Thank you Mom for absolutely everything!

Happy Mother’s Day!

• 2 cups of plain Greek yogurt
• 2 cucumbers, peeled and coarsely grated
• salt
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon, chopped fresh dill
• salt and pepper to taste
• toasted pita bread, cut into triangles

1. Place a coffee filter in a colander. Spoon the yogurt into the filter and let drain through the colander into a bowl.  Place the drained yogurt into a mixing bowl. 2. Peel the cucumbers and grate them coarsely into a bowl. sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over the gratings and let stand for 10 minutes to draw out the liquid. Spoon the gratings into the colander and squeeze the rest of the liquid out with the spoon. Add the cucumber to the yogurt.  3. Peel the garlic and squeeze through a garlic press. Add the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper to the yogurt and cucumber and stir to combine.

Serve with toasted pita triangles.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 2 – 13/9 inch baking dishes

• 4 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1  1/2 cans green chile enchilada sauce (19 oz each)
• 2 cans diced green chiles – mild, medium or hot – depending on your family’s taste buds!  (4 oz each)
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached
• 1 can chicken broth (15 oz)
• dash of salt
• 10 large flour tortillas

To poach the chicken:

Trim excess fat from chicken breasts. Place chicken breasts and broth in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover the breasts by 1 inch. Remove the chicken breasts and bring the water to a boil. Add the chicken breasts and dash of salt and cook at a low simmer for about 17 minutes or until no longer pink in the center when cut with a knife. Don’t over cook! Let stand in the cooking liquid until cool. Then, using a fork or your fingers, shred the chicken.

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the cheese, 1 can of the enchilada sauce, all the green chiles, 1 cup of the sour cream, sugar, cumin and white pepper. Add the shredded chicken and mix well. Lay one tortilla flat and spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture in the center and roll, placing the seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat the process until all the mixture is used. With a spatula evenly spread the remaining sour cream over the enchiladas. Then add the rest of the enchilada sauce and sprinkle the cheese over the tortillas.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese bubbles and enchiladas are evenly heated.

¡Que rico!

There is no particular food used to celebrate the day, but please check out our kid friendly chicken enchilada recipe in our new Recipe Tab – it’s one of our favorites!

And of course, your kids can use their Spanish Early Lingo DVDs to impress people with their knowledge of Spanish!

¡Diviértete!

• 1 pear, sliced in half
• 1 orange peel
• 2 raisins
• 1 tip of a strawberry
• 1 apple
• 2 chocolate covered blueberries
• 1 chunk of cantaloupe

For the Pear Face:

Cut the pear in half and gently scoop away the seed area, which can serve as the area for the nose. Cut an orange peel with scissors in the shape of a mouth. Then slice the tip off the end of a strawberry. Decorate the face with the orange peel mouth, strawberry tip nose and raisin eyes to make a face.

For the Apple Face:

Slice an apple just before the middle so there is no core showing. Then slice a small section off the back so that you can set the apple down to decorate without it wobbling. Cut the orange peel in the shape of a triangle for the nose. Cut the cantaloupe into tiny pieces to resemble teeth. Decorate the apple with the chocolate covered blueberries and assemble the rest of the face.

To view this issue of Palm Beach Illustrated Magazine in its complete expanded version, please visit Palm Beach Illustrated’s original March 2012 Issue or click the images below to view more.

Rice Krispy Wreaths

• 3 T  Melted Butter
• 4 C. Mini marshmallows
• 6 C. Rice Krispies
• green food coloring
• cinnamon imperials

Melt butter in a large pot on stove over low heat.  Add marshmallows to butter and mix until coated and smooth. Add food coloring to desired color and mix until smooth. Remove from heat. Add the Rice Krispies gradually and mix until all are coated with marshmallow. Coat hands with butter as needed and immediately form wreaths. Place on wax paper to avoid sticking. Add cinnamon imperials to decorate if desired.

Enjoy!!

Try the Early Lingo DVD Series over the summer with your child or grandchild. Whether they are already learning a language or not, it’s a great way to keep them learning while entertained.

http://earlylingo.com/products/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/business/economy/preschool-tuition-race-is-no-joke-economic-view.html?_r=1&hpw

Chicken Quesadillas   (serves 4)  Preheat broiler

• 4 flour tortillas
• 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1 store bought roasted chicken – cut about 4 strips of chicken per quesadilla

Place the flour tortillas on a baking sheet. Divide the cheese and chicken strips evenly between each tortilla. Fold each tortilla in half and place under the broiler for 4 minutes or until the tortillas are golden brown. Serve while warm.

¡Que rico!

Check out Early Lingo’s new Kid’s Recipe Tab and stay tuned for more easy recipes you can do with your kids!