Two Things I Must Make Soon!

HAIL CAESAR!
(compliments of my friend, Sarah)

INGREDIENTS & DIRECTIONS IN ONE:
Grill Chicken - just season to your liking. (I do a bunch of stuff: Paprika, Salt/Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Cayenne, Oregano and Thyme).
Chopped Sweet Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Spinach
Whole Grain Pasta (cooked. duh.)
Feta
4-6 Basil Leaves Chopped
Little Bit of Lemon zest
Caesar dressing - use it generously
Salt/Pepper to taste

And I saw this on Southern Living today...OH. MAN. I NEED this!!!

Honey Chicken Salad

INGREDIENTS
* 4 cups chopped cooked chicken
* 3 celery ribs, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
* 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
* 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
* 1/3 cup honey
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* Garnish: chopped toasted pecans

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine first 4 ingredients.
2. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 3 ingredients. Add to chicken mixture, stirring gently until combined. Garnish, if desired.

Sweet Apron Giveaway!

How appropriate for the avid chef, baker or just general cook...The Reluctant Entertainer is giving away one of these very pretty aprons.

I am soooo in need of a good "full-body" apron right now. Hayden has been using mine for his pumpkin-carving skillz...he is so awesome at it too! He made me a VERY CUTE apron last year, and I love it! But who doesn't need another?

Homeade Baby Food (for 4-6 months old)

Ingredients:
1 steamer basket
1 pot
1 blender
ice cube trays
plastic wrap & aluminum foil
Organic fruits and vegetables

Directions:
1.) Bring water in the pot to boil

2.) Place fruit/veg. in steamer basket, cover and steam until tender when pricked with a fork (maybe about 7-8 min.)

3.) Drain water into a measuring cup

4.) Place fruit/veg. into blender, add a small amount of the water and blend until smooth. Add water as desired.

5.) Pour into ice cube trays, let cool, cover with wrap and foil and freeze overnight (it is not necessary to freeze bananas or avocado, babies can eat those fresh because they mash easily).

6.) Remove fruit/veg. from trays and place in plastic bags (be sure to mark them...carrots, peaches and sweet potatoes look very similar).

7.) When ready to feed your baby just throw 1 or 2 cubes in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for 30 seconds (you can add some commercial iron-fortified rice or oatmeal cereal to make it even more nutritious). If you're weary of using a microwave, you can just place a few of the cubes in a smaller zip back and thaw in some warm water (you can also use this method for feeding baby at a restaurant...just pack up a few cubes in some gladware, put in the cooler with your milk or formula and you're good-to-go)!

8.) Be sure to stir puree with your FINGER to make sure there are no hot spots that will burn your babe. Never reuse uneaten homemade baby food...it is unpasteurized and babies germs transfer from spoon to bowl and cultivate germs.

Beer Battered Chicken Fingers

This is what I'd call The Husband's favorite.

Beer Battered Chicken Fingers

Ingredients
1/4 + 1/2 cup any ole beer you like (I recommend a cheap one like Miller Light)
1 cup flour
1 tsp. Lowry's Seasoning Salt
1 tsp. Season-All Salt
1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt
2-4 chicken breast strips (I use 2 breasts cut into strips for 2 people)

Directions
1.) Place chicken strips in a shallow dish, cover with 1/2 cup beer and let marinade for 20-30 minutes.
2.) Gently mix flour, seasonings and 1/4 cup beer together in a separate shallow dish. The flour will still be dry, but will also be crumbly looking.
3.) Heat 1-inch vegetable oil in a deep everyday pan to 325-degrees.
4.) Coat 5 chicken strips at a time with flour mixture and gently place in hot oil.
5.) Cook until golden brown on each side, remove and cook remaining chicken.
6.) Place cooked chicken on paper towels to drain.
7.) Dip in your favorite sauce and enjoy!

Perfect for this meal is my kitchen gadget wish list item for the day:

Paula Deen's 3-piece breading trays from Wal-Mart

LOVE THESE!

Lemon Icebox Pie

INGREDIENTS
1 Graham Cracker Crust (see below for recipe)
1/2 cup juice from fresh lemons
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg YOLKS
Zest of 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS
1.) In a medium bowl combine milk, egg yolks and lemon zest.
2.) Slowly mix in lemon juice, as the acid will cook the mixture if added too quickly.
3.) Pour into a baked graham cracker crust.
4.) Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups graham crackers (about 20 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
6 tbsp. butter, melted
9-inch pie plate

DIRECTIONS
1.) Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) In a food processor mix together crackers, sugar and lemon zest until crackers become crumbs.
3.) Slowly add melted butter.
4.) Press mixture firmly and evenly against bottom and sides of pie pan.
5.) Bake for 10 minutes.
6.) Cool for 10 minutes.

A project...

Have you become a fan of Fit-to-Eat or my other blog The Wreyfords? If so, would you help me over the next week by becoming a Follower of these two blogs? I am working on a project for a guy and having a rough estimate as to how many people read this blog (and don't comment) would be most helpful!

Following blogs is easy and can be done anonymously, so you do not have to enter your name if you are uncomfortable. You also do not have to have your own blog to follow. All I need really is a number.

Just look over to the bottom right-hand side and you'll see the "Follow" button, just click and you're in!

Thanks so much!!!

Grilled Salmon Fillets – Wild West Style

Last Sunday we were flipping through the channels and came across PBS. We were a bit surprised to see that they were showing Dances With Wolves. In high school our symphonic band played the music for this movie, and I had a french horn solo that I had to have practiced a TRILLION times. I wanted it to be perfect and so I played it non-stop. Yes, for all those of you who didn't know, I played french horn from 5th grade all the way through college! I have never seen Dances With Wolves to this day, but I know the music well. I have a hard time dedicating that much time to sitting on the couch looking at Kevin Costner.

So for today, in honor of the Wild West, I want to share with you the recipe on how to grill you up some Wild Salmon Fillets - Old West Style (the cast iron skillet is the qualifier for that title)...served with a healthy side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cast iron skillet

2 fresh wild salmon fillets

1 stick butter

Blackening seasoning (recipe follows)

2 TBSP Canola Oil

1 bag fresh spinach

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Sour Cream for garnish

DIRECTIONS FOR SALMON:

1.) Heat grill until very hot.

2.) Place a cast iron skillet on the grill and melt 1 stick butter.

3.) Once you're sure the butter is very hot, place the salmon fillets in the skillet.

4.) Coat each side with the melted butter, and season with blackening seasoning on each side.

4.) Cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until no longer pink.

5.) Remove from pan.

DIRECTIONS FOR BLACK BEANS & SPINACH

(can be done on the stove separately):

1.) Place 2 TBSP oil in a pan.

2.) Cook the spinach until a bit wilted (about 2 minutes).

3.) Add drained can of black beans and continue to cook until desired doneness.

4.) Place beans and spinach on a plate and cover with a salmon fillet.

5.) Add a dollop of sour cream if desired.

INGREDIENTS FOR BLACKENING SEASONING:

5 tablespoons kosher salt

5 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon dry thyme

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

Mix all ingredients together and store unused spice in a sealed container