Lily's Chicken

My parents took Jeff and I out to dinner to celebrate a job for him and a promotion for me. Hooray!  We went to Bonefish Grill. I was expecting it to be pretty chain-restaurant like with not that great of food but I was very wrong. So bummed with myself that I didn't take food photos! I started with a lemon drop martini that was the perfect ratio of booze to lemon. It wasn't overly sweet like lemon drops are sometimes and it tasted like they used real lemon juice. I then ordered a scallop and shrimp plate sans the scallops (I am not a big fan) with green beans. When they brought out my plate I was outraged to find they gave me shrimp and scallops! Just kidding, I was not outraged. I thought it would be nice to give scallops another try and I knew Jeff could pick up the slack. The waitress apologized immediately and had more shrimp brought out to me. Score! So I tried the scallop....it was good!The texture was a bit different but it wasn't rubbery or fishy. I ate about half of them while Jeff took out the other half. The shrimp was fresh, grilled, seasoned and just what I wanted. The green beans were fresh and steamed. Jeff got a tuna plate that was cooked to perfection (which freaks me out, it is bright red/pink but rare is the way to go I am told). My dad got the fish and chips and I have never seen better looking fish and chips (granted I have not been to England). I kept stealing malt vinegar covered french fries from him. By stealing I do actually mean he gave them to me willingly. My mom ordered a grilled Mahi Mahi and was having memories of their recent trip to Hawaii. Dinner was followed by a vanilla cream brulee and complementary chocolate creme brulee for the celebrations. I couldn't actually eat the creme brulee but my mom, dad and Jeff were happy to help out. I will come back and remember to take pictures!

A special bonus. Lily's Chicken! I have been blessed with a 2 month old niece named Lily. I texted this picture to her mommy. When she is old enough maybe she can come order this.

Shrimp and Cilantro Ravioli

I gained inspiration for this recipe from checking out FoodBaby. She made sweet potatoes ravioli, which sounds like a delicious fall meal. I, of course, made took the recipe idea and made it more unhealthy....fried ravioli. I did fill them with shrimp and cilantro to make it semi-healthy, but I am sure the frying ruined the attempt. So at the store pick up some 'egg roll wraps and let your imagination cook wild. You can make Chili rellanos, egg rolls, steamed ravioli, fried seared ravioli. Then you can fill them with; meat, sweet potatoes, beans, cream cheese and peaches....the possibilities are endless, literally. (Bonus: Chili Rellano recipe on bottom)

So for the Shrimp and Cilantro ravioli, I chopped up some fresh cilantro.

Then chopped up some cooked shrimp and placed both on an egg roll wrapper square

Then I put a little egg around the edges and topped it with another egg roll wrapper square. Press hard on the edges with your fingers to be sure it is sealed.

Added a small layer of olive oil in a frying pan and cooked them on each side until brown (medium heat)

Don't those look amazing? I took a big bite and the fresh flavor rushed my mouth. Please be creative and try to make something delicious with egg roll wrappers!

Bonus Recipe:

Crispy Chili Rellanos (from Jennifer)

• Wonton wraps (Sold in produce section of grocery. Also called egg roll wraps.)
• 1-2 eggs
• 1 can of Whole Green Chilies (sold either in the canned food isle, or the Mexican food isle)
• 1 block of Monterey Jack Cheese
• Vegetable oil

Prep: The can of whole green chilies will need to be opened, and you will have to take out each individual chili to give a rinse. Most times, the canned chilies come lathered in vinegar, and so as not to take away from final product, this should be rinsed off.

While chilies are drying, take the 2 eggs and beat them in to a bowl as if you were preparing scrambled eggs. You will use the egg as paste for the wonton. Also, you will need to slice the Monterey cheese. The more slices the better!

Cook: When ready, take a single wonton wrap and lay it down on flat surface (cutting board is perfect). Slice one side of the whole chili, and open up on top of the wonton. Put cheese on top of chili…be generous. Then fold the wonton so that it takes the shape of a burrito. Each time a side is laid down, be sure to “glue it” with egg. This will help the wonton stick to itself. Repeat this until ingredients are used. I like to make about a dozen or so. When ready, get out skillet and turn heat up to medium-high. Pour in enough vegetable oil to cover the entire surface of pan. As soon as you can hear sizzling from the pan, place your rellanos in and fry until golden brown. NOTE: this will not take long. Only 2 minutes on each side should be enough.

