Monday, November 18, 2013

Recipes from the November 12, 2013 Relief Society Activity


Salads

Massaged Kale and Current Salad
Ingredients
1 bunch of kale Add to list
1 teaspoon sea salt Add to list
1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds Add to list
1/4 cup diced red onion Add to list
1/3 cup dried currants Add to list
3/4 cup diced apple Add to list
1/4 cup olive oil Add to list
2 tablespoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar Add to list
1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese Add to list

Preparation
De-stem kale by pulling leaves away from the stems. Wash leaves, spin or pat dry. Stack leaves, roll up and cut into thin ribbons (chiffonade). Put kale in a large mixing bowl and add salt. Massage salt into kale with your hands for 2 minutes.
To toast sunflower seeds, put in a dry skillet over low to medium heat and stir constantly for a few minutes until they change color and give off a nutty aroma.
Stir onion, currants, apple and toasted seeds into kale. Dress with oil and vinegar. Taste for salt and vinegar, adding more if necessary. When at desired flavor, toss in cheese. This salad will keep for several days and still be great!
Source: Recipe reprinted with permission from "Feeding the Whole Family" (third edition) by Cynthia Lair (Sasquatch Books, 2008). FeedingFamily.com.
 
 
Soups

Elissa Bruce’s 8 Can Taco Soup
Easiest soup ever - keep the ingredients on hand when you need to feed a lot of people, fast!
 
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 (12.5 oz) can white chicken breast, drained
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes (or Rotel, for a little extra spice)
1 (15.25 oz) can sweet corn, drained
1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce (I prefer Herdez)
1 packet taco seasoning
 

Combine all ingredients in a large pot.
Heat until warm, stirring occasionally.
Serve with garnishes such as sour cream, fresh cilantro, cheese, and tortilla chips.
 
*NOTE from Elissa: 
This is the original recipe, and it is super delicious as is, but in the many times I've made this, I prefer to add a couple of things:
 
(These steps will also make the soup stretch even farther)
 
- I use 2 or 3 fresh chicken breasts instead of canned - just cook on the stove in a little olive oil, cut up and add to pot.
- I also love onion, so I dice one whole onion and cook in the same pan as the chicken, adding a little more oil and picking up the good chicken flavor left behind, then add to pot.
- The cream of chicken can be substituted with another can of chicken broth, if you prefer not to used creamed soups.
- I frequently use a can of petite diced tomatoes AND a can of Rotel. 
 

Marie Tiller's Black Bean Soup
Cook 1 chopped onion and 1 tbs of garlic until onion is transparent
Add 3 cans of black beans, rinsed to remove that funky funky goo
slice 20 baby carrots into rounds, or 1 or 2 large carrots. Set aside 1/2 cup or so of carrots and add the rest to the pot with the beans, etc.
Slice 2 celery stalks, toss 3/4 of the mound into the pot and setting the other 1/4 of the mound aside with the carrots
Add 1 box Wegman's vegetable stock and 2 boxes of organic vegetable broth
Blend in 1 can tomato paste and 1 14oz can tomato sauce.
Add approx. 1 tbs ketchup
Optional: add 1 tsp Srichara sauce or 1/2 tsp chili powder (to taste. Some like it hot, as Marilyn Monroe would say)
Add abt 2 tbs cumin powder and 2 tbs coriander powder (you can get these cheap in the Indian food section at Wegmans. Little known fact: most spices are cheaper in the Indian food section, or at an Indian market. And lucky us, I think that there is a big Indian market opening up in part of the old Superfresh in Collegeville. I hope, I hope, I hope.)
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer until tender.
If you have a stick blender, give that soup a whirl, but not until smooth. Leave some chunks behind. Or just ladle 2/3 - 3/4 pot into a blender or food processor and let 'er rip, then pour back into pot.
Add the previously abandoned carrots and celery, and add another can of black beans, also rinsed.
Cook it down a bit, so that it thickens slightly, and the carrots and celery are done.
Taste and adjust seasoning as you wish.
Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips (or alternatively, you can get cheaper tortilla 'chips' by buying the corn tacos in the deli case, spraying them lightly with canola oil on both sides and then salting each side a bit, then popping them into the oven until crisp. Good hot or cold. Yum), cheese . . .
And that's pretty much it.

If you want, you can substitute beef broth for the vegetable broth. Another nice thing about this soup - if you don't mind storing sliced carrots & celery in your freezer - is that all the basic ingredients can be kept available in your food storage.

 Desserts
 
Owenna’s COCONUT-PECAN GERMAN CHOCOLATE PIE (from Taste of Home)

Pie crust
Use any recipe for 9" single pie crust.  Roll out to fit 9" pie pan.  Trim and flute. 
(or use a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, which is what I did)  Line unpricked pastry with foil.  Fill with pie weights.  Bake 10 minutes in pre-heated 400 oven.  Remove foil and weights; bake 6-8 minutes more or until light brown.  Cool. 

Filling
4 oz. German sweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 can (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
Melt chocolates; cool slightly.  Whisk in condensed milk, yolks, and vanilla; stir in pecans.  Pour into cooled crust.  Bake in pre-heated 350 oven 16-19 minutes or until set.  Cool before adding Topping.

 
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter
2 egg yolks
1 cup flaked coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup chopped pecans for garnish

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, cream and butter.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Remove from heat. 
Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into yolks; return to pan, whisking constantly.  Cook and stir 3 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Stir in coconut and vanilla.  Cool 10 minutes.
Pour over filling; sprinkle with pecans.  Chill 4 hours or until cold.

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