Creamy Almond-Rice Cooler (Horchata)

Tried out this recipe from Rick Bayless. Yum! Although if anyone comes up with a better way of straining it, please share! This was rather tedious and messy. "Dregs" doesn't do justice to the stuff you strain off, which was closer to a rice clay.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups rice
• 2 inch cinnamon stick
• water
• 1 cup milk or canned evaporated milk
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar
• ice

Directions:

1. Soak the rice and cinnamon stick in 2 1/2 cups of water overnight.
2. Remove the cinnamon stick and put the mixture into a blender. Blend several minutes, until a drop rubbed between your fingers no longer feels very gritty. Add two more cups of water (if it'll fit - mine couldn't do it all at this point, so I just added it later on) and blend another minute. Strain the mixture through dampened cheesecloth over a colander set inside of a bowl. Stir it to help it through, or let it gravity feed about 20 minutes. Squeeze the dregs to get out all the liquid.
3. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and the cup of milk. Stir in enough sugar to sweeten to your taste. Refrigerate to chill and add ice.

Variation - in step three, cut the water down to 1/2 cup and add a 14 ounce can of coconut milk. (Rick Bayless recommends using 3 cups of the coconut style horchata mixed with 2 cups of pineapple, 2 cups rum, and 2 cups of ice cubes for a new style of pina colada. Wow.) He also says you can also use a bit of lime zest in place of the cinnamon.

Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup

What can I say about this recipe? It's absolutely delicious - real veggies, parmesan cheese, dairy all mixed together. Fantastically easy - mostly cooks all day in a crockpot. It's my new winter favorite! You've GOT to try it! (This recipe comes from "365 Days of Slow Cooking")

Ingredients:
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
2 cups half and half, warmed
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:
Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil (if using fresh oregano and basil, if using dried oregano and basil add it in the last hour of cooktime), and bay leaf to a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. About an hour before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for another hour until ready to serve.

*Note - used the pregrated powdery parmesan the first time. Not bad, just kind of a grainy texture. Used the real stuff the second time - wow!
** I like to use my stick blender and puree the veggies before adding it to the roux. Just makes a velvety soup. Then Jeremiah will eat it. :)

Stovetop Granola

This recipe is for Jenny! I'm pretty sure this is the one I used to make your birthday jar...pretty sure. Umm, at least it looks like it. :) I know I added more oats than it calls for, 'cause I like my granola that way. And I like pecans over almonds if I have the choice. (This comes from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oats then cook and stir until starting to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and spread out on a cookie sheet to cool.

2. Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Stir in the honey and brown sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Return the oats to the pan. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so. Pour out onto the cookie sheet and spread to cool.

3. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container and stir in the almonds and dried cranberries. Any additional nuts and fruit can be stirred in at this time also.

White Chicken Chili with Lime

I saw Kim's post on her wonderful White Chicken Chili and wanted to add this Betty Crocker's white chili recipe. We do frequently because it is so good!

1 tbs vegetable oil

2 medium onions, chopped (1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 cups chicken broth

2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro or 1/2 tsp ground coriander

2 tbs lime juice (I usually use a lot more if I do not use fresh limes)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp red pepper sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1 11 oz can corn (the recipe calls for white but I have always used golden and it works fine)

1 can great northern beans

1 can butter beans

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

1. cook onions and garlic in oil.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients except chicken. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes. Stir in chicken.

3. Top with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, chopped green onions, diced tomatoes, chopped fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, or sour cream!