black beans

Green Posole with Black Beans

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This is far from a summer recipe.  It’s soup.  It’s hot and comforting.  Not exactly what anyone is looking for when temps are rising outside.  The last thing you probably want to do is eat a bowl of something warm.  But my sister sent the recipe to me after trying it herself and I didn’t want to wait!

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This spicy vegetarian posole is super delicious.  I’ll definitely be bringing this recipe out again in the fall.  But even with the warm weather my husband and I still really enjoyed this soup and will be having leftovers tonight.

I topped this subtly spicy soup with chunks of avocado, monterey jack cheese, cilantro, tortilla strips, sour cream and a spritz from a lime wedge.  My sister recommends radish slices and shredded green cabbage.  Having all of those things as options would be a great way to serve this soup to guests.

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The recipe calls for a blender to puree some of the ingredients, but it just about filled my blender to the brim.  My sister used an immersion blender with great results, so use one of those if you have one.  A blender works fine if not.

I forget how much I love posole.  There’s just something about the hominy that makes me happy.  It has such a great texture, especially in soup.  The chiles and poblano add a nice heat, but it’s not terribly spicy.  If you like it hot, then don’t be so careful when seeding the peppers.  Be sure to check the seasonings after the soup has simmered.  Mine needed a nice dose of salt along with the lime juice.  You could easily add some cooked shredded chicken for a heartier version.

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Green Posole with Black Beans

From Martha Stewart adapted from Homesick Texan

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 1 poblano chile
  • 1/2 pound fresh tomatillos, husks removed
  • 2 serrano chiles, stemmed, quartered, and seeded
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro (extra for serving)
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 ounce baby spinach leaves, 1 large handful, about 1 cup
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
  • 2 cans (15 ounces) hominy, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • fresh lime juice from 1 lime (extra wedges for serving)
  • kosher salt
  • monterey jack cheese
  • 1 avocado, sliced or cut into chunks
  • sour cream
  • tortilla chips or baked tortilla strips

Directions

  1. Heat broiler with rack in top position.  Place a sheet of foil on the rack.  Broil the poblano until charred and skin is bubbling, 4-5 minutes per side.   You can also do this over a gas burner using tongs.  Transfer to a paper sack or zip-top plastic bag, close it tightly, and let steam 20 minutes.  Rub the poblano with paper towels to remove skin.  Stem, seed, and place in a blender.
  2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook tomatillos until soft, about 5 minutes.  Drain and transfer to the blender.
  3. Add serranos, onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, spinach, cumin, oregano, and 2 cups of broth.  Blend until smooth.  OR you can put everything from the poblano to the broth to a pot and blend with an immersion blender.
  4. Pour tomatillo mixture into a large pot and stir in 4 cups broth, the hominy, and the black beans.
  5. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.
  6. Add lime juice.  Taste, add salt and adjust seasonings.
  7. Garnish with avocado, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, chips and extra lime juice if desired.

Huevos Motuleños

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Easter Sunday left us with a huge amount of leftover ham that is going to be in all of our meals for the rest of this week and likely into the weekend.  I scoured the internet for some creative ideas on how to use it.  Here is the first meal I made to use up some of the ham.  It’s either a weekend breakfast or a breakfast-for-dinner meal but really can be eaten for any meal of the day and you can use any meat you have around.

Huevos Motuleños | Hottie Biscotti

This breakfast dish originated in the town of Motul in the Yucatan and in my recent search I’ve seen many different variations.  The things that seem to remain constant are the fried tortillas, black bean mash, salsa, egg, some kind of meat, and the fried plantains.

I prepped the beans and the salsa earlier in the day and reheated them at dinner.  But even if you’re making this and serving it immediately, you may need to heat things up, or at least keep them warm while you’re doing the other parts since this dish does have a few components and it takes some time to get everything together.  I found that getting everything else ready, then frying the tortillas and bananas and cooking the eggs last was a good way to get it all done.

