Chicken Tetrazzini

Submitted by Marcia Brisson
From the kitchen files of Christina Bishop

Ingredients
2-3 chicken breats, baked or boiled then chopped (about 2" squares)
1/2 pkg (or more) of sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 c. butter
2 c. sour cream
(1) 10.5 oz. can of cream of chicken soup
8-10 oz. vermicelli (thin noodle) or other pasta (cooked)
Season salt to desired taste
Salt to desired taste
Pepper to desired taste

Directions
1. Brown chicken & mushrooms in butter
2. Add soup and sour cream to mixture
3. Remove from heat
4. Add seasoning
5. Cook pasta just until done (don't overcook)
6. Drain pasta and add to chicken mixture
7. Pour everything into a casserole dish (9x13 pan)
8. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 40 min. at 350 degrees
9. Remove tinfoil for at lest 10 min. before serving

Vegetarian Chili

Submitted by Linda Peterson
(or vegan, if you don't use any cheese!)

I happened upon this recipe in 2007 while perusing some cookbook (with cheap, healthy, easy recipes for college students) that belonged to my roommate Amber. I thought it sounded delicious, and lo and behold it WAS delicious! This is the perfect time of year for this chili. It's very cheap, you can have most all of the ingredients in food storage, and it's really great to make for friends that are sick or just had a baby.

1 bell pepper (any color is good!)
1 sweet yellow onion
2 (15 oz) cans black beans
2 (15 oz) cans stewed tomatoes (the big chunky ones by Hunt's are my favorite)
1 (15 oz) can corn
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cinnamon (THIS is the magic ingredient)

Chop up the onion and bell pepper. In the bottom of a big pot (where you will put all the rest of the chili ingredients), saute onion and bell pepper in butter till they just begin to brown. Add all of the canned ingredients in their entirety--DO NOT DRAIN. The liquid from the cans forms the stock of the chili. Add the spices. Cover and bring chili to a soft boil, stirring occasionally. Uncover, lower heat (REALLY low), and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, until desired consistency. Stir occasionally so your chili doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan; I've had that happen with different stovetops.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, cheesy biscuits, whatever you want! Yum!

I've also made a white chili version of this, with white beans and tomatillos, but I can't entirely remember what I did spice-wise...so feel free to experiment!

Butternut Squash Soup

Submitted by Alisha Stamper

I tried this recipe from Our Best Bites and have loved it ever since. I look forward to the fall and winter because I know I can make this soup in abundance. The original is here, but here are my notes for what I do:

I use a whole lotta butternut squash. Probably double what they say. And therefore more chicken stock. I also use the biggest potato I can find, which translates to about 3 medium potatoes.

Sigh. This stuff is the BEST.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Submitted by Linda Peterson
MIND-BLOWING.

Courtesy of Krysta Whitmore courtesy of Paola Jellings courtesy of The Sisters Cafe. Krysta brought a dish of these enchiladas to Nick and I when Luke was about 3 weeks old. Rocked our world, seriously.

6 tbl honey
5 tbl lime juice (1 medium lime)
1 tbl chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded (Krysta says about 3 small breasts; she boils them with salt, pepper, and another 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
8-10 flour tortillas (soft taco size, not burrito size)
1 lb Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (this is the best cheese)
2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy whipping cream (ohhhh yeaaahhhh)

Mix first four ingredients and toss with the shredded chicken in a plastic bag.
Let marinate for at least a half hour.
Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.
Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving 1 cup cheese to sprinkle on top.
Place filled tortillas in the 9x13 pan. It might be a tight fit!
In a bowl, mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade, if any.
Pour mixture on top of tortillas, then sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a little browned and crispy on top.

Autumnal Couscous

Submitted by Alisha Stamper

I created this cous-cous at home after having something similar at Whole Foods.

I box dry cous-cous (original)
dried cranberries
peeled, halved, seeded, diced butternut squash
brown sugar (approx one tbsp)
water
olive oil

cook the cous-cous according to package directions.

In a separate saucepan, boil two handfuls cranberries and a generous amount of diced butternut squash until the squash is edible. Drain.

Fluff cous-cous and separate any clumps. Mix in butternut squash and cranberries. Add brown sugar and mix all together. Try to not eat it all before you put it on the table :)

Light and Fresh Hummus

I found this recipe on Epicurious. It is for some sandwiches to make (which sound divine, great combination) but I just wanted to make some hummus as a dip for my bookgroup on Monday night. I did a few things differently, as noted below:

2 garlic cloves (minced & mashed into a paste with 1/2 tsp salt)*
1/3 c well-stirred tahini
16-19 oz can chickpeas, rinsed & drained**
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice***
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp water****
3 tbsp fresh parsley*****

* I just did a generous dashing of garlic salt, california style. Another thing I read in the reviews was to roast or broil your garlic.
** I used a 15.5 oz can
*** I used 3 tbsp AND just used the kind you buy, I did not buy lemons and squeeze out juice.
**** Used the reserved juice from the can of chickpeas
*****Used dried but did use the same amount. You normally use quite a bit less dried than fresh. There was a lot of green in this hummus but I loved it.

DIRECTIONS: in a food processor, blend together garlic, chick-peas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and cumin, scraping down the sides until smooth (You'll need to do this a lot. Don't want any large bits of chickpea). Add reserved liquid & parsley, pulse until combined. (You may need to add more of the reserved liquid.) Scrape out of food-processor, add salt & pepper to taste.

Can be made ahead and chilled (so they say).

Makes about 2 cups.

It tastes different than any hummus I've had in terms of flavor, and I think now that I have the basics down I'll try to make some other kids. WAY cheaper than buying, very easy and mondo delish!