Melting Pot Stew

1 t. oil
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 garlic clove
6 c.3-16 oz. cans) chicken broth
1 1/3 c. cubed, peeled baking potatoes (or sweet potatoes)
1 can garbanzo beans
2 c. corn
3/4 t. salt
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 c. diced tomato
1/3 c. fresh cilantro

boil chicken broth, then cook all vegetables until soft (15 mins) in broth. add spices, boil on med for approx. 15 mins. let simmer. can serve in hollowed out pumpkin for parties, etc.

toppings: cilantro, cheese, sour cream, fresh squeezed lime, tomato

Spiced Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

3-4 chicken breasts, cubed
1/4 c. olive or vegetable oil
1/2 c. dry vermouth (obviously i substituted here. can sub: apple/grape/white grape juice or white wine vinegar)
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 - 1 t. ground cinnamon
2-3 T. brown sugar
2 tart apples, cored, cut in wedges
3 sweet potatoes, cooked and sliced

brown chicken pieces in a heavy skillet in hot olive/vegetable oil. drain off all but 1 tablespoon of oil. combine dry vermouth with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and brown sugar. add vermouth mixture to chieck in skillet along with apple wedges. bast chicken. cover skillet and cook over low hear for 25 minutes. add cooked sliced sweet potatoes and baste again until with cooking liquid. cover and simmer until heated.

note: i had to play around with this a little bit. i added more cinnamon and brown sugar because i substituted white wine vingear for the vermouth and i didn't really like the flavor. i think i'll use white grape juice next time. also i cut up the sweet potatoes and baked them in the oven for about a half an hour then added them to the skillet (i actually used a big boiling pot) and let them cook with the chicken and apples for the 25 minutes. i served it over rice pilaf. it was yummier then i thought it was going to be and darek liked it too even though he's not really a sweet potato fan.

chicken and wild rice salad

so this salad is really delicious and such a good summer dinner. however, i lost the recipe so this is from my head. feel free to experiment a little.

salad:
4 chicken breasts, seasoned, cooked, cubed
2 boxes uncle ben's original recipe long grain wild rice (the 5 minute quick recipe works too)
1 red pepper, diced
4-5 green onions, diced
juice from one lemon
sugar snap peas, diced (i've never added this but i know the original recipe included it)

dressing:
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 - 1/3 c white wine vinegar
2 T dijon mustard
2 T sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
pepper to taste

toppings:
sliced almonds
diced avocado
whatever else you think would be yummy (maybe craisins?)

bake chicken at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, while chopping veggies. i season my chicken on both sides with lowry's seasoning salt. prepare rice per box instructions. combine rice, cubed chicken, red peppers, green onion and sugar snap peas in large bowl. in seperate bowl whisk dressing ingredients together (can blend in a blender, or shake in a jar to mix as well). add dressing to rice salad. stir well. serve chilled with toppings. this salad is yummier if you prepare it 24 hours before serving.

enjoy

Pita Chips

One other little hint while I am thinking of it. I bought the most delicious hummous at this great grocery store the other day. I decided to just bake my own pita chips instead of buying pre-packaged and they turned out fantastic.

Just buy packaged pitas from the store. They are usually in between 2-3 dollars. Place them on a baking sheet and cut into triangles and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes? Watch them. Ovens vary so much....

What this basically does is just dry them out so they are crispy. The same thing that makes toast crispy I guess. They turned out GREAT and had zero fat and like .5 sugar per pita ( 8 decent size chips).

I didn't realize how good they would be warm! I liked them super crispy on the outside but a little chewy still in the middle. This takes a bit longer than buying the big bag from the store but it is totally worth it.

I will have to get my mom's hummous recipe on here soon...

Fruit Salsa

Okay ladies, I kind of die over this one. My mom introduced it to me last week and we mixed a batch up. I altered a couple things, like I always do. Usually my alterations make it healthier so I am sure you can dig that.

