Tortilla Soup

Why do I ALWAYS forget to put this recipe in here? I must have called my Dad 3 times over the last several years (when I haven't made it for a while) to remind me. And it's only the easiest thing in the world, and totally tweakable based on your tastes and preferences.

Dad's Tortilla Soup
1 14 oz can whole tomatoes (if you like really spicy you can use the Herdez brand with tomatoes and peppers together, but I'd skip the jalapeno if you do this - no really)
1 jalapeno (determine your spicy level here carefully, you can't take it back)
48 oz chicken broth
1 large onion
handful of cilantro leaves
corn tortillas
shredded cheese

Decide how spicy you want this in advance - I have made it so spicy that it was almost unpleasant to eat (damn Herdez), and so bland it would be good for an ulcer patient. The spice from jalapenos comes from the white ribs and the seeds, so get rid of them if you're white. Ha, just kidding. :o)

Anyway, put the chook broth into a large pot and heat over med-hi. In the meantime, cut the onion into big chunks, and put it in the food processor with the jalapeno and tomatoes. Buzz them all together until they're pureed. You can also put the cilantro in for this step, but I like my pieces a bit larger, so I chop it by hand and add it to the pot directly.
Bring to a boil, then cover and turn down heat to a simmer. Simmer for 2o minutes.

While the soup is simmering, you can make the tortillas (or just use chips if you're lazy, but HONESTLY). My Dad fries them in a pan with oil, but I'm Little Miss Healthy, so I usually bake mine. I slice them into 1/2 - 3/4" strips to start, then spray a cookie sheet with Pam, lay the strips down and then spray them with Pam again. Into a 350 oven for I dunno, however long until they're crispy but not scorched (which is a fine line, believe me). Keep checking on them - maybe around 10 minutes? You can use flour tortillas here as well, but I feel like they get soggy and break down much faster, plus I love corn tortillas.

Once everything is done, put some of the tortillas in the bottom of a bowl and top with cheese. Ladle the soup on top and die in heaven.

Also amazing with additions: chicken, avocado, corn. . .
I wish this is what I was having for dinner now, yum.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

The good news: I love buffalo wings.
The bad news: I know how they're made.
The good news: It's easy to translate the flavors into a salad (even a vegetarian one).

It really is as simple as making a salad with romaine or iceberg lettuce, celery, cucumbers, green onions and tomatoes. I toss the salad with either lowfat ranch or a blue cheese, sometimes with blue cheese crumbles on top; depends on how healthy I'm trying to be.

The chicken is also just as easy - all you need is some chicken (I love to grab a roaster chicken on the way home for this, or use leftover chicken) and some Frank's hot sauce - I've tried lots of different hot sauces, and Frank's is my fave. It's a great blend of vinegar and spice and just all around yum. Today, I went veg and used Morningstar Farms buffalo chicken tenders (which I also tossed in Frank's after cooking and cutting up into smaller pieces).

They go down right on top of the tossed salad and it's lunch time.
(can we also mention that I love that my iPhone takes decent photos or I would never post any here? kthx)

Heirloom Tomatoes

How could I forget these little beauties? A little balsamic & olive oil, pepper and kosher salt. The color on this photo does not do them justice - they were gorgeous little tie dyed slices of amazing.

Skirt steak with chimichurri & parmesan crusted zucchini

In order to use up the skirt steak McD got the other night, I decided a nice fresh chimichurri was in order. Not really knowing what I was doing, but remembering the fantastically amazing sauce my Dad makes, but not finding it, I went with this version as my inspiration.

The skirt steak was probably a pound and a half or so. I covered it in "Mexican" seasoning from my cabinet and let it sit while I made everything else.

Chimichurri
2 cloves of garlic
a big old handful of cilantro
a big old handful of parsley
a tsp or so of cumin
a tsp or so of chili powder
juice from one lemon
a couple of glugs of red wine vinegar (2-3 tsps I'd guess)
olive oil
salt

I put the garlic and leafy fellas in the food processor and pulverized as much as my dull old blade would allow (I think I might be using the food processor my parents got when they were married, like for reals, this thing is OLD). Then I added the spices and liquid stuffs and blended again. I put it into a bowl and added "enough" olive oil to make it paste-y.
Then, I let this sit while I cooked the steak on my grill pan to medium rare (in my case this was probably 8 minutes on each side, but I think it's usually closer to 6 if you're using a real grill).

