Chicken Tostadas with Avocado Cream

Here was dinner last night... each individual serving was like eating a giant chicken nacho...yes, please!  I adapted this recipe from Southern Living (of course) but made quite a few changes that I think are much better than the original.  So here is my version:

Ingredients

6 (6-inch) fajita-size corn tortillas

1/2 (8-oz.) container sour cream

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 medium avocado, halved

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided

1 small garlic clove, or 1/2 large clove

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/4 cup fajita seasoning 

1 1/3 cups (5 1/2 oz.) shredded Mexican four-cheese blend

1/2 cup tomato and green chile, drained (Rotel)

Preparation

1. Place chicken in a medium pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes on  medium high or until cooked through.  Once cooked, shred chicken and place in a medium mixing bowl.  While the chicken is still hot, stir in fajita mix and toss well to coat.  Set aside.
2. Preheat broiler with oven rack 4 inches from heat. Arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil 5 minutes or until lightly browned, turning after 3 minutes.
3. Pulse sour cream, lime juice, salt, 1 avocado half, garlic, and 1 Tbsp. cilantro in a food processor or blender 20 to 30 seconds or until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Chop remaining avocado half.
4. Divide chicken among tortillas; sprinkle with cheese. Broil 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
5. Top each with avocado-sour cream mixture, chopped avocado, Rotel, and desired toppings. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. cilantro.

This was the first time I have made this, and it will be making the recipe rotation in our house from now on.  It was filling, flavorful, and nutritious.  You can cut back even further by using reduced fat sour cream and reduced fat cheese (but who would want to do that?!) 

This can be a great gluten-free option as well.  I know quite a few people who are going gluten- free out of dietary necessity, and the biggest complaint is that it is tough to find gluten-free foods that are tasty.  Because all the ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten-free, this one's a no-brainer. 

*For those who must strictly adhere, I did double- check the sour cream, which can sometimes contain whey-stabilizers.  The store brand I used (Lucerne, from Safeway) does not contain these stabilizers, and is safe.  Also, be sure to check your fajita seasoning.  For example, McCormick seasoning can not guarantee the mixes are entirely gluten-free, but they do guarantee their single spices are gluten-free.  So if it's dietary necessity, consider making your own fajita mix from their single spices just to be on the safe side.

I love that this recipe covers most of your food groups and contains a healthy portion of avocado, the wonder food!  Enjoy!

On Organization...

I have some yummy meals for you this week, including one gluten-free, so keep an eye out!  Until then, I thought I would share my (very simple) organization method for weekly meal planning and household sanity. 


Before we came to Hawaii I was working full-time, and my husband works long days and doesn't always have weekends off.  After a while, I realized that I was making myself even more stressed out by not planning our dinners ahead of time and having to frantically run to the grocery store on my lunch hour to get ingredients for dinner that night.


I follow a home decorating blog, and came across a cute idea... a chalkboard hanging in the kitchen with the weekly meals written up on it.  She had a vintage-style frame around it so that it went with her decor.  I am a "list person" and like being able to see my to-do's written out in front of me, so I was inspired to do the same thing in my kitchen.  Also, my husband would know what was for dinner any given night, and it would help me to ensure that I was making a variety of foods, including different kinds of protein and veggies, rather than throwing it together spur-of-the-moment.


I set out looking for a chalkboard like the one I saw, only to find that they were surprisingly expensive, (as in $60+ expensive!)  So I opted for the DIY route, trekked to the local craft store and picked up a large picture frame I liked and some chalkboard spray paint.  I sprayed the glass with the chalkboard finish, and within minutes and for less than $10, I had a chalkboard that was large enough for my purposes and that looked decorative in my kitchen.


I have used it ever since, and update it every weekend for the next week's meals after I have done my meal planning and grocery store run.  It's nothing fancy, but it works.

However you choose to do it, getting organized and planning ahead will save you time and money, two things we could all use more of!

