Black Bean, chicken, avocado Salad

 I had found a recipe for this once before. Loved it. Lost the recipe, forgot about it. Until recently a friend mentioned it to me, and all those memories came flooding back. Yummy yummy memories.

 So the recipe I once had called for already cooked chicken, but I cook my own, its cheaper, and I know its real chicken, not stuck together hotdog type chicken.

 So this may not be the original recipe, but after having just ate it, its okay if its not... Because its darn good!

 Ingredients:

 Chicken breast
 cumin
 garlic
 chili powder
 Juice from 1/2 lime
 can of black beans rinsed and drained
 one tomato chopped
 1/2 a purple onion, minced
 cilantro, chopped (as much as you desire)
 salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
 avocado, diced

 To start:

 Cook your chicken breast in a little oil, with some cumin, chili powder, garlic and if you want salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is done. Set it aside to cool.

 Meanwhile mix your black beans, tomato, onion, cilantro salt pepper garlic and the juice of a lime and stir. taste to make sure its to your liking. If you like spice, you could add some jalapeno in there as well.

 Once your chicken has cooled off, cut it into diced up pieces, and add it to your black bean mixture. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour. The longer the better the flavors will be!

 When your ready to serve, add a diced up avocado and sir lightly. Serve. YUM!

The food networkers rise again! (French Onion Soup)

 So our group all somehow dropped out around the holidays. Go figure busy moms, holidays, somehow the hours in the day went faster than we could keep up! So we had decided that we could all most likely pull off ONE recipe a month together. So that is the plan.

 This month Heidi picked ALTON BROWNS FRENCH ONION SOUP recipe. The only time I have ever had anything onion soup, is the Lipton mix, and normally used to make a roast, not to eat plain. I am always excited to try something new though! So here's my go at it!!!

Ingredients

• 5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions (about 4 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups white wine
• 10 ounces canned beef consume
• 10 ounces chicken broth
• 10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
• Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
• 1 loaf country style bread
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• Splash of Cognac (optional)
• 1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated

 Some things I had to skimp on. I did not make it to the liquor store. So the white wine was replaced with sparkling grape juice... I did not have the fresh herbs, so I used dry. Apple cider was NO where to be found in my local stores, I guess its only a fall item? So I used a not from concentrate fresh apple juice instead. So that might have changed thing some. I hope not too much though.

 Simple to make really. Takes a bit of time to sweat the onions and get them nice and dark though. That is the longest wait. Oh and be prepared for BURNING eyes. Even the kids complained their eyes were burning from the living room!!!

So you sweat the onions w/ salt 

Brown them, then add the wine and cook until its a syrup consistency

Add your broths, cider, and spices, then simmer!

While your soup is simmering broil your toast until brown and toasty (not black, watch it)

 when your soup is finished, ladle it into an oven safe bowl (Corelle dishes are oven safe in a preheated 350 oven)

 Top the soup with a slice of bread, then your cheese, and bake at 350 until your cheese is melted and browned over your bread. Your done! Your bowl is HOT. Be careful!

last but certainly not least... ENJOY!

Mahi-Mahi

 I am telling you. Even if your not a really big fish person. You don't like fish, okay, try Mahi Mahi anyway. Its called "The steak of fish" and its not a lie. Its SO good. Its got a different texture, and it is not fishy at all. Another great thing about it, is its GOOD left over, unlike most fishes.

 Tonight our dinner was broiled Lemon pepper Mahi-mahi, Rice pilaf, and sauteed asparagus w/ salt and pepper. It was quick, it was easy and it was SOOOO good.

 Here's how it all went down:

 Got my rice cooker out for the rice pilaf.

 Filled 3 rice cooker cups with jasmine rice
 1TBS chicken bullion granuals
 some garlic and onion powder, and a pat of butter, and then I filled it with water to the 3 cup line.

 Turn that on, and then I went to my fish. Coated the still frozen fillets with some mrs dash lemon pepper seasons (good and salt free!) Place it in the oven at 350 for about 20 min, then for about 10 more (my fillets were very thick) I broiled

 While my fish was cooking I put some olive oil and butter in a pan, got it heated and added my asparagus spears, sauteed them with some salt and pepper until tender. Then took them off the heat, put the lid on the pan and they waited for the rice and fish to finish.

 I was so hungry (forgot lunch today) that I did not get a picture of my dinner tonight but just trust me, it looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful!

banana nut waffles

 So today I was thinking of making banana bread. I picked up a big bag of browning bananas on sale at the store, and wanted to use them up. I also wanted to pre make a few waffles for my children for breakfast this week... So I got a great idea to look up a recipe for banana nut waffles. I could not find one I wanted to use, so instead I just made one up from a basic waffle recipe! The outcome is WONDERFUL if I do say so myself!

•  2 eggs
•  1 2/3 cup milk
•  2TBS vegetable oil
•  1 large, and over ripe banana
•  1tps vanilla
•  2 cups flour (1 wheat 1 white)
•  1 TBS baking powder
•  2 TBS sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

 So you know the drill, put your dry stuff in a bowl wet stuff in a bowl, mix both apart, then put them together and mix until JUST blended. You dont want to over mix waffle and pancake mix. I cannot remember why I just know that your not supposed to, so don't!

 Take about 1/2 cup, not quite, and put it in your heated waffle iron, according to the directions your iron has. I'd say mine took about 5 min each to cook. I wait until its not steaming so much and look if they are brown and crisp, they are done!

 Serve with butter and syrup, yum yum!

