Confident Kitchen

1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
14-oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
19-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup diced yellow squash
1 cup diced zucchini
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup diced carrot
4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed (about 2 1/2 lbs.)
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Pierce potatoes with tines of fork and bake until tender, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic and cook, stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Add tomatoes, broth and beans. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 20 minutes.

Add yellow squash and zucchini. Cover and simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, split baked potatoes and mash their pulp slightly. Spoon vegetable stew into center.

**I didn’t actually get a photo of the meal before we sat down to eat.  The boys were hungry after Kung Fu and I was hungry from waiting for them to come home.  It was an amazing dinner.**

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3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 scallions (white and light green parts), thinly sliced (1/2 cup)
1 medium onion or leek (white part only), finely chopped (3/4 cup)
3 Tbs. tomato paste
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
10-oz. pkg. spinach, stemmed, rinsed well and cut into thin strips
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Kalamata olives and feta cheese and/or thick yogurt for serving

Directions:
In large skillet, heat 2 Tbs. oil over medium-high heat. Stir in scallions, onion, pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 10 minutes. Uncover and cook until water evaporates. Continue cooking until onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, 1 1/4 cups water and rice. Stir well, increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover again and simmer 10 minutes. Spread spinach and dill over rice, cover again and cook until rice is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, mix well, then place double thickness of paper towels over spinach-rice mixture. Cover again and let stand until cool. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle with remaining oil. Serve with olives and feta cheese.

**Notes: prepare to love wilted spinach. Personally, I ate a few bites of the spinach and then promptly dug around it to eat the rice. I’m also not a huge fan of kalamative olives, so this meal wasn’t exactly my favorite thing. I did like the rice though, and will make that portion with some pita bread next time.**

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From Cooking Light:

In this simple entree, almonds supply vitamin E, while salmon delivers a good amount of niacin.  Vary the herbs according to your preference; try dill, thyme, or basil.

Skill:  Easy
Prep:  5 minutes
Total:  20 minutes

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 2 (1-ounce) slices white bread, torn
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1-inch thick)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• cooking spray
• 4 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 400.  Combine first 5 ingredients in a food processor; add 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Process until finely chopped.

Sprinkle salmon with the remaining teaspoon salt and pepper.  Top fillets evenly with breadcrumb mixture, press gently to adhere.  Place fillets on a baking sheet coating in cooking spray (or on a cedar plank, as Carl and I did).

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.  Serve with lemon wedges.

4 servings.

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1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
all purpose flour
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 lemon, cut into 5 very thin slices and slivered
1 pound spinach, stems removed, leaves julienne
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups simmering chicken stock
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (I had to skip this part)
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet. Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess.

Saute chicken until well browned and cooked through. Drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, cut into slices and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, scallions, slivered lemons and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Add rice, stirring constantly, and cook 5 minutes more, making sure rice does not brown. Add wine, stirring constantly, and let totally evaporate. When wine is evaporated, begin adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, letting each addition evaporate before adding the next addition. After fourth addition of stock is added, begin tasting rice. Rice should be al dente when done. Add chicken after fourth addition of stock is added. You need to keep tasting rice, because, depending on rice, you may or may not have to use all of the stock. After fourth addition of stock is absorbed, add chicken and lemon zest. After last addition of stock is absorbed, remove from heat, and stir in butter, Romano, parsley, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

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This tasty dinner can be pretty abstract.  You need pita (or Naan), tomato or spaghetti sauce, cheese, and some veggies.  This time, I used garlic naan, garlic spaghetti sauce, olives, mushrooms, red bell pepper, and red onion.  I also used mozza cheese on three of the pizza’s and goat cheese on the other two.   Broil at 350 for 5-8 minutes, cut into 4 slices and enjoy!

Next time, I’m going to try pesto and goat cheese.

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• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
• 3/4 cup picante sauce, divided
• 6 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup turkey

1. In a nonstick skillet, cook and stir onion and green pepper in broth for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Mash one can of black beans. Add to the skillet with 3/4 cup of picante sauce and remaining beans; heat through.
2. Spoon 1/4 cup mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Add a few strips of turkey.  Roll up and place, seam side down, in a 13-inch x 9-inch x 2-inch baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Combine tomatoes and remaining picante sauce; spoon over enchiladas.
3. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses. Bake 5 minutes longer.

*Edit*  Even though I’m not blonde, I had a moment while shopping for the ingredients.  Instead of picante enchilada sauce, I picked up Pace Picante sauce, basically salsa in a jar.  I have no idea why I did this.  Carl pointed out my  mistake after I had already baked the dish, but it turned out very delicious.  I think I prefer this way better for this style of enchilada.

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• 2 cups black beans
• 4 cups water
• 1 onion, halved
• 3 bay leaves (I can’t stand bay leaves, so I left those out)
• 6 garlic cloves, whole
• 2 cups rice
• 1/3 ts saffron
• 6 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 cups sweet onion, chopped
• 6 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayanne
• 4 Tablespoons fresh basil or parsley
• black pepper

Rinse and sort the beans.  In large pot, cover beans with 4 cups water and bring to a boil.  Cover and set aside for 2 hours.  Add the halved onions, garlic, and bay leaves and simmer until beans are tender, 1 1/2 -2 hours.  Remove the onion, garlic, and bay leaves, set aside and keep warm.

In the meantime, combine onion, tomato, olive oil, vinegar, cumin, cayenne, basil and pepper.  Toss to blend.

In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil.  Add rice and saffron.  Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the water.

To serve, layer rice, then beans, then tomato mixture on a plate.  Serve with a side of flat bread.

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• 1 Tablespoon Salted Butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons sliced shallot
• 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2.5 ounces goat cheese
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 Tablespoon salt
• 1/2 Tablespoon fresh cracked pepper
• 2 Tablespoons chives

In saucepan, add olive oil and butter and heat at medium temp.  Saute shallots and garlic until translucent.  Deglaze with wine.  Allow to reduce slightly.  Add salt, heavy cream, and goat cheese to pan.  Allow to reduce.  Toss with pasta, garnish with chives and pepper.

*Note:  we added toasted pine nuts*

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