Black Bean Salad---- Mango Salsa

I have made both of these recipes multiple times. We love them both. The black Bean salad comes from Bobby Flay of Food network. The Mango Salsa comes from Tina Eahart.
I would put 4* by both of these

Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingsherry/black-bean-salad-and-mango-salsa
Black Bean and Corn Salad
Dressing:
1 small clove garlic
pinch salt, plus 2 teaspoons
Juice 1 1/2 limes (about 3 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salad:
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears)
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small hass avocado, halved, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems
Make the dressing: Smash the garlic clove, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and with the knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Whisk the garlic paste, lime juice, and chili powder together in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting with a few drops and drizzle the rest in a steady stream.

For the salad: Cook the corn, bell pepper, and onion in the olive oil until beginning to brown on high heat in a skillet. Toss in the black beans and cook until warm. Add the dressing and stir until combined.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and gently fold in avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro. Serve

Mango salsa:
2 mango - peeled and cubed
1/4 red bell pepper
1/4 green bell pepper- I just used 1/2 green bell pepper
1 small cucumber, diced
1 small can (about 1/4 cup) crushed pineapple, drained
1 clove garlic, crushed and smeared with salt into a paste
1-2 scallions - green parts too- I used red onion
1-2 Tablespoons cilantro - leaves and stims
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients except lime juice and garlic in a bowl.  Make the garlic into a paste by crushing the garlic with salt by using the back of your knife.  Add that to a small bowl with the lime juice. Add it to the vegetable/fruit mixture.

Spicy Pork Sliders

We had left-over pork tenderloin from last night's dinner. I used that to make my sliders, but I am going to give you the recipe as it is written.
My roasted red bell peppers had gone bad in the refrigerator and Jud didn't really want the romaine lettuce on his sandwich. It would have made a much prettier presentation with the roasted red peppers and romaine lettuce leaves.  This comes from August 2009 - Shape Magazine.

Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingsherry/spicy-pork-sliders

Ingredients:
1 pound pork tenderloin
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup yellow mustard
2 tablespoons sweet relish
1 tablespoon minced shallot
12 -2-inch slider or King's Hawaiian rollos
3 slices Swiss cheese, each cut into 4 triangles
1/4 cup roasted red bell peppers, patted dry and thinly sliced
5 large romaine leaves, ribs removed, cut into 2-inch strips
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place pork on a baking sheet and rub with oil, spices, salt, and pepper. Roast until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F. on a meat thermometer, about 20 minutes; cool. Stir together mustard, relish, and shallot (You can refrigerate the pork and sauce for up to 2 days.)
When ready to assemble sandwiches, thinly slice pork. Spread each roll with 2 teaspoons mustard mixture. Add pork, cheese, peppers, and lettuce. (Heat briefly to melt cheese, if desired.) Serve or cover and chill for up to 2 hours, bring to room temperature before serving. I put my sliders under a broiler to melt the cheese. Then I assembled the sandwiches.

Smoked Potato Salad

Great potato salad. Different than your normal potato salad. I think this would travel well.  The recipe calls for you to smoke them on the indirect heat of the grill, but Jud and I couldn't taste the smoked flavor. Next time, I will just roast them in the oven on 400 degrees F. for about 30-45 min.  It took an hour on the grill before they were done.  The recipe calls for small potatoes, but I used these because I had them and didn't want to go to the grocery store. We eat our pork tenderloin with raspberry chipotle which I make in Oregon. The recipe can be found on my blog. Recipe from June 2011 - Cooking Light
Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingsherry/smoked-potato-salad

