Green Peas with Toasted Walnuts and Dill {Recipe}

Those who know me well know I am not a cooked vegetable lover.  I just don’t like them.  I love salad and fresh veggies, but cooked ones just don’t sit right on my tongue.  But a few years ago I was TRYING to be better about making vegetables for my family for dinner.  I was looking for creative ways to prepare them that would make them more palatable for me, yet still healthy.  In other words, smothering them in a cheese sauce wasn’t really an option.

Some how I came across a recipe for peas that had walnuts and dill.  I made it and I LOVED it.  My family liked it as well and this is how I usually make my peas now because I just love them so much.  It is an easy, healthy, and delicious side dish!  It would be a great accompaniment to your Easter dinner, too!

{recipe after the break}

BLACK BEAN & CORN SALSA {Recipe}

This is a delicious salsa that can be eaten with tortilla or pita chips.  It is also great on tacos or alongside any other Mexican food as a salad.  The recipe is a conglomeration of several recipes I have tried.  Enjoy!

Recipe: Black Bean Salsa

From the Kitchen of: Emily Nelson

Yield: about 6 cups

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. sliced green onions (about 3)
• 1 small bag frozen corn kernels
• 2 cans canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 c. chopped tomatoes (or however many you like)
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• the juice on 2 lemons and 2 limes
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 large yellow or white onion, diced finely
• 2 avocados, diced
• 1/4 c. vegetable oil

Directions: Mix all ingredients together. Serve with chips or whatever you want. It is delicious. NOTE: Do not add black pepper even though it might seem like a good idea.  It ruins this salsa, in my opinion!

CHILI {Recipe}

I had a big craving for chili the other day so I made my standby recipe which my husband and I just love.  Unfortunately, my kids don’t care for Chili so he and I have been eating it for days, and needless to say my house has not been smelling like roses!!    Sorry, TMI, I know!

But seriously, this is a really easy and delicious recipe.  I love how much protein you get by eating a bowl of Chili!  Enjoy!

Recipe: Chili

Yield: one big pot

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can great northern beans
• 1 can red beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• (You can substitute other types of beans. I like black beans and Cannellini beans)
• 28 oz. can tomato sauce
• one chopped onion (onion chopping tutorial)
• 1 packet chili seasoning (I like to use the reduced sodium ones and not too spicy because I have kids…who won’t eat my chili!)
• toppings

Directions: Brown the ground beef in bottom of pot. Drain fat, if necessary. Add onion and cook until tender. Add the chili seasonings and beans. I like to drain off just the top of the bean liquid. Add the tomato sauce. Stir well and heat until hot. Simmer for a little while to meld the flavors all together. Serve with Fritos, sour cream, cheese, green onions, avocado, corn bread, or whatever you want! 

Chicken Salad Sandwiches-The BEST!

This is my favorite chicken salad recipe.  I thought I would share it

Recipe: Oriental Chicken Salad Sandwich Filling

Yield: fills 40-50 small croissants or (1/4 recipe=10-12 small croissants)

Ingredients:

• 6 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled and diced (1.5 lbs. chicken=2-3 breasts)
• 32 oz. Mayo=about 4 cups (8 oz. Mayo=about 1 cup)
• 8 oz. Water chestnuts, drained and chopped (2 oz. Water chestnuts)
• 1 ½ -2 cups sliced celery (½ cup sliced celery)
• 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped (3 green onions)
• 3 ¾ -4 oz. soy sauce=about ½ cup –add this to the mayonnaise (1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce)
• pepper to taste

Directions: The ingredient amounts in the parentheses make one quarter of the full recipe. Mix the soy sauce with the mayonnaise and then mix all the ingredients together. Serve in the mini croissants. This is really delicious and everyone loves it. You could add some grapes sliced in half if you wanted to have a little sweetness in there!   Or you could add some chopped apple.  This is a great shower food, but you will want to have it more regularly than that!

I sprinkled some chopped chives from my garden on it for a garnish.

Here is a way to make the recipe healthier and less caloric.  Instead of the 2 cups of mayo (nearly 3000 calories) use 2/3 c. mayo, about 2 c. lowfat plain yogurt, a splash of milk and a splash of buttermilk.  It tastes pretty much just like the regular recipe but the calories of the dressing were about 1600 instead of 6000. 

Let me know how you like it!

How to Dice an Onion

Today I was making marinara sauce and thought I would take some quick pictures of dicing an onion. I grew up not knowing the correct way and learned how sometime in my adulthood, I think in a cooking class I took in college. It is really not that hard. You DO need a sharp knife. I like to use a produce knife which is the kind with the little indents along both sides of the blade.  Please do not let me catch you using some tiny little knife like a paring knife!  You need a knife with a big thick blade that is NOT flimsy and easy to bend.  If you don't have one, please go buy yourself one at a store like Marshall's or HomeGoods where you can get a decent knife at a reasonable price!  It will make your life immeasurably better:)

1. Slice the non-root end off your onion and discard.

2.  Set your onion on the flat side you just cut off and then cut it in half right through the root end

3. Pull the peel back off the onion so it is naked:)

4. Now, decide how big or small you want your dice and make horizontal cuts in your onion starting at the bottom.  Just go back toward the root, stopping about 1/2 inch from the root.  In this picture that is my second cut.  Can you see there is another cut under that one?

5. Now, starting at the side furthest from you, stick the tip of the kinfe into the onion without cutting all the way through and make vertical cuts.  The closer together they are the finer your dice will be.  When you are making the cuts on the side your kinfe tip will be further away from the root because you don't want to cut the whole side off.  When you are cutting in the middle of the onion you will be able to get closer to the root because the onion is fatter there?  Get it?

6. Now, use your left hand (for a righty) to kind hold the onion together by squeezing gently on the sides while you slice of slices of your onion, creating the perfect dice!  Do this until you have cut back to where you stopped your other cuts.

7. Now, repeat all the steps with the other half!

Let me know if this helps!