Simply Scrumptious

 I love Giada de Laurentiis. I was shopping in Target the other day and saw her newest cookbook, "Giada At Home" and I just had to have it. It is full of amazing recipes and I've been DYING to try some! So since I love eggs and my boyfriend loves steak I decided to go with the Grilled Tuscan Steak with Fried Egg and Goat Cheese. It's a really simple recipe and it turned out sooo good.  I omitted the goat cheese because Anthony (my bf) doesn't think it's cheese unless it comes from a cow. I substituted shredded parmesan and it worked great. You can find the recipe in Giada's cookbook or online

Grilled Tuscan Steak w/ Fried Egg

Need a little more? I made fried tortellini to go with my steak! 

Get your favorite store bought ravioli or tortellini

Beat 2 eggs with 1/2 cup of milk

Mix together 1/2 cup of flour with 1/2 cup of italian seasoned bread crumbs

Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper

Coat the pasta with egg then dredge in the flour

Heat about 3 cups of vegetable oil to about 300 degrees

Deep fry until golden and serve with your favorite marinara sauce. YUM!

Mang-o-licious Tacos

So, I wanted tacos for dinner. But I didn't want my plain old tacos with ground beef and taco sauce. My Love for mexican inspired dishes and my spontaneous creativity got me thinking about trying something a bit different and on a hot summer day nothing is more refreshing than my Grilled Chicken Tacos with Cucumber Mango Salsa. This is so easy to make and will definitely quench your appetite. I almost couldn't eat it because I was drooling over it so much. Which garnered me enough "you're so weird" stares from my boyfriend I just had to give in and taste it. IT WAS SOO GOOD! Sweet, savory and juicy with a bit of crunch and a lot of YUM-O. Just enough flavor and texture to make your taste buds tango to taco heaven!

My muses for this recipe are the Mango Chicken Salad from Qdoba and some mango salsa covered crab cakes I had once at a local eatery. They were sooo good! But I like being in control of what goes into my food and onto my plate. It's much healthier for you when you're in charge of what goes in and what stays out. So please do try! I guarantee it will be a crowd pleaser.

Mango Salsa

1 small cucumber - seeded

1 mango

1/2 red onion

1 jalapeno - If you like it spicy leave the seeds. If you don't scrape them out. Or just scrape out some of them for a medium heat.

juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon of honey

about a teaspoon

or so of dry or fresh cilantro

pinch of salt and pepper

Dice the first 4 ingredients into small, evenly sized pieces. Toss with remaining ingredients then cover and let it hang out in the fridge while you prepare the chicken.

Pollo

1 pound - boneless, skinless chicken breast. (I like chicken tenders for this)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Clean the chicken and pat dry. Lay aside in one even layer. Mix the dry ingredients together and sprinkle evenly over chicken. Flip the chicken over and repeat.

If cooking the chicken on the stove top: Pre-heat skillet to med-high and add a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add the chicken and cook through. About 10-12 minutes flipping once.

If cooking the chicken on the grill: Pre-heat the grill on the lowest setting. Brush the grill with some of the olive oil so the chicken doesn't stick. Add the chicken. Brush the chicken with the olive oil. After half the cook time flip the chicken and brush with more olive oil. Chicken will be done in about 10-12 minutes.

Once the chicken has cooled slice it into strips for your tacos. Fill steamed flour taco shells with chicken and salsa. Top with your favorite toppings or nothing at all and ENJOY!!

Let's think outside the box on this one. This manga salsa isn't just for tacos. Use your imagination to put it on some of your favorite foods. It might be mango but it's still salsa!