Pizza Toppings Cupcake Tin
My mother-in-law has been in Florida with her family for the last few weeks so we invited my father-in-law for dinner on Friday night. He is a serious pizza lover like Ryan and I so…we made grilled pizzas. As I was preparing all of the toppings, I had an idea. I like to use my cupcake tin for snacks for the kids throughout out the day. Fresh blueberries, strawberries and other fruits, pretzels, Pirate’s Booty…And I just leave it on their little table and they can grab something as their whizzing by playing or tormenting one another. So, I thought to myself, I could use my cupcake tin to display all of my toppings for pizzas. Then you could see all of the delicious little treats to put on top of your yummy pizza. And! I only have to wash one dish! Not 16 ramekins! I swear I felt like I had found a buried little treasure in my kitchen. And now you have a buried treasure in your kitchen too. Yay!
And, here is the link for my homemade pizzas!
http://www.mommybistro.com/homemade-pizza
Cuban Garlic Chicken
I posted a picture of this chicken on Facebook and it got such an amazing response, I felt that I had to get this onto Mommy Bistro for you as soon as possible! If you have ever had real Cuban Garlic Chicken (meaning you have been to Versailles Restaurant in Encino, CA or another location), then you know what I am about to give you. Anyone who has been to this gem of a restaurant, realizes the magnitude of the gift this recipe is. I obviously didn’t steal their recipe (if I only knew how!!), so this is my own version. This is the dish to end all dishes, the-end-of-the-world-what-am-I-going-to-eat-before-I-die Cuban Garlic Chicken. The last time I made this I didn’t have time to go to Jons Market for La Lechorana so I used the Albertsons brand from concentrate orange juice and I used three lemons instead of two. I serve this chicken with cilantro rice and black beans.
Hubby’s Note: If I were on Death Row, this might possibly be my last meal request. But only because you can’t count on the quality of the Filet Mignon in prisons these days. They don’t make them like they used to. Back to the Chicken – it’s amazing. I’ve been known to start speaking in a Cuban dialect while eating this dish and spouting the benefits of communism whilst cursing the capitalist pigs that insist–wait, I digress. Ok, I know it looks nice and neat in the picture, but I highly recommend ripping this dish a new one. I cut all the chicken up first and then ditch the carcass so I can devote 100% of my attention to the delicious mess of Chickeny Citrusy Garlicy Rice-Beansy Oniony goodness before me. Warning – suprisingly, the hottest part of this dish is the raw onion. I asked my wife if she could maybe sweat the onion a little bit to tone it down. She responded by taking my “Man-Card” from me. I had to do masonry work in the yard to earn it back.
Caprese Salad
Everyone has made or probably has a Caprese Salad recipe, right? So, I’m not going to say this is the end all be all recipe on my site. But it’s so tasty. And perfect for summer. If you have a farmer’s market in your town, go there. Get fresh locally grown tomatoes. Or even better heirloom tomatoes (my favorite!). But if you can’t get to a farmer’s market, I get the Trader Joe’s pack of mini heirloom tomatoes. They’re fabulous. 😉
Pollo Borracho…. Spaghetti
I have no idea how I came up with this recipe. All I know is that some kind of chicken pasta with tequila and peppers sounded REALLY good one day. Though now that I think about it, is there any kind of alcohol that chicken does not taste good with? I think not. And as I was cooking it, I added a bit of this here and a bit more tequila there. Borracho means “drunk” in spanish. And I like to get this chicken good and borracho. I am really not pleased with the picture I took cause the chicken looks funky in it? But I assure you, the drunk ass chicken pasta is downright delicious.
Hubby’s Note: Tequila? Check. Meat? Check. Carbs? Check. Tequila in a glass over rocks for Daddy? Check. All systems are go.
Recipes Headed Your Way
I am trying to release three recipes a week. I wish I could release one everyday but who am I kidding? I’ve got two kids and its summer! Lots of things to do before Pixie heads off to preschool in the fall…. ah! Gonna cry thinking about it.
Okay so here is a list of the recipes headed your way in the next few weeks. If you want to see something added to the list, post a comment! I’m totally down to take on your challenge. Let’s do this people:
Mango Chicken Salad
Because I love her and she asked for this recipe to be released next and because she’s carrying baby Jane in her tummy and because she’s all around fabulous, this recipe is for Jessica Waters (and Alisha cause this will always remind me of her!)