Ingredients:
2 cups mesquite wood chips
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds small potatoes
1/3 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives
2 thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon red wine vinegatr
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1. Soak wood chips in water 1 hour; drain.
2. Remove the grill rack, and set aside. Prepare grill for indirect grilling, heating one side to medium-high and leave one side with no heat. Maintain temperature at 400 degrees. Pierce bottom of a disposable aluminum foil pan several times with the tip of a knife. Place pan on heat element on heated side of grill;p add 1 cup wood chips to pan. Place grill rack on grill. Combine 1 tablespoon oil, pepper, salt, and potatoes in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer in a disposable foil pan. Place pan over unheated side; close lid. Cook 30 minutes at 400 degrees or until tender, and add remaining 1 cup wood chips after 15 minutes. Remove potatoes from grill. Combine potatoes, olives, and onions in a medium bowl.
3. Combine the remaining oil, parsley, and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Drizzle oil mixture over potato mixture; toss well.
Now, this is how we did it.  That sounded way too complicated.  We have a charcoal grill so Jud built the fire on one side of the pit to cook the pork tenderloin.  On the other side, I placed a large piece of foil and spread the prepared potatoes in a single layer. Jud cooked the potatoes for 35 minutes with the lid down.  At that point he put the pork tenderloin on to cook.  While the potatoes continued to cook he cooked the pork tenderloin on the side with the heat.  This gave the potatoes a full hour.  As I said in the introduction, next time I will roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30-45 minutes.

Breakfast Sliders

In retirement, Jud and I have happened upon a great schedule of getting up and having coffee with the morning paper. (Nothing different there) Then we go for a nice hike and come back and have what we call brunch. Then we don't eat again until our appetizer around 4:00 p.m.  I love this schedule. It doesn't always work, but we usually do it a couple of times a week.


Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingsherry/breakfast-sliders

Ingredients:
1 package of sliders (I used Pepperidge Farms Clasic Wheat)
1 poched egg per person
sliced cheddar cheese
butter
canadian bacon, bacon, or deli-ham
1. Poach the eggs.
2. Take the sliders apart and place a small pat of butter on each side. Toast the bread just long enough to melt the butter.
3. Take it out of the oven and place a cheese slice on one side and the canadian bacon on the other side.  Place it back in the oven to toast the bread.
4. Remove the egg from the poacher and place on one side of the slider.  Put the two sides together and enjoy like a sandwich. Delish!!


Copycat Brooklyn Cafe Sun Dried Tomato Seared Scallops

Jud loves sea scallops so whenever I don't know what to cook, I think of sea scallops. They are really expensive, but he is definately worth it. I found this recipe while searching the internet for some copycat recipes for other things. I knew Jud would like it because he's just a scallops kind of guy.  I had some fish stock left over that I had in the freezer, so I used that for the liquid in the couscous. I added some toasted almonds and dried cherries.  Good combination.

Printable Recipe:

https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingsherry/sun-dried-tomato-seared-scallops

Ingredients:

10 sea scallops (I only made 7)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

2/3 cup orange juice

1/4 cup & 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

1 tomato, diced

1 bunch fresh basil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 zucchini, julienned (I only used 1)

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes

1. If sun dried tomatoes are moist, dry in 200 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until dry.  I thought mine were dry, because they were not packed in oil, but when I put them in the blender, they were too moist. I would suggest drying them in the oven.

2. Chop sun-dried tomatoes in blender until it becomes a smooth powder, set aside in a separate bowl.

3. After you have removed the sun-dried tomatoes, don't worry about getting all of it out, add basil, orange juice, and lemon juice to blender. Blend on moderate speed while drizzling 1/4 cup of olive oil in the mixture.

4. Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and garlic. Saute for 15seconds, do not burn, then add zucchini. Saute together, stirring frequently for 2 minutes until zucchini softens. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomato and remove from heat and put in a bowl to save for later.

5. Use paper towel to clean out skillet, then add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan.  Season the scallops with salt, pepper, and sun-dried tomato powder. Add scallops to pan and cook 3 minutes on one side before flipping.  Cook an additional 2 minutes on the other side. Transfer to a paper towel.

To serve:

Mound zucchini in the middle of two dinner plates. Place 5 scallops around each mound. Drizzle vinaigrette around the dish. Garnish with fresh basil sprig and a sprinkling of tomato powder.

Because my sun-dried tomatoes were not dry enough, it wasn't a powder. When I put it on the scallops to cook, it just burned.  So I just sprinkled some on the top of the dish and thought it was great. Next time I will dry my sun-dried tomatoes in the oven for 15 minutes.

