Grilled Poblano and Avocado Salsa

One of our meals this last week was shrimp tacos from a website call Eat, Live, Run.  The tacos were yummy, but the best part of the dinner was this salsa.  I have seen lots of salsa recipes with grilled corn and pepeprs and I have never tried them.  I just wanted to eat the salsa and skip the shrimp.  My little one year old couldn't get enough.  She kept yelling for more.    This salsa tasted like summertime!  Delicious!

1 ear corn, husked
6 scallions, white and light green parts only
1 poblano chile
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved  (I used two roma tomatoes instead)
1 large (or 2 small) haas avocado
1 small bunch cilantro, minced
juice of two small limes
1 clove garlic, minced
1./2 salt
1 T olive oil

Heat your grill up to medium high.

Brush corn, green onions and poblano chile with olive oil and place on grill. You want everything to have a nice char to it—to chile should be black and the corn and onion should be charred. This will take about five minutes, flipping occasionally with tongs.

When done, remove veggies from grill and let cool on a plate. When cool, peel the now black skin off the pepper, remove the seeds and chop into small dice. Run your knife down the corn to remove the kernels from the cob and place into a bowl with the pepper. Chop onion and place into bowl as well.

Add chopped avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro to the bowl and add lime juice and salt.

Slowcooker Baked Beans

This is a great recipe to use pinto beans sitting in your cupboards. 

From 365 Day Of Slow Cooking

1 cup dry pinto beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups water
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 T molasses
tsp salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried mustard
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Combine beans and water in slow cooker and cover. Cook on LOW for 8 hours or until soft. Drain liquid and add in the rest of the ingredients. Stir. Cover and cook on LOW for an additional 3 hours.

Individual Potato Gratin

From Sister's Cafe

This will be one of our side dishes for Christmas Eve.

Ingredients:
Vegetable spray
2 large russet potatoes, rough peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated swiss cheese
2 green onions, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray (I used the jumbo sized muffin tins). Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto a plate and serve.

Spicy Bake Macaroni

From Everyday Italian with Giada DeLaurentis

I saw this recipe on the Food Network and my mouth started watering. I love love love macaroni and cheese and something in my brain thinks that if there is a vegetable in it, it must be healthy.

Ingredients
Salt
1 pound elbow macaroni pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound assorted mushrooms, quartered
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess liquid
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup
1/4 cup Romano, plus 1/3 cup
2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons
12 ounces mozzarella cubed (about 2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and the onion is golden, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spinach, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup Romano. Spread the softened butter in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish and sprinkle half of the bread crumb mixture inside the dish to coat.
In a large bowl combine the vegetable mixture with the cooked macaroni, cubed mozzarella, the remaining Parmesan and Romano cheeses, and the nutmeg. Spoon into the prepared baking dish, top with the remaining bread crumb mixture, and dot the top with the remaining butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Texas Caviar

I just made this for a baby shower and got a lot of requests for this recipe. Here it is:

3 cans of Black beans, drained
1 can white shoe-peg corn
1 can garbanzo beans
1 C. green onions, chopped
2-6 medium tomatoes, diced (I use 6)
1 C. green pepper
1 small can diced green chiles
1 T. garlic
2 T. cilantro
2 avocados, diced
2 C. bottled Italian dressing

Combine all ingredients. Allow to marinate in the fridge for a few hours before serving. Serve with tortilla chips. Be creative. Add or take away ingredients as you wish.

Golden Sweet Cornbread

From Allrecipes.com

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Tortellini Salad

I was messing around one day trying to come up with a new salad and this was the result. It has been a hit at most parties we take it to.

3 bags of frozen tri-colored tortellini
1 bottle Newman's Own Caesar dressing
1 bag baby spinach
1 tomato (add more if you like tomatoes)
1 red onion or 2 bunches of green onions
1/2 C. parmesan cheese
croutons

Cook the tortellini according to package directions. Rinse with cold water. When tortellini is cool, add to the bowl the dressing, tomato, onion and parmesan. Mix well. Just before serving add the spinach and croutons. Enjoy!

Cafe Rio Rice

3 c water
4 t chicken bouillon
4 t garlic –minced
½ bunch cilantro
1 can green chiles—or equivalent fresh
¾ t salt
1 T butter
½ onion
3 c Instant Rice
*Blend cilantro, green chiles and onion together in food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 minutes.

Black Beans

2 lbs. washed black beans
1 lb. diced white onions
1 oz. garlic, diced
.5 lb. cuban or anaheim peppers
.5 bunch of cilantro

Wash beans well and let soak overnight. Lightly saute onions, garlic, celery and peppers. Bring the beans to a boil and add vegetables and cilantro. Gently simmer for 4 hours. Serve with rice.

This recipe makes a lot so I only make half for my family of 5.