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Blog

summery tostada and a giveaway

Andrea

Its August 4th. Can you believe it? If the summer season were a train, loaded down with multi-colored heirloom tomatoes, plump red bell peppers and blackberries the size of my thumb, I’d be the overwhelmed woman running after it, trying desperately to catch up while grasping wildly at any produce falling off the back. That’s how I feel when I go to the farmer’s market, visit our garden or just take a peek at the bella eats drafts folder.

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I’m feeling very behind, watching a pile of seasonal recipes I want to share grow taller and taller and realizing that I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen and behind the camera but not enough at my computer. There are simply too many wonderful foods in season right now and not enough time in the day to cook all of the recipes I’m itching to try, let alone write about them.

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I was so overwhelmed last weekend that instead of sitting down to write in order to relieve some of the pressure, I simply closed the lid of my MacBook Pro, poured a lovely glass of vino verde and started baking.  It did help, my de-stress baking (or maybe it was the effervescent white wine?), and made me realize that more important than giving you long, wordy posts is sharing with you the quick, simple and healthy meals we've been having at our house.

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That is what summer is all about, right?  Wonderful, fresh, delicious produce cooked simply and paired with other whole, healthy (hopefully local!) ingredients?  If you're on board with that thinking then I have a nice little recipe to share with you.  This one was a collaboration between Brian and I, thought up shortly after visiting our farmer's market and coming home with a basket full of local produce and even some locally made chevre.  We happened to have a bottle of Saucy Mama Lime Chipotle Marinade in the pantry (for the recipe contest I am participating in) and decided that the tangy, smokey, pleasantly spicy sauce would pair nicely with roasted peppers, sweet corn and creamy goat cheese.  Toss it all on top of a toasted whole wheat pita and you've got yourself  a delicious, fast and filling summer meal.

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Now, as much as I appreciate Saucy Mama asking me to participate in their contest and as much as I really, really, love each of the products I've tried, the purpose of this blog is not product advertisement.  So, while I do recommend the Saucy Mama Lime Chipotle Marinade, I know that you can make this recipe with other sauces as well.  Look for something tangy with a nice spice that hits you at the sides or back of your mouth, not right at the tip of your tongue.

And, two lucky readers will actually get to try out the Saucy Mama Lime Chipotle Marinade!  Just leave me a comment telling me about your favorite summer produce by Sunday, August 9th Monday, August 10th at 6pm EST.  I'll announce the winners at the beginning of next week.  I'll be hosting one more giveaway, courtesy of Saucy Mama, during the month of August so stay tuned...

Summery Chicken Tostadas

serves 4 for a light dinner

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium-sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts

  • Saucy Mama Lime Chipotle Marinade, to marinate chicken in and also to drizzle on top of tostadas

  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

  • 1 poblano pepper, seeds removed and sliced into strips

  • 1 medium onion, sliced into strips

  • 2 ears of fresh corn, corn removed from husk

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • salt + pepper

  • 4 oz chevre (goat cheese), crumbled

  • 4 whole wheat pitas (8"), brushed with olive oil and toasted in oven


Method:

  1. First, turn your oven on to 350*.  Coat chicken breasts with marinade and let sit in small glass dish for 10 minutes.

  2. As the oven preheats and the chicken marinates, chop up your veggies and toss in a 9x13 glass dish.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Place in oven and set timer to 30 minutes.

  3. When oven timer has 20 minutes remaining, pour excess marinade out of chicken dish.  Bake chicken for remaining 20 minutes at 350*.

  4. Pull chicken from oven and bump oven temperature up to 400*.  Stir veggies and let roast for an additional 5 minutes, while chicken cools slightly.  Place pitas directly on rack to toast, turning halfway through 5 minutes.

  5. After 5 minutes, shred chicken with a fork.  Pull pitas and veggies from oven.  Place one pita on each plate and top with shredded chicken, roasted veggies and crumbles of chevre.  Drizzle Lime Chipotle Marinade over top of tostada, to taste.


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