Week One: Recipe Fifteen, etc

This past weekend was a crazy cooking weekend. I decided to use the items in my mexi-pack to do a Cafe Rio Sunday dinner. I will post all the recipes in this single post since it was all in one meal. In my BOUNTY I got the tortilla pack. This included some monster flour tortillas (burrito size), corn tortillas, and taco size flour tortillas.

Some people made a salad and some made a burrito with these recipes. The Cafe Rio salad consists of the following ingredients:

Burrito Size Flour Tortilla - BOUNTY (Tortilla pack)
Cilantro Lime Rice
Black Beans
Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken Chicken
Romaine Lettuce - BOUNTY
Shredded Mexi-blend Cheese
Guacamole
Pico de Gaillo
Tomatillo Dressing
Corn Tortilla Strips

The burrito uses the above items without corn tortilla strips and with Cafe Rio Green Sauce.

Cilantro Lime Rice
4 cups water
2 cups white rice
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon
2 garlic cloves - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
1/2 onion, chopped - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
1 large lime - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped fine - BOUNTY (mexi pack)

Chop onion and garlic small. In a food processor, chop cilantro. Set aside. In a 4 cup measurer squeeze lime so that all of the juice is extracted. Fill the container with water until it equals 4 cups. (you only want 4 cups liquid total). Place liquid in a sauce pan, add boulion and bring to a boil. When liquid comes to a boil, add onion, garlic, cilantro and rice. Cover and cook 25 minutes, or as long as instructed on the rice package.

*If you can't find a large lime you may want to do 2 limes.
**I put all of this in my rice cooker and turned it on and let it go. Turned out great.

Black Beans
1 lb dry black beans
1/2 cup Onion, finely chopped - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
8 cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
2 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Cumin
2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1/2 bunch cilantro, Chopped - BOUNTY (mexi pack)

Sort and soak black beans overnight. Drain and rinse. Place in pot with water covering and 1-2 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 - 60 minutes, checking every ten minutes for doneness. Add water, 1 cup at a time, if needed. When beans are at the desired consistency add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.



Cafe Rio Copycat Shredded Chicken
5lbs boneless chicken breast
8 oz Zesty Italian salad dressing
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Chili powder
3 cloves garlic minced - BOUNTY (mexi pack)

Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.


Pico de Gaillo
4 Tomatoes diced small - BOUNTY
1 med onion - BOUNTY
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
1/2 bunch cilantro - (I had this in my BOUNTY, but I had to go buy extra)
2 limes - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
salt and pepper

Dice onion, tomato and jalapeno into small pieces. Chop cilantro and add to bowl. Squeeze lime juice into bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and refrigerate for 1-24hrs.

Guacamole
4 Ripe avocados - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
Pico de Gaillo
Garlic salt

Smash avocados. Add as much pico de gaillo as you like. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Stir. Taste and adjust pico and garlic salt to fit your taste.


Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos (tomato like vegetable with a husk around them) - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
½ bunch of cilantro - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
1 clove garlic - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
Juice of 1 lime - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
1 jalapeño - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
(Use the seeds too if you like it spicy. You could substitute a few drops of green tobasco for the jalapeno.)

Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.


2 corn tortillas (sliced into strips) - BOUNTY (Tortilla pack)
Spray Olive Oil
Salt

Spray the corn tortilla with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Slice into narrow strips. Place on a cookie sheet covered in foil and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

These were actually better on day two after they had set out all night. They were crisper.

Cafe Rio Green Enchilada Sauce
2-3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced - BOUNTY
5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
2 green peppers, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and membranes removed if desired (and I desire. Always.) - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered or halved - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped - BOUNTY (mexi pack)
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
4 c. chicken broth
2-3 Tbsp. sugar

In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until tender and fragrant.

While onions are sauteeing, combine tomatillos, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro in your blender or food processor. Process until smooth.

