Craig's Salsa

1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes With Juice
¼ cups Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro
½ whole Lime Juice

Put it all in a food processor and go to town.

I'm not sure if this is exactly how he did it. I've actually adapted it from the Pioneer Woman Cooks here

Banana Bread

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar (or slightly less)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup butter, melted

Grease and flour loaf pans. The original recipe called for two 7 x 3 inch loaf pans but Steph prefers four mini loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, soda, salt and sugar. Mix in the slightly beaten eggs and mashed bananas. Slowly stir in the melted butter just until incorporated. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. If you use the mini loaf pans, adjust to about 30 minutes. Just take a peek and if the top is starting to brown and looks cooked, try the toothpick to test for doneness. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Additional Thoughts:
- Banana size varies drastically. Today I used the largest I have used in the past and the bread was so moist and flavorful. If you have really small bananas, add an extra half.
- What is a ripe banana? Well, I like mine almost all brown with some specs of yellow. Once I used all brown and it smelled a bit like alcohol. I think they were fermenting and on their way to banana liqueur
- Mash bananas well with a potato masher or fork but leave some small chunks. Don’t go all the way to baby food consistency.
- Do NOT over mix this batter. I would not use an electric mixer – just a few circles of the wrist while incorporating the ingredients.
- Do NOT overbake. The moist, banana-y center should be soft and crumbly.
- Let the bread cool completely before storing. The edges and outside will get sticky and icky if you wrap it or put it in a ziploc too soon.

I looked around at many recipes to find one that didn't use shortening. I've made this twice now and both times it has turned out great. I doubled the recipe this morning and had enough for one 8x4 pan and two mini loaf pans. Adapted from here. I made only one change at that was to limit the amount of sugar. Even with 1/4 cup less than the original recipe called for it was still a little too sweet for my taste.

Cannellini Bean Salad

1 can (14 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1-2 T jarred olive tapenade
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Put lemon juice, sugar and olive oil in a small jar with a lid and shake (or whisk together in a bowl). Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. This is best when it can sit at room temp for 30 minutes so the flavors meld.

Adapted from this recipe. Nice simple refreshing salad. The tapenade gives it a nice salty kick. It's a great side for lunch or you could add another protein for a whole meal. I made this for lunch as a side with smoked salmon and cream cheese on crackers. I'll probably throw the smoked salmon in it tomorrow for lunch to take to work.

Lemon Basil Pesto

(makes 1 cup)

Ingredients:
1 lemon (zest and juice)
1/2 cup basil (packed)
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons pine nuts (toasted)
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place everything into a food processor and blend.

I served this with pan seared chicken, broccoli and bow-tie pasta (farfelle). It turned out so delicious! The lemon lightens it up and gives it a nice spring flavor. I'm going to try this with asparagus in the next few weeks when they are in season. I got the pesto recipe here.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Quinoa

2-3 cups cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
1/4 c quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup basil
Small pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400. Wash tomatoes and chop in half. Toss in a small bowl with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 15-25 minutes. Set aside. Heat 1 T of olive oil in a dutch oven (or other non-reactive pot). Saute onions until translucent. Add garlic and saute a few seconds until aromatic. Add onions, garlic, tomatoes and 1/2 cup stock or water to blender (or use immersion blender) and blend well. Return to pot, add the rest of the stock or water and bring to a simmer. Add quinoa, basil and red pepper flakes, cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until quinoa open up. Season with salt and pepper.

I'm not a big fan of pureed soups unless it's as a side with bread or a sandwich. Adding quinoa to this soup gives it a nice texture. It turned out so delicious. I adapted it from here.

Cashew Chicken

1 lb boneless chicken breast, cubed
small red and green bell peppers, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted cashews, toasted or boiled
2 T cooking sherry or wine
1 T white wine vinegar
2 t cornstarch
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 T soy sauce/tamari
1 t rice vinegar
2 T honey
1 T vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves
1 t roasted red chili paste
1 t chili powder
red chili flakes to taste
cooked rice, brown or white

In a medium bowl, toss chicken with 1 t oil, chili powder, 1 T soy sauce, 1 T honey. Marinate in fridge for at least a half hour.

In a small bowl, mix broth, soy sauce, vinegar, 1 T honey, roasted red pepper paste, red pepper flakes and cornstarch. Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 T oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and work in batches if necessary. Add more oil if needed and cook the vegetables until crisp-tender. Add chicken back in and whisk in sauce. Cook until sauce thickens.

Serve over rice.

This is my take on take-out cashew chicken. I've adapted it from a few recipes. Its pretty good. What can I say? It's cashew chicken! Yum! Add more red pepper flakes or even cayanne if you want more heat.

Red pepper, tomato and chicken pilaf

1 2/3 cups brown rice
1/2 onion, chopped
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 7 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 T olive oil
1 t paprika
1/2 t dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup green beans, washed and chopped

Preheat oven to 375.
In a dutch oven, combine all ingredients except the green beans. Stir, cover and bake for 40 minutes to an hour.
Stir in green beans and bake uncovered for 10 or 20 minutes more, until all broth is absorbed. Remove bay leaf and serve.

I adapted this recipe from The New American Plate Cookbook. I used regular brown rice instead of quick cooking, so I had to up the time a little. I threw in a few sun dried tomatoes, too. I used crushed tomatoes and the consistency was a little blah. I think it would have been better with diced (with the liquid). Otherwise, a hearty, really easy to make meal. Serve with salad and/or bread.