Quinoa, Black Bean, and Corn Salad

This is so yummy and fresh tasting. I love it! Perfect for the summertime. I have made it as a side or as the main course.

This recipe doesn't have peppers, but this was the best picture I could find.

Ingredients:
1 cup red quinoa, cooked with broth
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen roasted corn kernels (or plain corn)
1 avocado, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (or other small tomatoes)
½ red onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
¼ cup lime or lemon juice
Zest of 1 lime
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions
Cook quinoa with broth according to instructions on package. Cool quinoa. Combine quinoa, beans, corn, tomatoes, onion and cilantro. Make a dressing with the oil, lime or lemon juice, lime zest, salt and pepper to taste. Toss together. Garnish with the avocado and additional cilantro.

Lemonade





This is seriously really good lemonade.  We mixed it with about 1 tablespoon strawberry sauce and made strawberry lemonade.  Yum!!!

Recipe by Our Best Bites

2 c. sugar

1 c. fresh lemon juice (about 5-6 large lemons)

1/4 c. fresh lime juice

1/2 c. loosely packed fresh mint leaves (optional)

8 1/2-10 1/2 c. water, divided

Ice cubes

Combine 2 1/2 c. water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved and then simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool about 20 minutes. Add lemon and lime juices to the sugar syrup. If desired, place mint leaves in a lidded pitcher or large, lidded storage bowl. Pour lemon-lime mixture into container. If not using mint, refrigerate. If using mint, allow to stand 1 hour and then strain mixture and store until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, mix lemonade base with 6-8 c. cold water. Start with 6 c. and then adjust according to your taste. 6 c. will be very sweet, 8 c. will border on watery.

Strawberry Sauce

(from ourbestbites.com)

1 pint strawberries

1/3 c. white sugar

1 tsp. almond extract (my favorite) or vanilla extract

Wash strawberries, remove stems and roughly chop the berries. 

Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly.

After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached.

Uses:

add a tablespoon or two to a glass of lemonade, sauce on fruit pizza, over icecream, waffles, etc.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

8 c. water
1 4.3 oz pkg wild rice
1 pkg Liptons noodle soup
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 or 2 med carrots, chopped
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 lb cooked chicken, chopped

Saute vegetables. Add water, cream of chicken soup, noddle soup, rice and chicken. Simmer 20 min.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Okay, so about a month ago I was totally craving those biscuits you can get at the seafood restaurants so I searched around online and found a recipe that is great!  It is super easy, quick.

Ingredients:

4 cups baking mix (i.e. Bisquick)

3 ounces cheddar cheese (...whatever 3 oz is I just put in a handful)

1 1/3 cups water

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon dried parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, combine the baking mix, cheese, and water.  Mix until dough is firm.  Using a small scoop, place dough on prepared pan.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Combine the melted butter, garlic powder, salt, Old Bay seasoning, onion powder, and parsley.  Brush over baked biscuits immediately upon removing from the oven.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

I will start by saying this soup tastes completely amazing and so quick and easy!!!!

(...I keep cooked shredded chicken and turkey in the freezer as well as chopped onions)

So here goes:

Ingredients:
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4ounce) can chopped green chili peppers
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 ounce can chicken broth)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf

1 can of black beans, rinsed

1 (10oz package of frozen corn)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro 


Toppings:
Corn tortillas cut in strips (brush both sides with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees until crisp about 10 to 15 minutes)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Guacamole (avocado, lemon juice, salt, onion powder - mix in whatever tastes right) 

Directions:
Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies, and garlic into a slow cooker.  Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.  Stir in beans, corn and cilantro.  Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Serve with tortilla strips, guacamole, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese on top.

...We were scared to put the guacamole in the soup at first but it tasted so good and really made the soup!!!

Mom's Best Breakfast

In a medium saucepan combine 4 cups of water with a pinch of salt. Place pan on stove burner and turn to the hi setting. Bring mixture to a boil. Turn off burner and immediately stir in 2 cups of uncooked oatmeal. Let stand for five minutes. Dish into individual bowls and serve with raw goat's milk and honey. (-:

Chicken Marbella

This is a recipe that my boss used at a party a few months ago.

I LOVED it!

So I asked her for the recipe.
Sorry, I didn't take pictures... but I stole one off line! ;o)

Apparently she found it on epicurious... here
I plan on exploring this site more at a later date

The recipe is HUGE!!!!!!!
So I am going to reduce it on here for you!
I halved the recipe ... it was still too much... luckily we had friends who were willing to help us eat it ;o)

Okay, just a note... I change recipes around all the time.  In this case I used thighs instead of whole chicken, but the original recipe is above so if you want to do it the standard way, you can.


Recipe:
~2.5lb chicken thighs
1/4 head of Garlic 
(I would estimate around 3 cloves for this, but go ahead and check)
1 TBS dried Oregano
Coarse Salt and Pepper to taste 
(I just used regular and it worked fine)
2 TBS Red wine vinegar
2 TBS Olive Oil
1/4 cup pitted prunes
Trust me on this... they are good
1/8 (or 2 TBS) cup pitted green olives
2 TBS Capers
2 Bay leaves
I love Bay leaves... so I added more than the recipe called for.
1/4 cup brown sugar (or 1TBS Honey and 1TBS Molasses if you don't like the refined sugars)
1/4 cup White Wine
1TBS Fresh Parsley
you sprinkle this on top... so once again this is a relative number.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

I just mixed everything including sugars and wine 

then dipped the chicken and got it covered in the sauce

then laid it out in the casserole dish poured the rest of the sauce over it

and stuck it in the fridge over night, next day I just pulled it out,

turned it over to re soak the chicken, and tossed it in the oven.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice.

With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. If desired, salt chicken to taste. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in cooking juices before transferring to a serving platter. If chicken has been covered and refrigerated, allow it to return to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juices over chicken.

Even though I quartered this recipe it still fed 8 adults... so be prepared for leftovers or personal adaptation