Chewy Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 egg ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one large lime, finely minced
3 tablespoons lime juice
½ cup unsweetened toasted coconut
½ cup sugar for rolling cookies

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. If you haven't already toasted your coconut just put a layer of coconut on a cookie sheet and bake it at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Watch out. It goes from white to burnt really quick if you aren't watching closely.
In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest.
Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and toasted coconut.
Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar.
Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. I made mine too big and they ran together. These do spread quite a bit.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks

Recipe and photo from http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/07/cookie-monster-hits-vegas-chewy-coconut.html#UWGz2iksc1FctoAB.99

Cilantro Lime Tacos

cooking spray for sauteeing
2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup cilantro lime pesto (recipe follows)
flour or corn tortillas
preferred taco garnishes (salsa, sour cream, cheese, etc)


Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, saute chicken over medium high heat and cooked through. Toss cooked, seasoned chicken with the pesto. Fill tortillas with chicken and top with preferred garnishes.

Read more at http://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/05/cilantro-lime-chicken-tacos.html#cd3KHgTl074126w1.99

Ingredients:
cooking spray for sauteing
2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup cilantro pesto
2 tbsp lime juice
flour or corn tortillas
preferred taco garnishes (salsa, sour cream, cheese, etc)

Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, saute chicken over medium high heat and cooked through. Toss cooked, seasoned chicken with the pesto. Fill tortillas with chicken and top with preferred garnishes.

Adapted from http://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/05/cilantro-lime-chicken-tacos.html#cd3KHgTl074126w1.99

BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing

Ingredients:

Chicken:
2 chicken breasts
1/4-1/2 cup of barbecue sauce to marinade (optional, but recommended)
Salad:
1 head bibb lettuce, washed & chopped
Succotash:
1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper
1/2 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2-2/3 cup frozen corn, thawed (unless you plan to let this thaw & marinade all day like I did!)
salt & pepper to taste
Dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise, light or regular (I used Miracle whip then left out the vinegar)
1/3 cup sour cream or nonfat greek yogurt
2 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons white vinegar (left out when I used Miracle whip)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 BBQ sauce

Directions:

Succotash:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add beans & corn, season with salt & pepper. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
Chicken:
Marinate chicken in BBQ sauce about 6 hours (optional). Preheat grill (we used the George Foreman), and cook chicken until done. Remove from heat and let "rest" for about 5-10 minutes. Chicken can even be made ahead of time & refrigerated.
Make dressing:
Combine all the ingredients together and whisk (or shake, if using a jar) vigorously to combine. You could also run this through a blender to make it even more smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Assemble lettuce, black bean & corn succotash and top with chicken. Drizzle with additional BBQ sauce, followed by the Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing.

~recipe found on www.erinsfoodfiles.com

Key Lime Pie

Ok, here is an easy recipe for Key Lime Pie. I sort of tweaked a few recipes to make this one. Takes about 5 mins to prep and seemed to be a real crowd pleaser.


For Filling:
5 egg yolks, beaten
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice (I used bottled because I did not have fresh limes if you are using fresh you would probably need 4-5 limes, in that case, use the rind of one lime as well, that will really bring out the flavor)


Mix all ingredients together and set aside.


For crust:
1 1/2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup sugar (you can use less if you want to)
6 tbsp butter/margarine (melted)


Mix all ingredients together and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Pour filling into the crust. Bake at 375 for 15 mins of until filling is set. Cool and then chill for an hour or until serving. Top with whip cream or whipped topping when ready to serve.