Island Girl Cooking

There is nothing more refreshing on a hot, summer day, than cold lemonade. Except lemonade that you made squeezing your own lemons, er limes in this case. So would it be limeade?

Who cares! It’s delicious either way. I prefer mine with a little vodka (shhh!) but you can enjoy it just the way it is. Kids will love it for sure.

Limes are one thing I always have around my house. They are good on fish, chicken, and in tuna salad. And when I happen to have them around on a Saturday when I’m bored, I make limeade. Squeeze some fresh lemons, add some sugar and water, and you’re good to go.

Take it one step further by scooping some melon balls from the fresh watermelon that you just bought and can’t stop eating.

Oh wait, that’s just me…..

It’s basically impossible to mess this up.

Unless you’re kitchen-illiterate.

I don’t know even know what that means..

I love knowing and seeing what other people eat. It intrigues me for some strange reason. Probably because I just really really love food…
One of my best friends started the Paleo Diet and I became interested. For a brief period. Basically you only eat what a caveman would have ate, nothing processed, no grains and no dairy. It sounds somewhat simple, but it takes creativity to come up with meal ideas, and substitutes for things you can’t eat. There are many pluses to it, as she has been telling me over the last few months. You don’t feel heavy and bloated from the grains and dairy, and obviously it’s beneficial to weight loss as well. It’s a great lifestyle for your health, but if it sounds impossible to give up those things, then it’s not for you. Trust me. I have yet to go that path, although I want to eventually, but for now I’ve just switched to healthier options, such as brown rice, whole wheat pasta etc, and I still eat those less than I used to. 
Anyway, She began to tell me about what she was cooking and/or eating. Breakfast was eggs for her and her boyfriend most of the time for awhile, which I personally found to be the hardest part, because I’m not a huge egg fan. So as she got more into it and researched, she started to find other ideas. One of them was paleo pancakes. Using almond butter, eggs, and mashed banana only. Sounds interesting doesn’t it? Makes you wonder how could that make an actual pancake. But it does.
(Side note: She plans to start her own paleo/food blog soon, so I’ll be sure to share the link with you so you can check it out!)

Now up to this point, I had never given much thought to almond butter and had never even tasted it. Here in the Bahamas, you don’t get variety on products like you in the good ol’ U.S.A. And if you do get lucky and find something like almond butter, it’s wicked expensive. I decided i would make my own. I am always buying 3lb bags of almonds to have as snacks anyway, so why not?

My point here is, and I do have one believe me, to share with you my method of making almond butter. I would say it was pretty successful, although I’d tweak it next time for sure. For one, I wouldn’t toast the almonds at all, or very little. I don’t like the whole toasted taste anyway, I love raw almonds and that’s how I eat them. I also added cinnamon, vanilla and a little chocolate syrup to sweeten it up some. And oil. Do not leave out oil. You may find many sites that tell you oil isn’t necessary, but it is. Take my word on this. I added oil to my almond butter, and it’s still hard until I mix the oil back into it.

First things first. I roasted 6 ounces of almonds at 350 for about 13 minutes. Too long. Like I said, I wouldn’t even toast them next time.

Add your nuts to the food processor, and let it rip. (My ancient food processer has a NUT setting, so thats what I used.)

At first it will be very ”dusty” but just scrape that back down and keep letting it go. Just make sure you don’t scrape it WITH the FP running!

Eventually it should start to clump, so keep going…

Then it will begin to get creamy. I think I did something kinda wrong though.

I then added about 1-2 tablespoons of canola oil, about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and maybe 1 tablespoon of Hershey’s syrup.

 I’m more convinced that I did this wrong, and it tasted quite fine, but a little too… thick? crunchy? Something.
Maybe it needed to run in the FP just a bit longer.
I have no patience.

It didn’t make a whole lot, and that’s fine with me.

It didn’t turn out perfect, so I will try again until I get it right. But not bad for a first timer.

THIS GIRL makes it look so easy and delicious! I will try it her way next time for sure. No oil, no nothing, just almonds. Or cashews. Or pecans.

But you should definitely try. And follow someone else’s advice other than my own.

Experience is the best teacher there is!

And when you make your own almond butter, spread it on some apple slices and have a snack. It’s really good and filling.

