First Night Feels like Puerto Rico...

Or, at least, Pio Pio in NYC, which is one of my all-time favorite restaurants.  They have AMAZING Peruvian Chicken with an Aji Verde sauce, which we eat every single time we visit my sister there. 

So, wanting a dish that is 1200 miles away gives you two options:  buy a ticket to NYC, or learn to make it yourself.

I stumbled on this recipe close to a year ago, and I got if off the website SkinnyTaste.com, which is probably my all time favorite food blog.  She offers lots of wonderful recipes that she's altered to make them healthier, which is of course a plus.  I also made her cilantro lime rice to accompany the chicken and sauce, and made some canned pinto beans (I used Bush's) that I simmered for about half an hour on the stove top with a tablespoon of butter, garlic powder, pepper, and a little salt. 

The meal was delicious, if I say so myself...and with the leftovers, we've both got great lunches for tomorrow!

Our Thirty Day Challenge

Where do I even begin? I'm a mother of two beautiful, fun, and incredibly ornery kids. I'm a wife to one of the greatest men to possibly walk this earth (well, most of the time!). I work full time, I go to school full time, and I own my own jewelry business as a second job. I'm busy...and we're busy. My husband is also working full time, and going to school full time. As such, we've fallen in to a horrible pattern of dining out frequently, since we're either busy, tired, or just feel like being a little lazy.

Now, both of us are actually really good in the kitchen(I'm better at cooking, he's better at baking). As self professed foodies, we are normally not completely satisfied with the meals we get when dining out, yet we keep wasting our money on meals that leave us looking for, well...taste.  We have our local favorites, of course, but living in Small Town, KS does not give us much variety. 

We like to try new things, new flavors, and expose our kids to a myriad of taste, so that they are not afraid to try anything.  So far, it's worked fairly well for us.  Our kids will eat pretty much anything.  Our youngest son even likes a little spice to his food (considering we could burn our tastebuds off with haberno salsas, it makes our day.) 

We've made a pledge to one another to not dine out for thirty days (this includes lunches, yikes!). Groceries have been purchased, pantries have been filled, and recipe books and blogs have been scoured. We are ready to meet this challenge head on.

Along the way, I will post daily our pictures of our recipes, and if people actually read this and want them, the recipes themselves.

Let the cooking begin!