Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salsa

Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salsa

 Ingredients:

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise so that you have 2 thin pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 15 oz can black beans

For the Black Bean Salsa:

• 1 cup frozen and defrosted corn (I substituted with canned corn, drained)
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, diced
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Rub Chicken with the Spice Mixture

Grill the Chicken breasts over Medium heat

Black Bean Salsa

1. Preheat grill. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/12 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. Mix well. Sprinkle seasonings over both sides of chicken breasts.
2. Combine black beans, corn, red onion, cilantro, tomato, lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well and set aside.
3. Grill chicken breasts over medium heat until done, about 15 - 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and has an internal temperature of 165°.
4. Top grilled chicken with black bean salsa and serve with a fresh salad or rice.

 Original recipe credit: http://eclecticrecipes.com/grilled-chicken-with-black-bean-salsa
 
  

Marbled Easter Eggs

Now if you're looking for some color in your egg salad after Easter is over, then try this marbled egg design! Looks pretty neat once the egg is peeled off.

You will need:

• Food coloring of your choice
• Zip lock bags for each color
• Boiled eggs
• White vinegar

First, take your boiled eggs and lightly crack the shell all around the egg shell..


Now stick your eggs into each bag and start dyeing. As I used liquid food coloring, all I did was pour in a tablespoon of dye into the bag.


Next: Pour white vinegar over the eggs to keep the color in the egg.


Now peel the shell from the egg... and voila!


Beautiful eggs!!
Now I know it's past Easter but this is something to keep in mind for next Easter.

And I want to give a special thank you to my lovely hand model - Gerald (my love).

As always - your fearless leader, Caitlin - Happy Easter!!

Cinnamon Waffles

So, thanks to my dear friend Alyssa and her boyfriend Shane, I have become obsessed with waffles and finding different ways to make them! I had them one weekend after crashing at their place and that very next day went out to HEB and bought a little waffle maker. For $10 it does the job! One word of advice, be sure to spray non-stick spray on the waffle maker before adding the batter.

Ingredients: (makes 6-8 waffles)

• 2 cups flour
• 3 tbs sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 separated eggs
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• any brand waffle maker

Directions:

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Set aside. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks well. Stir in milk. Add sifted dry ingredients to egg yolks and mix until moistened (be careful not to over mix). Add vegetable oil. Fold in egg whites.
Pour cinnamon in mixture. Stir.
Bake in preheated waffle maker for at least 4-5 mins, until crisp and brown. (in my waffle maker it takes about 10 mins or so..do the tooth pick test!)

I normally add 1 big ice cream scooper full of batter, around 3/4 Cup or so... make sure to use non-stick spray!! Well there you have it my readers, the delicious breakfast itself - WAFFLES!

Now you can use this base recipe to add different seasonings or add ins. For example you could leave out the cinnamon and add a 1/2 Cup or so chocolate chips - yum!

Weekend in Austin: Coco's, Habana & Pho Van

So this weekend we decided to go to Austin (about 1 hr away) and to try out a few new places to eat. It's a tradition of ours to find a new bakery, coffee shop, eatery in Austin or any new town that we go to. So this weekend we went to Habana SoCo to have a little Cuban food!

Habana SoCo

2728 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
512-443-4253
Cuban & Caribbean food $10-$15 per Entree.

The outside was very welcoming and has a outdoor sitting area that is heated! (Not that Texas needs that often)

I had the Ropa Vieja for $13.50. This was a HEARTY plate and I even took home left overs. It was very tasty! Ropa Vieja is Spanish for "Old Clothes" - It is a shredded flank steak in a tomato sauce base.

Gerald had the Seafood Paella for One - $19.95

It was very flavorful but seemed like the "knock off" version of all the huge pots of Paella that you see on the food network. Still tasty but I would not really pay $19.95 for it again...Sorry paella!

