Our Wedding - The Wedding Deck on top of Aspen Mountain
27th May
2014
written by katherine

This delicious and light (but filling) recipe is perfect for summer meals. The 3-Bean salad can be eaten by itself as a side salad.
Filling: 3-Bean Salad
1 jar/can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 jar/can red beans, drained & rinsed
1 jar/can chick peas, drained & rinsed
1 jar/can sweet corn kernels, drained & rinsed
1 large ripe tomato, cut into 1/4″ cubes
1/3 medium red onion (to taste), very thinly sliced and then chopped
1-2 tsp cumin (to taste)
1/2 tsp herbs de provence (to taste)-can substitute basil
2-3 Tbs sea salt (to taste)
2-3 Tbs dried granulated garlic (to taste)
2-3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 and a half fresh limes

The recipe is easy…combine all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate.

    To make the lettuce cups:

15-20 large Baby Romaine Lettuce leaves, washed & dried
20-30 medium shrimp, boiled, peeled & cleaned (chilled).

On each lettuce leaf, spoon 2-3 Tbs of the 3-Bean salad and then add a shrimp (or 2!) on top. For a little extra interest, add a squeeze of lime over the whole cup.

21st October
2013
written by bob

Ingredients:
2-4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1-2 jars of hot salsa
1 pack of hot taco seasoning (McCormicks)
1-2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1-2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
1 red & 1 white onion cut into large chunks (1 inch by 1/2 inch)
1 jar of whole stewed tomatoes

Optionally add:
Red and/or yellow pepper cut into chunks (1 inch by 1/2 inch)
A jar of corn
Jalapeno slices (to your level of spiciness)

Put it all into the crockpot! Cook on high for 2 hours then switch to low for another hour. When chicken is done & shreds, shred it into small pieces and cook on low for another hour or two. There will be a lot of liquid before you start shredding the meat, it will be mostly absorbed by the shredded meat after it cooks down. The spiciness also diminishes quite significantly from when you originally put the ingredients in.

Serve over rice with sour cream & shredded cheese for a rice bowl.
Serve over a bed of lettuce with fresh veg for a taco salad.
Serve in a tortilla shell with cheese, rice, sour cream, black beans for a fantastic burrito!
Serve over scrambled eggs with shredded cheese & sour cream (inside a tortilla shell or not) for a tasty breakfast!

21st October
2013
written by katherine

INGREDIENTS
1 large egg
3/4 cup beer ( pelforth brun)
1 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder ( substitution for 1 tsp baking soda)
1 tsp salt
Ground black pepper
1 1/4 cup sesame oil for frying
4 chicken breasts

INSTRUCTIONS
Beat the egg lightly with a whisk. Beat in the beer, then dry ingredients, whisking until smooth. Cover and let stand for 25-30 minutes. Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Heat oil in 10 inch skillet over med-high heat until oil reaches desired temperature of 360 degrees (or use deep fryer). Using tongs to hold chicken strips, dip in batter; allow excess to drip off. Remove & carefully lower, one by one into the hot oil. Turn after about 1 minute & continue to turn until golden, cooking for a total of 4-6 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined tray.

SUGGESTIONS AND VARIATIONS
Need to try variations of this with spices, chipotle, ancho, Tony’s…perhaps more beer.

18th March
2012
written by katherine

DELICIOUS, ORGANIC AND EASILY ADAPTABLE TO EVERY FAMILY MEMBER’S TASTE!
I am sharing a basic, vegetarian version. Measurements for the vegetables are approximate and you can certainly substitute and/or increase/decrease the amounts to your liking, see below for some suggestions.

Pesto & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Pesto & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta



Cook time 8-12 minutes depending on pasta used.
Prep time 20-30 minutes if you have a 2 year old & a husband helping!

INGREDIENTS
Pesto Sauce *
Cooked and cold rinsed organic pasta, about 16 oz dry
1 cup fresh organic broccoli, cut into small florets (about 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch)
3/4 cup organic green pepper, cut into small (1/4 inch) pieces
1/2 cup green onion (onion tails or chives), cut into small (1/4 inch) pieces
1 1/2 cup organic sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small (1/4 inch) pieces**

INSTRUCTIONS
Toss all ingredients together and put in a large, covered dish in the refrigerator. Easy!

SUGGESTIONS AND VARIATIONS
Pasta: fusilli, penne, and shells all work great! I used organic tri-color quinoa fusilli pasta. Also try gluten-free if you or the kids have a sensitivity!
Protein: Sliced hardboiled eggs on top! Delicious & still vegetarian!
Omnivore-style: I’ve done grilled organic boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside in a separate container to add in for the adults when desired.
This would also be delicious with some chorizo or pepperoni, even ham (all of which we currently have in organic form in our refrigerator).
Carrots: Finely chopped fresh baby carrots would add additional sweetness and crunchiness.
Peppers: Substitute or add in red, orange and yellow bell peppers for color and variety!
Mushrooms: I personally don’t care for mushrooms but you can easily add some fresh button mushrooms, cepe mushrooms or virtually any other into this dish.
Pine Nuts: Since we have a not yet 2 year old, I did not add pine nuts, although they would bring great additional flavor. Put 1/3-1/2 cup in the food proceessor to REALLY integrate it into the pesto mixture, but simple pine nuts sprinkled on top of each dish are lovely as well!
Garlic: I LOVE garlic and so does my husband! For those of you in the same category, feel free to add 2, 3 or more cloves of chopped garlic to make this dish really zippy!

*I used 2 packages of Simply Organic’s Sweet Basil Pesto Sauce mix http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SMP002/ItemDetail for my pesto, but feel free to use a jar of pre-made pesto, organic or whatever you’d prefer. For each packet of the mix you will need 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

**This one ingredient can really make or break the dish! I used basil-marinated sun-dried tomatoes that I picked up at our local Marche Provencal in Antibes, FR. I realize that this is not an option for most, so I would suggest finding a sun-dried tomato that you know you prefer prior to putting it into this dish. In the States I always preferred the sun-dried tomatoes in the plastic ziploc-type bags versus the ones packed in oil. In my experience I like the “dryer” version over the oily version, especially in a dish that already has a lot of olive oil.

1st February
2012
written by bob

This is a very easy dish to make and requires little prep time.

INGREDIENTS
Raspberry Chipotle Sauce (from Costco)
2 center-cut pork chops
1 whole apple – cored, sliced
Equal parts cinnamon and granulated white sugar – mixed together
Raisins

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 375F (190C).

In a corning baking dish, place your chops with enough room between and around them for apples. Place one layer of apples around the chops and on the bottom of the dish. Coat the apples with the cinnamon-sugar mix with a generous portion. Add a second layer of apples and coat with another generous portion. Add one final layer of apples topped with cinnamon-sugar mix. Pour the raspberry chipotle sauce over all – the chops and the apples. Top with raisins.

Bake for 35 mins. Remove and check to be sure pork is cooked.

Serve and enjoy!

SUGGESTIONS AND VARIATIONS Slight variation for more flavor, you might consider marinating the chops overnight in the chipotle sauce and place in the fridge.