Beans and Rice with Chicken and Salsa

When I saw this recipe on Our Best Bites, I immediately wanted to try it.  And since I had everything for it in the house (except the green pepper, which I swapped for red) I decided to make it last night.  Very easy and quite good. I think it will be one we eat at least monthly.

1 cup chopped peeled Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, divided
2 limes
1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoons coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 13.5 ounce can chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked brown or white rice
1 rotisserie chicken, or 4 grilled chicken breasts
4-6 lime wedges

Combine apple, cilantro, 2 tablespoons onion, and the juice from half a lime.  Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and black pepper.  Set aside.

Combine remaining onion, bell pepper, and oil in a large skillet.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until completely softened, 6-7 minutes.  Add garlic and next 3 ingredients; stir constantly for 2 minutes.  Stir in broth and beans; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium; simmer briskly, mashing some of hte beans with the back of a spoon and stirring often, until sauce is thickened, 8-10 minutes (or longer if needed).  Season with salt and pepper to taste and a big squeeze of lime juice.  Divide rice and beans among plates.  Top with some chicken and apple salsa.  Garnish with additional cilantro and lime wedges.  Serves 4-6.

Lettuce Wraps

I had an abundance of lettuce so I put lettuce wraps on the menu. I decided to try a new recipe (my other one was quite time intensive and I didn't want that for a Sunday). This is the one I tried. I made a lot of changes and they were quite yummy. I don't really love hamburger so I used sausage instead. I added about a cup of rice to stretch it. I also added peanuts. I did put the chili paste in (I think about a tsp). I didn't use the pickled ginger--I just used fresh--about 3 tsps. It was very yummy. So yummy we ran out. But that was okay because the boys could also fill up on rolls and these yummy nachos for dessert. I didn't even have cool whip and everyone yummed it up. Happy kids left the dinner table today! Makes me smile.

Hawaiian Haystacks

I'm not a real fan of Hawaiian Haystacks, but a few months ago I decided I would try to make them so I would like them (as well as a few of my kids). I did pretty good. However, my additions make them labor intensive so they aren't a good fall-back dish liked I'd hoped. Oh well. Here is what I did:

I used the rub on this post for the chicken. Then I broiled it and cut it up. I just used a chicken gravy packet for the gravy, but I added some of the drippings. That made a yummy difference.

I also fried up some won tons. I made them once without these and I was not nearly as popular as when I made them. (Am I shallow to want to try be a popular mom at meal times? I guess I should say that I'm just trying to please my eaters. . . ) Anyway, yummy Hawaiian Haystacks have fried won tons on them!

Then I finely chopped up celery, green onions and red peppers (a must!). Those who like pineapple, coconut and cheese had that available.

Beef Benihana

Tonight: A family favorite--Beef Benihana. Yummy!

Stuffed Peppers

Monday night was a big meal because we were anticipating company (however they didn't end up coming :(. . . they missed a great meal!) Here is what we had:

Stuffed Pepper Mmmmm. . . we love this recipe! I've never used the Hungarian peppers--I've always used Anaheim with great success. I follow the recipe quite closely. Although I was out of Basil so that was omitted this time with just as great results. (Just for my records: Greta was quite sick and needy this day but I needed to get the peppers done because Jerry and Carolyn were coming to dinner so I employed Chandler to put her in the stroller and walk around the block. That wasn't a lot of time and so unwittingly I used my index finger to pop out all if the seeds and membranes instead of using a knife like I normally do. . . .BAD idea. My finger was burning for close to 24 hours!)

I also made this Swiss Chard. It was quite good. Swiss chard is not my favorite vegetable but I (and a few others) had 2nds of this. I'll make this recipe again if I have more Swiss Chard.

Rice Pilaf--I just threw this together. I didn't think it was stellar, but Chandler loved it and requested this whole meal for his birthday. Here are the basics of what I did:

1/2 cup wild rice cooked for about 20 minutes in the microwave (it takes longer than regular rice to cook in my rice cooker so I have to give it a head start)

Add that to 1 1/2 cup uncooked rice and 2 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup of water. Also add to rice cooker, 1/2 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp butter and some parsley flakes.

While cooking toast some almonds (I did about 1/3 cup but wished I had done quite a few more) in frying pan in a little butter. Remove. Saute 1 finely chopped carrot and 1/2 red onion (or more) and 1/2 tsp garlic. When rice is finished, add vegetables and almonds to rice. At this point it didn't taste quite right. I ended up adding about 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp. sugar. That seemed to do the trick, but it could definitely could use something else. I'll have to work on that next time.

Cut up cantaloupe.

For FHE treats we had Blackberry cobbler. We liked this.

