Author: nancy

Mexican Black Bean and Hominy Salad

Black Bean and Hominy Salad

My sister-in-law recently sent me this recipe. It was served at her book club and was a big hit with all the ladies. I tried it tonight and it was a big hit here at my house, too. The combination of black beans and hominy is really interesting. Always use top quality olive oil like the ones available from Mediterranean Drizzles. Experiment with flavored oils, like red pepper or garlic. I am sure it will become a family favorite recipe for your family, too.

Mexican Black Bean and Hominy Salad

Ingredients

  • 15 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 15 oz canned hominy, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1 small yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 small red onion, diced
  • 1/3 cup cilantro, fresh, chopped
  • 1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions
Combine beans, hominy, tomatoes, pepper, onion, cilantro and jalapeno’s. In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, honey, oil cumin and salt pour over bean mixture and toss well to combine.

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Super Bowl Salsa


My daughter loves salsa and thinks that she has mastered the perfect salsa. She got the recipe from her Mexican friend, Monica and has been fine tuning it to her taste. Make it to go with those chips on Super Bowl Sunday. I know you will love it.

Ingredients

  • 20 or so tomatillos (the smaller the sweeter)
  • 2 to 3 jalapenos chiles or serrano peppers
  • 5 cloves fresh garlic
  • 1 sweet white onion
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro
  • 2 tbsp caldo de pollo (chicken bouillon)
  • large pinch of Mexican oregano

Directions
Put tomatillos, chiles, and garlic into boiling water, boil for 5 minutes until soft. Then put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until flavors meld together. I like to refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.

Nani Tip
Mexican oregano and caldo de pollo can be found in the Mexican section of some grocery stores or at a Mexican market.

Spiced Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Citrus Glaze

Here is a great dessert recipe for your Thanksgiving Day meal. It is easy and sure to please those in the family that don’t like the traditional pumpkin pie.
Ingredients

  • 2/3 C Oil
  • 1 C Canned Pumpkin
  • 2/3 C Water
  • 1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • 1 Box Moist Spice Cake Mix
  • 1 Box Moist Yellow Cake Mix

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter & flour a 12-cup bundt pan. In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, oil, pumpkin, water and pumpkin pie spice. Beat until well blended. Add the cake mixes and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan after cooling for a few minutes.
Glaze

  • Yellow Food Coloring
  • Red Food Coloring
  • 1 Pound Powdered Sugar
  • 1/3 C Orange Juice, No Pulp
  • 3 t Orange Liqueur

Combine 2 parts yellow food coloring with 4 parts red food coloring to make orange coloring. Whisk the powdered sugar, orange juice, orange liqueur and food coloring in a saucepan on low heat for 5 minutes or until the sugar melts. If the glaze seems too dry add more water or orange juice to reach the right consistency. Drizzle glaze over cake.

Nani’s Turkey and Black Bean Chili

I had some ground turkey that I wanted to use, so I searched my pantry to see what I might have to go with it. I found some black beans and tomatoes. It was a cool, fall day so I decided to make some chili. The chili was a huge success and another family favorite recipe has found it’s way into my blog.

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • (2) 15 ounce cans seasoned black beans
  • (2) 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes
  • (1) 6 ounce can tomato paste
  • red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

Directions
Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil. Add ground turkey and brown. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour. Adjust seasonings to your tastes.

Nani Tip
If you are a Penzey spice fan, you can use 2 to 3 Tablespoons Arizona Dreaming in place of the spices or in addition to lesser amounts of the other spices.

Audrey’s Frozen Chocolate Dessert

Audrey"s Ice Cream Dessert
Audrey”s Ice Cream Dessert

I was recently asked to participate in a email recipe “chain letter”. I decided to try it, and it was no surprise when I only received one recipe! These things just never seem to work for me. This is the recipe that I received and although I have not tried it yet, it does indeed sound yummy! I am sure it would be a big hit with any family.