Huevos Motuleños | Hottie Biscotti

My grocery store did not have ripe plantains so I used bananas.  A nice ripe plantain would’ve been better, but the bananas worked out ok.  If the idea of bananas with everything else is just a little too adventurous for you, then leave them out.  This is a great dish with or without them.  I used the smoked gouda cheese called for in the recipe I used, but other cheeses would work well.  I tried my best to make a nice egg over easy, but isn’t wasn’t pretty (as you can see).  Fix your eggs the way you like them.  I think next time I’ll scramble mine because as much as I want to like a runny yolk it’s tough for me to handle.  This recipe also calls for peas, which I found to be weird, but I used them anyway.  You can’t really taste them with all the other flavors going on, and they’re a fun addition to the plate, so use them or don’t.

I can see myself making these again, and I can definitely see myself making the beans and salsa again and using them for a quick dinner on tortillas with some shredded chicken, lettuce and sour cream.  The flavors in both the beans and the salsa are really nice and fresh.

Once you have everything together, assemble them and enjoy!

huevos3 huevos4 huevos8 huevos10 huevos11 huevos13 Huevos Motuleños | Hottie Biscotti

While some of the ingredients sound weird together, try them anyway!  Unless you have an allergy of course or peas make you gag.  When they’re all together this dish is deliciously different.  And it’s good to try new things.

Huevos Motuleños

Adapted slightly from Saveur

Ingredients

Beans

  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 poblano peppers, seeded and roughly chopped (reserve 1 pepper for the salsa)
  • 1 handful of cilantro
  • 1 medium white onion, quartered (reserve 3 quarters for the salsa)
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • kosher salt

Salsa

  • 1 pound tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
  • Reserved poblano pepper, roughly chopped
  • Reserved onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
  • kosher salt

Base and Toppings

  • 8 corn tortillas
  • 1 ripe plantain, sliced into thick, 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
  • oil for frying
  • 4 eggs
  • 8-10 ounces cooked ham, chopped (or other meat)
  • 4 slices of smoked gouda cheese, optional
  • crumbled queso fresco
  • green peas
  • fresh cilantro

Directions

Beans

  1. Puree the beans, 1/4 of the onion, the cilantro, 1 poblano pepper and 1/4 cup of water in a blender or food processor until smooth.
  2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add in the bean puree, stir and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt.
  3. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm or refrigerate if using later.

Salsa

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add in the tomatoes, poblano and onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and there is some color on the onion, about 10 minutes.
  2. Let cool slightly, then puree in a blender or food processor until smooth.
  3. Heat another tablespoon of oil in the skillet and return the pureed vegetables to the pan.  Cook, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens slightly, and taste and season with salt.
  4. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm or refrigerate if using later.

Base and Toppings

  1. Heat  an inch or two of oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven to 360°F.
  2. Fry corn tortillas, 1 or 2 at a time depending on the size of your pan, for a minute on each side.  DO NOT undercook them.  They’ll be chewy instead of crispy if you don’t fry them enough or if the oil isn’t hot enough. Remove from the oil to paper towels to drain.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas, making sure oil is at the correct temperature before frying.  This may require turning the heat up and down to regulate the temp and keep it between 360 and 375.
  3. Fry the plantains (or banana) for about 45 seconds to 1 minute.  Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
  4. Cook the eggs, fry, over easy, scramble.

Assemble

  1. Heat everything if it hasn’t been kept warm, including the ham and peas.
  2. Place one tortilla on a plate.
  3. Top with 1/4 of the bean mixture, then your egg.
  4. Top with some of the ham pieces and one piece of gouda cheese torn into pieces.  Top with the other fried tortilla.
  5. Spread some of the salsa on top of the tortilla then sprinkle with queso fresco, peas and cilantro.  Place a few of the plantain (or banana) slices on top and serve.