Classic Shrimp Gobernador Tacos

This was really good, but awefully messy.  I think I am going to take the left-over shrimp and stuff some puff-pastry shells for lunch tomorrow.   I was able to eat mine w/o too much mess, but on Jud's second taco he just had the shrimp on the side and ate the taco plain.
This is from Marcela Vlladolid of Food Network.




http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/marcela-valladolid/classic-shrimp-gobernador-tacos-recipe/index.html

This is the recipe for the dish. You can print it right from the website.

Beef Kebabs with a Surprise Center

I saw this recipe when I was having coffee at a little shop in Oregon. When I got back to Texas, I decided to look it up on foodnetwork and make it.   Stacy was coming to San Antonio and she is always up for trying something new.  We really liked it, but it is very labor intensive.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/beef-kebabs-with-a-surprise-center-recipe/index.html

 

I decided to just give you the website instead of having to copy everything down. You can print it right from their site. 

Crustless Cheese Quiche

This is my favorite recipe for quiche.  It only has 1/2 cup of flour in the whole quiche and it is so good.  Much healthier than the version with a pie shell, and I like it better.  We like it with beets.  I forgot to add the tomatoes and olives before I took the picture. This picture was taken the second day.  This is one piece of the other half of the pie. I warmed it in the microwave for 1 min. 45 seconds.


Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingsherry/crustless-cheese-quiche
Ingredients:
2 cups small-curd cottage cheese                     1 (4oz) can chopped green chiles
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese           2 tablespoons chopped black olives, + more for garnish
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese                     1/2 cup flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten                                       1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons butter, melted                           1/2 teaspoon salt

chopped tomatoes and the extra olives for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, eggs, butter chiles and 2 tablespoons olives (This can be prepared ahead and refrigerated .)  Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to the cheese mixture and mix well.  Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake 15 minutes on 400 degrees F. Then turn the oven to 350 degrees F. and bake 30 minutes longer. Let cool for 15 minutes. Garnish with tomatoes and olives.  Hope you enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Cake

When you have fresh strawberries at your fingertips, you just have to find recipes to use them.  This strawberry cake would be good with a strawberry icing, but not while I'm in Oregon with as many strawberries as I want. That would be a sin, I'm sure of it. The recipe came from Country Living Magazine. Not sure which month, but I'm sure it was a Summer month of 2011.


Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingsherry/fresh-strawberry-cake

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup strawberry preserves
4 eggs
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon red food coloring won't be needed if you have ripened on the vine strawberries
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 pints strawberries, hulled
Directions for cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 9" cake pans with parchment paper. Lightly coat the pan with butter, dust with flour, and tap out excess. Set aside. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together and set aside. Cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy in a large bowl.Add 3/4 cups of strawberry preserves and the eggs, one at a time, blending each addition throughly. Scrap down the sides of bowl and beat in vanilla extract and the food coloring if needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture by thirds, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with a final addition of the dry mixture. Divide the batter equally between the pans and spread evenly. Bake on the middle rack of the oven until a tester inserted in the center of each cake layer comes out clean--about 20-30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. I didn't have cake pans in the little house and was too lazy to go borrow cake pans from Carolyn, so I just used small loaf pans (4X8). It made three cakes. So I served one, and saved the other 2 for later.
Directions for assembling the cake:
Beat the whipping cream and remaing 2 tablespoons of sugar to soft peaks and spread over the top of one layer. Wrap and freeze the remaining layer for up to 2 months. Top with strawberries and drizzle with remaining preserves. Serve immediately. As you can see by my picture, I cut the cake into serving pieces, topped with strawberries and strawberry jam that I heated in the microwave to make it thinner. Then topped the whole thing with a dollop of whipped cream.

