Chicken and Pinto Bean Tacos

Part of me never wants to develop and post another chicken recipe for as long as I live. I have so many chicken recipes and I feel like I have exhausted the entire chicken race. The other part of me recognizes that chicken is cost effective, low in fat, everyone likes it and it tastes like rattlesnake, from what I have heard. Only one side of the battle is going to win. And from the title of this recipe, you can tell who won.

With this pregnancy and it's most-wanted foods, I would like to think that the only tacos in the world are shrimp tacos and fish tacos. Magic is seafood in a tortilla. Guess what recipe on here is the most popular one according to my Sitemeter? Shrimp tacos. Rookie Cookie's ad revenue could survive alone on Google searches for my shrimp taco recipe. We recently made them and they were as excellent as I remember. Ethan put together a little chipotle pink sauce to go with them and he Googled Rubio's white sauce recipe to guide him. And guess what Rubio's white sauce is? Nothing but equal parts mayo and plain yogurt. That's it. And it is so delicious.

To try and part ways with bland chicken dishes, I have added a few things to give these tacos a bit of a punch. We have pinto beans, which will add additional protein to go with the chicken. There are also green chiles to give the chicken some added depth of flavor and spice. Everything is piled into a corn tortilla and finished off with fresh vegetables, avocados being the most essential in my opinion.




2 large chicken breasts
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 4 oz diced green chiles
1 tsp kosher salt
A few grinds black pepper
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chile powder
Corn tortillas for serving

In a large pot of boiling water, boil chicken breasts until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken from water and set aside to cool. Once cooled, shred chicken into bite-size pieces, discarding fat. Set shredded chicken aside.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil. Once oil runs quickly in the pan, add onion and 1/2 tsp salt. Saute onion until softened and lightly browned. Add shredded chicken, pinto beans, green chiles, 1 tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and chile powder. Gently stir to combine, being sure to not smash the beans. Cook until beans are heated through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Serve chicken in tacos shells with tacos toppings.

Yields 6 servings.

Rookie's Notes: Not sure what you prefer on your tacos, but we had shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced red onion, diced avocado and shredded cheddar cheese. I wanted to use cilantro too and I thought I had bought some at the store, but I couldn't find it in the fridge. You know what else I can't find? That pound of ground beef I swear I got from the butcher. I really hope it isn't in the trunk of my car rotting away and making everything stink.

Butterscotch Blondies

These were dessert after Thai veggie wraps. Little Jack saw my friend Lucy and I eating them and he became envious. He asked, "Mom, what are those?" "Do you want one? They are butterscotch blondies, son." "What?" And then Lucy summed it up perfectly. "Jack, they are butter brownies." And that they are. Buttery, sweet and chewy. Butterscotch chips are a great accent. These are a variation of the chocolate chip blondies I have on this here blog. So maybe you have some toffee chips you want to use? Maybe white chocolate chips and dried cranberries? Really anything would work. Good luck in your combination choices for your own "butter brownies".



1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup, or more, butterscotch chips

Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray. Line pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Spray paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt and mix just until moistened (do not overmix). Fold in butterscotch chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top.

Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack, and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and transfer to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares. Store blondies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Yields 16 blondies.

Rookie's Notes: Not sure if you have ever tried them, but snickerdoodle blondies are sublime.

"This week has taken it's toll on me..."

Come on, sing the title like it was Maroon 5's "This Love". Yes, do it. I want you to.

Well, actually, this week hasn't been all that terrible. I just feel like it has because the uncomfortable meter with this pregnancy is rising, rising, rising. I was exchanging e-mails with Erica about our pregnancies. Due at the same time, both on our 3rd baby and both of our same bodies parts ache. Sleeping has become a chore and stairs have become Everest. This week has taken it's toll on me.

This weekend should provide a nice buffer for the coming week. Jack has started proclaiming Saturdays as Buddy Day for him and Ethan. They get to be buddies and do something fun, like play catch or throw rocks in the pond by our house. What is it with boys throwing rocks into bodies of water? They love it. They could do it over and over again.