 

 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas with Goat Cheese and Homemade Enchilada Sauce

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When my dear, sweet sister Sarah came to help with Betsy right after she was born, she made us dinner.  She made these incredible vegetable enchiladas with sweet potato and black beans.  They were delicious.  The really wonderful thing about them was the goat cheese.  I would’ve never thought to do that, and I would’ve never thought it would’ve been as terrific as it was.  I tried to recreate them last week and while Ben and I really enjoyed them, they weren’t quite like Sarah’s.  So I’ll have to get an enchilada lesson from her the next time we’re together.

Pardon this iPhoned and Instrgramed photo.  I’m honestly just proud that I took a picture at all.  And to be quite honest I like that if I don’t try to take a good photo, then I can have an excuse for taking crummy ones.  One day I’ll start taking better quality pictures…

These enchiladas are a healthier option when you’re craving Tex-Mex.  They aren’t heavy laden with cheese, and they can be totally vegetarian if you choose to skip the chicken.  You really won’t miss it.  The goat cheese adds a perfect tangy surprise.  If you don’t like goat cheese, add some regular shredded cheese to the filling.

Sarah cooks like I wish I could.  She doesn’t really measure anything.  She doesn’t really follow a recipe.  She just makes what she thinks will be good.  And every time she’s done that when I’ve been around to taste the end result, it’s been quite yummy.  I tried to take some inspiration from Sarah and cook without measuring cups or spoons, so my measurements below are approximate.  The beautiful thing about that kind of cooking is that if you don’t have or like something below you can replace it with something else and not get too preoccupied with doing things a specific way.  Just taste as you go to make sure you have the flavor you want.  I used a packet of chicken taco seasoning, but you can use your favorite spices to make your own seasoning mix.

Other ingredients that I would consider trying in these enchiladas are corn, green chiles, spinach, mushrooms, shredded carrots and zucchini.  In place of chicken you can use ground beef or turkey, or some shredded pork if you happen to have some left over from another meal.

I realized when I started to put these together that I didn’t think to get any sauce and wondered if Sarah had even used any.  So I asked her and she said she just used a can of enchilada sauce.  And of course I had no enchilada sauce.  What’s a girl to do?  Make her own enchilada sauce of course.  And where does one find a recipe for enchilada sauce?  The internet of course.  I just Googled “homemade enchilada sauce” and I found this little gem.  I followed the recipe except for a couple things.  I didn’t have any tomato sauce so I pureed a can of diced tomatoes after draining off some of the juice.  In place of the self rising flour I used regular.  I used the spices it called for and as it cooked I tasted and added a little more chili powder, some paprika and I believe a little more salt since I didn’t have onion salt.  It tasted ok, but I was worried about how it was going to turn out on the enchiladas.  Turned out to be wonderful paired with the enchiladas, and something I’m going to make again the next time I need enchilada sauce.

Now I know flour tortillas are not what is traditionally used for enchiladas.  I used flour because that’s what Sarah used.  I might try corn sometime.  If you decide to, make sure to soften them in warm chicken broth or in the microwave to soften.  If you skip that step they will crack when you go to roll them up.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • 1 large sweet potato, cut into small dice
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
  • goat cheese, 3-4 ounces
  • 8-12 flour tortillas (taco or burrito size)
  • 1 can enchilada sauce (or make your own using the recipe below)
  • shredded cheese, optional
  • sour cream and cilantro for serving

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 400°F.  Toss sweet potato, bell peppers and onion together with olive oil and salt on a large rimmed baking sheet.
  2. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven and let cool a bit.
  3. Combine vegetables, black beans, chicken (if using) and seasoning.  Taste and season as needed.
  4. Crumble goat cheese into filling and combine gently, keeping the goat cheese in good sized chunks.
  5. Scoop some filling into a tortilla and roll to close.  Fill generously but do not overfill, the tortilla should overlap itself by at least 1 inch.  Place seam side down in a greased pan.  Repeat with remaining tortillas fitting them tightly in the pan.  You may need 2 pans depending on what size tortillas you use.
  6. Reduce oven to 350°F.  Top with enchilada sauce, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil (add cheese if using) and bake for 15 minutes more.
  7. Serve topped with sour cream and chopped cilantro.

Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/4 cup chili powder
  • 8 ounce can tomato sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • salt to taste
Directions
  1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook until lightly brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning flour.
  2. Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water, cumin, garlic powder, and salt into the flour and chili powder until smooth
  3. Continue cooking over medium-low heat approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt.

 

Quick Chicken, Black Bean, Corn & Feta Tacos

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These little guys come together easily with very little cooking, making them a quick, easy and tasty weeknight meal.

All you need is a rotisserie chicken, a can of black beans, a can of corn, tortillas, feta cheese, avocado, tomatoes, pickled jalapenos, limes and fresh cilantro.

You can change anything about this meal to make it fit your family, the amount of time you have and the time of year.  Use flour or corn tortillas, different cheeses, cook your own black beans, use fresh corn and roast it on the grill (yum), cook your own chicken the way you like it, and you can even leave out the chicken altogether for a vegetarian taco dinner.

I found a Honey Jalapeno rotisserie chicken at HEB and it was really tasty with just the right amount of spicy kick and sweetness.  I shredded half the chicken and that made 8 generously sized tacos.  I used the rest of the chicken throughout the week for lunches.

Prep everything before beginning to assemble the tacos.  This just makes life easier, and is necessary if people are going to assemble their own.

You can use room temperature tortillas, but heating them makes the tacos much tastier.  Here are some ways you can warm tortillas.

Microwave
  1. Wrap as many as 12 tortillas in paper towels that have been lightly splashed with water.
  2. Microwave on high for 15 to 30 seconds.
  3. Turn over stack of tortillas. Microwave 15 to 30 seconds longer or until heated thoroughly.
Oven
  1. Wrap as many as 12 tortillas in aluminum foil.
  2. Heat in 325°F oven for 20 minutes or until heated thoroughly.
Stovetop

This is my favorite because you can get a perfect crunchy edge if you want it.  Don’t let them get too crunchy or they will crack when you try to wrap the taco.

  1. Heat a heavy pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat.
  2. Warm tortillas for 15 seconds on each side or until heated thoroughly.
  3. After heating, keep wrapped in a clean dishtowel while you warm the rest.

Chicken, Black Bean, Corn and Feta Tacos

Ingredients

  • Shredded chicken, about 2 cups
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can corn, drained
  • salt, pepper and cumin to taste
  • 1/2 cup (or more) crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 avocado, sliced or cubed
  • diced tomatoes
  • pickled jalapenos
  • 2 limes, cut into wedges
  • fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 6-8 tortillas, flour or corn, warmed

Directions

  1. Combine black beans and corn in a small saucepan with 1-2 tablespoons of water.  Warm over low heat and season with salt, pepper and cumin if desired, stirring occasionally until warmed through, about 5 minutes.
  2. Warm tortillas and keep warm while prepping the rest of your ingredients.
  3. Assemble tacos: In the center of the tortilla layer chicken, then bean and corn mixture, cheese then the vegetables of your choice.  Squeeze a lime wedge over the taco if desired.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

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When spring and summer arrive there is a need for fresh and light side dishes to serve with all of your freshly grilled foods.  This quinoa recipe is perfect next to fajitas, fish tacos, chicken, steak, or all by itself.  It is even better after sitting in the fridge overnight.  So, you can make it the day before and make getting the meal on the table easier.  Or you can make more than you need and have leftovers.  I’ve had this for lunch the past two days and it is so nice not to have to prepare anything and still get something really nutritious.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a really amazing food.  It is loaded with protein.  It has a good amount of fiber and it is gluten free.  It is also incredibly simple to prepare.  It takes about as long as white rice, and is much better for you.  The downside to quinoa is that is is a bit pricey.  I paid $6 for a 1 pound bag.

This recipe came from My Kitchen Addiction.  Here is the link.  As with most recipes I try for the first time, I followed this one almost exactly.  Here are my minor changes.

