Cowboy Caviar

This salsa is fresh and flavorful!  The veggies combined with the beans and corn make for a hearty and healthy side dish, or snack.  The dressing adds a nice tang! You're going to love it!  I love to use my food chopper so the tomatoes and peppers are diced perfectly.

3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 - 3 avocados, diced

1 bell pepper (orange, yellow, red or green - or any combination of them)

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced into very small pieces

1/3 bunch cilantro

1/3 cup red onion, diced

15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained

15 oz black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (toss in frozen, they usually thaw by the time we're ready to enjoy)

Dressing:

1/3 cup avocado oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all salsa ingredients into a large bowl, and toss together until well combined.

In a separate bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients.  Pour dressing on salsa and mix until the dressing coats the salsa.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Creamy White Chicken Chili

This soup is perfect for a cold snowy day, but is great for mild temperatures as well.  It's creamy and fresh, and fills the soul!  It's simple to make, and the flavor packs a punch!

Cooking the frozen chicken thighs in the pressure cooker simplifies everything!  If you'd rather use fresh chicken thighs or chicken breasts, just cut the chicken in 1-inch cubes and saute with the onion in a large cast iron dutch oven. Either way works great!

I like to use Real salt and Real Garlic pepper, but of course you can use table salt, pepper and a little bit of garlic powder.  If you don't have a fresh lime, 1-2 tablespoons of lime juice works great!  Olive oil can also be substituted for avocado oil.  

6 frozen chicken thighs

1 quart chicken bone broth, separated

Real Salt & Real Garlic Pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons honey

Juice of 1 lime 

1 tablespoon avocado oil

1 large onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can green chili's

3 cans white beans, rinsed and drained

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons coriander

2 cups frozen corn

1-2 tablespoons cilantro, minced

1 cup whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

Place 6 frozen chicken thighs in pressure cooker, and add 1 1/2 cups chicken bone broth.  Season with salt and garlic pepper.  Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes, then let it natural release for 10 minutes.  Remove the chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Save the broth!  Place chicken in a bowl and add salt, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, honey and juice of 1 lime.  Stir together and set aside.  

In a large cast iron dutch oven, add 1 tablespoon avocado oil.  Heat to medium high, when hot add the onions and saute.  When onions are nearly done, add the garlic and green chili's and saute another 1-2 minutes.  

Using a strainer, strain the chicken broth to catch any fat remnants and pour the broth into the dutch oven.  Add the remaining broth from the 1 quart box.  Add chicken, white beans, 2 teaspoons cumin, coriander, and frozen corn.  Bring to a boil and boil for 3-5 minutes.  Add cilantro and 1 cup whipping cream.

Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

Favorite Chili

This is by far my favorite chili recipe!  I took some things I liked from a few of my past recipes and combined it to make the best chili ever!  It's thick and chunky and soothes the soul on a cold day!  

It has just a little kick if you put in a whole jalapeno, but I wouldn't say it's spicy.  If you'd rather not have that extra heat, you could just put in 1 tablespoon jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped. 

1 lb ground beef

2 onions or 1 extra large onion

1 cup green pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped  

1 (10 ounce) can Mexican-style tomatoes (Rotel - Mild Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilis)

1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce (or four 8 ounce cans tomato sauce)

1 quart homemade canned tomatoes, or store bought crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons cumin

2 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 (14 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

Toppings - sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese

Cook ground beef with onions and peppers in a large cast iron pot or dutch oven.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drain excess grease and add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 - 60 minutes.

Pressure Cooker Black Beans

This recipe is from my Grandma Carlson.  When I make these beans I think of her.  Her house was always filled with wonderful aromas!  She was a fantastic cook!  When she made them they would soak overnight and cook for several hours during the day.  I love that I can have the same beans in less than an hour - starting with dry beans!  She would have loved electric pressure cookers!

1 pound black beans
1 medium onion, diced
3 large stalks celery, diced
2 - 3 cloves garlic
5 teaspoons oil
1 jalapeno pepper
8 cups water
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Rinse and sort beans.  Place in pressure cooker.  Add onions, celery, garlic, oil, whole jalapeno pepper, and water.  Cook on high heat for 32 minutes, use the quick release method.  Pour off, most of the water then add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm!

Note:  If you soak the beans overnight, cook them on high temperature for 24 minutes.

Mexican Layer Dip

I love this dip!  I served it on Halloween, hence the spiders, but it's great all year long!  The recipe is a little vague, but with this dip you really just throw it together however you like it best.  My kids don't like tomatoes, so I didn't add them for our Halloween dinner.

