Mexican White Bean Soup

I just recently made Mexican White Bean Soup from this recipe from BHG and loved it!  Adding in the orange sounded unusual, but I think the soup ended up tasting very fresh between that and the cilantro.  I did use canned beans instead of dried just to make the preparation faster.  I used 3 cans of beans (washed and drained) - I used some canneli beans and some great northern beans I think.  Find the recipe HERE.

Picante Queso Dip

I love this dip from Mission Tortilla Chips.  Use a little chopped jalepeno (seeds removed) instead of the canned green chiles if you like.  

Recipe Ingredients:  4 Green Onions 1 can (4 oz.) Green Chiles diced and drained 2 medium Tomatoes chopped Bottled Hot Pepper Sauce to taste 1-1/2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese shredded 1-1/2 cups Cheddar Cheese shredded 1 Tbsp. Butter 2 lb. Mission® Tortilla Strips

Recipe Instructions:  1. Sauté onions in butter. Stir in chiles and tomato. Add hot pepper sauce. Simmer uncovered. Stir in cheeses until melted. Serve with Mission® Tortilla Strips. Enjoy this delicious picante queso dip Mexican recipe!

Yankee Doodle Macaroni / Parsley

I love this recipe for Yankee Doodle Macaroni - a true comfort food! Simmering for a long time helps make the flavor rich.  I double the pepper and always sprinkle parmasean on top.  See the recipe HERE.  It will use your mushrooms and parsley from this week's bag.    

The other thing I usually make with parsley is Roasted Cajun Potatoes which I posted awhile back.  It works best with red potatoes, but you could do with with Russet as well. 

Megan told me how to dry your extra parsley (thanks, Megan!).  Remove as much stem as possible and then spread the parsley leaves out on a cookie sheet.  Put in oven set to 170 degrees and bake until dry (don't overbake - parsley will continue to dry after removed from oven). This should take at least 30 minutes - 1 hour or more.  Store in a dry jar.  I always use dried parsley for this Vegetable Dip. 

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers with Avocado

I found this on pinterest today. We haven't tried it yet but it looks good.

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/02/easy-sweet-potato-veggie-burgers-with.html?m=1

Zucchini Boats

Going to try this recipe this week - find the recipe HERE.  (like pizza on a half of a zucchini)

Roasted Vegetables

I love this recipe for roasted vegetables.  I usually change up the vegetables to what I like (colored peppers, red onion, grape tomatoes, carrots, zucchini) and toss in some chicken breast (cut in 1 inch pieces), too.  I've never used the lemon zest because usually I'm using bottled lemon juice.  Also, at the very end, I toss in a 8 oz. bag of "Parmasean Blend" shredded cheese. You can just let this melt over the veggies, or broil it over the top.  Then I serve the vegetables with spaghetti and marinara sauce.  My kids mostly eat the spaghetti, I mostly eat the veggies with marinara sauce = everyone is happy.  Find the original recipe HERE.

  

Cantaloupe

I suggest keeping your cantaloupe on the counter for several days to let it ripen before you cut it.  Putting it near bananas or pears and in a warmer spot (like by a sunny window) will also help it ripen.  When a cantaloupe is ripe, the stem area should be soft (not mushy) and the cantaloupe should smell ripe.

When you buy cantaloupe at the store, the rind is usually really hard = not ripe.  When a cantaloupe is ripe, there should be some give when you push against the outside - it may even leave a small indentation. I actually wait for the cantaloupe to have one or two indentations around the rind before I refrigerate it.  Then, after refrigerating, I wait another 2-3 days (in other words, I don't usually cut my cantaloupe until a week after buying it).  In my experience, the cantaloupes always ripen and taste better in the summer - but most fruit does! :)