Versatile Salsa Verde

This recipe is a basic one you can modify easily depending on how spicy you like your salsa.

12 tomatillos, husked & rinsed
4 serrano peppers or 2 jalapeno chiles or 1 can of diced green chilis (I use whatever I have on hand)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 T fresh cillantro minced (I usually add more because I'm obsessed with cilantro)

Put the tomatillos and chilies in a saucepan over medium heat and add water to cover. Bring to a simmer and cooke uncovered for about 15 minutes until tomatillos are soft. (If you want your salsa verde to be less spicy you can take out some or all of the seeds from the peppers before you do this)

Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of liquid. Add the garlic to the tomatillos & peppers and blend up, adding the liquid to create the consistency you like. Stir in the minced onions & cilantro and serve!

Quick and Easy Black Beans

2 cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 T olive oil
2/3 C diced onion
2-3 garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced
2/3 C chicken broth (or water, I use broth for extra flavor)
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t coriander
1/4 t oregano
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 lime

In a saucepan on the stove, heat the olive oil to med-high heat. Saute onions for about 3 minutes or until they just start to become translucent. Add garlic and saute abut 30 seconds more. Add beans, broth, and remaining seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. When they are done cooking, remove from heat and add in a few squeezes of fresh lime juice. Then use the back of a spoon or rubber spatula so smoosh (yes, that’s a technical culinary term) some of the beans. You don’t want to pulverize them, but you want to take a bunch of good smooshes so that some of the beans are smashed, which will thicken the sauce. I like mine on the thicker side so I smoosh quite a bit. They will thicken more upon standing.

If you want a more soupy consistency, just add a little more broth.

Serve as a side dish, or on top or rice, in fajitas or tacos, or on top of chicken or steak.

Recipe From: Our Best Bites

Cauliflower with Pine Nuts and Bacon Recipe

1 cauliflower head, cut into florets
1/4 cup pine nuts (I will be trying this without nuts.)
1/4 pound bacon or pancetta, cut into batons
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper to taste
Lemon juice to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the cauliflower for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While the water is heating, toast the pine nuts in a dry sauté pan until lightly browned. Keep an eye on them, as pine nuts go from toasted to burnt quickly. Set the pine nuts aside when they are toasted.

Add the bacon to the pan and fry gently over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside with the pine nuts. Sauté the garlic for 1 minute on medium-high heat, then add the cauliflower, pine nuts, bacon, oregano and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Do not let the garlic burn.

Turn off the heat and add salt and lemon juice to taste.

Recipe From: Simply Recipes

Garlic Bread

1 loaf French bread (sliced in half lengthwise)
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic (minced)
¼ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon seasoning salt
½ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl beat butter and mayonnaise until smooth. Beat in parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, basil and seasoning salt. Stir in Monterey Jack cheese.

Spread the mixture over the cut slices of bread. Place on a baking sheet.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Makes 10 servings.

Recipe From: BlogChef.net

Bacon Ranch Zucchini Kebabs

1 large zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch slices then quartered
1 large yellow squash, also quartered
pinches of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Bacon drippings
1/2 teaspoon dry Ranch seasoning

Place all quartered zucchini and yellow squash into a large bowl. Season with salt, pepper, bacon drippings and Ranch seasoning. Mix to combine then alternate zucchini and yellow squash quarters onto skewers, about 8 total. Place onto grill and grill about 2 minutes per side. Remove and serve

Broccoli Bacon Salad

SALAD:
2 heads fresh broccoli, washed and cut into bite-size flowerets
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup roasted sunflower seeds
½ – 1 cup crumbled bacon (approx. 6 to 8 slices for 1/2 cup and 12-16 slices for 1 cup) * I like mine with lots of bacon!

DRESSING:
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons white vinegar
⅓ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

If your local grocery store sells ingredients in a bulk bin, what I like to do is buy just what I need for 1 recipe. It’s often cheaper and you have no waste afterwords. Bulk bins are great for dried cranberries, nuts, sunflower seeds, etc. Most butcher cases also sell thick-quality bacon in bulk. Just tell them what you need!

Add broccoli, red onions, cranberries, almonds and sunflower seeds to a large bowl. Next, make the dressing by mixing mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour dressing over the broccoli salad and mix thoroughly. Transfer salad to a large plate or serving bowl. Finish the salad off by garnishing with the crumbled bacon. If you prefer a bacon free version, omit bacon and garnish with ¼ of cranberries and ¼ of slivered almonds. Enjoy!