And since we are having a rainy day here,, and I’m super bored, I have another post coming up later. Because I like to cook when I’m bored. I like to eat too, but that’s irrelevant to this post.

Ok ok I’m done!

I have to be honest. I did not come up with this idea on my own. I had a little help, from my good friend Google that led me to tons of different websites that I would love to give credit for if I remembered what they were after 2 glasses of wine and a full belly.

Originally, I wanted to make Chicken Parmesan, but I did not have any kind of tomato sauce to use, since I had already used it for the Baked Linguine, so I had to modify it somewhat.

Cream cheese and spinach were both ingredients that were in the fridge, since I planned to make a hot spinach dip to take to my uncle’s house for a little get together on Sunday, one which I never went to. I blame it on my brother, who provided free beer and therefore made me lose motivation to drive anywhere.

Anyway, I figured I could make chicken breasts stuffed with cream cheese and  spinach. I’ve done it before, but only me and my daughter like it. Hubby and son, not so much. Since he is away for 4 days (oh I forgot to mention that part didn’t I?) I decided I’d throw this together quickly for her and I. The monkey had nuggets for dinner. Then I decided I could add some elements of Chicken Parm, so I got to googling, and [came up with] this.

Oh yea, I’m so classy that I drink wine out of a wine glass and eat dinner out of a paper plate. (Kidding.. I didn’t feel like having dishes!)

My daughter loved it. She actually scooped out the spinach/cr.cheese mixture to eat first, then ate the chicken after haha. It’s always good when a kid likes your cooking… especialy when spinach is involved!!!

They were witnessing my ’photography’. And probably wondering why I take pictures of my food. They often volunteer their own plates for me to take pictures of as well. Lol too cute!

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts, butterflied
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 of a 10 ounce package of spinach, thawed
Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I made my own with honey wheat bread, and add seasonings of choice)
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon basil
sea salt
black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking pan with foil. Spray with Pam or other non-stick spray. (I didn’t do this, and my chicken didn’t even stick)

Take your chicken breasts, wash them up and using a long knife, slice sideways so that it creates a pocket. (if that makes sense)

In a bowl, mix your spinach and cream cheese together.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg lightly. In yet another bowl, throw in your bread crumbs, some sea salt and black pepper, the parsley and basil and combine.

Stuff the spinach/cheese mixutre into the pocket you created in the chicken breasts. Fold the chicken over it, and roll it so the stuffing is enclosed into the chicken.

Dip the chicken into the beaten egg, then dip into the bread crumbs, making sure to coat both sides. Place into your foil-lined pan and sprinke some parmesan cheese on the top.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top after 20 minutes, then bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

I have to say one of the more enjoyable things of living in the Bahamas is the summer (even though it’s HOT). When you say SUMMER to me, I think many things. I think beach, sand, grilling, crabbing, fishing, mangoes, watermelons. Mangoes start to ripen here around May – June. Anywhere you drive around town, you can see the branches of trees hanging low with them. People go nuts over them, as if you can’t ever get them again. But I don’t blame them. I looove me some mangoes! Juicy, ripe, succulent, exotic, tropical. They are just beautiful. Other places have the turning of the leaves for autumn, and we have the turning of the mangoes for summer.

When you have these sitting around your kitchen, you can’t help but feel happy. And you start thinking of things you can make. My mind just had to go to smoothies. Although I’ve also thought of ice cream and sorbert. Those will probably be next on my list. (Check out my Mango avocado salsa as well.)
I’m suer that for some of you, or maybe a lot of you, mangoes are not native where you are. In that case, you can still try this recipe if you can find them at your grocery store. To pick a good mango, the first sign is smell. If you can smell it, it’s good and tasty. If there’s no smell, don’t get it. But make sure that it is not overripe(mushy). It should give a little to the touch, but not be overly soft. The color is another telling sign. There are many different kinds of mangoes, but you don’t want the ”stringy” kind, as you’ll have to strain your smoothie, or drink strings, blech!

So you have your mango and you’re all ready for a smoothie? Great. You will need:
A blender, a cup of ice, 8 ounces of milk (I used vanilla almond milk), 6 ounces of yogurt (I used chobani vanilla non-fat), 1 large mango, and sugar or splenda if it’s not sweet enough! It all depends on your mango’s sweetness. I added one packet of splenda to mine and it was plenty sweet.

