Pineapple Sorbet

The battalion wives started out having bimonthly dinners for the solo wives, but they're so much fun that everyone comes anyway and just leaves husbands at home. Tonight we had and island themed dinner with some delicious kalua pork and Okinawan sweet potatoes, which were a first for me. They're purple, y'all. The gal who made them mixed in some coconut syrup, and they were delicious. My contribution was pineapple sorbet. It couldn't have been easier, and it was a really refreshing dessert.

1 fresh pineapple, cored, diced
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar

Blend it all up in a blender. I put it in the ice cream maker (you could skip this) for about half an hour and then froze it overnight. I left it out on the counter for about 30 minutes for it it soften before we ate it. The original recipe (link) suggests adding a little rum to it, and I might try that next time I make it!

Chicken Piccata

We knew that one of the very few downsides of living in Hawaii was going to be the high cost of everything. This proved to be true, but I'll be the first to say the beaches, rainbows, shave ice, friendly locals, slow pace of life, etc. etc. etc. far outweigh this minimal downside. That being said, we are making a conscious effort to try to eat out less. We have frequented a local Italian restaurant in Kailua on the suggestion of several people, and the chicken piccata is my favorite thing on their menu. The sausage gnocchi is a top contender, but I haven't braved that yet. So in an attempt to eat at home a little more, I gave chicken piccata a try. I found this recipe in an old cookbook I have, and it was good! I'll definitely make it again.

2 chicken breasts, cut in half
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp butter
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup capers, rinsed
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Angel hair pasta
Parmesan cheese

Melt 4 tbsp butter in a large skillet. Coat the chicken breasts first in egg and then breadcrumbs. Put the chicken breasts in the warm skillet, and cook them on low-medium heat for about 6 minutes on each side or until their cooked through. In a pot, bring the stock and lemon juice to a rollin boil. Turn the heat to medium and add the capers and parsley. Cover it and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Toss the pasta with the sauce, reserving some sauce to top the chicken. I added a little extra squirt of lemon on the pasta and sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese on top.

Rum Chocolate Chip Cookies

I stumbled upon this when I was 3 steps in to making chocolate chip cookies and realized I was out of vanilla extract. I saw the imitation rum sitting there and thought it was worth a shot. And it was definitely worth a shot because these were really delicious.

3/4 cup butter at room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup  sugar

1 egg

2 tsp imitation rum extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg and rum and let it mix. Once incorporated, add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Once the dough is formed, mix in the chocolate chips. Bake them at 350 for 10-12 minutes. The cornstarch makes them chewy and soft, and the rum was a great flavor!

Star Burst Mirror

Now that there is a Pier 1 nearby, I'm always lusting after decor that is not in our budget. I figured I'd give one of these starburst mirrors a shot. I spent $8 on the mirror (the only craft store we have here is Ben Franklin, so it's definitely more pricey than mainland craft stores), $4 on 2 packs of dowel rods, and $3 on spray paint. So if it was a bust, I only blew $15. I was able to use the dowel rods for a couple of other things too, so I was hoping it wouldn't be a complete waste. I am pretty happy with how it turned out, though I would do a couple things differently if I were to do it over again. On the suggestion of a friend, I hot glued the dowel rods to the back of the mirror before painting them so I wouldn't have to rotate them and have them roll around when I sprayed. I used some of our leftover packing paper to cover the front of the mirror. I wish I had taped all the way around because some paint did get under the edge, but it was nothing a little paint thinner couldn't fix. I took a flat hanger off of an old picture frame and glued it to the back of the mirror. It turned out okay! I'll leave it up for a while and won't cry if it breaks in the next move. 

Margarita Cake

I do not normally go for citrus-y desserts. I am of the mindset that dessert should be chocolate or it is worthless. However, I really liked this cake. The original recipe called for an orange cake mix. I know that I definitely saw orange cake mix at the commissary on one of the end of the aisle displays a couple weeks ago, but of course, they had none in stock when I needed to buy one. So I used a lemon cake mix because I remember seeing in the comments that someone did this and it turned out fine. So, if I do make this again, I will try it with the orange cake mix instead. But for this, I just juiced an orange into the mix to add some orange flavor.

Cake:
1 box lemon cake mix
1 3.4 oz vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
juice of 1/2 orange
1/4 cup tequila

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp tequila
juice of 1/2 lime

Mix all the cake ingredients and beat for about 2 minutes. Bake it at 350 in a greased/floured bundt pan for 45-50 minutes. Drizzle it with the glaze before serving. I didn't take a picture of this but will when I have a leftover slice tomorrow : )

Chicken and Steak Fajitas

This is one of my favorite things to make. The marinade I used for the chicken and steak was almost identical except for one ingredient.

For the chicken marinade, I used:
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lime juice
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Blend it all up in a food processor or something similar, and then spread it over 2 lbs of chicken cut into fajita strips. I usually marinade it over night and then cook it in a skillet or on the griddle.

For the steak marinade, I used:
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup fresh, chopped cilantro

Same process, and I spread it over 1.5 lb of flank steak cut into fajita strips and marinaded over night.

I also chopped up some red, green, and yellow peppers and onions and cooked them in a skillet with some olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper. I love, love, love these fajitas and I am so excited that I have leftovers! I also made some tomalito and will be eating this for dinner for the next 4 nights.

(thanks to Bailey and Lucy for giving me this absolutely beautiful platter!)

Ranch Bean Dip

Tonight I hosted a get together for the ladies in the battalion who are sans-husband. I made fajitas, and we did pot luck for appetizers and desserts (so many yummy dips!). I saw this recipe on pinterest this weekend and thought I'd give it a try since I had all of the ingredients and because it looked really easy.

1 can refried beans
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 pack dry ranch dressing mix

Mix them all up and heat it on medium heat. So good warm but goes down easy cold too. I don't normally like Ranch dressing, but I really loved this! I'll definitely be making it again.