Black Bean Chicken Nachos

(Good news is we have BOTH a camera AND a chord now... i'll update the posts with pictures as we make the meals again, bad news... i haven't taken any pictures lately) 

• 1 bag of tortilla chips
• 2-3 chicken breasts frozen or thawed sliced/cut into bite size pieces
• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil... or whatever you like to add to your pan to cook up your chicken)
• 1 can of black beans
• taco seasoning
• shredded Monterey jack cheddar cheese
• taco/nacho toppings that your family enjoys

1. pre-heat oven to 375
2. in a frying pan, add oil and warm for a few minutes.
3. add chicken to pan and sprinkle with some taco seasoning and cook till done
4. while chicken is cooking, line a big cookie sheet with foil and place a good layer of taco chips
5. in a bowl, mix cheese with more taco seasoning and sprinkle on top of chips... good and thick!
6. drain and rinse beans really well (once there are no bubbles when rinsed with water, all those fun gas bubbles will be no problem:)
7. sprinkle beans over cheese
8. once chicken is done, layer over the beans and add a little more cheese
9. put in the oven until cheese is melted... about 5-10 minutes.
10. to serve, put pan in middle of the table (careful for little fingers... it's still hot!) with choice of toppings and let everyone dish up on their plates! mmmm. soo good fresh out of the oven, AND easy clean up, just wrap up with the foil, and then pretty tasty as leftovers too! just unwrap and place back in the oven. :)

REVIEW

This is ALWAYS a big hit in our family, poor brad hadn't ever had them fresh out the oven till this last time, and despite that he still always enjoys them :)

Acknowledgment:

This is a genuine original from yours truly :)

Grilled Cheese and Creamy Tomato Soup

There's just something that says "COMFORT" in grilled cheese with tomato soup... now our family can NOT stand the tomato soup from a can... bleck. but this... now THIS is something else... delicious and scrumptious! Try it and let me know what you think! okay?

Ok, first off, the Soup recipe:

• 2 t olive oil (or coconut oil :)
• 3-4 onions quartered or sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled (or since i had it in the fridge, i used it, minced)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 freshly ground pepper
• 2 (35 oz) cans of whole, peeled tomatoes, drained (or 4 lbs ripe tomatoes)
• 8 flat-leaf parsley sprigs (extra for garnish)
• 5 C vegetable broth
• 1 C half and half

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  add the onions, garlic, salt, pepper; cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
2. transfer the onion mixture to a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker.  add the tomatoes and parsley sprigs.  pour the borth over the vegetables.  cover and cook until the flavors are blended, (4-5 hours on high or 8-10 on low) (OR in a sauce pan on your stove for about 30 minutes)
3. discard parsley sprigs and pour the soup in batches into a blender or food processor and puree.  return the soup to the slow cooker or pot; which in the half and half.  cover and cook on low until heated through (about 30 minutes, or 5-10 on the stove) Garnish each serving with extra parsley sprigs.

This makes double what we need for our family (2 adults and 3 kids 7 and under) when we add our sandwiches... if it's your main entrée, it's enough for 6 servings :)

Sandwiches

(because homemade bread makes THE BEST grilled cheese!)

• 1 1/8 C warm water
• 2 t active dry yeast
• 2 T sugar
• 3 C flour
• 1 T vital wheat gluten
• 1 t salt
• 2 T nonfat non-instant powdered milk
• 1 1/2 T butter/margerine/oil  (I always use applesauce)
• 1/4 C potato flakes (flakes... NOT pearls!)

1. Add all the ingredients in the order listed into a mixer bowl (i use my kitchen aid)  with a dough hook and mix on low for 10-12 minutes. OR on the dough cycle in your bread machine.
2. once dough is manageable with your hands, let rise 45 min-1 hour (My trick? i spray my bowl, add my dough back in, spray the top of my dough, cover with saran wrap, put in my oven... which while i was mixing i turned on to 350 for ONE minute... JUST ONE minute, then turned off... it makes it nice and warm in there! and shortens my rising time!) 
3. punch down and put in your bread pan and rise until a bit over the top of your bread pan
4. bake 375 for 20-25 (my oven goes more to the full 25 minutes)
5. once bread is cooled, slice.  Butter one side of each slice and place on griddle or pan with a slice of cheese of your choice and cover with another slice... you know how to make grilled cheese, right?

REVIEW

This one is a FAVORITE in our house... and always gets everyone eating! like i said, when we pair it up with our sandwiches, the soup makes a TON! 

Acknowledgements:

The cream of tomato soup comes from weight watchers slow good super slow cooker cookbook, and the bread recipe comes from www.everydayfoodstorage.net (if you haven't already you should really check out crystal's site... a LOT of helpful cook from scratch tips and tutorials!)

Granola

SO, i LURV  me some good granola... the yummy clumpy kind that i can use as a cereal AND just a quick snack... after trying 3 different recipes from here, an amish cookbook, and an email, I came up with THIS one!

• 3 Cups old fashioned rolled oats (use what ya got)
• 1/4 C whole wheat flour
• 3/4 C unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 C chopped or sliced nut (i prefer almonds, but you can use pecans, walnuts, ect)
• 1/2 t cinnamon, (i use Saigon cinnamon... so delicious, once you try it you'll never use regular cinnamon again!)
• 1/2 C maple syrup, grade A or B, not the kind you buy for pancakes, but that's where you find it. it's a lot healthier (raw) than the maple syrup like Mrs buttersworth,  and spreads the flavor better than honey too.
• 1/3 C coconut oil (again, healthier than other types of oil, and if you haven't noticed, we've been trying to get back to a more "raw" diet... )
• 1 t vanilla (cause really, what DOESN'T vanilla go in ;)

EASY PEASY directions!

