Taco Soup and Black Bean Dip

Tuesday night was Mexican night! I'm not sure why I keep making fresh batches of Taco Soup, because it always makes so much. Alistair and I will eat it for close to a week, and then I still end up with enough to freeze. I already have 2 large yogurt containers of taco soup in my freezer, but I keep forgetting to use them! Anyway, each time I make it, it turns out a little different, and Tuesday was no exception. Thanks to my sister, Alli, I have a fantastic supply of dried beans, so this time, I used a mixture of these instead of canned ones. Also, I don't always make an appetizer, but I was really craving some of my Aunt Wendy's black bean dip, so I decided to make that too. Unfortunately, the stainless steel bowl was not the best choice, for photography purposes... but you get the picture! (sorry, bad pun.)

Taco Soup:
Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger, browned with chopped onion
2 packages taco seasoning
1 large can diced tomatoes, with juice
1-2 cans water (use tomato can)
2-3 cans (or equivalent) variety of beans (drained and rinsed): dark red kidney, black beans, pinto beans, great northern, etc... (whatever you have on hand/ prefer) my mom's recipe only calls for kidney, but I like the variety of a mixture.
about 2 cups frozen corn
chopped up bell peppers
1 can sliced olives (with juice) [in my house, they have to be a topping because A doesn't like them...]
a few splashes of hot pepper sauce, to taste

Directions:
Brown the hamburger with the onion. Add taco seasoning and mix until the meat is well-coated. Add the tomatoes, the rest of the ingredients, and enough water to make it a soup-like consistency. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 1-20 minutes, to allow flavours to intertwine. Serve over tortilla chips, topped with shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, green onions, anything else you typically add to tacos! :-)

Black Bean Dip:
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed, reserving cooking liquid
1/2 cup reserved black bean cooking liquid
1 1/2 Tbsp. oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 fresh jalapeno or serrano chile, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz goat cheese (chevre)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Tabasco-style hot pepper sauce, to taste
salt
1 small green onion, including top, for garnish

Directions:
In a food processor, process beans with 1/2 c. bean liquid.
Heat oil in 2 quart saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion, cover and cook until onion is soft, but not brown (4-5 minutes).
Add chili and garlic, cook 1 minute.
Stir in beans.
Cook over low heat until beans are hot.
Crumble in goat cheese (reserving 1 Tbsp for garnish). Add Monterey Jack cheese.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheeses are melted.
Add hot pepper sauce and salt to taste.
Garnish with goat cheese and onion.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Shrimp and Veggie Quinoa

Last night, I needed a quick meal that I could make and eat between tutoring sessions. Since its about time for a big grocery run, my cupboards were a bit bare and I was not feeling like an 'easy' meal like mac & cheese, so I started pulling stuff out of the fridge and envisioning how I could combine what I had into a meal. What I ended up with was impressively gourmet, considering that it came together from nothing in about 20 minutes. I didn't take any pictures, because I was in a time crunch (and hungry!) but I should have-- it was very rich and colourful.

Shrimp and Veggie Quinoa

Ingredients:
1 package frozen cooked, peeled, deveined shrimp- thawed in cold water and drained
2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
1-2 stalks celery (with leaves), coarsely chopped
about 2 cups broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 cup white wine
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1Tbsp water

Quinoa:
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup quinoa

Directions:
*Prepare quinoa by bringing broth to a boil, add quinoa, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, stir and cover, let stand for 10 minutes.
* Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet, add onions, peppers, celery and garlic and cook until onions and celery are tender.
* Lightly steam broccoli in microwave, and add to skillet with shrimp.
* Add wine, cook until wine is mostly absorbed and everything is hot.
* Add cornstarch mixture to thicken sauce, stir to evenly coat.
* Scoop quinoa into serving dish (I used pasta bowls), spoon shrimp mixture over top.

Amish Sweet Bread French Toast

Yesterday, I experimented with flavours. Thanks for the inspiration goes to my friend Mandy, who served us Banana Bread French Toast with strawberries on Saturday morning before our Olympic adventure. Since then, I've started thinking about French Toast in a whole new light. And scheming on what other kinds of bread I might be able to use. I've been making Amish Sweet Bread lately, and had some sitting on my counter, so I decided to try with that. I didn't have any strawberries, so I topped mine with a chopped apple and pure maple syrup.

The presentation left a bit to be desired, but the product was Mmm, mmm-- good!



Amish Bread French Toast:

Whip together one egg, a splash or two of milk and cinnamon. Dredge the bread in the egg mixture, turning to coat both sides. Heat butter in a skillet over medium/ medium-low heat. Place bread into pan, allow to cook for a while on the first side, then flip and cook on the other side. (I ended up having to flip again and cook some more on the first side).
Top with a dab of butter, chopped-up fruit, and some warm maple syrup.

A little sweet, a serving of fruit, and a little protein all in one easy meal!