Ja cię kocham…

Image Courtesy of BettyCrocker.com

Wednesday was my adorable husband’s birthday, and we always like to cook for one another for our birthdays.  Anything the birthday boy or girl wants will be made.  I’m pretty easy because I ALWAYS want fettuccine alfredo on my birthday.  It is my all-time favorite food, and I only allow myself to have it on my birthday or very special occasions to keep it from getting old or boring.  This year Jay surprised me with Maggiano’s fettuccine alfredo the day I defended my thesis and official finished graduate school.  THAT was certainly a special occasion!

Since Jay’s birthday comes almost immediately after the holiday season, he wanted something light and healthy.  I accepted the challenge of making something healthy and keeping it special.

I googled “birthday dinners” and this recipe completely fell into my lap.  I was sold.  Jay is obsessed with chips and salsa so anything served with salsa is a winner in his book.  I added some extra ingredients to this recipe because it seemed to be a little bland on its own.  The dish was beautifully presented with lush fruit spilling over the chicken and bright green broccoli served on the side.  Broccoli is the birthday boy’s favorite vegetable.  (He’s easy to please.)

Happy Birthday, lovey!

Cornmeal Chicken with Peach Salsa

Source: Betty Crocker

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Salsa:

3 cups frozen peaches, chopped, then thawed
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste

Chicken:

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbs. smoked paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cinnamon
salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil (grapeseed oil can be found at Trader Joe’s for $3)

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix all of the salsa ingredients, cover, and put in refrigerator until serving time.

In a shallow dish, mix all of the dry ingredients.  Add oil to large skillet set to medium-high heat.  Coat chicken in cornmeal mixture and place in skillet for 15-20 minutes (or when juices run clear in thickest part of the chicken), flipping only once.  Serve with salsa on top.

Serve any leftover salsa with tortilla chips!

I’m not going to lie.  I completely made this recipe up.  Now I’m sure that somewhere out in cyberspace there is a recipe similar to this, but for me, this was totally original.  The only inspiration that I had was my craving for Mexican food and steak.

I knew that I didn’t want nachos.  As delicious as they are, I have no control over how many I eat.  My family is known for ordering nachos as our main meal when we go out to eat.  Forget nachos as an appetizer to nibble, I want the whole plate!  Because of this obnoxious need I have to eat all of the nachos, I steered clear from them for this meal.  I wanted the flavor without the tortilla chips.

What I really liked about this recipe is how versatile it is.  It’s great on steak, chicken, and fish, and then make great wraps the next day for lunch.  When I made this recipe, I also snuck a piece of chicken in the mix, and I think that it turned out better than the steak.  The chicken was soooo moist from marinating in the fresh lime juice.  It was super tender and juicy even after microwaving it the next day at work for my wrap.  Fan-flipping-tastic!

I had every intention of making my own salsa for this recipe, but I didn’t want to spend $6 or$7 on tomatoes when I was already buying avocados at $1.50 each.  Instead I bought a much cheaper, fresh pico de gallo.  Just in case you don’t know what pico de gallo is, it’s a Mexican condiment very similar to salsa.  The only difference is that pico de gallo isn’t nearly as watery as salsa.  It’s pretty much just coarsely chopped tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos.  It’s very fresh and very good.

Lime Chili Steaks with Pico de Gallo and Homemade Guacamole

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 steaks or chicken breasts with all fat removed
3-4 limes
3 avocados  (Make sure that when you squeeze them, the flesh gives just a little.  That’s how you know they are ripe.)
1/4 of a red onion, coarsely chopped
1-2 jalapeno, seeds removed and thinly sliced
a handful of cilantro
salt and pepper
4 Tbs. chile powder (I used a blend of ancho, chipotle, and Mexican chile powder)
1 Tbs. olive oil**  (Only if you are using an indoor grill or skillet.)
1 container pico de gallo
1 small container sour cream
handful of scallions, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

If you are using an outdoor grill, preheat it to medium-high.  If you are cooking it indoors, skip this step.  You will preheat your grill pan later.

Roll all of the limes on your cutting board, placing an ample amount of pressure on them while you roll them.  This helps them to get ‘juicier’.   Juice all but one lime into a medium-sized bowl.  Place meat in with the lime juice.  Let marinate for at least 10 minutes.

While meat is marinating, juice your final lime into another medium-sized bowl.   Peel the avocados and cut the flesh into large chunks, placing them into the second bowl of lime juice.  For instructions on how to cut an avocado, click here.  Add onion, jalapeno, cilantro to lime/avocado mixture.  Toss gently.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

If you are using an indoor grill pan or large skillet, preheat it with 1 Tbs. olive oil to medium-high for steak and medium for chicken.

On a large plate, rub steaks/chicken with chile powder.

Regardless of which grill you are using (indoor or outdoor)…

Steak:  Cook for 2 minutes on each side or until at desired cooking temperature.
Chicken:  Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until no longer pink.

Let meat sit for 10 minutes, covered with aluminum foil.

Then place on serving plate.  Top with pico de gallo, guacamole (avocado mixture), and sour cream.  Garnish with scallions.