Southwest Salad

Southwest Salad  adapted from Life . . . As I See It
2 c. brown rice
1-15 oz. can black beans, reduced sodium, drained and rinsed
2 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder

Directions:  Combine all ingredients and refrigerate. Enjoy!

Modifications:
-I used red wine vinegar.
-I used ready to serve brown and wile rice.
-I used canned corn instead of frozen.

Here's what you'll need:

Cut up the red pepper.

Cut up the onion (I used 1/4 of an onion).

Cut up a jalapeno.  (I used 1/4)

After cooking the rice in the microwave, add it to the bowl.

Drain and rinse the corn.

Drain and rinse the black beans.  Chop up some cilantro.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

Scott and I loved this dish.  It had a good kick with the onion, jalapeno, and cilantro and had sweetness from the corn.

The brown and serve rice worked out great and each little container was finished in just 60 seconds each.  I made this dish in about 3 minutes and then just popped it into the refrigerator to chill.

I want to make a breakfast burrito or omelet using the leftovers.  This dish would also be great to as a dip with pita bread.

I did have to add salt to cut through the vinegar but that may just be because I used red wine vinegar instead of white.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Baja Chicken & Slaw Sliders

Baja Chicken & Slaw Sliders adapted from Taste of Home Magazine
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 tsp grated lime peel
1/4 tsp lime juice

Slaw:
1 cup broccoli coleslaw mix
2 Tbsp finely chopped sweet red pepper
2 Tbsp finely chopped sweet onion
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
2 tsp finely chopped seeded jalapeno pepper
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp sugar

Sliders:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground pepper
8 Hawaiian sweet rolls, split
8 small lettuce leaves
8 slices tomato

Directions:  In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, lime peel and lime juice.  In another small bowl, combine the slaw ingredients.  Chill the slaw and sauce until serving.

Cut each chicken breast in half widthwise; flatten to 1/2-in thickness.  Sprinkle with seasonings.

Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack.  Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 iches from the heat for 4 to 7 minutes on each side or until no longer pink.

Grill rolls, cut side down, for 30-60 seconds or until toasted.  Serve chicken on rolls with lettuce, tomato and slaw.

Modifications:
-I used whole wheat buns instead of Hawaiian rolls.
-I did not use cilantro in the slaw.

Here's what you'll need for the slaw:

Here's what you'll need for the sliders:



Preheat and clean the grill.

Mix the sour cream, lime peel and lime juice.

Combine the slaw ingredients in a separate bowl.

Chop up a little red bell pepper, sweet onion, and jalapeno and add them to the broccoli slaw mix.

Put the two separate bowls (slaw and dressing mix) in the refrigerator until time to serve.

Cut the chicken breasts in half width-wise.

Place the cumin, chili powder, and salt in a bowl.  

Add the chicken and stir to coat.

Grill chicken until done.

Pull the slaw and dressing from the fridge and mix together.

Serve the sliders with the slaw on top.  Add any other toppings.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

This was a really good summer dish.  The smokey spiciness of the chicken was a good combination with the creamy coolness of the slaw. 

I wasn't really thinking things through when I cut the chicken in half because the little slider-sized chicken did not fit on the buns.  They would have fit perfectly, however, on the smaller Hawaiian rolls.

The slaw was interesting.  I think the lime paired well with the cumin and chili powder on the chicken but, by itself, I don't think it was good at all.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork adapted from allrecipes.com

This recipe is for 8 servings but I doubled it (plus a little more) to have about 20 servings.
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 (2lb) pork shoulder roast
1 cup bbq sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 extra large onion, chopped
2 large cloves, crushed
1 1/2 tsps dried thyme
8 hamburger buns
1/8 cup butter

Directions:  Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker.  Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the bbq sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth.  Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme.  Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork 5 to 6 hours.

Remove the roast from the slow cooker, shred the meat using two forks.  Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.

Spread the inside of both halves of hamburger buns with butter.  Toast the buns, butter side down, in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown.  Spoon pork into the toasted buns.

