black bean soup

3/4 c. chopped celery
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 Tb. oil
3 cans (14 1/2 oz each) chicken broth
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar (16 oz) salsa
1 c. cubed chicken breast
1 c. cooked long grain rice
1 Tb. lime juice
1 tsp. cumin

In large saucepan, saute celery, onion, and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat through. Yields: 10 servings

My suggestions:
Use a box of Uncle Ben's Original Rice and do not add rice until right before serving because it soaks up all the broth.
Use Newman's Own Chunky Garden salsa.
Cook the chicken a head of time in the crock pot with 2-3 Tb of lime juice. It falls apart nicely!
Add a small bad of frozen corn.

i'm back...

So, I have a great friend who lives forever away and she is always looking for new recipes. This blog is officially dedicated to Tanya, but all are welcome to enjoy the recipes found here! I'm not sure how often I will post (probably whenever I get a text from Tanya for something new...) Ty and I both enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. When we find one that's a keeper we will share it with you!

stuffed green peppers.

The other night I went to cook dinner and realized we did not have any meat. But, we did have fresh green peppers and tomatoes that we had bought at the Farmer's market. Since I am not the biggest green pepper fan I made stuffed tomatoes as well. Here's the recipe...

1.One box Uncle Ben's Rice (choose your favorite kind). I used Tomato Basil flavor. Cook Rice.
2.Cut of tops of green peppers (tomatoes) and remove insides.
3. Boil green peppers (not tomatoes) for 5 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain.
4. Dice: 3/4 c. green olives, 3/4 c. black olives, 3/4 c. mushrooms and 4 hard boiled eggs.
5. Mix all ingredients together and stuff into peppers/tomatoes.
6. Put one can stewed tomatoes on bottom of baking dish, place peppers upright in dish. I did not have stewed tomatoes so I just used a little left over spaghetti sauce we had in the fridge.
7. Cover loosely with foil, bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Makes about 6 peppers. Sorry, I don't have a photo for you. We were so hungry and dinner looked so delicious we didn't think about taking a photo.

*Ty is not an olive or mushroom fan so I chop them very small so he does not have to feel the texture. The olives and mushrooms add great flavor so I wouldn't leave them out. He enjoyed every bite!

voted best burger.

Veggie Burgers
You must try these! They are easy to make, absolutely delicious, and so good for you! They have been voted Best Burger at the Hagerott's!

2 Tb finely chopped carrot (I just use the veggie peeler)
2 Tb finely chopped red pepper
2 Tb frozen whole-kernel corn
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup cooked beans
1 egg yolk
1 Tb fine dry bread crumbs
Olive oil
6 small whole-grain buns
Lettuce
Tomato slices
¼ c. plain yogurt
2 tsp. honey mustard

1. Place carrots red pepper, and corn in microwave-safe bowl and add 1 Tb. water. Cover and microwave 2 minutes or until veggies are tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Place beans and rice in a bowl and mash with a fork. Stir in cooked veggies and egg yolk. With wet hangs shape well-rounded tablespoons of mixture into balls, then roll in bread crumbs to coat. Flatten into patties.
3. Heat oil in skillet on Medium. Cook patties for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve in buns with lettuce tomato, and a dip made of stirred yogurt and honey mustard. Serves 6.

Here are a few suggestions I have:
*Instead of using frozen corn I used a frozen veggie mix. It had corn, carrots, peas, and lima beans. Then you don’t have to chop a carrot and you get more veggies!
* NEVER leave out the red pepper is gives incredible flavor! I chop the whole red pepper at once and put the remaining in the freezer for next time.
* We do not have plain yogurt on hand so we make our sauce out of mayo and honey mustard. The left over sauce is great on any sandwich!
* Instead of using buns use pitas.
* Add avocado to the mix!
*Use Panko for the bread crumbs!
Here are the details: 183 calories, 7g potien, 6g fat, 27g carbs, 4g fiber

lost art.

As I was baking cupcakes the other day I was reminded of an assigment I gave my third graders this year. We were making books for Mother's Day and each page had a sentence they had to complete and then a place for an illustration. The first page said, "My mom taught me..." One of my students completed the sentence by writing, "how to bake a cake." Then, down below in his picture he listed these steps for baking a cake.

1. Ingredients: cake mix, water, oil, egg
2. Mix together
3. Bake in oven

I will admit I got a good laugh out of it and I'm sure his mom did too, but it also revealed something to me... most children today are growing up with a whole new perspective on baking. I think there are many advatages to baking from scrath...

1. It's less expensive. Usually, you can find the ingredients you need in your cupboard.
2. You know exactly what's in the food. There are many more ingredietns in the box mixes...many of which we can't pronounce.
3. It tastes better. There is a distinct difference in taste!
4. It's more fun and provides opportuniy for experimenting. I know Brittany and I loved baking along side Cindi when we were little, creating our own "recipes."

I will admit I have used box mixes before, but they just don't compare. Here is a delicious chocolate cake recipe that I turned into cupcakes along with a recipe for white frosting.

Chocolate Cake
3/4 cup butter
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/3 cup water

Heat oven to 350.
Combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and baking powder add alternatively with water to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Pour into pan.
13 x 9 x 2 takes 30-35 minutes The cupcakes took 20 minutes.

White Frosting (half of this recipe is plenty for the cupcakes)
4 cups powedered sugar
1/4 cup milk (vanilla soy milk is great)
1 tsp. vanilla or almond
1/2 c. butter

Beat all ingredients until smooth and creamy. This will make enough frosting for a 2 layer 9 inch cake.