Stuffed Tomatoes--Sunday

I had 8 tomatoes*(see note below) that I needed to do something with. Fresh salsa is about the only way my family will eat fresh tomatoes (except for a few of us) and since we've had fresh salsa so much in the last few weeks I really wanted to do something else with all of those tomatoes. They were quite ripe and needed to be used quickly. So I found this Stuffed Tomatoes recipe. I was really doubtful that most of my kids would eat it, but I shouldn't have been worried. It was quite well received. While it didn't instantly become a new favorite, everyone ate it quite well. I'll definitely make it again when I've got more tomatoes than I know what to do with. I followed the recipe fairly closely, however having the cheese throughout the stuffing would have been good. I'll mix a little in the stuffing next time as well as on top. I also added more bacon than called for because of my nervousness. Of course that made it better, but I think I could get away with less. The final thing I would change is to spray Pam on the bottom of the baking pan instead of covering with water. Stuffing and cheese fell out that would have been eaten had it not been sitting in a pool of water. We had rolls and corn on the cob with this.

For Sunday treats I made this Corn Chip Surprise. Mixed reviews. If you believe, as Tom does, that corn chips should be their own food group then this treat is for you. If you are like me and can completely live without corn chips, don't waste your time, money or calories!

*It probably seems weird that I would 'just have' certain fruits and vegetables on hand, but I order a Bountiful Basket every week and so my meals are planned around the fruits and vegetables that come in the basket.

Chicken and Rice--Wednesday

I didn't mean to make a chicken meal again last night, but the recipe I had planned needed a 4 cheese blend that I forgot to buy so I had to find something else to do with my peppers and mushrooms. So you get a chicken and rice recipe instead of a Roasted Vegetables with Pasta recipe. I'm still sad. I was really looking forward to that!

This recipe came from the Century of Foods cookbook (RS cookbook from Southeast Idaho). I've made it many times and tweaked it so much it doesn't resemble much the "Chicken Kabobs" recipe it started as. It used to be one of my favorites, but I don't make it that much any more, probably because I have so many other recipes and am always looking for new things. But we still like it.

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 tsp garlic

3 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 TBSP pineapple juice

1/8 tsp pepper

few shakes cayenne pepper

2 boxes of mushrooms, quartered

1 can pineapple tidbits, drained

1 red pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

1 onion slivered

4-5 pieces of chicken (or as many as you would like). I like thighs in this recipe. You can leave whole or cut into pieces.

Mix sauce. You can double the sauce if needed. Place all ingredients in a baking pan. Let marinate for about an hour. Bake at 350 for 45 mins-1 hour. Serve over rice.

Chicken Quesadillas-Fresh Salsa Tuesday

Years ago when I was on the Preston School District Technology team, we would go to lunch at Main Street Grill. I always ordered the Chicken Quesadillas. Loved them! Years later I tried making them. . .this is where I arrived:

Chicken Quesadillas

Use the following in amounts to your liking:

1-2 cups Chicken (of course grilled or broiled is yummy, but I'm lazy and just use a can)

1 1/2 cups Mushroom

1/2 cup Green onion

Fajita seasoning to your liking. I've always used a packet, but didn't have any yesterday so I used this recipe. Very good. I only used about half of the recipe (same is true with the packet). I don't believe I will be buying the packet again.

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon crushed chicken bouillon cube

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Saute mushrooms in about 1 TBSP butter until they cook down. Add chicken, seasoning and green onions. Mix well.

Layer tortilla, grated cheese, thin layer of chicken mixture, another layer of cheese and a tortilla. I do them with a folded tortilla so they are easier to turn. Cook until cheese melts.

Fresh Salsa 2

I like all salsas cut in small pieces, but the spicier it is, the smaller I like the pieces. This one I like chopped with a food processor. . . which makes this one quite quick!

3 tomatoes

1 red pepper

1/4 bunch cilantro

1 tsp garlic

2 jalapeños, one with seeds and membranes, one seeded

1/2 white onion

Salt to taste right before serving

lime juice to taste (maybe a TBSP)

Last night I only had one red pepper and I was saving it for another meal so I used a green one. My jalapeños must have been very spicy and so this was too kicky for my taste so I added about 1 TBSP vinegar to take the bite off the spice while it refrigerated. It also wasn't as sweet since I substituted out the red pepper so I added 1 tsp of sugar. Very yummy!

This meal would also have been way yummy with this rice, but I didn't think of that until just now. I'll try that next time I make these.

Cilantro-Lime Rice w/ Black Beans
2 cups uncooked rice
1 tsp butter
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp lime zest
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
Cook in rice cooker, in microwave or on the stove.
When cooked, mix together and add:
4 TBSP lime juice
4 tsp sugar

Stir in:
3 TBSP fresh chopped cilantro
2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

Thursday Night--Teriyaki Chicken

This is a family favorite. Here's the recipe:

Teriyaki Chicken
3 lbs. Chicken (whole, breasts or thighs)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp dry ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
3-4 shakes cayenne pepper

Stir all ingredients together except chicken. Mix well. Pour over chicken in baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Turn chicken about every hour or as needed to marinate all sides and pieces.

Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour at 350 or until 165 degrees. Serve over rice with a frozen veggie mix.

Thursday night notes: We had family pictures and I didn't have a lot of time to put something in the crock pot nor would anyone be home to put this in the oven. So I used the crock pot. The chicken was more flavorful, but the sauce was lacking. But perhaps if my chicken had been thawed before I started, that would have made a difference with the sauce. I like the oven baked a little better, but I'll definitely use the crock pot again if I'm in a pinch.