Quinoa Con Queso

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quinoa_con_queso/
Quinoa Con Queso

DH isn't a big fan of quinoa, but he liked the topping for this dish. He gives it 3.5 overall, and 4.0 for the topping. The poblano pepper was a great addition. Poblano (also called Pasilla) peppers are pretty mild for being a hot pepper. Also I adore queso fresco, so that really makes the dish as well.

Raspberry Gelatin

Raspberry Gelatin or Jello (from scratch, sweetened with fruit juice)

I made this for thanksgiving this year. It is my mothers recipe (via juliana. hi!).

2 12-oz cans frozen apple-raspberry 100% juice concentrate
5 envelopes Knox gelatin
1 juice-can of water
10 oz package frozen raspberries (unsweetened)
20 oz can crushed pineapple in own juice

Thaw juice concentrate. Soak gelatin in cool, thawed juice for 1 minute. Then dissolve by heating on stove and stirring gently for 5 minutes. Check if dissolved by quickly dipping finger and thumb into mixture and rubbing together to see if it’s smooth - careful, it's hot. Remove from heat. Add can of water, frozen berries, and entire can of pineapple including juice. Chill until set in 9 x 13 pan.

Notes:

I was already using the 9x13 pan for yams, so had put the jello in a 2.5 quart casserole dish (a white oval one with a glass lid). It fit with probably 1 or 2 cm to spare. I topped it with 1/2 pint of whipping cream whipped with 3 tablespoons of sugar and a little vanilla.

This turned out well. It was definitely very gelatinous, sort of jiggler-like. And it was very sweet. I think putting 2 T sugar in the topping would be fine. I might try using only 4 envelopes of gelatin next time.

White Bean Chicken Chili

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/white-bean-chicken-chili/detail.aspx
White Bean Chicken Chili

This is another easy soup. Very tasty. I probably doubled the broth because I used the water I boiled the chicken in as broth. I also added the juice of 5 limes I had in the fridge that needed to be used. And I used a can of corn (undrained) instead of 2 fresh cobs. It was all very good! I happened to have only chicken thighs and it worked well.

Italian Minestrone Soup

Italian Minestrone Soup
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2011/11/italian-minestrone-soup-in-slow-cooker.html

David really liked this. And me too. And it was easy. It barely fit into my 3 quart crockpot, except I transferred it to another pot on the stove when I added the pasta. It MIGHT have held the pasta, but I was in a rush to finish so didn't want to wait for it to cook in the slow cooker.

This serves 4 adults, just barely.

Mustard Short Ribs

I made the recipe for mustard short ribs from the Betty Crocker cookbook. Recipe to be added later.

Even though this was very meaty, DH only rated it 3.5. I did not marinade it for 24 hrs, only for 4, so the mustard flavor was milder than I wanted. Also, the ribs were hard to eat and very fatty. This is the first time I've done short ribs. The meat was still attached to the bone and some sinewy stuff. I'll have to do short ribs again with another butcher brand and see if it is similar.

Almond Paste

Based on: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/almond-paste/detail.aspx

I made almond pasted based on the above recipe, but with alterations suggested by merriwether9 (1 lb almonds, 3 cups powdered sugar, 2 egg whites). It was too sweet based on almond paste I have had in the past.

I had trouble getting the almonds to grind fine enough. My blender sort of gave up because it was sticking together, and it was like coarse sand. If I had a full size food processor that might have helped, but I don't have one so I'm not sure.

I will try this next time:
1 lb blanched almonds (just buy slivered almonds, they are pre-blanched)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract

Chicken Tinga

2 chicken breasts. Boil with garlic and chunk of onion, and chicken boullion, and salt. Shred chicken when done.

1 medium onion, sliced onions really fine
1/2 can chipotles con adobo (1/2 of 7oz can, or 4-5 chipotles)

Blend as sauce in blender:
2 large red tomatoes
1 garlic clove
add chipotles if you don't want chunks

Fry onion in oil in skillet until clear, add sauce, then add shredded chicken. Let cook for 5 minutes on low. And that's it!

Serve with tostadas, sour cream, and green salsa. Put sour cream on first, then tinga, then salsa on top.

Recipe from Cynthia Thompson, learned from her Mexican grandmother.