This is a great recipe if you need to feed a crowd – it can grow as large as you need it to (the kids even like it!)  It is also a way to use up some extra pantry staples…

Ingredients:

• pinto beans – start with 4 cans/6 cups
• 1 large sweet onion
• 6 cloves garlic (or more, depending on your taste)
• olive oil
• chicken or turkey – at least 4 breasts or thighs
• crushed tomatoes – 1 large can
• 2 cans diced tomatoes – fire roasted are tasty!
• 1 can green chilis (or more, if you like it spicy!)
• 1 box chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• cumin
• jalapenos to taste
• 6-8 leaves espazote – minced

In a large skillet, drizzle olive oil and warm it up.  Dice the onion and cook until translucent.  Mince the garlic and add it to the onions.  If you are using jalapenos, shop them up and add them now.  When they begin to brown, add the chicken breasts and cook through.  Shred it and make sure it is all browned a little bit.

In a large crock pot, add the beans, broth, espazote, chilis and cumin.  Add the chicken and onions and cook for about an hour.  If you are using dried beans, make sure they are cooked through before adding any tomatoes, as the acidity will make the undercooked beans tough

Let it cook for 4+ hours, or until you are ready to serve it.  The longer it sits, the better the flavors meld.

To serve, gently crush some tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, ladle in the soup and top with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

For the big party last weekend I made the meat sauce… but I also made a vegetarian sauce for those that don’t eat so much meat. As today is Tami’s birthday, and she requested the recipe, here it is!

• olive oil
• 1 med. sweet onion
• 5 cloves garlic – minced
• 6 roma tomatoes
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with basil OR garlic and onion
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 large-ish zucchini
• 4 mushrooms
• 8 carrots
• fresh basil & oregano – to taste

Put some water on to boil in a small saucepan. Set up a small bowl to one side of it with ice water in it.

Drizzle olive oil in a large saucepan. Finely dice the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until the onions begin to caramelize.

When the water begins to boil, add the tomatoes, one at a time. Blanche them until the skin begins to crack. Move them from the boiling water to the ice water, and transfer them into another bowl or your cutting board. The skins should peel right off.

Dice the tomatoes and add them to the onions and garlic. Let them cook down for about 3 minutes and then add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes and the crushed tomatoes.

Peel and chop the carrots and add them to the pot. Quarter the zucchini and add it to the sauce as well. Chop the mushrooms and add them in.

Roll the oregano and basil up like a cigar and slice the roll thinly. Add these to the pot.

I usually crash some black pepper in as well, and a pinch of salt.

Serve over pasta al dente!

**if you leave out the crushed tomatoes, this will almost work as a ratatouille dish, or serve it on top of sliced baguettes for a new spin on bruschetta!

I came across a dilemma today. I picked up a large green tomato at the CSA farm today, and I had no idea what to do with it. Yes, there are the traditional fried green tomatoes, but after the breakfast we had today, that just didn’t seem like the best idea. So, to google I went!

And what I found was amazing…

Over at Seeds Of Knowledge there was a post on green tomatoes, and they had the following recipe – and no, my picture doesn’t do it justice!

Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese

Here’s an elegant side dish that puts all those extra green tomatoes you have to use. Greek style feta or French style chevres (both goat cheeses) work equally well here.
4 medium green tomatoes
a tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
1 cup crumbled goat cheese (feta or chevre)
4 teaspoons olive oil
salt and coarsely ground fresh ground black pepper

Serves 4

Cut tomatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat a shallow baking dish with oil. Place tomato slices, in a single, overlapping layer, in the bottom of the baking dish.

Sprinkle tomatoes with vinegar and scatter minced oregano over tomatoes. Top with crumbled goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

Broil 5-8 inches below a preheated broiler and broil until tomatoes are hot and cheese is just starting to brown, about 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

My Tweaks:
we served them up with some Turkish olive paste, and added some fresh basil in with the oregano (my oregano is spicy too… not greek!)

And as someone who doesn’t like tomatoes much, I have to admit that I ate almost HALF OF THE PAN!!!

And since we were having a Mediterranean appetizer/side dish, I needed to have something else to go with it. And I had lots of kale laying around. Lots. So, I made zuppa toscano. Oh yeah. Sausage, potatoes & leafy greens… yum!

