"Let love be genuine. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." Romans 12: 9-13

Teresa Smith is wife to Rob, mom to Nate and Jacob, and loves to cycle with her husband on their Ferrari Red Co-Motion Tandem. Her passion for this blog is to help make life simple living on a gluten free diet with delicious recipes that she has adapted to be gluten free. She and her husband are missionary staff with FamilyLife Ministries in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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Showing posts with label salsa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salsa. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Fish Tacos with Pineapple Jicama Salsa and Cilantro Lime Rice

Want a quick and super delicious summer meal? This one is worthy of company too! I begin by preparing the salsa first to get things started and let the flavors blend.




This is what a jicama looks like in case you have never seen one. They are like a Mexican potato, a crunchy, lightly sweet taste that takes on the flavors of the other ingredients you add. Peel and chop this little guy up.




The original recipe did not say to grill the pineapple, but I thought it would be a great idea to sweeten up the pineapple. It was a great addition!



There is the salsa all ready to go. Just set it aside and let the flavors meet.


To blacken the tilapia, I just pile a lot of each of the seasonings on a plate and blend together. Dip the fish into the seasonings and your ready to fry!


A little olive oil is all you need to make these come alive!


Now for those of you who know, Rob once set my kitchen on fire cooking chicken and he claims it was because I wanted a new kitchen. We got that wish, so know he is trusted mainly just with knives. He's so cute.


The other wonderful idea that he had was to lightly grill the corn tortillas with a little cheese on them. He saw that on the show Dives, Diners and Drive-Ins. It's his latest claim to fame.


The cilantro lime rice is super easy and sooo good!


Now, just sink your teeth into that would ya! A little fresh corn on the cob never hurts either.


Blackened Fish Tacos and Cilantro Lime Rice

2-4 Tilapia filets

1 ½ tsp. each of cumin, chili powder, oregano

Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Dredge fish in the seasoning

Saute in Olive Oil until cooked through approx. 4 minutes per side . Then chop. Drizzle fish with lime juice.

Corn or Flour tortillas toasted in butter with Mexican cheese. Grill until toasted and cheese is melted

Top tortilla with fish, coleslaw, avocado slices and Brianna’s Chipolte Cheddar dressing,pico de gallo, or Pineapple Jicama Salsa. drizzle fish with Lime juice.


Cilantro Lime Rice


Make 1 cup of white rice in 2 cups of water. Add olive oil and lime juice to liquids. Salt to taste. Chop Cilantro add to rice either before or after cooking. Salt to bring out the flavors.


Pineapple-Jicama Salsa


2 Tbps. finely chopped red onion

1 Tbps. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 fresh pineapple, cut into spears to grill (optional) or cubed

2 Tbps. fresh pineapple juice, squeezed from the rind

1 cup jicama, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice

3 Tbps. finely chopped cilantro

1-2 tsp. brown sugar

1 jalapeno-stemmed, seeded and finely chopped

1 scallion, thinly sliced


In a bowl, combine the red onion with the lime juice and let stand for 10 minutes. Add the pinneapple, juice, jicama, cilantro, brown sugar, jalapeno and scallion to the bowl and toss. Serve with the fish tacos.



Monday, May 24, 2010

Work - Pedal - Create - Idol

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed (Ecc. 4:9 NLT)


6:30 AM: After I poured a smooth cup of Nespresso (Americano with a few sprinkles of Stevia) I took just a few minutes to work out a dinner plan knowing I would be away from home most of the day. I set out a few frozen chicken breasts for thawing. They were soft within 45 minutes. I then placed them in this killer marinate (see marinate below) and placed them in the refrigerator. Tuesday's are one of my more scrambled days. I have the privilege to go into the office and work in a "suite style cube" with my husband. We get to work in a marriage ministry together.

4:00 PM: One of my greatest pleasures besides eating is to work-out each day. Today I was able to ride tandem with my husband. So home we go. He inflates the tires and checks the bike over while I get our water bottles ready along with our necessary gluten free energy snacks for the ride. Today my husband says we're riding 40 miles including hills and intervals. (Today's interval was three laps around a business park for 8 minutes at 80% of our max threshold - In other words - P-A-I-N) At the 35 mile mark we've yet to climb River Mountain road which feels like we're riding straight up Mt. Everest. We did it! And we past a guy on a single bike midway up the hill. Shame on him.