Ingredients

  • 24 ice cream sandwiches or amount needed to cover pan x 2
  • 1 large container Cool Whip
  • 1 jar hot fudge sauce
  • 2 crushed Health Bars

Directions

In 13×9 pan make two layers in this order
1. 12 ice cream sandwiches
2. Spread layer of Cool Whip
3. Sprinkle with Crushed bars
4. Drizzle hot fudge sauce
Put in freezer. Set out short time before serving to cut.

Easy Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos

I recently got an email for a recipe exchange. Since I am always looking for new and easy family recipes, I decided to join the exchange and see what happened. Here is a super easy recipe for chicken tacos. Put it in the crockpot and forget about it until dinner time. It doesn’t get any easier than this. This will certainly become a family favorite recipe at my house.

Ingredients

  • 6 chicken breasts
  • 2 cups sliced pepperoncini peppers
  • 1 cup brine, from pepperocini jar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 sweet onion (sliced)
  • 1 package taco seasoning
  • 2 cups lettuce (shredded)
  • 1 cup tomato, diced
  • 1 cup cheese (shredded)
  • 1 package flour tortilla
  • 1 small container sour cream

Directions
Combine chicken breasts, pepperoncinis w/brine, onion, and taco seasoning in crock pot.
Cook on low for 4-6 hours then using 2 forks shred chicken in crock pot.
Serve on warmed tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream.

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Nutella Swirl Pound Cake

Nutella Pound Cake
Nutella Pound Cake
Nutella Pound Cake[/caption]I was walking with a friend one day and she told me that she had made herself a nutella pound cake for her birthday. She was raving about how good it was. I had to have the recipe! I made the cake and it was indeed fabulous! My son-in-law, who loves Nutella, couldn’t get enough of it. Beware: This is not a low calorie recipe.

Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs, at room temp, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 13 ounce jar Nutella, warmed in hot water or microwave

Directions
Combine the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl and lightly beat. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the butter and sugar in large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium high until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on medium low, pour the egg mixture into the bowl in a slow stream. Turn mixer to low speed and add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time. After all flour is added, beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Pour 1/3 of the batter into a greased and floured 9×5 inch loaf pan. Spread the batter and smooth with a spatula. Spread 1/2 of the Nutella over the batter and smooth. Gently smooth 1/3 of the batter over Nutella and then smooth remaining Nutella over that. Spread the remaining batter over Nutella and run a butter knife through the batter to create marbling. Bake the cake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes, then invert on wire rack and let cool completely before slicing.

Gail’s Favorite Chocolate Crunch Brownies

Brownies
Brownies
My friend, Gail, recently shared her family’s favorite brownie recipe with me. She says that she must make them for all family gatherings. You must try them, they are delicious.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 7 – ounce jar marshmallow creme
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 3 cups crisp rice cereal

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and butter in large mixing bowl. Beat at high speed until creamy. Add the eggs beating until blended. Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Spoon into greased 9×13 inch baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until edges pull from the sides of pan. Cool in pan on wire rack. Spread with the marshmallow creme. Combine chocolate morsels and peanut butter in a 2 quart saucepan. Cook over low heat until blended, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in the cereal. Spread over prepared layers. Chill, covered until set. Cut into bars and store covered in the refrigerator.

Nani’s Pesto Risotto

I love risotto and have been making it quite often lately. I am no expert at it, but have been pleased with most of my results. I made pesto risotto last night and declare it a winner and it will definitley become a family favorite recipe. Risotto is labor intensive, so plan your meal accordingly. I served the risotto with plank grilled salmon, letting Mr. Nani tend to the grill while I stirred the risotto!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Arborino rice
  • 4 cups good quality chicken broth (I use Penzey Spice chicken soup base)
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • 1/2 red pepper, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup pesto
  • 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Put the broth in a saucepan, bringing it to a boil. Keep it simmering on the stove. Using a medium sized skillet, lightly saute the onions, pepper, and mushrooms in olive oil. Add the rice and stir constantly until rice begins to brown. Now add enough of the chicken broth to cover rice and vegetables and continue stirring. As the broth is absorbed, add more, stirring frequently. You may or may not use all of the broth or you may need a bit more. Once the risotto is creamy and al dente, stir in the pesto and parmesan. Remove from heat and serve.
Delicious!