P-Dub's Pico De Gallo & Shredded Beef Tacos

Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo

Sometimes its so easy to just buy pico de gallo at the grocery store that I would never really ever consider making it myself. HOWEVER, this recipe from Pioneer Woman is fantastic and I really liked it a lot more than the pre-made stuff from the grocery store.

This weekend I had hoped to have a couple of people over to our new place for Father's Day. I thought the easiest thing to do would be have kind of a high class taco bar--so I found a recipe for shredded beef tacos (surprisingly, none of my cookbooks had a shredded beef taco recipe; only ground beef!), and did it up all fancy-like with chihuahua cheese, homemade pico de gallo, avocados, limes, black olives, ...the works. Then Bjorn came down with a 103+ fever on Saturday night so we cancelled Father's Day dinner and ended up with copious leftovers. However, I am happy to report that the shredded beef tacos were good enough to eat at least three nights in a row. We *COULD* eat them again tonight but I'm tuckered out on that food front.

Seriously, though--make the pico. Its SUPER easy. Then get some good tortilla chips. And a corona. And a lime. Oh, heaven.

Grilled Rosemary Chicken Breasts With Blackberry Mustard Glaze

Super easy and pretty sure this is Lars' favorite chicken dish ever. That said, I only make two so his choices are limited...still pretty good.

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp white wine or tarragon vinegar
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 clove of garlic minced
2 tsp minced freshly chopped rosemary
1/4 cup seedless blackberry jam
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Trim the chicken and pound to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Season chicken to taste with salt and pepper and place in a flat baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and rosemary. Pour over the chicken, turning to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

In a small bowl stir the blackberry jam and mustard together.

Remove chicken from the marinade and grill for 3-5 minutes per side or until cooked through, brushing with the blackberry mixture for the last minute on each side to glaze.

Serves 4.

Killer Cabbage Slaw

Now--if I saw the title of this recipe I would think "blech" because I'm not really a "slaw" type of person. I think this is mainly because everytime I eat it brings back forsaken memories of the KFC drive-thru that we ended up eating at when my dad was out to sea (this is not a metaphor). ANYWAY--its really good. Yummy and I am going through a real sesame thing right now. Sesame bagels, sesame dressing, sesame slaw! Love love love! Also please note the "SERVES 12" below--I would imagine you could make this smaller but just use minimal amounts of the seasoning in the ramen packet.

Dressing:
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup canola oil or any vegetable oil
½ teaspoon pepper
Seasoning packet from Japanese ramen noodle mix

Salad:
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
½ cup slivered almonds
1 (3-oz.) package Japanese ramen soup mix noodles
4 cups shredded cabbage (I buy the pre-shredded cabbage)
1-2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
3 green onions, finely chopped

Make salad dressing and allow time for flavors to blend. Toast sesame seeds and slivered almonds in a fry pan until they begin to brown/golden. Cool. Place soup mix noodles in a plastic bag and break up or roll with a rolling pin (not too fine). Mix with toasted sesame seeds and almonds. Combine shredded cabbage, shredded lettuce and chopped green onions. Just before serving, add sesame seeds, almonds, noodles and dressing. Mix lightly. Serves 12.