So we’re going to discuss why today is awesome.

It’s awesome because today, my husband bridges the age gap. You see, there’s a glorious ridiculous 2-month period each year in which I am, number-wise, two years senior to my hubby. While he’s not entering his 30’s like the author of this blog did earlier this year, at least he’s in his final year of being a 20-something.

So this is a special blog dedicated to my hubby. Happy Birthday babe, I hope you have a wonderful day and I can’t wait to spend the rest of our birthdays together!

The husband and I started dating about 4 1/2 years ago (wow!) and the beginning of our relationship involved quite a few phone conversations. We’d always try to come up with a few random questions to ask each other, from the deep and meaningful to the fun and trivial. One of the questions I remember was “If you had to eat anything every day for the rest of our life, what would it be?” His answer was “Pizza or Mexican food.”

People, I’ve mentioned before that there are certain foods I must have a craving for otherwise I’m almost repelled by it. Mexican food is one of those foods. So poor husband is often deprived of one of his favorites (notice I said one, as I do share his love for pizza).

He managed to pull me out to various Mexican restaurants in that first year, which is when he introduced me to one of his favorites. Chorizo. It’s a Mexican sausage that is basically pork seasoned with Paprika and salt. It’s delicious. It’s also incredibly cheap to buy at your local grocery store. We actually bought some at a not-so-local grocery store while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – so on the 4th of July in 2010, I made us goat cheese and chorizo omelets as we blasted patriotic music. One of my favorite memories.

Well, a few weeks ago I stumbled upon a recipe in my Cooking Light magazine that had chorizo in it, so obviously I had to make it for the hubby. It did not disappoint. So, in honor of the birthday boy, I get to share a favorite food of his! This recipe is seriously easy – under 30 minutes including prep time!

Chicken with Chorizo Confetti (Serves 2 / 7 WW pts. per serving) Slightly modified from original recipe, found here.

2 (4oz.) pieces raw, boneless, skinless chicken breast

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

2 oz. ground pork chorizo

2 Tbsp. onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. carrot, chopped

2 Tbsp. red bell pepper, chopped

2 Tbsp. yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp. green bell pepper, chopped

2 Tbsp. chicken broth

1 tsp. cilantro

Season both sides of chicken with smoked paprika and garlic salt. Allow to rest with seasoning at least 30 minutes.

While chicken is soaking up the goodness, chop your veggies and set aside until ready to use. Keep onion and carrot together and the bell peppers together.

Heat a medium skillet to medium heat and add non-stick spray. Add chicken and cook 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through.

When the chicken is cooking, heat a small skillet to medium heat. Add chorizo and cook 3-4 minutes, breaking up with a spatula as it cooks. Chorizo has a lot of grease, so you don’t need to worry about oil. Once the chorizo has cooked for a few minutes, add the onion and carrots. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Then add bell peppers, cooking another 1-2 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and add chicken broth, stirring to incorporate. Basically keep this warm until the chicken is done.

Once the chicken is cooked through, add to a plate and top with the chorizo confetti.

So now we can enjoy chorizo in a healthy way, mixed with vegetables and chicken!

Hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful weekend – I know we have some celebrating to do in our household!