Our next stop was
Coco's Cafe
8557 Research Blvd
Austin, TX 78758
512-833-6588

This is one of the best places in Austin to get bubble tea. If you have not tried it, you definitely should. You can get it in any flavor, my personal favorite is a strawberry smoothie with the boba pearls on the bottom. Roughly about $3 a cup - but very filling!

Another first I had this weekend was Pho, and it was very delicious.

Pho Van
8557 Research Blvd (right next to Coco's)
Austin, TX 78758
512-832-5595

Under $10 per entree. I had Pho Ga - small size for $5.99 , and there was plenty for left overs!

Pho Ga was a chicken broth soup with noodle and vegetables.

SO that's what we did this weekend...how was your Valentine's weekend? What are your favorite places in Austin??

Chicken Noodle Soup!

So this past week, everyone in the house has been sick on some level. Sneezey, coughing, runny nose, stuffed up, fever, etc.. The perfect meal time cure for any sickness is SOUP! And what better than an all American favorite like chicken noodle?

I enjoy my chicken noodle with crackers (saltines, oyster crackers) - but it is also good served up all on it's own.... Mmmm soupy goodness!!

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl each salt & pepper
2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 Lb Vermicelli noodles
Roughly 5-6 C chicken broth (enough to cover)

Directions:

Heat your pan to a medium temperature and drizzle olive oil to coat the bottom of pan. Cook onions until translucent - about 5-10 mins.


Add chopped carrots and celery to cooked onion..

Cook for 10-15 mins or until carrots and celery are tender..


Add in your cooked chicken, also add salt & pepper..


Cover with chicken broth... and bring to a slight boil..



Cook the noodles in the broth. They soak up all the flavors in the soup pot. Noodles should be al dente.

All done!! Let cool and serve with crackers or as is. Wonderful for a cold day - or to soothe whatever ales you!

xoxo - Caitlin - Poeatery in Motion

So how do you all like the new header of the blog? In the spirit of the upcoming Valentine's day....any special plans yet for anyone?

In search of more breakfast items to make, I came across this recipe from a fellow blogger "A cup of Sweetness". This is a wonderful breakfast muffin that is not too sweet or over powering.

Now you all know I do not care for anything that has to do with yeast... this recipe is very user friendly and not complicated. I would like a little more lemon flavor in the batter, but everyone else that had one loved them, lol. Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup sugar

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

FOR THE ICING

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend.

Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a tooth pick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool the muffins completely on the rack before icing them.

TO MAKE THE ICING: Put the confectioners sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 ½ tablespoons of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon.



You can then drizzle lines of the icing over the tops of the muffins or coat the tops entirely. Allow time to cool and enjoy!

I want to thank A Cup of Sweetness for the original post!

xoxo - Caitlin, Alpha & Omega of Poeatery in Motion

Creamy Chicken Carbonara

So if you would like an easy pasta dish that will be sure to please everyone at the table, then this is your dish! The creamy pasta sauce, chicken and bacon blend together so well! I personally would never imagine my life without bacon or chicken, lol.

Oh you know you want some! This is by far my favorite pasta recipe. But then again I do love pasta... it's the Italian in me ;-)

* 1 large chicken breast, diced
* 1 pound Penne Pasta
* 2 large egg yolks
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
* 6 ounces thickly sliced bacon, cut into 1/8-inch dice
* 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* 1 cup of baby spinach, coarsely chopped
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (3 ounces), plus more for serving
* Freshly ground pepper


Directions:
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until just al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, separate eggs into a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cream.


In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the bacon and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until crisp, 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 1 minute.


Add spinach cook till wilted, then add diced up, cooked chicken and cook, 5 minutes.


Add the spaghetti to the skillet. Cook over low heat, tossing, until coated. Slowly add the reserved pasta cooking water, beaten egg yolks. Toss until coated with a creamy sauce, about 1 minute.


Add the 1 cup of Parmesan; season with pepper. Transfer to bowls and serve, passing extra Parmesan.


I hope you all enjoy! This is a hearty meal that everyone will love. I know my family sure does!

xoxoxo - Caitlin - Ingenious Poeatery in Motion creator