Strawberry Preserves

The strawberry preserves are in the back. The front 6 are raspberry chipotle. If you want that recipe, you can type in raspberry chipotle sauce in the search window on my blog and it should come up for you. Chet and Carolyn didn't have raspberries ready this year while we were in Oregon, so I had to buy them at the market. The strawberries were plentiful, so I may even make a few more jars of the strawberry preserves.  I know Anthony would love them.
I used the recipe on the Sure*Jell for Less or No Sugar recipes. The package is pink.


Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingsherry/strawberry-preserves

Before you start-- important tips for success
1. Use firm ripe fruit for best flabor and set. Over-ripe fruit makes a soft set. Under-ripe fruit makes a firm set.
2. Buy new, flat jar lids for a good seal.
3. Always use clean jars. Thoroughly wash jars or containers before starting.
4. Measure ingredients exactly
5. Some jams and jellies may take up to 2 weeks to set.
Directions for cooked strawberry preserves:
1. Bring boiling-water canner, half-full with water to simmer. You can just use a big pot that has a lid and can hold enough water to cover the jars by at least 1-2 inches.
2. Wash jars and screw bands in hot, soapy water; rince with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling
3. Prepare fruit - for strawberries - wash and discard stems of 6 cups of strawberries. Then crush strawberries in a 6-8 quart cooking pot. I use a potato smasher.
4. In a separate bowl, measure out 4 cups of sugar.
5. Mix 1/4 cup of sugar from the measured amount and 1 box of Sre-Jell for Less or no Sugar needed in a small bowl.
6. Stir pectin-sugar mixture into fruit in a saucepot. Add 1/2 teaspoon butter or margarine to reduce foaming, if desired.
7. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly.
8. Stir in remaining sugar from the 4 cups measured. I added juice and zest of one lemon. Return to a full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam.
9. Ladle quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner with  boiling water. Water must cover jars by 1-2 inches. Process 10 minutes.  Check #11 for altitudes above 1000 feetRemove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cook, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.
10. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Store unopened preserves in cool, dry, dark place up to 1 year. Refrigerate opened preserves.
11 At altitudes above 1,000 feet, increase processing time.
1,001-3000 +5 min.
3001-6000 - +10 min.
6001- 8000 - +15min
8001 - 10,000 - + 20 min

Mexican Chicken Casserole with Charred Tomato Salsa

This was a really good dish and I felt like it was so much healthier than it tasted.  Of course it had cheese, but it was Monterey Jack and Fetta.  You should try this. I will always think of Oregon when I have this dish from now on. This recipe made enough for 6 servings.
January/February 2011 - Cooking Light


Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingattheedwards/mexican-chicken-with-carred-tomato-salsa

Ingredients for the Salsa:
8 plum or roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
1 seeded jalapeno pepper, quartered
Cooking Spray
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
zest of one lime-the recipe does't call for this, but I always use the zest of the lemon and lime
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Ingredients for the Casserole:
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup chopped red bell pepper or whatever color you have
3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (10oz) can green chile enchilada sauce
1 (4oz) can chopped green chiles
12 (6") corn tortillas
1 cup (4oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup (4oz) feta cheese, crumbled
1. Preheat broiler.
2. To prepare salsa, combine first 4 ingredients on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 20 minutes or until charred, stirring once. Remove from oven; cool slightly. Place tomato mixture in a food processor; add cilantro, lime juice and zest, and pepper. Process until smooth. Set aside.  I don't have a food processor in the little house where we stay in Oregon, so I just chopped it by hand. It was chunky, but I actually liked it that way.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. To prepare casserole, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add 1 cup onion, corn, zucchini, and bell pepper; saute' 6 minutes or until tender. Add chicken and next 5 ingredients (through green chiles)' saute' 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat.
5. Spread 1/2 cup salsa over the bottom of a 13" X 9" baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 1/2 of the tortillas over salsa. Spoon 2 cups chicken mixture evenly over tortillas. Top with 3/4 cup salsa. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of each cheese. Repeat layers, starting with remaining tortillas and ending with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until bubbly. I saved all of my cheese for the final layer.  The recipe says it yields 8 servings, but they have never seen Jud and me eat.

