dinner

Cowboy Caviar? Yes Please!

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

This is not a food blog, but I do, on occasion, post something I find particularly useful or yummy. Cowboy caviar fits the bill. It’s fast, easy, versatile, and most important of all, tasty!

Look at all that color! Do you know what lots of color means? That’s right! Nutrition! Plus you get a major protein boost. Here’s the basic recipe:

Ingredients
1 15oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 15oz can blackeyed peas (drained and rinsed)
1 15oz can sweet corn (drained and rinsed)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1 orange pepper (chopped)
1/2 red onion (chopped)

For Dressing
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (or Italian parsley if cilantro isn’t your thing)
1tsp chili powder
1tsp garlic powder (I use dried minced garlic)
1/4tsp pepper
A Pinch of salt
1/3 cup good Italian dressing (I use Ken’s Steakhouse)

Optional ingredients could be chopped tomato, chopped avocado, chopped olives, it’s kind of like pasta salad because the beans don’t carry much flavor on their own but are fabulous when mixed with other things. If you want a little more heat add a pinch of cayenne or to your taste. You do you.

Instructions
Does that seem like a lot of ingredients? Don’t worry, this comes together in a snap. In measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside. Have a milk frother? It’ll work splendidly on emulsifying a salad dressing.

Let your can opener know it’s going to get a little workout, open your canned goods, drain and rinse them, and dump them into a big bowl. Chop up your peppers, onion, and anything else you’ve added to a size that roughly matches the beans and corn. Give everything a good, but gentle toss.

Whisk your dressing one last time and pour over mixture. Gently toss again until you’re satisfied everything has been covered.

You can serve this immediately but I prefer to let it marinate in the fridge for an hour or so. Serve with sturdy, tasty corn chips. It’s dip, it’s a meal, it’s yummy! Enjoy!

No Pain Lo Mein

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

I have faithfully (or perhaps brazenly) reproduced Rachel Ray’s yummy version of this recipe here (don’t send me hate messages that she’s not a “real chef”, because I don’t care). It’s one of my favorite recipes because it’s so versatile. There are so many things you can put into this recipe, pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower, the list goes on and on. It’s almost one of those “whatever is in the fridge recipes”. You could also add meat, shrimp, scallops, or tofu. I’ve used spaghetti noodles to make this and it was terrific! I use a large electric skillet to make this since I don’t own a wok and find that it works well. I tend to use less noodles to cut down on the carbs.

2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan in a slow drizzle) vegetable or wok oil

1 cup (2 handfuls) snow peas, halved on a diagonal

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into match stick size pieces

1/2 pound assorted mushrooms (shiitake, straw, enoki, or oyster), coarsely chopped, if necessary

 4 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal

2 cups (about 4 handfuls) fresh bean spouts

2 inches fresh ginger root, minced or grated with hand grater

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound lo mein noodles or thin spaghetti, cooked to al dente and drained well

1/2 cup aged tamari soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, several drops

 Heat a wok-shaped skillet or large non-stick skillet over high heat. When pan is very hot, add oil, (it will smoke a bit) then, immediately add the snow peas, pepper, mushrooms, scallions, and bean sprouts. Stir fry for 1 minute to flavor the oil, then add the ginger and garlic, and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles and toss with to combine. Add the soy sauce and toss the ingredients to coat noodles evenly with sauce. Transfer the lo mein to a serving platter and garnish with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

YUM!