Asian Chicken Breast

 This has got to be one of my favorite dishes to make, and eat. Its so good, left overs are wonderful and its easy to make!

 3 Chicken breasts (I fillet them in half as you would a fish)
 1/8 cup sesame oil (Asian isle)
 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
 1/2 cup honey
 4 cloves minced garlic

1 TBS olive oil
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, diced ((pictured is yellow and green, all I had))

 The night before you want to make this, take your sesame oil, soy sauce, honey and garlic and mix it up in a big zipper top baggie. Add your chicken and let this marinate, over night in your fridge.... You can even make this marinade, add chicken then freeze it, later when you want to make it, as it thaws it will marinate!

 Anyway. On to making it today.

 Add 1 TBS olive oil to your skillet, get it nice and hot, then add your marinated chicken breast (discard marinade) Watch the chicken closely as the honey does like to try to burn on your pan. When your chicken is nearly cooked and your bell peppers. Saute until the peppers are tender and your chicken is cooked through.

 I like to serve this over brown rice with glazed baby carrots on the side.

 **Glazed baby carrots**
 3 cups baby carrots, steamed or boiled until tender
 1/2 TBS butter
 2 TBS Brown sugar
 Mix well :) YUM!

Lemon Shrimp Scampi

 Let me just pat myself on the back and say, this is a WONDERFUL recipe. MMMMM. Who needs olive garden when this is SO good and SO easy to make at home!

 What you will need:
 2 pounds of shrimp, peeled and cleaned out, no one wants to eat icky. (make sure its well dried)
 1/3 cup butter, use real butter, its worth it
 Juice from one lemon, and zest from one lemon
 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
 salt and pepper to taste
 2Tbs Grated Parm. cheese
 parsley, chopped
 veggies of your choice cut small and uniform shape

 (I like to use, asparagus, zucchini, snow peas, red pepper, mushrooms, the sky is the limit really)

So once your shrimp is cleaned get your butter in a pan and get it warm.
Add the garlic and the lemon juice and lemon zest, let it cook a while, until it starts to smell nice... MMM garlic.
 Now add in your veggies, if they are ones that need some time to cook, say carrots, you might even want to steam them first. Once they are nearly to the tenderness you want.... Add your shrimp, it wont take long to cook! When it turns from grey, to pink, its done! sprinkle with salt and pepper to your taste.

 Remove from heat, and add your cheese on top and some parsley to garnish.

 You can toss this shrimp over angel hair pasta, or over rice pilaf, or heck just eat it alone, its shrimp and its veggies! We eat this with a nice big salad and its a meal. YUMMERS.

How To Make Eggrolls. Its simple!

 Ok I have this recipe actually published here:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Never-Know-They-Werent-Fried-Egg-Rolls-328657

 I have modified it a bit and I now make it without a recipe. I have given my BFF the recipe and she too makes them all the time... I know it might sound hard, but once you get the hang of it its not hard. Plus you can make up a giant amount, bake and then freeze them. They are just as good reheated, maybe even better!

 So here you go. This is what you need This is for 1 batch, like I said I usually double or triple this:

 1 pound ground pork (You could use shrimp or chicken also)

 1 tsp minced ginger root (or dried if its all you have)

 1 TBS garlic, minced (again you can use powder)

 2 TBS oyster sauce (Asian section of your store)

 3 green onions, minced

 2 large carrots, shredded

 1 small head of cabbage, shredded ((or get a bag of coleslaw mix and use that!))

 2 tsp sesame oil (Asian section)

 Salt and pepper to taste

 Spray oil or olive oil and a brush

SPRING ROLL WAPPERS (Be sure to use the ones from an Asian market not the kind in the grocery store, these are super thin, and tear easy be careful.)

1 TBS cornstarch mixed with 2TBS water

Brown your pork in a pan with 1tsp of sesame oil, when its almost cooked add your garlic,ginger and oyster sauce. Once its all cooked through add the green onions and remove from the heat.

 Stir together cabbage, carrots, sesame oil salt and pepper along with your still warm meat mixture. toss together well.

 Now pull an eggroll wrapper out and set it on your countertop. Place about 1/3 cup of your cabbage meat mixture into the shell like so.

 

Then you fold the bottom up and roll a bit, then fold the sides in, until both sides JUST touch (this way they are the same length) Like this:

 

Almost like an envelope. Roll the rest of the way, and put just a dab of your cornstarch mixture on that last corner to seal it. Set it seam side down on your pan w/ a rack (oiled lightly)

 Continue to do this until all your eggrolls, are rolled!

Lightly Spray your eggrolls with cooking spray, or brush them with olive oil (or canola whatever)

Bake in the oven at 350 until they get nice and crispy! If you want them a little browner, to look more "fried" Turn the heat up a bit to 425, or hit your broiler really quick careful those little ends will turn too dark pretty quickly though!

 Once they are crisp and brown to your liking, remove them and let them sit on the rack. Once cooled some serve with soysauce, spicy mustard, sweet and sour sauce, or whatever you like!!!

If you made a bunch, like I do and your wanting to store them for later, if they last that long...

 Take 6 or so and put them into a quart freezer bag. They fit great. Stick a straw in the top, and seal the zipper shut around it, suck out as much air as you can, then seal where the straw was... Or spend money and get one of those nifty machines that do it for you. They will last a good time in the freezer, and when your ready for one (or 6) just take them out put them back on a pan and bake again for 10-15 min until heated through!

 They go great w/ any asian dish, or as a small meal or snack on their own. I figured them up to run about 100 calories and 3.5 grams of fat each. Less fat if you don't use meat, or use shrimp instead of pork.