Grilled Chicken Salad Pitas

Blake and I have decided that living among Greeks and other Mediterranean cultures is pretty awesome -- they all make the best food! This isn't actually Mediterranean, persay, but it uses pitas from the fabulous Mediterranean grocery up the block from our apartment, so I figure that has to count for something.

- fresh pitas, preferably, if you can swing a trip to New York, from the Mediterranean grocery up the block
- prepared chicken salad (see below)
- Swiss cheese
- leaf of green leaf or romaine lettuce
- sliced tomatoes
- dab of ranch dressing

Slice pita in half, cut open. Stuff with slice of Swiss cheese and chicken salad. Grill in a frying pan until the pita is satisfyingly crisp. Then, stuff with lettuce, tomatoes, and top with that dab of ranch dressing.

To make Lindsay's Famous "Fake It 'Til It Tastes Right" Chicken Salad, boil a piece of boned chicken breast until cooked through, then separate the good meat from the bones and skin. Shred chicken, and add mayo and pickle relish to your desired consistency.

Chalupa (a Mexican stew)

Ingredients

• 1 lb. dried pinto beans (fresh)*
• 1-3 1/2 lb. bone-in pork loin roast
• 2-4 oz. cans chopped green chilis
• 1-10 oz. can diced tomatoes and green chilis
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbl. chili powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 32 oz. chicken broth (if you use boullion cubes, omit salt and add to taste after cooking)
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions

Rinse and sort beans. Place beans in bottom of crock pot. Add roast and all other ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 7 hours or cook on high for one hour and low for 10 hours. Remove bones and fat from roast; pull roast into bite size pieces with forks. Return meat to crock pot and stir.
Serve in bowls as stew with tortillas for a side, or uncover for the last hour and broth will thicken and can be used in taco shell bowls for another great tasting dish!
* If you are using beans from your food storage, they will probably need to be soaked overnight in order to be done at the same time as the roast. Rinse them after soaking to help omit the gases the beans form while cooking. The older the beans are, the longer they take to cook. I have even had to cook mine a little before adding them to this dish. Yes, mine are from storage. The nutritional value is still there, you just have to love them a little more!

No-Bake Cookies

• 2 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. cocoa
• 1/2 c. milk
• 2 sticks butter
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 c. oatmeal

Put first four ingredients into sauce pan let sugar disolve, stir constantly and bring to high, rolling boil and let boil for only 1 minute. Remove from heat and add PB, vanilla, and oatmeal. If runny, let cool for a few minutes and drop onto wax paper or foil. Let set.

Chunky Crockpot Stew

2 lbs. stew meat
3 potatoes, washed and quartered
4 carrots cut into chunks
1 can tomato soup
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce (plus 1 can water or milk)
3 tbl. tapioca
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
pepper ( to taste)

Place all ingredients in crockpot and give it a good stir. Cook on high for 6-8 hours until meat and vegetables are tender.

Talk about easy and delicious!

Chili Colorado

Ingredients

• 1 lb. stew meat
• 2 potatoes (optional)
  
• olive oil
  
• 8 dried red chilis (the heat of the chilis is up to you!)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt (to taste)
• 1 tsp. oregano

Directions
Wash chilis in warm water removing stem and seeds. Place in blender and begin processing, adding water to make a nice sauce thickness. Add garlic and other spices and blend well.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, lightly brown one pound of stew meat (cut into bite size pieces) in minimal amount of olive oil. After lightly browning, add sauce and allow to simmer until meat is tender. (45 minutes to an hour) Or you can use the crockpot to cook it in, just brown it first and add sauce and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. After simmering, add to crock. Cook on high for 2 hours (or on low for 4 hours) or until meat is tender.

(optional) You can add two diced potatoes to the meat and sauce to make it go further, and to balance your nutritional needs in one pot!

Serve on flour tortillas with cheese and other favorite toppings!

The sauce recipe is also used as enchilada sauce. Add the sauce to a preheated saucepan with a small amount of olive oil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Use as you would any enchilada sauce. I use it when I make the Mexican Meat. It makes a delicious enchilada!

Texas Chili

4 lbs. stew meat (cut into bite size pieces)
2 tbl. chili powder
2-6 oz. cans tomato paste
4 tsp. beef soup base
4 cups water
2-8 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper
1 1/2 jalapenos

Brown meat in batches. Remove meat, reserve drippings. Add chili powder to drippings and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Return beef to pot and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until meat is tender. (About 1 1/2 hours.) Serve with tortillas, corn bread or baked potatoes.
Variation: Omit half the meat and cook 2 cups (dry) pinto beans in a seperate pot until tender. Drain beans and add to chili (when meat is tender) and simmer for at least 30 more minutes.

Yields 9 cups

Pasta e Fagioli

1 lb. ground beef
1 large carrot (slivered)
1 small onion (diced)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
2 cloves garlic
1-15 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans
1 can white kidney beans
5 cups beef broth
1 1/3 tsp. oregano
1 1/8 tsp pepper
2/3 tsp. tabasco sauce
1-2 lb. jar Ragu sauce
1 cup shell macaroni

Saute beef with onion and garlic. Add carrots, celery and tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes.
Drain and rinse beans and add to pot.
Add all remaining ingredients and simmer until vegetables are tender. (About 45 minutes)

This soup can be made a day ahead. Just add the pasta after reheating and cook until pasta is done.
Dad says this is better than Olive Garden's!!!!!!!!!!

Serves 10