Recipes

Crispy, colorful and delicious! This fresh springtime salad will have your taste buds asking for more.

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
white sugar to taste
3/4 pound thinly sliced red cabbage
2 radishes, thinly sliced
2 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons crumbled feta
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 sprigs dill, chopped (optional)
Apple cider vinegar (optional)

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Blanch asparagus until just tender, drain, and immediately plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. When the asparagus is cold, drain and slice on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. In a small bowl, stir together tahini, water, lemon juice, and garlic. Stir in sugar to taste. Toss together asparagus, red cabbage, radishes, green onions, feta, pine nuts, and dill in a large bowl. Pour in tahini dressing and mix to combine.

Cinco de Mayo is just two days away. So let’s celebrate with one of my favorite dishes, Chicken Enchiladas. In one hour you can create a traditional, healthy, and fun meal for your friends and family.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced
1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
16 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses
Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Directions
Coat large saute pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Sprinkle chicken with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning. Remove chicken to a platter, allow to cool.

Saute onion and garlic in pan until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, saute 1 minute.

Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to saute pan, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.

Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable. Coat the bottom of 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans with a ladle of enchilada sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling, place 8 enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until cheese melts.

Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream (or yogurt) and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans.
— recipe from Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
kosher salt to taste
1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with liquid
1 lb lentils (brown or beluga), washed and picked over
2 1/2 quarts water
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs parsley
1/2 lb Swiss chard, mustard greens or kale, stemmed, washed and roughly chopped (~6 cups)
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup elbow macaroni or other soup pasta (optional)
freshly grated Parmesan for serving

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat, and add the onion and carrot. Cook, stirring, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add half the garlic and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir together for a minute, just until the garlic is fragrant, and add the tomatoes and their liquid. Turn up the heat slightly and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in lentils, water, bay leaf, sprigs of thyme and parsley, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add the remaining garlic, salt to taste and add the greens. Continue to simmer, covered, for another 15 minutes. Add freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust seasoning. Stir in pasta, and continue to simmer until the pasta is tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve. Yields 6 to 8.
(recipe from nytimes.com)

If you’re in a hurry, you can serve this spicy Tex-Mex chili in a prepared pie crust, without the crust, or in taco shells. For an extra flourish, top it with sliced avocado and a generous spoonful of sour cream.

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 cup pie crust mix
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium-size green pepper, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped
4 scallions, white part thinly sliced; green tops thinly sliced (optional garnish)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp each ground cinnamon, coriander, and cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup black olives
1 can (10 oz) red kidney or black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (optional topping)

Directions
For the crust: In a medium-size bowl, combine the pie crust mix, cornmeal, sugar, and red pepper. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water and stir just until mixture comes together.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll out the dough to make a pastry shell. Press the dough into the pie pan and flute the edges. Poke the pastry with a fork in several places to prevent it from bubbling up when cooking. Bake, uncovered, until lightly crisped around the edges – about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
For the filling: Heat the oil in a skillet over moderate heat for 1 minute. Saute the scallions and garlic for a minute or so.. Stir in cocoa, chili powder, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and salt, and saute 1 minute longer. Add the beef and saute until browned – about 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft – about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and corn and black olives.
Spoon the filling into the baked pie shell and bake, uncovered, until bubbling – 12 to 15 minutes. Spoon dollops of sour cream on top of the pie and sprinkle with sliced scallion tops if desired. (Instead of sour cream, we used yogurt and also added cilantro as a garnish)
Recipe from Reader’s Digest One Dish Meals, The Easy Way

You’ll have your guests saying “Yummm” on Thanksgiving with this delicious and healthy dip. By the way, tell the kids (and big kids) it’s called “Sunshine Dip”, and you’ll be amazed at how much squash they eat :-)

Ingredients
1 butternut squash
1 Tbs butter
4-6 garlic cloves
2 Tbs freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3-5 Tbs heavy whipping cream (My wife, Heather, used low-fat milk)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a sharp knife, slice squash in half. Remove seeds and discard or try roasting them later. Dot squash with butter (optional). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in shallow roasting pan, seed sides down, with about 1/8 inch water in bottom of pan. Roast for approx. 30-40 minutes or until you can easily insert a fork right into the rind of the squash. NOTE: About halfway through cooking the squash tuck unpeeled garlic cloves around squash in roasting pan. Alternative method – if there is still a lot of water in the bottom of the squash pan place garlic gloves in their own vessel or use a toaster oven – about 10 minutes at 400°F. Garlic is done roasting if you prod the clove and find it soft.

Removed squash from oven and, using a spoon, scoop out flesh from shells and place in food processor or blender. (If cooked nice and soft, you can also blend in a bowl with a spoon.) Discard (compost) squash shells.

Slip garlic cloves out of their skins and add to squash. Process until smooth, adding all but 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese and then the cream (milk). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and reserved cheese. Best if served warm with pita chips, Melba toasts or cheese straw. Serves four.

—Recipe from February issue of Traverse Magazine

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil**
2 large onions, cut in thin lengthwise slices
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
4 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup ketchup or chili sauce
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
6 cups cooked* or 4 cans (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, drained
4 medium zucchini, cut in 1/4 inch slices

Meatball Mixture
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
(Mix all ingredients together.)

*2 cups dry makes 6 cups cooked.
**Omit oil if using non-stick cookware.

Directions

Roll meatball mixture into 24 equal balls. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add meatballs; cook, turning, until well browned. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon. To the pan add onions and garlic; cook, stirring until limp. Add 2 cups water, bouillon cubes, ketchup, oregano and garbanzos. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Return meat to pan. Add zucchini and cook just until zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes. Makes 9-1/2 cups. Recipe from California Dry Bean Board