Citrus Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Crema.

   You can put anything on a taco shell and make it taste good, but these are more than just good, they are citrus infused deliciousness. Everyone around me is in the citrus business, every farmers market in town has the freshest of fresh citrus. As far as OJ goes around here, there's only one way to go. Natalie's! It's the only OJ you'll ever find in my house, I've grown up on this stuff, and by that I think my mom put it in my baby bottle. 

  Ok enough blabbing lets make some tacos!  

2 all white meat chicken breasts 

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lime 

1/4 cup Natalie's Orchid Island OJ

Salt 

Fresh ground black pepper

1 garlic glove (chopped) 

   Marinate the chicken in this mixture for at least an hour, up to 4. Go for 4 the flavors will be worth the wait. 

   Grill the chicken until cooked through, I grill my chicken on high heat iron grill skillet because I like the "crispy marks" on the outside of mine. I also choose to shred my chicken for these tacos because the Crema sauce sticks so much better to pulled meat

    For easy shredding my 1st best friend in the kitchen does this for me, and by that I mean my kitchen aid stand mixer. I got my baby on my 12th birthday, I turned 22 this year, my ole gal turned 10 and is still running like a champ. Anywho, attach the paddle attachment and BOOM your chicken will be shredded in minutes! 

Topping Time! 

 

Cilantro Crema Sauce

2 bundles fresh cilantro

Light Ranch

Mayonnaise

Sour Cream

Sprinkle of Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Cayenne. 

Add all the cilantro to the food processor until combined.

Add all other ingredients and Pulse until smooooth. Sorry for the lack of measuring on this one, sometimes you just gotta add till its right, go with spoonfuls of each wet ingredient until its right, it will look like this 

Assembly Line

   The toppings for tacos are endless, for these I keep it simple, a bed of baby spinach on a warm flour tortilla, a scoop of the shredded chicken, a few slices of red onion, and then top with the glorious Crema Sauce, it's so fresh and heavenly you will start putting it on everything! (Make extra and store it in a mason jar for endless toppings on anything)

It's not all sweets all the time in my kitchen, 

enjoy the tacos, and if you've never had 

Natalie's OJ, do yourself a favor and check 

out there website, and where you can buy it!

http://orchidislandjuice.com/

Tuesday Bake Sesh. S'mores Brownies.

      The end of summer is near, I'm personally ready for the cool ( well as cool as it gets in south Florida) weather. But why not celebrate the transition with ooey gooey s'mores brownies. This quick  and easy recipe will please anyone for a love of chocolate, who doesn't love a good brownie? The fudgy base is the prime opportunity for any topping. Today's choice, marshmallow fluff, and cinnamon sugar graham cracker crumbs. 

Brownie Base: 

8 tablespoons salted sweet cream butter 

2 tablespoons veg oil

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 and 1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large cold eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees 

Line an 8x8 baking dish with foil or parchment paper, spray with nonstick spray.

Melt butter until smooth over medium low heat, add veg oil and combine. Add the cocoa powder, and sugar and stir continuously until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in the 2 cold eggs and vanilla. Add the flour and stir until well combined. 

Transfer brownie batter to the baking dish and smooth over. 

Now for the fun part. 

Topping:

4 spoonfuls marshmallow fluff

1/2 cup ground graham cracker crumbs

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Combine crumbs and cinnamon. 

Drop the marshmallow fluff on top of the batter and swirl it into the batter with a butter knife. 

Sprinkle the crumbs over top and they are ready for the oven.

Bake for 35 minutes until a knife comes out almost clean ( the fluff will stick to the knife)

Let cool in pan for 20 minutes, then pull foil up and out of the pan

Cut into squares and ENJOY the fudgy chocolate marshmallow goodness. 

Sunday Night Birthday Dinner

Happy Sunday y'all, a normal Sunday dinner around here is your typical meat and veggies. Today is a special occasion, my mamas birthday weekend, so fresh Florida lobster right off the shores of my hometown, and a juicy tenderloin filet. Mom and dad like there lobster fried, I prefer other methods, but fried it is today.  I can't wait to get this baby on an iron grill skillet, most think a steak HAS to be grilled in the great outdoors, but when Anthony introduced me to this puppy, it soon became my 2nd or maybe 3rd best friend.   

Do yourself a favor...get one. 

This filet, on that iron skillet, will turn into a beauty. A little kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic, paprika, and cayenne, because you will come to learn, I put it on EVERYTHING.

Heaven on an iron skillet y'all. 

As for the lobster, it did not last long enough for pictures.

That's all for this dinner party. 

Stick a fork In me, I'm done! 

Birthday Dinner for Mama ❤

Tomorrow, well today, now that once again I'm up after midnight, is my "Mama Dukes" birthday. I love when she asks for something as easy as a surf and turf dinner, well she asked for the surf (lobster preferably) and with the man in my life no meal is complete without red meat, ecspecially a lobster dinner. So Saturday morning I'm off with dad for a grocery trip to prepare for Sundays shindig. Nothing I love more than cookin and having the fam over for dinner. The birthday occasion makes even better because that means I get to bake a cake, which in my opinion is the best part of every meal, my pup Silas also thinks the same, he loves the sample the frosting. Keep posted for the dinner extravaganza menu, lots of pictures, and stuffed bellys..   P.s- Cake is good even when there's no birthday to celebrate :) 

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Intro

Food Lover, Cooking Queen, Great Dane Mommy, Travel Junkie, This is My Sweet Southern Kitchen in the works..