Summer meals on winter nights

I have always been a summer girl. I try my hardest not to complain, but there is really nothing positive I can say about cold weather. Sure the holidays are great and snow can be fun, but I would take 85 degree days all year long if I could.
When it starts to get really cold outside (I mean so miserable-your-nose-freezes-on-your-face cold) I like to occasionally cook summer meals to remind me of my beloved warmer months. I have been trying to focus on cooking with ingredients that are currently in season, but sometimes I just need to be reminded that summer is not far away. The two recipes I have listed below are colorful, cheery and the smells of the ingredients always remind me of sunny summer days.

Island Chicken
- Chicken breasts (enough to feed everyone you will be feeding ;-)
- red bell pepper
- orange bell pepper (or green or yellow)
- jerk seasoning (any kind will work, if you don't have this seasoning, you can also use paprika)
- can of organic pineapple chunks
- avocado chopped up
- cooked rice (I think basmati goes well with this recipe, but brown rice is a healthier alternative)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Start cooking rice in rice cooker (or stove top according to directions). Cover both sides of chicken breast with seasoning and lay in the bottom of a baking dish. Chop up the bell peppers and throw in the pan. Open the pineapple and drain about 2/3 of the pineapple juice. Pour the pineapple chunks and juice over the chicken and peppers. Put in the oven for about 20 minutes. Pull from the oven and flip the chicken over. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). Serve chicken, vegetables and pineapple over rice. Top with avocado.
This meal is soooo good and very healthy. The chicken provides lean protein and iron, the avocado provides a good dose of healthy fats, the peppers are full of antioxidants and the rice is a good source of whole grains. Once you try this, I bet it will become a regular in your household!

Halibut taco's with mango salsa
- halibut fillets (enough to feed everyone - about 1 fillet per person)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- about a tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 a red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 a jalepeno, chopped (cut this last! They can burn and get all over everything...)
- a bunch chopped cilantro
- soft corn tortillas
- shredded lettuce (or cabbage)
Start by preheating your broiler. Coat your broiling pan with cooking spray. In a bowl combine the fish with the oil, garlic, cumin, salt and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Let stand 15 minutes.
In another bowl combine the mango, bell pepper, jalapeno, cilantro and the rest of the lime juice.
Wrap tortillas in foil. Remove fish from marinade and place on broiler pan. Broil until opaque - 3 to 6 minutes. Place the tortilla's in the oven for about a minute or two. Flake the fish. Top each tortilla with lettuce, fish and salsa.

Most people who are not familiar with fish taco's think they sound strange. But I assure you they are so good and tasty! Halibut is a fatty fish with a great dose of omega-3 fatty acids. Mango has a ton of beta-carotene and the red peppers have plenty of antioxidants. It is also low calorie and high flavor!

Both of these recipes are light, very healthy and they remind me so much of summer. It may be harder to get the ingredients this time of year, but it will be more than worth it!

Happy Eating!