Posted on

Island Quizine

Tuesday, I had lunch with a fellow blogger and good friend, April.  Island Quizine is a Jamaican place that’s not far from her apartment.  So close, in fact, that we walked there.

And we needed the walk back after an awesome lunch!

The waitress asked if it was our first time there, and it was, so we received a sample plating of the jerk chicken, stew, curry chicken, rice and peas, and two of their drinks – the tropical punch and the pineapple/ginger concoction.  Yeah, that didn’t make the choice of what to eat any easier, because it all tasted SO good.

I ended up getting the jerk chicken – tasty, spicy, but a few too many bones in the mix.

2013-04-23_13-05-36_62 (300x169)

Oh yes, those are plantains on there – they were divine.  But not as divine as their homemade red velvet cake we had for dessert!!!  I’ve had some good red velvet in the past, but this was delectable, moist, and absolutely perfect!

Rating:  4 of 5 Forks!!

Posted on

Thank you & More!

First, many thanks to my friends that voted for me.  I did not move on to the next round, but that just means one less thing on my plate.  🙂

However, I’m still going to make something with the ingredients given for the dessert round – to be posted at a later date.

Last night, I made a recipe that can be found on Hungry Girl.  We saw this on one of her episodes and thought it sounded good.

BBQ Mango Tilapia!

We eat quite a bit of tilapia and other fish in our house, so anything new to do with it is always appealing.  I wasn’t too sure about adding mango to fish, but what the hell, right?  Nothing tried, nothing gained!

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
  • 2 tbsp. (1 oz.) mango nectar
  • 2 tbsp. ketchup
  • 2 tsp. brown sugar (loosely packed)
  • 2 tsp. cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp. molasses
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup diced mango
  • Two 4.5-oz. fillets raw tilapia
  • 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Now, I omitted the cilantro because I honestly don’t care for it much, especially if used as just a garnish (which is what happens here.)

In a medium bowl, combine tomato sauce, mango nectar, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, molasses, and garlic powder. Whisk thoroughly, and then stir in diced tomatoes and mango. This is your marinade.

Place fish and marinade in a container and toss to coat. I would recommend using a good sized ziploc bag – it works well and makes sure that the fish is well coated.  Let it marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add fish and marinade. Once marinade begins to simmer, cover and cook until the fish is tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Plate the tilapia and top with any excess marinade from the skillet. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

I will say that it was just a touch more tomato-y than I care for, so I’m going to adjust this for next time.  But the mango worked beautifully with this!  I will add that a serving of this is only 197 calories!!!

Posted on

Please Vote!

Remember, you can vote every day!!!

Now, I can’t stand turkey, but I can tell you that the turkey burgers I made tasted nothing like turkey. I enjoyed them and will be making them again.  🙂

VOTE HERE!

Posted on

Time to Vote!

Remember, you can vote every day!!!

Now, I can’t stand turkey, but I can tell you that the turkey burgers I made tasted nothing like turkey. I enjoyed them and will be making them again.  🙂

VOTE HERE!

Next week, look for two awesome recipes that I’m going to post up here after I get done with the full weekend ahead.  One tilapia entree and an awesome dessert!

Posted on

Thank You!

Many thanks to my friends and family who voted for me!  I’ve made it to the next round!  Should be good, and I know the Man will be enjoying it as well.  🙂

I’ll be back to regular posting soon.  Possibly something coming soon from whatever I end up making for dinner tonight.

Posted on

Signal Boost!

Okay my friends, family, and anyone else who wants to help me and/or I can bribe in some way – it’s time to vote in the DICED competition!

To the right hand side, you can select up to 4 people to move forward in the competition!

Go HERE to vote!

Boost the signal as much as possible and my apologies now for posting the hell out of this everywhere.

Posted on

Try them and Vote!

Okay my friends, family, and anyone else who wants to help me and/or I can bribe in some way – it’s time to vote in the DICED competition!

To the right hand side, you can select up to 4 people to move forward in the competition!

Go HERE to vote!

Boost the signal as much as possible and my apologies now for posting the hell out of this everywhere.

Posted on

VOTE FOR ME!

Okay my friends, family, and anyone else who wants to help me and/or I can bribe in some way – it’s time to vote in the DICED competition!

To the right hand side, you can select up to 4 people to move forward in the competition!

Go HERE to vote!

Boost the signal as much as possible and my apologies now for posting the hell out of this everywhere.

Posted on

DICED!

In the vein of one of my favorite shows, “Chopped”, a fellow blogger has started a competition called “Diced“.  I decided to enter because a) it’d be hella fun and b) I’ll probably never get on the real “Chopped” show.  So imagine my excitement when I got the email today telling me that I made it into the competition!  I’m stoked to say the least and can’t wait to get to the store and pick up the ingredients I need!

The first round is, of course, appetizer/salad/soup and there are four ingredients that have to be included.   I’ve got several ideas racing about in my head and no, not using any known to me recipe.  I’m going to wing it and see what happens.  That’s what they do on the show (pretty much), so what’s the worst that can happen?  I think my main issue will be how the pictures turn out, but I’ll do my best.

The deadline is March 15th.  The post will be up over at the Rantings of an Amateur Chef after that and then I’ll beg everyone I know to go and like my submission.

Oh, what do I win?  Nothing but the satisfaction of it.  That’s enough for me.  🙂

Posted on

Chicken Taco Soup

A friend sent me this recipe a few years back when I was looking for a simple crock pot recipe that I could throw together in the morning and have it ready for dinner once I got home from work.  While it calls for a lot of canned stuff, it’s a fairly cheap recipe to do.  Depending on where you get your ingredients, this whole meal (which will feed approximately 6-8) cost me $12, including the chicken.  Not too shabby.

Feel free to eliminate the chicken and it becomes a tasty vegetarian dish!

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 boneless chicken breasts (boneless is easier)
  • 2 cans black beans
  • 2 cans corn
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles
  • 2 cans beans (kidney, pink, pick one)
  • 1 packet taco seasoning (or make your own)
  • 1 bottle of beer (your choice of type)
  • salt/pepper to taste
  • shredded cheddar cheese/sour cream/tortilla chips for finishing

2013-02-22_11-39-24_316 (300x169)

(not pictured, chicken and seasonings)

I drain and rinse all the beans and corn.  This is your choice, but I would recommend at least rinsing the beans.  Toss all the beans, corn, diced tomatoes  beer, onions and taco seasoning in the crock pot.  Mix it up.  Take the chicken breasts and lay on the top.  I put a dash of salt (there is plenty of sodium in the beans) and more than a dash of pepper on top.

2013-02-22_11-47-04_349 (300x169)

Put the lid on, turn it on to low heat and allow to cook for roughly 5 hours.  If you do this before work, no worries.  I’ve yet to ever over cook the chicken.  Take the breasts out and shred them.  They’ll be tender and I use two forks to pull them all apart.

2013-02-22_15-48-40_87 (300x169)

Place the shredded chicken back into the crock pot and stir.  Allow to cook for either 2 hours on low heat, or 1 hour on high.  Be nice to your cat-dog and let them lick the chopping board.  My Diva (a cat that thinks she’s a dog was more than happy to help.)

2013-02-22_15-50-55_628 (300x169)

2013-02-22_15-50-32_516 (300x169)

Tasty!!!

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips on top.  Or don’t.  I prefer mine with just some cheese.

2013-02-22_16-43-45_50 (300x169)

You can make this spicier by adding jalapeños (I can’t due to the Man), extra spicy taco seasoning, or anything really – it’s an incredibly flexible recipe.  And while really more a “chili” than soup, you can add more liquid (an extra bottle of beer and more diced tomatoes.)