jalapeno, cheese & onion foccacia

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This foccacia was a hit!  It made two rounds and all but two slices were eaten.  I'll be making this again very soon.

jalapano, cheese & onion foccacia (adapted from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook)
3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup sliced jalapeno rings from the jar (mine were "tame")
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 1/4 cups of the flour and the yeast.  Add the warm water, the 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon salt to the dry mixture.  Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly (I did this by hand).  Beat on high speed for 3 minutes (I stirred by hand).  Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes total).  Shape dough into a ball.  Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once.  Cover and let rise in a warm place til double in size, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down.  Turn onto a floured surface.  Divide in half.  Shape each portion into a ball.  Place on 2 lightly greased baking sheets.  Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
For topping, in a medium skillet cook onion and garlic in the 2 tablespoons oil, covered over low heat 3 to 5 minutes or till onion is translucent, stirring occasionally.  Uncover; cook and stir just till onions begins to brown.  Remove from heat.  If using olives, stir into onion mixture; set aside.
Using your hands, flatten each ball to about 12 inches in diameter.  Make 1/2-inch deep indentations over 2 inches.  Place jalapeno rings onto the dough, spreading them around. Spoon onion mixture on top.  Top with 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese per foccacia.
Bake in a 375 degree oven 25 minutes or until golden.  Use a pizza cutter to slice.

cilantro and lime refried beans

I had Mexican Bowls on the menu for this evening but I was out of black beans so we went a new route and I loved it!  I made cilantro lime brown rice, shredded chicken with green chiles then made these beans, corn and put out all the other fixings.  It was a slightly different twist on our usual bowls and they were so good!!!  It's fun to mix it up sometimes.

cilantro and lime refried beans (closet cooking)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (I had to use jalapeno slices from a jar)
1 (15 ounce) can Great Northern Beans
salt and pepper
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced

Heat the oil in a pan.  Add the onion and saute until soft.  Add the garlic, cumin and jalapeno and saute until fragrant, 1 minute.  Add the beans (undrained) and salt and pepper.  Simmer until beans begin to break down a bit.  Add the lime juice and cilantro.  Allow cilantro to wilt before serving.

cilantro lime brown rice

I really should make this rice every time we have bowls but I forget!  It's so easy- I make the rice in my rice cooker and pour the sauce on top and stir.  It's so simple but packs a flavor punch!

cilantro lime brown rice
Cook 2 cups of brown rice in a rice cooker by putting 2 cups rice plus 5 cups water in a rice cooker and turn on high.
While the rice is cooking make the sauce to pour over the sauce:
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Combine well and serve.  We love to use this rice when making Mexican Bowls.

breakfast wrap

Look how good this looks!  I used a whole wheat tortilla and mine was so stuffed it was more of a fold-over than a wrap.  My other family members used huge white tortillas so they were able to wrap theirs.  These wraps were a big hit.  The sauce of course was what made them extra yummy. 

breakfast wrap
They're pretty easy so I'll just tell you what we put in them-
turkey bacon, baked (we love the kind from Trader Joes)

scrambled eggs
sauteed sliced mushrooms and sliced onions
wilted spinach (we used the microwave to it)
sliced tomatoes
cheese (we used sharp white Tillamook)
tortillas

sauce:  light sour cream mixed with your favorite salsa

Melt the cheese in a tortilla then stack it with delicious toppings.  Wrap it all up and enjoy!

three ingredient tomato soup

My kids cheer when I tell them we're having homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner...and it's the easiest dinner EVER especially because for the grilled cheese sandwiches I use our sandwich maker. (I'll be sending each of my kids to college with a sandwich maker!)  We loved this soup.  I think this will be my go-to tomato soup recipe.

three ingredient tomato soup (adapted from inspiredtaste.net)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan option (this is much less than what the original recipe calls for)
1 onion, cut into large wedges
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or more to taste

Melt butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven or large saucepan.
Add onion wedges, water, tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Bring to a simmer.  Cook, uncovered for about 40 minutes.  Stir occasionally.
Blend the soup (I used an immersion blender) then season to taste.

olive focaccia bread

We had a delicious Father's Day dinner.  Peruvian Beef Kabobs, Grilled Vegetable Kabobs, fresh veggies with hummus, fruit and olive focaccia bread.  For dessert we had store bought cheesecake with fresh berries and Hershey's triple chocolate cake.  It was a lot of food and tasted so good.

olive focaccia bread (adapted from the pioneer woman)
makes 2
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup olives (any variety or combination roughly chopped and blotted dry)
olive oil for drizzling
kosher salt for sprinkling

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm water.  Let stand for a few minutes.
Add salt, olive oil and 3 cups flour and mix together with a spoon until you need to use your hands.  Knead, adding flour as necessary until a nice soft dough forms.
Coat dough with a little olive oil and put back into the bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap.  Set aside for 1-2 hours or store in the refrigerator until needed.
To make focaccia, remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface.  Place chopped olives on top of the dough then very gently knead the olives into the dough.  Divide dough in half and roll each half into a large, thin oval/rectangle.  Place on separate sheet pans or cookies sheets drizzled with olive oil.  Drizzle more olive oil on top of the ovals.  Let sit for up to an hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Press dimples into the surface of the dough.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Bake 30-40 minutes until focaccia is golden brown.  Cut into pieces with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.  Serve right away.

the best ground chicken burgers

This chicken burger was awesome.  It beat my expectations even though I baked them and enjoyed mine without cheese.  YUM.  It was perfect after an afternoon at the river.

the best ground chicken burgers (slightly adapted from allrecipes.com)
1 pound lean ground chicken breast
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 small onion, finely grated
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Take a half-cup scoop and scoop 4 patties.  Turn into thick, round patties and place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
Bake patties for 30 minutes.
For cheeseburgers, place a slice of cheese on top of the burgers and cook for an additional minute or two or until cheese melts.
Place each patty into a hamburger bun and top with your favorite toppings.