Pour the tomatillo mixture over the onions and garlic and add chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cumin. Simmer 15 minutes-1 hour, depending on the consistency you want. The sauce can also be simmered in a slow cooker all day.

Here is the lettuce - BOUNTY - for the salad.

Here is a picture of the finished salad.

Here are the happy eaters. I tried to get a picture of the burrito, but they ate it too fast :)

Week One: Recipe Fourteen

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 pineapple
• 7 maraschino cherries
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the 2 tablespoons of butter in a 9 X 1 1/2 inch round cake pan. Place pan in oven until butter melts. Stir in brown sugar and water. Arrange pineapple slices and cherries in the pan. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, granulated sugar, and baking powder. Add milk, 1/4 cup butter, the egg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed 1 minute. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooded toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen sides of cake; invert onto plate. Cool 30 minutes; serve warm.

This is a classic and it tastes SO good with fresh pineapple. Next time I make this I want to add chunks of pineapple in the cake batter so the flavor of the pineapple is mixed throughout the cake. Yum!

Bounty Hunter

Week One: Recipe Thirteen

Caramel Apples

Ingredients

• 8 green apples & 8 popsicle sticks
• 50 pieces of chewy caramel candy
• chopped nuts
• chopped m&ms
• wax paper
• cooking spray

Spray the wax paper with cooking spray to keep the apples from sticking.

Remove the stem from each apple and put a popsicle stick inside the apple from where the stem was.

Melt the caramel candies until all the way melted in a deep pot.

When melted take off the heat and begin dipping the apples (hint: do not let the apples touch the edge of the pot and make sure to spin the apple side ways while dipped in the caramel).

Let excess caramel drip off and immediately roll in nuts or m&ms for decoration.

Place on the wax paper to cool.

Repeat for each apple or until melted caramel sauce is gone.

I would also recommend putting them in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to make sure the caramel is all the way cooled so it doesn't melt off of the apple. DO NOT LEAVE IN THE FREEZER.

These would have been a tasty halloween treat... but we forgot about them in the freezer and the apples froze all the way. This results in a mushy de-thawed apple. We ended up just throwing them away. BUT! They were fun to make and they looked pretty :)

Bounty Hunter

Week One: Recipe Twelve

Warm Spinach-Parmesan Dip

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 3/4 cups chopped onion

6 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/2 cup chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 10-ounce package ready-to-use fresh spinach leaves

1 cup (packed) grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Baguette slices, toasted

Melt butter with oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Add flour; stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in stock and cream; bring to boil, whisking constantly. Cook until mixture thickens, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach, cheese, sour cream and cayenne (spinach will wilt). Season with salt and pepper. Transfer dip to serving bowl. Serve warm with toasted baguette slices.

This is a yummy dip! It called for 10 ounces of spinach and we only had 6, but it turned out to be a really good amount. I don't know if I'd want 4 more ounces of spinach in here. Another modification that I did was only 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. It has just enough heat now, but if you like it spicier add the full amount. Anyways.. This is good on crackers, baguettes, chips... you name it.

Bounty Hunter

Week One: Recipe Eleven

Last night I made pie crust and I was trying to decide what to do with it. Banana cream pie? Quiche? Well I have enough leftover bounty stuff to do either, but I decided the first crust would be used for a quiche. I figured it was time to use up the veggies that were starting to lose their crispness.




Leftover Bounty Quiche

3 Parsnips - BOUNTY
1 Carrot - BOUNTY
1 lb spinach - BOUNTY
3 spring onion bulbs - BOUNTY
2 cups cheese
1 tsp thyme
5 egg whites
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp olive oil
Parmesan Cheese

1 prepared and baked pie crust

Brush the Dijon mustard onto the bottom and sides of the pie crust. Peel and shred the parsnips and carrot. Dice the onion. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add parsnips, carrot and onion and stir fry until softened. Remove from pan. Add 1/2 cup of water to pan with cleaned and trimmed spinach. Cook until wilted. Remove from pan and chop. Squeeze water from spinach and stir into the carrot, parsnip mix. Mix in cheese. Put the veggie & cheese mix into the pie pan. In another bowl mix the egg whites, milk and thyme. Pour over the veggies. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 - 55 minutes until egg is cooked. Remove foil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

I thought this tasted pretty good, but I think that I should have used more eggs. I think if I had used the entire egg it would have been just enough. The taste of the vegetables was really good together though. I served this with a tomato and lettuce chopped salad with balsamic vinaigrette and topped with grapes.

