Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

These take a bit of time, especially if you chop the ginger and garlic...but you get 12 patties; they can be refrigerated (or frozen) and used for a quick lunch or dinner. They have a much softer texture than a meat hamburger but....no fat, lots of fiber and lots of spicy flavor!

First step is to mix up most of the ingredients in a food processor:

1 1/2 lbs cooked yams...about 2 really big ones or 3 medium sized (I cooked mine in the microwave, then peeled them)
1 C black beans (more than half of a 15 oz can, drained and rinsed)
2 T natural peanut butter
4 large cloves garlic, minced (or ready minced garlic from a jar)
1 heaping tablespoon minced ginger root  (I actually used about 2 T....you could also substitute 1 t ground ginger for each table spoon fresh)
2 t ground cumin
1 t paprika(I used smoked paprika)
fresh ground black pepper
1/4 t ground cardamom (or leave it out if you don't have it)
salt? It called or 1 t ...but I forgot to put it in
1/2-1 t cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 t)

Then blend up in food processor...I added about 1/4 C water to help it along. If you cooked the yams in water in a pot on the stove, they'd probably be moister and you might not need any water....

 Then dump the mixture into another bowl (sorry, you have to get two bowls dirty for this recipe)
Add:
another 1 C black beans ( the rest of the can or a bit more if you've cooked your own...I opened another can and used part of it too)
1/2-3/4 C chopped onion
1/2-1 chopped green pepper
1/2 C uncooked old fashioned oats
1/4 C gluten flour (or you could probably just use real flour?)

Mix well.

Scoop out 1/2 C portions on lined cookie sheets (sprayed with Pam); flatten to 1/2 inch
Bake at 425 for 15 minutes; carefully flip over with spatula and continue cooking another 15 minutes. These firm up  a little as they cool...and when you reheat them in the microwave. If you bake them much longer they can burn!


Serve on buns with lettuce, tomato, avocado, etc. Yummmm....

Mom Burretos

So, sorry that last post on beans wasn't too exciting...but it was just a preface to making these delicious burrito type things...
If you don't want to bother making your own beans you can use:
1 (15 oz) can low salt black beans (rinsed to get rid of more salt)
1 (15 oz) can refried black beans (or regular refried beans)
Mash these together with 2 t Taco seasoning...

 Then get some fresh tortillas (Costco) if you can find them. Or regular tortillas...or Jess's yummy home made tortillas if you've got time...

Throw in a hot fry pan for about 20 seconds on each side

Put on a plate and sprinkle with 1/4 C grated cheese (I use 2% sharp for less fat) Then add some brown rice and black beans (either homemade or your canned mixture)...sometimes I put this in the microwave for 30 seconds just to get the cheese more melty...

Then top with a little light sour cream and taco sauce (or chunky salsa)...if I'm out of tomatoes or avocados I just call this good...fold over and eat! Lots of fiber and protein as is...you could also add some grilled chicken breast or beef...

But even better is adding a few tomatoes and avocados...Delicious!

Chicken Salad Butter Lettuce Wrap...or good for Sandwiches too

Chicken Salad
Similar to other chicken salads I've made over the years...there are lots of variations.

2-3 C diced cooked chicken breast
grapes, seedless red ones, cut in half (maybe about 3/4 C...)
1 can sliced water chestnuts, chopped a bit more
1 bunch green onions, chopped, including some of the green part
1/2 C chopped cilantro (or use basil)
1/3 C slivered almonds
1-2 C leftover brown rice (or make it without rice)

Dressing:
1 C light mayo
1 T Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t ginger
juice of one lime

Toss with salad...eat as is, wrapped in butter lettuce leaves, on a sandwich, in a croissant, pita bread...

Pineapple/Apricot "Dump" chicken

Pineapple/Apricot "Dump Chicken"

So this is the first variation I tried from this blog...and I did change it up a bit by using dried apricots instead of golden raisins:

"Dump" all of this in a regular zip lock bag...make 2 or 4 bags or whatever...cook one now and put the rest away....the idea is to have easy meals waiting for you in your freezer...or have an easy meal to give someone else!

