Forgiveness

I told you all in a previous blog that I would learn more about football. In keeping my promise, I set out to get my football knowledge on! I started by asking friends what the tight end position. I knew what my definition was, but I wanted to know the football version. My friends began describing a tight end in these words (I kid you not); "It is a football player who is an eligible receiver." They went on about the difference between the tight end and the wide receiver. There was this long explaination and at the end the end I said, "All I heard was that a tight end can be an eligible receiver. You lost me after that." I couldn't help it. I thought this was hilarious! We all laughed and that was as far as my football lesson went.

Next step was watching a game. My mom is a huge football fan so we went to our local bar to watch the play-off games last weekend. As much as I tried, I didn't get too far past watching the colors on the screen and chatting with everyone else at the bar. The second game came on and we went home. The truth came out when the second game went into overtime.... I was FURIOUS! I just wanted the game to be OVER! Okay, that was the truth of how I felt. I know that Brett Farve (my long lost husband although he isn't aware) lost and the other team won, but other than that; I am at a loss. I know when Superbowl 44 will be. I also know what I plan to cook, but otherwise what I can confess to you is that I have not become the astute student that I hoped for.

I made a vow that I am not going to be able to fulfill, but what I can tell you is that I am going to forgive myself for this. I am forgiving myself for the decadent tiramisu I ate a few nights ago even though I didn't need it. I am also forgiving myself for sleeping in, not working out every day, and getting lost on the way to Helena. What I have learned is that forgiving myself is critical. I have looked at myself in the mirror and admitted that I am not the Super Football Fan that I hoped I would become, but I am a great cook, a wonderful listener, and an even better friend. I am throwing away the guilt that I don't need. I know some great cheers that I use when watching the superbowl and I can entertain friends with fabulous food. Truth is, I believe in focusing on strengths, which may be why I can't really relate to the new Food Network show Worst Chefs in America. Cooking isn't their strength, so leave them alone. I want to know what they ARE good at. Don't you?

Please follow my lead and forgive yourself for what ever you think are your shortcomings and focus on what you ARE good at. That is what I want to hear about. Throw away your concept of failure and treat yourself to the weightlessness of forgiveness. You deserve to create your own rainbow.
Because I am good at cooking and entertaining; I am sharing my fabulous Chicken Chimichanga - Cha Cha Cha recipe along with a new twist on Guacamole that I recently discovered. I encourage you to serve the chimichanga alongside our Mexican Black Beans. It was a delicious combo. Since I did admit to my desert indescression, I have gone out of my way to create a healthy and lighter version. Enjoy this recipe and you too can indulge guilt free!

Enjoy Cha Cha Cha!

Chicken Chimichanga - Cha Cha Cha!

1/4 cup red onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno; diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro; chopped
3 cups roasted chicken (can be rotisserie, grilled, or canned chicken)
1 can salsa de chile fresco (8 oz.)
2 cups cheddar cheese; shredded
phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large sauce pan combine the onion, garlic, jalapeno, chicken, salsa de chile fresco, and cilantro. Stir all ingredients together until incorporated and the onions are softened. Will be approximately 5-7 minutes.

Next, lay out phyllo dough on a flat surface. Separate 3 sheets of phyllo dough and lay on a greased cookie sheet. Place a 1/4 of the chicken mixture along the left side of the phyllo dough in a straight line. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheddar cheese over the chicken mixture and roll up the phyllo wrapping up the chicken mixture. Continue this process using the remaining chicken and cheese. This will make 4 chimichangas.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

You will save yourself tons of calories using phyllo to get the crisp outside instead of frying! It is BRILLIANT! You can also convert these into appetizers by using less filling and make them into flautas!

Cha Cha Cha Sauce

This is great served with this easy Cha Cha cah sauce!

1 can enchilada sauce (14.5 oz)
1 tsp. garlic
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup amber beer

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and heat for approx 10-15 minutes to all all flavors to marry. Smother this sauce over the top and you will swear you are at a 5 star restaurant!

Mexican Black Beans

 

1 can black beans (14.5 oz)
1/2 jalapeno; diced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp garlic
 
Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and heat on medium heat until all flavors are combined and the beans thicken. This should take approximately 15-20 minutes. Serve alongside the chimichanga for a perfect marriage of flavors and textures!
 
