Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa

My taco kick continues, as last night I made fish tacos using this recipe and some trout we received from the father-in-law. Kept things pretty much the same as the shrimp tacos I shared last week- slaw, pico, sour cream, and feta topped things off again, but this time with a few dashes of hot sauce instead of leftover marinade. On the side I served up this Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa with some tortilla chips. I came across this recipe in the March 2011 issue of Everyday Food, in their feature on pineapple (which is also where I found the recipe for the Jerk Pineapple Pork Chops I recently shared). This made a really light and flavorful accompaniment to our fish tacos. I've got some leftovers in the fridge that I'll definitely be enjoying over the weekend.

Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa
Recipe from Everyday Food; Makes 4 cups

1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups chopped pineapple
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Coarse salt

• In a medium bowl, combine black beans, pineapple, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt.

My notes: I kind of eyeballed the red onion and cilantro and things worked out just fine. This could also be good served over rice on the side of some fish or chicken, I think.

Spicing Up Snack Time- Stuffed Jalapenos

A while back my father-in-law sounded the call and my husband came running. A tree had fallen in their backyard and my husband and his stepbrother went to help him get the big thing chopped up. After a long, hard day of labor my husband was finally able to come home. And he brought with him a few gifts of appreciation for his efforts- mainly produce from their garden and several jars of homemade jam. Among the produce were almost two dozen tiny jalapeno peppers. I wasn't really sure what I would do with so many little ones. Luckily for me I saw this post over on Made By Mike that pointed me in the right direction. I checked out the Stuffed Jalapeno recipe from Everyday Food and decided it would be a great use for them. Petite Pepper Poppers to the rescue! Since my peppers were much smaller than the recipe called for I just had to keep an eye on them while cooking. They came out pretty good though. I'm definitely going to give this recipe a try again, maybe with some different variations on the filling. These would be fun for all those football games that are ahead of us this fall. Also great for parties or an evening of board games. Even, dare I say, a night of television guilty pleasures. Hoarders, anyone?

Stuffed Jalapenos
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4 to 6

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar
6 large jalapenos, halved and seeded
Coarse salt and ground pepper

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese and grated sharp cheddar. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. With a small spoon, fill each jalapeno half with about 1 tablespoon cheese mixture. Place peppers on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cook until cheese is browned and bubbling, about 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through.

My notes: I sprinkled a few of the peppers with bread crumbs to add a little crunch. Bacon and ranch mix are two variations that immediately come to mind for this recipe. Enjoy!

Granola Bars: Fail

When we were working on the house all the time, but hadn't moved in just yet, we made sure to keep a stock of quick and easy eats in the pantry. That included some granola bars that were no doubt not great for me, but very delicious all the same. I figured that I could surely recreate something similar and a quick Google search turned up a recipe for granola bars from Alton Brown. I decided to give it a go, with a couple of changes. The granola was delicious, but refused to remain in bar form. I don't know if I just didn't press it into the pan hard enough, or if I did something else to cause the poor results. It's not that big of a problem though, since this granola makes a great breakfast with a bit of soy milk. Yum! I'll definitely make it again, maybe give the bar thing another shot. If it doesn't work I won't be too upset. I'll just have a few great mornings ahead of me!

Granola Bars
Recipe from Alton Brown via Food Network; Makes 16 2" bars















2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

• Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
• Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

My notes: I was doing some other stuff in the kitchen at the same time, so I wasn't quite "immediate" with mixing the oat and liquid mixtures. Perhaps therein lies my problem. I bought toasted wheat germ, so I added it to the mixture post-toasting of the other ingredients. And for dried fruit I used apples and cranberries to recreate some of the flavor of the bars that inspired me in the first place.