Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

Since I'm already a big Mojito fan ( coconut or otherwise), why not make Mojito chicken? This recipe has been sitting around since 2004 - 10 years! It was definitely worth the wait. Mojito Chicken Breasts (Adapted from BonAppetit ) 3/4 c fresh lime juice and zest from limes 1/2 c light rum 1/2 c mint 1/4 c parsley 4 T sugar 1 T olive oil 1.5 lb boneless chicken breast (pounded thin) salt/pepper Whisk fist 6 ingredients together in a shallow bowl.  Place thinned chicken breasts in bowl. Cover and marinate for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.  Turning once or twice. Remove chicken from marinade.  Discard Marinade.  Oil grill and grill chicken about 10 minutes around 350 or until done. These really came out beautiful. The Sous Chef is quite good with the grill (better than me but don't tell him I told you that). They don't taste too minty or too rumy - just right.

Pad Thai is such a flavorful dish.  When I first got Simply Thai Cooking (I have the second edition), I wasn't sure if I would make many of the recipes. They really have a lot of ingredients but actually they are pretty simple to make.  I adapted this recipe by omitting the chicken breast and shrimp. I only used tofu. I've also made it with just chicken. The tamarind paste may be a little difficult to source but it stays for quite a long time in the refrigerator once you find it. Pad Thai (Adapted from Simply Thai Cooking ) 8 oz Thai rice noodles 16 oz tofu, extra firm  3 T tamarind paste (concentrate) 1/4 c warm water 6 T roasted unsalted peanuts 3 green onions, chopped 3 T fish sauce 2 T lime juice 2 T sugar 1/2 c canola oil 1 t garlic, chopped 2 eggs 1 c bean sprouts 1/2 t chili flakes Fresh cilantro Lime wedges Soak rice noodles in cold water for at least 1 hour.  Place tofu on folded paper towels, place two folded paper towels on top....

Don't tell the kids but sometimes we have Guacamole for dinner. They'll want to know why this wasn't allowed when they were home. And we won't even discuss in the hot summer when we have ice cream for dinner!  I'm thinking this way - it's avocado (very healthy), lime juice (Vitamin C), and cilantro (it's green=must be healthy). OK so maybe you're not buying that guacamole is a good dinner so I won't even try to sell you on the ice cream for dinner thing. But guacamole does taste good and it's quick to put together.  Besides it's usually a Friday night meal. You know you get home from work; it's been a long week. You really don't need a recipe.  It's just a matter of adding ingredients until it tastes right. Guacamole 1 shallot 4 avocadoes lime juice hot sauce cilantro salt Buzz shallot in food processor.  Add remainder of ingredients and pulse until combined.  Taste and adjust seasoning. Now I know authentic guaca...