Week One: Recipe Ten

I just love sweet potato fries and these are a very easy and healthy version. I served these with the tomato eggs in the previous recipe. So darn good!



Baked Sweet Potato Fries

4 small sweet potatoes - BOUNTY
Olive oil spray (or other spray oil)
salt & pepper

Peel sweet potatoes and slice into fries. Place cut potatoes in microwave steamer and steam for 5 minutes until soft. Spray baking sheet with oil spray. Place steamed potatoes onto baking sheet in a single layer. Spray with oil spray. Put under broiler for 5 minutes or until they start to crisp and brown. Turn potatoes over and broil another 3 - 5 minutes until brown.

Week One: Recipe Nine

Ingredients:

• Vine Ripened Tomatoes-BOUNTY
• Same # of Eggs
• 1 tsp of Olive Oil for each tomato
• Dried Oregano
• Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds.

Sprinkle the inside of the tomatoes with salt and lay upside down on a paper towel to allow to drain for 10 minutes.

Put 1 tsp of olive oil in each tomato and sprinkle the insides with a pinch of oregano and pepper.

Bake tomatoes for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and add egg to the center of each tomato. The eggs will sizzle in the hot oil.

Place the tomatoes back in the oven for 5-7 minutes.

WARNING: I am not sure if it was just me, but the eggs did not cook all the way as the recipe describes. I ran out of time this morning waiting for the egg to cook so I eventually took them out of the oven and nuked them in the microwave. Beware, though, that you may need to leave them in the oven longer than the recipe says.

Also, make sure you have some big tomatoes or that you make sure the center is taken out REALLY well. When I put my egg in it spilled over the side and eventually burned on my pan in the oven.

On that note, I changed the recipe a little to fit my "dietary needs".. Instead of putting the whole egg in, I removed the yolk and only used the egg whites. Then to make it a little more flavorful, I added some cubed ham. Next time I make this I will add some chopped up onions and cheese on top.

Even though it was a little tricky to get just right, the flavors were fantastic! Definitely a good morning meal and could be a good mid-day snack!

Bounty Huner

Week One: Recipe Eight

I hate food waste, so all the recipes that only use the broccoli florets drives me crazy. I finally found a recipe where they used only stems. This recipe http://forkableblog.com/?p=1213 freezes the stems and then when there are enough, they are thawed, peeled and chopped and cooked into broccoli soup. I took this idea and created my own recipe.



Creamy Carrot & Broccoli Soup

1 bunch of broccoli - BOUNTY
1 carrot chopped - BOUNTY (last week)
1/2 med onion chopped - BOUNTY (last week)
2 med russet potatoes diced - BOUNTY (last week or earlier)
6+ C Vegetable or chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pepper to taste

Cut off broccoli florets and place in pot. Peel the broccoli stems to remove the tough stringy bark. Chop stems into small pieces and add to the pot. Add carrot, onion and potatoes. Pour in broth just until all the vegetables are covered. (I doubled this recipe and it took 12 cups of broth.)

Bring to a boil and then simmer 30 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Process with an immersion blender or in your food processor to the consistency that you like.

I topped mine with a small amount of sour cream and chopped green onions.

Week One: Recipe Seven

This is another "not quite" recipe, but it is what I had for lunch.


