Chunky Guacamole ~ page 13

Sorry for the huge delay in posting here on the blog! Somehow the last month just got away from me. I'll admit, one thing that has kept me away is a new cookbook that I got. It is a Cook's Illustrated cookbook called "The Best 30 Minute Recipe". With 3 kids...30 minutes is all I have most days to get dinner on the table. So, yes, I have had my nose in the new book quite a bit lately. Also, we are getting close to blogging about most all of the recipes in our book. My mom and I need to sit down and figure out what has yet to be blogged about. If you know of something that you haven't seen on the blog yet, shoot us an email and let us know. We will get it made and posted for you, so you can see pictures.

Anyway...last weekend us Johnson's got together for Adam's birthday and Julia's birthday. I was in charge of making the guacamole. So...here it is! Sorry that the picture turned out a bit blurry. It has such a nice chunky texture. I guess the reason I like mine so chunky is that now days it seems most people buy that prepackaged stuff when they are in charge of bringing guacamole to the party. I'm sorry to all of you out there that love that stuff...it just has this slimy texture that I have a hard time handling. I guess I like my homemade stuff super chunky so that it could be as far from the store bought stuff as possible. So next time you offer to bring the guac....try this recipe. Your tasters will thank you! --Carissa

Cheesy Olive Spread ~ page 28

I made this Olive Cheese Spread to travel to my sister-in-laws house for Christmas. I just now remembered I had not posted about it though! This is such a good make-ahead party spread/dip. I love it with our Flax Seed  Crackers. But it can work with so many other things too--like a veggie dip, or sandwich spread.

This spread blends up fast in the food processor, and keeps for several weeks in the fridge.

I am sorry our blogging has been lagging since Christmas. I am afraid Carissa has been doing most of the cooking the past week or so...would you believe I have pneumonia again! So I have not been doing much meal preparation since the holidays...but I will surly recover again, and be back to my kitchen soon. (I am embarrassed to say how many meals Carissa, often with a baby attached to her hip, has cooked for me this past week--bless her heart.) ~Janice

Cheese & Apple Spread ~ page 27

It's Christmas day and I am ready early, and waiting for the time to go to relatives house to eat--so I thought I would post a Christmas spread I made last week for an earlier family celebration. This cheese and apple spread is a light and refreshing spread/dip for the holidays.

Chop your apples with some of the peel showing--this is pretty with both red and green apples, but I only had red ones this day. Make the spread several hours early and cover and refrigerate to let the sharp cheddar infuse the spread with flavor.

I like to serve this spread with our flax seed crackers--but any cracker will do. Extra apple slices to dip a bite are nice too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

***From Janice and Carissa***

Flax Seed Crackers ~ page 19

 

I think these crackers are so much fun to make--and they are always a hit and a conversation piece at any event; people will be amazed you made a "cracker". Oh, and these are delicious--light, crispy, with a touch a spicy pepper. I love them with soft brie cheese--which is how I first was introduced to them at a friend's wedding. I added cracked black pepper to the original recipe, and simplified the mixing by using the food processor.

Dry ingredients and butter are dumped into the food processor--this is a fast way to cut in the butter. I like to add ground flax seed powder as part of my flour in addition to the whole flax seed, just to pump up the nutrition.

Add the milk and the dough will quickly form.

Divide the dough in half, and roll out and cook one half at a time. Cover the waiting half with a towel so it won't dry out.

This is one half of the dough. After I rolled it as thin as I could, I cut it in half, then rolled the center edges a bit more before putting the two fourths on a baking sheet. Dividing the half into fourths keeps the center from getting a little thicker and taking longer to bake up crisp.

Take from the oven when they just start to turn golden brown. You want them crisp, but not overly brown. Sometimes I have to break off the edges and cook the centers a little bit more. You can make up the dough and cover and put in the fridge to bake the next day if you want to. I often bake up several recipes of these crackers for a party, or to give as a gift at Christmas. I like to mix them all up one day, then roll and bake them the next day.  These are also good with the Cheesy Olive Spread on page 28.  ~Janice

Avocado Quesadillas ~ page 90

I made these for a light lunch just before Carissa's baby was born 11 days ago...and have not made much from the cookbook since! But I am ready to get cooking again. So thanks for waiting to hear from us. This is a cool, light, tasty supper when the heat index is 112 degrees...goodness, too hot for much cooking!

These tasty quesadillas make 4 side dishes or appetizer servings, or 2 servings if you want it as a main dish.

The avacado filling and the spicy sauce mix up quickly. Instead of sour cream in my sauce, I used plain yogurt, because that is what I had on hand.

I wanted to use some new uncooked corn tortillas that I found. I cooked them on a griddle instead of under the broiler.

After the tortillas crisp up just a bit, the cheese is added.  When cheese is melted, with a spatula, put cheesy tortillas on your serving plate, then add your avocado filling.

Now you are ready for the top...

Add the extra cooked tortillas to the top, then serve with a scoop of the spicy dipping sauce. When this recipe is made with flour tortillas, like the recipe calls for, they will cut up neatly into wedges. I found that my corn tortillas did not cut as nicely, but we sure did love the taste! ~Janice

Basil & Tomato Feta Bruschetta ~ page 14

Every year I forget how much I love this, until summer rolls around again and I am looking for a way to use up the tomatoes I grow! Typically, bruschetta is an appetizer, but I often use it as a side dish along with a simple meat.

