Snickers Ice Cream Cake

Here is a delicious frozen concoction I came up with for the husband's latest birthday!  Feel free to use your favorite ice cream toppings and mix-ins.

Santa Fe Chicken with Black Bean Salsa

I had some black bean salsa already made up in the freezer and wondered what I could do with it.  Other ingredients on hand were chicken and a can of organic tomato soup.  Here's what I came up with (chicken recipe adapted from Campbell's Kitchen, although I didn't use Campbell's tomato soup!).  Bill said it's a keeper!

Ingredients


Chicken

• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) Wolfgang Puck organic creamy tomato soup
• Seasonings to taste (I used a little garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne, and salt)
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack are good)

Black bean salsa (make to your own taste and add whatever you like! Below is what I used.)

• 1 cup black beans
• 2 tbsp red bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp red onion, diced
• 1 tbsp jalapeno, diced (more or less to taste)
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp lime juice (more or less to taste)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)

Directions

• Stir the flour and chili powder on a plate.  Coat the chicken with the mixture.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides.
  
• Add the soup and desired seasonings to the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. 
• Meanwhile, mix black bean salsa ingredients in a medium pot over low heat until heated through.
• Top with cheese and black bean salsa and serve over my Cilantro-Lime Rice.
  
  

Cilantro-Lime Rice

Here is a copycat of Chipotle restaurant's delicious cilantro-lime rice. It makes a great base for any meal! I first published this recipe in my Chipotle Burrito Bowl post, but thought it deserved its own placement.


Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil or butter (I use Organic Valley butter)
• 1-1/3 cup white, long-grain basmati rice (I use organic)
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt (I use coarse sea salt)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped cilantro

Directions

1. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.
2. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute.
3. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil.
4. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. (If rice looks dry during this time, add more water as needed)
5. Remove from heat and add in the cilantro and fluff rice with a fork.

White Pizza w/ Homemade Crust

Wow, it's been a long time since I've added a recipe!  Having a baby will do that, I guess.  We welcomed our baby girl into our lives back in December and I have barely stepped up to the stove since. But I am sitting here surrounded by the aroma of a freshly made Italian herb pizza dough and felt inspired to share.  I slightly modified a dough recipe from All Recipes and a white pizza recipe from the Food Network.

First, the dough (using a bread machine)


Ingredients

• 1 cup flat beer (I used Miller Lite this time)
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (or mix of oregano, basil, parsley)
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (1 packet)

Directions

1. Put beer, butter, sugar, salt, flour, and yeast in a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. 
2. Select Dough setting, and press Start. (Mine takes just about 1-1/2 hrs.)
3. Remove dough from bread machine when cycle is complete. Roll or press dough to cover a prepared pizza pan. Brush lightly with olive oil. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.
   **I made this the day before, so at this point, I put the ball of dough in an oil-brushed bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and stored in the fridge overnight.
    

Now, the white pizza

Ingredients

• Garlic-flavored olive oil
• 1 (1-pound) ball pizza dough (above), thawed and at room temperature
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves, plus more for garnish
• Thin-sliced tomato

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third of the oven.
2. Brush the pizza pan with oil. 
3. On a work surface, using your hands, press the pizza dough into a large flat disk and transfer it to the greased pan. 
4. Using your fingers, press the dough out until it has stretched to the perimeter of the pan. Create a dough "lip" around the outer edges of the pan. 
5. Brush the entire surface of the dough lightly with garlic oil and pierce the bottom of the crust all over with a fork, to prevent bubbling.
6. Prebake crust a few minutes, until a very light golden brown.
7. Evenly spread the mozzarella over the crust. 
8. Using 2 spoons, dollop teaspoon-sized mounds of ricotta evenly over the mozzarella. 
9. Place tomato slices on top.
10. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and evenly sprinkle the chopped oregano over the top.
11. Bake in the lower third of the oven until the crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly and browning on top, 25 to 30 minutes. 
12. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before garnishing with additional oregano and slicing into 8 pieces.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch! (a.k.a. cinnamon-nut bread with chocolate chips and cinnamon-honey butter)

I got the itch to play with our bread machine yesterday, but I didn't want just any ol' bread; I wanted something sweet.  So I modified the cinnamon raisin bread recipe that came with my machine (the Breadman Pro TR875) to include walnuts and chocolate chips instead.

Cinnamon-Nut Bread with Chocolate Chips
(Makes one 2-lb loaf)

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cups warm water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp milk
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 4 cups flour
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips (add at first beep)*
• You can use raisins or Craisins instead

Directions

1. Add ingredients in the order above or the order suggested by your bread machine.
2. Select "Sweet Bread" cycle (allows you to add sweet mix-ins after the initial mixing/kneading to prevent burning).

Cinnamon-Honey Butter
from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and beat until fluffy. Refrigerate or serve immediately.