This Saturday, the Girl Scouts will be outside my local grocery store. I did my homework and checked online to see where they would be. I am going to take my big bucket of loose change, turn it into bills at the Coinstar in the grocery store and then turn around and blow it all on cookies. All of it.

This Saturday also came with a request from Son One for fish tacos. I think we can oblige him. Whether we make them or buy them, I am game. The child has a penchant for seafood of all sorts. Which I think makes up for his dislike of tomatoes, onions and avocados.

This weekend will also be me, Ethan and the laptop, combing over his menus for work. Revising, improving, perfecting. One thing that is definitely going to be added will be the new roasted red pepper tepenade bruschetta with Camembert he served at a recent food tasting. I don't like cheese, but I think this combo sounds perfect.

Amid the coloring books, board books, Playdough and movies, I think this weekend will also bring some glazed lemon yogurt cupcakes. The recipe for these has been dancing about in the back of my mind for a few days. I am thinking they will be light, tart and delicate. Like something to have with afternoon tea.

I am not going to wish you a happy weekend like so many people do. I am just hoping my weekend is happy. If yours happens to be too, great. If not, hope for a better one next time.

Pineapple Lime Cake with Lime Glaze

Today was my son's 5th birthday. He spent the day being a spoiled little beast. Well, not the entire day. But there were moments where I wanted to return all of his birthday presents. But I didn't. He did get some pretty cool toys, the coolest being the remote control helicopter from his Grandma Sue. As I am typing this, I can hear Ethan playing with it downstairs. And Jack is asleep. Boy toys know no age boundaries. I fear that Ethan is going to break the thing while trying to chop down the birthday streamers hanging from the ceiling.

While I am of course wowed by the fact that I have a 5 year old, I am completely fine with it. Last month, I registered him for kindergarten and it didn't rock me to the core like I thought it would. The child is ready for school and I am excited to watch him to continue to grow and learn.

This cake wasn't his birthday cake, it was a snack cake I whipped up a little while ago. When I made this, it was sitting on the counter when my in-laws came through town on their way home to California. My mother in-law saw the plastic covered plate on the counter and she said, "You know, Dad would love that cake." And I happily packed up a big hunk of it and a plastic fork. Around 10:00pm that night, I received a text from my mother in-law. "We just took bites of that cake. It is fabulous! Thank you!" Take my mother in-law's word for it. It is moist, dense, tart from the lime and sweet from the pineapple.

There is something so sexy about glaze dripping down a cake. Like lace on lingerie.


For the cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 20 oz pineapple chunks, drained

Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk well to combine. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add butter, sugar and lime zest and cream until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until just combined. With a rubber scraper, fold in pineapple.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Invert onto cooling rack and cool completely. Place cooling rack over the sink or in a baking sheet. Evenly pour glaze over the top of the cake. Let glaze set for 15 minutes before slicing.

Yields 1 loaf cake, about 6 servings.

For the glaze:
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lime juice

In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lime juice until smooth. Pour over cooled cake.

Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful?

It's time that ol' Rook Dawg got a new look.

When Rookie Cookie came to be two and a half years ago, I was a novice in the kitchen. I loved to cook, eat and read about food, but I wasn't confident in the kitchen. This blog became a great avenue to increase my knowledge, stretch my abilities and open me up to a whole new world of food blogs.

Now I feel confident in the kitchen. My knowledge of the properties of ingredients has increased and so has my blog friend base. Since Rookie Cookie has grown up over the last two years, my graphic design slave/sister thought it was time that we went for a more grown up look. After taking a good look at this blog, I agreed.

So here is my new look. I think it is a bit more "grown up". Not so rookie. I hope you enjoy.

On the right side bar are two new buttons, ripe for the picking. If you already have my button, thanks and you are welcome to exchange it for a new one. If you want to keep the old one, be my guest. It will still bring you back to Rookie Cookie.