6:30 PM: We arrive back at home. We both need showered, dinner must go on and American Idol starts in 30 minutes. My husband fires up the grill. I begin preparing the mango salsa and start the brown rice cooking. Rob agrees to gather the ingredients while I begin. He retrieves the peppers, cucumbers, onions, spices while I chop. He sets the table and washes dishes as I dirty them. Rob places the chicken on the grill and turns them once while I've finished the salsa.

6:50 PM. Off to the shower we go. No hanky-panky in the shower, dinner and American Idol is our goal and neither of us will stand for dry tough chicken and Rob knows it. Rob has been a quick change artist since the day we married, prides himself on being able to be ready in 5 minutes. Today he readies with a PB, personal best of just over 3 minutes. Hair dry too.




6:55 PM The chicken comes off the grill...cooked to perfection. We dish up a little rice and smother the chicken with salsa and sit down to Ryan Secrest, "THIS is American Idol"!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Corn-Mango Salsa

MARINADE

2 Tbsp Jamaican jerk seasoning, such as Durkee, Tone’s, Spice Islands
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp wheat-free tamari soy sauce
1 Tbsp gluten free Worcestershire sauce, Lea & Perrins
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp lime juice

CHICKEN

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper

CORN-MANGO SALSA

½ of an 11 oz. can shoe peg corn
2 ripe mangos, peeled, and diced in ½ inch chunks
2 small baby cucumbers diced
½ cup grape tomatoes halved and halved again
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
¼ cup diced red onion
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
¼ tsp table salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. For the marinade, place all the marinade ingredients into a large heavy-duty zip-lock bag. Seal the bag and shake to blend the ingredients. Add the raw chicken and place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
2. Chop and toss all the salsa ingredients together in a small bowl.
3. Grill the chicken, discarding the left over marinade. Grill for 5-7 minutes per side and turn over and cook 5-7 minutes on the other side. Remove and serve with a large spoonful of salsa over the top of warm chicken.

Recipe taken from Gluten-Free Quick & Easy


8:00 PM: Orange Polenta Cake with Creme Fraiche and Nespresso (legal if you just rode 40 miles)

Blood Orange Polenta Upside Down-Cake
With Whipped Crème Fraiche


CAKE:

7 Tbsp sugar, divided, plus ¾ cup sugar
3 Tbsp water
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
3 unpeeled small to medium blood oranges, if not available Valencia oranges
¾ cup plus 3 Tbsp Gluten free flour, such as Pamela’s or Tom Sawyer
3 Tbps Polenta or coarse yellow cornmeal
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp coarse kosher salt
¾ tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
6 Tbsp Whole milk

Whipped crème fraiche:

1 cup chilled crème fraiche
2 Tbsp sugar

Preparation
For cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Combine 6 Tbps. Sugar and 3 Tbps. Water in 10-inch diameter ovenproof skillet with 8-inch diameter bottom and 2 ½ inch-high sides. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is golden amber (not dark amber), occasionally brushing down sides of skillet with wet pastry brush and swirling skillet, about 4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and whisk 2 Tbps. butter into caramel. Set aside.

Cut off both rounded ends of each orange so that ends are even and flat. Using sharp knife, cut oranges into 1/16 to 1/8 inch-thick rounds. Remove and discard any seeds. Arrange orange slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles atop caramel in bottom of skillet.

Whisk flour, polenta, baking powder, and coarse kosher salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat ¾ cup sugar, remaining 6 Tbps. room-temperature butter, and vanilla in another medium bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating batter just until incorporated.

Using clean beaters, beat egg whites in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1 Tbps. sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of egg whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Drop batter by large spoonfuls atop orange slices in skillet, then spread evenly.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 32-35 minutes. Cool cake in skillet 10 minutes. Run small knife around cake to loosen. Place platter atop skillet. Using oven mitts, hold platter and skillet firmly together and invert, allowing cake to settle onto platter. Rearrange any oranges slices that may have become dislodged. Cool cake completely at room temperature.

For whipped crème fraiche:
Using electric mixer, beat chilled crème fraiche and 2 Tbsp sugar in medium bowl until mixture thickens.

Original recipe tweaked from Epicurious.