Sundried Tomato and Garlic Hummus

Ingredients:
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons of chopped oil-packed sundried tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor (I use my magic bullet) and blend until smooth. We love it with carrots and broccoli dipped in it, but pita wedges are great as well!

Springtime Pasta

Makes 8 Servings
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 8 minutes

Ingredients
* 1 pound cavatappi or other corkscrew-shaped pasta
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into
* 1-inch pieces
* 1 yellow pepper, cored diced
* 1 bunch (1 pound) asparagus, trimmed and cut into
* 2-inch pieces
* 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
* 1 package (5.2 ounces) spreadable herb cheese (such as Boursin)
* 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Heat a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling. Add pasta and bring back to a boil. Cook 6 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and tilt pan to coat. Add chicken. Cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. During last minute of cooking, add yellow pepper to skillet. Remove from heat.

3. Once pasta has cooked for 6 minutes, add asparagus pieces and cook an additional 2 minutes. Scoop out 1/4 cup pasta water, then drain.

4. In a large bowl, toss together hot pasta and asparagus, chicken and pepper, tomatoes, herbed cheese, reserved pasta water, salt and pepper until well blended and cheese is melted.

Cheesy Salsa

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1 can (4 oz) diced green chilis
3 green onions, sliced
½ cup sliced ripe olives
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup Italian salad dressing

Directions:

1. Combine cheese, avocado, tomato, chilis, onions, olives and cilantro in a large bowl.
2. Add salad dressing, stir to coat.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper
4. Serve with tortilla chips—ole!

Sesame Ginger Chicken

from Sue Hanson

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon ground ginger
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

1. In a small bowl combine first 4 ingredients.
2. Pound the chicken into ¼ inch thick
3. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes basting chicken frequently. OR, you can…
4. Grill over medium-hot coals, turning and basting frequently with soy sauce mixture for 8 minutes or until juices run clear.

Vegetarian Enchiladas with homemade sauce

Tonight's dinner attempt is going to be a combination of two different recipes. We'll see how it turns out! I'm going to use the recipe for the interior of the enchilada that I found on line and my friend Jean's recipe for the homemade enchilada sauce. Stay tuned to see how it turned out!

I doubled it to make a huge batch to have some for the freezer, which worked really well.

Filling:

Black Bean Enchiladas

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp oil
1 c chopped onion
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 c corn kernels
½ c green bell pepper, diced
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles, drained
2 tsp ground cumin
1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese

6 inch corn tortillas--a big stack of them!
salt & pepper to taste

Sauce

2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ tablespoon chili powder
1 ¼ tablespoon cocoa powder
½ tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups water
2 ½ cups tomato sauce (this was 1.5 cans)
3 ounces tomato paste (1/2 a little can)

Directions for filling:

Preheat oven to 350° and lightly grease a 9×13″ baking dish. In a medium sized skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic and sauté until aromatic and onions are softened. Add green peppers (and corn if using frozen), sautéing until softened. Stir in beans, cumin, green chiles & corn (if using fresh). Cook for ~5 minutes until warm; partially mash beans. Remove the pan from the heat, mix in 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt & pepper as desired.

Spoon some of the black bean mixture down the center of a tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour sauce over the tops of the enchiladas. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese and bake for 10 more minutes until cheese is melted.

Sauce Instructions:

Combine the flour, chili powder, cocoa powder, sugar and salt—set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, add tomato sauce, water, tomato paste. Heat and stir in flour mixture using a wisk. Continue stirring over medium heat while sauce thickens. Simmer 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally.

Vegetarian Enchilladas

from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil + a little more for the baking dish
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can reduced-sodium vegetable broth
coarse salt and ground pepper
12 oz grated pepper jack cheese
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
10 oz box of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 10 oz box frozen corn kernels, thawed
6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
16 6-inch corn tortillas

Directions:
1. Make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add 1 teaspoon cumin, flour, and tomato paste; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Whisk in broth and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

2. Make filling: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups cheese, beans, spinach, corn, scallion whites, and remaining 1 teaspoon cumin; season with salt and pepper.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil two 8-inch square baking dishes; set aside. Stack tortillas, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute. Or stack and wrap in aluminum foil, and heat in oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Top each tortilla with a heaping 1/3 cup of filling; roll up tightly and arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dishes.

4. Dividing evenly, sprinkle enchiladas with remaining 1 cup cheese, and top with sauce. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; serve garnished with scallion greens.

**To prepare for freezer, Prepare enchiladas through step 3; top with cheese, and cover baking dishes with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Place sauce in an airtight container. Freeze enchiladas and sauce for up to 2 months.

To bake from frozen: Thaw sauce in refrigerator overnight (or microwave on high 2 minutes, stirring once halfway through). Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove foil and plastic wrap from baking dishes, and pour sauce over enchiladas; cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; remove foil, and bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes more. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken Kebabs with Grilled corn and tomato salad

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 ears corn, husks removed
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon orange zest
8 6-inch skewers, soaked in water

Directions:
Heat grill to medium high heat.
In a bowl, toss the chicken, garlic, thyme, 1 tablespoon of oil and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Thread the chicken onto the skewers.

Grill the chicken and corn, turning occasionally until the chicken in cooked through and the corn is charred--7 to 10 minutes for both.

In a bowl, toss tomatoes, scallions, orange zest, the remaining tablespoon olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon sald, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve with chicken and corn.