Modifications:
-I didn't use brown sugar.
-I didn't toast the buns.

Here's what you'll need:

Chop up the onions

Chop the garlic. 

Pour the oil into the bottom of a slow cooker and lay the pork on top.

Pour the bbq sauce over the meat.

Add the rest of the ingredients.

I cooked it on 375 for about 4 hours and then I turned it down to 300 for another hour. 

Pull the pork from the cooker and shred it.

Put the shredded meat back into the sauce.  Turn it on low until ready to serve.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

Most of you probably don't know but I do not eat pork.  Funny then that I would make pork, right?  Well, Scott loves pork so when we have a family gathering I try to give it to him.

This sauce was so tasty.  Once again, if you have your own favorite bbq sauce then you could just use that.  I did use store-bought sauce but added a few extra ingredients to kick up the flavor.

When we pulled the pork out to shred it, it was some of the most tender meat I have ever seen.  This pork shoulder was "bone-in" and I literally just grabbed the meat and gently pulled the bones out.  It was that fall-apart.

Everyone went on and on about how much they liked it and there was hardly any left.  I know that it smelled delicious!

Hope you enjoy!

April

Braised BBQ Beef Sandwiches

Braised BBQ Beef Sandwich adapted from Simply Recipes
1 3lb chuck roast, rinsed and dried
2 medium onions, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 28oz can whole tomatoes
1 18oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 sandwich or hamburger buns

Directions:  In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil on medium heat.  Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, roughly chopping them in the pot.  Add the bbq sauce, increase heat to medium high and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the chuck roast.  Bring to a low simmer, cover and slow cook until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 3 hours.

Remove the meat from the pot.  Use a fork and knife to separate the roast into small pieces. Set aside.

Increase the heat on the pot to medium/medium-high, uncover, and reduce the liquid until thick.  Stir often to prevent burning.

Return the meat to the liquid in the pan.  warm both thoroughly.  add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on buns.  Makes approximately 12 sandwiches.

Here's what you'll need:

Chop up an onion

Saute in a deep pan with some oil.  Make sure the pan is big enough to slow cook the meat in.

Add a can of tomatoes.  The recipes says to add the can and then roughly cut them up while they are in the pan.  It would have been much easier to give them a rough chop beforehand.

Add the bbq sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the meat and slow cook for about 3-4 hours.

Pull out the meat and shred it and then put it back into the sauce.  Keep on low until ready to serve.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

This beef was very tender but also had a few "burnt ends" which were fantastic, as well.  While it didn't have the smokiness of being cooked in a smoker, being slow cooked on the stove gave the meat a very tender, fall apart texture that really soaked up the sauce.

I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle Sauce which had a nice little zing at the end but you can use whatever sauce you love the most.  This is a perfect and easy summer meal!

Hope you enjoy!

April

Cucumber Mostaccioli Salad

Cucumber Mostaccioli Salad from my friend, JoAnna Sullivan
1 box of mostaccioli
1 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp accent
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup vinegar
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-4 cucumbers, diced
1-2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1-2 large green bell peppers, diced

Directions:  Cook the pasta according to the directions.  Whisk together all of the ingredients (minus the vegetables).  Add the chopped vegetables together, stir in the pasta and chill.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I cooked the pasta according to the directions on the box.  While that was cooking, I cut up and diced 3 cucumbers.

#2 I halved 2 pints (containers) of cherry tomatoes.

#3 I diced 2 green peppers.

#4 I added all of the herbs, sugar, oil and vinegar.

#5 I stirred in the pasta.

The Finished Product:

Review:

A couple of weeks ago my friend, JoAnna, came over for a playdate and she brought this pasta salad.  It was so delicious that I had to make it for the 4th of July and it was a big hit.

The vinegarette dressing is sweet and tangy and when combined with the crunchiness of the cucumbers and green peppers it is a great combination.

Believe me, you will love this!

Hope you enjoy.

April

*****(5 Stars)--This dish was fantastic!