Mexican Feast (Andrea)

Hi guys. Here are some of our favorite Mexican recipes. They make a really good meal all together, or you could use them to make enchiladas or a salad or something. Since moving from Boise, I've been trying to recreate some Costa Vida recipes, and I think some of these are about as close as I'm going to get (although I still miss that restaurant!)

Sorry about the lack of pictures--I will get some later, or if any of you happen to make this before me, feel free to add pictures!


SLOW-COOKER SALSA CHICKEN

(This one I got from Sparkrecipes.com just recently--they have some awesome recipes!)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts--Place in crockpot
1 pkg. taco seasoning (or 1/3 c. homemade taco seasoning)--Sprinkle over chicken
1 c. salsa--Pour over chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup--Pour over chicken
1/2 c. sour cream (optional)

Cook chicken on low 6-8 hours. Remove from heat & stir in sour cream [we actually never do this--we just have a dollop of sour cream on the side]. You can eat the chicken in whole pieces, or shred it.


GREEN CHILI RICE

3 c. chicken broth
2 c. white rice
4 oz. can green chilis
1 small onion, diced small
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin

Combine all ingredients but rice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high, then add rice. Stir once, then cover and turn to low. Cook for 20 minutes. Optional: after the rice is on your plate, it's really yummy with some fresh cilantro and lime juice.


BLACK BEANS

2 cans black beans
1/2 medium onion, chopped (you can use dried onions for this, but it isn't nearly as good)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic (fresh or jarred is best)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1-2 tsp. chicken base
1/2 c. water

Simmer in saucepan on med-low for about 20 minutes. After about 10 or 15 minutes, mash about half the beans. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste when finished cooking. Also, for a bit more flavor, mix in about 1/4-1/2 c. salsa at the end.


PICO DE GALLO

4 ripe roma tomatoes, chopped (romas are less juicy, but you can use whatever tomatoes you have on hand)
1 small white onion, minced
1/2 c. cilantro leaf, chopped
2-3 jalepeno pepper pieces, chopped (we use jarred, but you can use fresh)
1-2 T. lime juice
Kosher salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together. Yum!

Health Tip --go Bunless!

Again, not a recipe, but something I've been trying lately in order to cut the carbs: Going bunless! I was so surprised at how much I liked it --I just had to share.

I really don't miss the bun at all, and it cuts about 26 carbs out and nearly 200 calories! If you can't handle going without both buns, then just try going topless at least. This works for most sandwiches as well, I've been having open faced turkey sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, and even grilled cheese sandwiches (which is still not healthy, but better than having two slices of bread with it right?). Substituting low-fat cottage cheese or avocado for the mayo is also a good idea, but I would be lying if I said I did that all the time. There are plenty of calorie-saving tricks out there, you just have to choose which ones you can live with.

I have to admit too that sometimes the only reason I cut carbs like this, is so I can have something else like THIS:

I'm not going to post the recipe for this one, because it's definitely not healthy.

...unless someone really wants it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pasta with Veggie Marinara and Breadsticks--Andrea

It's kind of funny that both Laura & I are posting a Marinara sauce recipe this week, but that's what I had planned so... Correct me if I'm wrong here, Laura, but yours sounds more like a dipping/pizza sauce. Mine is more of a meal/pasta topping with the vegetables. At any rate, you can't go wrong with a bunch of good sauce recipes! I think most of you have eaten this--Kevin and I made it for one of our reunion meals I think a few years ago?

PASTA WITH MARINARA SAUCE

2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 onion, minced
1 T. olive oil
Heat these in saucepan until onion starts to turn translucent & garlic is fragrant

2-3 large zucchini, chopped into 1/4 inch-size cubes (I've actually started grating one of these and chopping them quite small, since my boys don't love the chunks all that much)
Saute this until starting to be tender, then add to pan:
10-14 mushrooms, chopped (again, half of this ends up grated to cut down the chunkiness, and the grated vegetables help thicken the sauce)

When vegetables are crisp-tender, add:
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
2 large cans tomato sauce
1 small can diced tomatoes
(you can alter the amount and types of tomatoes according to your tastes)
2-3 T. dried parsley (or the equivalent amount fresh if you have it; I never do)
2-3 tsp. basil (same with fresh)
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
(I made this recipe up, so it's a little different every time. Just do what you think. It's very forgiving and almost impossible to mess up.)

