Black Bean Soup with rice

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
4 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
3 cans seasoned black beans, drained but not rinsed
1-1/2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth (OR vegetable stock)
1/4 tsp. cayenne

Toppings: sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese, corn, chopped green onion, chopped fresh onion

For the Cilantro-Lime Rice:1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups water
1 T. olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of 1/2 lime & grated zest of 1/2 lime

1-2 T. chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, then saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 30 more seconds, stirring constantly. Add chili powder and cumin then saute for 30 more seconds.
2. Add drained beans, water, and chicken broth, bring soup to a boil, then lower heat slightly and simmer for 15 minutes. Scoop 2 ladle-fulls of soup into a blender or food processor, then blend until almost smooth. Alternatively use a hand-held immersion blender to process 1/3 of the beans in the soup pot. Add blended soup back into the pot then add hot sauce and stir to combine.
3. For the Chipotle-Lime Rice: While soup is simmering, bring water, oil, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Add rice, place a lid on top, then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir to fluff then add lime juice and chopped cilantro.
4. To serve, scoop cooked rice into bottom of bowls then top with hot soup. Top with sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream, etc.

Sugar Cookies

(Pictured on top, frosted)

Sugar Cookie Cutouts

2/3

cup of butter, softened

3/4

cup of sugar

1

teaspoon of baking powder

1/4

teaspoon of salt

1

egg

1

tablespoon of milk

1

teaspoon of vanilla

2

cups of all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill about 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/4 inch thick. Using a 4-1/2- to 6-inch cookie cutter, cut dough into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. At this point, add colored sugar or sprinkles if you like (otherwise, leave them plain and frost/decorate after they've been baked.)
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack; cool.

Kolacky

(Kolacky pictured on left side of plate.)

Cream together:
 1/2 pint (approx. 1 cup) vanilla ice cream, slightly melted
 1/4 c. powdered sugar
 1 tsp. vanilla
 1 cup soft butter
 3 to 3-1/2 cups flour (add enough to make a stiff dough that isn't TOO sticky)

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for several hours.

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Take a portion of the dough (1/3 or 1/4) and roll out into a rectangle, and less than 1/4" thick.
Cut into strips, making squares approx. 2"x 2".

Into the center of each, spoon a scant amount of Solo filling (apricot, raspberry, prune....) and gather up two corners of the dough square, pinching together to seal.

Place kolacky onto lightly greased baking sheet, leaving a little room in between each cookie.

Bake for 20 min., until the edges begin to turn golden.  Remove from oven. Cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.

Chili Lime Chicken

FAST & EASY - this is great for weeknights when you do NOT feel like cooking!!

Take 2 large (or 4 small) boneless, skinless chicken breasts & pound them until they're uniform in thickness.

Make a rub (this is up to you - don't be afraid to go BOLD): chili powder, cumin, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder, salt, freshly ground pepper - sprinkle over chicken & rub into meat. Set aside while pan's heating.

In a large pan, heat 4 T. olive oil & 1 T. butter until very hot (but not smoking!) - place the chicken in the pan & fry for several minutes - turn pcs. over and cook until they're done. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken - press into the thickest part of the chicken & if the juices run clear, it's done. Squeeze the juice of 3 limes over the chicken to deglaze pan, turn chicken over & swirl around in pan juices before serving. Season with salt & pepper.

No matter how I turned the plate, the chicken wound up looking like fish! ha! I suppose you could easily make this using fish too! :-)

Gazpacho

gazpacho:  noun, a Spanish-style soup made from tomatoes and other vegetables and spices, served cold.

1 large cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
2 red bell peppers, cored & seeded
4 large plum tomatoes
1 small red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
4 Tblsp. cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 T. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper


 Chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes - you don't have to be precise here. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess or it will turn to sludge!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.  


Serve in bowls & garnish with fresh springs of basil or parsley.

Scotcharoo Cookies

These are CHEAT cookies - made with a cake box mix (something I don't often use) - quick, easy, TASTY!!

If you've ever had Scotcharoos (cooked corn syrup-butter-sugar/peanut butter-rice krispies base with melted chocolate/butterscotch chip topping), they're reeeeeeally good! When I was flipping thru cookie recipes recently, I found an easy recipe, changed a few things, added a few ingredients and came up with a simple cookie recipe that tastes a LOT like classic Scotcharoos! It's a 'cheat' recipe with cake mix, but until I figure out a 'scratch' recipe, this will have to do for now! :)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, mix together:

1 package of chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker devils food or dark chocolate...)

1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter

1 Tblsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 beaten egg plus one egg white only

Mix together well - add:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup rice krispies

1 cup butterscotch chips

Drop onto ungreased (or parchment lined) baking sheets by heaping tsps. - flatten slightly

Prep Bowls

"Pinch Bowl" - A pinch bowl is a very small bowl which is designed to hold a limited amount of ingredients. There are a number of uses for pinch bowls, and many chefs and cooks like to keep a set around, often in a handy location so that they are easy to access in a hurry. Most kitchen supply stores sell pinchbowls made from a variety of materials and in an assortment of shapes and sizes.

"Mise en place bowls" - Mise en place is a French culinary phrase that means “setting in place.” It refers to the set-up of precisely measured ingredients and necessary utensils at a cooking station in advance of food preparation. Mise enplace may also include condiments, garnishes and serving dishes.

Pronounced “meez ahn plahs,” and sometimes spelled “misen place,” this technique facilitates the smooth, successful preparation of foods. It is especially helpful for preparing dishes made from complex recipes. Mise en place is most commonly used in professional kitchens where many dishes are prepared throughout the course of a work shift. Most restaurants spend the first few hours of each shift completingmise en place before the dining room opens.