1. preheat oven to 300 degrees. mix all except syrup, oil and vanilla, in one bowl. in a seperate bowl mix melted coconut oil (it's sometimes solid depending on the temp in your house) syrup and vanilla together then pour over dry mix.  Mix well! (you can also add dried fruits, but some in my family don't like it, so i add it after in my own servings)
2. spread on parchment paper on cookie sheet. bake 30 minutes. slide parchment paper onto counter to finish drying.  DEVOUR  store in air tight container.

REVIEW

Like I said, i love me some good granola, and this was so delicious.  We can't keep our hand out of the canister! It was, super fast and easy to make.  I love this like i said as a cereal with vanilla almond milk, or with yogurt with or without fruit, or a plain snack.

***updated info: this recipe makes about 12 cups of granola, serving size 1/2 cup and ~ 260 calories/serving.

Crispy Parmesan Shrimp with Spaghetti

This is a REALLY SUPER Duper YUMMY Dinner!

• 3 oz parmesan cheese
• 1 egg white
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1 lb frozen large, uncooked shrimp (21-25 per pound) thawed (i actually like the medium shrimp better, and you can get them all peeled already or, if you're like me, as long as i'm distracted and talking or thinking of something else, I can peel and deviene shrimp just fine :)
• 2 T fresh parsley
• 8 oz uncooked spaghetti (or pasta of your choice)
• 2 C broccoli florets (I personally prefer more broccoli, so we double that)
• 1 C Marinara sauce (We just use a whole jar of whatever spaghetti sacue we're in the mood for.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bring salted water to boil for pasta.
2. meanwhile, for parmesan topping, lightly spray nonstick skillet with oil and heat 1-3 minutes of medm heat.  Grate cheese evenly over bottom of skillet.  Cook 4-5 minutes or until cheese is lacy and golden.  starting at edges, immediately loosen cheese carefully. Slide onto a cutting board and coll completely.  place the cheese crisp into a resealable plastic bag; coarsely crush into crumbs using the flat side of a meat tenderizer.
3. For shrimp, whisk together egg white, pressed garlic, salt and black pepper in a medium bowl. Peel and devein shrimp; remove tails.  add shrimp to egg mixture and toss to coat.  arange shrimp in a single layer in a deep dish baker (or any casserole dish you may have).
4. Snip parsley and toss with cheese crumbs.  sprinkle cheese mixture o ver shrimp.  bake 10-12 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through.
5. Add pasta to boiling water; cook 4 minutes.  Meanwhile, cut broccoli into small florets and add to boiling pasta; cook 1-2 minutes or until pasta is cooked to desired doneness.
6. Meanwhile, heat sauce in microwave 2-3 minutes, drain pasta and broccoli.
7. To serve, divide pasta among plates, spoon sauce over pasta mixture and top with shrimp.

Serve with french bread or some sort of garlic toast and caesar or tossed salad! mmmmmmmm.

REVIEW
Again, one that our whole family thourghouly enjoys! and it is also good as leftovers (they usually tend to be brad's lunch for the next day :)  Its also fast! the cheese crisp was a little tricky my first time, but it's so easy now that i know how.

Acknowledgements:
Pampered Chef 29 minutes to Dinner

Curried Chicken With Couscous

Chicken and Curry (4 servings)

• 1 lb boneless, skinless Chicken breasts
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/4 t coarsely ground black pepper
• 4 medium carrots
• 1 medium onion
• 1 t vegetable oil
• 2 t curry powder
• 1/2 C golen raisins
• 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk

Couscous

• 2 C chicken broth
• 1 1/3 C uncooked plain couscous
• 1 T butter
• 2 T snipped fresh cilantro plus additional for garnish.

1. For chicken, cut into 1 in pieces. Heat oil in skillet over mdm-high heat for 1-3 minutes or till hot.  Mix pepper and salt together  and season chicken with half of the mix. cook chicken 2-3 minutes or golden brown, turn over and cook another 2-3 minutes or till center is no longer pink.  Remove from skillet and set aside.
2. While chicken is cooking, peel carrots; cut in half lengthwise, then thinly slice on a bias (or just chop up thinly like i do:) Cut onion into 1/2 inch wedges. Add more oil to skillet and saute veggies for about 5 minutes, til crisp-tender, stirring occaisionally.  Stir curry powder, raisins, coconut milk and remaining black pepper and salt mix into skillet.  Add chicken.  Simmer 3-5 minutes or till sauce begins to thicken.
3. Meanwhile, for couscous, either microwave or stove top boil it (about 3 minutes in the microwave) stir couscous and butter into broth.  cover and let it sit for 5 minutes.  while the couscous is sitting, snip your cilantro, then fluff couscous with a fork and add in the cilantro.
4. To serve, divide couscouse among serving plates and spoon chicken mixture over couscous.  garnish with additioanl snipped cilantro.

REVIEW
This is absolutely our most FAVORITE curry dish! the first time i made it i didn't have any coconut milk and somehow found a recipe to mimic it and it was delicious that way... but then 2nd time i made it with the canned milk and it was really good too... but i can't find the mimic recipe now, so oh well.  but everyone in our family eats this one. it really is sooooo yummy, and takes less than 1/2 an hour to make!!!! (one of the best things of all!!!!!)

ps. sorry for lack of photos... we've lost the charging cord for our camera :( super sad day here...

Acknowledgment
Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to dinner.