1 1/2 lbs chicken (3 or 4 chicken frozen chicken breasts)

1/2 of a 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks

1/4 C brown sugar

1/2 t nutmeg

1/3 C orange juice

1/2 C "snipped" dried apricots (or use raisins if you want)

Lay flat in your freezer... to cook, thaw in refrigerator overnight, or just cook longer if you've forgotten to do that...you can cook in a crock pot, cooking bag(NOT the zip lock it's stored in!), or just in an open roasting pan...depending on the "frozennes" it will take varying times to cook, so plan accordingly. Make some rice (or use precooked brown rice from Costco)

Dump Chicken

I have neglected my blog for a bit...but wanted to post this so I could easily find it again...

Kaity "pinned" it on Pinterest...I think from Becca...

Dump Chicken

Several of these ready to go meals would be helpful for busy moms or anyone else who doesn't want to spend hours in the kitchen...

Wedding Food! Yummmm.....

Well, I haven't been blogging much the last month since my every waking(and many of the sleeping ones too) moment has been devoted to prep for Kaity and Alan's wedding/reception on June 25!

It was a wonderful day, and part of the wonder was that we could pull off serving great food...with the help of SO MANY dear friends!!!

Our wedding menu was a takeoff on the Cafe Rio Pulled Pork Salad...I took most of the recipes from Favorite Family Recipes....a blogger who recreates some favorite restaurant recipes. I'll post the adapted recipes here with a few notes and comments.

I cooked about 50 lbs of boneless pork roast, but the recipes below will serve about 12-15.
This was the lineup....

Romaine lettuce, pulled pork, cilantro lime rice, corn/bean salsa, avocados, cilantro ranch dressing, sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla strips..

Sweet Pulled Pork

4 lb boneless pork loin roast (or boned equivalent)

...I used the boneless pork loins from Sam's that weigh about 8-9 lbs. You can cut them in half and freeze or make a double batch and freeze the cooked pork.

5 cans Coke, Dr. Pepper or root beer (not diet)

2 1/2 C brown sugar

garlic salt

1/2 C water

1 8oz. can diced green chilies (mild)

1 1/2 -2 C Pace Picante Sauce(mild/medium)

1. Put pork in ziploc bag with 2-3 cans soda and 1/2 C brown sugar. Let marinate a few hours or overnight, turning bag a couple of times.

2. Drain and discard marinade; Put pork, 1 can soda, 1/2 C water, a couple of shakes of garlic salt or powder in crock pot and cook on high 3-4 hours. Drain meat and shred when it cools a bit.

3. Mix (or blend) 1 can soda, green chilis, Pace Picante and remaining brown sugar(about 2 Cups....you can use less); pour over shredded meat in crock pot and cook on low about 2 hours.

Cilantro Lime Rice

2 C white rice (I used medium grain Hinode which is a little stickier...long grain would be drier and fluffier, so whatever you like)

2 t butter

4 cloves minced garlic (I used jarred)

2 t fresh lime juice (add more lime juice later)

4 t "Better than Bouillon" or Tone chicken bouillon past
4 C water

Cook rice(I used a rice cooker, but you can cook on stove); mix 2 T lime juice, 4 t sugar, 1/2 bunch (about 1 C) chopped fresh cilantro and stir into cooked rice.

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

1 pkg original Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix

1 C mayonnaise

1 C buttermilk

2 tomatillos, husked and diced

1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro (about 1 C)

1 clove minced garlic (I used jarred)

1 lime, juiced (about 1/3 C)

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

(Safeway carries chopped chilis in a tube in the produce section - I used about 1 t...we don't like it too hot)

Mix in a blender; best made the day before.

Cafe Rio serves black beans on their salad, but I made Kendra's Corn/Tomato/Bean salsa, added a can of cannelloni beans, and served the avocados on the side.

Then we added sour cream, grated cheese, and Fresh Gourmet Tortilla Strips.

Skinny Sloppy Joes....

This is skinniest if you use ground turkey...but I usually get Costco's 12% ground beef, cook it and rinse it with hot water...still pretty skinny! And it's great to double or triple so you have some for the freezer or to share...

Skinny Sloppy Joes

3 T wine vinegar

2 T brown sugar

3/4 C catsup

1/4 C chopped onion (or dried)

3 T Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t mustard

1/2 C chopped celery

1 lb. ground turkey breast

Brown meat; cook with onions and celery for a bit; add remaining ingredients and simmer about 30 minutes....or cook in crock pot (after browning meat) 4-5 hours. Good with chips or tater tots and coleslaw.