1 16 ounce Green Chili & Lime refried beans
Sour Cream
McCormick taco seasoning
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Guacamole
Olives
Tomatoes

The amounts you use of each ingredient is totally up to you!  Make it the way you like it!

Layer refried beans on a large platter.  Spoon about 2 cups sour cream into a small bowl.  Mix with taco seasoning to taste.  Spread sour cream on beans.  Layer on guacamole, cheese, sliced olives and tomatoes.  Serve with tortilla chips.

If you're making a spider web, reserve some of the sour cream.  Put it in a ziploc bag, and clip the corner to use a piping bag.  Pipe the sour cream on the guacamole.  Make spiders with the olives and place on the web.

Fire Tacos

This summer I was blessed to be able to attend our church's girls camp for young women!  It was an awesome experience and one I will never forget!  One night one of the wards served us Fire Tacos.  These tacos are famous!  It is tradition to have these every year at girls camp.  Now I know why!  They are so amazing!

I was a little concerned about whether I would be able to eat them not knowing if they were gluten free or not.  One of the girls in the ward was also gluten free so they took all the precautions!  It was there that I was introduced to Mission's Gluten Free Tortillas!  What a find!  It's so nice to have a tortilla that isn't corn!  You've got to try them!

So this recipe is kind of like a taco bar.  I'm not going to include specific ingredients, just how it's put together.  Use your favorite recipes for beans and meat.

At girls camp we cooked them in the fire, but at home you can also cook them on a BBQ.  I think they'd work fine in the oven too.

Here's what you need:

tinfoil

Mission Gluten Free Tortilla's

taco shells

beans

cheese

taco meat (ground beef or chicken)

lettuce

tomatos

guacamole

sour cream

1.  Get a large piece of tinfoil and place your "flour" tortilla on it.

2.  Spread beans on the tortilla and sprinkle with cheese.  

3.  Get a taco shell and put your meat inside and sprinkle with more cheese.

4.  Wrap up the whole taco in the tin foil.  Add a second piece of tinfoil and wrap again.

5.  Place in the fire or on the BBQ for a few minutes, to melt the cheese.  (You want to have your meat and beans already warm.)

6.  Open up your taco and add lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole.  Enjoy!

Black Beans and Rice with Garden Salsa

Can I just say I love this dish!  You know how certain foods and smells are tied into memories and people?  Well whenever I make these beans I think of my Grandma Carlson.  Oh how I wish I could talk to her again.  I'd tell her all about my gluten free discoveries and ask her a million questions.  I was diagnosed after she passed away.  She was an incredible cook!  These beans remind me of her because she loved to cook beans - and she was good at it!  This black bean recipe is hers. 

Another memory from this dish is spending a week in Breckenridge Colorado with my husband's brother's family.  We had such a great time together.  One night my sister-in-law made some beans, put them on rice and then added the salsa on top.  I was a little skeptical at first, but oh how I loved the combination of the flavors!  I also think of them every time I add the salsa on top.  Genius!

Okay, so just a note.  You don't have to use meat in the beans, but you can.  I especially love putting a leftover ham bone in the pot to cook with the beans all day!  By the end of the day it falls off the bone and adds an amazing flavor!

Black Beans

1 lb black beans

The night before you plan to serve them, place beans (rinsed and picked through) in a large pot and add 5-6 cups water.  Cover and soak beans overnight.

Your beans will need to cook the next day for about 6 hours, so plan accordingly.  (I usually start cooking them about noon.)  

 

The next day, pour out the water and add new water, about 6 cups.  

Then add:

3 large stalks celery, chopped

3 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper - wash, but do not remove the stem, or beans may be too hot

ham, sausage, or bacon (if desired)

Bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer approximately 6 hours until the beans are soft. You'll need to add several more cups of water during the cooking process.  Just before serving, remove the jalapeno and add 1-2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper.  (Grandma said do not add salt sooner, or it will harden the beans.  You are okay to add pieces of ham or sausage though.)

Serve over rice, and top with Garden Salsa.

Garden Salsa

1 yellow pepper, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 cucumber, chopped

1 onion, diced

 

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons vinegar

 

Combine all ingredients and stir.  

Black Bean Corn Salsa

This is a fresh tasting dip served with tortilla chips!  It's a standby appetizer for parties, football games, and get-together's in our home!  It's also a tasty way to add more beans into your diet!

1 15 oz can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 11 oz can White Shoepeg corn, drained
2 - 3 diced Roma tomatoes
Cilantro, chopped  (about 1/4 bunch or to taste)
1 - 2 Avocados, cubed
Juice from 1 Lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix and serve with tortilla chips