Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili

Photo by Rachel's Bite, Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 US licensed.   

I try to make as many recipes as beans as possible. They seem like a miracle food! Cheap, healthy, and filling. I order often from Rancho Gordo because I think their beans are high quality and I never know how long a pack of beans have been sitting around on a shelf at the store. It's not that they go bad or anything, but I find fresher beans more flavorful.

This recipe for Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili appealed to me not only for the use of beans, but also because I am a huge mushroom fan AND you get to use your slow cooker! You do end up with a really tasty dinner but it is nothing like traditional chili. The use of tomatillos and chipotle peppers gives it a really great flavor and I find those ingredients fun to play with.

The recipe for Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili is available on EatingWell.com.

Love is all around you... Enjoy!

- Rachel

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Greek Salad with Sardines

I've never been a fan of sardines, but honestly, it's because I made my judgement based on how it looked in a tin - ick! I have never eaten them as part of a recipe before. But for the past year or so I've been hearing about how sardines are a healthy way to get omega-3-fatty acids. That and they are cheap. So I am on a quest to try, and learn to like, sardines.

This recipe for Greek Salad with Sardines which I found in the May/June 2010 issue of Eating Well magazine seemed like a good place to start. Greek salads themselves being one of my favorites, topping them with this fish seemed like a good idea. I used sardines packed in water which I purchased from Whole Foods. They looked really fresh when I opened the tin so I was kind of exicted to give them a try.

The dressing is super simple and healthy which was great. And the whole salad was made by things I already had in the house (except the sardines). I halved this recipe because I was eating by myself and didn't think the salad would preserve well for leftovers. It ended up being a super filling lunch! And I didn't really even notice the sardines too much - they added kind of a richness and nice balance. I will definitely make this one again.

Greek Salad with Sardines Makes 4 servings, about 2 cups each 3 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 2 teaspoons dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 3 medium tomatoes, cut into large chunks 1 large English cucumber, cut into large chunks 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion 2 tablespoons sliced kalamata olives 2 4-ounce cans sardines with bones, packed in olive oil or water, drained

Whisk lemon juice, oil, garlic, oregano and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Add tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, feta, onion and olives; gently toss to combine. Divide the salad among 4 plates and top with sardines.

Paprika Shrimp & Green Bean Saute

This recipe helped me re-discover green beans! I've never eaten too many fresh green beans because I thought it took too long to chop of the ends of the beans - but this really isn't true. All veggie preparation takes time and prepping the beans weren't that much more than some other slicing and dicing I've done lately...

I'm a huge shrimp fan so I will try almost any recipe featuring shrimp. This kind of reminded me of a spinach salad I've made in the past with shrimp and white beans. But it was different because of the flavoring of the paprika and vinegar. The green beans added a really nice freshness and crispiness.

Paprika Shrimp & Green Bean Saute Serves 6 4 cups green beans, trimmed (about 12 ounces) 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup minced garlic 2 teaspoons paprika 1 pound raw shrimp, (21-25 per pound; see Note), peeled and deveined 2 16-ounce cans large butter beans, or cannellini beans, rinsed 1/4 cup sherry vinegar, or red-wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Put green beans in a steamer basket, place in the pan, cover and steam until tender-crisp, 4 to 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and paprika and cook, stirring constantly, until just fragrant but not browned, about 20 seconds. Add shrimp and cook until pink and opaque, about 2 minutes per side. Stir in beans, vinegar and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup parsley.

Divide the green beans among 6 plates. Top with the shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with pepper and the remaining 1/4 cup parsley.

Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce

Finally, a fool proof way to make fish! I have been missing the mark the last twenty or so times I made fish. I usually bake it or broil it and I either over or under do it. But this recipe calls for poaching in a savory sauce and the fish came out perfectly cooked and incredibly tasty! And what's nice about this is that it's really quick to put together - except for pulling off the fresh thyme leaves from the stems.

I serve this with farro, due to the suggestion in the magazine. And I'm so glad I tried it because it is now my favorite grain and I make it quite often.

Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce Serves 4 1-1¼ pounds Pacific cod or tilapia fillets, cut into 4 pieces 3 tsp. chopped fresh thyme, divided ½ tsp. salt, divided ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 shallot, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced ¾ cup white wine 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes ¼ cup heavy cream or half and half ½ tsp. cornstarch

Season fish with 1 teaspoon thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic and 1 teaspoon thyme; cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 1 minute. Add wine, tomatoes and the fish to the pan; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the fish is cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfre the fish to a large plate; keep warm.

