Tag Archives: lime

Mud Run Eve Eats ~ Tequila Lime Chicken Pasta

Jay signed up for the Merrell Down & Dirty Mud Run again this year ~ his third year in a row.

It’s a lot of fun to be a spectator as well as participate…I partook last year and it was quite the comedy. You can check that out here.

Jay requested a nice pasta meal the night before the 10K and, of course, I was quick to say, “Sure!”. He decided on Tequila Lime Chicken Fettuccini ~ a fabulous choice, I thought.

Cilantro? Jalapeños? Tequila? Lime?

Absolutely.

tequilalime

I followed the recipe precisely, however, subbed half & half for the heavy cream to feel a little bit less guilty. Also, wasn’t too sure about the soy sauce ingredient since this isn’t an Asian dish, but decided to roll with it. I didn’t think it took away from the tequila lime flavor at all, though.

We both thoroughly enjoyed it. Personally, I thought it needed more heat. Next time I think I will use 2 fresh jalapenos and leave the seeds and the ribs in since that is where all the heat is {this time I only used one and took out most of the seeds and innards}.

We were up bright and early to report for duty at Lake Castaic!

Jay did awesome and watching from the sidelines this year made me want to set a goal to do it again next year….

mud1

With his dog tag medal….

mud2

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So, I guess I am half way committing to doing the 5K again next year.

I’d like to get a team together and make a party out of it. Anyone interested?

Definitely going to need to {train} better and tackle some bigger hills leading up to the race, but mostly it’s a novelty event and just getting out there and getting dirty is what it’s all about!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

XO

Mi Casa Es Su Casa

Wanted to share a San Diego taqueria fave that you can make at home ~ Carne Asada Tortas with Chipotle Lime Avocado Crema & Cilantro Corn Salad

{for those of you who aren’t familiar, a torta is just a roll with carne asada rather than your typical vessel, the tortilla}

A carb is a carb is a carb.

Cilantro Corn Salad

Carne Asada marinade

{I used a 2-pound flank steak}

Chipotle Lime Avocado Crema ~ just mix some sour cream, one avocado, the juice of half a lime and one chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped ~ mash together with the back of a spoon

Torta rolls ~ Costco {thanks, Vicki!}

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The leftover steak will go on a salad later in the week with this dressing…

Muy bueno!

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Have a great week!

Nighty night.

XO

28

Well Hello and Happy Monday!

I just realized that I haven’t really been posting much on the weekends…not my intention, but I guess it’s OK because that means that we’ve been busy and still enjoying summer even though school is definitely in full swing again.

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Today marks day 28 of my 30 Day Shred.

I have to say that I have been MUCH better this time around. I did take a couple days off due to my knee bothering me, but I did something in lieu of the DVD those days ~ either biking or walking the big loop in our development at night. I love that the DVD is only 30 minutes and I really try to give it my all and make the most of the half hour with Jill and her girls. Also, I’ve been using 4 pound hand weights and I can probably go up to 5 pounders. Today the kids did it with me and used the Handy Manny plastic tools as their hand weights…yes, Squeeze, Pat, Felipe and Dusty joined in on today’s shred ~ WHATEVER works.

I feel great, though and can tell a difference, but I certainly need to tighten up the eating. I was doing great with that for the first two and a half weeks and then got a little lazy.

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Speaking of eating better, I have a couple healthy recipes to share since the last couple were far from it…

Spicy Honey Lime flank steak and this quinoa salad from Pinterest {thanks Erma for pinning it!}…

I marinated the flank steak in 1/4 cup honey, the juice of 3 limes, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves and 1 tbsp Sriracha for about an hour and a half, flipping from time to time. Jay grilled for about 6 minutes on each side. Will make great salads and sandwiches throughout the week.

I also made Giada’s gazpacho last week…

It’s verrry healthy if you don’t put anything on it! She topped it with some polenta croutons which looked amazing. I, however, threw on some cheese & garlic croutons from my pantry. Would also be nice with a little dollop of light sour cream and some crushed tortilla chips.

The perfect summer soup since it’s served cold and has a nice refreshing kick to it.

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LOVE this pic of Holden and me taken this weekend at the concert in the park…

{yes, I am fully clothed and no, Holdy is not drugged}

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This week is a jumble of the new school schedule, homework {already!}, pool time {if they behave!}, park play date, dance class and two birthday parties this weekend.

Never a dull moment.

Hope your week is off to a successful start!

Sweetart

I’ve been aware of cake balls/cake pops for awhile now. My friend, Alisah, in Texas told me about cake balls a couple years ago…I had to literally talk myself out of making them. I would say I did pretty well…

However, making cake pops {just cake balls on a stick} was on our Summer 2011 To-do List and so that is what we did over the weekend!

