4/6- Fresh Lime Chiffon Cake

My sister is in town for her spring break, and it's become a tradition for us to pick a ridiculously delicious-looking dessert to make. In the past it's been things such as Hot Chocolate Souffle and Black Pearl Cake, but this year we decided to stray from the requirement of chocolate. It was tough considering my recent addiction to things such as M&Ms and cupcakes, but it was worth it!

This cake is actually from Cooking Light as well, and I've had the recipe for a long time but never bothered to make it. I definitely think it will be a repeat for some future special occasion! It's got a lot of lime in it, and is insanely light and fluffy, so it's the perfect summer cake. Plus, it's "light" so you don't have to feel as guilty about eating it (as can be seen in the size of slices we allowed ourselves to eat)!

4/5- Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich

There's an actual recipe for this from Cooking Light, but I ended up having to improvise this one quite a bit due to my inability to read a recipe. Well, that's not entirely true. It's also partly the Commissary's fault for not having one of the ingredients I needed, and for charging so much for another one of them. Those problem ingredients would be Sun-dried Tomato Pesto and Roasted Red Peppers. They're good, and they make the sandwich delicious, but good grief are they expensive!

So, I improvised. I cooked the chicken in Balsamic Vinegar with a little garlic, and then drizzled the vinegar on the top and bottom of the Ciabatta. You slice the chicken thinly- think Subway chicken- and layer it on the bottom piece of the bread. Layer thinly sliced tomatoes on top of that, and then sliced Mozzarella. Broil the bottom half of the sandwich until the cheese is melted, then top with fresh Basil leaves. Put the top piece of bread on top, slice the sandwich into however many pieces you need, and enjoy!

This version is just as good as the original, I think, and I was so thankful it turned out well!

4/3- Cupcakes, Fish, and Resurrection Cookies

Today has been a busy day for my kitchen! I started out the morning with Mint Oreo Cupcakes and Buttercream Icing. You're probably guessing that the baby wanted cupcakes for breakfast, but thankfully she went for Raisin Bran instead. The cupcakes are for our Easter potluck after Church, and I knew I needed to get them done early in order to get them done. A friend gave me the recipe, and I've been super excited to try them. Plus there's the added bonus that we now have leftover Mint Oreos for me to eat. :) They were really easy to make, and taste wonderful! (Of course we had to sample one to make sure we weren't going to poison anyone from Church!)

After a busy afternoon of a mostly failed nap and a trip to Target that completely wore me out, it was time to turn my attention towards dinner. Given that I'm so pregnant that I feel like a whale, this mild Texas heat of 85 today is absolutely killing me. What better way to combat heat than with a salad? So we had Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia Salad.... or something like that. You dredge tilapia fillets in a mixture of flour and cornmeal, cook them up in some oil, and serve them up on top of a garden salad. The recipe has you slice up some tortillas, coat them in chili powder and salt, and toast them so they're a crispy little complement to the salad. They were definitely Scott's favorite part. It's a pretty quick, light meal that's great for hot nights when you're feeling dehydrated.

After dinner, in honor of Easter weekend, we made Resurrection Cookies for the first time. I'd heard about them before, but didn't think Scott was old enough yet to get anything out of the experience, so this was the first time we made them. They're such a neat idea! They're meringue cookies that you make and leave in the oven over night. Each step has Bible verses that go along with it, and the kids get to help you make them. It's a really neat way for them to kind of be a part of what Jesus went through, and is a great hands-on way for them to learn the Easter Story. Scott is still peppering us with questions about it, actually. Here's a link to the cookies: http://blessingsforlife.com/recipes/holidays/resurrectionstorycookies.htm

4/2- Waffles

I guess I woke up hungry, or rather, Baby Rebecca did, because I wanted waffles as soon as I got up. I hunted around for a recipe since I lost my old favorite one, and found a good one on allrecipes.com. It made a lot of batter, so we'll eat up the rest for breakfast before Church tomorrow. :)

4/1- Flank Steak Sandwiches

Now this recipe is a serious family favorite. I think if I made it every night, my husband might get confused and think he was in heaven. :) It's got a few steps to it, and you have to time things right with side dishes so it's all ready at the same time, but man, it is so worth the effort. It's another Cooking Light recipe, but I probably kill the "lightness" by coating the steaks with salt and pepper before putting them on the grill.

Basically you just grill the steaks, let them rest, then slice them thinly and toss them in a Chipotle BBQ sauce you make. Slap it on a hoagie roll, top it with some grilled onion slices, and chow down! I'll happily post the recipe for the sauce if you want, just ask. It's in the kitchen and I'm not, and am too lazy to go get it. :)

I generally serve it with grilled squash and zucchini, and of course a fruit salad. It's yet another perfect summer grilling out meal, and it makes great leftovers too!