gravy can be home-made or store bought as well.
This is just a fun dinner-party meal. Fun for kids too, although I maybe wouldn't serve kids theirs in the martini or wine glasses unless you have floors and furniture made of cushions. I think this is also a cool food idea because you can make it as home-made and complicated as you want, or can go super easy and all store bought for something different.
James and I had the exact wedding that we wanted, and it was very "us". We had lots of little fun, unique ideas that represented our personalities, and were able to incorporate them into our wedding, even if they posed challenges or costly. We had a very Do-It-Yourself wedding that was less than "traditional" so to speak.
 |
| Baldwin Family Photo at Shields wedding |
One of the amazing things about Kelly and Fabi's wedding was they took a very traditional wedding (ceremony in church, reception at Country Club), and added fun unique twists to make it true to them:
A) The ceremony was in two languages. Fabi is from Brazil and her family doesn't speak English. They had one of the readings said in Portuguese and had it printed in English in the program. They also had the priest do a short second homily in Portuguese (he did so awesome!). And finally, as a surprise to everyone, even the wedding planner, they said their vows in both languages. It was so touching and thoughtful.
B) Their entrance to the reception was one of the best I have seen (aside from ours, of course): Kelly and Fabi and their wedding party marched down the 18th fairway of the golf course behind an Irish bagpiper and drummer while everyone was watching on the balcony over-looking the hole. It was AWESOME. We have a hard-core Irish family and it was such a cool way to incorporate some of our culture and heritage.
C) The Guestbook: they had a "Faux-tographer" open-photo booth where guests went in groups for pictures by a mannequin holding a camera in front of a back-drop. Then the pictures printed out on a custom sleeve of 4 in two copies within like 2 minutes: one was for you to keep, and one was to put into their "guest book" with a note you wrote to them.
 | ||
| These were two of the shots we did |
 | |||
| This is the mannequin that took the pictures. Camera was on timer where you pushed button to start and then it took 4 pictures. |
D) Glow sticks! So random, but so much fun. My cousin Timmy, the groom's brother, ordered 600, yes, 600, glow-sticks. Once the party got going and people were dancing, the glow sticks flowed and it was so cool. People were making them into head-bands, wrist bands, putting them in their belt buckles, you name it. Then, when they made their exit, everyone held up the glow sticks for them to walk under and it looked so cool.
E) Mashed Potato Bar! (See below)
I could go on and on about the little things they did. Kelly had belt buckles made as his groomsman gift that was personalized to each guy (Timmy's said "Bestman", his dad's said "Wingman", etc.) and they all wore them with their tuxes. So many little details!
There is a food-ending to this story: Mashed Potato Bar. This is a great idea for a party or group gathering at your house too. You can serve them in martini or wine glasses to make for a fun presentation.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): what is a mashed potato bar without cheese?! Get serious!
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): could be time consuming if you make all toppings yourself
Mashed Potato Bar
Mashed potatoes
Shredded Cheese
Bacon bits
Chives
Mushroom gravy
Baby shrimp
Sour Cream
Chopped tomatoes
Serve mashed potatoes into bowl, martini glass, or wine glass. Put all chosen toppings into separate containers and allow eaters to make their own, buffet-style.
For the mashed potatoes, you can even buy the bagged/instant ones. Otherwise, peel potatoes, boil until super soft, then blend with milk until creamy and desired consistency. For the bacon bits, obviously cooking your own bacon and crumbling it will taste better, but they make some decent bagged bacon bits that you can find in the salad dressing aisle of the grocery store now. Mushroom gravy can be home-made or store bought as well.
This is just a fun dinner-party meal. Fun for kids too, although I maybe wouldn't serve kids theirs in the martini or wine glasses unless you have floors and furniture made of cushions. I think this is also a cool food idea because you can make it as home-made and complicated as you want, or can go super easy and all store bought for something different.
