Thai Peanut & Spice-Encrusted Pork Tenderloin

This is a really easy, delicious, and fast recipe using just a few ingredients.

It turned out great -- I recommend serving with large lettuce leaves, onions, spicy peanuts, cilantro, and spicy peanut sauce (I made some out of peanut butter, yogurt, and lots of spiciness w/ red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, etc)

Pork tenderloin
Taste of Thai Spicy Peanut Bake
Olive oil
Minced garlic, salt, pepper

1. Coat tenderloins with olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Rub minced garlic onto tenderloin
3. Coat tenderloins with as much of the Spicy Peanut Bake as will stick.
4. Bake on a foil-covered rimmed cookie sheet at 450 for 20 minutes, or until center of meat reaches 145 degrees.

Southwestern Pulled Brisket

This was adapted from Smitten Kitchen -- it is a good recipe overall, but not as amazing as I'd hoped. It has a lot of heat, but for some reason, not as much flavor as I'd expected.

It is a few more steps than just dumping some beer over a brisket and letting it slow-cook (a tried and true method), so I'm not sure that I'll make this just this way again...but I might use some of these ideas next time around.


Serves 4, but depends on if you're eating it as a taco-like filling or on its own.

3 pounds beef brisket
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water (I used beer instead -- Upslope's Foreign Stout to be exact)
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
1 to 2 whole canned chipotle chiles en adobo (I used two peppers and it had some serious heat. Might go with one next time, to focus a bit more on the flavor)
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup molasses

Directions (cut and pasted directly from Smitten Kitchen)

For serving:
If sandwiches, soft sandwich buns. If tacos, small soft tortillas. For both, I suggest some slaw, pickled onions and/or pickled jalapeños.

Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat just until beginning to smoke. Add the meat and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker; leave the skillet on the heat.

Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add vinegar and boil until it’s almost gone (and seriously, get your head out of the way of the steam; inhaling vinegar is no fun!), scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket. Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; add the tomato juices, chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses. Cover the cooker, set it on LOW, and cook the brisket until it pulls apart easily with a fork, about 8 to 10 hours. (The original recipe suggests 8 hours, but my mother-in-law, who makes wonderful brisket, says she cooks hers for 10. So I went with 10 and it was lovely, but feel free to check in on yours at 8 hours to determine if it needs more tenderizing.)

To serve, you’ve got two options: Leave the meat in the slow cooker and use two forks to pull it apart and stir it evenly into the sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove and discard bay leaves. This is obviously the simplest route.

Your second option is to do as I did, just a little more work. I strained the sauce (to remove the cooked-until-dead vegetables and bay leaves), chilled it so the fat would be easy to remove, then reheated and reseasoned it well, simmering it down (to about 2/3 the volume) to thicken it a bit. We poured it back over the brisket as we pulled it, and then, when we got where we were going, reheated the whole pan on low. (You could also thicken the sauce without skimming the excess fat — there was actually not as much as I’d anticipated.)

Southwestern-ish Homemade Veggie Burgers

The food processor made this an easy dinner to throw together in minutes (with the help of steam-in-the-bag frozen brown rice anyway.) The recipe is adapted from Desert Culinary, and I think it turned out great -- kind of like spicy falafel! Served with avocado on top and on made-from-scratch rolls from a rosemary/thyme/garlic-spiked peasant bread dough, this turned out to be a surprisingly delicious "healthy" meal.

Brown-Rice Veggie Burgers (Adapted from Food and Wine)

1 packed cup cooked brown rice, at room temperature, divided
1 - 2 oz Pepper Jack cheese, cut into small pieces
1 chipotle chile in adobo (to taste - I used a big one with a tsp or two of the sauce -- gave a medium level of spice)
1 teaspoon salt
1 large poblano chile, seeded and finely chopped
5 scallions, thinly sliced (use the root and about half to 2/3 of the stalk)
3/4 cup mukimame/shelled edamame (can use peas too...I used the frozen, steam-in-the-bag mukimake from Target)
1/4 cup roasted and salted pepitas (I used sunflower seeds because I couldn't find pepitas that morning)
olive or canola oil
buns or rolls and assorted toppings for serving

Place 3/4 cup rice, cheese, chipotle and salt into a food processor - pulse until slightly pasty. Add chopped poblano, scallions, mukimame, and pepitas - pulse just until the vegetables are blended in and coarsely chopped.