Lemon-Dill Tilapia

I like this recipe for a couple reasons.  First, it was easy and delicious.  And second, it is a meal that you can make for $10 or less and feed a family of four.  I would consider this a "gourmade at home" kind of meal, because it definitely feels like restaurant quality with little effort.  So consider it for a special night in with your hubby, or if you want to have a really great meal in the middle of the week "just because," or even if you will be entertaining for a crowd.

Lemon-Dill Tilapia (Southern Living)

Ingredients

• 4 (5-oz.) fresh tilapia fillets
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 lemons, sliced
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons butter

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 375°. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper.
2. 2. Cut parchment paper into 4 (13- x 9-inch) rectangles. Place 3 lemon slices crosswise in center of 1 parchment rectangle. Top with 1 fillet. Repeat with remaining lemon slices, fillets, and parchment paper rectangles. Sprinkle fillets evenly with carrot, dill, and parsley. Top each fillet with 1/2 Tbsp. butter. Fold 1 side of parchment paper over fillets; tuck excess parchment under fillets, pressing folds to form a crease.
3. 3. Bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork. Serve immediately.

...................................

A few notes about this meal.  Tilpia is a mild, flaky white fish, so even if you're not a fish person you will probably like this.  Our son ate this with no complaints, so my guess is that is kid-friendly too.  Older kids would love the parchment paper "packages" to unwrap with their meal inside.

As for the cost of the meal, no matter where you are, tilapia is generally an inexpensive fish and is easy to find.  I purchased 3 fillets for $4.36.  This recipe has few ingredients, most of which are pantry and fridge staples.  I bought the fresh dill for $2, but decided against the fresh parsley and just used dried parsley that I already had in my spice cabinet and I think it worked out just fine that way.  If you have an herb garden at home, you are all set!  Most of us with kids already have carrots or carrot sticks on hand, but if you need to buy them, you only need one carrot for this recipe.  I already had the parchment paper on hand, but if you don't, aluminum foil can be substituted.

I served the fish with a hot, crusty french bread to soak up all the buttery-lemony goodness and it was delish!  For a small family like ours, we can't eat an entire loaf of french bread at one meal.  I purchase the big bakery loaves at our grocery store for a few bucks, cut them in half, and freeze the half I don't use, so that I get two meals out of one loaf.

This a light meal, so save it for a night when you're not famished.  It's also a great warm weather meal (sorry friends on the mainland, I know this is a little out of season for you!)  And if you are serving it to a group, because the preparation is quick and easy, it allows you plenty of time to do other things. 

Wine recommendation... serve it up with a Louis Jadot Macon-Villages white burgundy.  (Thanks to my husband for bringing that one home to enjoy!)  Very dry, light, amazing!



Preparation




Parchment packages going into the oven



Yum!


Hey Y'all.... and Aloha

Welcome, friends!  As promised, and thanks to the encouragement of my foodie friends who share my love of cooking, I've started The Southern Spoon blog to dish about my adventures in cooking and baking while I'm far away from home living in Hawaii.  My biggest challenge so far is grocery shopping here on a budget, so it makes my weekly meal planning a bit more time consuming.  Ingredients that were commonplace and inexpensive in South Carolina can send me on a wild goose chase here, only to find that they are cost prohibitive.  But it makes me a more creative cook, and I'm quickly learning how to find substitutions to make the kind of meals our family loves.

I'm still relying on my favorite Southern Living and Cooking Light recipes, and coming up with my own on the fly, based on ingredients currently in my pantry.  My goal is to share a couple meals a week that were particularly successful with the boys, that were fairly easy to make and that can be made on a tight budget.  (And let's face it, that will be most of what I cook here, considering the cost of food on an island!) 

I'm a fan of classic Southern food with a fresh and modern approach... no pan- frying here, just hearty, good-for-you meals that pull from various food groups and will make you look like a gourmet chef.  I hope you can find some great meal suggestions here... read along with me, and let me know what you think!

Stay tuned... up first will be a recipe for Lemon-Dill Tilapia that I made this week.  Really quick and tasty, and easy on the budget.