Black Bean and Mango Salsa

The picture is coming. But trust me, this salsa is beautiful. Andrew can't eat all the fresh stuff in it but he said it was pretty and it smelled good, too.

We had lots of mangoes come in this week's Bountiful Basket. Apparently, Rosemary, Corbin and Brad won't eat them. Pat and Alisha didn't want to take them because they are from Mexico and not the Philippines (Pat went on his mission there and said they are really good there and no where else holds a candle to it). So, I'm trying to be creative in my usage of mangoes.

I doubled the recipe and made some of this Black Bean and Mango Salsa today. I made some as a thank you for someone in the ward, some for a neighbor and the rest for me. I think it is really tasty!

But warning on this recipe: It is a fresh salsa. It contains mangoes. If you're not a fan of either- move along to another recipe.

Black Bean and Mango Salsa
(from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook)

1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed
1 mango, peeled, pitted and chopped fine (look up how to chop one if you've never done it)
1/2 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1/2 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
sugar
salt and pepper

*Note: I used 3 mangoes in my doubled salsa since I think my mangoes were a little small. I'd probably use 2 mangoes in the regular recipe next time I make it.

Mix all of the ingredients together and season with sugar, salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest to blend flavors- about 10 minutes. Let drain in a fine-mesh strainer before serving. (I didn't wait that long, I started eating it out of the bowl with all the juice still at the bottom!)

Meatless Monday: Quinoa and Black Beans with Homemade Tortilla Chips

This recipe was another meatless big hit at the Frost home tonight. I cooked the recipe up and decided it needed a little something to make it more exciting. Solution: homemade tortilla chips to scoop it up with. We spooned up the quinoa into a bowl, added some cheese and sour cream and scooped away. Yum. Yum.

P.S. This one got high fives from the hubs again. It seems like I get more high fives from meatless Monday than I do other days of the week- go figure!

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't have any, so I just added parsley at the end)
• Optional: 1/2 green bell pepper chopped ( I added this in)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic (and pepper if using), and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable (or chicken) broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Tortilla Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Quarter corn tortillas.
Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake 5 minutes. Flip over. Salt other side. Bake another 5 minutes.
Enjoy!

You could brush some oil on to make the salt stick better if you want. You could also add some other spices to make them a little more flavorful. I didn't think they needed it with this recipe. Delish!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

I've been looking for a recipe for a long time. I finally found one in my cook book from Basic Food Prep in college. That was a fun class. Anyway. here is the recipe:


2 cups flour
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. baking powder
2 T. vegetable oil
1/2 c. hot water (120-140 degrees F)

Combine dry ingredients. Add oil and work with hands until oil particles are dispersed.


Add water, stirring with hands to make a soft dough. Divide into 1” balls.




Flatten, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand for 10 minutes. Roll on floured surface until very thin and 10-12” in diameter. Cook on ungreased frying pan or griddle over medium heat until brown spots appear, about 30 seconds. Repeat on other side.





I like this recipe for cafe rio-esque salads. I feel like the tortillas were a little too dry to actually use them like regular tortillas. Maybe if I added more water? But they are SUPER easy to make!

Quinoa Chili

I got this picture and recipe from Bloom. I didn't have time to grab my own camera because I was too busy eating. It was de-lish! We picked up some quinoa at the Whole Foods store this weekend. I love it in the Quinoa Butternut Squash dish that we make, but this was super good as well! I didn't have a green bell pepper in the house, so I used part of a zucchini and it was really good! I may do zucchini and pepper next time together. Man, do I love quinoa. Yum!

2 cans kidney beans, rinsed & drained (or whatever beans you like)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoon salt
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed in warm water &
cup frozen corn
1 can tomato sauce, low salt (about 2 cups)
1 cup water
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and sauté until tender. Add salt, garlic, pepper and spices; sauté for 5-10 minutes. Add rinsed quinoa and stir in. Add corn, tomato sauce, and water to onion/quinoa mixture. Simmer together 20 minutes. Add beans to the pot and simmer another 15 minutes. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, sliced avocados or whatever else you like to put on chili. Makes 6-8 (1 Cup) Servings.

Shredded Beef

Shredded Beef

Place a “cheap” pot roast in large crock-pot. In another bowl, mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 onion soup mix, 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix well. Pour over roast and cook on low for about 7 hours. Shred.

We always make a few roasts when they are on a great sale. Then we have portions in the freezer to make tacos or enchiladas. Makes for an easy dinner when time is short!

Chicken Fajitas with Lime

This was a really good fajita marinade recipe and I don't want to lose it. I love lime so this was perfect.


1 clove garlic minced
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. chili powder
2 Tbl. olive oil
juice from 1 lime (+ another half for during cooking)
about 1-2 tsp. sugar (optional)
about 1 tsp vinegar (optional)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin
2 bell peppers (green, red or orange)
1 onion

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Mix in chicken to coat. Marinate in the fridge for a few hours.

Cook chicken and marinade in a skillet with a little olive oil. Remove. Cook onions and peppers in some of the marinade left in the pan. Add extra lemon squeeze to the veggies if desired. Add chicken and heat through again.

Serve with tortillas, cheese and sour cream.