Fish Kabobs

3 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 T lime juice
3/4 onion, quartered
3/4 red bell pepper, cut into wedges
3/4 yellow bell pepper, cut into wedges
12-18 cherry tomatoes
1.5 lb. fish (halibut, sword, salmon) shown in picture is orange roughy

Combine oil and juice into 8 x 8 glass baking dish. Cut fish into 1" cubes, place in dish, and marinate in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Turn cubes to coat evenly and chill 5 more minutes. Thread fish and veggies onto skewers, brush with leftover marinade from baking dish. Place skewers on a broiler pan and broil 4" from heat source, about 3 minutes. turn skewers, brush with marinade, and broil from another 3-4 minutes, or until fish is done and veggies are tender-crisp.

Very good! Here is the meal, with broccoli (also had rice with it):

Chicken Chili with Green Salsa

Note: this probably isn't the greatest "family" recipe since it is a bit spicy, but it was super fast, healthy, and had lots of flavor - I used two chicken breasts cut in small pieces, and medium salsa...might try mild next time =)

12 ounce(s) chicken-breast tenders, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cans (15 to 19 ounces each) white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained
1 3/4 cups (about 16-ounce jar) mild or medium-hot green salsa
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup red and/or yellow cherry tomatoes, each cut into quarters

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat nonstick 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken and cook 2 to 3 minutes or just until chicken loses its pink color throughout, stirring constantly.
2. Add beans, salsa, cilantro, and 1/2 cup water, and cook 5 minutes longer to blend flavors, stirring occasionally. Top with tomatoes to serve.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

Seth found the muffin cup liners the other day and wanted to make cupcakes, so we made "muffin cupcakes" instead and Seth loved them - I added my own crumb topping since I like topping =)

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted (it says you can substitute with canola oil, so I wonder if you could use applesauce as well to make them healthier and applier?)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup finely chopped apples

Heat oven to 375 F.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add all remaining ingredients. Stir just until flour is moistened. Spoon into muffin liners.

Bake 18-23 minutes.

Banana Crumb Muffins

This is a typical banana muffin but instead of putting in the chocolate chips like I normally do, it has a crumb topping like the cinnamon cake does.

1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 banana's mashed
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Egg lightly beaten
1/3 Cup butter, melted

1/3 Cup packed Brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon butter

Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt. In another bowl, beat together banana's, sugar, egg, and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 T flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 T butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean. (My first batch I baked for 18 minutes and they were a little dry so the other I baked for only 15 and they are soft and yummy. So just watch them in your oven.)

Turtle Cheesecake

Lilly & I made this last weekend and it turned out yummy! I got the recipe out of a magazine for a Nestle Toll House contest. I think next time I make it I'll try it with Dark Chocolate chips and see how that goes. I'll post a picture of mine later.

1 3/4 Cups Chocolate Graham Cracker crumbs
1/3 Cup Butter or Margarine, melted
3 Packages (8 oz each) Cream Cheese, softened
I Can (14oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 Cup Sugar
3 Large Eggs
3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 1/2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 Tablespoons Chocolate Syrup
2 Tablespoons Caramel Syrup
1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans (optional)
1/4 Cup Mini Choc. Chips

Preheat oven to 300 Degrees. Grease 9-inch springform pan.

Crust: Combine crumbs and butter in medium bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of pan.

Filling: Beat cream cheese and milk in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, lime juice and vanilla; beat until combined. Microwave chocolate chips in medium, uncovered, microwave safe bowl on High power for 1 minute; Stir. If needed, heat additional 10-15 second intervals, stirring just until chips are melted. Stir 2 cups of batter into melted chocolate; mix well. Alternately spoon batter into crust, beginning and ending with yellow batter. Bake 70-75 minutes or until edge is set and center moves slightly. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; run knife around edge and let cool completely. Drizzle syrups on top. Sprinkle with nuts and mini choc. chips. Refrigerate several hours. Remove side of pan.

I made Tif's Zesty Chicken Saute

I was worried the chili pepper might be the overwhelming flavor, but I was suprised at how well the spices complemented each other. (Oh, I didn't use allspice, and replaced chicken breasts with chicken tenders--it was what I had on hand) I thought it was VERY good and SUPER easy. Preston ate his without a single complaint or prompting from me (yes!)

We had green beans and fried potatoes w/ cheese to go with it. 

Thanks Tif! Keep sharing!

Cheeseburger Soup

There's a first time for everything! Normally this type of recipe wouldn't appeal to me but for some reason I thought "why not?" and I'm glad I tried it. It was a filling soup, easy to make, cheesy, and creamy. It was not, however, very photogenic like some other meals.

Cheeseburger Soup

1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups cubed potatoes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cubed Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sour cream


DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine over medium heat: cook and stir vegetables and beef , until beef is brown.

Stir in basil and parsley. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes.

Melt the remainder of butter and stir in flour. Add the milk, stirring until smooth.

Gradually add milk mixture to the soup, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Stir in cheese. When cheese is melted, add sour cream and heat through. Do not boil.

***I used less onion, no celery (didn't have at the time but would definitely use it), no herbs (boring huh!! my spice cupboard hasn't been replenished since we moved in!) and didn't measure the broth. Instead of using 2 cups grated cheese, I approximated 1 cup shredded cheddar and some velveeta (for consistency--I thought the velveeta would be creamier).

The original recipe came from allrecipes.com. You can follow the link here to read other reviews, etc. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheeseburger-Soup-I/Detail.aspx