Here is the recipe I found over at allrecipes.com and it is a good one!

INGREDIENTS
12 links spicy pork sausage, sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup diced onion
1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons chicken broth
4 cups water
2 potatoes, halved and sliced
2 cups sliced kale
1/3 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Place sausage links on a baking sheet and bake 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Slice into 1/2 inch slices.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent; add garlic and cook 1 minute.
Stir in broth, water and potatoes; simmer 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add sausage, kale and cream; simmer until heated through and serve.

My Tweaks
I added another cup of water, another potato, a bit more cream, 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes, and I used 1 small red onion & 1 small onion. And I used ground sausage instead of links… we just fried it in the pan. Yum!

We had a salad on the side, but I’m the only one who ate any… everyone else had lots of tomatoes & 2nds (or 4ths) on the soup.

Thank you google… you have saved another dinner!

Ingredients:

3 corn cobs
1 can black beans
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 cup cubed mango
1/2 cup zucchini wedges

3 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
dash garlic powder
dash salt
dash pepper

Combine veggies in a bowl. I cut the zucchini in quarters lengthwise and then sliced it to make wedges.

In a measuring cup, combine juice, vinegar, oil and spices. Whisk together and pour over the veggies. Toss lightly and serve!

This is an easy kid friendly recipe that the whole family can help with!

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. shortening
1/3 cup warm milk

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and shortening.  Slowly add in the warm milk and mix.

Knead the dough until slightly tacky (like bread dough).  Form into 1.5 inch balls and roll out as flat as possible.

Cook in an ungreased skillet or griddle.

Butter, fold and eat!

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We made the double batch pictured above using whole wheat flour.  If you choose whole wheat, add just a touch more milk.

These are great to let the kids help with!  They enjoy getting to knead the dough and roll out the tortillas.  Getting them round is always a challenge!

1.5 cups rice
2 cups water
3 cardamom pods
1 whole clove
1 star anise pod
1/2 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup black currants
1/4 cup slivered almonds

olive oil
3 potatoes
3 carrots
1 radish
2 cloves garlic – crushed
1 small zucchini
1/4 cup peas

1 medium onion
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1 clove
1 small bay leaf
fresh ground pepper
1/8 tsp ground coriander seed
dash ground mustard powder

dash red chili powder
1/8 tsp salt

In a rice cooker or pot, put the rice, water, dried fruit, nuts, cardamom, anise, clove and cinnamon.  Allow to soak for 20 minutes before cooking.  Cook until water is evaporated, around 20 minutes.

Heat some oil in a skillet. Peel and dice all vegetables, and individually fry in the oil.  When they begin to caramelize, remove them from heat and set aside in a bowl.

Adding more oil if necessary, toast the spices for 1 minute.  Add the onion, and cook until the onion turns translucent.  Add the chili powder and salt to taste.  If desired, remove the clove and bay leaf at this time.

Add the vegetables back into the pan.  When the rice is finished cooking, gently add it to the pan and stir to mix – it may not take all of the rice.

Serve immediately!  This makes a great side dish, or add in some cooked chicken, pork or shrimp for a filling main dish.

I set out to make a pot of potato soup the other night… and it turned into something entirely different, but very tasty!

We had some leftover salmon from the night before, so I added that in with the garlic and leeks. Then I used a buttery sweet corn soup (from Pacific) that I had in the pantry instead of the milk. That made for a very tasty chowder in and of itself… but then I kicked it up another notch! We also had some spicy sour cream leftover from the night before – basically sour cream mixed with cholula pepper sauce & dry cholula seasoning – and a can of fire roasted green chilis. The result was nearly sublime!

I’m calling it Western Seafood Chowder, as it is a melding of Southwestern and Northwestern cooking. It is a great meal starter, or make it the meal!

5 red potatoes – peeled & chopped
5 carrots – peeled and chopped
1/2 cup corn nibblets

seafood options
pre-cooked fish (leftovers are great!)
scallops
clams
fish (salmon, halibut, cod, tilapia, etc)

2 Tbsp. minced leek
1-2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 small can ortega green chilis or jalapenos (depending on the heat you want) or 1 fresh jalapeno, diced and seeded
2 slices peppered bacon – cut into 1/2-inch pieces before frying
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp. black pepper OR Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/4 tsp. white pepper
seafood seasoning of your choice

1/2 carton Pacific Buttery Sweet Corn soup
1/2 carton chicken broth
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Cheddar cheese – shredded
sour cream*

Boil the potatoes and carrots until soft. About 5 minutes before they are done, add the corn (frozen works well).