*Bean Bonus: Beans are touted as containing the highest antioxidants. Plus they are low calorie and fill you up! So dig in without guilt!
 

No Horsin' Around Guacamole

 

1 cup low fat sour cream
1 tbsp. horseradish
2 tbsp. garlic
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro
2 avocados; mashed
 
Combine all ingredients listed above and voila! Instant delicious and light guacamole. Serve alongside the chimichangas or make extra and serve as an appetizer with chips!
 
 
T'Abbymisu

*The lighter version, yet still irresistible!

 

For Crust:
 
12 phyllo sheets
olive oil spray
cocoa powder
cinnamon
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cake pan with olive oil and lay one sheet of phyllo on the bottom of the cake pan. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with cocoa and cinnamon. Repeat with the next 11 layers of phyllo. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Once this is complete, cool the crust either outside or in the fridge for 15 minutes.
 

Meanwhile....

 

For the filling:

 

15 oz. container skim milk ricotta cheese
12 oz. light/sugar free vanilla yogurt
1 cup plain fat free yogurt
4 packets of Splenda
2 tbsp. vanilla
1 angel food cake (sliced into thin peices)
1 cup coffee (use decaf if you are worried about caffeine content)
1 cup coffee liquor
 

Combine ricotta cheese, yogurt, splenda, and vanilla in a food processer and process until smooth. Next place slices of angel food cake in a large backing pan. Combine coffee and coffee liquor. Pour the coffee and liquor mixture over the angel food and allow the cake to soak up the liquid as the crust cools.

 

To assemble; place a thin layer of yogurt mmixture over the cooked phyllo. Next layer the saoked angel food cake on top. Cover with the remaining yogurt mixture and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Refrigerate for up to 3 hours or even overnight will work if you want to get a head start! Enjoy!

 

Mental Health Tip: It doesn't matter what you are struggling to forgive yourself for. You are the only one who can do it. Don't waste any time and just do it! Look yourself in the mirror and give yourself the guift of forgiveness. And before you bite into that decadent desert, make this T'Abbymisu and eat guilt free. There is no forgiveness necessary here; just delicious!

 

Peace and forgiveness from our kitchen to yours!

 

~"Too Lovely" Hot Messes in the kitchen

Stay and celebrate

A dear friend of mine, Joe, just celebrated a birthday on Sunday. Joe, much like me, moved to The Flathead Valley in search of something bigger. Coincidentally that meant leaving his family and friends back in California. Since my mom and I love hosting parties and Joe is a wonderful friend of ours, we decided to host Joe's birthday party. To be honest, we were totally delighted to get to throw a party in honor of him. We had planned the menu and settled on a Cajun/Mexican theme. What could be more fun that hot spicy food when it is 6 degrees outside? Yes, it was 6 degrees!

My boyfriend, Scott, had come to visit me the night before and since he lives four hours away he was planning to skip the party. He claimed he had lots of work to catch up on before Monday morning. Seems reasonable, I guess. We had spent the day catching up, talking, and generally just enjoying each other’s company. Around 4:00pm, we headed back over to my house. We walked in the door and I saw Scott’s thoughts begin to shift. He looked at me and said, “Maybe I can stay. What time is dinner?” I laughed and replied “Oh, really. I can’t convince you to stay, but the decorations can?”

My mom and dad had set the table, laid out appetizers, and hung festive ribbon throughout the house. It looked amazing. Music was playing and a fire was burning in the fireplace keeping the house toasty and warm. Scott took off his coat and made himself comfortable by the appetizers. They were conveniently located in the “heart of the house” which most people call the kitchen. We all pitched in to make guacamole, salsa, and once the birthday boy arrived, we shared in our birthday tradition; Champagne!

Two by two the other guests arrived. Some had met Joe and some hadn’t, but it didn’t seem to matter as each of our friends brought a card and a special gift for him. That night we dined on Chipotle Chicken, sweet potatoes laced in bacon, black bean and corn delight, and a nice barley salad with cilantro (provided by Ava). The night was a huge success and as my mom and I were washing the dishes, I watched my friends gathered around the dining table laughing and enjoying themselves, some meeting each other for the first time. As I watched, I was humbled by the kindness of our friends. I leaned over to my mom and said, “This is my favorite part, watching everyone laugh, smile, and create new friendships.”

