Lydia’s Cozy Corner

Summer is quickly approaching us. The weather is getting warmer (I’ve been wearing tank tops a ton!), the sun is shining more brightly (I’ve been getting burnt a lot, remind me to buy sunscreen!), and the ice cream man is just around the corner (I heard the ice cream man jingle just the other day!). You know what that means, right?!

Grilling! And yummy, fresh ingredients!!

That’s why you should go make this delicious dish, that I’m about to tell you about, right away…or this weekend…or later next week. But, soon! Hurry!

I’ve recently subscribed to Cuisine at Home. A great magazine. No ads, purely cooking. They explain things so well and show step-by-step pictures of many of their recipes. It’s like a cooking blog, but in magazine form instead! Wow,…what a concept!!! (he he he…) This is what they offered to the public before blogs, folks!

If you’re into cooking magazines, I encourage you to try this one out. Their recipes are delicious, usually very simple to make, and thoroughly explained.

So in this months June issue, I tried out the “Honey-Lime Chicken” marinade with the “Grilled Fresh Corn in Spicy Lime Dressing” and Pico De Gallo”. Chicken sometimes gets dull for me, but this dish spiced things up and gave me a new love for our poultry friend, along with the yummy, accompanying salsas.

Of course I didn’t have enough lime or cilantro in our house when I decided to make this dish, but I improvised. Such as using a 1/2 cup of Hansen’s tangerine lime soda instead of a 1/2 cup lime juice. (HA!) And, you know what?! It was still amazing!

I switched things up a little bit and turned these “Honey-Lime Chicken Fajitas” into more of a “Honey-Lime Chicken Taco“. I served them with flour tortillas, chopped lettuce, and sprinkled shredded sharp cheddar on top, along with the corn salsa, pico de gallo, and sour cream. It was DE-LIC-IOUS!

The next day, J and I had the chicken on top of a salad with the salsa’s on top and other various toppings. It was DE-LIC-IOUS once again! See,….you get a 2-for-1 meal!

Honey-Lime Chicken Marinade (adapted from Cuisine at Home, June 2008 Issue):

-1/2 cup fresh lime juice (or if you’re like me and don’t have lime juice, you can use Hansen’s Lime and Tangerine soda,..YES! It worked and was delicious or you could even use lemon instead of lime)

-1/3 cup honey (more or less)

-1/4 cup minced garlic

-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

-1 1/2 lb. boneless chicken breasts (or, chicken tenders is what I used)

Marinade for about 45 minutes…as long as you like ’til you’re ready to grill. I’m sure you could also cook these in a skillet too!

Grill for about 6 minutes on each side til chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees inside. Brush with marinade every few minutes. Slice into strips before serving.

Grilled Red Peppers (as shown above)

-2 Red Peppers

Slice into flat strips, throw onto grill, keep on til cooked through, flipping a couple of time.

Voila! Grilled Red Peppers! Yummy, Healthy, and good to throw in a taco, salad, or fresh corn salsa!

Fresh Corn Salsa (adapted from Cuisine at Home, June 2008 issue)

This recipe called for a bunch of cilantro and fresh corn off the cob. I didn’t have either of these, so instead. just mixed together what I had and added a few things of my own… such as frozen corn, grilled red peppers and diced onion.

-1 bag of frozen corn (doesn’t matter what size really, just go with what you have)

-2 tbsp. of vegetable oil

Throw oil and frozen corn into a skillet. Cook on medium til frozen corn is thawed out and cooked through. Let sit and cool for a few minutes while you combine the rest of the salsa.

Rest of the Salsa Mix:

-2 tsp. of vegetable oil

-1 tbsp of fresh lime juice

-1 tbsp. of Hot Sauce or Tabasco (I ended up adding about 2 Tbsp. by the end of the mixing. Add as much as you like!)

-1/4 cup. fresh cilantro (I didn’t have this, but it still turned out delicious. Add if you like, but don’t worry if you dont’, it’ll still be good!)

-2 tsp. of seeded and minced jalapeno

-1/2 tsp. sugar

-About 1/3 cup of diced onion

-About 1/3 cup of diced red pepper (grilled or raw)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Crumbled Queso Fresco

Mix these ingredients together with a whisk. Once corn has cooled a bit, throw it in with the rest of the mix. Stir together and sprinkle with Queso Fresco (Mexican Cheese).

Pico De Gallo (adapted from Cuisine at Home, June 2008 issue)

-2 cups diced tomatoes (seed before you cut, then it won’t be overly runny)

-1/2 cup fresh cilantro (once again, I had no cilantro… didn’t use it and it was still yummy!)

-1/4 red onion, diced

-2 tbsp. jalapeno, seeded and diced

-2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

-2 tbsp. vegetable oil

-1 tsp. minced garlic (yeah,… I think I added more than one tsp.!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Stick in the fridge to chill before serving.

Extra stuff you’ll need for the tacos:

-Flour or Corn tortillas (I used 6 inch)

-Sour Cream

-Shredded Cheese (whatever kind you like)

-Shredded romaine lettuce

-Whatever else you’d like to top it with!

So, my friends….try this out. You’ll thank me later….and, uh,…Cuisine at Home. Let me know how it turns out!