Tater Tot Casserole

Here's another recipe from the past...

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb hamburger, cooked and crumbled (or even just 1/2 lb.)
32 oz. pkg tater tots
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken rice soup
1 soup can milk
1/3 C dried onions (or chop a real onion and cook it with the hamburger)
grated cheese if you want...



Cook hamburger; drain and crumble; mix soups with milk and onions (if you didn't cook the onion with the hamburger)

Dump half the tater tots in the bottom of a 2 qt. casserole dish. Add cooked hamburger next;
Cover with the soup mixture; Sprinkle with some grated cheese if you like...cover with remaining tater tots. Cover and bake at 350 about 30 minutes. You can make this fairly healthy (ie - lower in fat and calories)...by using only 1/2 lb. ground turkey, fat free soups and milk and not too much cheese...

Cranberry Chicken

Another great family recipe...make in the crock pot or oven.
Cranberry Chicken

4-5 chicken breasts

1 can cranberry sauce (jellied or whole berry)

1 pkg onion soup mix

8 oz Catalina dressing(or about 1/2 bottle)

Mix the cranberry sauce, soup mix and salad dressing in a small bowl and pour over chicken in a casserole dish or crock pot. Serve over rice. This actually turns out better done in the oven. If you are going to be gone for awhile (like at church) you can cook it at 300 for 3 or 4 hours.

Next Day Turkey Curry...

This is great even after the next day...usually we get through the leftover turkey breast with yummy sandwiches...and then progress to this recipe for the rest that doesn't get made into soup. It's sort of like Hawaiian Haystacks...



Next Day Turkey Curry

3/4 C raisins
2 T butter
2 medium chopped onions.


Mix in a small bowl:
1 1/2 T curry
2 t mustard seeds
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t cinnamon
1 T cornstarch


1 C chicken broth
2-3 C leftover turkey, diced



Saute the raisins in the butter about 5 minutes. Drain
Saute the onions until soft.
Add the chicken broth and spices to the onions along with the turkey. Simmer 20 minutes.


Serve over rice with some of these condiments: the prepared raisins, frozen peas(cooked), plain yogurt, cranberry sauce, coconut, peanuts or cashews, green onions, bacon bits, shredded cheese.

Taco Rice Casserole...an oldie but a goodie!

I used to make this 20 or 30 years ago! It's from a healthy cookbook I had called Recipes to Lower Your Fat Thermostat...

Taco Rice Casserole

1 C brown rice, cooked (I like medium grain brown rice...it's more like barley)

1 pkg. taco seasoning mix (or 1 T from a big bottle)

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

2 C chicken, cooked and chopped up (I used two lg. chicken breasts)

1 16 oz. can refried beans

1/2 - 1 C shredded cheese (cheddar or cheddar/jack mix)

Cook rice and place in 2 qt. casserole.

Combine taco seasoning with tomato sauce and mix with chicken. Spread over rice.

Spread beans over chicken (this requires dumping the beans from the can into a small bowl and stirring with a for a bit to loosen them up...then dab small spoonfuls over the chicken mix and pat to spread it out)

Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 20 or 30 minutes...or cook in microwave a few minutes...everything is already cooked so it just needs heating.

Serve with: lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, taco sauce, even baked corn chips to scoop with...

Apricot Chicken....Yummm!

I found this on Simply Recipes the other day, and since Diana W. brought apricots to RS to share I thought I would give it a try...it was easy and delicious...and pretty healthy as I cut back a bit on the oil and butter....

Mix in a small bowl and set aside:

1 1/2 lbs. fresh apricots, roughly chopped (I cut each half into about 8 chunks)

1/4 C sugar

2 T cider vinegar (I just had wine vinegar...it worked fine)

Brown in large frying pan:

1 T (unsalted) butter...I used olive oil...salt the chicken as it browns.
2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts, cut into pieces (I used chicken tenders and didn't cut them at all)

Remove when browned.

Add a little more oil to the pan and brown:

1 large onion chopped

Then add and lower heat:

2 C chicken stock

Now, puree 2/3 of the apricots, along with juice that has formed.

Pour the puree into the pan with the chicken stock and onions.