Dear Parking Lot C Angry-at-Life Shuttle Driver Lady,
Dear LAX Parking Lot C Angry-at-Life Shuttle Driver Lady,
Thank you so much for helping the foreigner-who-lost-his-car-in-what-he-thought-was-maybe,-perhaps,-could-be-parking-lot C,-but-he's-not-really-sure-it-might-even-be-a-different-lot,-but-you-wouldn't-know-that-because-he-can't-speak-English-guy. That was so very nice of you to take 10 minutes of not only your time, but everyone else's time. We were all so happy to be a part of it.
Also, thank you for taking a 10 minute smoke break in the middle of the shuttle ride. I'm sure no one was in a hurry to make a flight, and you were correct when you yelled that it isn't your fault that no one allowed enough time at the airport, so there was clearly no reason not to!
Finally, thank you for being so courteous and understanding to everyone when cramming 20 people in space for 5 because you decided to pick up someone in a large wheelchair who wanted to go to the bus station, since it was on the way to the airport, even though you told them it wasn't the right bus. We were all hoping that we could hug a bunch of strangers, and since we were already rubbing up against each other with so much space, we were so glad you volunteered the free space to a passerby.
All of this was what made it possible for us to miss our flight Thursday night, and we surely couldn't have done it without you. I was so excited to hang out at the airport for an additional two hours. It was so much fun! It was also because of you that I was able to take two flights instead of one! I love when that happens! Layovers are my favorite.
If there is anything I can do to show you my appreciation for you and your envious work ethic, please let me know.
Abby
Thank you so much for helping the foreigner-who-lost-his-car-in-what-he-thought-was-maybe,-perhaps,-could-be-parking-lot C,-but-he's-not-really-sure-it-might-even-be-a-different-lot,-but-you-wouldn't-know-that-because-he-can't-speak-English-guy. That was so very nice of you to take 10 minutes of not only your time, but everyone else's time. We were all so happy to be a part of it.
Also, thank you for taking a 10 minute smoke break in the middle of the shuttle ride. I'm sure no one was in a hurry to make a flight, and you were correct when you yelled that it isn't your fault that no one allowed enough time at the airport, so there was clearly no reason not to!
Finally, thank you for being so courteous and understanding to everyone when cramming 20 people in space for 5 because you decided to pick up someone in a large wheelchair who wanted to go to the bus station, since it was on the way to the airport, even though you told them it wasn't the right bus. We were all hoping that we could hug a bunch of strangers, and since we were already rubbing up against each other with so much space, we were so glad you volunteered the free space to a passerby.
All of this was what made it possible for us to miss our flight Thursday night, and we surely couldn't have done it without you. I was so excited to hang out at the airport for an additional two hours. It was so much fun! It was also because of you that I was able to take two flights instead of one! I love when that happens! Layovers are my favorite.
If there is anything I can do to show you my appreciation for you and your envious work ethic, please let me know.
Abby
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Cilantro: The Red-Headed Step Child of My Herb Garden
I have a nice little potted herb garden with basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and......cilantro. Fresh cilantro is by far my favorite herb. However, I can not, for the life of me, seem to get it to grow! This is the second time I have tried. All my other herbs? Perfect. Cilantro? Dying, flowering, wilting, you name it.
Any tips on how to grow cilantro would be greatly appreciated because clearly, I have no idea what I am doing.
Any tips on how to grow cilantro would be greatly appreciated because clearly, I have no idea what I am doing.
Zesty Chicken for Newly Engaged and Newly-Weds!
I'm still glowing from the weekend. Or maybe I'm sweating. I can't tell. Either way, I'm happy! Not only are my cousin Kelly and Fabi getting married this weekend:
AND one of my best friends, Stephanie, and Matt are engaged:
But, I got another call from one of my great guy friends, Aaron, and he and his girlfriend just got engaged also!
So, for all the newly engaged, and soon to be newly-weds, here is another recipe.
I'm almost mad at myself for putting this recipe up. I almost didn't because, well, to be honest, it's too easy. There is absolutely nothing creative or fun or interesting about cooking this. But, it tastes dang good!