Whisk cream and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to the pan, along with the remaining 1 teaspoon thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Divide the fish and sauce among 4 shallow bowls.

Pork Chops with Orange & Fennel Salad

Fennel is becoming one of my favorite ingredients. There's something gourmet yet homey about cooking with it. Maybe gourmet because it has a fresh, healthy taste and homey because it reminds me of Italian cooking. Whatever it is, I like to try it out whenever I see a new recipe that calls for it.

I think fennel and orange is a classic combination and it works perfectly with the pork chops. This dish does not have any strong flavors individually, but it has a very sophisticated taste when complete. It kind of reminds me of spa food - even though you probably wouldn't find pork chops at most spas. It is fresh and light yet flavorful. My family loved it.

Pork Chops with Orange & Fennel Salad Makes 4 servings 3 naval oranges 1 teaspoon lemon juice ½ teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon cornstarch ½ teaspoon salt, divided 4 4-ounce boneless porkchops, ½-inch thick, trimmed 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, roughly chopped or coarsely ground in a spice grinder ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 large fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced 1 shallot, chopped 3 cups watercress or arugula, tough stems removed

Remove the skin and white pith from oranges with a sharp knife. Working over a bowl, cut the segments from their surrounding membranes. Squeeze juice in the bowl before discarding membranes. Transfer the segments with a slotted spoon to another bowl. Whisk lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and ¼ teaspoon salt into the bowl with the orange juice. Set aside.

Season pork chops on both sides with fennel seeds, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chops and cook until browned and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Add sliced fennel and shallot to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add watercress (or arugula) and cook, stirring, until it begins to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in the reserved orange segments, then transfer the contents of the pan to a platter.

Add the reserved orange juice mixture and any accumulated juices from the pork chops to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Serve the pork chops on the fennel salad, drizzled with the pan sauce.

Warm Beet & Spinach Salad

Beets are an ingredient I hardly every use but I have been inspired to make something with beets ever since I had an amazing beet salad at C-House last week. Red and yellow beets were the highlight of this regular item on the menu. I don't see beet salads to often on any menu so I was interested that Marcus Samuelsson chose to feature this as one of only two salads on the lunch menu.

This salad highlights beets as well, but the beets get warmed and then are placed on a bed of fresh spinach. The sweetness of the beets acts in place of a dressing. Kalamata olives and balsamic vinegar add an interesting contract. It only took me about 10 minutes to throw this all together. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Warm Beet & Spinach Salad Makes 4 servings, about 2 cups each 8 cups baby spinach 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup thinly sliced red onion 2 plum tomatoes, chopped 2 tablespoons sliced Kalamata olives 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 clove garlic, minced 2 cups steamed beet wedges or slices, 1/2-1 inch thick (see Tip) 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Place spinach in a large bowl.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, olives, parsley and garlic and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 3 minutes. Add beets, vinegar, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the beets are heated through, about 1 minute more. Add the beet mixture to the spinach and toss to combine. Serve warm.

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Vegetables

What is fresher this time of year than shrimp and veggies? Especially asparagus! When I saw this recipe for Lemon-Garlic Shrimp & Vegetables in the April, 2008 issue of Eating Well Magazine I went out and got all the ingredients to have for dinner that same night.

At first I was thinking about cutting the recipe in half because I didn't want to spend that much money on two pounds of asparagus. I'm glad I didn't though because two of us were able to eat very well for dinner and both have a good sized-portion of leftover the next day. In fact, I didn't even bother to heat up my leftovers because it was kind of like having a salad.

I'm usually hesitant about making things with lemon in the title because I am not a big lemon fan. However this recipe was not too heavy on the lemon and you can always sprinkle on some additional lemon to the finished product if someone wants more flavor. This recipe is a perfect weeknight meal for when you want something both quick and healthy.

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp & Vegetables 4 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 large red bell peppers, diced 2 lbs. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths 2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest 1/2 tsp. salt, divided 5 cloves garlic, minced 1 lb. raw shrimp (26-30 per pound), peeled and deveined 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth 1 tsp. cornstarch 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, asparagus, lemon zest and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, about 6 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl; cover to keep warm.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shrimp and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk broth and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth and add to the pan along with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve the shrimp and sauce over the vegetables.