Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

I found this recipe on All Recipes. I loved it but it was too spicy for my husband, whose idea of spicy is using black pepper. I will probably try to minimize the spice factor by decreasing the cayenne next time.

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken
Print this Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons lime juice

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and parsley. Sprinkle spice mixture generously on both sides of chicken breasts.

2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons garlic powder and lime juice. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

My First Layer Cake- A Photo Essay

I decided to venture into layer cake territory for my nephew's birthday. The following is a documentary of my trials and triumphs.


I used this recipe for chocolate cake with buttercream icing. I baked the cakes for around 33 minutes in two round cake cake pans. I allowed the cake to cool for about 20 minutes in their pans, then flipped them out on a cooling rack until completely cool.



I flipped the cake onto the pan with the rounded top face down and used a spatula to cover in icing.

Looks like a giant oreo! Or a whoppie pie! Have you ever had a whoopie pie? Please try one. Kthanxbai.


I learned from Barefoot Conmtessa that if you want your cake to be more casual keep the rounded side on top and flat side on top if you want it to look more formal. I went for a more formal look since what's more formal than an 11 year old's birthday?


Voila! Okay, these are the problems I had and would love some help from any experienced cake-icingers. I had the hardest time getting the edges covered. Everytime I ran the knife around them they were completely bare. I ended up just caking on some leftover icing at the end but I figured I was doing something wrong.

It also didn't turn out as pretty as I had hoped. But you know what?



It was gooooood.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Wanna Salsa?

Once you make your own salsa you can never go back to those store bought cans of salsa. You will always compare it and those poor cans will always come up short. So beware.

Mi Madre's Homemade Salsa

Ingredients:
7 plum or roma tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
1/2 a red onion
1 T. olive oil
1 lime
cilantro (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
jalapeno pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Half the tomatoes and remove all seeds using your thumb to scrape them out. Chop the tomatoes, green pepper, and onion. You may throw in a food processor but I like my salsa chunky. Add olive oil and sqeeze the juice of the lime over the mixture. Season with salt, pepper, and cilantro to taste. I usually forget to get cilantro at the store and have subsituted with basil.

2. If you like your salsa spicy chop the jalapeno and add to the mixture. Remove seeds to cut back on the spiciness. Mix everything together and chill/sit for at least an hour.