Navajo Fry Bread

My mom made Navajo fry bread for my family growing up & it's always been one of my favorites. She always made homemade chili beans to put on top. It's so good that way. I had some left over marinaded chicken, so I topped my bread with that, lettuce, tomato, cheese & salsa. Yum!

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/NavajoFryBread.htm

Navajo Fry Bread Recipe
by Cynthia Detterick-Pineda

Fry bread is wonderfully lumpy (puffed here and there). It can be served as a dessert or used as a main dish bread. Our family will often take them and stuff them, much like one might use bread or tortilla to dip into their food.

1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying

Sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder into a large bowl. Pour the water over the flour mixture all at once and stir the dough with a fork until it starts to form one big clump.

Flour your hands. Using your hands, begin to mix the dough, trying to get all the flour into the mixture to form a ball. NOTE: You want to mix this well, but you do NOT want to knead it. Kneading it will make for a heavy Fry Bread when cooked. The inside of the dough ball should still be sticky after it is formed, while the outside will be well floured.

Cut the dough into four (4) pieces. Using your floured hands, shape, stretch, pat, and form a disk of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter. NOTE: Don’t worry about it being round. As Grandma Felipa would say “it doesn’t roll into your mouth.”

Heat the vegetable oil to about 350 degrees F. NOTE: You can check by either dropping a small piece of dough in the hot oil and seeing if it begins to fry, or by dipping the end of a wooden spoon in and seeing if that bubbles. Your oil should be about 1-inch deep in a large cast-iron skillet or other large fryer.

Take the formed dough and gently place it into the oil, being careful not to splatter the hot oil. Press down on the dough as it fries so the top is submersed into the hot oil. Fry until brown, and then flip to fry the other side. Each side will take about 3 to 4 minutes.

Indian Fry Bread can be kept warm in a 200 degree F. oven for up to 1 hour. They refrigerate well and can be reheated in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Salsa, salsa, salsa!!

This past Saturday I threw a baby shower for my friend Cristina. She loves puffy tacos, so I decided to make a puffy taco bar. I went to a local tortilla place and got fresh masa & pressed it into tortillas and then fried them (Jill & Hannah did the frying, they're pros!). I cooked a whole chicken, deboned it and then put it in a crock pot with 1 can of green enchilada sauce and 1 can of red enchilada sauce. I cooked ground beef with onions and a can of diced tomatoes and garlic and then seasoned it with cumin, chili powder and salt. I served my favorite Mahatma Spanish rice. I took a can of ranch style beans and doctored them up with sauteed bacon and onion, a can of sliced jalapenos and a can of diced tomatoes. Then I had a bunch of sauces. I think my favorite of all the salsas was Sara's Salsa from allrecipes.com.

Spicy Bean Salsa




Submitted By: Susan Navarrete


"Also known as 'cowboy caviar', this twist on traditional salsa is enlivened with black beans, corn and black-eyed peas."
Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and
drained
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup Italian-style salad dressing
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, onion, green bell pepper, jalapeno peppers and tomatoes. Season with Italian-style salad dressing and garlic salt; mix well. Cover, and refrigerate overnight to blend flavors.


Fresh Tomato Salsa



Submitted By: bluebayou

Ingredients:
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup finely diced onion
5 serrano chiles, finely chopped (only needs 1, 5 is way too hot!)
add garlic to your liking

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime juice
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, stir together tomatoes, onion, chili peppers, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator before serving.

Sarah's Salsa



Submitted By: EXODUSMOM

Ingredients:
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 1/2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with
green chile peppers
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
3 drops hot pepper sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
Directions:
1. In a blender, place diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, lemon juice, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, yellow onion, hot pepper sauce and garlic. Blend until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Creamy Cilantro Dressing
1 envelope buttermilk ranch dressing
1 c. mayo
1 c. milk
½ bunch cilantro
2 tomatillos
½ serrano peppers with seeds removed

Blend in blender, let sit to thicken.

Chicken & Dumplings

I made this last week for dinner. I thought it was really good, but Matt thought it was just ok.

Chicken Stew with Dumplings


recipe image
Rated: rating
Submitted By: Elizabeth Durance
Photo By: davebuoy
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Servings: 8
"My mother usually didn't care for dumplings. But she raved about this stew...dumplings and all. It's a down-home delicious meal that I make often for my family."
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds chicken thighs or legs
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 pound new potatoes, quartered
3 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 celery ribs, sliced

1 medium onion, cut into eighths
1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas
DUMPLINGS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Directions:
1. Place chicken and water in a 5-qt. Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium heat for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until chicken is tender. Skim fat. Remove chicken from broth; allow to cool. Debone chicken and cut into chunks; return to broth. Add next nine ingredients. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and parsley. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into simmering stew. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the dumplings are tender.

Shakey's Mojo Potatoes

When I was younger my family lived in Japan for a few years. One of the things my sister and I really liked to do with our friends was to go to take the train to Machida where they had really cool shops where we would get ID bracelets made and we would have lunch at Shakey's Pizza. We learned to love the pizza with corn on it that the Japanese eat. We never got into the squid pizza though. One of my favorite things at Shakey's was their potatoes. I know a little weird for a pizza place, but so so good. I tried this recipe that I found online for Shakey's Mojo Potatoes. They're not really like Shakey's ones but they were a delicious potato side dish.

Shakey's Mojo Potatoes
http://greensboring.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=329
Ingredients:
3 Potatoes
1/2 crushed chicken bouillon cube
3/4 teaspoon of salt
pinch of pepper
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne
1/4 teaspoon of thyme
1/4 teaspoon of paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Breadcrumbs ** Optional (This adds the bread like texture, but not necessary)

Directions:
1. Press potatoes using potato press.
2. Place potatoes on plate and microwave on high for 3 minutes.
3. Salt and allow to sit for 5 minutes
4..In a bowl mix cayenne, paprika, pepper, thyme, garlic, bouillon & oil.
7.Add fries, and mix with tongs.
8.Place on baking sheet.
9.Very Lightly sprinkle with bread crumbs* (optional)
10.Bake in preheated oven at 425F for 8 minutes.
11.Turn over and sprinkle with bread crumbs* & bake for an additional 8 minutes.