Cilantro Lime Vinagrette

I found this recipe on Eating Well website, and fell in love with it. This salad dressing is excellent for summer or anytime you want something light and refreshing. This goes great with a chopped chicken salad, or a shrimp salad.

Ingrediants:

Dressing:
1 cup packed cilantro
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Pinch of minced garlic

Puree cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, salt, pepper and garlic in a food processor until smooth.

Grilled Tomato Basil Pizza

This is our new find, it is so easy and tastes like those gourmet pizza places with the brick oven. Our favorite is Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella but we also have done BBQ chicken and white pizza. Manga!


Ingredients:

1 lb fresh or frozen pizza dough (we like Trader Joe's wheat pizza dough)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 can of Hunt's fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 lb of fresh mozzarella cheese
Fresh Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste


Heat grill to medium-high heat. Roll pizza dough out on a cookie sheet and cut in to four equal pieces. Take the olive oil and brush on each piece of dough. Take dough and place on the grill, olive oil side down. Let cook 2-3 minutes, and flip over. Once flipped over add tomatoes, and cheese, grill another 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Take off grill and add fresh basil.

Strawberry Noodles

This recipe is courtesy of my mother-in-law. She tells me this is a popular treat in Poland and can also be served as a meal. The strawberries with the noodles are amazing.
(image courtesy of boxedberries.com)

Ingredients:

1 lb of Kluski noodles
20-25 medium strawberries
2 teaspoons of sugar, or more to taste

Preparation:
Boil noodles until tender (about 8-10 minutes). In food processor, puree sugar and strawberries. When noodles are done, pour strawberry mixture over noodles and serve.

Tomato Basil Pasta

This is an old favorite of our family. It's basic, but always a hit at parties. I actually like to serve this pasta cold rather than hot, but it tastes great either way.

Ingrediants:

1 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped in small pieces
1 cup torn fresh basil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil pasta in boiling water.
While pasta is boiling mix oil, garlic, and tomatoes. Add mixture to pasta when done boiling. Add basil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Key Lime Pie

Key lime pie is my absolute favorite dessert. Especially in summer. It is refreshing and won't ruin your diet. This is my version of key lime pie using chocolate crust. It's a great spin on traditional key lime pie. I use a store bought chocolate pie crust, but you can make your own oreo one. (image courtesy of prweb.com)

Ingredients:

• 9" chocolate Oreo pie crust
  
• 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
• 3 egg yolks (whites not used)
• ½ cup Key Lime Juice

Preparation:

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350� for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream, and garnish with lime slices.

Spicy Thai Chicken with Coconut Rice

So I orginally got this recipe from Rachel Ray's TV show. I made it that night and changed things around a bit. This is my version of Rachel's Spicy Thai Shrimp with Coconut Rice. This is my husbands favorite meal, we have it once a week. It does work great with shrimp as well.

• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1 cup of water
  
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3-4 chicken breasts sliced
  
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 fresh red chili, seeded and thinly sliced or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups (a couple of handfuls) basil, torn
• Juice of 1 lime

Preparation

In a saucepan, add the coconut milk, water, rice and salt, and bring it to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, place a lid on top and cook for 15 minutes. Let the mixture stand for ten minutes off the heat then fluff with a fork.

While the rice is cooking, preheat a large, nonstick skillet over high heat with canola oil. When the pan is hot, add the chicken, cook until non pink. Add red bell peppers, chili (or red pepper flakes) and garlic, and stir for about 3-4 minutes.

Add the soy sauce, basil and toss to combine. Serve the chicken and some of the sauce over the coconut rice and squeeze some lime juice the dish.