Scoop mixture out into a bowl and knead in remaining rice. Using damped hands, divide mixture into four equal pieces, shaping each firmly into a 4" patty, roughly 3/4" thick. Place into the refrigerator and chill for 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat grill pan or flat skillet. Brush one side of the patties with oil and place, oiled side down, into the grill pan - cook over medium heat until golden and crusty, about 5 minutes. Brush top side with oil, then carefully turn patty over and cook until heated through and golden, about 5 minutes more.

Serve on buns or rolls with your toppings of choice.

Makes 4 servings.

Triple Mustard Salmon

This recipe is from my latest issue of Food and Wine and it is definitely a new favorite. I wasn't sure how it would turn out (too mustard-y? too bland?) but it is a perfect balance of flavors, and has an amazing crisp texture on the outside and soft warm wonderful fresh salmon goodness on the inside. I had to make a few tweaks from the orginal recipe (I think there may have been some errors with theirs...), and they are incorporated below.
This is also super fast and easy -- will definitely be doing this one again and again.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds, crushed
2 6-8 ounce skinless salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon canola oil (or a healthy dose of Pam)

Directions

1. In a shallow dish, combine the wheat germ and mustard seeds. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. In a bowl, blend the Dijon mustard with the dry mustard and spread it over each side of the fillets. Dip the fillets in the wheat germ mixture one side at a time until thickly coated.
2. In a nonstick skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the fillets, crust side down, and cook over moderately high heat until browned and crisp, 3 minutes. Turn the fillets and cook over moderate heat until barely cooked in the center, 3 minutes longer. Transfer the salmon to plates and serve crust side up.

Vegan Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash and Apple With Candied Walnuts

I adapted this from The Temporary Vegetarian column in the NYT.
Next time around I would put all of the cut produce in a much larger baking area so that they could all slightly char and crisp without getting mushy from surrounding veggies.
Aside from that minor texture issues in a couple of spots, I thought the taste of this was wonderful. (Oh and if you're hungry (read: pigs like us) and thinking this will serve two people as a main dish...you might want to double it -- we definitely wanted a bit more.)

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved
* 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch asymmetrical chunks
* 2 cups (about 1 large) Honeycrisp, Cortland, or Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into 1-inch asymmetrical chunks
* 1 shallot, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
* 2 tablespoons olive oil (or Pam if you want to omit some fat/calories)
* 5 fresh sage leaves
* Salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
Candied walnuts
Craisens/dried cranberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large, shallow, baking dish, toss the brussels sprouts, butternut squash, apple and shallot with olive oil and sage leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake without stirring until vegetables and apple are wrinkled, slightly brown, and the edges of the squash are beginning to crisp, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Remove vegetables from oven, drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of halved or roughly crumbled walnut pieces and 2 to 3 tablespoons of craisens. Return to oven for about 5 minutes, then serve.

"Slow"-Baked White Beans With Kale

This came from Recipes for Health originally, but I tweaked a few things to add a little more spice to it as well as to make cooking time a little faster because I got a late start on it. Ideally you'd do all the prep early and let the oven do most of the work, but with the right adjustments, either way works!

Ingredients

1 bunch kale, stemmed and washed in two changes of water (I actually used 1/2 bag of frozen kale + ~2 cups of fresh baby spinach)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I omitted and used Pam and water and a splash of white wine, but the oil would help the veggies soften best probably)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 2/3 cups white beans (3/4 pound) or dried lima beans, picked over and soaked for at least four hours and drained (I used 2 cans of cannelini beans)

1 6-ounce can tomato paste, dissolved in 1 cup water (I used 1 1/4 cup marinara sauce)

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you are using fresh kale, you may want to blanch it first to extract some of the bitterness.

2. Heat a greased/oiled pan over medium heat; add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the dissolved tomato paste, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the kale/spinach and let all veggies soften, adding more liquid (water, wine, or tomato sauce) as needed/desired.

3. Add the drained beans, red pepper flakes, herbes de Provence and salt and pepper. Transfer to a large (greased) ovenproof casserole and place in the oven. Bake until the beans are tender and creamy (original recipe was for 3 hours and for if you are using dried beans -- I only cooked this for about 20-30min). Taste and adjust salt

4. Mix together a bit of olive oil and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the beans, and continue to bake another 10min until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and serve; or allow to cool slightly and serve.