Pesto Shrimp

Here is an old Candida safe dinner I had a while back. And per usual, it was easy and ready very quickly. Just cook up some shrimp in a basil or cilantro pesto with a little garlic in a sauce pan on medium heat. Add a whole wheat tortilla on the side for good measure and then sit there and feel really proud of yourself for the culinary expertise you have just tackled.

What pesto recipes do you have?

Basil Shrimp and Rice

First Candida safe dinner. Brown rice with basil and shrimp. Now this dish was pretty simple (which is kind of a theme for me). Cook up some rice, toss in some fresh basil and throw in the already cooked shrimp from the grocery store....I feel totally lazy. For the record, they only had two kinds of shrimp; the cooked ones and then uncooked ones that had weird little leg things. Ugh! I hate cooking with animals...one of these days I may get used to it.

Shrimp Madness!

Whole Foods was having a shrimp skewer special; five Shrimps on a skewer for a buck. I capitalized on this offer and with my new found love/tolerance of shrimp I planned a dinner. I bought 10 shrimp that were already marinated with a tequila lime sauce and then marinated the other 10 with my own blend of lime juice, lime zest, garlic and cilantro (fresh!). I sautéed the little guys up in some olive oil and made cilantro-lime brown rice and green beans as side dishes. As a light dipping sauce I put together Greek Yogurt with lemon juice and zest. Delicious sounding, I know, and everything thing sans the tequila shrimp (Jeff wanted these) and the CasCal soda are great to eat on a Candida diet. If you would like a more savory version of shrimp and rice idea, go check out this recipe at Savor the Sweet.

Candida Safe: Shrimp, Lime, Garlic, Cilantro, Brown Rice, Green Beans, Olive Oil, Lemon, Greek Yogurt
More information to come on CasCal soda...

Shrimp Ball, Spinach Dip, Tequila Lime Chicken, Cheddar Cheese Soup, Chocolate Mocha Trifle

Shrimp Ball, Spinach Dip, Tequila Lime Chicken, Cheddar Cheese Soup, Chocolate Mocha Trifle

I think I put too much on my plate for this night of cooking (pun intended). I am going to Ali and Rob’s house on Friday and wanted to bring them as much food as possible. Those mountain folk need some good eats after a full day of tipping cows and sitting in their overalls. But instead of getting right down to it, I went to a Happy Hour with some ladies from work. We had so much fun, good drinks and good food; but when 7:30 rolled around I was just leaving to grocery shop. I spent a long time trying to find canned shrimp and felt disgusted that canned shrimp even existed and even more disgusted that I was purchasing canned shrimp. Turns out it’s in the canned food aisle…tricky. I then picked up a package of chicken breasts which apparently was not sealed very well and I had no idea you were suppose to bag them up. GROSS! I had chicken juices all over my hand and nothing to wipe it off with. I choose my pants, and forgot about the leaky chicken in my cart. As I checked out, the poor bagger guy got the short end of the chicken stick and was covered as well in chicken juices. I apologized for forgetting to tell him but he was not amused. I got home after 8 and was discouraged by all the cooking I had to do. The Shrimp ball was from Gretchen, the Tequila Lime Chicken was from Penny and the rest were from my mom. I was cooking quick and dirty, trying to get done with the whole ordeal. I broke down and just touched the chicken. I tried not to think about it. The recipe calls for tequila as stated in the name, and my cooking frustrations got the best of me. I sloppily took a few swigs straight out of the bottle; maybe this is why the chicken cutting was easier?
In my drunken haste I used my special technique for juicing limes and oranges. I cut them in half and squeezed as much of the juice out as I could, then I bit into the rind with my teeth to help get the rest of the juice out. It really doesn’t spread my germs because I never bite all the way through the rind. It is an effective technique, but tastes like crap and something in the rind made my lips burn like crazy. I finished the limes and oranges with sore lips and took another swig of tequila to help the pain. OUCH! The alcohol just made my lips burn even more. I HATE COOKING!
I made a cheddar soup which had a heavenly cheese sauce added to it. The Spinach dip and Shrimp ball were easy enough (except for Max’s obsession with the shrimp). The Chocolate Mocha Trifle was a little bit more work but will taste amazing. I tried to buy toffee bars to crumble in this dish, but accidentally bought chocolate bars with soft toffee in the middle. At the beginning of this whole process I may have worried about it, but at this point, it will have to do. Dessert is dessert! I only made it through 5 of the 6 recipes I had planned on making but I couldn’t cook any longer. I stood defeated in the kitchen wearing sweatpants, a Lockheed Martin Pluto shirt, my apron covered in citrus juices and bright red lips. What a sight I was!