Ooh! But before I put the steak on, I got the zucchini ready. Turned oven up to 425, cut 3 zukes in half lengthwise, covered with olive oil, garlic powder, a tiny bit of salt, some pepper, and a hearty amount of grated Parmesan cheese. Easy peasy. Into the oven they went while I cooked the steak.

I let the steak sit for 10 minutes or so before cutting it (the zukes were still in the oven, so what's that like, 20 minutes already? So I just turned the heat off and left them in to stay warm). I sliced it into half inch thick slices and plated it, then topped it with the chimichurri sauce. Ta da! And South Beach Phase 1 appropriate.

Rosemary Gin Fizz

That's a boring name. I want to come up with something better. Summertime Sipper? Yuk.
Thank goodness for stuff like this. Troubled Fairy? Perhaps. Oh, I recommend ignoring the actual drink recipes over there - I saw one that, no joke, called for 1 oz of cake batter.
Dropkick? I like that. And because it's easy to forget there is alcohol in them, it might be what they do to you.
Rosemary Fizz? Yeah, I guess. Anyone have a better suggestion for me?
Woodland Nymph? Forest Sprite? Now that stupid Troubled Fairy suggestion is blocking me from anything non whimsy related, and the rosemary is making me think earthy, green things which makes me think trees and woods and. . .

In any case, it's eerily similar to the Lavender Lemon Fizz, but a little more masculine. And while the Lavender Lemon Fizz is also good with gin, I don't think I'd like this one as much with vodka instead of gin.

I made this one small, and might need to play with the amounts a bit to get a solid recipe for making in large batches, but this worked for our little 4 oz glasses quite nicely.

juice from one lime
1/2 tbsp rosemary syrup
1 shot gin (I used Tanqueray, but will probably go with Hendrick's next)
soda water
rosemary sprigs for garnish

Fill your rocks glass with ice. Add the juice from one lime, rosemary syrup, gin; top with soda and stir to mix. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.

Lavender Lemon Fizz

Okay okay, I shouldn't brag about it before I can share it, I know. Here was all the impetus I needed.
Here is the magic.

1 cup Splenda
1 cup water
6 sprigs of lavender (just the flowery bits, not the long green stem part)

Simmer.
Et, voila! Lavender simple syrup. I did the same thing with 2 LARGE sprigs of rosemary and now I have two simple syrups for cocktail deliciousness (the rosemary will go into something with gin I think. . . )

I juiced six lemons and ended up with just under a cup of juice. The breakdown for my "taster" follows; once I liked it (first try even!), I just made a larger batch using the same measurements. You might have to tweak the larger batch depending on varying sweetness of your lemons, and lavenderiness of your syrup.

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tbsp lavender syrup
1 shot citrus vodka (I used Absolut)
lemon fuzzy water
lemon slices & lavender for garnish
ice

Larger batch:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup lavender syrup
1 1/2 cups vodka

You might add more juice to your liking, but the fuzzy water can definitely help control the alcoholic-ness of the drink.
Garnish with a thin lemon wheel or a twist and a sprig of lavender. Girly - oh yeah. Try making it with gin for your man and leaving the lavender garnish off. (I'm thinking I might shake it with egg whites too before adding the fuzzy water so it gets a nice creamy layer on top.)

I combined the measured ingredients and "topped it off" with the fuzzy water so I have no idea how much I used. Trial and error people.

Grilled pork chops

Every once in a while I select a side dish before a main course. This was the case the last time I went grocery shopping. I saw some gorgeous asparagus and started craving my dad's awesome shallot & lemon asparagus. Then I saw some nice Niman Ranch pork chops and knew what had to be done. So, as per usual, I decided to let someone do all the hard work for me.
This recipe is crazy simple and I have everything on hand. Score! I only have two chops though, so I'm going to halve the marinade.

Grilled Lemon Herb Pork Chops
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
I'm also adding 1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary since I have it
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 (4 ounce) boneless pork loin chops

In a large resealable bag, combine lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt, oregano, and pepper. Set aside 1/4 cup of marinade for basting later. Place chops in bag, seal, and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Turn bag frequently to distribute marinade.
Preheat an outdoor grill or a grill pan to high heat. Remove chops from bag, and lightly oil the grill grate. Grill pork chops for 5 to 7 minutes per side, basting frequently with reserved marinade, until done.

I prepared this with my favorite asparagus side dish (with shallots and lemon juice) and omg, heaven.