The It'll Do Sandwich Recipe

So back in Peru at a delightful restaurant called Los Perros, I had a tantalizing sandwich called the “It’ll Do the Trick” sandwich. I had it my first day I was there & had it about six more times throughout the month. Here’s a recipe inspired by that delicious sandwich.

There are two ways to make this delicious sandwich: cook the chicken yourself, or buy breaded chicken in the frozen section of your grocery store. If you are breading the chicken yourself, you will take the raw chicken, dunk in flour, dunk in egg, dunk in breadcrumbs & fry in some oil or butter (a more detailed recipe found here, which is what I tend to use). For store bought simply cook chicken (or warm) according to the package’s directions. I used a package of General Tao's chicken and baked it without the sauce.

To make four sandwiches, you will need:

Chicken

4 soft hoagie rolls

2 Avocados

2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

1 small jar roasted red peppers

4 pieces of butter lettuce

1 c. shredded Monterrey jack cheese

If you can’t find toasted sesame seeds: place sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium heat. Stir every few minutes until they are light brown in color & you begin to smell them toasting. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare chicken according to directions on package (or fry up your own breaded chicken)

Cut & peel avocados. Place in a bowl & mash with a fork until it’s got a chunky guacamole consistency.

1. Using a butter knife, spread avocado onto both sides of the rolls

2. Add roasted red peppers on top

3. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds
4. Add a layer of lettuce
5. Add chicken

6. Add cheese on top of chicken (be generous)

Place the halves together & viola the yummiest sandwich is now at your fingertips.

Mother's Day Brunch

My dad with his mom

[delicious recipe found here]

Mama & her two girls

The brunch spread featuring cinnamon vanilla French toast, crust-less quiche, eggs in hash browns, bacon, mom-osas, and ginger and honey peach iced tea

My beautiful mom & her mom

I hope everyone had a wonderful mother's day, especially all you moms out there.

All-loving God, we give you thanks and praise for mothers young and old.

We pray for young mothers, who give life and count toes and tend to our every need; May they be blessed with patience and tenderness to care for their families and themselves with great joy.

We pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us; May they continue to guide us in strong and gentle ways.

We remember mothers who are separated from their children because of war, poverty, or conflict; May they feel the loving embrace of our God who wipes every tear away.

We pray for women who are not mothers but still love and shape us with motherly care and compassion.

We remember mothers. grandmothers, and great-grandmothers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love. Amen.
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When Anticipation Overflows...

In 48 hours, I will be South America-bound. A continent that has always intrigued me, and one that I never guessed I would experience by myself. I'm going into this experience with as few expectations as possible (to avoid any ounce of disappointment and also because my imagination is not what it once was, and all the things I will soon experience seem utterly abstract as of yet).

I spent yesterday preparing. Sprayed my clothes with permethrine, organized my slew of OTC meds, downloaded some new songs, did laundry. It hasn't entirely hit me yet, and I'd like to keep it that way. Once it does hit I'm going to be a blubbering mess of excitement.

Tonight my sister & friends are coming over to say arrivederci. We're having orzo stuffed bell peppers (yum) & in honor of the city I will be venturing to (Cusco), we're watching The Emperor's New Groove, featuring Emperor Kuzco.

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Four Favorites Friday: 04.15.11

Happy Tax Day & Friday to you all. Hope it's been a fabulous week. Mine was wonderful & busy (and included quite a few holes in my body... shots in preparation for Peru).


1. This brilliant honeycomb-style shelving. Found via Design*Sponge with a full how-to & it seems fairly easy to make. Griffin ♥s woodworking, so maybe I'll have him make something like this for me... It reminds me of bees & organic chemistry & happy.

2. Hello delicious recipe! Stumbled upon Kevin & Amanda's blog the other day, and I'm telling you I honestly drooled. She has great tips about blogging, photographing, and delicious recipes. She even has a feature where you can click a picture & it will tell you what settings she used and what camera for each picture. Brilliant!

