Fresh Made Easy Website Coming soon!

My website is currently under construction and should be ready to launch by Friday, August 29th. There is one recipe below that you should try out while you're waiting. I have many, many more to share with you to make your life easier & more healthy. Below is just a little bit about myself and how and why Fresh Made Easy was born.

I use a bread knife to chop most vegetables, about 1/3 of the cilantro & parsley I chop ends up all over the floor…..no matter how hard I try. I break an average of one dish a week and have layers of burnt stuff, caked on the bottom of my oven from filling dishes too full. I am, by NO means, a chef. But I can cook……well. The best part is that all of my recipes are fast, easy and very healthy. So, I’m forgiven for the disasters I create in the kitchen because of what they are followed by. Not to mention, with Fresh Made Easy cooking, there' s never many dishes, pots or pans to clean!

My “mode of cooking” was really created as a survival technique. I have a son with severe food allergies and special medical needs so I started cooking food without adding a ton of “stuff” and realized that meats, vegetables & fruits have great flavor all on their own! Who knew? Just by pairing these items together, you can create beautiful masterpieces that taste wonderful and aren’t far from their original state. Use food to flavor other foods. And so, Fresh Made Easy was born.

I am always running…literally. I am a triathlete who spends my free-time (what’s that?) swimming, biking and running. I don’t have the time or energy to stand on my feet for long hours at night to cook dinner nor do I want to. On the other hand, I LOVE to eat and can’t bare a “box dinner”. Whenever we get take out I’m always thinking how I could have made it better had I just cooked it myself. I think I come up with great recipes not for my love of cooking but my love of eating.

Try out the recipe below and check in with me after. My website will be up and running by August 1st. I've got so much to share with you. No matter what your situation, I can guarantee you, Fresh Made Easy will change the way you and your family feel about cooking, eating and it could just whittle your waste line. You're going to learn to appreciate foods in their 'original state' yet be satisfying and fun all at the same time. This is not, by any means, a "weight loss program" but a side effect is that you and your family will become healthier. No doubt about it.

Pineapple Lime Chicken with Avocado & Cilantro rice

Tonight we had grilled chicken and pineapple with cilantro-lime rice. Ingredients and recipe below:

Pineapple & Cilantro Chicken

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 5 limes, juiced (approx 3/4 cup)
• 1 bunch cilantro-finely chopped
• 1/2 cup warmed honey
• 1 Corona Beer
• 1 16 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• fresh ground salt and pepper to taste
  

Combine all ingredients in a 13x9 baking dish, add chicken and marinade for 3-4 hours or more. Grill until done (approx 15 minutes). When serving, slice avocados and lay on top of chicken.


Cilantro-lime Rice

• 2 cups white rice (I prefer a shorter grain white rice-it makes the best sticky rice and works better for leftovers as it does not dry out)
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (seeing a pattern here?)
• 2 tsp Tabasco brand green pepper sauce
• fresh ground salt and pepper to taste
  

Here's when I'm going to sell you on owning a rice cooker. Because I don't eat wheat, I always have sticky rice in the fridge. It's my bread. A rice cooker makes recipes like these, brainless. Add all ingredients in rice cooker and press "start". The rice can sit on "warm" while you grill the chicken. If you don't have a rice cooker....you're on your own. Get one.


Grilled Pineapple

Cut off top and bottom of pineapple and then cut skin off of outside. Lay pineapple down and cut into 2 inch slices. Grill 5 minutes per side. This needs no marinade. It's delicious.

Throw it all together and we've got dinner! The hardest job of this whole meal is juicing the limes. It's a pain in the butt however, DO NOT use "pre-squeezed lime juice". NO NO NO. There is absolutely no comparison. What I often do is, squeeze a bunch of limes and keep the juice in the fridge. It keeps well. For those of you who have eaten in my home, you know I make A LOT of food but leftovers are my favorite. This is a great recipe for leftovers. I had a busy day so I didn't make a salad. A green salad with a light, citrus dressing would go well with this. I'll work on that recipe :)