12 oz pkg. frozen raspberries (the sweetened kind that come in a box)
12 oz pkg. frozen strawberries (the sweetened kind that come in a box)
3-4 granny smith apples diced small with skins on
4 kiwis peeled and diced small

Thaw and strain frozen berries and mix with apples and kiwi (you can save the yummy juice and mix it in some lemonade - SOOO good.)

Add:
3 T. brown sugar
3 T strawberry or raspberry preserves
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

You could add halved blueberries or diced fresh peaches or berries too. Let sit and chill for a couple hours before serving.

Serve with these chips:

1 package of soft taco flour tortillas (usually 10-12 in a pkg) - take each tortilla and run it quickly under the faucet to wet each side, just a little wet though - not soggy (I know it sounds weird but trust me). Sprinkle a cinnamon/sugar mixture on each side so that it sticks. Place on baking sheet and use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the tortillas into triangle wedges. I found it easier just to cut them on the baking sheet so I didn't have to transport all the litle triangles. You can usually fit like four tortillas worth of chips on there.

Put tortilla triangles in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until desired crispness. CHECK THEM OFTEN AND DO NOT BURN! It is easy to do

**Sidenote - just so you know what I altered - the original recipe asked that you butter both sides of the tortilla and sprinkle with cinn/sugar and bake, which is what my mom did for us. I made them my way today without the butter and I actually thought they were better and MUCH more healthy :) I also added the lemon juice and I reduced the sugar and jam amounts because I thought it a bit too sweet.

A great thing to serve at a shower or for a luncheon. Fantastic summertime treat.

Salmon with warm spinach salad

This is one of my favorite meals - soooo good! From Rachael Ray.

4 T. olive oil
1 med. red onion, chopped
1/2 - 1 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. ground cumin
salt and pepper
juice of 2 limes
3 T. honey
1 t. chili powder
4, 6 oz. salmon filets
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 10 oz. box frozen corn
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 15 oz. can black beans
2-3 T. cilantro, chopped
6 c. baby spinach

Combine juice of 1 lime, honey, chili powder, s&p. Coat salmon in lime mixture (I actually marinate my salmon in this mixture a couple hours before I am ready to cook it) and cook 3-4 minutes each side on medium-high heat with 2 T. olive oil.
In separate pan, heat 2 T. olive oil, add onions, garlic, red pepper, cumin, and s&p. Cook 3 minutes. Add bell peppers, and corn and cook 1 minute. Add broth, cook 2 minutes. Add beans and remove from heat. Add juice of 1 lime, cilantro and spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Plate and top with cooked salmon.

Shiver me snackfoods

Try giving your kiddos a handful of frozen corn or peas in a bowl. Max gobbles them up like candy. I remember having this as an after school snack a lot as a child.

He loves frozen berries too. Just the big bag of mixed berries from Costco - dump a handful in a bowl totally frozen.

Yummy, healthy treats.

PS - The berries sometimes stain little hands, so be aware.

Gooshteh Loobia

This is my favorite Iranian dish although they don't make it all over Iran. It's from my dad's hometown on the Iran/Iraq border and it's generally poor people food, but it's so good and so easy. Sorry I don't have exact measurements, but you really can't mess this one up.

You need:

3 skinless chicken drumsticks
1 yellow onion
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoons of pasta sauce or tomato sauce
1 package of great northern beans
salt


So you can do this in a crockpot the night before you want to eat it or in the morning and you can eat it at night.

Put a package of beans and the chicken and onion (cut in quarters) into the crockpot with the turmeric and salt (about 2 teaspoons-but make sure to taste it to make sure it's not too salty). Add water--about 2 or three inches above the food. Turn the crockpot on for about 6-8 hours on high and then a little bit before you eat it, put in the tomato or pasta sauce (for coloring and flavor).

We eat this with cinnamon (just put some cinnamon on top) and a little bit of yogurt on the side. You can serve with rice--I will post a recipe of fancy Iranian rice later, but you can just cook up some plain white basmati rice or any other rice. It's yummy.