 3. Kojo Designs (love that blog, beautiful sisters) is hosting a month of copy-cat projects that they call The Sincerest Form of Flattery. Many of my projects are copy-cats & I love making beautiful replicas and saving money all at the same time. Check out this project where Tasha from Creation Corner made a delightful tote bag based off of one from Pottery Barn. Love it! Find the full tutorial here.

 4. Lofted beds. I love sleeping up high. I was always the girl that wanted the top bunk, and I loved the cruises with the family where the beds popped out of the ceiling. I'm loving the space-saving idea of lofted beds. Maybe Griff can build us one if we get married (don't want to jinx anything, so I'll use the "if"... even though it's hopefully a "when"). Bed found via Houstic... very fun site. Also, pictures of my new bed coming soon!

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Volunteering at a health fair tomorrow & getting ready for Peru. Nothing else on the weekend agenda besides sleeping and taking it easy! PS-It's almost HOLY WEEK! Have a great one!

Caprese Inspired Balsamic Chicken Salad

I hope you are experiencing some nice weather like we are here in the Mile-High city. Scratch that. It's snow/raining & gloomy. Perfect day for a cup of tea & a new recipe! Gotta love days like this. Whip out that rainy day playlist!

This is a quick, delicious & healthy chicken salad my sister and I came up with. It's light, fresh, and reminiscent of spring. It can be used as an appetizer (top on crackers), as a main course (as a sandwich), or even as a thick dip.

Ingredients:

1 can of Member's Mark canned chunk chicken breast (you could also use shredded chicken out of the crock pot)

1.5 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. olive oil (optional)

1/2 tsp. salt (not pictured)

1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper (not pictured)

1 tbsp. chopped basil (use fresh basil, not dried)

1 roma tomato, diced (more depending on your taste)

Mozzarella cheese sticks, diced (optional)

Here's how to do it:
1. Drain chicken if you're using the canned stuff.
2. Place in a large bowl. Add all ingredients & stir.

Ingredients all mixed together.

3. This is where you can get creative. For an appetizer, top mixture on crunchy bread, crackers, or pita chips. Top with a little slice of mozzarella, and you're good to go. If you're using this as an appetizer, let each person construct their own because the dip can make the crackers soggy. For a sandwich, toast bread under the broiler until golden, add chicken mixture, top with more mozzarella or parmesan & broil again until cheese is melted and brown. Enjoy!

Topped with freshly grated Parmesan.



Broiled to perfection & ready to be devoured!



I made an open-faced sandwich out of mine. DE-licious & very easy.

Four Favorites Friday: 04.08.2011

1. I'm currently reading this delightful novel for book club. Quite a nice change from the last book we read (Every Last One by Anna Quindlen). An old English man, a cup of tea or two, and all the fun British jargon. I'm in!

2. Fishtail braids! I love these. I'm still learning, but I think they add a little fun and elegance to any outfit. Here’s an easy tutorial (please note the sweet 80’s kid at the bottom). This beautiful blogger also shares my affection for these braids.

3. Date with my grandmas tonight to go see this movie! It features a Colorado girl as the star (yay) and tells the true story of surfer Bethany Hamilton. I'm positive that it's going to be great!

4. Caprese. It just makes my mouth water. The smell of fresh basil is intoxicating. It reminds me of spring and summer (& it's meatless). I will post a recipe next week for a caprese inspired dish! Souvlaki for the Soul has a great recipe for Caprese salad bruschetta if you've never tried it. The Fresh Fridge also has a good one. As Rachel Ray would say, "how good does that look?!"

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My grandma gave me her antique wrought iron bed & I had a lot of fun setting it up last night (pictures soon). Had a nice long chat with the Mr. ♥, watched the Orioles win, and slept fabulously.

Happy Friday, all!

Four Favorites Friday: 03.18.11

Happy Friday all! Here are some great things to sum up the week.

1. This site. You can create random word collages by just typing or pasting a bunch of words. The more times a word appears, the larger it becomes in the collage. This might be fun to do for a loved one or something. It's completely free! If you don't like the design it creates, just click "randomize" for a different one.

2. This coffee press. I got it on sale for a mere $20 (originally $40, but on sale on the website). My tried and true method for making the best cup of coffee is Alton Brown's found here.

