Cold Rice Salad

Rice Salad
3 c cooked rice
15 oz kidney beans
1 ½ c sliced celery
½ c chopped green onions
½ c green bell peppers
4-8 oz cooked ham (chunked small)
Mix above ingredients and refrigerate

Dressing
In a sauce pan combine
1/3 c apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs sugar or substitute
¼ c oil
2 Tbs mustard
2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp Tabasco

Head dressing until mix is combined and boils. When cool add to rice mixture. Chill well before serving.

Easy Carmel Corn

Carmel corn
3 quarts popcorn
1 c brown sugar
½ c Karo
½ c butter
½ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp baking soda

Mix brown sugar, butter, salt, and Karo. Boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Add soda and vanilla. Cover popcorn with mixture evenly.

Bake on cookie sheets at 255 F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Granola

Crunchy Granola
7 c oats (can use gluten free)
1 c flaked unsweetened coconut
1 c sliced almonds
1 cup diced pecans or walnuts
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ c vegetable oil
½ tsp salt
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 Tbs vanilla
5 cups mixed dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, pineapple, apricots and/or dates)

Preheat oven to 250 F. Lightly coat two rimmed baking sheets with butter. In very large bowl, combine oats, coconut, almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, salt, maple syrup and vanilla. Pour over dry mixture, stirring and tossing until well combined.
Spread granola on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, bring granola at edge toward the middle. Reverse baking sheets (top to bottom) each time you stir.
When granola is light to medium golden brown, remove from oven and cool.
Transfer granola to large bowl and mix in dried fruit. Makes 18 cups

Mango Salsa

This is a sweet salsa that is great cold and can be made mild, medium or hot depending on taste!

Mango Salsa
1 large jar/can Mangos
1 small can crushed pineapple or equivalent fresh
10 oz can Tropical Fruit or equivalent fresh
1 large sweet onion chopped
10 tomatillos chopped
5 jalapeno peppers (or chopped chilies to desired heat)
1 bunch cilantro
¼ c rice wine vinegar
¼ c lemon juice
¼ c orange juice

Chop mangos, tomatillos, onion, cilantro and mix with pineapple, fruit and peppers. Mix rice wine vinegar, lemon juice and orange juice. Mix fruit and liquids gently. Best when allowed to sit several hours.

Sesame Noodles

1 lb of spaghetti (can use gluten free)
1 bell pepper thinly sliced (red/orange)
½ c cucumber chopped
1 celery rib
1 bunch green onions chopped
1 Tbs mint chopped
¼ cup cilantro

Sauce
1 Tbs Sesame Oil
1/3 c smooth peanut butter
2 shallots chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ -1 Tbs grated ginger
¼ c rice vinegar
1/3 c soy sauce
½ lime, juiced

In blender, blend all sauce ingredients until smooth and creamy. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper as needed. Can be thinned with water.

In large bowl gently toss spaghetti and other ingredients. Add sauce a little at a time, coating evenly to desired taste. Serve Chilled.

Lemon Asparagus Chicken Stir Fry

This is yummy and really easy to prepare
-Makes about 4 servings

• 1 large lemon
• 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons of veggie oil
• 1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch diagonal slices
• 1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Grate 2 teaspoons of zest from the lemon, squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice, and set aside. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Stir-fry the chicken, stirring constantly, until golden and nearly cooked through, about 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and cook the asparagus and bell pepper, stirring constantily, until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the broth, soy sauce, pepper flakes and the reserved lemon juice and zest. Return the chicken and accumulated juices to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 2 mintues. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Giada's Chicken Cacciatore

I saw her make this on TV and thought it looked easy enough for me! It's easy, delicious, and dressy enough for dinner guests (who always ask for the recipe). It seems coating the chicken in flour and browning really makes the chicken tender. I now use this method to cook chicken with various veggies and jar'd simmer sauce if I need a really quick and easy meal. You can't over cook this either, I've left it simmer for over an hour and it's great. Of course if simmer'd longer the veggies are soft (which is fine for us) but the chicken just falls apart. Yummmmm!

I use 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts and serve with pasta. It was served with mashed potatoes on the show that featured this recipe.


Prep Time:15 min
Cook Time:40 min
Ready In:55 min
Servings:4

Ingredients
4 chicken thighs
2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons drained capers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions
Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano.

Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.