Tag Archives: lime

Margarita Cake {Alcohol-Free}

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Veronica

I got one of my favorite cake recipes, for Zesty Lemon Pound Cakes, from the back of the cardboard label that came on a Wilton pan. So when I bought a Wilton bundt pan and found a recipe for Margarita Cake on the back, I saved it in hopes that it would be equally delightful. Three years later, I finally got around to trying it!

This cake uses a mix, so I apologize to those who are averse to cake mixes. If you have been following my blog for very long, you know I prefer cakes that start with a mix for not only the ease, but the flavor & texture. (I make no apologies for my unrefined ways.) As is the case with many doctored cake mix cakes, you can not tell it started with a mix. The margarita mix, along with the lime zest in the cake and glaze, gives it a nice lime flavor, and the texture is incredible. The only thing I’ve ever had that is similar to it is a sour cream angel food cake, managing to be both airy and a little dense all at the same time. Honestly, the texture delighted me so much that I ate a second piece that I really didn’t need, just to feel it in my mouth a little bit longer.

Margarita Cake

Printable recipe
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1 package (18.25 oz) white cake mix
1 can (10 oz) frozen margarita mix, thawed and undiluted
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped lime zest, divided
1 cup confectioners sugar
Lime juice, as desired
Coarse sugar for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan; set aside. In large bowl, combine cake mix, thawed margarita mix, eggs and oil. Beat at medium speed two minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the lime zest. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes; invert onto cooling rack, remove from pan, and cool completely. In a small bowl, combine confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon lime zest and enough lime juice to make a glaze; drizzle over cake. If desired, sprinkle the top of the cake with coarse sugar to resemble salt.

Makes 10-12 servings

Recipe source: Wilton

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Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged alcohol-free, lime, margarita cake recipe, margarita mix, non-alcoholic, picnic, potluck, summer. Bookmark the permalink.

Quick Fish Tacos with Baja Cream

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Veronica

I have several magazine subscriptions and the ones that aren’t entirely devoted to food and recipes do include recipes and by the time I’ve gone through them, they are inevitably bristling with pieces of paper I’ve used to mark those I want to try and never do. Every once in a while, however, a recipe jumps out at me and I can’t stop thinking about it until it has been made.

Enter the May edition of Everyday Food. As soon as I saw these fish tacos on the cover, my heart began to sing. They were so colorful and seemed a perfect spring/summer meal. I had to make them.

I mostly followed the recipe except I did something a little different with the sour cream, using a recipe from my friend, Kitty, whom I owe a sincere thanks to. It is the closest thing she’s found to the cream they serve on fish tacos in Baja California and while I wouldn’t have a clue as to whether it tasted the same or not since I’ve never been to California, I can attest that it is delicious on these tacos!

From start to finish, this meal was on the table in fifteen minutes. So easy! So simple! So gorgeous! So light! So delicious! I often forgo simple recipes like this, believing that the more time and effort and ingredients that is involved makes the end product that much better. As this recipe proves, that’s not always the case.

Quick Fish Tacos
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1 pound boneless, skinless tilapia fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper
12 corn tortillas
1/2 small head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 small white onion, finely chopped
lime wedges, for serving

Baja Cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lime peel
Pinch of salt

Heat broiler, with rack in highest position. Pat fish dry with paper towels and gently coat with oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Broil until fish is browned on top and flesh is opaque throughout, 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the Baja Cream ingredients together and set aside. Toast corn tortillas over a kitchen burner using tongs or wrap a stack of 6 at a time in damp paper towels and heat in the microwave for 40 seconds to 1 minute. Divide fish evenly among tortillas and top with cabbage, cilantro, and onion. Serve with Baja cream and lime wedges. SERVES 4.

Per serving (3 tacos): 440 cal; 14.9 g fat (4.2 g sat fat); 35.9 g protein; 42.8 g carb; 6.9 g fiber (NOTE: NUTRITIONAL STATS ARE BASED ON THE ORIGINAL RECIPE, WHICH ONLY USES 1/4 CUP OF SOUR CREAM. I know, who could possibly only use ONE teaspoon of sour cream on their taco?! I need at LEAST a tablespoon-hahahahaha!)

Recipe source: adapted from “Fish Tacos with Cabbage & Lime” from Everyday Food, May 2010

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Posted in Lighter Fare, Main Dishes, Mexican, Seafood and tagged baja cream, cabbage, cilantro, easy, fast, fish tacos, healthy, lime, quick, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Veronica

Much like the cinnamon roll sugar cookies, this was another recipe from Picky Palate that I had to make as soon as I read it. Jenny based it off of the Chicken Green Chili soup that she recently enjoyed at Chili’s and says it tastes almost exactly the same. I’ve never had it, but I can attest that her version is so fabulous that it officially took the number 1 spot on my “favorite soups” list.

I know it seems odd to post a soup recipe when the weather is finally warming up, but this is such a healthy and light recipe that it actually seems more spring-appropriate than fall or winter, when soups tend to get heartier, so I thought I’d better put it up now before it gets any warmer!

Read over the ingredients and imagine them combined and in your mouth–and then imagine it’s even better than what you imagined. Because it is.

Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves fresh or roasted garlic, minced
80 oz chicken broth (2 1/2 cartons of the 32 oz)
10 oz can Rotel tomatoes, mild
7 oz can diced green chilies
4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts; cooked, shredded and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
2 1/2 Cups cooked rice of choice
1/4 Cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Pinches of Kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper and Lawry’s Garlic Salt with Parsley to taste
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
Fresh diced avocados, drizzled with lime juice
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
Tortilla chips

1. Place oil into a large dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion for 5 minutes then add in garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, green chilies, chicken breast, rice, lime juice and seasonings. Cook for 5 minutes; taste and season according to your liking. Right before serving add chopped cilantro.

2. Serve soup with fresh diced avocado, shredded cheese and crushed chips if desired (I used whole chips to scoop the soup into my mouth–yum!). If you can handle the heat, Jenny recommends squeezing some Siracha over top.

10-12 servings (for us it was only 6, but we ate big bowls!)

Veronica’s Notes: OK, I’m never prepared in advance. I had no rice already cooked and by the time I realized I needed cooked rice, my soup was all mixed and hot. So I just stirred in 1/3 cup of uncooked long grain white rice and brought the soup to a boil, reduced it to a simmer and cooked like 15 minutes (whatever it says on your rice package–that’s how long you’d cook it). This worked perfectly. I also only used 2 cartons of chicken broth and it was still more than plenty, even with the rice absorbing some of it. Lastly, this soup isn’t spicy if eaten right after making it, but does have a nice kick the next day.

Recipe Source: Picky Palate