Recipe of the Month: March 2012

Homemade Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

I promise these are so good! I will take one over a regular beef burger or turkey burger any day!

Recipe of the Month: February 2012

I've been wanting to make Baklava from scratch for a while now. I figured I'd share this recipe from allrecipes.com that has a 5-star rating. I will be sure to share my experience when I make this!

Baklava Recipe
Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Here is the link to the recipe on allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baklava/detail.aspx

Let me know if you try it or if you've ever made it from scratch and have a better recipe! I'd love to hear! Oh, and I wouldn't mind being your taste-tester either! :)

- Ashley

Recipe of the Month: January 2012

I just made this delicious and easy crockpot chicken tortilla soup today! It was very easy and had the perfect amount of spice.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 cloves 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 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 7 corn tortillas
• vegetable oil

Directions

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, 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 corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.
4. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.

I did make some changes to mine. Here's what I did differently:

• I did not cook the chicken first. I read in some of the reviews that people just put the chicken in uncooked and shredded it later. I cooked my soup on high for 3 hours and then shredded the chicken. Then I cooked it on low for another 2 hours.
• I used the hot red enchilada sauce. Since the recipe did not specify green or red, I used the spiciest and it was not too spicy at all.
• I did not cook tortilla shells. Instead, I made a side of homemade guacamole with whole grain tortilla chips and topped my soup with some raw chopped sweet onion for a little crunch.

Here is the link to the recipe on allrecipes.com website: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup/detail.aspx

I'm glad to start the New Year off with some spice! I hope you try this recipe and it comes out as delicious for you as it did for me!

- Ashley

Recipe of the Month: October 2011

Pumpkin Bread

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 can (16 ounces) pumpkin purée
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs

Preparation:

Grease and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin and oil.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; add pumpkin mixture. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 1 hour, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 2 loaves of pumpkin bread.

Source: http://southernfood.about.com/od/pumpkinbreadrecipes/r/bl40328i.htm

Recipe of the Month: May 2011

Homemade BBQ Sauce


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, hot pepper sauce, garlic powder, mustard powder, and salt. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before brushing on your favorite meat.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bar-B-Que-Sauce/Detail.aspx

I hope you'll give this a try because it's so tasty!

- Ashley

Recipe of the Month: April 2011

Chicken Marsala

I found this yummy Chicken Marsala recipe on my favorite website, allrecipes.com. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry

Directions

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Here is the URL to the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Marsala/Detail.aspx

I always read the feedback below and I modified it by not using cooking sherry. I also added a little bit of heavy cream to the sauce to make it a creamier marsala sauce. Let me know if you try it! It was delicious!

- Ashley

Recipe of the Month: March 2011

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 1 ¼ tablespoon baking powder
• 1 ¼ cup peanut butter
• 1 cup milk

Directions: 

Combine flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Combine milk and peanut butter in a separate bowl and mix until smooth. Gradually stir milk/peanut butter mixture into flour bowl. Knead the dough by hand and roll out on a floured surface to desired thickness. Cut out treats with cookie cutters. Place aluminum foil on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 400°F. Cool before storing. 

Note: Cooking times may vary depending on thickness.

I love making these treats occasionally for my two Cairn Terriers, Buster & Baxter. I don't normally use aluminum foil on the cookie sheets. I have several cute dog-bone shaped cookie cutters and dog shape cutters. It's really important that they cool all the way before you store them in a closed container or they won't keep well. They have to really dry and cool down, and then they become crunchy! Let me know if you try this recipe for the pooch(es) in your life!!!

- Ashley

Recipe of the Month: February 2011

Overnight Oatmeal

I found this recipe for overnight oatmeal when searching online. I made it on a Saturday night to wake up to on a Sunday morning before church. It smelled delicious in my entire kitchen! It was a very hearty breakfast and I cannot wait to make it again!

The following info is taken from a blog called "Mommy's Kitchen"