smashed potatoes and my super secret thai marinade

sadly, I forgot to take pictures of this delicious and more healthy meal. 

but never fear, it's easy and i'll include photos the next time I make it for myself. 

This is a great vegetarian meal if you're cooking for yourself or a partner. 

Ingredients: 

1 baking potato

1-2 Tbsp. butter (or earth balance)

1/2-1 cup mushrooms - I love baby bellas

olive oil and salt and pepper for taste/saute

Directions: 

First, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Poke holes in the potato and microwave for 5 minutes. (This will greatly decrease the cooking time in the oven.) Wash and wrap potato in foil, bake for 30-40 minutes. Slice mushrooms. In a small saute pan, add 1-2 Tbsp. of olive oil and heat. Add mushrooms and saute until tender, add salt and pepper to taste. 

Once potato is thoroughly baked and soft (if you stick a knife in, it should go easily and come out easily. no give), "smash". I just cut it up lengthwise and with a fork, mash it up skin and all. Add the butter and some salt and pepper and pour the warm, sauteed mushrooms on top. The juice from the mushrooms adds great flavor to the potato. You can also add some fat-free sour cream for more creamy goodness. 

Second recipe is my famous and delicious thai marinade. 

okay okay, so shannon originally taught this to me, but I've added some ingredients and it's awesome. 

You can use this on chicken, shrimp, fish, possibly steak (i've never tried)... it's even good on asian shrimp chips. 

Thai Marinade: 

1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium if you want)

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (found in any grocery store with the soy and other asian goods)

juice of 2 small limes

1/4 cup cilantro (more if you'd like. I just use a big handful)

3 gloves of garlic, minced

1-2 Tbsp. ginger, minced or chopped 

combine above ingredients. if you like it spicy, add more chili sauce as well as red pepper flakes (1-2 tsp.) 

For chicken, I used to marinade the breasts for 1-2 hours, and grill. For shrimp, marinate for at least 30 minutes. This marinade infuses such a great taste and juiciness to chicken or shrimp, it's amazing.