Fresh Pico De Gallo

My dear friend and her husband were recently blessed with a beautiful baby girl. My future daughter-in-law, in fact. Because I said so.

We had a lovely pink baby shower at my house (and let me tell you, it was PINK! I have 3 boys, so I do it when I can). I made this fresh salsa to go on the food table. Not exactly pink, but tomatoes don't come in that colour so I'll settle for red. It was gone faster than the cupcakes (doesn't usually happen). A sweet little 7 year old guest approached me very politely and asked if Iwouldn't mind giving her the recipe because she loved it so much. I believe she'll make it too, this girl loves to cook.

Poor Matt was so sad to discover that it was all eaten, so he ran to the store for another jalapeno so we could do another batch. So, FYI, you might want to double it.

Fresh Pico De Gallo

• 4 regular sized tomatoes, my fav is on the vine
• 1 white onion
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 2/3 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 tsp lime juice
• salt and pepper

Chop up your tomatoes and onion and put in a big-ish bowl.

USING GLOVES, chop up your jalapeno pepper pretty small and add to the tomatoes and onions. If

    you like the heat, add some of the seeds. I left them out. If you don't use gloves while chopping,

    you could get a nasty acid burn on your fingers. I made this mistake one, it was definitely not fun.

Chop the cilantro, add.

Add some salt and pepper, how ever much you usually like.

Pour in the lime juice.

Mix it all together and serve with tortilla chips!

-Jessica

Avocado Chicken Parmigiana

I can't believe there was ever a time when I didn't like avocado. It's a part of my past I'm not proud of, okay? Let's call it my teenage rebellion. But, like most rebellious teens, I got over it. In a big way. I am crazy for avocado. Like cray-zee. They are so creamy, tasty, versatile and full of awesome-ness. Good for you. Got it? Avocodo=good.

Now that we're on the same page, you should probably make this for dinner. It's a yummy, summer-y take on an old classic. I served it with a fresh garden salad (full of avocado, of course).

Avocado Chicken Parmigiana

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan chesse
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
2 ripe avocados
3/4 cup grated extra-old white cheddar cheese

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees ferenheit.
• Using a kitchen mallet (or in my case, the back of an ice cream scoop), pound your chicken to make it flatter.
• Combine eggs, milk, and salt and pepper and set aside.
• Combine panko and parmesan cheese and seat aside.
• Line a baking dish or cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick coating.
• Coat chicken in flour, dip in egg mixture, and coat in panko mixture.
• Place chicken on baking sheet and put in oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken is almost cooked through.
• Remove from oven and top with 1/4 cup tomato sauce, strips of avocado, and grated cheddar.
• Put back in the oven for 15 minutes, turning your oven on to broil for the last 3.



-Jessica

Avocado Brushetta

I have this friend. She is lovely. Do you have a lovely friend? Probably. If not, you should get one. They're pretty great. Especially when your friend is good in the kitchen like mine. She made this once for me and I was hooked. No exaggeration. I make this about once a week. Sometimes even twice.

The hubs likes it just as much as me, maybe more.

It is probably intended as an appetizer, or side. But for us, it is the whole meal. Why eat something else when you know it won't taste as good as this? It has kind of turned into our Friday routine. 

Kids in bed- check

Pajamas on- check

Bruschetta made- check

Modern Family in the DVD player- check (feel free to substitute for something else equally awesome)

This "meal" has some very appealing perks to it, too. First, it's fast. I'm talking 5 minutes and you're done. Second, it's good for you. Tomatoes, avocado, olive oil, (ok fine, there's parmesan cheese, but we'll count it as the protein). Third, it's awesome. I mean awesome. Now go buy some avocados. Trust me.

Avocado Bruschetta

2 medium, ripe avocados

2 large tomatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 loaf fresh french bread

butter

more parmesan

-Slice french bread and lay on a cookie sheet

-Spread with butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese

-Broil on high for about 2 minutes (Watch it! It burns fast!)

-Slice avocados and tomatoes and throw in a bowl. Add the oil, cheese and garlic powder. Mix. Spoon on top of toasted bread.

-Jessica