CLASSIC AND SIMPLE: BLACK BEANS AND RICE WITH KIELBASA

CLASSIC AND SIMPLE: BLACK BEANS AND RICE

PREP TIME: 10 MINS

COOK TIME: 1 HOUR

adapted from melskitchencafe.com

INGREDIENTS:

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 kielbasa sausage
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4-5 cups hot, cooked white or brown rice 

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the kielbasa and cook until it is brown and almost cooked. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic and saute, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft and tender. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, bay leaf, oregano and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a tablespoon or two of hot water to thin to desired consistency. 

Stir in the fresh cilantro and season with salt and pepper; discard the bay leaf. Serve over the hot rice. 

For an electric pressure cooker, use the Saute function to heat the oil. Cook the kielbasa, bell pepper, onion, and garlic, stirring often, for several minutes, until tender. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, bay leaf, oregano, and water. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release the pressure. If you want the mixture thicker, continue cooking using the Saute function until the mixture is thick (stir often to prevent sticking). Stir in the cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed.

World's Best Taco Soup

World's Best Taco Soup Recipe!
from iheartnaptime.net

Ingredients:

1 pound hamburger or turkey burger
1-2 Tablespoons taco seasoning (more or less to taste)
1 medium sweet onion, chopped finely
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
1 15 oz can kindey beans, drained
1 15 oz can pinto or white beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
1 15 oz can corn
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 10 oz can rotel tomato’s
1 15 oz can diced tomato’s
1/4 cup salsa (fresh is best) 

Directions:


1. Brown hamburger in a large pan over medium heat. Add in the onions, bell peppers and saute for a few minutes.

2. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can add a little water if it starts getting too thick. If you have more time let it simmer longer. You could also put this soup in a crock pot and let cook on low for several hours.

3. Top with sour cream and cheese. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Cranberry Salsa

CRANBERRY SALSA

12 oz fresh cranberries
1 granny smith apple, peeled and cored
1/4 medium onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper (remove seeds and stem)
1/4 cup cilantro

Combine above ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped

Stir in:

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 T. lime juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving with tortilla chips.

One-Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

One-Skillet Chicken Pot Pie Servings: 4-6

Recipe from buzz feed's Tasty

INGREDIENTS 1 tablespoon olive oil 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed ½ white onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup gold potatoes, cubed 2 cups frozen peas and carrots 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour 4 tablespoons butter 2 cups chicken broth Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 1 store-bought pie crust, thawed if frozen (we use the cook's country pie dough recipe) PREPARATION 1. Preheat oven to 400˚F/200˚C. 2. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and heat oil over a cast-iron skillet. Add the cubed chicken, cooking until no longer pink. Remove chicken and set aside. 3. To the same skillet, add the onions and garlic. Sauté until translucent. 4. Add potatoes and sauté about 5 minutes. 5. Add peas and carrots, and stir again. 6. Add the butter to the vegetable and allow to melt. 7. Sprinkle the flour, covering the vegetables, and quickly stir to avoid lumps. 8. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil to thicken sauce. 9. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. 10. Place pie dough over the chicken and vegetable mixture, and seal along the edges of the skillet with your fingers. 11. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. 12. Enjoy!

{Non Cakey} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

{Non Cakey} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sorce: chelseasmessyapron.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
• 1 large egg yolk discard whites or save for another recipe
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling; not an entire can
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon each ground cloves and nutmeg
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cups and 1/2 white all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Place the butter in a microwave-safe large bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds or until the butter is completely melted.
2. Whisk in the white and brown sugar until completely combined.
3. Make sure the mixture isn't too hot (don't want to cook the egg!) and then add in the egg yolk (I believe organic eggs add so much flavor and that is what I recommend/used.)
4. Add in the vanilla (if you have Mexican vanilla it is AWESOME) and canned pumpkin. Make sure your canned pumpkin is high quality and not watery. If it is watery your cookies will be more cakey. Drab the pumpkin with some paper towels if needed. Whisk until well combined.
5. Add in the salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice (add amount to your desired preference). Here's where you can adjust seasonings to preference. Add less or more depending on how you usually like your baked goods.
6. Whisk in the baking soda with 1/2 cup flour.
7. Add the remaining 1 cup of flour and stir it in with a wooden spoon.
8. Please note as you measure your flour that packing in too much flour will also lead to cakey cookies. I spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level it at the top with my finger without pressing it down. Too little flour and your cookies will spread way too much and too much flour and they will be cakey. If experiencing either of these problems, you likely measured your flour incorrectly.
9. The mixture should pull away from the edges once all the flour is added. Stir in the chocolate chips (I use and prefer milk, but use what you like!).
10. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. This is a crucial step and if skipped your cookies will likely spread like a pancake.
11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
12. Once the dough has been chilled, line a baking mat with a nonstick liner (or parchment paper).
13. Roll two small balls of dough and the press one ball on top of the other and mesh together into one tall piece without flattening. This forms a tallish, almost vertical rectangle shape - this is how I get the cookies to look like they do and have that crisp exterior + chewy interior. Basically the bottom of the tall rectangle cookie cooks first and then the top section cooks next but for slightly less time. So that is why this shape is so important to getting your cookie to look like the ones I have pictured and have the texture described).
14. Once you've rolled about 6-8 balls of dough, chill on the cookie sheet in the fridge for another 10-15 minutes. (I only put 6-8 cookies on a cookie sheet as they spread quite large depending on the size)
15. While one batch is chilling you can work on rolling out another one.
16. Take the tray right from the fridge and place it in the oven.
17. Bake for 9-12 minutes or until very lightly browned at the bottom. The key to these cookies is slightly under-baking - that will keep them soft and chewy in the inside.
18. Remove from the oven and allow to "cook" for another 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to a wire cooling rack. This is optional but huge for appearance: I press in 5-6 additional chocolate chips into the tops of each of the cookies as soon as I remove them from the oven.
19. These cookies taste even better the next day -- the spices and pumpkin flavor have definitely intensified by then!

The Best Ever Chicken Marinade

The Best Ever Chicken Marinade


From www.momontimeout.com


Ingredients

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar (or other vinegar) 
• ¼ cup soy sauce 
• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce 
• ⅛ cup lemon juice 
• ¾ cup brown sugar 
• 2 tsp dried rosemary 
• 2 tbsp Dijon or Spicy Brown mustard 
• 2 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp ground black pepper 
• 2 tsp garlic powder 
• 6 chicken breasts or 3.5 lb chicken 

Instructions

Combine all ingredients, except for chicken, in a large Pyrex measuring cup or mixing bowl and whisk together. 

Remove a half a cup of marinade and reserve for basting the chicken later. 

Place chicken in a large, ziploc bag and pour marinade over the top. Close securely. 

Marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.


To grill
Preheat grill to medium high heat and lightly oil the grates.
Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off.
Grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
Baste the chicken occasionally with the reserved marinade.
Remove chicken from grill and tent with foil. Let chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving


Optional.
If you bring the reserved marinade up to a boil, let simmer until slightly reduced, it makes a wonderful sauce to go on top of the chicken.



Notes


I've marinated my chicken for as few as 30 minutes and the chicken was still phenomenal. Basically, the longer you have to marinate the better but don't worry if you don't have a lot of time.

Frontier Pies Cornbread

The Frontier Pies Cornbread
written down from a source I cannot recall


1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
3/4 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cream the butter, sugar, and honey together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, allowing each egg to be completely absorbed before adding the next. Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then gently add dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Stir in the milk until just combined. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.