Strawberry Pie

This is one of my favorite strawberry pie recipes. When I come to Oregon, Carolyn, our host, always asks for it.  Since she lets us stay in her little house for free, it is the least I can do.  I also pick her strawberries, which are more plentiful than one can imagine.



Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingattheedwards/strawberry-pie
Method
Mash 1/3 cup of strawberries with a potato masher or fork. Fill the rest of the cup with water. Add 1 cup sugar with 3 Tablespoons of cornstarch.  Cook over medium heat until thick. Add red food color to get the color you want.  When I buy strawberries in the grocery store, I like to add food coloring because they pick those while they are still green.  Chet and Carolyn's strawberries rippen on the vine before I pick them so they do not need one drop of food coloring.

Cool this mixture.  Put 2 pints of strawberries less the 1/3 cup you mashed into a pre-baked pie shell.  I like to use vanilla wafer crust or cocolate wafer pie crusts, but I couldn't find those in the grocery store in Newport. So I just bought a pie shell and cooked it ahead of time.  Top the whole strawberries with the strawberry mixture and top with whipped cream. If you aren't planning to eat the whole pie at one sitting, I suggest you leave the whipped cream off and top each piece of pie with dollops of whipped cream. You may want to garnish with an extra strawberry.

Strawberry Crepes

When you have a limitless supply of strawberries right outside your door you make strawberry crepes, strawberry jam, and strawberry pie. This is my version of strawberry crepes. They were wonderful. I probably should have made enough for everyone to have 2.  We had these for our July 4th celebration in Oregon.
This recipe is adapted from November 2007 Cooking Light


Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingattheedwards/strawberry-crepes
Ingredients for the Crepes:
6 eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
To make the crepes, heat a non-stick fry pan on top of the stove. Mix the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large measuring cup so you can pour easily
Pour about 4 tablespoons of mixture into the prepared skillet. Tilt it all around so the mixture covers the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 4 minutes. Then start to lift the sides of the crepe and tap in the middle with the spatula.  Turn the pan over onto a plate.  Put a piece of parchment paper over the first crepe and continue to cook. This recipe should make about 8 crepes. Put parchment paper between each crepe and set aside while you make the filling.

Ingredients for the filling:
3 cups of fresh strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
Cream cheese
powdered sugar
You can mash about a 1 cup of the strawberries so that you have some liquid in the mixture. Place first 3 ingredients in a pot over medium-high heat and cook until the strawberries have become very thick. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and zest. Stir and set aside to cool.
Putting together the Crepes:
Spread about 1 1/2 teaspoon on one end of each crepe and top with about 2 1/2 teaspoons of strawberry mixture.  Roll the crepe into a log. Place on a plate and add additional strawberry mixture. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar.

La Fiesta - Chicken

I make a dish that is called La Fiesta that is really good in the Winter.  This is a Summer version using chicken.  I was somewhere in the past year where I was sharing my recipe for La Fiesta with beef and this lady gave me this recipe. I jotted it down and put it in my folder of recipes that I take to Oregon.  As I was planning my menu for the week, I came across this and decided to make it.  It is a winner.  I was going to buy a rotisserie chicken, but they were out of them in the grocery store.  I bought chicken breasts and just put 2 of them in the oven on 350 degrees after I salt, peppered, and put olive oil over the top.  I baked it for about 15 minutes or until the chicken was cooked through.

Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingattheedwards/la-fiesta--chicken


Ingredients:
Cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
cooked rice
chow mein noodles
pineapple tidbits
frozen peas that have thawed, celery, green peppers  I didn't use the celery or green peppers
almonds, toasted  I didn't have almonds so I used pecans
coconut
green onions
cheddar cheese, grated I forgot to use this
tomatoes, diced
Directions:
After cooking the chicken I cut it in bite-size pieces and heated them with a can of cream of chicken soup.
The I layered the ingredients as follows:
1. Rice
2. Chicken soup mixture
3. Chow mein noodles
4. scallions
5. green peas
6. cheese
7. coconut
8. tomatoes
9. slivered almonds, toasted
Such an easy dish and really good.  You don't need a thing to go with it.