In a large saucepan melt 2 Tbsp. of butter, add the uncooked bacon pieces and saute the pepper, leeks and garlic until translucent. If you are using uncooked fish, scallops or clams, add them at this time. Add a touch of olive oil if the butter starts to cook off too soon. Add the black and white pepper and the seafood seasoning. If you are using pre-cooked seafood, add it now.

Sprinkle the flour over the garlic mixture and stir quickly to create a roux. Add the rest of the butter, and allow it to brown. If it is too thick, add the heavy cream.

Add some of the corn soup and stir to mix in the roux with no lumps.

Drain the potatoes and add them to the soup base. Add the rest of the corn soup and chicken broth – enough to make the soup slightly thinner that you want it to end up. If you haven’t added the cream yet, add it now.

Let it simmer for 10 minutes or so and taste it to see if it needs any more seasonings.

Sprinkle shredded cheese in the bottom of each bowl – enough to make a small mound. Ladle the chowder into the bowls and add a dollop of sour cream* to the top. Sprinkle with cheese and chives or dill to garnish.

Serve with warm tortillas or crusty sourdough bread.

*for a tasty upgrade to your sour cream, take 1/2 cup sour cream and mix in 1/2 to 1 tsp. hot chili sauce like cholula or tobasco. You can make it as hot as you want it by adding more or less sauce!

This was one of the dishes I made to during me vegeterian challenge week – I just didn’t have a chance to add it!

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion (I prefer sweets)
1 tsp. minced garlic, or more to taste
1 zucchini – peeled & sliced
2 carrots – peeled & sliced
1-3 cups cooked rice (leftovers work great!)
4 pieces fried tofu, cut in bite-size chunks (I buy these at the Asian Market)
black pepper – to taste
pinch of salt
spicy oregano (mexican oregano works well) to taste
3 eggs

Heat olive oil in a large skillet, and cook the onion & garlic until translucent – about 3-5 minutes.  Add the carrots and zucchini and cook for another 3 minutes.

Add the tofu, rice and spices and cook until warm – about 3 minutes.

Crack the 3 eggs into the pan and stir to coat everything.  Allow the egg to cook, stirring occasionally – around 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Adding more rice will make it go further, less rice will get you more veggies & tofu in each bowl.  I usually just use whatever leftover rice I have on hand.

BTW, my 6 & 7 year old kids LOVE this!

This is a version of Greek Spanikopita that our family loves.

phyllo/filo pastry
1 package frozen spinach – thawed & drained
1 package crumbled feta cheese (plain or seasoned)
1/4 medium sweet onion
3 slices leek -minced
2 tsp. minced garlic
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. crushed oregano
1/2 Tbsp crushed basil
1/8 tsp crushed tarragon
butter
olive oil

In a frying pan, heat up 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Chop the onion, leek and garlic and saute until translucent. Add the spinach and feta cheese and cook for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and stir to mix them into the spinach mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes longer.

In a 10-inch round baking pan (I use stoneware), spread butter to grease the bottom and sides of the pan. Lay the phyllo pastry in layers (around 5 layers is good).

Pour the spinach mixture into the pan, and spread around to fill the pastry. Lay 3 layers of phyllo pastry, drizzling with oilve oil between layers. Fold the corners towards the center of the pan.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until browned.

Slice like a pie, and serve with tzaziki sauce or sour cream.

These are a make-at-home version of falafel gyros.

pita bread – 1 for every person
garden burgers – 1/2 for each person
tzaziki sauce
shredded lettuce or spinach
sliced onion
tomato wedges
crumbled feta cheese

Pan fry the garden burgers in a dry skillet until warm and starting to brown. Cut them into chunks.

Warm the pita bread slightly, and spread tzaziki sauce down the center. Lay a few chunks of the garden burger down the center, and top with lettuce, spinach, onion, tomato and feta cheese.

Roll up and serve!