Add:

1 T chopped fresh rosemary

1 t cinnamon

2 T Tabasco or other hot sauce (I used Frank's)

Simmer for 10-20 minutes (cook some rice)

When ready to serve, put the chicken and remaining apricots into the sauce and simmer gently until hot. Serve over rice.

Kendra's Salsa-ish stuff from Sara

Every time I want to make this I go to Kendra's blog and do a search for cilantro to find the recipe, so I thought I'd just steal it and put it here to make it easier for me to find! Thanks, Kendra (and her friend Sara)


Kendra's Salsa-ish Stuff (plus if you add the chicken you can call it dinner)

1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
green onions, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados diced (if you think you'll have leftovers that you want to save, serve the avocado on the side)
cilantro (or basil if Kaity's here)
1 pkg italian salad dressing mix
(plus 1/4 C vinegar & 1/3 C water)
2 limes

Then Kendra has another recipe from Sara for Chicken Salad with basil and rotisserie chicken and white beans...and I can never decide which one I want most...so I just throw some rotisserie chicken in the salsa stuff and maybe some canneloni beans with or instead of the black beans and serve it with warmed corn tortillas and maybe cheese and sour cream...see where indecision leads!!!! But it's all good!

TexasPork Barbecue

Texas Pork Barbecue
(We took this on our Yellowstone trip)


Cook a boneless pork roast (abt. 2 lbs) in the oven or in a crock pot until tender. Slice or pull into pieces.


Sauce:
1/2 C chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
butter
12 oz. bottle chili sauce (I use Del Monte)
2 T each: brown sugar, vinegar, molasses, water
2 t each: lemon juice, yellow mustard
1/2 t liquid smoke
1/4 t each: red pepper, salt



Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 20 minutes. Add meat and simmer. Serve on toasted buns.

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Tomato Cream Sauce
(from The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner)

Saute in a little olive oil:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped

Add:
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
1/2 C cream (or half and half or just use milk to cut down on fat)
1/4 C lo fat ricotta
20 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 t dried)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t crushed red pepper (optional)

Simmer until thickened, about 15 or 20 minutes and serve over fresh pasta with more Parmesan.

Easter Ham with Orange Raisin Sauce....

Buy a Honeybaked Ham.

Orange Sauce:

2 C orange juice

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 C raisins

3 T cornstarch

Mix the cornstarch into a small amount of the orange juice, then blend together with remaining ingredients. Cook 3 or 4 minutes in the microwave or bring to a boil on the stove and cook until thickened.

Lemonade Chicken

Super simple and super yummy!


You won't need the cornstarch if you cook this on the stove(or oven) instead of the crock pot.



Lemonade Chicken

Put flour, salt and pepper in a zip lock bag and toss the chicken parts in to cover with flour:

chicken - about 6 boneless breasts or whatever parts you like
flour, salt and pepper for dredging
Brown in a large frying pan with:
3 T olive oil (or whatever you want to brown the chicken in)

Mix the following:

12 oz can frozen lemonade concentrate
2/3 C catsup
1/2 C brown sugar
2 T vinegar
Pour over the browned chicken, cover the pan with a lid and cook about 25 minutes until done.
Serve over rice.

I used to cook this in the crock pot...cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours...but the sauce doesn't thicken up like it does in the frying pan...so drain it off and thicken with 2-3 T cornstarch before serving...the browned flour on the chicken stays nicer if you do the fry pan method.

"Oh My Gosh" : Butter Chicken

The other day, Kathy B...(one of the Great Cooks of the World) said she had made the Butter Chicken on the Pioneer Woman blog and it was YUMMM....So with that recommendation, I accumulated the ingredients and got around to making it last night while we were watching the Oscars. (I had started it Saturday night, because it's supposed to marinate overnight)


It only took a few minutes to actually put it together and about 40 minutes to cook...and looking at the final product didn't set off any bells and whistles...BUT when we finally scooped up some over rice...Mark's reaction..."OH, MY GOSH!" I agreed.


