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.

Breakfast Tacos

These breakfast tacos are great on the go. I make a huge batch in advance and then wrap them individually in plastic wrap or a baggie and pop them in the freezer. Then, when I want a quick breakfast, I take it out, microwave it for 1 minute (if still frozen, 30 seconds if thawed) and eat! I also will grab one on my way out the door and just pop it in the microwave when I get to work. You can really pump these up with more vegetables or more meat if you prefer...or you could also add potatoes....just throw in there whatever you like.

Ingredients:
1/2 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped (I prefer yellow/orange/or red)
1 cup shredded cheese (whatever you prefer, I used cheddar)
1 hand full of fresh spinach
salt and pepper to taste
9 eggs
16 tortillas
2 teaspoons of Mrs. Dash
1 tablespoon Oil or butter (I used olive oil)
1/2 to 1 cup of chopped up ham, bacon, or some other breakfast meat, I really like the ham, so I put about a cup in there but for bacon bits I would probably use less.

Place oil in large skillet and melt, then add onions and peppers (and any other veggies you might want to throw in there). Once they have started to get translucent and toasty, add the spinach and stir it around until it is fully wilted, then add the seasonings and continue to stir as needed.

While that is cooking, I will lay out about 5 tortillas and put a little shredded cheddar on each.

Back to the skillet....Crack your eggs into a container and mix them with a fork to break them up, then add them to the skillet. You can also add a little milk here if you prefer...or cream if you want to live high on the hog. Continue stirring to make scrambled eggs until they are done to the firmness that you desire. My husband wants them WAY done...no question on whether they are cooked...so that is how I do it. That is what you get when you have a Poultry Scientist for a hubby.

Once the eggs are done, taste them to make sure the seasoning is right, then just take a large spoon and place the egg mixture down the middle of every tortilla, fold the tortilla in half and then wrap up in plastic wrap or place in a baggie. You can really make these tacos or burritos...its your choice. Then, I usually hold a few out for tomorrow's breakfast and just put those in the fridge, and the rest I place in the freezer individually wrapped.

I love them! I made 16 last time I made them but if you want to bulk them up a bit, you would make less and use more filling. This is a great grab and go breakfast on those busy mornings....and its easy for older kids to fix themselves since it just involved a microwave.

Heather's favorites

Hello...

I don't think I was on here last May, so this will be my first "favorites" post! Wahoo!

My favorite salad Asian Chicken Salad http://recipestop.blogspot.com/2008/07/asian-chicken-salad.html

Jenn posted this Garlic Basil Shrimp and I have made it a bunch and used chicken and spinach in it and it is still so fab... http://recipestop.blogspot.com/2008/08/garlic-basil-shrimp.html

Mel's Chocolate Chip Cookies are my all time fav cc cookie. I have even substituted the flour for whole wheat pastry flour and they still are so yummy. http://recipestop.blogspot.com/2008/08/mels-award-winning-chocolate-chip.html

My favorite way to cook veggies is roasted http://recipestop.blogspot.com/2008/07/roasted-broccoli-roasted-chicken.html

My sister's Monterrey Chicken is so versatile and easy, I make it all the time and change it up here and there to make it last for 2-3 meals http://recipestop.blogspot.com/2008/07/monterrey-chicken.html

I have made Jenn's Mom's Whole Wheat Bread lots of times http://recipestop.blogspot.com/2008/05/100-whole-wheat-bread.html and I love the sandwich bread recipe for a lighter loaf http://recipestop.blogspot.com/2008/03/honey-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread.html And Tiffany's view on how to make better wheat bread opening my world to dough enhancer and wheat gluten and I am forever grateful for that! http://recipestop.blogspot.com/2008/08/tips-for-better-whole-wheat-bread.html

And I love Le Madeleine's Tomato Basil Soup http://recipestop.blogspot.com/2007/12/lamadeleines-tomato-basil-soup.html


And that is more than 5...oh well...I am an overachiever, what can I say?