Yield: Serves six (or two, if you're Scott and I. There were no leftovers.)

(Oh and a poached egg on top is delicious :) )

Chicken Paprikash

This was based on a NYT "What we're reading" posting, so I won't blame the NYT that it wasn't as good as I thought it might be. The only reason I bother writing it up then, is that I am sure with a few minor tweaks next time, it could be good. Changes that I will make next time are included below, and all reflect an effort to spike the flavor in a few ways -- there was nothing bad about the original...it just seemed a bit bland. Thus, enter more salt, pepper, garlic, and some red pepper.

3 pounds skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper(a lot)

2 onions , chopped fine

2 red bell peppers , stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin

3 garlic cloves , minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup high-quality (could be smoked, sweet, whatever you like) paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, and to taste...if you want a little heat)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup fat free greek yogurt (optional; only if you want a creamy sauce)

1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Place in slowcooker.

2. Pile in onions and peppers, stir in garlic, tomato paste, paprika, pepper, broth, and flour and cook 4 hours on high, 6 hours on low.

3. Turn off heat, stir in yogurt (or sour cream) until incorporated and season with salt and pepper. Serve.

(Oven) Fried Chicken and Savory Waffles with Cayenne-Bourbon Maple Syrup

Cooked this up from a combination of recipes found online, namely this one for the chicken and this one for the waffles. I doctored them both up a bit, and here's the version I used.

Obviously the chicken isn't greasy like it "should" be in the traditional recipes but this is less messy and more healthy.

Anyway, this is really tasty -- highly recommend it!

Oven-Fried Chicken

2 cups cornflakes (or 1 cup already-crushed cornflakes)

1 tsp thyme

2 tsp paprika

½ tsp chile powder

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can evaporated milk

1. Preheat the oven to 400. In a food processor, process the cornflakes, thyme, paprika, chiles and salt.

2. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Pour the evaporated milk into a shallow bowl. Pour the cornflake mix on to a plate and spread it out so that it's even. Dip each chicken breast, first in the milk, and then in the cornflake mix, pressing it on so that it sticks to the entire breast. Place on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken.

3. Put the baking sheet with all of the chicken on it in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Savory Waffles

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 tsp mustard powder

½ tsp dried thyme

1/4 cup wheat germ

3 large eggs

2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons olive oil

Into a large bowl sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Repeat sifting 2 more times and stir in wheat germ.

In another large bowl whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Add flour mixture all at once and whisk just until combined.

Preheat a waffle iron and preheat oven to 200 °F.

Brush waffle iron lightly with additional oil. Spoon batter into waffle iron, using 1/4 cup batter for each 4-inch-square standard waffle and spreading batter evenly, and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer waffle to a baking sheet and keep warm, uncovered, in middle of oven. Make more waffles with remaining batter in same manner, brushing waffle iron with mire oil before adding each batch.

Bourbon-Cayenne Maple Syrup

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp bourbon

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine all three ingredients; heat for 1min in the microwave. Drizzle over chicken and waffles. (May want to double or triple the recipe depending on how many are being served!)

Turkey and Red Pepper Hash

This was a recent post in NYT's Recipes for Health, and I think it is a great recipe.

Easy once the veggies are chopped, it can be thrown together very quickly and has simple but rich flavors that are perfectly brought out with the turkey-red pepper combo.

I made a few tweaks below, and if I made it again I might increase the spiciness even a touch more.

Ingredients

1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, with juice

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

2 red bell peppers, cut in small (1/4 inch) dice

2 large garlic cloves, minced

Salt to taste

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

10 black peppercorns, ground in a spice mill

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons medium-hot chili powder

4 cloves, ground in a spice mill (1/2 teaspoon ground cloves)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

For serving:

12 to 16 corn tortillas

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Blend the tomatoes with their juice until smooth in a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in a blender. Set aside.

2. Bring a lightly oiled, large, heavy nonstick skillet to medium heat. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, three to five minutes. Add the bell peppers, garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about five minutes.

3. Add the turkey to the pan and season with salt, ground pepper, cinnamon, chili powder and cloves. Raise the heat to medium-high, and press the turkey into a layer in the pan. Let it brown for a minute or two. Continue to stir, press down into the pan and cook until all of the meat is nicely browned.