  • I used a can of corn instead of fresh.
  • I cut back the olive oil by 1 tablespoon with fine results.
  • I substituted honey for the agave syrup since that is not something I have in my pantry.
  • The second time I made this, a mere week later, I added some dried oregano and a dash of cumin.

This is a great salad that I’m going to play with some more.  The possibilities seem almost endless!  I might try a quinoa salad with diced cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, feta, fresh parsley, mint and a vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and Greek oregano…quinoa tabouli! Yum.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
    (or about 2 cups cooked black beans)
  • 3 ears of steamed corn, cut off the cob
    (or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed OR 1 can, drained)
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, chopped
  • Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped (about half a cup)
  • 1 lime, zested then juiced
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Combine quinoa and water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.
  2. While quinoa is cooking, combine beans, corn, red onion, red bell peppers and cilantro in a large bowl.
  3. For the vinaigrette, whisk oil, vinegar, honey, lime juice and zest, spices and salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Combine cooked quinoa with vegetables, then mix in vinaigrette.  Serve room temperature or refrigerate.

 

Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

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Even though the temperature is now in the 80’s, it was in the upper 40’s here this morning.  This cooler weather inspired me to make a more fall-like dish for dinner.  I love sweet potatoes, but rarely cook with them…I can’t tell you why, it’s just a problem I have.  They’re so good for you, and a great fall ingredient.  I also like their versatility.  Sweet potatoes can be used in tons of dishes, both sweet and savory.  You can even make fries with them!  I am sure the deep frying that makes sweet potato fries so delicious cancels out some of their nutritive value, but it still makes me feel better to eat them instead of regular french fries.  Some of you are saying, “You know that you can bake sweet potato fries in the oven” but you and I both know they’re not as good.  Sorry.

Anyway, I don’t know how I arrived at this recipe.  I searched for sweet potato soup recipes and ended up with black beans and sausage in there at some point.  I found a lot of variations with similar basic ingredients, so I used a few recipes and combined what I liked about each of them to make this soup.

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Mexican Layered Salad

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This salad was a big hit at the Superbowl party I brought it to last weekend.  It is technically a salad, but a lot of us ate it like a dip with tortilla chips instead.  I ate mine over a little mound of crushed chips.  The chips add a nice crunch and saltiness.  The flavors in this salad are very refreshing.  It was a good complement to the heavy chili and queso at the party.  The black beans and avocados are healthy and substantial and give the salad some weight that makes it an appealing thing to even the manliest of men.  I made mine a few hours before serving and it was great; not soggy at all.  I ate some the next day after it had been sitting in the fridge all night, and it was still delicious.  The avocado was still green and creamy without any nasty, slimy, brown spots.  I really liked the dressing.  The addition of lime juice, cilantro and cumin makes the ranch dressing so much tastier.  I am thinking about mixing some more of it up just to have on hand.  Adding some minced jalapeno might be nice too.

I combined many different recipes to come up with this salad.  A lot that I looked at use chips or cornbread as a layer in the salad, but I am not a fan of soggy bread in anything besides stuffing at Thanksgiving.  So, I left the chips out, and served them on the side instead.  If you want to add chips, cruch up about 2 cups and use half as a layer in between the corn and lettuce layers.

Mexican Layered Salad
Ingredients
  • 2 – 3 heads of romaine, chopped
  • 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
  • 3 grated carrots
  • 3 – 4 roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 avocados, cut into 1/4 inch chunks and tossed with about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
  • 6 – 8 green onions, chopped
  • 1 large can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
  • 2 cups shredded cheese, a combination of cheddar and monterey jack is great
  • 1 1/2 cups ranch dressing
  • 3/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 3 – 5 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • Tortilla chips for serving
Directions
  1. In a small bowl combine tomatoes and scallions.
  2. Combine romaine, cabbage and carrots in a large bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine dressing, cumin, lime juice and cilantro.  Whisk to combine.  Set aside.
  4. In a trifle dish, layer half of the beans, then half of the corn.
  5. Top half of the lettuce mixture and press down.
  6. Top with half of the  tomato mixture, then half of the avocado.
  7. Sprinkle with half of the cheese, then drizzle with dressing.
  8. Repeat layers again, pressing down as needed.
  9. Top with cheese, then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 1 hour.  Can prepare 1 day ahead.
  10. Serve with tortilla chips.