So here's my Butter Chicken...I need to get some plain white plates to improve the look of my food pictures...there's a better one at Pioneer Woman (actually it's a recipe from one of her readers on Tasty Kitchen)



















Butter Chicken

(Of course I couldn't actually follow the recipe exactly...I was doing more chicken breasts)

6 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts(the original recipe used 4)
5 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Black Pepper
½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper(I only used 1/4 t, but 1/2 would have been OK...I'm a chicken about spicy stuff)
¼ teaspoons Ground Coriander(I doubled this)
¼ teaspoons Cumin(I doubled this)
¼ teaspoons Cardamom(I doubled this)
2 whole Limes, Juiced( actually used 3)

1 whole Onion, Diced(it was a big one)
¼ cups Butter(1/2 cube)
1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 pint Whipping Cream(I actually used 1 C cream and 1 C half and half)
1 bunch Chopped Cilantro, to taste

2 cups Basmati Rice (I just used regular rice)

Preparation Instructions
Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight. I started out with frozen chicken breasts, put them in a zip lock bag and poured the marinade over...the original recipe only called for 1 lime...I used 3...they were small...I like lime...it seemed to make the marinade distribute better.
Then I put the bag into the refrigerator overnight...turning a few times...
Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add marinated chicken (you throw the marinade out) and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the whipping cream (I have used light cream or half-and-half also) and cilantro just before serving over Basmati rice.(I was too cheap to buy Basmati at Safeway)

Simple Stir Fry

Simple Stir Fry

Stir Fry Veggies (frozen) from Costco (this is a yummy mix with no fat or additives. I use about 1/3 of the bag = 4-5 C)
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2" piece fresh ginger chopped
3-4 chicken breasts or 1 lb sirloin steak sliced thin (while mostly frozen)
1 pkg Stir Fry Sauce mixed with light soy sauce, water and a little sugar)(I think I actually used two packages...and maybe it was a little juicy, but it's good over the rice)

1. Fry the chicken or beef in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes; set aside.
2. Add a little more oil (or use Pam) to fry the garlic and ginger for a couple of minutes; then add the veggies (frozen to start with)..cook about another 5 minutes.
3. Pour in the sauce mix and bring to a boil; let it cook a couple of minutes until it thickens up.
4. Add in the meat and heat a couple more minutes; serve with rice.

You could start with your own fresh veggies...there are a lot of good combinations; or an oriental mix from the produce dept.

Beef Bourguinon (sort of )

So I got this great cast iron pot for Christmas and wanted to make Beef Bourguinon (a la Julia &Julia)...but wasn't quite up to the "Real" recipe from Julia Child's book...so this is a simplified version...it's basically Beef Stew...but cooked longer in beef broth and red wine with pearl onions and mushrooms added at the end so they don't get cooked to death.

2-3 lbs boneless chuck roast, cut into large chunks (about 2" cubes)and patted dry with paper towels (or rolled in some flour to coat)
4 T butter
4-6 slices thick bacon, sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lg brown onions, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
2 C beef broth (canned or I used "beef base" and water)
2-3 C red wine (traditionally Burgandy; I used Pinot Noir(cheap..about $8) and had to go back to Safeway to buy a corkscrew to get the cork out!)
bouquet garni (parsley, bay leaves, thyme wrapped with thread or tied in cheesecloth bag)
6 oz mushrooms, sliced or whole if they are small
about 20 pearl onions, peeled (I actually used a bag of frozen ones, but fresh are better)
2 T additional butter
salt and pepper

Cook the chopped onions and carrots in the butter about 10 minutes until softened; add the bacon slices and cook a few more minutes; add the beef chunks and cook, turning until all sides are well browned.
Pour broth and wine over the meat and add the bouquet garnie; cover pan with lid and place in 250-300 degree oven (I was going to be gone for several hours so I did it at 250 so I wouldn't end up with the disaster in the J & J movie) I left mine cooking for about 4 hours! At 300 degrees it might be more like 3 hours.
(*I stopped here and finished cooking it the next day)
It should be quite juicy...if you want a thicker gravy, at this point mix 2 T soft butter and 2 T flour into a paste. Add to it 1/4 C liquid from the stew, then stir back into the pot and cook until thickened.
Then saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter and dump on top of the stew before serving. I made the little roasted potatoes separately and served them on the side.

Here's the bouquet garni...some of the bay leaves escaped during cooking and had to be fished out...they're not good to swallow!



This is not a very appealing picture of the result...I'll have to learn to take more artful food photos!
***note...some recipes call for marinating the beef in the broth, wine and herbs for several hours or even for a couple of days(but then you'd have to drain it well and dry off the meat). I didn't and the meat was VERY tender and flavorful...way better than you standard stew...next time though I will "flour" the meat before browning