fivemonkeys

Another favorite recipe!  We first tasted this recipe at the COTT summer potluck (Thanks Sarah!).  This recipe almost didn’t make it to our recipe box.  I almost didn’t try it because it had red peppers in it (I hate peppers…the eating part, not the tasting part)…but I did anyway since EVERYONE raved.  And man, is it good!!

I hope you’ll like it!  Aaron is obsessed with this.  He gets this gleam in his eyes when we put it on the menu for the week. (Don’t believe me? Go ask him about this recipe and see what he does!)

A couple of notes…don’t let the potatoes get mushy, we go 8 minutes.  The chipotles are HOT! – adjust dosage to your heat tolerance.  There were a bunch in the can that we bought; so we laid them out individually on freezer paper and froze them…we thawed them out and used them without a problem.  We also didn’t use a food processor and just mixed everything up in a bowl.  It worked fine.

(HEY AARON!  Put a picture in here, will ya?!)

Go. Try. This. Now!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 Celery rib – chopped
• 6 Green onions — thin sliced
• 2 tablespoons Chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup Fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup Canned chipotle chiles
• 1 tablespoon Ketchup
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 clove Garlic – minced
• 1/3 cup Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into bite-size chunks. In a large pan of boiling salted water, cook the sweet potatoes over medium-high heat until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes, rinse them in cold water, and drain them again. Set them aside to cool briefly.

Place the bell pepper, black beans, celery, green onion, and cilantro in a large bowl. Add the potatoes, mixing lightly.

Combine all the dressing ingredients, except for the oil, in a food processor and puree together. Drizzle in the oil and continue to process until thick.

Pour about three-quarters of the dressing over the potato mixture and toss to combine. The result should look moist but not runny. If it seems dry, add the remaining dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or, even better, overnight.

Serve cold. The salad keeps well for several days.

Hi all!  It’s Tani, Aaron’s other half.  I feel compelled to let y’all know (if you haven’t figured it out already) that Aaron has decided to use his blog as a way to track all of our favorite recipes as well as his triathlon adventures.  That being said, don’t expect them all to be healthy.  Who says that all triathlete’s eat healthy anyway?

Anyway, here is our favorite pizza dough recipe.  The resulting crust is crisp, yet tender and has a great flavor. It became our goto dough recipe the first time we tried it!

Tani’s Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 t salt
• 3T olive oil
• 2t active dry yeast
• 1/2 c water, warm
• 1 t sugar

Directions

1. Add yeast and sugar to warm water (Use the temperature recommended on the yeast package…although I just use warm tap water with good success.) Let stand for 5-10 min
2. Combine flour, salt, olive oil and yeast mixture in food processor.  The dough should come together in a ball.  If there is no moisture in the air, slowly add additional warm water until dough comes together.
3. Turn out dough onto floured surface and knead.  Form into ball, coat with olive oil, place in oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let stand until dough doubles in size, about 30-60 minutes.  Put it in a warm place if your house is cold!  I normally throw it in the oven and place a container of hot water in the bottom of the oven.
4. Divide dough into 2 or 4 balls, roll out and enjoy!  You can top it with whatever floats your boat…just bake the topped pizzas at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until cooked through and golden on the edges.

Some notes:  I totally recommended using a pizza stone.  Some suggest corn meal on a seasoned stone to prevent sticking.  I use the corn meal (mainly for texture) *and* use parchment paper (for ease of transport on/off pizza stone).  Finally, infusing some olive oil with garlic to brush over crust before topping is FABULOUS…and I like to use the leftover for dipping crusts.

Oh!  And this dough works well for stromboli, too!!

I found this recipe in the May 2008 issue of Runner’s World magazine. The recipe is copied almost directly since we loved it so much (although my picture shows angel hair because we were all out of fettuccine). I love this meal for nights when we will be short on time (but have planned ahead) You can have all of the ingredients prepped the night before. When it is time to cook, just follow the directions and you’ll have a great meal in about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 6 ounces fresh fettuccine
• 1 1/3 cups chicken stock
• 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts with liquid
• 1 1/2 cups (about 1/2 lb.) grilled chicken, sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
• kosher salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Start boiling a pot of water for the pasta.
3. Add bell pepper and cook three minutes or until soft.
4. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so.
5. Add Stock and vinegar, bring to a boil, and simmer until reduced by half.
6. Add pasta to water and cook until al dente
7. Add sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and liquid, chicken, and basil.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Once pasta is cooked, drain, add to sauce, and mix thoroughly.
10. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Ingredients:

• Bacon
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery hearts, diced
• 1 pint button mushrooms, diced
• 3 leeks, chopped
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
• 2T butter
• 1T herbs de provence
• 1t ground coriander
• 1 pint 1/2 and 1/2
• 1 box chicken broth
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. In large stock pot, render fat from bacon.  You may drain some of this and substitute some olive oil.  Add butter.
2. Saute carrots, onion, celery, leeks and mushrooms until tender.  Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add chicken broth and potatoes.  Bring to a boil over high-heat then cover and simmer on medium-low until potatoes are tender.
4. Temper 1/2 &1/2.  Add to soup.
5. In blender or food processor, blend soup in small batches to a smooth consistency.  Be careful to only fill halfway and use a towel to hold the lid on!!
6. Season to taste then serve as is, or garnished with cheese, croutons, green onions and/or bacon.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 4 slices swiss cheese
• 4oz. thin sliced deli ham
• dijon mustard
• salt & pepper
• flour
• 1 egg
• Italian bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Pound out chicken breasts so they are even and about 1/4″ thick
2. Lay 1 slice of swiss and about 1oz. of ham on each chicken breast
3. Add a little dijon mustard
4. Roll each chicken breast tightly with other ingredients inside and set aside
5. Place flour, beaten egg, and bread crumbs each in a separate dish, adding salt and pepper to bread crumbs if desired
6. Fill large skillet with about 1/4″ of canola oil and set burner on high
7. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
8. Take each chicken breast and thoroughly coat in flour, egg, then bread crumbs
9. Place breasts in skillet and allow to brown on all sides then place in oven safe dish
10. Place in oven for 20 -30 minutes.