Bruschetta can seem different depending on what kind of bread you use. Here I am using a chipati bread from a bakery, split, toasted, and brushed with olive oil. But many other types bakery loaves are good also. I made this recipe 2 days in row, and on the second day I used a sliced whole grain loaf. I also had a strip of crisp bacon left over from breakfast, so I crumbed it and topped my bruschetta with bacon, and it was wonderful!

Black Bean Salsa ~ page 15

Years ago, Carissa ate this at a party she was at, and later told me it was so good she wanted to just skip the chips and eat it with a spoon! She tracked down the recipe from the friend that made it. We both love making this for large groups now.

Be sure to rinse your black beans, and drain both the beans and the shoepeg corn. I was missing the avocado that the recipe calls for, and that was a shame, as avocado is really nice in this recipe, but this salsa is still wonderful even without it.

Tostito "scoops" is the best chip to use with this chunky salsa.

Caprese Salad Lettuce Wraps ~ page 143

Lettuce wraps are perfect for summer. This is a very easy one. It is fun to eat as a wrap, but for those that don't want the bother or the mess, you could just shred your lettuce, and scoop the tomato mixture on top. But we think it is fun to roll it all up in a lettuce leaf.

Here is the foundation of a caprese wrap...dressing of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, fresh basil, tomatoes, and cubed mozzarella cheese. I buy the whole milk fresh mozzarella. It is much more flavorful than the low fat versions, so save your calories somewhere else, not here. When you are cutting your tomatoes, first cut them in half, then squeeze them gently over a bowl, like you would a lemon; then chop the tomato. You don't want all that juice to dilute the oil and vinegar.

I like to use a Boston or bib lettuce. Butter lettuce is nice, but can be expensive. You want something a little more tender than Romaine though, so it will roll up easily. Wash and dry your lettuce the day before, and put it in an air-tight baggie to crisp up.

You can roll your lettuce and filling like a burrito,

or eat it like a taco.

Either way, this lettuce wrap is so delicious with fresh summer tomatoes. Warning: it is very drippy! It helps to use a slotted spoon to serve the filling. I think this is a nice appetizer with BBQ ribs, since you will have messy hands and face from that anyway!

Pita Snacks ~ page 25

You will be delighted at how easy, low fat, healthy, and lip-smacking tasty these chips are! They are made from whole wheat pita bread. Just split the disks of pita, brush with olive oil on the inside, and sprinkle with seasonings.

Spread the pieces out on baking sheets to crisp in the oven for 10 minutes. The recipe says to bake till light brown, so you might want to add in this time to the recipe in your cookbook, to give you an idea of when to check them. I took mine out when a few were still a bit soft, as I didn't want them to get teeth cracking hard, and I knew they would crisp up as they cool. I didn't have enough Parmesan cheese on hand to sprinkle on, as the recipe calls for, so I didn't use it on this batch. I added coarsely ground black pepper instead of cayenne pepper. You can be creative with your seasonings, as you see!

Hummas is the favored dip for these low-fat chips, although these pita snacks are great for many other uses too.

These will keep well in a tightly covered container for several days. After a few days, I still had a handful leftover, so I needed some breadcrumbs for meatballs, and just threw the pita chips in the food processor and it made flavorful, healthy crumbs!

Hummus and Pimento Cheese gone wild...

I found a new spice that I am trying out in everything that seems reasonable...well, actually it is not a new spice, I just came across some intriguing information about Turmeric, and decided I wanted to use more of it. Turmeric basically cures whatever ails you ("they" say). From cancer, to inflammation, to acne...I am willing to give it a try, since I like turmeric anyway. So I put 1/2 teaspoon turmeric in our Hummus recipe and got brave enough to take it to a church homegroup event. You can see it altered the color a good bit--kind of looks like guacomole, but it is not! It was very well liked, however, I was questioned about the color! But several said it was the best hummus they had ever had.

You can't beat how easy this is to make--throw it all in the food processor, pulse till smooth, and you have hummus! Carissa often substitutes peanut butter for the tahini called for in this hummus, and she says that tastes great. I keep the tahini on hand though, so I use that, and like the taste a lot.

Done! Makes a lot and last a long time in the fridge. Now for my next exploits with turmeric...

The pimento cheese spread on page 18 took on amazing color with the addition of turmeric! David and I love the taste so much in this spread, that I think I will always use this spice when I make pimento cheese.
If you want to read more about turmeric, here is a site I found interesting--it has some pros and cons of the science behind the claims--but I still say it can't hurt to try it out. It is a tasty experiment.
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/20-health-benefits-of-turmeric.html

Hummus ~ page 22

This is one of my favorite appetizers, it is quick to make and lasts a while in the fridge. I like the cumin in the recipe, most recipes don't have that spice in there. I am cheap so I always use peanut butter instead of Tahini, and it does add a nuttier flavor to the dip, but I love it that way. For some reason it makes it feel healthier to me, not sure it that is really that true though.

Here is a picture of the mixture getting creamed in the old faithful food processor! I like to dip baby carrots in mine--Carissa

For the Cooks

Just had an idea. All of the subscribers can make your recipes and the two of you can guess what it is....