I also wanted to add that if any of you are Enrichment Leaders in your ward, I have a blog of HFPE ideas and random thoughts at http://thebeautifulbasics.blogspot.com/

Happy Eating!

Balsamic Pork Loin morphed into pulled pork sandwiches on Day 2

The pork loin recipe comes from Robin Miller of Quick Fix Meals. I really love balsamic vinegar, so this is a great way to add some rick flavor. You could also do this with pork chops.

Balsamic Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
Two 2 pound pork tenderloins trimmed of silver skin if necessary.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme or about half as much dried.

Directions:

Coat a shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Place the pork in the pan and season the top and sides with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, and thyme. Spoon the mixture over the pork then roast for about 45 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached. Baste every 15 minutes if possible.

Let the pork stand for 10 minutes before slicing enough for your dinner, I think this will feed 4-6 people.

The leftover pork can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 3 months.

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches:

Ingredients:
The 2nd pork loin from the above recipe and any leftovers
a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, I like KC Masterpiece
Kaiser rolls

Take the pork tenderloin and with 2 forks, pull apart the pork so it is shredded. Take the port and put it in a pot, empty the bottle of barbecue sauce in and mix. I would probably add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to thin it out a little if it seems too thick. Cook until warmed through and the pork is coated in the sauce.

Warm Kaiser rolls in over or toast them. Serve the BBQ pork on Kaiser rolls, I would add mustard and a pickle, but that is just me.

And there you go...2 meals and basically just one prep and a warm up!

YUMMMMM!

Breakfast Casserole

Here is the Breakfast Casserole recipe that I made for a Sunday lunch (for picture see picture with German Pancakes). It is adapted from a recipe in our ward cookbook.

1 large bag of hash browns (although I bought a large bag and didn't use the whole thing)
1/2 onion chopped (You can add onions or buy hash browns with onions)
12 eggs
1-2 cups of grated cheese
Meat of choice: 8 oz of cooked breakfast sausage crumbled or 1 cup of cooked chopped up ham or
1 pound of bacon cooked and crumbled (I used ham)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 garlic salt
Pepper to taste

Pour frozen hash brown in greased 9X13 pan. place meat in a layer on top of hash browns. In a large bowl beat eggs with a whisk and add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of garlic salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture on to hash browns and meat. Top with cheese. You can now refrigerate overnight if you want to eat it for breakfast or go ahead and bake it now. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, turn oven down to 375 and bake 20 minutes longer.

German Puffy Pancakes

This is from a cookbook Aaron brought me back from Utah " the Essential Mormon Cookbook: Green Jello, Funeral Potatoes, and other Secret Combinations" by Julie Badger Jensen.
These were really good. It recommends that you serve them with sour cream, brown sugar, and strawberries...and we laughed at that but tried it and it was really good. You can also add syrup to that. We also had topping options of pecans, whipped cream, cherry jam, powedered sugar, peaches, and blueberries.

1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups of milk
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Toppings:
3 cups fresh strawberries, halved
2 tablespoons sugar
1 carton of sour cream
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
Maple Syrup

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put butter in a 9 inch glass pie plate. Place in oven for 5 minutes, or until butter melts and bubbles. While butter is melting put milk, flour, sugar, eggs, and salt in belnder. blend on medium until smooth. remove pie plate from oven. Immediately pour mixture into pie plate. Return pie plate to the oven. bake for 20 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake 8-10 more minutes until edges are puffed and brown. remove from oven, cut into wedges and serve with toppings.
I really like these, they are interesting looking and super easy. I doubled the recipe and had enough for a pie plate, a tart pan, and a round serving dish.
Here is a picture of the breakfast casserole (see next recipe) and the 3 German Pancakes!

Bread Sticks

Andrea's Bread sticks
Yields 12 bread sticks

1 tablespoon yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ cups warn water
½ tsp salt
3 cups flour
½ cup butter
garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, and/or salad supreme

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix together yeast mixture, sugar, salt, and flour. Knead for about 3 minutes. Add flour as needed. Let stand for 10 minutes, or longer. Melt butter on cookie sheet. Cut dough into fourths, then into thirds. Roll & twist. Roll in butter, sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese and/or salad supreme. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes until lightly browned.