I had my first cake pop a couple months ago and was underwhelmed. The inside was WAY to gooey for how I imagined cake pops to be. I wanted to make sure and strike the perfect balance between cake and frosting without them being too gooey or, for that matter, too dry and crumbly. I’d seen several recipes, but Wendy’s tutorial was the best! Humor is a must when you’re making these things….

I decided to make Lemon Lime Cake Pops

{the perfect combination of sweet & tart!}

I started with this:

{just prepare and bake cake as directed on box. the only changes I made were adding the zest of one lime to the mix and using the juice of one lime as part of the water measurement. I baked in a 9X13 pan, let cool and then crumbled into a large bowl}

Then I added some of this:

{Duncan Hines has a lemon frosting but I thought that may be a little too much so I decided on classic white. I also added a little more fresh lime zest to the crumbled up cake before mixing in the frosting. I used about 3/4 of container [this was the smaller size, NOT the taller one]. Just stir with a spoon and the mixture will come together and you will see that it becomes “rollable”}

Stick it into the fridge for about 30 minutes before rolling into balls.

I used this to help with the sizing:

{Once I scooped out the cake mixture and dropped it on some parchment paper, I hand rolled into smooth balls and placed them back onto the parchment paper and back into the fridge for about 30 more minutes while I got the coating ready}

Take a bag of these:

{You have to be REALLY careful when heating these in the micro…I screwed up the first bag! 30 seconds on half power, stir, 15 seconds on 50% power, stir, and repeat in 15 second [50% power] intervals until smooth. Dip your lollipop stick into just a bit of white chocolate and insert into cake ball. The chocolate acts as a glue. You now have a naked cake pop! Once you have all the sticks inserted, use a spoon to coat the pops with the chocolate. This is the time consuming part. For some reason these Hershey chips were not as runny as I would have liked them to be…I thought I was going to be able to dip the pops into the chocolate and get a nice smooth coating…not so, but still didn’t look too bad. Next time I’ll use Wilton candy melts…I think they melt down a little smoother. Place your newly dressed pops onto parchment paper and douse with sanding sugar, jimmies, or sprinkles. You’re done!}

There was one point in this process when I swore I would never make these again, but once I popped one in my mouth, that all changed. I will definitely be passing plates of these out whenever I do make them because they are way too dangerous to have in the house.

Looking forward to creating different combinations for Halloween, Fall, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, etc.

How about a spice cake mix, cream cheese frosting and butterscotch chip coating? Wonder if those would melt down nicely.

Or chocolate cake mix, chocolate frosting and Reese’s peanut butter chips?

Strawberry cake, cream cheese frosting and white chocolate coating for a girly baby shower or Valentine’s Day?

Cake batter cake pops with yellow cake, rainbow sprinkles mixed in with the frosting then coated in yellow candy melts and showered with more rainbow sprinkles?

The cake pop possibilities are endless…….

Happy Tuesday!

Linking up over at Lady Behind The Curtain

Linking up a day early over at Sugar and Dots.

Fruit Of The Sea

“You can barbeque it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it, there’s shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fry, deep fry, stir fry, there’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burgers, shrimp sandwiches, That… that’s about it.”

Private Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue forgot one important thing you can do with {the fruit of the sea}…

SHRIMP TACOS!

That was what was for dinner this Lenten Friday evening. I followed this recipe for the marinade.

{1 chipotle in adobo, chopped * 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil * Zest & juice of 1 lime * 1 tsp. cumin * 1 Tbsp. brown sugar * 2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped}

Marinate 1 pound peeled & deveined shrimp for 20 minutes. Skewer it up and grill for a couple minutes on each side.

Chop shrimp and then build your taco from the tortilla up! I would prefer these with small flour tortillas, but we’re trying to be more healthy so we used corn. Warm your tortilla on the stove top and then pile with shredded lettuce or cabbage, black beans, shrimp, chipotle lime crema drizzle {sour cream [I used reduced fat], juice of 1 lime & one chipotle pepper, chopped ~ mix together. Will be runny so you can drizzle it on…you don’t need much}, lowfat shredded cheese, cilantro confetti, avocado chunks, a squeeze of lime and a shot of Sriracha!

These were absolutely delish. The slight sweetness from the brown sugar is balanced out by the heat from the chipotles. Sweet & spicy shrimp tacos are a must for your Lenten Friday meals or just whenever! We will be eating a lot of these this summer, I’m sure. This shrimp would be excellent on a salad or in a burrito, too!

Now to find a recipe for that coconut shrimp Bubba was talkin’ about!

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Next Friday we hope to make thresher shark tacos ~ hopefully it won’t be too hard to find. If you haven’t had shark, you must try it.

Off to pour a little Friday night sumpin sumpin….

Have a great weekend!

{C}atch Up Day

Reposting this carnitas recipe today {10.12.11} over at The Larson Lingo’s Crock-tober! These carnitas are healthy and great in tacos, burritos, over cilantro rice {recipe also on this post!}, on nachos or in a salad! Makes a TON so there are lots of leftovers or perfect for a party. Come on over and see who else is linking up and what they’re cooking up in their crock pots!