The first time I made this, it was on accident, and because I forgot to make a marinade for chicken skewers I was making for 30 Filipino relatives. Needless to say, I needed to come up with some way to jazz this chicken up before our family BBQ the next day. I went through the pantry and found an unopened bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing. BINGO. Amazing amazing chicken was created!
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): for the lactose-intolerant
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): this should be like a negative number it's so easy
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): Needs to marinate over night, but then a 1
Zesty Chicken
Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), cut into 1-1.5 in cubes
Zesty Italian salad dressing
garlic salt
pepper
Season chicken breast cubes with garlic salt and pepper. Put chicken into ziploc bag with salad dressing, making sure there is plenty to soak in. Marinate in refrigerator over-night (or minimum 8 hours). Heat grill to medium-high heat. Take chicken out of bag and skewer, discard remaining dressing in bag. Cook chicken skewers for 5-10 minutes, or until cooked through.
I just realized, as I am writing this, that I suppose you don't have to make skewers. You could just put the whole chicken breast in the bag to marinate. I skewer everything so don't listen to me. I think it's because I am lazy and I like my food in bite-size pieces so that when it's done cooking, I can just shovel it in my mouth without having to worry about cutting it first. Weirdo.
 |
| (I couldn't find a picture of Kelly and Fabi quickly, so I put this funny one up. I'm random today.) |
AND one of my best friends, Stephanie, and Matt are engaged:
 |
| Seriously, two of the most amazing people I know. And not hard on the eyes either. |
But, I got another call from one of my great guy friends, Aaron, and he and his girlfriend just got engaged also!
 |
| I stole this picture from facebook. I'm not creepy at all, I swear. |
So, for all the newly engaged, and soon to be newly-weds, here is another recipe.
I'm almost mad at myself for putting this recipe up. I almost didn't because, well, to be honest, it's too easy. There is absolutely nothing creative or fun or interesting about cooking this. But, it tastes dang good!
The first time I made this, it was on accident, and because I forgot to make a marinade for chicken skewers I was making for 30 Filipino relatives. Needless to say, I needed to come up with some way to jazz this chicken up before our family BBQ the next day. I went through the pantry and found an unopened bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing. BINGO. Amazing amazing chicken was created!
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): for the lactose-intolerant
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): this should be like a negative number it's so easy
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): Needs to marinate over night, but then a 1
Zesty Chicken
Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), cut into 1-1.5 in cubes
Zesty Italian salad dressing
garlic salt
pepper
Season chicken breast cubes with garlic salt and pepper. Put chicken into ziploc bag with salad dressing, making sure there is plenty to soak in. Marinate in refrigerator over-night (or minimum 8 hours). Heat grill to medium-high heat. Take chicken out of bag and skewer, discard remaining dressing in bag. Cook chicken skewers for 5-10 minutes, or until cooked through.
I just realized, as I am writing this, that I suppose you don't have to make skewers. You could just put the whole chicken breast in the bag to marinate. I skewer everything so don't listen to me. I think it's because I am lazy and I like my food in bite-size pieces so that when it's done cooking, I can just shovel it in my mouth without having to worry about cutting it first. Weirdo.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Sliders: Another Smash Hit From the Gardners!
Mark and Francoise Gardner have now contributed 3 recipes to this blog, and this most recent one, sliders, is a smash hit! I have made them 3 times in the last month for various bbq's. They are super easy, and everyone always loves them!
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): cheese option, but as always, cheese makes everything better
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2
Sliders
3 lbs ground chuck (80/20 mix)
1/2 bottle of Teryaki sauce/marinade
2 eggs
10-12 saltine crackers
1/2 cup sweet onion, finely diced
2 packages of Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (24 ct.)
Thousand Island Dressing
Sandwich Slice Pickles (optional)
American Cheese slices (option)
In large mixing bowl, combine beef, Teryaki sauce, eggs, and onion. Smash up crackers in crumbs, and add to mix. Gently mix all ingredients together with you hands. If mixture seems too mushy or runny, add more cracker crumbs. If it seems too dry, add a little bit more teryaki until you get the consistency to make patties. Form meat mixture into small patties. Heat grill and cook patties over medium-high heat until desired doneness. Cut cheese slices into 4 small slices, and add to patties to melt (if using cheese). Serve patties on sweet rolls with thousand island dressing and pickles (optional).