Megan, you are a master. Thank you for taking the time to spruce up what needed sprucing. I wish I could tell my readers and blog friends that you are taking on new clients right now. You have a true talent for this graphic design stuff.

Thai Veggie Wraps

I made this girl food for an afternoon lunch I had with my high school trouble-making friend Lucy and Baby Betsy at my house. While Betsy chewed up and spit out a cucumber all over my floor, Lucy and I talked of birthing. I am deciding how I want to deliver this baby and talking to all sorts of people about all sorts of birthing options. Lucy had Betsy at home on her bed. While I hope to not go that route, I find her reasons for doing so quite profound and fascinating.

A while ago, Lucy's sister Courtney posted about birth and wrote of how it is useless to think the way you deliver is the only way to do it and everyone else is an idiot and they are harming their baby. Useless. One of the greatest things I am liking about growing older is learning "different strokes for different folks". There is no right way to do anything and the younger version of myself used to think differently. There is no right way to fight with your spouse. There is no right way to put your child in time-out. There is no right way to make cheese quesadillas. And there is no right way to deliver your baby. Different strokes for different folks. Just because I don't agree with someone about how they do things doesn't mean I can't respect them. At the beginning of our conversation, Lucy wanted me to completely understand that she respects everyone and their decision on delivery because guess what, either way, you get a sweet baby in your arms at the end of it. And that's the goal, right?


Like I said, these wraps are girl food. Now that is not to say that a man wouldn't like this for lunch, but he wouldn't appreciate it like a girl would. Girls, especially moms, are more used to PB&Js for lunch or leftover dinner. Not often are girls treated to a wrap stuffed with fresh veggies and a sweet and spicy peanut sauce. So if you have a playdate planned, make a pile of PB&Js for the kids and then put together these wraps for you and the other moms. They deserve it.



For the peanut sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Pinch crushed red pepper

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk well to combine. Set aside.

For the wraps:
1 8 oz bag frozen shelled edamame
1 16 oz bag coleslaw mix
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 cup chopped peanuts
6 burrito-sized tortillas or wrap bread

Defrost edamame according to package directions. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine edamame, coleslaw mix, cilantro, red bell pepper, cucumber and peanuts. Pour on peanut sauce. Toss well to combine. Spoon on veggie mix onto a tortilla or wrap bread. Wrap tightly and cut in half crosswise. Serve immediately.

Yields 6 servings.

Served with this: Some fancy green apple soda Lucy brought. Her husband Beezer (yes Beezer, I will never stop calling you Beezer.) is a connoisseur of fine fizzy beverages and I am glad I get to reap the benefits. We also had some butterscotch blondies for dessert. Recipe coming soon.

Rookie's Notes: You have two other options with this recipe. You can wrap up the veggies in rice wrappers or you can just serve it as a salad. Do what you will.

Infected

It was 7:30pm when we finally were seen by a doctor.

Van was sleeping against my chest and protruding pregnant middle. I had hummed him to sleep by humming Mary Poppins "Stay Awake" about 2o times in a row. Van's left hand was cupping his left ear, his nose was running and wet and he occasionally coughed. I had to selectively and quietly sniff my own sick nose so I wouldn't wake him up. His forehead was dripping fevered sweat and it dripped down my shirt. But I wasn't about to move him. He was finally relaxed. Finally tearless and calm.

Once the doctor came in, an ear infection was quickly identified and miracle medicine was prescribed. I explained to the doctor that my little family were all sick with colds and Ethan with strep throat. And he said, "Well, you haven't been having any fun at all, have you?" "No doctor, not a bit."

But now, we are all well. We have put away the tissues and Van and Ethan are both finishing their antibiotics. And my evening prayers have changed from asking for healing to gratitude for our amazing bodies and their ability to recover. One would think I would make a batch of comforting chicken noodle soup or warm bread to carry is through our turmoil. But no. We all ate nothing but Totino's pizzas and Robin Egg Whoppers for days. So I am especially grateful that we were able to get better whilst fueling our ailing bodies with crappy food.

I am telling you, our bodies are amazing.