Chicken & Cheese Quesadilla

1 Lg Burrito size tortilla - BOUNTY (mexi-pack)
1/2 C. shredded cheese
1/2 C. chopped cooked chicken (I used pre-cooked frozen strips)
1 sm. spring onion bulb sliced - BOUNTY
1 C chopped romaine lettuce - BOUNTY
1/4 C Salsa
1/4 C sour cream
1/4 C green / red taco sauce
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro - BOUNTY (mexi-pack)

Heat skillet to 350 degrees. Cook onion until soft and warm the chicken breast if needed. Place tortilla on skillet, top with cheese, chicken, cilantro and onion. Sprinkle with taco sauce. Fold tortilla in half. Cook 1-2 minutes until lightly browned and turn over. Grill other side 1-2 minutes until lightly brown. Remove and slice. Serve with lettuce, salsa, & sour cream.

It was yummy!

Week One: Recipe Six

Apple Fritter Bites

FRITTERS

2 cups All-purpose Flour

½ cups Sugar

2-¼ teaspoons Baking Powder

1-¼ teaspoon Salt

2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

2 whole Large Eggs

¾ cups Whole Milk

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter

2 whole Granny Smith Apples, Peeled And Diced - BOUNTY (and, I used 4)

Powdered Sugar (optional, For Dusting)

Vegetable Oil for Frying

GLAZE (optional)

1-½ cup Powdered Sugar

¼ teaspoons Salt

¼ teaspoons Vanilla

¼ cups Milk

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a fork, then add milk, melted butter, and vanilla.

Gently fold dry and wet ingredients together until just combined (do not overmix.) Fold in apples. Add enough apples to make a very chunky batter. You want the apples to shine though!

Heat a couple of inches of canola oil over medium to medium-low heat. When it gets hot, drop a little drop of batter into the oil. If it sizzles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready; if it burns quickly, turn down the heat.

Drop teaspoons of batter into the hot oil, six or eight at a time. Sometimes they’ll flip over by themselves; sometimes you have to flip them. Just watch them and make sure they don’t get too brown, but cook them long enough to make sure the batter’s cooked through, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes total.

Remove and drain on a paper towel. Dust very generously with powdered sugar, or dip fritters in a light doughnut glaze (mix all glaze ingredients together, then dunk warm fritters).

Serve warm!

**May be heated up the next day in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes.

Dusted in Powdered Sugar

Dipped in Glaze

I can't even describe how delicious these were. I can't even decide which way I liked them better (glaze or sugar). SUCH a great recipe! These will be a great treat for Christmas Day. YOU HAVE TO TRY THEM!!

Bounty Hunter

Week One: Recipe Five

I made some mashed sweet potatoes to eat with the stuffed apples for lunch. This was my favorite part of the lunch.


Mashed Sweet Potatoes

4 small sweet potatoes (peeled and diced) - BOUNTY
2 Tbsp margarine / butter
3-4 Tbsp milk
Salt & Pepper

Cook the sweet potatoes (these can be boiled or steamed). I steamed them in my microwave steamer for 10 minutes. Mash the potatoes with a fork and add the margarine and milk. Whip with a fork until creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Week One: Recipe Four

This recipe was interesting. I am not sure if I liked it or not. I think with a couple of modifications, I might enjoy it more.


Stuffed Baked Apples

6 apples - BOUNTY
2 C cubed cooked ham
1/2 C pomegranate seeds - BOUNTY
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter / margarine cut into pea sized pieces
1/3 C chopped pecans
Apple Juice

1. Cut the tops off the apples and scoop out the core reserving some of the fruit, Be sure to leave a thick shell to hold the stuffing. I used a teaspoon to do this.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Put approximately 1 cup of the removed apple, cut into small pieces, in a mixing bowl and combine it with the ham, butter, pomegranates, pecans and brown sugar; mixing the ingredients well.
4. Spoon this mixture into the cored apples, pushing it down into the apple. Place them in a baking dish that has been coated with non-stick spray. Use a tablespoon to put more of the mixture on top so that they are heaping.
5. Pour the juice over the apples and bake for 35 minutes, basting occasionally with the juice.