4. Stir in the puréed tomatoes and vinegar, and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and caramelized slightly, 20 to 30 minutes [I found that I had to increase heat/cook longer to really get this to thicken]. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from the heat, serve on hot corn tortillas and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Alternatively, use as a filling for enchiladas, quesadillas or vegetables.

Yield: Serves six to eight.

Pulled Pork with Caramelized Onions

My mom made this recipe when I was last home to visit and it was so good I decided to give it a shot. It has a great spicy undertone and the extra step of caramelizing the onions first made a big difference (even if I'm not sure that we'll ever clear the onion smell from our house now!)

I also realized while making this that I've never cooked with huge piece of butcher-cut raw pork before, and to be honest, de-fatting it was a little gross, but worth it.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 large onions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup raw cane sugar, such as Demerara or turbinado

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 cup chili sauce (I used a southwest red chili sauce from Whole foods)

4-5 tsp minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce (I increased this substantially from the original recipe)

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or blade (butt) roast, trimmed

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 6 minutes. Add sugar and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes more. Add garlic, oregano, pepper, and salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add vinegar and bring to a boil. Cook until mostly evaporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in chili sauce and chipotle to taste.

2. Place pork in a 4-quart (or larger) slow cooker and cover with the sauce. Cover and cook until the pork is almost falling apart, about 4 hours on High or 8 hours on Low.

3. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and shred using two forks. Stir back into the sauce.

(Can be made ahead and frozen as well)

Winter Root Veggie Pie

I combined two recipes for this, one from the NYT Recipes for Health, and borrowed a general idea from Desert Culinary.

While I'm still coming around on the lemon-y taste of parsnips, long roasting plus the soaking up of coconut milk made them delicious in this dish.

1 1/2 pounds turnips, kohlrabi, rutabaga, large parsnips or a combination, peeled and sliced thin (if the rutabagas are very large, cut them in half and slice in half-moons; slice the turnips and kohlrabi into rounds; quarter and core the parsnips, then slice them)

1 cup diced onion

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

3/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese (3 ounces)

1 1/2 cups low-fat (1 percent or 2 percent) milk (I used silk light coconut milk)

2 cups chopped kale/chard leaves (I used a combo of red kale, curly kale, and swiss chard)

garlic, garlic salt to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart gratin or baking dish. Place the sliced vegetables in a large bowl, and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the thyme, and toss together.

2. Arrange the vegetables in the gratin dish. Add the milk, season with more salt and pepper if you wish, and place in the oven on the middle rack. Bake 45 minutes; every 15 minutes, press the vegetables down into the milk with the back of your spoon. After 30min, add in onion and desired amount of minced garlic; continue baking until onions are partly cooked/becoming translucent or lightly brown (depending how you cut them)

3. Add the cheese, and stir in carefully to incorporate. Return to the oven, and b

ake another 20 to 30 minutes, stirring or pressing the vegetables down with the back of your spoon every 10 minutes until the gratin is nicely browned and most of the liquid is absorbed.

4. Line a pie plate with pie crust dough; dump veggie mixture inside. Cover with second pie crust, brush top with egg/milk/salt, continue baking until crust is brown. Let sit for 10-15min before serving.

Layered Veggie Torte

More of a method than an actual recipe, this was inspired by this write-up in The Minimalist.
The veggies below are what we had on hand from the garden (see below!), but I can think of dozens of other additions that would be great as well.
I decreased some of the butter/oil that would have been good and instead slathered on some of the creamy pesto from last week.It turned out really well, and since we had grilled all the veggies the night before, it was easy to pop in the oven for 30min tonight.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch slices
4 medium zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5-10 small/medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
garlic salt, to taste
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cup baby spinach1/4 cup (or less) freshly grated Parmesan
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1. Brush eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes lightly with oil (or cooking spray) and sprinkle with salt, garlic salt, and pepper; if roasting, grease 2 baking sheets with oil. Roast or grill vegetables on both sides until soft.

2. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat bottom and sides of 8-inch springform pan with oil/cooking spray. Layer a third of the eggplant slices into bottom of the pan, then layer in half the zucchini, tomato, spinach and basil, sprinkling each layer with a bit of salt and pepper. Repeat layers until all vegetable are used. Press the top with a spatula or spoon to make the torte as compact as possible. Sprinkle top with Parmesan and bread crumbs, and drizzle with about 1 tablespoon oil or melted butter if desired.