We finished off the evening with our friend Lee’s famous Whiskey Chocolate cake  (recipe will be in a future blog) and coffee ice cream (Joe’s favorite). We sang happy birthday with 30 candles on the cake (1 extra candle to grow on). In the end, our friends lingered longer than they had intended with it being a “school night” and all. And Joe, he stayed long after the final guests had left. Mom, dad, Joe, and I curled up on the sofas; Joe with a guitar in hand. He played music while the rest of us tried to singing along. We all seemed to not want to night to end. Once all of the guests had departed, I reflected on the simplicity of the night and how everyone had seemed to want to delay their departure despite knowing that they might be worse for wear the next day. I suspected that just as Scott’s initial read was to stay and celebrate, every guest had also caught that same fever.

So this holiday season, and everyday thereafter, my mom and I encourage you to stay and celebrate!

Famous Smyers Guacamole

5 ripened avocados

1/2 red onion diced

5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 jalapeno peppers with seeds removed and diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon pepper
2 tablespoons salt

Harvest the fruit from the avocado first. Cut each avocado in half and scoop out the fruit into a large bowl. Mash the avocados using a potato masher until very few lumps remain and a smooth and creamy texture is created. Next, mix in the garlic, diced onion and jalapenos, lime juice, and fresh cilantro. Mix until all is incorporated, then add salt and pepper.

Chipotle Chicken

6 large chicken breasts (they can be bone-in or boneless and cut for portion size)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup low sugar barbeque sauce

juice of 1 lemon

5 cloves of garlic chopped

Chicken Rub recipe:

1 tablespoon basil

1 tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon chipotle powder

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon salt

To make the chicken rub, mix all spices together in a large bowl. A store bought chicken rub with similar spices can also be used to cut down on time.

For this recipe we used oversized chicken breasts on the bone as they were on sale at the store. We cut off the extra skin and fat and cut each chicken breast in half. Then we mixed all of the ingredients for the rub together and rubbed each chicken breast with the rub. Heat a skillet with the olive oil and sauté each chicken breast for 2 minutes on each side or just until they turn a brownish golden color.

Next place each chicken breast in the crock pot and pour the barbeque sauce, garlic, and lemon juice over the chicken. Set the crock pot to low and set for 6 hours.

*This recipe is also great to grill the chicken in the summer, but due to the extremely cold weather we opted to cook the chicken in the crock pot and it was delicious!

Sweet Piggy Potatoes

5 large sweet potatoes

4 cloves of garlic diced

4 strips of bacon cooked and diced
1/4 cup of plain fat free yogurt
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pierce each sweet potato with a knife or fork to allow heat to escape while baking. Place each potato in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes or until you can easily squeeze them and they are soft and can easily be peirced with a fork. Allow them to cool for 10 to 20 minutes to avoid burning your hands.

While the potatoes are baking, cook up the bacon in a skillet and drain on paper towels and allow bacon to cool before dicing into small bite size peices. If you are pressed for time, you can also heat the bacon in the microwave. To do this, place the strips of bacon on a fresh paper towel and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes on power 8.

To assemble, open up the sweet potato skins and scrape out the meaty insides using a spoon. Place the potatoes in a medium sized baking dish. Then mixing in the yogurt, garlic, butter, and diced bacon bits. Stir all ingredients together and place in an oven set at 250 degrees for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Black Bean and Corn Delight

1 can of black beans drained

1 package frozen sweet corn
1/2 red onion diced
3 teaspoons crusted garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
salt and pepper to taste

This is fairly simple and completely delicious. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients listed above in a medium sized baking dish. Mix well. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes stiring halfway through the cooking process. This can also be topped with Mexican cheese or mozzarella cheese if desired.

Mental Health Tip: This is the type of meal and occasion that brings out the best in everyone. Even when it is 6 degrees outside, it is impossible to be anything but happy. When this food is brought to the table it brings out the best in everyone. Try it and you too will want to stay and celebrate!

Brought to you by... "Too Lovely" Hot Messes in the kitchen