Tuesday Tip: Lots of Lime Juice (or lemon...)

My husband never ceases to amaze me.  Sometimes I wonder how he would get  by in life if I wasn't doing things to keep this house going (watering plants, taking out the garbage, buying paper towels and cleaning supplies - just to name a few).  And then, he'll just come out with this tip that is so "DUH!" but so helpful.

My favorite one still is when he taught me that if you put a wooden spoon over a pot of boiling water, it won't boil over.  I blogged about that here.

Then the other night we were making pork tacos and they marinade for the pork takes about a zillion limes.  I rolled the lime a few times under my hand to try to extract the juices and I could hardly get any juice out despite my little trick.  I told my husband he was going to have to roll the limes around because I clearly wasn't pressing had enough.

And that's when he said, "Don't you know?  Just pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds."  And dang if that didn't work like a miracle - the juice came pouring out of that babies after that!

Images via here.

Guest Room Chandelier

I love our quaint little guest room.

When we moved into our house there was a ho-hum ceiling mounted fixture in the guest room.  My grandmother had this beautiful Italian chandelier that we decided to hang in there.  We asked the electrician to hang it for us but I didn't even think about the fact that the ceiling color could be different due to paint/stains from where the old fixture was.  See?

The poor quality of these iPhone pictures aside, it looks terrible, right??  Certainly doesn't do the fixture justice like I wanted to do for my sweet Grandmother.

For a mere $16 I bought a ceiling medallion from Home Depot and had my handyman take down the chandelier, add the medallion, and rehang the fixture.  Now it not only looks clean and need, I think the elegance of the fixture is amplified.

Now the room just feels more complete.

There are also little matching sconces that I love.

They flank the window in the room.

On another note, I have always adored this chandelier and always told my grandmother I wanted it one day. (Thankfully I was the only granddaughter so I didn't have a lot of competition since it is a little feminine for the boys liking...).  Anyway, I was reading Miss Mustard Seed's blog and saw that she just recently hung a similar one in her office that I adore.  Isn't it sweet?

Homemade Pico de Gallo

Even in the winter when the tomatoes are not at their peak, pico de gallo tastes fresh and healthy.  And it is so easy to make at home, why buy it already prepared?

What You Need:
6 roma tomatoes, diced (you could use another kind of 'mater but these are my hubby's favorite)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 large handful of fresh cilantro
juice of one lime
1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed, chopped finely
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

What You Do:
Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix together.  Seriously, that's it.

We had some friends over for a little quasi-Mexican themed dinner.  I set the table with mixed colorful napkins, colored tea light holders and some paper mache fruit I picked up in Mexico on our honeymoon.

and set out some appetizers (including the pico and some guac!) to get the party started.  Oh, and guess who wanted in on some appetizer action.  That's right, G Dubs...

Oh, and even though its not a Tuesday, here's a little tip.  I just served store bought guacamole but if you dress it up with a little chopped tomato, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime, everyone will think it is homemade!

Chicken Divan

Chicken Divan was my favorite dish my Mom used to make.  I miss having it now that she's gone.  It makes me a little sad but also comforted at the same time.  This isn't my Mom's recipe but it is delish.  I got my inspiration for this from a Paula Deen recipe but I changed a few things up.  I also doubled this recipe and took a dish to some friends and I think they enjoyed it too!

What You Need:
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 boxes of frozen chopped broccoli
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp curry powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup of dry white wine
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp butter

What You Do:
Defrost the broccoli in the microwave in a large glass bowl (about 4-5 minutes on high).  Drain any excess water. Add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the broccoli and set aside.

In a separate bowl mix together the chicken soup, mayo, sour cream, cheddar cheese, curry powder, lemon juice and white white.

Add the soup/sauce mixture to the bowl with the chicken and broccoli and mix together.  Don't mix too hard because you don't want it to turn to mush.

Add the entire mixture to a casserole dish (I used disposable this time so I could transport it to my friend.  Top with breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese and dollops of the butter.  Cover with aluminium foil.  Bake covered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove the foil and broil on low for 5 minutes until bread crumbs are browned and crusted.

Crock Pot Curried Chicken Stew

I love the flavor of coconut milk and curry.  The curry keeps the coconut milk from being too sweet and gives such a great depth of flavor.  We love trying out different kinds of curry in dishes but any kind you have on hand will do!  The beauty of this dish is that other than browning the chicken, everything is just tossed into the slow cooker.

What You Need:
4-6 chicken thighs, skin on
3 carrots, chopped or about 20 baby carrots, halved
1 white onion, sliced thick
1 cup coconut milk (I used reduced fat)
3 tbsp curry powder (more or less to taste)
3 tbsp olive oil
handful of fresh cilantro
salt and pepper

What You Do:
Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper.  Heat the olive oil in a pan and place the chicken skin side down.  Brown for approximately 8-10 minutes.  Do not turn chicken.

Chop carrots and onion and layer them in the bottom of your slow cooker.  In a small bowl, mix the coconut milk and curry and pour over the vegetables.  Layer the browned chicken over the top of the vegetables and cook in the slow cooker on high for approximately 3 hours.

Top with fresh cilantro and serve over rice.

I Wish...

I wish this was my room in real life and not just a piece of art.  But, I'd settle for it hanging on my while.  You know me, no room ever suffered from a little bit of animal print!

Just lovely...

source unknown

Southern Style Beef Tips and Rice

It's cold out.  Therefore some serious comfort food is needed.  Enter beef tips and rice.  Yummy warm goodness.

What You Need:
1 pound of sirloin chopped
1/2 all purpose flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 onion, diced
1 beef bouillon
1 cup boiling water
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
salt and pepper
fresh parsley for garnish
white rice, cooked per package directions

What You Do:
Season meat generously with salt and pepper.  In a ziplock bag add flour, paprika, and garlic powder and mix together.  Add the meat and shake to coat with the flour mixture.  Heat oil in a dutch oven or a pan with a lid.  Brown meat for about 4-5 minutes.  Add onion and cook until translucent.

In a separate bowl, dissolve bouillon cube in cup of boiling water.  Add the water mixture to the beef and onions.  Turn the temperature to low, cover, and simmer for about 2 hours.  Serve over hot white rice and garnish with parsley.