Dinner Rush: Chorizo and Black Bean Mexican Tortas

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I have too many cooking magazines, too many cookbooks, and way too many printed recipes from various websites.  Even if I were to cook something from one of these sources everyday, there is no possible way that I could exhaust my recipe stockpile in my lifetime.  I don’t help the situation by buying more cookbooks, more magazines, and printing more website recipes.  I’ll admit it, I have a problem.  Progress is being made, though.  I did find a recipe in the September issue of Food & Wine magazine yesterday that I made for dinner last night.  I didn’t just mark it with a sticky note or tear the page out as something I’ll make someday.  I MADE it, and we ate it, and it was yummy.

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Dinner Rush: Shrimp with Mango Sauce and Quinoa Salad

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The school year is about to begin!  My first day of teacher prep began today, so my casual lifestyle with tons of free time is about to come to an abrupt and unpleasant end.  Taking 8 months off from work to take a couple of part time jobs was pretty great.  It enabled me to move in to our new house and spend time getting things organized and just like I wanted them, running errands as needed, going to the gym whenever I wanted to, playing with the dog, baking and cooking without time restraints, perusing the Internet at my leisure and blogging whenever I pleased!  These days are sadly over.  I will miss you, my lazy life.

I must somehow move on to my new life with a positive attitude and a determination to somehow manage a full time job and the rest of the things I need and want to do.  Hold on, there are women who have more demanding jobs than I do, AND they have children, AND they’re members of groups and clubs, AND they take care of their house, AND they cook dinner, AND do laundry, AND blog!  If they can do it, then measly little me can do it!

I will not allow my new Monday thru Friday, 8-5 (or 6 some days) job keep me from making dinner on the weeknights.  I will also not stoop to macaroni and cheese from a box or putting a frozen pizza in the oven.  I WILL make real dinner!  So, every week I will make, review and blog about quick and easy dinner recipes that can be accomplished by a full time working woman…like I will be as of August 24.

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These recipes come from Epicurious Dinner Rush from issues of Gourmet and SELF.  They are both quite delicious.  The most time consuming thing about them is the chopping and prep.  I modified the quinoa recipe quite a bit after speaking with my wiser and younger sister, Sarah, who told me that the preparation of the quinoa in the actual recipe was a bit ridiculous.  I hadn’t ever used quinoa before, so I thought the process of washing it 5 times in cold water, cooking for 10 minutes in boiling water and then steaming it in a sieve for 10 minutes above the boiling water was normal!  Turns out, all you have to do is cook the quinoa as you would rice.  Hooray!  That little change made this dish much faster.

There is a recipe for lime and cumin dressing that goes with the salad, but I didn’t use it.  Instead of the olive oil based dressing, I simply tossed the salad with lime juice, cumin and some kosher salt.  I found the salad to be incredibly light and refreshing.  I thought about adding chopped tomatoes, but opted not to this time.  It would be delicious, though, so I may try it next time.  Here is the original recipe.

Shrimp is always a good choice for a quick meal.  Shrimp cooks quickly, just 2-3 per side, in a hot skillet.  The mango sauce has a great combination of flavors.  Sweet, spicy and perfect with the shrimp.  I served the sauce warm, but it would be good chilled also.  Here is the recipe from epicurious.

I served this meal with a few warmed corn tortillas, so Ben made shrimp tacos.  I liked it better without the tortillas, Ben liked his taco version better.  I think he likes when all the components of a meal come together in a nice little package.  He likes burritos, sandwiches, pizza, stromboli, lasagna, enchiladas, chimichangas and always seems to mix the food on his plate into a new casserole type dish.

This is a fairly quick recipe, and definitely a good choice for a weeknight dinner.

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