Eric, Steve, Dan, Shayne, and Steve worked on the deck this weekend and they got so much accomplished! It almost looks like a deck now. The weather was what the boys called,
Quinoa is the perfect vehicle for summer vegetables: it's more substantial than couscous or rice and it kind of binds ingredients together. This simple version involves minimal cooking: just toss hot quinoa with black beans, chunks of ripe heirloom tomatoes, and crunchy scallions, and cover with a refreshing lemon dressing.
This Slow Cooker Recipe for Spicy Ground Beef and Bean Soup with Cabbage and Spinach recipe contains lean ground beef, kidney beans, vegetable broth, olive oil, dice tomatoes and more.
This Crockpot Eggplant and Tomato Stew with Garbanzo Beans recipe contains garbanzo beans, vegetable broth, red kidney beans, tomato paste, eggplant and more.
This Chicken Breast Stuffed with Cheese, Tomato and Basil recipe contains bone-in chicken breast halves, olive oil, Fontina, broccoli rabe, olive oil and more.
This Mexican Chicken Casserole with Charred Tomato Salsa recipe contains corn tortillas, cooked chicken, shredded monterey jack cheese, feta cheese, frozen corn kernels and more.
Crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, these salsa-topped cakes make a lovely vegetarian entree. They offer a great way to use leftover basmati rice; if you're starting with cooked rice, use about 1 1/2 cups. Add mixed greens to the plate for even more color.
Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs) make a terrific party snack. These meatballs have a sweet glaze of mirin, soy, and ginger. Look for flat skewers at Asian markets, or use two skewers for each group of meatballs so they'll turn easier.
Wide rice noodles are available on the ethnic-foods aisle at most major supermarkets and at Asian grocers. If you can't find them, any rice noodle or even spaghetti will work in this dish. You can also use ground sirloin, if you can't find pork.