3. This recipe via The Hungry Birdie. Meatless, again. Can you imagine the delectable aroma as you cook this up? Garlic, mushrooms, and scallions--oh my!

4. The Mumford & Sons Pandora station. Try it!

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Happy weekend friends! I'm going to a craft fair tomorrow, but nothing else too exciting planned.

Four Favorites Friday: 03.11.2011

MEATLESS edition... not like the other favorites were overflowing with meatness, but it's the first Friday of Lent, which means no meat! You can read up more on this tradition & Lent here.

1. Thought we'd start of with a nice, comforting, albiet meatless recipe. Macaroni & Cheese. Doesn't that just look delightful?! What's your favorite thing to add to your Mac? I love adding mustard &/or Sriracha sauce (& fresh pepper, of course).

2. Michelle Au authors a hilarious blog full of real life & adventure. She has a book coming out that I am so excited about. If you know anyone (or if you yourself are) in medicine, her comics will make you laugh. Her book is called This Won't Hurt a Bit and if it's anything like her blog, it's sure to be great! You can preorder on Amazon & B&N (I don't suggest Border's... all the ones in my neck of the woods are going out of business).

3. Yogurtland. I do believe this falls under the "sweets" category, which I gave up for Lent, but I still thought I'd share this magical place with you. I went here last Sunday & got 13 ounces of yumminess. Red Velvet Cupcake Batter with Kit-Kat, gummy bears, Reese's, etc. So delicious. I love Pinkberry, but this place is so much more affordable. Only 30 cents per ounce! Not to mention I get a boost of self-esteem while being there. I mean their motto is "you rule." So true! Hopefully your state falls on the list of locations!

 4. I'm working on making Hunter (my pup) a dog bed using this idea I orginally found through Sew, Mama, Sew! It's a great way to use up some (many) scraps. I'll certainly post pictures when I'm all finished. I got 2 yds of Blizzard Fleece from Joann's for $8 using a coupon. Great deal!

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PS-I made those Oatmeal Cream Pies from last week & oh dear... they were absolutely scrumptious!

It's the WEEKEND!

Four Favorites Friday 03.04.2011

It's that beautiful time of the week again: FRIDAY.

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1. Girl Scout Cookie time! I bought five boxes & plan to devour them very slowly & in moderation... hopefully.

2. This nail polish. It's Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure & it works fabulously. I like putting a top coat over it, but this nail polish has lasted me an entire week without chips. I think that's pretty impressive. I have about six different colors in this nail polish & acquired this one on my most recent trip to Target where I saw even more hues. Next on my list is So Much Fawn & Gilty Pleasure.  Need to spice up your nails? Steph's Closet has some great ideas!

3. The Colgate Wisp. Although they aren't best friends with the environment, these are so handy. I used them on the plane to and from Paris. They're great for traveling, guest bathrooms, or to stick in your purse for a quick brush after a dinner date or something. I found these on Woot & managed to get 96 for $14.99 with shipping! Gotta love the Woot!

4. Oh my goodness. I started drooling (literally) when I saw this post at Bakingdom. Truly scrumptious. I must try this recipe. Who didn't love oatmeal cream pies as kids?!

One lesson I learned this week: Never, never, never give up.

Have a great weekend! I'm headed to AZ for a wedding. Any fun plans?

Four Favorites Friday: Superbowl Edition

Here are some of the most delicious recipes I found that are sure to feed all the football-philes that will be grubbing this Sunday!

1. Our Best Bite's pizza rolls.
2. Gina Marie's Kitchen's hot corn dip.
3. On the healthier side of things, The Cilantropist's homemade hummus
4. The Girl Who Ate Everything's ham & cheese sliders.

Links to the recipes found below the pictures.

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We all know who I'll be rooting for! *cough* GREEN BAY! *cough* Sidenote: when I was little I used to think they were called the "Green Day Packers," so my cousin has an embarrassing video of me singing a cheery tune rooting for "Green Day." At least I didn't make these mistakes! Anyway, eat up & enjoy!

One lesson I learned this week: the truth will set you free; free indeed.