I promise I won't spend all summer focused solely on SYTYCD. I am glad to see how many of "you" are watching it and chiming in on the weekly posts. This week starts the official competition of the top 20 dancers so if you haven't already, now is a great time to start watching! This week the only one of us who is a trained dancer will be kicking off the competition between the Top 20. Check out Renee's blog tomorrow night or Thursday morning for her recap.
Ok, I just deleted a long rambling paragraph about the weather and my trip to Ikea. I even started to share a bit about the remodeling project going on over at our house for a long long while now. But I just missed the Pens second goal of the night and really can't focus enough to make much sense.
But I think I can concentrate enough to post two of my favorite new recipes that I've tried in the past few weeks.
Both are easy and seem pretty healthy and light.
Rumba Island Mango Chicken and Rice
from The Sisters Cafe
This is definitely a pantry recipe. It calls for just a few ingredients that you can usually have on hand and if you're like me you typically have chicken in the freezer.
4-5 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
Cumin to taste
Lemon Pepper to taste
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups mango salsa (I found a peach pineapple salsa at Wal Mart and used that, it was great - loved the pineapple pieces in there. I did by Costco's Mango salsa since it's Matt's favorite and plan on using it next time.)
Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Add spices. Cover and cook chicken until tender. Shred chicken on a plate and return to crock pot. Save juices in separate bowl. (I shredded the chicken in the same bowl as the juices and the chicken just absorbed all the extra liquid.)
Add corn, beans and salsa. More salsa can be added to taste. If mixture seems dry, add some of reserved juices.
Serve over coconut rice for that Rumbi Island Grill taste. Garnish with cilantro or parsely, if desired.
Making the coconut rice is a must! By a can of coconut milk and use it replace all or half (I did half and thought that was perfect) the liquied when cooking your rice. I use basamati style rice and it was a good fit. The coconut milk adds a sweetness to the rice that is delicious with the chicken . Try it and trust me - I am typically not a fan of coconut.
Second recipe...
Summer Vegetable and Chicken Hash
from Elizabeth's Edible Experience and Martha Stewart Living June 2009
1/2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces small red potatoes
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears..I used 3)
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 jalepeno chile, stem, ribs and seeds removed, minced (didn't have it, didn't miss it)
1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, halved (I just used regular red cherry tomatoes)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
Salt and Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon dried Oregono
1. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat. Add chicken. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and 1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes; transfer to a bowl.
2. Add 2 teaspoons oil and the potatoes to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8 minutes; transfer to a small bowl. Place the bowl of potatoes in the microwave for 3 minutes to finish cooking.
3. Add remaining teaspoon oil, the corn, scallions, and the jalepeno to skillet, and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn turns dark brown in spots, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, and cook until skins just begin to soften, about 1 minute. Add stock, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, and reserved chicken; bring to a boil. Fold in reserved potatoes, and sprinkle with Oregeno.
Enjoy! You should definitely check out Elizabeth's post for this recipe - great pictures to go along with each step.
Wohoo- the Pen's won and the series is tied! Game Seven here we come!
7 comments:
Yeah Pens- I can't believe that they won I mean I really wanted them to win I was so excited that we are going to a game 7. I wish he had home field advantage but am still looking forward to game 7. Really looking forward to dance tonight! Thanks for the info on how they work it. I will check your updates soon!
awesome! I have the Rumba Island Mango chicken on hold to make, too! Have half a container left. I'm afraid what the kiddos will think b/c they won't TOUCH the salsa! geesh are they picky.
Seems we have similiar tastes, Megan.
ps. aldi's post? please!!! AND I'm thinking we should do some sort of summer dinner type of carnival- where we share super easy make ahead type meals> I'm in a rut and I hate playing outside all day and then having to come in and fix dinner! k, think about that...
Those recipes sound delicious and the first one seems especially easy to throw together.
I hate to be a nag, but the Aldi's beckons me to buy avocado's, but I'm not sure what else to get....hint, hint, hint. :)
I love salsa btw. Just thought you should know that I could eat a vat of it right now.
And, guess who found the sequel to the book we read in our book club at the Salvation Army store in hardback??? Yep, me!!! I can't remember the name, but it's on the waiting list of books to be read on my nightstand!
Which would remind me that you are the President of a book club...however, I won't nag you twice in one post!!!!! :)
pps. I also found the boxed set of the Love Comes Softly series. Did you ever read those? If not, I highly recommend.
We have swim lessons for the next two weeks from 4-4:30 so I have been on the hunt for new crock pot recipes to get us through those 8 days. I already got next week planned and purchased for, but you better believe your first recipe is going down for that next week. Yum, Yum!
And I am with Crafty on the summer recipe carnival.. Brilliant idea... sign me up...
Oh, and about the book club... I read the second book as well this spring. I liked it. What's next on our reading list?
Oh one more thing. Thanks for all the SYTYCD tips.. I felt like quite the expert last night filling Scott in on how it worked. Question, at the end is there one winner over all or one couple that wins or one guy/one girl? Also, do they get new partners each week? New styles each week? And what do they win when they win?? OK, that was a few questions... sorry.
Crystal great SYTYCD questions I really need the answers to these too! Nothing like asking the expert!
ok, answering a few dance questions (btw -so happy that all of you are tuning in!) these partners stick together until (i believe, don't quote me on it) we get to the top 10 dancers and then it gets mixed up. it's nice b/c the dancers develop chemistry and it's neat to see them grow together. since this week a pair got eliminated, the partners stay the same. but if a guy and a girl from different pairs are eliminated, the remaining dancers then match up. it's puts them at a slight disadvantage since they are dancing with a new partner and everyone else is used to theirs. but it can help someone who wasn't able to shine b/c their partner wasn't that good.
every week they will pick a new style - there will always be hip hop, some form of ballroom, contemporary and the others rotate a bit. different choreographers are used and you definitely get some favs. i LOVE Wade Robson, Mandy Moore, NabTab, and Sonya. Those are my favs and I love when they are on.
Also, I will definitely put an Aldi's post up. I actually saved some receipts recently so I could put up the prices.
Crafty - love the idea of a summer dinner carnival? Do you want me to do it wiht my Mr. Linky account? It was your idea though so feel free to run with it!
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