Black Bean Croquettes with Fresh Salsa

My friend made these for dinner last night and they were muy delicioso to say the least. She served them with small corn tortillas. I say make your homemade salsa however you make it and serve the avocado on the side. She just bought fresh salsa from the store and it was still delish.

The recipe itself comes from the site eating well.

Ingredients

• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup plain dry breadcrumbs, divided
• 2 cups finely chopped tomatoes
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon chili powder, hot if desired, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 avocado, diced

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Mash black beans and cumin with a fork in a large bowl until no whole beans remain. Stir in corn and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs. Combine tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir 1 cup of the tomato mixture into the black bean mixture.
3. Mix the remaining 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, oil and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder in a small bowl until the breadcrumbs are coated with oil. Divide the bean mixture into 8 scant 1/2-cup balls. Lightly press each bean ball into the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake the croquettes until heated through and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir avocado into the remaining tomato mixture. Serve the salsa with the croquettes.

Nutrition

Per serving: 405 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 8 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 61 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 16 g protein; 16 g fiber; 438 mg sodium; 621 mg potassium.

Chicken Tikka Masala

My roomate has made this a few times and it is so delicious. Word to the wise it is very spicy. You could probably put in less cayenne and tone it down a bit. I also made a vegetarian version of this by cutting up some potatoes and baking that along with peas and carrots using the same mixture you would for the chicken version. I baked it at about 400 until the potatoes were done. So with that lengthy intro out of the way.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken:

1 cup plain yogurt 1stp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger (or ½ inch ginger root) 1 T. lemon juice

2 tsp cayenne pepper (1 tsp for milder) 1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cumin 2 tsp. black pepper

1 ½ lbs. boneless chicken breasts or thighs

After combining all ingredients in a gallon-size Ziploc bag, seal bag and knead the mixture together by hand. Allow chicken to marinate at least 1 hour in refrigerator.

After marinating, remove chicken from bag. Grill or broil chicken until cooked through. Marinade will be thick and will cook off. You do not need to save the drippings.

Sauce:

1 T. butter or margarine 2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. ground coriander 1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. garam marsala

½ tsp. salt 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce

1 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in a large skillet, add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala, and salt. Add tomato sauce and cover. Simmer 15 minutes. Add cream and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add cooked chicken to sauce; simmer an additional 5 minutes. Serve over basmati rice. Garnish with cilantro.

Serves 6

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

If you are a fan of the P-Dub's Favorite Noodle Salad then I think you will like this one too!

It's from Our Best Bites. I made it on Friday and Quinn and I both loved it!

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad
Recipe by OurBestBites.com

8 oz Linguine Fini (or regular linguine)
4 C shredded greens: any combo of napa cabbage, romaine lettuce or even spinach
2 C thinly sliced purple cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1/2 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
3 C diced grilled chicken
honey roasted peanuts (about 1/2 cup)

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing (save some time and make this part ahead!)

Start by bringing a pot of water to a boil. Add a spoonful of salt and then add your pasta. While pasta is cooking, start chopping those veggies.

You can really use any mix of veggies you want. I used spinach because I think it is the healthiest of greens.

As soon as your pasta is done drain it and run some cold water over it until it's cool. If you're not going to use it right away, add a drizzle of the salad dressing and stir to coat. This will prevent the noodles from getting all clumpy. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

When you're ready to assemble the salad, place noodles, veggies, and chicken in a large bowl.

Pour the Thai Peanut Dressing over everything, stirring as you go until you have enough to coat. I use it all!

Dressing:

1/2 C peanut butter
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 1/2 t sesame oil
1 T seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
3 T honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 T minced ginger
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 t kosher salt
2-3 t sriracha chili sauce*
2-4 T water

*I use 3 t Sriracha because Quinn likes spicey, for me it definitely had kick so if you don't love spice then dial down the Sriracha sauce

Place everything in a blender and mix until smooth. Makes about 2 cups.

p.s. why isn't anybody posting on this site anymore???