Sweet & Spicy Stovetop Beans

I created this recipe when my husband requested a side dish of beans to go with his lunchtime serving of grilled chicken. We had recently purchased roasted Hatch green chiles from our local garden center and I thought they would go nicely with the beans.

Garlic Chile Sauce

My husband enjoys all things spicy and will use this garlic chile sauce on everything.

Creole Shrimp

It's that time of month again when I peruse the pages of my recent Cooking Light magazine and re-vamp one of their recipes for my dinner table. I really enjoy this magazine for the new ideas it inspires, but don't necessarily agree with several of their ideas of "healthy" foods  (often their elimination of butter or healthy fats of any kind as well as subsitutions with low fat or no fat milk and their use of "fake" foods like margarine). However, these types of ingredients are easy to replace with more nourishing options.

In their latest issue, the June 2013 magazine, I found a wonderful shrimp recipe that my family thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, it was so good, it will likely be on the regular rotation and I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did. Here is the link to the original recipe. I've changed it up a bit below.

Homemade Hot Sauce (Tabasco Style)

My husband is so wonderful--he shares my time with work and this blog and happily tests out all the things I make. I am not sure he is the best test subject, because he mostly says everything is delicious, but it's certainly good for my self-esteem.

This past weekend he made a hot sauce in the style of Tabasco Sauce, which we had always purchased and kept in the house (prior to making this recipe) and which does not appear to have weird ingredients. But we grow a lot of peppers every year and even husband appreciates the value of foods with ingredients we can follow directly to the source. So this year, he made this sauce and it is even better than the store-bought kind.

Bolognese Sauce with Green Olives

I love pasta. I mean, looooove pasta. And one of the most disappointing parts of transitioning to a real food lifestyle (for me) was eliminating pasta, since it was primarily made using white flour. However, as food choices have improved over the years, there are now really great alternatives to the white flour pasta noodles of days past and my family enjoys pasta once or twice a month now. If you have not tried the Jovial line, I highly recommend it. This meat sauce goes really well with whole wheat pasta, brown rice pasta, or even rice. Or get creative and try serving over gnocchi, pierogi, spaghetti squash, Portobello mushrooms, or even potatoes.

Basic Chili

The following is a very flexible recipe for a hearty, rich tasting chili. Feel free to substitute in and out ingredients to your preference using whatever is available at your farmer's market or provided in your CSA box.  

Italian Stuffed Fryer Peppers

This is a traditional Italian recipe (from my grandma!) for stuffed fryer peppers and is considered a treat for special occasions.

Stuffed Peppers II (with Stuffed Pepper Bowl variation)

Pico de Gallo

This recipe makes use of garden vegetables and is a great side dish, appetizer, or snack. It's also really easy to make, although takes a bit of time due to all the chopping and dicing. Also, quantities are approximate as I know the size of your summer vegetables varies, so keep that in mind when you are making your own. Also, you could use any type of tomato or pepper or onion, so feel free to substitute with whatever you have in your own garden.

Chicken with Garden Vegetables

You will truly appreciate the flavors of your summer garden in this meal.

White Chili

This is a great twist on a classic.

Black Bean & Pork/Chicken Enchilada Cassarole with Ranchero Sauce

Looking for an excellent comfort food recipe with nourishing ingredients? Look no further. Don't let the long ingredient list keep you from trying this one. Most are the spices included to season the dish. Also, you could make your ranchero sauce in advance and freeze and then this would be a super quick and super easy meal to make.

Ingredients:
About 1/2 pound cooked pork or chicken, diced -- use leftover if possible, and more or less than half a pound. You'll want enough for one layer
2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 cups water
1 small to medium onion chopped and divided (about 1/4 cup to sprinkle)
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 cups broth, low-sodium organic if possible (any flavor, I used vegetable)
1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp tomato paste, no added salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp fresh lime juice (about one lime juiced)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups "Mexican-style" cheese, grated (I used a chipotle cheddar I found, but use whatever you can find in your store)
10-12 corn tortillas, the small ones
Olive oil

How To:
1. Prep Chilis: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the ancho chiles and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Boil, reduce heat to low and simmer five minutes. Turn off heat and let sit another 5 minutes. Drain, but reserve 1 cup of the liquid. Set aside.

2. Make Ranchero Sauce: Add onion to olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until soft, add garlic and salt. Cook another five minutes until lightly browned. Add broth, oregano, paste, and cumin. Cook about 5-8 minutes until thickened, stirring occassionally. Then pour entire pot into a blender, add chiles and reserved liquid. Blend until smooth (remove center piece in lid to allow steam to escape, but cover with a towel so the hot liquid does not splatter). Stir in lime juice and cayenne pepper. This is your ranchero sauce.

3. Make Cassarole: Using about 1/2 cup of the ranchero sauce, cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan and line with half the tortillas. Sprinkle on beans, chicken or pork, onions, and half the cheese. Cover with sauce, about half what you have left. Top with the remaining tortillas, the rest of the sauce, and the rest of the cheese. Cook uncovered about 15-20 minutes.

Comments:
This is modified from a vegetarian dish in the October 2011 Cooking Light magazine. I added meat (for my husband) and we had this pork tenderloin to use up. I also eliminated the steps in the original recipe that made this actual enchiladas. The "cassarole-style" is much easier to make. We also served with sauteed poblano peppers on top and over short-grained brown rice and this was SO delicious.

This looks kind of complicated, and did take more time than I usually like to spend. The original recipe says 55 minutes hands on, but I think that is way over-stated and perhaps I save a lot of time with my version by not actually making enchiladas, but just layering the ingredients. I think it was 30 minutes hands on and then the 15 minutes of cooking. Also, the original recipe I followed says you can make the ranchero sauce a day or two ahead to save time (or even freeze), and that really is the part that takes up most of the time. I also keep a few containers of this ranchero sauce in my freezer for an easy dinner when we are short on time.

DELISH!

 

 

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Test Kitchen: Mediterranean Style Pork Chops

This recipe is a nice change of pace. I think you'll really enjoy.

Pork Chili

About 10-12 tomatillos, husked and quartered
2 poblano peppers, chopped
2 red onions, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic
2 1/2 to 3 pound pork loin
1 cup vegetarian refried beans
4 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
Olive oil
Corn tortillas

Seasonings to taste, approximately as follows:
Cumin about 2 t
Chili powder about 1 t
Onion powder about 1 t, plus sprinkled on roast
Garlic powder about 1 t, plus sprinked on roast
Salt and pepper to taste

Add two cups chicken broth and pork roast (season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders) to crock pot and cook until meat is tender - shreddable. Prepare vegetables for oven roasting (or grilling). When the pork is done, add vegetables to a greased (olive oil) cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring twice. You could grill as an alternative. Add roasted (or grilled) vegetables to the crock pot after shredding pork. Add another two cups chicken broth and cook for another 2-4 hours. If too thin add refried beans. Season with the above.

Comments: Until today, I haven't made pork chili in over a year. The last time I made it, it was so delicious, I will forever be trying to re-create that taste. I have a recipe written down, but this time it did not taste as delicious (I don't think). I will try this again later this season and tweak the recipe. That being said, husband and son LOVED this dish as is. Both had numerous helpings and the boy even told me it tasted as good as the food at our favorite Mexican restaurant! Ha! 

This makes a lot - I am not sure how many servings, but I would guess 8-10. Hands-on time is relatively minimal, I think all together about 10 minutes, but you'll have lots of cook time in the crock pot (plan on an all day simmer).

Pre-roasted vegetables

Post-roasted vegetables