Valentines Day Eve

This year, Valentines Day is on Saturday. Most husbands, if they know what's good for them, take their wives out to dinner...so make those reservations and start the entire "Weekend of Love" Friday night with a Super Supper for your Sweetheart!

You can make both the soup and the strawberry mousse in advance and save yourself some time. He'll feel so special after this meal, you may get a new pair of earrings along with your Saturday night out! Enjoy!

Start with Renee's Shrimp Cocktail Soup:

2 bottles of Clamato Juice
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup Valentina Picante Sauce
1 Tablespoon celery salt
Juice of 4-6 limes (about 1/3 cup)
3-5 Serrano peppers, cut into rings (be careful!)
One medium onion, diced
6 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 medium bunches cilantro, finely chopped
6 avocados cut into small pieces
2 lbs. cooked, deveined, peeled shrimp

In a large bowl, pour all of the Clamato Juice, ketchup and picante sauce; stir well. Add celery salt, lime juice, sliced peppers, onions, tomatoes and cilantro; stir well. Gently stir in avocados and shrimp. Cover and keep in fridge.

Next up? My Crispy Pancetta Chicken with Rice

2 lbs. chicken breasts
1 t. thyme
2 t. rosemary
½ t. salt
1 T. Lemon Pepper
2 cups broth
6 oz. pancetta
1 cup diced onions
1 cup chopped and seeded tomatoes
3 T. cornstarch
Shredded Mozzarella

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Toss chicken breasts in herb mixture of thyme, rosemary, salt and lemon pepper. Pour chicken broth into bottom of pan and insert steamer rack. Place prepared chicken on rack; cover and steam for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.
While chicken is steaming, chop up pancetta and small dice onions. Sauté pancetta in large skillet until slightly crispy, add onions and continue to sauté until onions are softened and pancetta is very crispy. Remove from heat. Toss in chopped tomato last. Remove chicken from steaming rack and keep warm. Thicken remaining pan broth/juices with cornstarch; strain.
Serving Suggestions:
· Drizzle thickened pan juices over white rice
· Place steamed chicken on prepared rice
· Top with crispy pancetta mixture
· Drizzle again with thickened pan juices
· Sprinkle with shredded Mozzarella

...and for dessert? Strawberry Mousse!

1 (3 oz.) pkg. strawberry gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1 enveloped unflavored gelatin

1 tablespoon cold water

1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries, thawed

2 tablespoons sugar

1-1/2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 cup heavy cream

Dissolve strawberry gelatin in boiling water. Dissolve unflavored gelatin in 1 tablespoon cold water. Puree frozen strawberries in blender. Add gelatin mixtures and sugar to the frozen strawberries and blend again. Add ice cream and cream, blending well. Pour into a wet 6 cup ring mold and freeze. To serve, unmold and let defrost for 15 minutes. Fill center with whipped cream if desired.

Peace and Budgeteria

I just got back from leading a 90 minute Tranquility Retreat for Associated Retail Stores' Annual Conference. It's so rewarding to be able to help provide anti-stress tools to everyone in attendance. Today we talked about teenagers, old life wounds and Soul Soup! If you're interested in having a Tranquility Retreat for you and your friends...please let me know and we'll go from there.

Let's not stress about dinner! Here's another special from my

Garlic Lime Chicken

This is a quick 40 minute supper with hardly any "watch over" time!

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon coarse ground pepper

Mix soy sauce, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and mustard together. Marinate chicken in mixture for 30 minutes; remove and sprinkle with pepper.

Heat frying pan to medium, drizzle with olive oil or spray with oil and saute chicken for about 6 minutes per side or until juices run clear.

Serve with:

Rice pilaf (or other Rice-A-Roni boxed mix)

Steamer Vegetables

....or as a sandwich with a little hot mustard mixed in with mayo, cole slaw (instead of lettuce), and a quick rice salad

....also delicious chopped or shredded and served mixed with a little pasta and drizzled with Soy Sauce. Makes kind of an Asian Spaghetti...chop up some green onion and sprinkle on top

Enjoy!

Hugs,

Angel

As promised.....

I've been having Panda Express cravings alot lately. My favorites are the Orange Chicken and the Beijing Beef, which, of course, are the two highest calorie and carb choices on the menu. (By the way, my Health Assessment was pretty good, although, as expected my cholesterol is a little bit high and we won't even discuss the body fat percentage). My husband likes the Cashew Chicken which is much healthier so here's a delicious version from my own cookbooks that I think you'll enjoy.

Simple Cashew Chicken
1 t. sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup cooking sherry
1 t. garlic powder
1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cubed
3 T. cooking oil
3 cups broccoli florets
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
2 t. cornstarch
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Hoisin sauce
1 T. ground ginger
1 cup roasted, salted cashews
cooked white rice

Pour sesame oil, vinegar, sherry and garlic powder into a large resealable bag and shake to combine. Toss in chicken, seal and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove chicken from marinade (saving marinade). Heat cooking oil in wok or heavy skillet; stir fry chicken until done then add broccoli and carrots for 3 minutes or until crisp tender. Combine cornstarch, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, ginger and reserved marinade; stir into chicken & vegetables. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and heated through. Stir in cashews and bring to serving temperature. Serve over rice. Makes about 6 servings. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds if desired.

Now for a few helpful Tips and Tidbits:

• What is Hoisin Sauce? It's a condiment and flavoring in Chinese cuisines made from soybeans, garlic, chiles and other spices. It's also known as Peking sauce.
• Arkansas is the leading rice producing state in America
• Rice vinegar comes in 3 types; white, red and black. White rice vinegar is the most versatile and is used in many Asian inspired sauces. Red rice vinegar is mostly used as a dipping sauce. Black rice vinegar is an ingredient in Chinese pickled pigs' feet (just in case you were wondering).
• If you prefer not to use sherry, you can use an equal amount of apple or white grape juice
• Did you know that cashews are in the same family as poison ivy?

See you Friday on Good Things Utah....I'll be making a little treat from walnuts, dates and sweet dough...and thanks for stopping by!

Angel