Five Favorite Recipes

I made an appetizer at Wes's aunt's and uncle's house while we were on vacation and was asked to share the recipe. I'll do one better: here are five favorite recipes. I edit almost all recipes, so what you're getting here are my versions of other people's recipes (though I have cited the source of the original recipe if I know it).

Black Bean Stuffing
(adapted from Stuffed Green Sweet Peppers in Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook)

Chop 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 onion, 1 zucchini, and 1 yellow squash. Combine chopped peppers, onion, 15-oz. can black beans, 8 3/4-oz. can corn, 1/3 cup long grain rice, and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to boiling, then reduce and simmer until rice is tender and most of the water is cooked off. Mix in 8x8" baking dish with chopped zuchinni and yellow squash. Stir in mozarella or Monterey-Jack cheese. Bake 15 min. at 400. Reheats well.

I first made this recipe according to the real instructions, but I didn't really like eating a cooked whole pepper, and sometimes I just wanted more of the stuffing. So we stopped making the real recipe and just started making the stuffing. We added the zuchinni and squash later and like it. We also tried a chopped tomato, but Wes doesn't really like tomatoes so it was rejected. The original recipe also calls for some jalapeno ppers and fresh cilantro, but those aren't ingredients I keep on hand, so I've never tried it.

Chicken Salad
(adapted from Whole Food's Sonoma Chicken Salad)

Bake 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water for 25 minutes at 375. Cool, dice, and transfer to large bowl. Stir in 1 cup mayo, 4 tsp. apple cider vinegar, 5 tsp. honey, 2 tsp. poppy seeds, 3/4 cup pecan pieces, 2 cups red seedless grapes. Add 3 thinly sliced stalks celery or a chunked red apply for some crunch.

I found this recipe for chicken salad after trying a bunch of different ones. It remains a lunch favorite.

Homemade Salsa
(from a friend of a friend at my friend's bachelorette weekend)

Mix 2 16-oz. can black-eyed peas, 1 16-oz. can shoepeg corn, 1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes, 1 bunch sliced green onions, 1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, 3 tbsp. lime juice, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1-2 cloves pressed garlic, 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cover and refrigerate several hours before serving.

Shrimp Salad
(adapted from Edamame and Bean Salad with Shrimp and Fresh Salsa recipe in an old issue of Cooking Light)

Mix 1/4 cup cooked edamame, 1/2 cup chopped cooked small shrimp, 1/2 cup canned cannellini beans, 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 1-2 tbsp. chopped red onion, 1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, 2 tsp. fresh lime jice, 1 1/2 tsp. extravirgin olive oil, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Cover and refrigerate several hours before serving.

The original recipe calls for 1 tsp. minced jalapeno pepper, but I've never tried it. I also don't follow the measurements in this recipe. I cook the whole bag of edamame, use the whole bag of shrimp, the whole can of cannellini beans, the whole box of cherry tomatoes, half the red onion (and use the rest in salads), and however much cilantro looks reasonable.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Defrost and strain 10-oz. pckg. frozen spinach. Mix with 13.75-oz. can artichoke hearts, 8-oz. cream cheese, and 1/2 cup olive oil. Top with 1 cup Parmesan cheese and bake for 20 min. at 350. Serve with a heavier tortilla chip.