Mel shared a recipe for baby back ribs with a cherry mustard BBQ sauce ~ needless to say, they look amazing!

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Mondays are generally catch up days around here. You know…tidying up the tornado from the weekend, laundry, phone calls, cleaning, etc.

It’s been {c}old and rainy today, so I didn’t mind being holed up in the house doing all these lovely {c}hores.

I was up bright and early this morning getting my crock pot on. Jay found a {c}arnitas recipe here and I thought it’d be the perfect thing to cook away in my new, gorgeous stainless steel Crock Pot while we hung out at home today.

Here is the line up:

This recipe is soooo simple, but it takes 10 hours on low!

In at 7am…ready at 5pm!

In between the {c}hores, we played {C}hutes & Ladders:

…and put together a {C}urious George puzzle:

Rainy day movie of {C}hicken Little:

…and the tail end of a {c}artoon:

(gotta love {C}andace!)

Once the sun reappeared, the kiddos {c}hristened Emilie’s new swing set:

Sweet Baby Ryan:

We had a minor {c}ollision:

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I made some {c}ilantro lime rice to go along with the {c}arnitas. This recipe is inspired from my friend, Niki, in San Diego. Mine doesn’t turn out as well as hers, but it’s still delish.

Here’s the line up:

Tonight I made WAY too much rice ~ 2 cups with 4 cups stock! I think we could feed the whole neighborhood. I would suggest a cup of rice (2 cups stock) for 4 people or 1/2 cup rice (1 cup stock) for 2 people.

First, toast the rice and get the onion (I used a half, chopped) going in some olive oil and a little bit of butter for about 10 minutes stirring frequently:

Holy rice, Batman!

Next, add your stock depending on the amount of rice you’re making (1:2 ratio):

Bring to a rapid boil for a couple minutes on high and then turn to low and cover for about 2o minutes. Chop a handful of cilantro and stir in at the last minute and you will have this:

…enough rice to feed all of China!

The carnitas turned out perfect, but again, we could feed an army. Look at all this meat from a 2.5 lb. pork shoulder:

I got a bone-in shoulder and I was a little nervous, but the meat literally fell off the bone and I discarded it and then started shredding the meat with 2 forks. It was SUPER tender. I spooned a little of the juice over it to keep it moist.

Here is the final taco action on a plate:

YUM! Smokey from the cumin and citrusy from the orange and lime juices! I added a little peach pineapple salsa, a tad bit of sour cream and a squeeze of lime and it was delish. The recipe calls for corn tortillas, but I am a flour tortilla girl all day long. I found these mini ones at Super Wal-mart of all places and I love them because they are the perfect soft taco size ~ even smaller that the “fajita” size variety you see in the grocery stores. They come in a package of 20 for under 2 bucks!

Don’t forget a squeeze of lime on your rice!

Enjoy and adios! I am off to see {C}armen at boot camp!

Maybe I should take her a couple tacos and some rice…

XOXO

Corny Condiment

Tonight I’m having a Mommy’s Night Out of sorts…

I’m. So. Excited.

I’m going to “Bitch Bingo” (pardon my French!). My good friend, Hollie, introduced me to this FUN, monthly get-together of women and we play bingo. Now when I think of BINGO, I think of old people with their colorful bingo dotters sitting in a smoke filled room, but this new version of the game is much more fun and since it’s Ladies Only and once a month, it gives me something to look forward to and a chance to have girl talk, laugh, sample lots of different yummies and sip on a nice adult beverage!

This is how it all goes down:
Every chickie brings an appetizer or sweet to share, a drinkie poo of their choice, a $20 “gift” pertaining to the month’s theme (this month is “Romance” for February ~ should be interesting!) in a brown paper bag and $5 to add to the pot. We play as many games as there are brown bags and the winner of each game picks a brown bag or steals a gift from another woman (that’s where the bitch part comes in!) There is NO limit to the amount of times a gift can be stolen so there is a whole lot of bitchiness goin’ on. Fun stuff!

At the end of the night, the last game is played and that lucky lady wins the pot which usually consists of $100 give or take! Pretty cool, huh? I think so!

Tonight I am taking some guacamole and this Cilantro Lime Corn Salsa to go along with the Mexican theme.

I. Heart. This. Salsa. The link above will take you to the pork soft tacos that go along with this yummy salsa. The pork soft tacos are fabuloso, too! I have made them TONS. (I use cumin instead of the paprika). Anyhoo……this corn salsa is great on anything Mexican or added to a salad, so if you decide to make it, makes LOTS! I imagine it’d be great with some chopped tomatoes added in and chips, too!

Have a super, spicy Saturday night…..I know I’m planning to! {wink wink}

P.S. Jay is taking the kiddos to Chuck E. Cheese….so glad I got a hall pass out of that escapade! Thanks, babe! XOXO