Cherry Chipolte Chili: Gluten Free and Vegetarian

My friend Lori had a cooking night the other night where she made some fabulous recipes for us. This one sounds strange but was oh so yummy! She is mainly vegetarian and gluten free.

Ingredients:
2 c vegetable broth
1 c dried cherries (our grocery has them by the raisins)
1 T olive oil
1 c chopped onion
1 T crushed fresh garlic
1 bottle roasted red pepper chopped, or one fresh red pepper chopped
4 t chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t ground coriander
1 t dried oregano
4 c petite canned chopped tomatoes
1 16 oz can black beans
1/4 c chopped cilantro
avacado to taste

For chips:
Spelt Flour tortillas
Coconut oil

Directions:

Heat 1 cup of broth in microwave. Place cherries in small bowl and add hot broth and set aside.Heat olive oil in a 4 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion (and red bell pepper if not using bottled roasted bell pepper); sauté about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Add chopped bottled red pepper (if not using fresh), chili powder, cumin, coriander, and oregano. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and remaining broth, bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered about 5 minutes. Stir in beans, cilantro, and cherry mixture. Continue cooking until thoroughly heated. I cut one tortilla into wedges and fry in coconut oil and stick the triangles in one side of the bowl and then chop a half of avocado and put on top of the chili. If you can find spelt tortillas, they don't have gluten, have only 100 calories and are yummy.

Asian Steak Tacos with Spicy Mushroom Salsa

When I saw these in my bon appetit magazine I seriously drooled onto the page... I kid you not. I made them, and they totally lived up to each salivatory drop. Only next time I'll make a few changes to appease mine and my husband's taste buds.

ASIAN STEAK TACOS
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon lemon peel
1 teaspoon Sicilian sea salt
2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed
8 flour tortillas (6 inch)

SPICY MUSHROOM SALSA
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound shiitake or crimini mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)
2 large shallots, sliced into rings
1 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper {I'll use 1/2 t. next time, too spicy for me}
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil {I'll use 1/2 T. next time, it overpowered the natural shroom taste}
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed
1/4 teaspoon Sicilian sea salt

Mix oil, soy sauce, honey, lime juice, garlic, ginger, lemon peel and sea salt in a small bowl until well blended. Place steak in a glass dish. Rub seasoning mixture all over steak. Cover. Refrigerate 1 hour, or longer for extra flavor.

Meanwhile, for the Salsa, heat oil in large skillet on high heat. Add mushrooms; cook and stir 4 minutes or until golden brown. Add shallots and chipotle chile pepper; cook and stir 3 minutes or until shallots begin to brown. Spoon mushroom mixture into a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients; toss lightly. Set aside.

Grill steak on medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes per side or until medium-rare doneness. Remove steak to cutting board. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

To serve, slice steak across the grain into thin slices. Serve in warmed flour tortillas topped with Spicy Mushroom Salsa.

Yum.

It's actually a Cat Cora recipe, promoting McCormick Gourmet spices...

Chili's Salsa

Out of all the restaurant salsa's out there - Chili's and Uncle Julio's are my favorites... This taste's just like Chili's, so I thought I'd share. Sidenote: Why does Chili's have better salsa then On the Border? Same company - you'd think they'd give the better salsa recipe to the Mexican restaurant. Next challenge is to find a match for Uncle Julio's salsa.

I got this off of recipezaar and made a couple adjustments for a fresher taste (the cilantro and lime). It's been a hit every time I've made it... which has been quite a bit lately.

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can tomatoes and green chilies

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can whole canned tomatoes (plus the juice)

4 teaspoons jalapenos (canned,diced, not pickled)

1/4 cup yellow onion (diced)

1/2-3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 c. cilantro, chopped

1 t. lime juice

1. In food processor place jalapenos and onions.

2. Process for just a few seconds.

3. Add both cans of tomatoes, salt, sugar, cumin, cilantro and lime juice.

4. Pulse all ingredients until well blended but do not puree.

5. Place in covered container and chill.

A couple hours of chilling helps blend the flavors, and gets better tasting each hour it sits.

Tamale Pie

I use to make this all the time when I first started cooking. It was when I thought that casseroles was the only form of cooking I could handle. Why I stopped making it, I'll never know because it is goood! But it's for sure going back into the rotation.

PIE

1 lb. ground beef

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped green pepper

1 (16 oz.) can stewed tomatoes

1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 c. sliced black olives {i omit, not a fan}

I clove garlic, minced

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ c. grated sharp cheddar cheese {i use 1/2 c., and it's plenty}

CORNMEAL TOPPING

¾ c. yellow cornmeal

½ tsp. salt

2 c. cold water

1 T. butter

- Preheat oven to 375.

- Cook ground beef, onion and green pepper in skillet until beef is browned. Pour off excess fat.

- Add tomatoes, corn, olives, garlic, chili powder, cumin and salt.

- Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

- Add cheese, stir until it melts.

- Meanwhile, stir cornmeal and salt into cold water in saucepan. Cook stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

- Turn meat mixture into greased 9x9 casserole dish {or I'm assuming a pie dish would work, hence the name}. Top with cornmeal mush.

- Bake for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Green Chili Chicken

I made this on Sunday in the crockpot and it was really good. It was super easy to throw together in the morning and was ready when Matt got home. I'm sure you could cook it in the oven for an hour or so, too, if you prefer.

3-4 large chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
4 oz can chopped green chilies
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic herb blend seasoning (or plain garlic salt would work, too)

6 cups steamed rice
blue corn tortilla chips

Place chicken, soup, chiles, cumin, salt, pepper and garlic blend in crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When done, shred chicken with two forks. Spoon over bowls of rice and garnish with crumbled blue corn tortilla chips.

4 servings

from Picky Palate