These are soooo good. You may not need all or any of the crackers, depending on how thick the Teryaki sauce you use it, but it's a good idea to have them on hand in case you the consistency is a little runny. I used a Lawry's 30-minute Teryaki marinade and sauce, and it was great. I think the Gardners use the Soy-Yaki sauce from Trader Joe's, and it is awesome too. Another great twist is the Island flavor Very-Tery sauce. Any will work great!
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): cheese option, but as always, cheese makes everything better
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2
Sliders
3 lbs ground chuck (80/20 mix)
1/2 bottle of Teryaki sauce/marinade
2 eggs
10-12 saltine crackers
1/2 cup sweet onion, finely diced
2 packages of Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (24 ct.)
Thousand Island Dressing
Sandwich Slice Pickles (optional)
American Cheese slices (option)
In large mixing bowl, combine beef, Teryaki sauce, eggs, and onion. Smash up crackers in crumbs, and add to mix. Gently mix all ingredients together with you hands. If mixture seems too mushy or runny, add more cracker crumbs. If it seems too dry, add a little bit more teryaki until you get the consistency to make patties. Form meat mixture into small patties. Heat grill and cook patties over medium-high heat until desired doneness. Cut cheese slices into 4 small slices, and add to patties to melt (if using cheese). Serve patties on sweet rolls with thousand island dressing and pickles (optional).
These are soooo good. You may not need all or any of the crackers, depending on how thick the Teryaki sauce you use it, but it's a good idea to have them on hand in case you the consistency is a little runny. I used a Lawry's 30-minute Teryaki marinade and sauce, and it was great. I think the Gardners use the Soy-Yaki sauce from Trader Joe's, and it is awesome too. Another great twist is the Island flavor Very-Tery sauce. Any will work great!
Abby Melad: The Next Chapter
I often get annoyed when people talk about how happy they are or how great their life is. But honestly, right now, I am one of those people. Life is awesome right now. All the pieces fit right now, and this self-realization started this weekend, as James and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary.
It was such an awesome weekend! Friday night we went to the fair where we both ate ourselves sick. Literally. James's cake topper was the fried oreos, and mine a churro. But I discovered something new this year, as I usually do at the fair: bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers, made with real jalapenos! They were amazing.
Saturday, our actual anniversary, we woke up and I made a big breakfast for us of eggs, bacon, potatoes, rice, etc. Then we took Guinness down to Salt Creek for some time at the beach and the park. This park is amazing, and I had never been there before. Guinness made a new friend, Lea, a Shih-Tzu and Pekingese mix, all black, and they were immediately playing together. So cute! For my anniversary gift, James got us tickets to see Kid Rock and Cheryl Crow Saturday night at the amphitheater in Irvine! It was so so very fun! I had a few too many cervezas, but it was so fun at the time I couldn't help myself! For part of my gift to James, I have officially changed my name to Abby Baldwin Melad, and I finally got to use my new ID that night! It's the little things, ya know?!
Sunday, we woke up, had a big breakfast again, then went golfing at Willowick in Santa Ana. Came home, got dressed up in my newly cut-off wedding dress (above), and we went out to a fancy dinner at Flemings Steakhouse! It was unreal. Shrimp cocktail, Filet, potatoes, the works! And raspberry sorbet, with fresh whipped cream, to end it.
It was a perfect perfect weekend. Which just made me realize, life is great. Work is going awesome right now. I have amazing friends. I'm obsessed with my husband and my dog. My family is well. No complaints! For what feels like the first time ever.
And to top it all off.....my cousin Kelly is getting married this weekend to an amazing woman, Fabiana, and my great friends Stephanie and Matt are engaged!!!! I have yet to hear details, but received the text as I was typing this. I can't wait!
XOXO
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