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

yummy simple tomato sauce

Apparently this recipe is all the rage on several foodie blogs. So I had to try it. It did not disappoint. If you are looking for a zesty marinara sauce this is not it, but if you want a simple, delicate, delicious tomato sauce...this is it!

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)*
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with spaghetti, with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass.

I did use the San Marzano tomatoes that were suggested in the recipe just to try them but they were expensive...4 bucks at my grocery store...I think next time I'll just use a can of Hunts and see if it makes that big of a difference. Even Quinn liked this and he does not take kindly to change when it comes to his spaghetti.

Chicken Pot Pie

I was asking around for some yummy recipes and one of my co-workers sent me this link. I'll be honest, I was a bit skeptical at first but we tried it out last night and OH BOY was it DELICIOUS!!! The only thing I would do different next time {besides maybe shake up the variety of veggies} is put them into individual, small dishes. Try it out!

GARLIC CHICKEN FARFALLE

I made this for Lacy and Dave when I went down a few weeks ago. I hadn't ever made it before but I have to say I found it to be really delicious. I found it one day whilst blog surfing, I wish I could remember where so I could give them credit. One note on the bacon. If you cook it on a cookie cooling rack it drains off most of the grease.

16 oz. Farfalle pasta
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed OR garlic salt (I do a spoonful of crushed garlic)
1 Tbsp. pepper*
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, crumpled**
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

*Seems like a lot of pepper, but it has a wonderful flavor when everything mixes together. If you're apprehensive, do less pepper. You can always add more.

**We like to cook our bacon in the oven (400 degrees, convection). Way less messy. And it's crispy every time. Time varies, so you just have to watch it. I think it's usually around 30 minutes. Allow to cool and then crumple (I totally wear disposable gloves for this part - surprise, surprise).

[ directions ]

Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (I pull it apart). Set this aside. About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.