Tortilla chips

Recipe from the Ultimate Daniel Fast blog. It has been a great resource!

Ingredients:
1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Instructions
Combine corn meal, water, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir mixture until dough forms a ball and stays together. Add a little water if necessary, a tablespoon or two at a time. Let dough rest for at least 20 minutes (the longer, the better).

Preheat oven to 400 F. Using your hands, press dough out onto an ungreased baking sheet, making it as thin as possible. Use a knife to score chips into desired shape. Bake 20 minutes, or until slightly browned and crispy. Makes about 45 chips (1" square).

Jill

Rice Cake Sandwich

This is a staple lunch for me on the Daniel Fast!!!

Ingredients:
Rice cakes
natural peanut butter (no sugar added)
banana slices

Build your sandwich and enjoy!!! yum!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Recipe from Rachel Wheeler

Ingredients:
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 Tbs. ground cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 3 large carrots, grated (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups grated reduced-fat pepper Jack cheese, divided (omit for Daniel Fast)
• 4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed


Directions: 
• Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.
• Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.
• Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 Tbs. remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving. 

Jill

Snickers Popcorn

I made this yummy popcorn for Halloween! The kids really liked it! How could you not like caramel popcorn with snickers!!! I found this recipe on pinterest. The original source is from Cookies and Cups.

Ingredients:
8 quarts air popped popcorn (about 2 cups kernels, i used about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup salted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup salted peanuts (i omitted because i didn't have any, but will add next time)
30 fun size snickers bars, chopped
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate (optional, i did not add)

Directions:
While popcorn is popping combine butter, brown sugar, salt, and corn syrup in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Pour over popcorn, stir, and then sprinkle with peanuts. Bake in a large roasting pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 200 degrees. Stir every minutes. Add snicker bars for the last few minutes of baking. Allow to cool on wax paper. Drizzle with melted chocolate if you so desire. I did not, but more chocolate could never hurt!

Jill

Chicken Tostadas and Avocado Dressing

I made this last night for some friends and I think it was a hit. It was super easy so I will definitely be making this again. I got this recipe from Cooking Light September 2011 edition.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp sour cream
2 Tbsp chicken broth
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp canola oil
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 ripe peeled avocado
1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil, divided
4 (6 inch) flour tortillas
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups shredded chicken
1/2 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco

Combine first 7 ingredients in food processor until smooth. Cook tortillas one at a time in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side (or golden brown) in 3/4 tsp oil. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Add remaining oil to pan and add garlic and jalapeno; saute 1 1/2 minutes. Add chicken and cook another 2 minutes. Build tostado: tortilla, 1/2 cup chicken mixture, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and top with about 3 Tbsp dressing.

Spinach Bacon Quiche

I made this recently to take to a breakfast with some friends. It made 2 quiches so my family was able to try it too. My four year old, Luke, said "Yuuuuummmm...you did good mom!". That is a success in my book! This recipe is courtesy of Marci from her blog, On My Menu.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of bacon
10 oz package of spinach
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 unbaked pie crusts (i used store bought...i know..the horror)
1 onion, minced
1/2 diced mushrooms (i omitted)
2 cups diced ham
16 oz colby jack or sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
4 oz Parmesan cheese
8 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 Tbsp parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown bacon, drain, crumble, and set aside. Saute spinach in bacon drippings. Drain spinach and set aside. Saute onions. Add mushrooms. Stir in ham and bacon. Combine spinach, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Add meat mixture. Mix in cheese. Divide into each pie crust.
Mix eggs, half and half, and parsley. Pour over pies. Place pies in oven and bake 45-50 minutes or until tops are puffed and golden brown. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Each pie serves 8.
**If reheating, cover pie with foil and bake at 325 for about 20-30 minutes, checking frequently to make sure it's not getting too brown. **

Basil Pesto

We have an abundance of basil growing in our backyard so when I came across an entire article about different pestos in Southern Living I was thrilled. Here is the basic basil pesto. I thought it was very good.

Ingredients:
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt

Process all ingredients in food processor until smooth.

Jill