3. Bake torte in oven until hot throughout and browned on top, about 30 minutes (may need to set oven to broil at the very end). Let sit for 5 minutes before removing outer ring of pan, then let cool for another 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings (ha, or 2 if you're Scott and I)

Fried Chickpeas With Chorizo and Spinach

I modified this from the NYT to be a little healthier...however, in removing some of the oil, it definitely dried out more than I would have liked. We still liked it enough to make it again though, and when I do I'll cook things for less time than is listed below, and also maybe add even more of the spinach/sherry mix (and not let all of the liquid evaporate from it). Great flavor though, and a fairly simple, almost-one-dish recipe.

2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling (supplement with spray oil as needed)
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, as dry as possible
Salt and black pepper (I also added some red pepper flakes)
4 ounces chorizo, diced (Spanish style in links, not the soft, ground Mexican kind)
1/2 pound spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 cup sherry
1 to 2 cups bread crumbs

1. Heat the broiler.
2. Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet large enough to hold chickpeas in one layer over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add chickpeas and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until chickpeas begin to brown, about 10 minutes, then add chorizo. Continue cooking for another 5 to 8 minutes or until chickpeas are crisp; use a slotted spoon to remove chickpeas and chorizo from pan and set aside.
4. Add the remainder of the 1/4 cup of oil to the pan; when it’s hot, add spinach and sherry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook spinach over medium-low heat until very soft and the liquid has evaporated. Add chickpeas and chorizo back to the pan and toss quickly to combine; top with bread crumbs, drizzle with a bit more oil and run pan under the broiler to lightly brown the top. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings.

Quinoa with Butternut Squash and Carmelized Onion

Super-easy and healthy side dish that I threw together for Sunday night's dinner:

Quinoa, cooked and fluffed per container instructions
Butternut squash, cubed (I used frozen to save even more time, although the trick is finding it in stores)
1/2 onion, cut as desired
Asiago/parmesan cheese blend

Saute squash and onion over medium heat until onions are caramelized. Season as desired (I used garlic salt and red pepper flakes).
Sprinkle cheese onto cooked quinoa, top with squash and onions.
Sprinkle more cheese on top if desired.

Mole Chicken

This recipe requires Mole Mix Spice Blend from one of my favorite shops here in Boulder, Savory Spice. I'm sure you could substitute something similar if you had a good mole spice blend, but I can vouch for this stuff and say that it really turned out so well, and I only made a couple very minor tweaks. Great served with some warm corn tortillas!

Ingredients:
2 medium sized tomatillos, roasted [Peel paper coating off tomatillos (if it is still intact), cut each in half, and bake at ~450 for ~5min on each side, or until they start to char]
4 oz. Mexican Molé
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided
2 tbsp. raisins
2 tbsp. olive oil [--> I just used Pam to reduce some fat/calories]
1 lb. thickly sliced chicken breast

Directions:
1. Roast tomatillos in broiler until blistered and slightly blackened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. In small bowl, mix Savory Spice Shop’s Mexican Molé seasoning, 1/4 cup warm water and 1/4 cup chicken broth into a smooth paste.
3. In food processor or blender, pulse molé paste, raisins and tomatillos until thoroughly blended. Set aside.
4. Next, heat an oiled/pam-sprayed pot over medium high heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides but do not cook through. Remove and set aside.
5. In same pot, over a medium heat, sauté molé paste stirring for no more than 1-2 minutes. Add sliced chicken and rest of chicken broth and stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 12 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

This recipe was adapted slightly from Hungry Girl.
It turned out really well, and was especially delicious with a layer of 3 lightly-oven-crisped corn tortillas as a base.

Ingredients:
3 cups fat-free chicken broth
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 medium-sized diced sweet yellow onion
3 cups green enchilada sauce
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
12 oz. cooked boneless skinless lean chicken breast, chopped or shredded
1 1/2 cup frozen white (or yellow) corn
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
dash hot sauce, or more to taste

Optional toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips

Directions:In a large pot, saute garlic and onion until slightly tender. Add broth and bring to a low boil on the stove. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in enchilada sauce, pumpkin, and spices. Once soup returns to a low boil, add chicken and corn, and mix well. Cook for an additional 3 - 5 minutes, until soup is heated throughout. Add a dash or more hot sauce. Serve and, if you like, top with shredded cheese and/or crushed chips.
MAKES 9 1-cup SERVINGS

