Thursday, October 06, 2011

7 Layer Dip by Closet Cooking

(makes 4 light or 2 heavier snack sized servings)

Ingredients:
2 cups refried beans
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
* water
1 cup cheese (cheddar or Monterrey jack, etc., grated)
2 jalapenos (sliced)
1 avocado (peeled, stoned and chopped)
1 lime (juice)
1 tomato (chopped)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 handful black olives (pitted and sliced)
2 green onions (chopped)

Directions:
1. Heat the refried beans, chili powder and cumin in a pan adding
water until they come to a consistency that is easily dippable, about
1/4 cup.
2. When the beans are nice and bubbling, spread them out on the bottom
of your serving dish.
3. Quickly spread the cheese on top so that it can melt and become
gooey. (If it does not melt enough to your liking microwave it or
place it under the broiler for a few minutes.)
4. Next is the jalapenos.
5. Toss the avocados in the lime juice and layer them on next.
6. Layer on the tomato, sour cream, black olives and green onions.
7. Serve with tortilla chips.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2009/01/7-layer-dip.html

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Three Bean and Beef Chili

Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger, All Rights Reserved.

Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
1 hr 10 min

Level:
Easy

Serves:
10 cups (serves 8, serving size 1 1/4 cup)

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 onion, diced (1 cup)
* 1 red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
* 2 carrots, diced (1/2 cup)
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 pound extra-lean ground beef (90 percent lean)
* 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
* 2 cups water
* 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
* 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from the can of chipotles
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 (15.5-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 (15.5-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven over moderate heat. Add the
onion, bell pepper and carrots, cover and cook, stirring occasionally
until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the cumin and
cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the ground beef; raise the heat to
high and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until the meat is no
longer pink. Stir in the tomatoes, water, chipotle and adobo sauce,
oregano and salt and pepper. Simmer, partially covered, stirring from
time to time, for 30 minutes. Stir in the beans and cook, partially
covered, 20 minutes longer. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Low Carb Spinach Lasagna

From Linda's Low Carb Recipe Website

SPINACH LASAGNA
1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
8 ounces cream cheese
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (I used the kind in a can)

Brown the hamburger with the onion; drain off the fat. Mix in the
garlic powder and spaghetti sauce; season to taste and heat until
bubbly. Meanwhile, soften the cream cheese in a medium-size
microwaveable bowl for about 40-60 seconds. Stir until creamy; beat in
the egg and pepper with a spoon until well mixed. Blend in the
spinach. Spread half of the meat mixture evenly in the bottom of a
greased, 8 x 8" glass baking pan. Spread the spinach mixture over the
meat; top with the mozzarella, then the rest of the meat. It may not
completely cover the top, but that's ok. Sprinkle with the parmesan
cheese. Bake at 350º about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Or, cover
with plastic wrap and vent one corner then microwave on HIGH for 3
minutes; then reduce to MEDIUM and cook for another 7-10 minutes until
hot and bubbly. Let stand 3 minutes before serving.

http://aplaceforeating.blogspot.com/2011/06/low-carb-spinach-lasagna.html

Sunday, October 02, 2011

italian wedding soup

Italian Wedding SoupRecipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
Meatballs:

* 1 small onion, grated
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
* 1 large egg
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
* 8 ounces ground beef
* 8 ounces ground pork
* Freshly ground black pepper

Soup:

* 12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
* 1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped (1 pound of escarole
would be a good substitution)
* 2 large eggs
* 2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

To make the meatballs: Stir the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to
blend. Stir in the cheese, beef and pork. Using 1 1/2 teaspoons for
each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on
a baking sheet.

To make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot over
medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and curly endive and simmer until
the meatballs are cooked through and the curly endive is tender, about
8 minutes. Whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir
the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into
the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of
egg, about 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Finish soup with parmesan cheese
if desired.

©Television Food Network G.P.