Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Fresh Guacamole

This is a recipe for chicken tacos spiced up with chipotle peppers and topped with a cool guacamole sauce. Again, really, really yummy. A good idea if you happen to end up with left over chicken from another meal. We BBQ'ed our chicken before hand so it had some of that great smokey flavour as well. ENJOY! And, as always ... Bon appétit :)


Ingredients (6 servings)
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotle chiles in Adobo, seeds scraped out, minced, plus 1 tablespoon of the Sauce
3 cups cooked chicken, rough chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon salt & fresh black pepper
1/4 cup water
Tortillas/shells
Your choice of fixin's: sour cream, cheese, diced lettuce, tomato, onion, salsa, lime wedges, salsa etc.

Guacamole:
2 avocadoes, halved, pitted, flesh removed
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-2 crushed pieces of garlic

1/2 cup tomato, diced
1/3 cup yellow onion, finely diced
2 teaspoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Saute the onion in oil until translucent, add garlic and saute until fragrant, add chipotles and saute for a minute or two.

2. Add chicken, oregano, chile powder, salt, pepper, and water. Mix well and heat over medium-low heat about 8 - 10 minutes, stirring often.  You may have to play around with the spices until you get it right... sorry, those are approximations on the spices!

3. Serve in heated tortillas with fixin's.

Chicken Fettuccine with Pesto Cream Sauce

Oh my is this ever an amazing dish.  So pro-star too. You will be so impressed with yourself it's not even funny. I recently posted a yummy pesto recipe too, or you could also pick some up from the grocery store (I of course, highly suggest you make your own though). In Ottawa, you can get great fresh basil this time of year at Nicastros in the Glebe.  Much better tasting (and priced!) in my opinion than the usual tiny sprigs you can buy at the grocery stores. Bon appétit!

ps - My camera battery had died the day I made up this dinner, so you get the beautiful Martha picture to go along with this recipe too.

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound fettuccine
1/2 cup basil pesto
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1. Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap. With a meat mallet or heavy skillet, pound chicken to an even 3/4-inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet; cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Slice each piece across the grain into 4 or 5 strips; cover to keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to pot.

4. In a small saucepan, heat pesto over low until liquefied. Stir in cream; heat until warm. Toss pasta with reserved cooking water and half the sauce. Divide among shallow bowls; top with chicken. Drizzle with remaining sauce.

- recipe cred to Martha 

Sesame Beef Sandwiches

My apologies to my poor little half-abandoned blog. I haven't been taking care of you the past few weeks as I should have. I also haven't been very adventurous in the kitchen the past few weeks either - which, remarkably enough, is suggestive of the fact that the blog has been lacking!

On the weekend, my husband cooked an absolutely mammoth piece of beef. I'm talking huge. It's only the 2 of us and, while I'm sure Georgie would have loved his share, he has quite the delicate little disposition. Needless to say, we`ve been looking for ways to eat up our excess of beef. This recipe is quite different in that you use pan-fried pizza dough as your `bun`. Neato.
Bon appétit!

Ingredients:
1 pound pizza dough (fresh, not frozen)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for greasing
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 cups shredded coleslaw mix
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili oil
6 ounces roast beef (you could easily use deli sliced)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon grated peeled ginger
1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Directions
1. If using pre-bought pizza dough, microwave dough on 50 percent power to soften, 1 to 2 minutes, then let rest 5 minutes. I`ve never tried pre-made dough so hopefully it works out okay. If you`re keen, you can make your own very easily with this recipe. Grease a large plate with vegetable oil; shape the dough into a 9-inch round and place on the plate. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

2. Toss the coleslaw mix, vinegar, chili oil, and salt to taste in a bowl. In another bowl, toss the roast beef, sesame oil, scallions and ginger.

3. Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the dough seed-side down and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Cover and fry, shaking the pan occasionally, until the dough is golden, about 3 minutes per side, turning with tongs. Transfer to paper towels, season with salt and cool.

4. Wipe out the skillet and place over high heat. Add the roast beef mixture and stir-fry until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Slice the flatbread in half horizontally. Layer the beef, coleslaw mixture and cilantro on the bottom half. Cover with the top and cut into 4 wedges.

- photo and recipe cred to the Food Network