Fiesta Rice Bowls

This can be done in the slow cooker, or since I was late thinking about dinner, the pressure cooker!  I have one of those nifty and cool electric pressure cookers that I use several times a week now!  Very happy with my investment.

Start cooking your rice(yes, it goes this quick).

Add to the pressure cooker:
2 lbs. cubed cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar of your favorite salsa(I used 2 cups home canned)
Cook 10 minutes on 40 psi in your pressure cooker.  If you are using a slow cooker, I'd estimate about 2 hours on high.

When pressure has been released, add:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small package frozen sweet yellow corn
1 8oz. pkg. lower fat cream cheese(do not use fat free)
Candied Jalapenos if you like, or any other additions such as olives, diced chilies, etc....
Bring pressure back up to 40psi and cook another 10 minutes.  Release pressure and stir well.  Keep on warm until ready to serve.

Serve over brown or white rice with toppings such as shredded cheese, hot sauce, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, green onions, crushed chips, etc....

7-Minute Brown Sugar Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 large egg whites(1/2 cup "Just Whites" pasteurized from carton works great)
• 6 tablespoons water
• dash salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla or vanilla bean paste

Preparation:

Add brown sugar, egg whites, water, and salt in bowl of standing mixer. Put on top of double boiler over boiling water.  Hold bowl steady using an oven mitt(no burns!).  Beat sugar and egg mixture with whisk constantly until mixture is hot to the touch and starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and position bowl in stand mixer with whisk attachment.  Whip on high until mixture forms strong peaks and is dramatically lighter in color.  Add vanilla.  Continue beating until frosting is thick enough to spread.  Makes enough to frost a 2 layer cake.

My Favorite Salad Dressing

We love Melissa D'Arabian from Food Network's Next Food Network Star.   I've started making my own salad dressing for all of my salads now.  I use a lot less olive oil though, or even some homemade chili oil or white truffle oil.  It has SO much flavor!  Sometimes I'll throw in a splash of agave nectar or honey, even a packet of Stevia to have a sweetened dressing.  Play with your vinegars too!  Rice Vinegar is REALLY good.  I also use a golden balsamic almost daily, and champagne vinegar.  And try different mustard types, Jack Daniels is good, and there's a cranberry mustard that is really tasty too.  Just play, it's really hard to go wrong!  The soy sauce was a surprise, but I found it really does make a difference.  Yummmmm!

LINK

Ingredients

Mustard Vinaigrette:

• 1 garlic clove, sliced in 1/2
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Small splash soy sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

3 cups mixed greens, the darker the better (not iceberg)

Rub the inside of a large wooden bowl with the garlic clove and then either discard it or save it for another use. Put the mustard in the bowl and whisk in the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce (a French secret!) vigorously for about 10 seconds to get a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle in the olive oil as slowly as possible with 1 hand while whisking as quickly as possible with the other hand to emulsify. Lay the salad greens on top of the dressing and toss just before serving.

Brown Sugar Baked Bacon

Some of these entries aren't exactly recipes, but techniques on how I prepare food.  Cooking bacon has always been a simple but messy no-brainer, right?  Fry it in a pan, wear long sleeves so you don't burn your arms, cook it until it's crisp, remove from pan and drain on a paper towel.  But tonight, I tried something else for our BLT's and my family all agree they were the best BLT's they've ever had.  I can't guarantee your house won't smell like bacon for days or weeks to come, but this is SO worth it.  And the smell drives the dog wild, lol.

Line a cookie sheet(2) with foil.  I used non-stick, which makes clean up easier too.  Lay bacon out on pan and sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper.  Using a scoop or measuring cup sprinkle sparingly with brown sugar.  You may need to spread it out a little more evenly using your hand.  Don't use your bare-touched-raw-bacon-hand to get more brown sugar if you need more.  Place cookie sheets in COLD oven(I used the bottom and middle racks).  Turn oven on to 400' and set time for 17-20 minutes.  This will all depend on how thick your bacon is.  I used thick cut bacon and had to cook it for a total of 28 minutes.  Switch the sheets half way through(move the bottom sheet to top oven rack, top to bottom, you get the pic) to ensure even baking.  Just watch the bacon closely after 20 minutes to prevent burning.

We all agreed, this is the BEST tasting bacon ever.  Yummmmy!

Tonight we had BL's(no tomatoes, I was out) on Homemade Cheddar Rosemary Onion Ciabatta Bread.  I just added about a Tbl. of dried rosemary, 2 Tbl. Dried Minced Onion, and 1 cup of grated Medium Cheddar Cheese to the dough.  The BASIC recipe for the Ciabatta Bread can be found HERE. 

Oh, and how I ate mine:  I used a low-carb tortilla to make a wrap.  Spread about 2 Tbl. Edemame Pesto(see below, I told you this stuff is a must) on the tortilla, leaving about 2" all around.  Layer bacon, about 1/8th of an avocado sliced, about a 1/4 roma tomato sliced, a little lettuce, salt and pepper to taste, and wrap up like a burrito.  It's not your vintage/classic BLT, but it's GOOD!  (burp)  I figured out these to be about 160 calories!

I know it looks extremely greasy, but the brown sugar actually makes a beautiful glaze for the bacon.

Better than Aunt Jemima's Butter Flavored Maple Syrup

1 c. water
1 c. white granulated sugar
1 c. brown sugar, loosely packed
1 tsp. Mapleine flavoring
1/2 tsp. Butter flavoring(liquid)
1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil on stove or in microwave(watch for boil over or it's a NASTAY mess to clean up), reduce heat and stir until sugar is completely disolved. Remove from heat and add flavorings and stir. Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  It's also much easier to do this in a microwave.  Pour 1 cup boiling water over sugars in a glass container.  Microwave on high in 30 second intervals, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is clear.

I can't stand buying syrup already made now because this is so stinkin' cheap to make. My husband's grandma taught me to make when were first married, seriously, pennies to make.