Serves 8-10
Recipe From: Sweet Savory Life

So Easy "Un" Refried Beans in the Crock Pot

2 cups dried pinto beans-no need to presoak
8 cups water
start with 1/4 teaspoon salt (or use granulated chicken bouillion)
1/2 -3/4 cup flavorful liquid-taco sauce, red or green salsa, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce (my favorite is El Pato spicy tomato sauce), or even a 14 ounce can of undrained Mexican style petite diced tomatoes
Optional Add ins: sauteed garlic-onions-jalapenos, bacon grease, chopped cooked bacon, roasted red peppers, diced green chilies, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped cilantro
Put beans and water in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low overnight, or about 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. (Every crock pot is different, so give yourself plenty of time.) When the beans are very soft, remove all of the liquid that you can with a small ladle or measuring cup. You don't need to strain the beans. Just get out as much of the cooking water as possible. Mash the beans with a potato masher, getting them as creamy as you like, or leave them whole, if that floats your boat. Add salt and your flavorful liquid. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Recipe From: Prudence Pennywise

Spanish Rice

I got this recipe from simplyrecipes.com. I now serve it whenever we have enchilada's.

INGREDIENTS
2 T olive oil (can use up to 1/4 C)
1 onion, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
2 C medium or long-grain white rice
3 C* chicken stock (or vegetable stock if vegetarian)
1 heaping T tomato paste or 1 C of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained (Our favorite so far has been to add 1 can of diced tomatoes)
Pinch of oregano
1 tsp salt

*Check the instructions on the rice pkg for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 C of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe use 4 C of stock for 2 C of rice.

METHOD
(The first time we did this I browned the rice and put it all in the rice cooker, but we liked it better the second time when I skipped browning the rice and just put it all in the rice cooker right off.)
1. In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium/high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook onion rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.

2. In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer. Add tomato sauce, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instruction on the rice pkg. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serves 4 to 6.

Famous Dave's Corn Muffins

I'm going to try this recipe too.

Ingredients
:1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup stone ground cornmeal
1 (9 ounces) package yellow cake mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

 Jalapeño Honey Glaze:
1/2 cup butter
1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded, finely diced
3 tablespoons red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Instructions:	Combine cornmeals, cake mix, baking powder, salt and cayenne in a bowl, set aside. Combine milk, buttermilk, oil, eggs, brown sugar and honey in a bowl and mix well. Add to the Cornmeal mixture and mix gently - there should be no lumps, but do not over mix. Fold in the mayonnaise. Let rest, covered, in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to overnight. Preheat oven to 400° F. Spoon the cold batter into a greased muffin tin or a cast iron skillet. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and the top is golden brown. In the meantime, make the glaze by heating butter in a saucepan until melted. Stir in jalapeno and bell pepper. Bring to a simmer. Stir in honey and cayenne. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Drizzle over Famous Dave's Corn Bread. Note: You can make the glaze ahead of time and store it, covered, in the refrigerator. Re-heat before serving. Famous Dave Anderson, of Famous Dave's Ribs N' Blues shared this recipe with Fabulous Foods. The recipe is part of a collection of "Down Home" cooking in Dave's fabulous book Famous Dave's Backroads and Sidestreets (proceeds from the book benefit charity). You'll never look at corn bread the same way again!

Sweet Potato Fries

I'm going to try these this week, so I'm posting it so I don't forget where I found the recipe!

2 pounds of sweet potatoes
Cooking oil spray, as needed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sour Cream Dipping Sauce, recipe follows
Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce, recipe follows
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Cut the potatoes into ½-inch strips. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and generously spray with cooking oil. Toss the sweet potato fries in the extra virgin olive oil and divide among the two baking sheets. Place in the oven for 25 to 35 minutes, tossing once during cooking. Bake until they are caramelized and nicely browned.
Yield: 4 servings
Sour Cream Dipping Sauce:
¾ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
¼ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon lime zest
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well to mix through.
Yield: ¾ cup
Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce:
¾ cup sour cream
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo, minced
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon cilantro or parsley
¼ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon lime zest
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well to mix through.
Yield: ¾ cup

Recipe from Emeril Lagasse