I started making this salad about 8 years ago. One of my coworkers, Alisha, was obsessed with it. We always joked about eating S#!& salad that we brought from home for lunch because if we ate the food at our restaurant everyday, we’d be large and in charge. My office was the first office as you came into the corporate offices and everyday, Alisha would peek in to see what I brought or, more importantly, to see if I brought this ridiculously yummy salad. I’m not sure if I ever gave this recipe to Alisha but I know she will be on here printing this one out! Shout out to S. S.!!
Hubby’s note: We’re doing shout outs now? Is this a morning radio show? If I were to shout something it would be…I LOVE THIS SALAD…AND I LOVE USING ELLIPSES! Seriously, this salad is so light and so good at the same time. I’m a man (I’m relatively sure about this). We generally don’t eat salad. But this one is amazing. It actually feels substantial. Like I’m eating a meal, instead of grazing on foliage. Peace out dog, word to ya mutha.
Butter Chicken
I was very fortunate that when I had my second little one (we’ll call her “Buggies”), my mommy friends came by every night at 5:30 and dropped a complete meal off for my family and I for two fantastically wonderful weeks. As any mom can attest, the last thing a new mom wants to do or has the time to do, is cook a meal for your family (you’re far too busy “being” the meal for your new little sleep deprivation machine). One of the meals dropped off for us was what the hubby and I now call….Butter Chicken. I find this funny because there is absolutely no butter in this dish. It should be called Rosemary Chicken or Olive Oil Goodness Chicken but alas, it is the Butter of the Chick. I usually serve this with my mashed potatoes because it helps balance out the rich flavor of the chicken. Check that recipe out too!
Hubby’s Note: There’s no butter in this chicken? But it’s called Butter Chicken? A woman must have named this. Well, it tastes like butter. So I forgive the transgression. (More please?)
Pure Comfort Enchiladas
So, we live in California and one of the perks that goes with the outrageous amount of money we spend on houses and property taxes is that we are surrounded by the best Mexican food in America. And of all the Mexican food available, the Enchilada is by far my favorite. It’s a squishy, yummy, delicious combination of all the best flavors our California Mexican food has to offer. And I say Californian Mexican food, because it really is it’s own style of mexican food. I’ve been to Mexico. I’ve eaten the food, got the t-shirt. I honestly prefer ours California version. And when it comes to Mexican restaurants here in CA, I quite honestly judge them based on their enchiladas. Ok, their chips and salsa have to be good to. And their Guacamole. And their chile rellenos better be good too. I know. I’m judgmental.
These enchiladas are the perfect comfort food and quite amazing. Pixie always has second helpings when these pop out of the oven.
Hubby’s note: These things are ridiculous. They’re so good in fact that they are almost a substitute for sex. But not quite. I prefer mine with no cheese, for Lactosian reasons. But I HIGHLY recommend adding ground beef to these. My wife makes me my own separate enchilada pie with no cheese and lots and lots of taco meat (ground beef soaked in taco seasoning). HUBBY APPROVED!
Hungarian Langos
First off, you absolutely must love garlic to love Langos. Second, if you are eating it…everyone around you MUST eat it too. Cause it ain’t pretty when you’re the only garlic infused person in a room. I’m going to give you two recipes: the authentic recipe making it from scratch. And the “I want langos now and don’t have time to make the damn dough recipe”
Hubby’s note: I’m not Hungarian. And I don’t play Hungarian on TV. When I first started dating a Hungarian family (you don’t just date the daughter), they made this dish one night. They cooked the dough, and then handed me a whole clove of garlic and said “Bite into this!”. I’m not gonna lie to you, I thought they were crazy. I was one fried dough patty away from taking off. But OH, am I glad I stayed. This stuff is ridiculous. Be daring! Bite the garlic! You will thank yourself later. As an added benefit, vampires won’t come within a mile radius of you (nor will your spouse if they didn’t have any).
Sicilian Chicken Marsala
My husband’s grandparents lived in Sicily for quite some time…quite some time ago. Two recipes they brought back with them and have passed on to the family is their Chicken Marsala recipe…and their Spaghetti Carbonara recipe. This recipe comes from La Siciliana Ristorante. I know this because the menu from the restaurant is framed and hanging in my dining room. It’s one of two dishes Ryan is a master at (the other being the carbonara recipe). And because I was craving it (and laid out all of the ingredients) he made it. YESSS!!!!
Hubby’s note: I LOVE this chicken recipe. Make sure you get the chicken good and drunk. That’s how you take advantage of her.