If I make this again, I will definitely add some diced onions. This did have good flavor but was a little too much apple for me. I think the onion would mellow out the sweetness a bit.

Week One: Recipe Three

Okay, so this one isn't really a recipe...

All I did was tear up the lettuce and chop up some tomatoes from the BOUNTY to make my salad for lunch this afternoon. I also added some ham and cheese and used some left over Olive Garden dressing.

It turned out pretty tasty.

One other note: I reheated my parsnip soup today and, unfortunately, it was not nearly as good as it was yesterday. I dunno if it was because it was reheated or if it really wasn't that great yesterday and I was just starving...

Eh, it was a good experiment either way.

Bounty Hunter

Week One: Recipe Two

Spiced Parsnip Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cubed- BOUNTY
• *Cut like a pineapple (cut the center out, it doesn't taste good) and 1 pound equals two cups!
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• *minced garlic bought in the store works fine
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 3 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes or paprika for garnish

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Fry the onion in butter until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the parsnips, garlic and curry powder, and fry for a couple of minutes to release the flavors. Mix the bouillon cube into the boiling water, and pour into the saucepan. Stir to remove any bits of vegetable from the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes or until parsnips are soft and easy to break with a wooden spoon.

Remove from the heat, and blend with a hand mixer or immersion blender. Stir in the cream, and heat through. Do not boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with red pepper flakes or paprika.

This soup was delicious! If you like curry flavors you will love this. You can pick the type of curry flavor that you like to customize it to your liking. The curry powder I used was just the one that was in the spices row at the grocery store (I couldn't find anything else). The curry makes it a little spicy and then adding the red pepper on top made it just a little more spicy but not too bad. The bread I picked was just a baguette style bread with garlic in the middle. I spread butter on top and then put it under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes. Not only was this really tasty but it was really filling.

Enjoy!

Bounty Hunter

Week One: Recipe One

Recipe: Spiced Pears and Pomegranate Dessert

• Ingredients Needed:

  3 pears - peeled, cored and cut into wedges - BOUNTY

  1 pomegranate, skin and light-colored membrane removed - BOUNTY

  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

  2 tablespoons light brown sugar

  1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  2 tablespoons finely chopped almonds (optional)

  4 sprigs fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)

  Place the sliced pears and pomegranate seeds into a bowl. Toss with lemon juice to coat. Combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a small cup or bowl, then mix into the fruit. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to blend the flavors. Serve in individual dishes, and garnish with a sprinkling of chopped almonds and a sprig of mint.

  
  

  

  This recipe was delicious! The only thing I might change is to possibly cook the pears so they are soft... or if I wanted to leave them chilled I might add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Absolutely a great recipe and a great dessert, plus REALLY easy to make.

  
  

  P.S. I still have 2 more pears and 1 more pomegranate left!

  
  

  
  

  Bounty Hunter

  
  

Week One: The Grab.

Every week I will get a new bounty. This bounty will include fruits and vegetables... and sometimes extras. I will spend less than $30 on everything.

I will post pictures of the original bounty with a list of everything I received.

Then I will find recipes to use my ingredients and I will bake.

You will see the recipes and a picture of the final product.

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This week I received:

Fruit:

• 1 pineapple
• 7 green apples
• 5 pears
• 7 bananas
• 2 pomegranates
• 1 bag of grapes

Vegetables:

• 6 yams
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 stock of broccoli
• 1 bunch of lettuce
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 5 parsnips

I know what you're thinking... what the heck are you going to make with yams and parsnips?!

Well, I'm not entirely sure what to do with the yams (probably just make them candied) but the parsnips will be made into a spicy parsnip soup this afternoon/evening. Along with the soup I will be making an apple crisp and a pear&pomegranate dessert.

That leaves the tomatoes, yams, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, grapes, pineapple, and bananas.

Stay posted!

Bounty Hunter.