SouthWest Salad

1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 bag frozen corn
1 head cabbage, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 packet chili seasoning

Mix mayonaise and chili seasoning. Combine all other ingredients, mix in mayonaise. If desired, add salt and pepper to taste or more mayonaise/chili seasoning.
Serve over Fritos chips.

*The lovely thing about this...the next-day leftovers are SO DELICIOUS! The flavors intensify over time and the cabbage stays crisp. This is so great for HOT evenings when you dread the thought of turning on an oven.

-A.S.

White Chili

My sister-in-law introduced me to this recipe and has become almost a weekly meal at our house. I must say that it is sooooo good and even better the next day for leftovers. :)

We always serve it with french bread and though I don't think it is as good, my husband loves garlic bread with it.

White Chili

2 cans Chicken Breast, undrained
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp Garlic, chopped (2-3 cloves)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 cans Great Northern Beans, untrained
1 can Chicken Broth
2 cans Green Chiles, untrained
Chopped Jalapenos to taste
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne Pepper
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 Cup Water

In a large saucepan sauté the oil, onion and garlic until caramelized. Add beans, broth, chiles, chicken, seasonings and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and whipping cream.
Note: Depending on the brand of sour cream (thickness) the simmer time may need to be extended to dissolve the sour cream.

*We are a garlic crazy family...so I ALWAYS add more garlic. I think it makes the flavor better...so I usually put in about 6-8 cloves of garlic.

Naan - Indian Bread

I have been obsessed with Indian food as of late. I posted that Channa Masala recipe and had made it twice since then. Morgan, my 7 year old, does not like indian food BUT, she loves naan, which is a type of bread that is served with indian food. She begged me to find a recipe for it and so I went on a search. I found this recipe and tweaked it a bit. So good and you really can serve it with just about anything.

1 package active dry yeast

1 c warm water

1/4 c white sugar

3 tbsp milk

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp salt

3 1/2 c flour

2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 c butter

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water with 1 tbsp sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt and flour. This should make a soft dough. If you need to add more flour, do so but don't add so much that the dough is hard. Once it is a soft dough, take it out and knead it on a floured surface for 6-8 minutes or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour or until dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough. Pinch of small handfuls of dough, about 1/2 the size of a golf ball, join the them together and roll into a ball. Place on tray and cover with a towel. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

During the 2nd rising, preheat the grill to high heat.

Roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Add garlic to melted butter. Brush one side of dough with butter/garlic mixture and place on grill and cook 2-3 minutes, until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter and turn over. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Remove from grill and continue to cook until all has been prepared.

This recipe makes A LOT of dough. After the first rising and I had made all the dough balls, I froze half of them in the freezer for another day because it made so much.

As far as the grill goes, I used a George Foreman grill and just cooked these on it with the top open. I did read that another good thing to do is to use a baking stone instead of the grill and you can bake them at 600 degrees for 2 minutes. My baking stone is packed away in storage so I couldn't use that option but feel free to let me know if that option works well!!

One more thing, I made mine into cheese naan. When I was making the dough balls, I cut pieces of sharp cheddar cheese and put it in the middle of the balls. You can add anything you want in the middle: garlic, onion, cheese, pecans, raisins, whatever floats your boat. The cheese worked out well, but I think I will try shredded cheese next time rather than just pieces of cheese.

Enjoy your naan!!!