Unbelievably Good!

Visiting Zach and Kaley this week rewarded me with this superb recipe. Can't say enough about the flavor and texture! Much prep but worth worth it all. Great for company.

Cool & Crunchy Chicken Tacos for 6

12 hard yellow corn taco shells

2 cups shredded romaine lettuce

3 tblsp lime juice, divided (1-2 limes worth)

1 tsp lime zest

1/2 cup mayo

2 tsp ground cumin

3 cups diced, grilled chicken breasts (16-18 oz uncooked)

1/2 small jicama cut in 1/4" strips

1 small mango cut in 1/4" strips

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp salt

1 avocado, peeled and sliced (optional)

1. Make sauce in medium mixing bowl by stirring 1 tblsp lime juice, mayo, lime zest and cumin together. Spoon approx 1/3 cup into resealable plastic bag; set aside. Add grilled chicken pieces to remaining sauce; mix well.

2. Combine jicama, mango, cilantro, salt and remaining lime juice in a mixing bowl; mix well.

3. Place lettuce into taco shells. Top evenly with chicken mixture, jicama mixture and avocado, if desired. Trim corner of sauce-filled bag; drizzle over tacos.

Dili Tuna Salad, a gourmet discovery!

So how can tuna salad be considered gourmet? Here is what I discovered today!

Growing up, I always liked tuna salad. We made it with tuna, sweet pickle relish and mayo. I still enjoy the convenience of canned tuna for a quick, protein-rich lunch, but the sweet pickle relishes are all laden with high fructose corn syrup these days and mayo doesn't have much at all to recommend it except nice creamy texture and great flavor.

So today, I opened some tuna and remembered what one daughter-in-law does to make it more palatable for her: she adds the freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon. Then I remembered that mayo is mostly oil and vinegar, and lemon juice is a great sub for vinegar! Which led me next to recall the bottle of gourmet olive oil my other daughter-in-law gave me when I realized could combine the lemon juice and olive oil for a healthy mayo sub! I had already been dealing with the sweet relish problem by mincing dill pickles from the health food store (made without nasty chemicals) and adding a packet of stevia.

So here is what I mixed up today and it was do-it-again-delicious! Serves 4-6

Dili (Daughter-in-laws-inspired) Tuna Salad

3 cans tuna, drained well, flaked into bowl

about 1/2 cup minced onion

about 1/2 cup minced dill pickles

1 packet stevia

juice of 1/2 lemon

scant 1/4 cup cold pressed extra virgin very fresh olive oil

2 tablespoons mayo (I will try it without any mayo next time!)

good dash each: salt, pepper, lemon pepper

International Brown Rice

This dish combines ingredients of several different nationalities into a satisfying experience full of taste and health. It is easily made vegetarian, gluten free or dairy free with little adjustment. Add or subtract anything you like or don't have on hand to make it into something your family will enjoy. It goes together in half the time if you have leftover steamed rice already on hand.

One hour preparation time

Serves 6 as a meal or 12 as a side dish

1. Steam for 45 minutes:

1 cup brown basmati rice in

2 cups water

2. In large skillet you can cover, begin to saute on medium low heat

1 large onion finely chopped with

2 cloves minced garlic in

2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

3. Intermittent with stirring the saute, chop or slice:

1 large carrot

1 large stalk of celery

1 cup green cabbage

1 red bell pepper

4. Stir the carrot, celery, cabbage and bell pepper into the onion saute

5. Add the following as you stir the saute:

2 tablespoons basil pesto

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

12-15 slices pepperoni, chopped

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon salt (less if you added salt to your rice)

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

6. After you add this next ingredient to the saute, cover and bring it to a boil:

1 cup water

7. As soon as it boils hard, uncover and turn the heat back down to med low. Stir in

8 ounces firm tofu, in small cubes

1 cup mung bean sprouts

8. When tofu is warm, stir in warm rice, cover and let the flavors mingle for 5 minutes. Add more water if needed to keep moist.

Serve with soy sauce, or a little marinara-- whatever suits your taste! You could add diced green chili if you want more spice. You could add scrambled egg or leftover chopped chicken if you want more protein. Enjoy!