Beans & Chicken Bake

I got this recipe from Carla Davidson years ago and it was one of Taryn's favorites.

1 TBSP Olive Oil

1/2 - 1 Cup Chopped Onion*  

1/2 - 1 Cup Sweet Pepper (any color)* 

1 TBSP Minced Garlic (3 small cloves)

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 Can Black Beans, rinsed & drained

1 Can Red Beans or Kidney Beans, rinsed & drained

1 can crushed tomatoes  

½ tsp. black pepper

Shredded Cheese to cover top

Flour Tortilla (uncooked variety is best)

Guacamole

Sour Cream

Cook onion, sweet pepper & garlic in ½ oil.  Put in 13 x 9 pan, coated with cooking spray.  Cook diced chicken in same pan w/remaining oil until no longer pink.  Combine beans, tomatoes, black pepper & chicken in 9 x 13 and mix well with onion mixture.  Cover w/cheese & cook for about 30 minutes or until hot.  Serve with tortillas, sour cream, & Guacamole and more shredded cheese.

*I slice the peppers lengthwise into strips so that those who don't care for peppers can easily avoid them.

*I usually chop my onion really fine or I slice it into rings for the same reason as the peppers:)  

Sweet Pork

I have tried a lot of recipes for Sweet Pork (most with a bottle of Dr. Pepper which I never have on hand), but I like this one the best.

 Rub:

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 tsp. rubbed sage

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Rub on pork roast and cook until tender.  Add some water so it doesn’t dry out

Glaze:  ½ cup white sugar

1 TBSP corn starch

¼ cup vinegar

¼ cup water

2 TBSP Soy Sauce

 Heat on stove top until thickened.  Add to shredded pork and simmer in crock pot until ready to use.  

I serve this with rice, black beans, tortillas and lettuce for Sweet Pork Burritos or Salad.  Add a little Creamy Cilantro Dressing and it's just like Cafe Rio!

Posole

I am not sure where the original recipe comes from.  I believe it comes from Cooking Light.  I have also used leftover cooked chicken in place of the pork and my homemade marinara sauce in place of the stewed tomatoes.  I substituted creole seasoning for the chipotle seasoning.  It does give it quite a kick.  You could use a little less than 2 teaspoons.

Cooking spray
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into bit-sized pieces (or chicken)
2 tsp salt-free Southwest chipotle seasoning blend (such as Mrs. Dash) (or creole seasoning)
1 (15.5 ounce) can white hominy, undrained
1 (14.5 ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeno peppers and spices (such as Del Monte), undrained
1 cup water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Sprinkle pork evenly with chipotle seasoning blend; coast evenly with cooking spray.  Add pork to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned.  Stir in hominy, tomatoes, and 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until pork is tender.  Stir in cilantro.  Yield: 4 seasonings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups).

Southwestern Chicken and White Bean Soup

I am not sure where this recipe comes from.  I was given it by a nutritionist.  It is delicious!

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 Tbls taco seasoning
Cooking spray
2 (14 oz) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (16 oz) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup green salsa
Light sour cream
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. Combine chicken and taco seasoning; toss well to coat.  Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken; saute 2 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned.  Add broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
2. Place beans in a small bowl; mash until only a few whole beans remain.  Add beans and salsa to pan, stirring well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thick.  Serve with sour cream and cilantro, if desired.  Yield: 6 servings (Serving size: 1 cup)

Vegetable Soup

I found this original recipe online but without any meat.  It was posted as a “Magic Weight Loss Soup”. . .   Which makes sense because it consists of nothing but vegetables.  The bonus is that it is really, really good in spite of being very healthy.   

Beef*

2 cans chicken broth

3 cups V-8 Juice

2 cans Italian diced tomatoes

1 small onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 package sliced mushrooms

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 zucchini, diced

1 yellow squash, diced

2 cups fresh or frozen green beans

2 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3-4 cups shredded cabbage

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1 tsp. thyme

Salt and Pepper

*I use whatever I have on hand. . .  Sometimes a small roast or a steak, cut up; not a lot, just enough to enhance the flavor.   The original recipe didn't call for any meat at all, but if I have it, I add it because it adds a nice flavor. 

