Seared Ahi Tuna

The BF and I love fresh tuna - we rarely leave a sushi restaurant without ordering some sort of tuna dish. Basically if we see it on the menu it's going in our bellies. Before now, I'd never tried to make any sort of tuna dish at home because A) I'm lazy, and B) I never noticed it for sale where I shop.

The other day I saw fat steaks of Ahi at my grocery store, and I knew I had to try to make some sort of tuna dish for dinner. I decided to make a simple seared Ahi tuna as an appetizer, and I can't wait to make this again and again because it was delicious and incredibly easy to make. I love when that's the case.

Ingredients:

• 1 Ahi tuna steak
• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil

 Directions:

1. Whisk the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Place the tuna in a bowl or dish and pour the marinade on top. Cover with plastic wrap and let the fish marinate in the fridge for up to one hour.
2. Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon each oil and butter to the pan and place the steak in the pan. Let it cook untouched for 3 minutes. Flip the tuna and sear an additional 3 minutes.
3. Remove the tuna from the pan onto a cutting board. Slice thinly into strips, then serve with soy sauce to dip the fish in. 

Chicken and Salsa Bake

The great thing about chicken is that it is an excellent vessel for flavor. One of the easiest marinades that I go to time and again is salsa. Jarred, fresh, homemade, roasted, fruity, spicy... any salsa will work wonders on your chicken and you won't have to do anything except pouring it on the chicken. See, I told you it was easy!


Serves 2
Ingredients:

• 2 fresh chicken breasts
• 2 cups salsa of your choice, separated

Directions:  

1. 2 hours before you plan to bake the chicken, place it in a large ziploc bag with 1 cup of the salsa (you can do this up to 8 hours ahead of time -- if my chicken is frozen I start marinating overnight so they thaw and marinate simultaneously). Seal the bag with as little air as possible inside, and let the chicken marinate in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking pan with foil and grease it. Place the chicken breasts in the pan, top each with 1/2 cup of salsa. Bake for 45 minutes. 

Sides to serve it with: rice, black olives, shredded lettuce, green chile, beans, diced tomatoes, corn, avocados, and shredded cheese. 

Click here to see some of my Mexican side dish recipes!