Cherry Limeade

Cherry Limeade
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
One 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries, with juice I used a 16 oz. jar
Thin lime slices

 Chill all ingredients before mixing. When cold, combine the lemon-lime soda, lime juice, cherries with their juice and lime slices in a large pitcher and stir. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve with a ladle, getting cherries and limes in each serving. The original recipe calls for 1 c. sugar. I decided to leave the sugar out, but then, I like drinks and treats on the tart side.

Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Cilantro Lime Quinoa
from www.sarcasticcooking.com
My friend made this quinoa to serve with Blackened Chicken and Avocado Cream Sauce. Here is the link to the full recipe.

2 Cups of Low Sodium Chicken Stock
1 Cup of Quinoa
Juice and Zest from One Lime
A Dash of Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons of Cilantro, chopped

Add the chicken stock and quinoa to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium/low heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes with the lid on, until all the stock has been absorbed. Add the warm quinoa to a large bowl. Toss in the lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper, and chopped cilantro. Mix to combine. I always add extra cilantro ... just can't help it. And I like to stir in chopped tomatoes and avocado for a delicious and healthy one-dish lunch.

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Ranch Dressing

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Ranch Dressing
from Our Best Bites

1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1C mayo
1/2 C milk
1 lime, juiced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C green salsa
hot sauce

Place milk, mayo, and ranch mix in a blender. Juice the lime in there too. You should get about 2T juice. Toss in the garlic, cilantro and green salsa. Blend and add hot sauce to taste. Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos + a Vegetarian Version

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
from Our Best Bites

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese
small corn or flour tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well. You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge. 

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing. I never have this problem when I work with flour tortillas. I have used the corn tortillas and they are much harder to roll without cracking.
 
Spread 3 T. chicken mixture on the bottom third of the tortilla and roll up tightly. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.


Vegetarian Black Bean Taquitos
from Our Best Bites
This recipe isn't on the OBB blog, so I thought I would post it even though I think most of us have the cookbook.

1 14 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 T. salsa
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 T. lime juice
1 10 oz. box frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and chopped
3/4 c. frozen corn
1/2 c. roasted red peppers
1 c. Monterey Jack cheese
whole wheat flour tortillas

Prepare as above! I liked these lots but my husband said, "Where's the meat?"

Chicken and Mozzarella Sandwiches on Focaccia

This is like a non-recipe more than an actual recipe. But here is what I did for the sandwiches. I have made them before with homemade bread/homemade basil aioli but the simplified version is pretty much just as good.

 

Makes 4 sandwiches.

2 rotisserie chicken breast halves (I just bought a Costco chicken)

1-2 tomatoes

About 4-6 ounces fresh mozzarella (I like to buy fresh mozz at Costco, because it is so cheap compared to most other grocery stores, and I think it is pretty good quality)

Fresh focaccia bread, cut into 4 sandwich size squares (I bought mine from Kneaders. The pieces of  focaccia they sell made 2 of the size sandwiches I made today, for reference)

Basil aioli (The link is for a more homemade sauce with fresh basil, but to simplify, all I did today was mix together some mayo and store bought pesto. Maybe 1/3 cup mayo to 3 tablespoons pesto - just until it tastes pretty good and pesto-y but not too strong)

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Balsamic vinegar

About 1 cup baby spinach leaves

Slice chicken breasts into thin slices about ¼ to ½ inch thick. Slice tomatoes into 1/4 - ½ inch thick slices. Slice mozzarella into ¼ to ½ inch thick slices. Slice focaccia down the middle width-wise so there are two slices for each piece.

On each of the focaccia slices, spread a layer of basil aioli (I usually put more on the bottom and just a thin layer on top). On bottom slices, evenly divide chicken breast slices. Evenly top with mozzarella slices, then tomato slices. Salt and pepper tomato slices to taste. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar. Top with about ¼ cup spinach leaves and then the other focaccia slices and serve.

Strawberry Limeade

I am including the recipe for just 1 serving of this from ourbestbites (because once you have the sauce made up, it is easy to just make a glass for yourself) and the recipe I used to make a big pitcher of it today. Side note: the strawberry sauce is SO good just as a dessert sauce. 

From Ourbestbites.com.

For one serving:

Sprite

1 ½ limes

3-4 tablespoons Strawberry Sauce (see recipe below)

Fill a tall glass with ice. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime over the glass. Fill the glass about half way with sprite. Add 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry sauce. Top of with more sprite or strawberry sauce. Slice remaining ½ of lime into wedges. Squeeze juice into cup, then add as a garnish.

For a big pitcher of it:

2-liter bottle of sprite

10 limes

1 recipe Strawberry Sauce (see recipe below)

In a pitcher, add the strawberry sauce and the juice of 8 limes. Cut remaining 2 limes into wedges, squeeze juice into pitcher, then add juiced wedges to the mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving, add about ¾ of a bottle of  Sprite, or more to taste. Serve over ice.

Strawberry Sauce:

1 pint strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Wash strawberries and remove stems and halve. Combine berries, sugar, and extract in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring and breaking up strawberries as they soften.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. When cool enough, transfer to a blender and puree.

Homemade Pop Tarts

Thanks for hosting a delicious lunch today, Melissa!

Homemade Pop Tarts
*inspired by Smitten Kitchen and Studio 5*

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. white whole wheat pastry flour
1 t. salt
2/3 c. + 2 T. shortening
Scant 1/2 c. ice water
Raspberry Jam

In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut shortening into flour mixture until well-combined. Add water and stir a few times until dough comes together. Turn pie crust out onto a floured counter and roll until 1/8 inch thick. Cut into equal sized squares. Drop a heaping tablespoon of jam onto half of the pastry squares and top with remaining squares. Use a fork to press the edges together. Pierce with a skewer for ventilation. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. I would have topped these with a powdered sugar glaze had I planned ahead better. :)

(Pie crust recipe from Our Best Bites)