Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans

I found this recipe in the Albertson's ad. It came from allrecipes.com.

Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Beans

Submitted By: Albertsons
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 4 Hours

Ready In: 4 Hours 10 Minutes
Servings: 6
"Juicy chicken with a Mexican flair. . .all served with rice and beans."

Ingredients:
1 can (15 ounce) Tomato sauce
2 (14.5 ounce) cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 can Mild Green Chilies, undrained (I diced them)
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice (I used brown rice, of course.)
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, undrained (I cooked some dry pinto beans earlier in the morning then used 2 cups of cooked pinto beans.)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (I chopped the chicken to bite sized pieces)
1 (1 ounce) package chicken taco seasoning mix (I used 1/4 cup of taco seasoning)

Directions:
1. Combine tomatoes, rice, broth, beans, chicken, and seasoning mix in CROCK-POT slow cooker.
2. Cook on LOW setting for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours. Stir before serving.

ALT: Or put in casserole dish and top with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr, remove the foil then bake for 10-15 minutes.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce & Bean Enchiladas

A few years ago, I found this recipe for Enchilada Sauce here. I've used it when I don't have a can of enchilada sauce on hand (which is almost always.) It's cheaper to make this stuff plus it's usually healthier.

Enchilada Sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (I used "no salt added" tomato sauce)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Heat oil in large 2-quart saucepan; stir in flour and chili powder; cook for 1 minute.
2. Add remaining ingredients bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Makes 3 cups sauce.
This is enough to make one enchilada casserole in a 9x13 dish.

Bean Enchiladas
When I make enchiladas I usually like to fill them with a bean mixture. Last night I used the following:
1 can kidney beans
1 can olives
1 small can of green beans (hide them and no one will know!)
1/2 package tofu
mexican seasoning (I used The Spice Hunter brand, and it's great!)
onion powder
a dash of garlic hot sauce (I found at Dollartree.)

Spray 9x13 casserole dish. Add a layer of enchilada sauce. Fill 8 tortillas with bean mixture and place in dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas ensuring to get all parts of tortilla. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and decorate with green onions or chives.

Place in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Broil for a few minutes afterward if desired to get the cheese crispy.

When I make this again I'm sure it will be different. The filling is never the same. You could add cheese to the filling to make it extra good but it's also extra fattening and costly. :) If you don't have canned beans you could grind dry beans and cook with boiling water to get a bean spread.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake

This recipe is derived from The Amazing Wheat book by LeArta Moulton. I have made some notes and changed the recipe name so it's easier to search on search engines. (In the book it's called "Anything Goes Cake" on page 170.)

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups brown sugar or succanat OR 1 1/2 cups honey**
4 T carob powder or cocoa powder
2 t baking soda
1 T salt
3/4 cup cooking oil (I used canola)
2 T vinegar (probably apple cider vinegar, but I often use white vinegar)
2 t vanilla (a trusted friend told me to double the vanilla in recipes...always, so I did 4 t vanilla)
2 c liquid, mashed fruit or vegetable*

Mix dry ingredients, then add liquids. Mix together. Bake in ungreased 9x13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. For 24 cupcakes, fill into cupcake liners, bake 350 degrees for 17 minutes.

*To this basic cake recipe, just about any leftovers can be added. Try tomato soup, mashed potatoes, vegetables or fruit, squash, etc. (The consistency will be a little different if the the fruit or vegetable is more liquid or solid, but it doesn't affect the taste. The main difference would be either a light fluffy cake versus a brownie texture.)
** NOTE: When I use mashed bananas, they are already sweet so I just put in 1 cup of succanat instead of 2 cups. (Judge according to your taste buds. You can eat this batter since it has no raw eggs!)

Drop Biscuits

These are fast, easy, & healthy. I make them "drop biscuit" style so I don't have to have the time or mess when rolling out the dough. The recipe can easily be doubled.


Drop Biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/3 cup oil/fat*
1 cup milk/liquid concoction**

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease cookie sheet.
2. In large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt & soda.
3. Add oil and milk and stir with spoon just until moistened.
4. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 6-10 minutes or until lightly browned. (6 minutes is slightly undercooked but it makes them very good and moist. They can finish baking outside the oven while they stay on the hot pan for a few minutes.) Serve warm.  Makes about 12 biscuits.

* Use any kind of oil – canola, vegetable, olive, etc. OR You can use any kind of solid fat- butter, margarine, coconut oil. If using a solid then cut the fat into the dry mixture using a pastry blender (or two knives or forks) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then add milk.
** I say milk or liquid concoction because you can use whatever.  Buttermilk, half plain yogurt/half milk, 1T vinegar or lemon juice plus water/milk/zuchinni puree, whatever!

Notes:
1. You could also just do step #2 and make a homemade biscuit mix. When it comes time to make the biscuits just add the oil and milk then bake. Or use the baking mix to make waffles and pancakes.
2. When using whole wheat flour, you can let it rest for a few minutes after mixing to let the flour fully absorb liquids. If you replace with white flour, you may need to add a little more flour or decrease liquid.

Curried Split Pea Soup with Cauliflower

Curried Split Pea Soup with Cauliflower
By, Heather

1 tablespoon finely minced ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
6 cups boiling water
1 1/2 - 2 cups dried green or yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
1-2 tablespoons mild curry powder (to taste)
3/4 - 1 head of fresh cauliflower, chopped (or 1 lb frozen cauliflower)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Put water on the stove to boil. Add a tiny bit of oil (1 tsp.) in pressure cooker, and saute onions. Remove onions and add trivet to bottom of pressure cooker. Add all ingredients (including boiling water) and stir well to be sure that no bits of onion or spices have gotten stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure (rocking steadily) and cook for 6 minutes. Allow the pressure to come down naturally for about 10 minutes, then quick-release the pressure (place the pot under cold running water.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow any excess steam to escape. Taste to see if more salt or pepper should be added.

Put cooked food into food processor to puree into a thick soup.

Serve with cheese if desired.