Salsa Chicken
Maricia Sorensen
Ingredients:
Thawed Chicken
Salsa
Optional:
Beans, cheese, onions, seasoning, sour cream... really anything, get creative
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I like to line my baking dish with tin foil so I don't have to clean it up. If you want to season your chicken do so now. Pour salsa over chicken and anything else you want (beans, onion...) Bake for 30-35 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken this may need to be adjusted. Once chicken is out you can sprinkle with cheese and put in for another 5 min.
Now you can add whatever toppings you like and serve with rice or even shed it and make some yummy tacos.
4-Ingredient Banana Oat Bars
Maricia Sorensen
2 large, very ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup pitted, chopped dried dates
1/4 chopped nuts
grated nutmeg or cinnamon
Heat oven to 350 degree oven and lightly grease a 9x9-inch square baking dish with olive oil or butter.
Peel the bananas and mash their flesh in a medium mixing bowl. Mash very thoroughly until no large chunks remain; the bananas should be essentially liquid. (You will have between 1 cup and 1 1/4 cup.) Stir in the vanilla, if using. Add the oats and stir them in. Stir in the salt, dates, and nuts.
Pat the thick mixture evenly into the baking pan. If desired, sprinkle the top lightly with nutmeg or cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes or unti the edges just begin to crisp up.
Place the baking pan on a rack to cool. When the pan is mostly cool, cut into bars and enjoy with a glass of milk or tea.
Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Carolann Wedlund
Ingredients
Filling:
12 ounces ground turkey
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
8 ounces white mushrooms, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
One 6-ounce can water chestnuts, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Drizzling Sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard or spicy mustard
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce(Makes it really spicy, so cut down if you like it mild)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
8 to 12 large iceberg lettuce leaves, cleaned and dry
Shredded carrots, for serving
Bean sprouts, for serving
Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
Directions:
For the filling: Brown the turkey in the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Add the mushrooms, scallions, garlic and water chestnuts, and cook until the mushrooms soften. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar, pour over the turkey mixture and cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
For the drizzling sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, mustard, Sriracha, sesame oil and 1/4 cup water.
Serve the turkey mixture with the lettuce leaves, drizzling sauce and vegetables for lettuce wrap assembly.
Green Bean Saute
Elizabeth Champion
10 medium red potatoes (cubed and cooked until just soft. I pressure cook for 2 minutes with quick release)
1/4 cup coconut oil
6 handfuls green beans, cut to about 2"
1 bell pepper, any color (I like red because it's so pretty with the green beans and white potatoes)
15 cloves garlic, chopped (I buy peeled garlic cheap at the Indian store across from Smart and Final)
2 T. balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste
Saute beans in coconut oil on high for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Push beans to side and saute chopped garlic for 2 mintues. Stir in balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir in potatoes.
Split Pea Soup
Shelley Baer
2 cups dried peas
2 qts Chicken broth
1 Ham Bone
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cup shredded carrots
1 Bay leaf
1/4 tsp thyme or one sprig fresh thyme
2-3 whole cloves
1 clove garlic
1/2 Milk
Salt and Pepper
Wash and sort beans, add chicken broth, bring to boil and reduce to simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat from heat and let stand 1 hour. Add ham bone, vegetables, bay leaf, cloves, garlic & thyme, heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until peas are soft. Remove bone and cut off meat and dice.
Shelley Baer
1 Turkey Carcass
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 yellow onions, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
10 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 lb smoked sausage, such as kielbasa, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 TBSP creole seasoning
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Steamed rice, for serving
Remove the turkey meat from the carcass, dice, and set aside.
In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is chocolate brown, about 15 minutes. Do not let it burn. Stir in the onions, celery, and green pepper and cook an additional 5 minutes.
Stir in the water and bouillon cubes. Place the turkey carcass in the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 4 hours. Remove the carcass.
Add the reserved turkey meat and the sausage. Stir in the Creole seasoning and season with salt and pepper. Simmer 1 hour more. Serve with steamed rice.
Black Bean Soup
Recipe by Our Best Bites
Jenna Ralph
1 T olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)
3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)
1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 3.5oz can green chilies
2 cans low-sodium beef broth
1 t kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t dry oregano leaves
1 bay leaf
Optional Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, etc.
Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes.
Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.
Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.
Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf from soup.
Place soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the lid to let heat escape. Place a paper towel over the hole to avoid splatters.
Puree soup until completely smooth. Optionally you could pulse until a semi-chunky soup is achieved. Squeeze in the juice from one lime and pulse to combine.
Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve with extra lime wedges. Makes about 8 C soup.