La Madeleine`s Strawberries Romanov

Have you been to La Madeleine's? Its a yummy place and my little sister LOVES their Strawberries Romanov, she gets it almost every time we go and savors ever minute of it. We found the recipe and low and behold it has brandy in it! Who would have thought? But, I am sure you could substitute the brandy with an extract or just leave it out. I also use this as a topping on German Puffy Pancakes (without the brandy). This says it will serve 2 but I bet Lindsey would argue that it will only serve her!

Ingredients:


1 cup strawberries, hulled and rinsed
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon brandy



Directions:
Just before serving, rinse berries and trim stems with a paring knife. Mix remaining ingredients and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes.

Put berries in stemmed wine glass and top with sauce.

Cheddar Soup

This is one of my Mom's favorites and a favorite at the tea room that she and my sister used to own. Its creamy and so good!

Ingredients to serve 8
1/4 cup of butter or margarine
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup flour
1 and 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart half and half
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 and 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Saute in the melted butter, the onion, carrots, and celery (I chop these in a food processor) Saute until soft.Gradually stir in the flour and cornstarch.Reduce heat to low and gradually stir in the chicken broth and half and half. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened and smooth.Stir in the baking soda and grated cheddar.Stir until cheese is melted.Add salt and pepper.Enjoy!Note: Be sure to use half and half, not milk.When you add the flour and cornstarch to make the roux, it will quickly thicken, so be sure to stir.

Variations: crumble bacon bits on top or mix with a potatoe soup.

Southern Cornbread Dressing for the Holidays

I made this dressing last year for the firs time and it was by far the best dressing I have ever tasted. Its a good old southern version of the cornbread variety but it does have some bread in it as well. I hope you love it as much as we do! (We don't actually stuff it in the bird since there are health issues with it not getting cooked enough and poultry juices running through it.)


Ingredients
Pan of cornbread (I doubled the recipe and made one that would fill a large rectangle casserole dish), crumble after its done and cooled

1 package of family sized stuffing mix (like stove top, the bread and the seasonings)
1 sleeve saltine crackers
8 tablespoons butter
2 cups celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
7 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sage (optional)
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (optional)
5 eggs, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine crumbled cornbread, dreid stuffing mix, and saltines; set aside.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and cook until transparent, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the vegetable mixture over cornbread mixture. Add the stock, mix well, taste, and add salt, pepper to taste, sage, and poultry seasoning. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Reserve 2 heaping tablespoons of this mixture for the giblet gravy. Pour mixture into a greased pan and bake until dressing is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Serve with turkey as a side dish.

Here is a cornbread recipe if you need one, but I think I used 2 package mixes last year

Cornbread:
1 cup self-rising cornmeal
1/2 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into a greased shallow baking dish. Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
To serve, cut into desired squares and serve with butter. For stuffing above, crumble cornbread.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Pumpkin Bread

This is from one of my favorite cook books Aggies, Moms, and Apple Pie

I love every recipe that I have made in this book, and I have made a bunch!


Pumpkin Bread
by Martha Rutherford, Deep East Texas Mother's Club
...
Ingredients:
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup orange juice
1 (16 oz) can of pumpkin or pumpkin pie
3.5 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1.5 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
Optional ingredients:
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup of raisins
...
(I have made it with pecans and it is good. I don't do raisins...I think they are scary!)
Combine sugar and vegetable oil in a large mixing bowl; blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Add orange juice and pumpkin. Blend in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in nuts and raisins if desired. Pour batter, evenly divided, into four 1 pound coffee cans that have been well greased and floured. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F. Test for doneness with toothpick; longer baking is sometimes required. It is also a good mailer.
Now, I have never made it in the coffee cans, I have always used loaf pans. I would recommend the smaller loaf pans so that it gets done in the middle. I have made these as mini loaves and given them as Christmas gifts many times.
...
My husband would tell you to throw in some chocolate chips in the batter but I don't like my chocolate mixed with pumpkin...but some people love it.

The Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

I made this soup tonight...doesn't it look YUMMY!

This is a take off of Tyler Florence's Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup. This is what I did...
Ingredients:

2 small onions diced ( I use sweet yellow onions, like walla walla, or 1015)

10 button mushrooms chopped coursley

1.5 cups of carrots chopped into rounds

3 boxes of low sodium chicken stock

3-4 cups of cooked chicken ( I use white meat)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon of Mrs Dash

1 small bag of cheese tortellini

1 cup of chopped up fresh spinach (frozen would work just fine)

2 Tablespoons of butter

Put butter in large soup pot and melt on high, when almost melted, add onions. Store onions until they are translucent and starting to caramelize on the edges, add carrots, stir and let them cook and caramelize a little as well. Add the mushrooms and stir. Add Salt. pepper, and Mrs. Dash. Add in chicken stock and set to high temperature so it will boil. Add in the chicken and spinach and stir. Once the soup is bubbling, add the tortellini and boil for about 10 minutes (or whatever package says). Add more salt & pepper to taste. If the soup is too thick, just add some water or broth until its the consistency you like. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes or however long you like. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!

I think adding some fresh herbs at the end would also be a nice touch, like some basil, but I didn't have any!

Avocado-Feta Salad

This is another Lindsey recipe that she made last time she was here and it was very good, I was leary at first but I really liked it.

Avocado-Feta Salad

Ingredients
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (4-ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 avocados, chopped
Assorted tortilla chips

Stir together first 9 ingredients. Gently stir in avocado just before serving. Serve with assorted tortilla chips.

Chicken & Rice Casserole

This is a great freezer meal, one of those that you can make ahead and freeze and then just pop out when you are ready to eat it. For Christmas last year I made Lindsey 6 meals to keep in her freezer and this was one of them...it was the gift of time since she is so busy, it would give her 6 nights of hassle free dinner. Last time I made this, I doubled the recipe and had enough for one large casserole dish and I think 3 of the smaller 9X9 casserole dishes. If you freeze it, wait to put the cornflake topping on it so it doesn't get soggy. Its very basic but easy and affordable. You could probably spruce it up with some frozen peas or something if you want some color. I usually make a big batch and eat one that night for dinner and then freeze the rest for the future on those nights when I get home and just want to veg on the couch. This is also good for when you need to take dinner to someone who just had a baby, you can just take it to them frozen and they can fix it whenever they want, that night or in a week when everyone is gone and you need an extra hand. :)

Chicken & Rice Casserole
1/2 c. butter
3 c cooked rice (or it says you can mix in 1.5 cups of raw rice and it will work, but I haven't tried it)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
4 c. boiled, boned, cut-up chicken or turkey
cornflake crumbs

Put butter in dish and melt. Mix all other ingredients together and stir in butter. Top with cornflake crumbs. Bake at 275 degrees for 2 hours. You can fix this ahead of time and freeze. This freezes well. Make 2 or 3 at a time to have on hand.

Roasted Broccoli & Roasted chicken

Roasted Broccoli

Take Broccoli and cut it in to small florets. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spread broccoli out on cookie sheet. Lightly pour or spray olive oil over the broccoli and toss to coat the pieces so they are shiny. Spread out on pan in one layer and salt and pepper to taste. Put in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the ends look brown and toasty, then turn over add salt and pepper to taste, and roast for 5-10 minutes more. This has become one of our favorite vegetables and we eat it like its popcorn! You can also do the same technique with sweet potatoes, tomato slices, onions, carrots, green peppers , cauliflower, and potatoes.

I like to make this when I am already going to be cooking something else in the oven, like roasting chicken breasts. I will just take chicken and toss in olive oil, add salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash and roast for about 40 minutes until done. When there is about 30 minutes left, I just add the broccoli on a cookie sheet on the other shelf in the oven so that everything is done about the same time.

Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

3 cans of cheese Soup
1 Box of chicken Stock
2 Baked Potatoes
12 slices of bacon cooked until crispy (or bacon bits)
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 teaspoons of Mrs Dash
Sour Cream
Shredded Longhorn Sharp Cheddar Cheese to top


Take 3 cans of cheese soup (I spiced it up and used 1 can of Pepper Jack cheese soup) and add a box of chicken stock. Simmer and stir on the stove. Bake 2 potatoes and cut them into chunks (like potato salad size) and add them to the soup. Cook some bacon or use bacon bits, about 6 slices worth, crumble and add to soup. I also used 6 more slices crumbled up to top the soup when serving. Add salt and pepper to taste plus about 2 teaspoons of Mrs. Dash. Served with a dollop of sour cream, cheese, and bacon pieces. Yummo! I think you could probably make a creamy version of this soup by using Potato pearls instead of real potatoes, with that and the bacon bits, it could be a food storage type meal.

Monterrey Chicken

This is a Lindsey classic, she created this dish off something she ate in a restaurant and its a favorite of ours. I think this is a budget conscience meal and I usually make it as s a two-for meal. Meaning, I make more than I need for the first meal and then jazz it up some and have a totally different meal the next night but with parts from this dish. I will explain below.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts (However many you need to feed everyone, I usually make 6 to feed 3-4 people plus have 2 left over for the next meal)
Package of Bacon
Sliced or Cheese (We use Swiss, Cheddar, or Provolone...whatever I have)
Jar of Barbeque Sauce

Take Chicken and wrap a bacon slice around it, place in casserole dish or pan. Cover with bbq sauce and put in oven at 375 for about 45-60 minutes until done. With about 10 minutes left, add slices of cheese over each breast. You can also put this in the slow cooker on low and cook it all day and add the cheese at the end. Lindsey has also made tiny bite sized versions for appetizers.

For the next day, I have a few variations of this meal. My favorite is to take the leftover chicken breasts, sauce, and bacon and cut it up or shred it and add some butter and Frank's Red Hot Sauce and it makes a barbeque buffalo chicken. I put the chicken in a whole wheat tortilla with lettuce, ranch dressing, and any other fixins and make a wrap sandwich. You can also take that same buffalo bbq chicken and toss it on a salad, add baked tortilla strips or chips and you have a bbq buffalo salad.

Lindsey will take the chicken and make quesadillas the next day with it, just shred it up, add cheese and anything else you want to a tortilla and cook it in a non stick or cast iron pan, flip when it gets toasty.

You can also just cut up the Monterrey Chicken and add it to a salad the next day.

I do this because I think it is cost effective since I don't have to buy items for two complete meals, plus it saves on prep time the second day and I don't have to turn on my oven and pay the electricity to have the oven on and my a/c to cool down the hot house from the oven being on. :) I just use the microwave the second day.

Asian Chicken Salad

Hi, I am Heather. I know the Stratons from "way back when" in the Colleyville Ward. This is my favorite salad these days, my husband even loves it. Its very versatile, I hope it is Lugubrious worthy!

2 Cups of cooked chicken breasts
1 bag or 1/2-3/4 head of lettuce OR 1 bag of shredded cabbage OR broccoli coleslaw mix
1 cup of pecan halves (slivered almonds can also be used)
1/2 bag of Chinese Chow Mien noodles or 1 bag of Ramen noodles broken and sauteed in butter (The original recipe calls for fried won tons, which are fab but I was trying to cut down the calories and the effort so I went with the noodles)

Dressing for Asian Chicken Salad

2 tsp of Mrs Dash Original
4 Tbsp sugar (I have used Splenda before and its just as good)
1/4 cup of oil
4 Tbsp vinegar (I usually use cider vinegar)
1 tsp salt

Add chicken to lettuce/cabbage and set aside. Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight lid. Shake well before pouring on salad. Next add noodles and pecans. Toss and serve. I just pour the dressing on until its well covered, I don't always use it all. Serve with crusty bread. If you are taking the salad to eat for a church dinner or something, you can mix it in advance and then add the noodles when you get there.