Sunday, July 18, 2010

Amazing Jicama-Salsa

This is a delicious and novel take on salsa. I love it. I strongly recommend doubling the recipie. I have eaten an entire batch on my own.

1/2 cup shredded jicama
1/2 cup chopped mango
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix ingredients in glass bowl with wooden spoon, adding oil last. Make sure oil coats everything. Let stand 2 hours in refrigerator before serving.

TVP Slow Cooker Chili

Easier Slow Cooker chili that is a great way to use TVP crumbles. Nope, it won't be like real ground beef. But, it is still tasty.


•4 cups veggie broth or filtered water
•1 1/2 cups dried TVP
•1 cup corn
•1 1/2 cups cooked beans (I used black beans, but pintos, kidney)
•2 cups diced heirloom tomatoes, diced (or 2 – 14 oz can diced tomatoes)
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•1/2 onion, minced
•2 Tb. tomato paste
•1 Tb good chili powder
•1 tsp. chipotle powder
•1 tsp. oregano
•1 Tb liquid smoke (I didn't use this one)
•1 tsp garlic Tabasco (I used normal Tabasco)
•chopped cilantro for garnish

Mix all the ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low 6 – 9 hours. Serve topped with chopped cilantro.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Veggie Lasagna

Delicious, light flavor that highlights the taste of the vegetables. It is also light on the onion flavor. Your favorite vegetables can be added or substituted. Enjoy!


Ingredients

20 lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups fresh spinach
3 cups ricotta cheese
2/3 cup grated Romano cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups tomato pasta sauce
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender. I prefer to use one or two red peppers instead of mushrooms. Drain excess liquid and cool.

Boil spinach for 5 minutes. I like to add a few grated carrots as well. Drain, then squeeze out excess liquid. Chop spinach.

Combine ricotta cheese, Romano cheese, spinach, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, and egg in a bowl. Add cooled mushroom mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Lay 5 lasagna noodles in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread one third of the cheese/spinach mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese on top. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce over cheese. Repeat layering 2 times.
Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Family reunion Campfire Eclairs

The wind was blowing to hard to have an open fire, so we made Adam's Campfire Eclairs on the back porch of the house over the grill. It was a lot of fun and worked great.











This was a new part of the process. We put Vanilla Pudding in a zip lock
bag and squirted it into the Eclair shells. It worked out very well.







Fun for all, and very good eating.