Tonic and Lime

So, it's been quite a while and I realized that I have seriously neglected my food blog. So, I'm trying to redeem myself somehow. There's not much that I can do to redeem the fact that I haven't posted anything in months and months. Maybe my excuse of being pregnant with #2 is a good enough excuse, but I doubt it. I'm due in about 2 months and have been fairly exhausted running after a 2 year old and, and, and... Not a great excuse, but its something. So, this is the little jewel that I have discovered being pregnant that I love. It's fairly simple to make and delicious if you love limes like me. This is great for a refreshing summer treat on a hot, hot day!

4 Limes
1 Bottle Tonic Water
Ice

Quarter lime and squeeze one quarter into an 8 ounce glass filled with ice. Fill glass with Tonic Water and top with thin slices of lime and some lime zest. Yummy!

Yield: 4 servings... maybe more depending on how much you like or dislike limes.

Spaghetti Sauce

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
8 fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
8 mushrooms, sliced
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chiffonade

In a large skillet brown ground beef in olive oil, then add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent and garlic is tender. Add bell pepper and saute for 2 more minutes. Add fresh tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, carrots, red pepper flakes and brown sugar; simmer on low/medium heat for 20 minutes. Add basil about 5 minutes before serving. Serve on thin or angel hair spaghetti.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Tomato Basil Risotto

1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice
5 Tablespoons butter
4 cloves Garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup chicken broth
3 cups hot chicken broth
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and seeded
1 Tablespoon Basil, finely chopped
3/4 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground pepper

In a heavy sauce pan, saute rice in butter, stirring constantly. Add onion and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent. And 1/4 cup chicken broth and saute until absorbed. Slowly add 1 cup hot chicken broth, stirring frequently. As the liquid cooks down add another cup of hot chicken broth. When the second cup of chicken broth cooks down add chopped tomatoes and basil. As the tomatoes cook down add the remainder of hot broth, 1/2 cup at a time until all broth is used and the mixture is very creamy. Fold in cheese and pepper and serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings

Tomatoes, Tomatoes...

I have a good friend that was brave enough to grow a garden this summer. He planted things like corn, zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes. He planted about 20 tomato plants (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit) and so what was he left with... you got it! Tomatoes coming out of every orifice that you can imagine. So, I was kind enough to take some of those wonderful "fruits" off his hands. Now because I had all these tomatoes I had to do a few things with them. So, here are a couple recipes that I conjured up with this famous fruit that most people call a vegetable.

Chicken Stir-Fry

Mike has been gone for a week in Romania and he'll be gone another week, still. He gets home a week from today. And with him gone it has made it very difficult to cook. I mean, who wants to cook for just themselves? I don't. I like to cook for someone else, because I need the constant reassurance that the meal is good. I know that I'll like it... it's what other people think of it that counts. Shallow, eh? Anyway, with that said, I finally got tired of takeout and since I don't have any plans for dinner at other persons houses I needed to cook myself some dinner tonight. So, this is what I made.

2 chicken thighs, bones and skin removed
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil, no substitutes
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups steamed rice

Spray skillet or wok with cooking spray and heat on Medium heat. Coat chicken thighs with cooking spray and place in heated skillet. Cover skillet and let chicken cook for 3-4 minutes or until brown on one side then flip chicken and cover skillet again for an additional 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, chop celery, onion and slice carrots, set aside. When chicken is almost cooked remove from skillet. Place chopped onion and celery in skillet with reserved fat from chicken thighs. Chop chicken thighs and set aside. When onion looks almost opaque add carrots and chopped chicken. Cover skillet again and let chicken and carrots cook, covered for about 5-10 minutes. In a small bowl mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, ground ginger and curry powder. Pour over chicken mixture then add sugar. Stir well and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Serve over steamed rice.

Yield: 2-4 servings