This is a healthy bread that I like to make for my family. We love to use it for cinnamon toast and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches! It also uses that last overly-ripe banana.

Takes 5-10 minutes to get the ingredients in the breadmaker, then let the machine work it’s magic.

Ingredients

1 tsp. yeast

1/2 tsp.salt

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 1/4 C. flour

1 T. non-fat dry milk powder

1/2 tsp. sugar

2 T. lite applesauce

3/4 banana

1 C. water

1/4 C. craisins

1/4 C. raisins

Directions:

Put in the breadmaker in the order suggested by the manufacturer, press white bread, and “start”. Makes a 1 pound loaf.

The homemade Chipotle night this week was a big hit with everyone in my family! I thought you might like to do the same.

Here’s how we did it: I bought the bake-your-own tortillas from the refrigerated section at WalMart. It’s a little more work, but they are so good fresh (like at Chipotle!) Also, I looked up the Chipotle meat recipes and they were way too involved for me. So I simply put 6 boneless chicken thighs in the slow cooker on low for 6 hours and added ½ jar salsa verde, and shook in some cayenne pepper and chili pepper to spice it up. Juicy, tender and tasty!

We filled our tortillas with rice, beans, chicken, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, corn, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and salsa (or pico de gallo if you have it!) I didn’t have the corn salsa recipe at the time (it’s listed below), but I will also spice that up next time with some onions, lime and cilantro. The key seems to be lots of LIME and CILANTRO in everything. I looked up how to make the lime tortilla chips and it was way too much work for me! BUT I recommend getting the Cactus Creek Margarita Lime Chips – they are delicious and only 99 cents a bag! I know Brookshire’s carries them.

Enjoy!

Chipotle’s Basmati Rice Recipe
1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter
2 tsp. fresh cilantro
2/3 cup white basmati rice
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

[bahs-MAH-tee]
Basmati is a long-grained rice, with a fine texture. It can be found in Middle Eastern and India markets, as well as some supermarkets.
(Source: http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=rice_recipe#)

 Chipotle’s black bean recipe                    

You’ll love the versatility of this recipe. Match it with highly seasoned dishes such as beef or pork fajitas, or use it to add zip to a menu with broiled salmon, sautéed catfish, or a vegetarian roll-up. You can substitute regular salsa for the chipotle salsa if you prefer.

Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup) So, you will probably want to double this recipe!

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons  vegetable oil
• 1/2  cup  chopped red bell pepper
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4  cup  bottled chipotle salsa (such as Jardine’s)
• (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add bell pepper and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in salsa and beans; simmer 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro.

(Source: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000226447)

Chipotle’s Corn Salsa

Sweet, spicy, and delicious!

6 ears Sweet Yellow Corn
2 Poblano Chilies
1/2 Red Onion
2 Red Jalapenos
1/3 Cup Chopped Cilantro
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
Salt and Black Pepper to Taste

(Source: http://www.recipesecrets.net/blog/recipes/copycat-chipotle-corn-salsa/)

My favorite meals to cook are easy, healthy, affordable and tasty to everyone in the family. Tacos probably wouldn’t rate as a health food, but this is definitely easy, affordable and rated by young and old as tasty. Here’s my slow cooker taco meat concoction…in “a little bit of this and a little bit of that” formatting:

 Place two round steaks in the slow cooker (Frozen? That’s okay if it’s got at least 6 hours to cook.)

Pour ½-2/3 jar of salsa verde over it.

Sprinkle generously with garlic salt.

Shake some chili powder in.

Add a few shakes of cayenne pepper to give it a little zip.

It’s best to start it early and set it on low for 9-10 hours, but you can also set it on high for 4-6 hours.

The meat is so tender that it falls apart after slow cooking, and it’s easy to dish into taco shells and add shredded cheese and whatever else your family likes.

Enjoy!

Talk about healthy. Three types of pure wheat goodness for flavor and nutrition are yours with this great-tasting whole wheat bread.

 1 pkg. yeast
1/8 tsp. ginger
2 ½ c. bread flour
1 ¼ c. whole wheat flour
½ c. wheat germ
1 tsp. salt
3 T. honey
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
2 T. salad oil
½ c. cracked wheat
½ c. boiling water.

Cover the ½ c. cracked wheat with the boiling water in a small bowl. Stir and let cool. Put eh rest of the ingredients in the order recommended for your breadmaker, then cooled wheat. Select white bread and press “start”.

This is a great recipe to use that too-ripe banana in. Fast, easy, healthy, and yummy.

2 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 ¼ c. bread flour
2 T. nonfat dry milk powder
1 tsp. sugar
¼ c. applesauce
1 banana
1 ½ c. water
1/3 c. cranberries (or craisins)
1/3 c. raisins

Add ingredients in the order recommended by your breadmaker, select white bread, and press “start”.

For all the people beating down my door for my husband’s award-winning recipe since last week’s chili cook-off, this one’s for you.

I have to say it’s not an easy recipe (like the ones I prefer to make), but if you don’t mind spending a little more time in the kitchen, this one seems to be one that all people do prefer to eat (and will actually fight over for the last bowl)!

Since some of you might want to copy the recipe below and paste it into a document to print, I wanted to mention an easy way to organize recipes printed off the computer or pulled from magazines.  Use a 1 1/2 inch notebook with dividers.  Slip the recipe into a page protector and file behind the appropriate category. No more stacking recipes to wait for the day you have the time to copy it to a small recipe card — that day will never come.

Drum roll, please…

Chris’Award-Winning Sonoran Chili

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 pkg. of Eckrich smoke sausage, sliced/diced
1 whole white onion, diced
1 pkg. frozen white corn
1 2-cup bag of boil-in-a-bag white rice
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 bulb fresh garlic, minced <or> 2 T. minced garlic
6 habanera peppers <or>
2 large pablano pepper + 1 jalapeno pepper + red/yellow bell peppers
½ cup cooking white wine <or> ½ c. ginger ale
1 can chicken broth <or> 2 c. broth from boiled chicken
2 tsp. cumin powder
½ bunch chopped fresh cilantro
3 T. olive oil
1 lime, squeezed for juice
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup water

Boil chicken until no longer pink in the middle. Heat olive oil in large sauté pan to medium-high heat, then saute’ garlic and onions.

In a large Dutch oven add chicken broth, cumin, cilantro, lime juice, peppers, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover with lid, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Boil the boil-in-a-bag rice. Add the cubed chicken, garlic, and onion mixture, plus the corn, rice, celery, bell peppers, water, and cooking white wine.

Cover and let simmer for approximately 30-35 minutes. Salt to taste.

When finished, remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Serves 8-10. Garnish with the shredded pepper jack cheese, and serve with jalapeno cornbread or tortilla chips.