Spicey Mango Sweet Potato Chicken

2 cups cubed peeled sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
1 clove garlic
6 Tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup warm water
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp hot sauce or to taste (we use about 1 tbsp)
1 ripe mango, peeled and cubed
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp warm water

Place the sweet potatoes into a saucepan and fill with enough water to cover; simmer over medium-high heat until tender about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken and cook until no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes, set aside. Stir garlic into the skillet, and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Pour in the soy sauce, 3/4 cup water, honey, and hot sauce. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the sweet potato, chicken, mango, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until hot. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 Tbsp of water, and stir into the simmering mixture. Stir until thickened.

Summer Tortellini Salad

20 oz. Cheese Tortellini
1 red sweet pepper cored, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 red onion, peeled, thinly cut (about 3/4 cup)
1 small bunch (about 1/2 lb) asparagus, trimmed, cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces(I didn't use thicker middle-bottom parts of the stem)
Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Oil, divided
1 zucchini, diced to 1/4 in pieces
3 Tbsp pine nuts
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
7 oz of pesto sauce
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
15 basil leaves, finely sliced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cook pasta per pkg directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Season pepper, onions, and asparagus with salt and pepper; toss with 1 Tbsp oil. Transfer to baking sheet; arange in single layer. Roast 10-12 min; turn half way thru cooking time. Remove mixture from baking sheet; set aside.

Season zucchini with salt and pepper; toss with remaining 1Tbsp basting oil. Transfer to baking sheet; arrange in single layer. Roast 5-7 min, until tender but not browned. Remove from oven. Add to pepper mix; chill 1 hour.

Toast pine nuts in small pan on Medium, 3 min, stirringuntil theyare slightly toasted (watch carefully). Remove from pan; set aside.

Add tomatoes, pesto, Tabasco saue, basil pine nuts, and veggie mix to tortellini in a large bowl; gently mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve chilled.

*I left out the pine nuts and served warm and it tasted great.

Caribbean Black Bean Soup

Really yummy with a little zing to it! I made it for the ward Linger Longer yesterday,and received a lot of compliments on it.

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 8 0z pkgs pre diced onions ( I chopped a large onion)
2 sweet red peppers, 1/4 inch dice
2 jalapeno peppers, 1/4 inch dice
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground coriander (I finely chopped about 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro instead)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp cayenne pepper ( I only used 1 tsp)
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
8 cans (15.5 oz each) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cartons vegetable stock 32 oz. each (I used 8 cups veg. stock that I made from bouillon)


Heat olive oil on Medium-High in large stockpot, 1 min, until oil is hot. Add onions; cook, stirring frequently, 3-4 min, until translucent. Stir in red pepper, jalapeno, and garlic, cook 2-3 min.

Add cumin, coriander, oregano, cayenne, and vinegar to onions and peppers; cook stirring 1 min.

Add black beans and vegetable stock; stir. Bring to a boil on High. Reduce heat to Medium. Simmer 20 min; stir occasionally.

Reduce heat to Low. Transfer half of bean mixture to a separate bowl; set aside.

Puree remaining bean mixture in pot with hand held blender (I used regular blender). Return reserved beans to pot. Stir, season to taste with salt and pepper( I didn't use any)

Beef and Vegetable Barley Soup

It's very kid friendly and a complete "dump it all in one pot" recipe. I forgot to take a picture the night we ate it, but I'll post one soon.

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. stew meat
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp oregano
2 beef bouillon Cubes
4 c. water
1 bay leaf
* 1 can (14.9 oz) mixed vegetables, undrained
*1/2c. barley

Heat oil in large saucepan and brown beef. Stir in onion and garlic. Cook until onion is tender. Stir in oregano, bouillon cubes, water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour. Add vegetables and barley. Cook over medium heat 30 minutes. Serves 4.

*My variations: I used 1 cup of frozen vegetables and 1 1/2 c. barley that was already cooked(left over from another recipe.) Instead of cooking for an additional 30 min, I cooked until the vegetables thawed and warmed. I also added salt and pepper.

Greek Spinach-Pasta Salad with Feta and Beans

I pulled this recipe from the February issue of Better Homes & Gardens. (I "borrowed" their photo, too.) It is fantastic! I had it for lunch today and came away feeling super nourished and taste-bud-satisfied.

1 5-to-6 oz. pkg. fresh baby spinach
1 15 oz. can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
4 oz. crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), snipped
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (or crushed)
1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
2 Tbsp. lemon juice (freshly squeezed is especially good)
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
12 oz. dried cavatappi (also called cellentani) or farfalle pasta
Shaved Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

1. In a large serving bowl combine spinach, beans, cheese, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lemon peel and juice, oil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover, let stand at room temperature while cooking pasta or up to 2 hours; stir occasionally.

2. Shortly before serving, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Toss cooked pasta and pasta water with spinach salad mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with shaved Parmesan cheese. makes 6 (2-cup) main-dish servings.

*My modifications:

I mixed the garlic, lemon peel and juice, oil, herbs, salt and pepper together as a vinaigrette. Once the pasta was cooked, I rinsed it with cold water and omitted the cooking water, then combined the remaining ingredients and tossed it all together with the vinaigrette. It looks like this recipe was intended to be a warm salad but the way I did it, it was a cold salad. I may try it as written sometime, it looks great that way too.

Oh, and I skipped the shaved Parmesan. It was fine without it.

Blender Pancakes

This is probably one of the most common recipes for using whole wheat berries in real cooking. It is a stand by in our house. It takes practically no time, dirties as few dishes as pancakes possibly can and keeps us full until lunch time. How could you ask for more? This recipe feeds our family of two grown pancake-eaters and two small pancake-eaters just about perfectly.

Blender Pancakes

3/4-1 cup whole wheat berries
1 cup milk
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 TBS honey
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 eggs
dash salt

Combine milk and wheat in the blender. Mix on low for a minute or so, then on high for two or three minutes. We like it a little grainier and not perfectly smooth, but it makes no difference. Add remaining ingredients and blend on high for a minutes. Cook on griddle.

NOTE: Karene has a gingerbread pancake variation. Add 1/4 cup molasses, and 1/8 tsp each of cinnamon, cloves and ginger. So good!

West African Fruit Salad

I found this recipe one Thanksgiving when I was assigned to bring fruit salad to the family celebration. I didn't want to make the same old thing or pay for super out of season produce. This salad was the perfect remedy. It's great as a side or dessert. The recipe came from allrecipes.com

West African Fruit Salad

4 cups cubed pineapple, canned or fresh
2 mangoes, peeled and diced
2 oranges, peeled and segmented
2 bananas, peeled and sliced

2 TBS dark brown sugar
2 TBS lime juice

1 cup toasted coconut

Combine fruit in large bowl. Mix brown sugar with lime juice and stir into fruit. Chill for 1 hour or more. Add toasted coconut before serving.