Last year we made a delicious dinner which combined jerk chicken and peppers stuffed with cream cheese.  When it started to get warm, it was the first dish I took out for dinner because of the great flavors and easy preparation.  Plus, I can almost guarantee we always have the ingredients in the fridge.
When I got home, though, there was NOTHING resembling that dinner going on.  John had forgotten to fill the peppers before he roasted them.  Then, he had sliced the chicken really thinly.  Finally, he just stuck it all in a taco with the cream cheese on the bottom and we sat down to eat. And it was so outstanding that I insisted we make it again so I could share it all with you.

So then we went on a treasure hunt to recreate John's recipe!  The first time, only a week later mind you, John forgot he was supposed to be making "his version" and made the original dish.  Fail.  The second time it was pouring rain and my pictures did not come out delicious enough to do the dish justice.  Fail.  Just like Goldilocks though, the third time was a charm!  Just as I remembered it, and equally delicious.  Best of all, it looks delicious!  A+ John!

Jerk Chicken Tacos with Herbed Schmear
Serves:  4
1 chicken breast, sliced in half lengthwise
4 tablespoons jerk seasoning
2 red peppers, julienne
2 green peppers, julienne
1/3 cup neufchatel cream cheese
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons light sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 corn tortillas

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.  Season both sides of each half of the chicken breast with jerk seasoning.  Grill the chicken slices for about 8 minutes per side (until fully cooked through).  Slice chicken thinly into strips.  Grill the peppers about 4 minutes per side, until cooked and softened.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine cream cheese, cilantro, sour cream and salt. 

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly on the shells.  Top each taco evenly with chicken and peppers.  Serve immediately.

Until the next time my oven is on...

During the busier weeks in our lives, we eat lots of sandwiches, burgers, etc., but I hardly EVER think of paninis.  I don't know why - every time we have them, I love them.  As I mentioned on Facebook last week, we've had very little time to ourselves over the past few weeks.  In fact, even my menus are starting to look a little ridiculous.  Each week, I put together our "weekly menu" it includes what we're food shopping for and what the meals are all on one handy little sheet.  A copy of it goes in my purse (for when we go food shopping) and one goes on the fridge so John knows what to start cooking!

Lately, I’ve been falling into that old trap of mine – how just when something starts going the right way, you wonder why it isn’t going even further.  You want to know how long it will take you to get to milestone 20 instead of celebrating milestone 2.

Smashed Potatoes (adapted from here)
Serves:  6
1 pound baby red potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 thyme sprigs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Clean the red potatoes.  In a small bowl, combine olive oil, salt, and garlic.  Toss with potatoes and place on a single layer onto a cookie sheet  Top with thyme sprigs (I broke mine in half so it covered most of the cookie sheet).  Bake 30 minutes.  Remove the thyme sprigs and remove the leaves.  Scatter thyme over the potatoes.  Carefully, using a large knife, smash down on each potato once.

Preheat the oven to the high broil setting.  Place the potatoes back onto the cookie sheet and broil 2-5 minutes, until lightly crispy.  Serve immediately.

Until the next time my oven is on...

Today is sister K's birthday!  I can't believe she is a quarter-century old.  She's fit a lot into her 25 years.  She's worked hard, graduated from MIT (yes, that famous school for super smart people, like her), and found her husband.  After college, they moved home to NY and both started jobs.  Last year, they got married in a gorgeous ceremony and they are literally made for each other.  It's actually scary sometimes (seriously).
She never slows down though - once they got back from their honeymoon, they started enthusiastically house-hunting.  For the last 6 months, we've followed along with their house hunt - through ups and downs until finally the last few weeks.  They found the best little house - so perfect for them, it's hard to imagine that they could have actually closed on any other house.  So just in the last few weeks alone, she will be starting a fancy new job and her husband E and her just had their offer accepted on that house!  I feel like their life is really coming together and I couldn't be happier for them.  Happy Birthday K!

It's fitting, too, that today is a "Dorm Room Dinner".  I started these when she was just in college, as a way to keep a record of tasty yet easy meals I made for her to follow along with.  She cooks as well as I do now, so there's really no reason for her to indulge in my dorm room dinners.  But I love this one - it looks fantastic and seems so fancy! You could easily serve this easy dish at a dinner party and no one would be any wiser.  

Pecan-Crusted Tilapia (adapted from here)
Serves:  2 (2 filets)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2/3 pounds tilapia filets
1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  In a small bowl, combine dijon mustard and honey.  Brush the dijon mustard mixture onto the filets.   In another small bowl, combine pecans, panko, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Dredge the filets in the pecan mixture.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 8-12 minutes, until fully cooked.  Serve immediately.

Until the next time my oven is on...

As you saw from Wednesday's post, I've been inspired to incorporate kale and other leafy greens on a more regular basis.  Spinach salads, kale chips, you name it, we have had it! But when I saw this recipe on the Food Network website, I knew it would be the perfect ending to our leafy green week inspired by the book Foodist.

I think you all know by now that John isn't really a picky eater.  No, it's more about how you present the dish to him that will determine whether or not its a "yes" or "no" on the weekly planning menu.  For instance, this pizza was described as meatball white pizza with a little kale on top.  I might have failed to mention that it was more kale than meat but by the time he noticed, it was on his plate and he was happily munching away.  Another success story!

What I love best about the pizza is the kale; the edges get crispy so it's like you're eating cheesy kale chips - tell me that you would turn that down!  Just like my ravioli recipe on Monday, this is one that any veggie hater would gladly scarf down.  In fact, I have made a mental note to make this for my grandmother - the ultimate veggie hater!!  With meatballs and cheese (and yes, on a pizza), I can't see many turning this one down.