Vegetarian Italian Sausage and Bean Stew with Polenta

I got this recipe from the Morningstar website and just made a few tweaks. We *really* liked it, and it is super-easy to prepare. Throw together a salad and a take-and-bake crusty loaf of break (we love Pillsbury) and you have a wonderful (and healthy) meal with minimal effort. The hardest part is finding the veggie sausage crumbles -- if you can't, you could use the regular ground crumbles, but I'd add some more savory spices if you go that route.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil (I just used Pam)
2 Tbsp jarred minced garlic (or fresh, to taste)
1 1/2 cups chopped white onions
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
2 cans (15 oz. each) cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained
1 package Morningstar Farms Sausage Style Recipe Crumbles
1 package (16 oz.) prepared polenta (preferrably with Italian seasoning) cut into 1/4-inch slices
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste...and a dash of cayenne pepper if so inclined

Directions
1. In large saucepan combine olive oil (or Pam), onions, and garlic over medium heat, saute until onions are translucent.
2. Add tomatoes, beans, and sausage crumbles. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Season additionally if desired.
3. Fry polenta slices in a large skillet in olive oil (or Pam) until golden and crusty, about 3 minutes per side. Spoon stew over polenta slices and serve immediately.

Fig and Prosciutto Pizza

We made this recipe loosely following one posted on Culinary in the Desert. It was completely phenomenal (especially when washed down with a growler of Upslope Brewery's newest addition, a delicious dunkelweizen...followed with some also delicious Italian red wine... :-P). All in all, an awesome Saturday night!

cornmeal, for dusting
1 package prepared multigrain pizza dough (we got ours from Whole Foods)
olive oil/pam
minced garlic
rosemary
salt and black pepper
1/2 cup fig preserves
4 oz prosciutto
2 oz cheese*

* I skipped this on my half and added tomatoes, red onions, and mushrooms. Scott used some specialty cheese on sample at Whole Foods. The recipe says gorgonzola...I say just use what you like best!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Sprinkle enough cornmeal to lightly cover a pizza peel.
Stretch and roll out dough to a rough 12 to 13" circle and transfer to the cornmeal-dusted peel.
Drizzle dough with oil and sprinkle with garlic and rosemary - season with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
Drop small dollops of the fig preserves all over the top, leaving a 1" border around. Scatter the cheese/toppings and prosciutto over the top.
Slide dough onto a baking stone or cookie sheet and bake until golden, about 10 to 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving. Makes about 4 servings. (Ha, we ate it all...)

HG Seafood Gumbo

This recipe was adapted from a Hungry Girl recipe, and jazzed up with some sausage and rice.

Ingredients:

1 package Jennie-O turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/2 inch wide medallions

One 14.5-oz. can crushed or chopped tomatoes (not drained)

8 oz. peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp with tails removed (I used 12oz)

8 oz. white crab meat (about two 6-oz. cans drained)

1 cup Spicy Hot V8 vegetable juice

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. Cajun seasoning, or more to taste

1 tsp. Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, or more to taste

black pepper, to taste

2 cups cooked brown rice

Directions: Bring a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion. Add in kielbasa, and stirring occasionally, cook for about 3 minutes, until veggies are tender. Add tomatoes, V8 juice, and cornstarch. Stir well, making sure cornstarch dissolves completely. Cook until mixture begins to bubble. Add Cajun seasoning, and Frank's RedHot. Stir and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add shrimp, and continue to simmer until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add crab meat and 3/4 cup water. Raise heat to medium, and return to a boil. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let thicken for 5 minutes. Season to taste with black pepper. If you like, add a little more Cajun seasoning and Frank's RedHot.

Either top a bed of rice with gumbo, or add rice to gumbo itself.

Enjoy! Makes 5 servings

Mole Chili

This is a recipe that I "made up" more or less, blending several chili and mole sauce recipes.
Here's the version I made today; after some more eating, I may post suggestions for changes next time.

Servings: 12 - 14

Ingredients
2lb ground meat (I used 1 lb 94% lean beef and 1 lb bison)
2 onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped

4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
2 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 packet chili seasoning
4 cloves garlic
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes, not drained
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, not drained
1 (15oz) can chili beans in spicy sauce, not drained
1 (15oz) can kidney beans, drained


1. In 10-inch skillet, cook meat over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. In same skillet, brown onions.
2. Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, mix beef mixture and remaining ingredients.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 4 to 6 hours. Stir well before serving.