Serve over pasta, preferrably in Dad's bowls, if you have them. It does taste better that way :0) This is a healthy recipe and would, of course, be more healthy over whole wheat pasta.


ONE-HOUR BREADSTICKS

I do have another breadstick recipe that I like a little better than these, but they also take about twice as long. This is my favorite for when I forget to start the others (more than half the time I make them :0). We got this from Kevin's sister Jolyn and it's a good one and super easy (especially with the time-saver tweaks I've figured out). This recipe makes about 30 5 inch breadsticks.

1 1/2 c. hot water
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 c. flour
1 T. yeast

1- Preheat oven to 350
2- Stick your water, sugar and salt in a mixer bowl.
3- Mix the yeast with 1 c. flour and slowly add it to the water, mixing on low, (I'm assuming here that you are using a good brand of yeast (Saf-instant) that doesn't have to be proofed. If it does, add the yeast but not the salt to luke-warm water in the second step, then the flour & salt in the third step. I always make these with at least 1/2 whole wheat flour, sometimes more--they are way healthier that way, if a little more dense)
4- Add enough flour so you have a dough that is still a tiny bit sticky
5- If using ww flour, mix in mixer for about 5 minutes.
6- Stick cookie sheet into oven to warm for a few minutes while the dough rests, about 5 minutes.
7- Pull cookie sheet out & spray with oil
8- Using fingers (but don't burn yourself) or a rolling pin, spread dough out as far as it will go toward edge of pan.
9- Use a pizza roller to cut through the middle horizontally, then every inch or inch & a half across to cut your breadsticks. (don't worry about getting all the way to the edge: they are easy to pull apart after they bake)
10- Bake 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Optional: for extra flavor, add 1 tsp. garlic powder & italian seasoning to dough. And/or: before or after baking, brush dough or breadsticks with butter or olive oil and sprinkle this awesome stuff on.

Good idea--not necessarily health food

This isn't a recipe, and it's not exactly healthy, but it's really yummy!

Chicken Pot-Pie in a bowl! I used the stoneware bowls we got from Grampa Sam to cook chicken pot-pies in, and they turned out so delicious! I know it's healthier to go without the double crusts, but I would rather just have this dish half as often because when you cook them in stoneware the crust is so crispy and delicious it's not worth having any other way! Just use whatever recipe you like for the filling, sealing the top and bottom crusts together well and putting holes in the top for the steam to vent out. Cook it at 425 for 35 minutes on the bottom rack and voila! They just pop right out and aren't they beautiful!

Just a note, my recipe for crust (3c flour, 1 c shortening, 1 tsp salt, water) makes about 2 pies top and bottom in the large bowls pictured (about 5"-6" dia.), and one bowl is plenty for two people.

Pizza Crust

This one was requested by Jill after having it with us this weekend. I usually make it with 1/2 wheat flour and enjoy the nutty flavor, but didn't have any good stuff this last time. For best results use with my marinara Also, we like to put spinach on our pizza. If you put a thin layer of fresh baby spinach on right after the sauce and cover it with cheese, no one can tell it's there but you still get the benefits! Roasted red peppers are also tasty. This crust is perfect for a nice thin crispy crust.

Pizza Crust

2 c warmish water

1 1/3 c flour

4 tsp sugar

4 tsp Yeast (I use saf-instant)

Mix together and let sit until yeast is bubbly

Sift together:

3 1/2 c flour

1 1/3 tsp salt

Mix with wet stuff until dough is soft and pliable, but not sticky.

Roll out thin. Makes 2 large thin crust pizzas.

Cook pizzas on lowest shelf in oven, at 400-425 until underside is golden and crispy.

I coat my pans with Pam, and then sprinkle them with a little cornmeal to add flavor and crunch.

Food glorious food! --Marinara

I'm excited about this recipe sharing thing. Let's see how well this works.

This is my favorite sauce for Pizza, but it's also great on pastas like Tortellini. I don't have a picture of the sauce itself, but I'll get one next time I make it.

Garlic Basil Marinara

4 cloves Garlic, chopped

saute in

2 T Olive Oil

add:

4 cans diced Tomatoes (I use petite diced).

Cook down for at least an hour, depending on how thick you want it.

Just before you take it off the heat add:

about 2 T Fresh Basil crushed and minced

Salt and Pepper and Oregano (fresh or dried) to taste.

Blend in blender until smooth.

Makes about 1 qt sauce. I freeze it in smaller quantities. and use it as needed.