 I’m not a HUGE fan of Chobani yogurt, I just tried it for the first time the other day, and I had one in the fridge so I used it for this. I’d prefer a plain old regular yogurt. To me, Chobani has an odd odor and taste. But the smoothie was still good!

There you have it. Mango smoothie. I am going to make another and add some pineapple. Or strawberries. Mmmm.

One word: yum. I was told (by mouth only) how to make this by my MIL. She is a good cook, and a lot of recipes that I know are because of her. She tells me how to make things, and I try to remember them in my head, and if I don’t, I just improvise.

So if you like spaghetti & meat sauce, you’re gonna enjoy this one. It involves a little bit of work, and a long list of ingredients, but don’t be daunted. It’s really quite simple.

Here whats you need, and what you have to do -

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
16 ounces linguine (or spaghetti noodles, whichever you prefer)
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 – 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
10 ounce jar spaghetti sauce sauce
1/2 of a beef buillon cube 
1 teaspoon sloppy joe mix
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
1 – 10 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup sweet corn kernels, frozen
1/3  - 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Pamesan cheese

Directions:

Brown the ground beef in a large pot.

Meanwhile, cook linguine in separate pot, make sure its well done. Drain and set aside.

To beef, add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, beef bouillon cube, and tomato paste.

Allow to this to cook for about 5 minutes, then add the diced tomatoes and jarred sauce.

Let simmer for about 15 -20 minutes. Add corn and cook a few minutes more.

Add cream of mushroom soup and heavy cream. Remove from heat. Stir linguini into sauce mixture. 

Preheat oven to 350.

Pour mixture into 9×13 glass baking dish.

Top with shredded cheese and sprinkle parmesan(optional) over the top.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly and brown around the edges.

Cut into squares and serve alongside a salad and garlic bread. Delicioso!!!

*Makes 12 squares – see size in above picture *

 While scrounging my kitchen one morning for something other than cold cereal or oatmeal, I decided to try something different. I found this on one of the websites I frequently stalk look at and decided to try it. It turned out really good! Sometimes things that don’t seem as if they’d go together, end up being some of the tastiest meals ever. This girl really knows her stuff!

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 ounces cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 sweet onion, chopped
1/4 apple, chopped (I used Golden Delicious)

Heat a frying pan on medium heat, add the butter. Add the onions and apples to the pan and sprinkle salt over them. Saute until apples and onions and brown and caramelized, about 4-5 minutes.In a bowl, beat eggs lightly and add milk. Pour into pan over the apple minture. Flip once. Add cheddar cheese in the middle and fold in half.

The sweet/salty combo of this omelette is ah-mazing.

Try it.

I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Cheesy gooey goodness. This was from some of my not-so-healthy days. I’ve had many ups and downs of dieting. Not that I’ve been hugely overweight, but I’ve struggled with the same 20-30lbs for quite a number of years. Having kids will do that to you. So will being lazy and eating copious amounts of food, but I don’t know anyone who does that!

I decided to add this anyway. There might be some of you out there looking for a quick meal or snack, and this might just be the thing for you. It’s easy and simple.

All you do is take two tortillas of your choice, butter on one side of each. Heat a large frying pan on medium-high. If you’re anything like me, you’ll always have leftover grilled chicken in your fridge, so dice that up in small chunks.

Place one tortilla into your hot pan, butter side down, sprinkle half of the mozzarella over it.

Meanwhile, throw your chicken in a bowl with the bbq sauce, and microwave for about 30 seconds.
Toss the chicken evenly over the top of the tortilla in the pan, then place your other tortilla over the top, butter side UP this time.

Take a big spatula and very carefully flip the whole thing over, be careful not to lose your stuff out of the middle! Let each side get brown and your cheese melted. Take it out of the pan and place in a plate, cut into wedges with a pizza slicer, and serve.

It’s dripping cheese. yum!

 This easily feeds two people, or one greedy one. It’s a great snack for kids, or even appetizers for a party.
 My 7 year old daughter lovesssss these!

Ingredients:

2 tortillas
1 -2 tBsp butter, softened
2 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tBsp barbeque sauce
2-4 ounces leftover chicken, diced