Instructions:

1.       In a large frying pan, brown meat

2.      Add onions, carrots and mushrooms for about 5 minutes.

3.      In a large crock pot, combine sautéed garlic and vegetables with the remaining ingredients.  Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until vegetables are cooked.

Blackened Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Blackened Chicken with Avocado Salsa

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 tsp. blackening seasoning mix*

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

2 tbsp. olive oil

¾ tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. salt

Dash ground black pepper

1 avocado, chopped fine

2/3 cup  mango chopped fine

1 sweet pepper, chopped fine (optional)

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

* I use Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

Preheat oven to 375*.  Lightly sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with blackening seasoning.  In large oven-proof skillet, brown chicken well in the 1 tbsp. olive oil, turning once.  Bake in pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Meanwhile, for salsa, whisk rice vinegar, 2 tbsp. olive oil, cumin, salt, and black pepper.  Stir in avocado, papaya or mango, sweet pepper and cilantro.  Serve with chicken.  If desired, garnish with cilantro leaves.  Makes 4 servings. 

Serve with black beans and sour cream, if desired.

Nut Crusted Chicken Cutlets

4 (6-8 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed

Kosher Salt

1 cup roughly chopped almonds (or any nuts)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 shallot, minced

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tsp. grated lemon zest, zested lemon cut into 4 wedges

1 tsp. minced fresh thyme

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 large eggs

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. pepper

1 cup flour

1.      Adjust oven rack to lower-middle and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Using fork, poke thicker half of each breast 5-6 times.  Place wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet.  Season each breast with ½ tsp. salt. 

2.     Pulse nuts in food processor to coarse consistency.  Melt butter in skillet set over medium heat and cook, swirling constantly, until butter turns golden brown and has nutty aroma, 4-5 minutes.  Add shallots and ½ tsp. salt; cook, stirring constantly until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium-low, add panko and ground nuts, and cook, stirring frequently until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.  Transfer mixture to shallow dish or pie plant and add lemon zest, thyme, and cayenne.

3.     Lightly beat eggs, mustard, and pepper together in second shallow dish or pie plate and flour in third shallow dish or pie plate.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels.  Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge chicken breasts in flour, shake off excess, then coat with egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off.  Dredge chicken in panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere.  Transfer breaded chicken to clean wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken

4.     Bake until chicken registers 160 degrees; 20-25 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

Korean Barbecue Sauce

(8 servings)

 I use this sauce for Mongolian Barbecue.  This is a good size batch.  I found that even though I don't usually use it all, it's just as easy to make a big batch and save the left over sauce in a pint jar in the refrigerator for next time.  

2 cups Soy Sauce

1 ½ cups  brown sugar

¼ cup minced garlic

2 TBSP rice wine vinegar

2 TBSP  Sriracha*

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger**

2 tsp Sesame Oil

1 TBSP ground black pepper

2 TBSP cornstarch

2 TBSP Water

*found in the grocery store Asian section.  2 TBSP is fairly spicy - so, if you don't love spicy, you might want to start out with a little less Sriracha.  

**scrape skin from ginger root with a fine paring knife and grate finely.  I freeze left over ginger (peeled but ungrated) to use later.  

To saucepan, add all ingredients except for the cornstarch and water.  Bring to a simmer.  In small bowl, whisk together, cornstarch and water.  Add to barbecue sauce and boil for a couple of minutes while stirring.  Mixture will thicken.  

For Mongolian Barbecue, cut up chicken or beef into thin slices.  If you cut the meat while partially frozen, it is easier to get thin slices.  Or, ask your butcher to slice the meat for you.  Prepare bowls of vegetables of your choice (shredded carrots, sliced zucchini, mushrooms, sprouts, green onions, broccoli, par boiled fresh green beans, etc.).  Cook Udon Noodles (can be purchased  at Korean store) or linguine noodles.  Allow each person to make a bowl of meat, veggies and noodles.  In a hot teflon pan, (very important that it be non-stick), add olive oil.  Cook each bowl individually with about 1/4 cup of sauce until meat is done and vegetables tender.