Salsa Verde Corn Chip Pie

Make this Texas Friday-night-football favorite your Tuesday supper.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen whole kernel yellow corn, thawed
• 5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 (9-oz.) package garlic pork sausage links, casings removed
• 1 medium-size sweet onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (16-oz.) bottle salsa verde
• 2 (4.5-oz.) cans chopped green chiles
• 1 (16-oz.) can navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 6 cups original corn chips
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded pepper Jack cheese
• Toppings: cilantro, radishes, avocado

Directions:

1. 1. Sauté corn in 3 tsp. hot olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes or until corn begins to char. Remove corn from skillet.
2. 2. Sauté sausage in skillet over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes or until browned. Remove from skillet, and drain on paper towels.
3. 3. Sauté onion in remaining 2 tsp. hot oil in skillet over medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in salsa, chiles, and sausage. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, 7 to 8 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; stir in beans, lime juice, and corn.
4. 4. Divide chips among 6 plates. Spoon sausage mixture over chips; top with half of cheese. Serve with toppings and remaining cheese.
5. Note: We tested with Herdez Salsa Verde and Fritos Original Corn Chips.

Source: Vanessa McNeil Rocchio, Southern Living
OCTOBER 2013

Quinoa Kale Patties

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
4 eggs, whisked
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
3 spring onions, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup steamed kale, chopped
1 cup breadcrumbs ( GF friends, be sure to use GF breadcrumbs. See my note at the end of the recipe for making your own.)*
1 teaspoon olive oil
optional toppings: avocado, cilantro, lemon juice, salsa verde, garlic oil

 Directions:


If you happen to already have leftover cooked grains on hand, this recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups. Otherwise, whip up some quinoa from scratch. Rinse 1 cup of quinoa thoroughly and place the grains in a medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water. Allow quinoa to soak for 15 minutes. Then, with the lid on the pan, bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until quinoa is tender and has absorbed the liquid - about 20 minutes. Let cool to room temp.

In a large bowl, mix together cooked quinoa, eggs, Parmesan, spring onions, garlic, salt, steamed kale, and breadcrumbs. Let everything sit for a few minutes to absorb the liquid. You want the batter to be moist, but not runny. Form patties and get your pan ready for cooking.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook up to 6 patties at at time (don't overcrowd the pan). Cover the pan and let the cuties cook for 7-10 minutes until the underbellies are a deep rich brown. Flip and cook the other side for another 7-10 minutes until both sides are nice and brown. Let patties rest on a cooling rack while you finish the next batch.

I ate my patties topped with avocado, lemon juice, cilantro, a drizzle of really nice olive oil, and sea salt. If you want to pack your patties to eat for lunch at work and want an easy topping, just chop up some avocado and place it in a container with salsa verde and you're ready to go.

Note: If you don't want to eat all the patties right away, go ahead and refrigerate the batter and cook patties up to order at a later moment.


*A Note on gluten-free breadcrumbs... For my gluten-free friends that are new to making your own breadcrumbs, here's how you do it. Toast up a few slices of bread (or those lonely end-pieces) until they are dry. Tear the toasted bread up into chunks, toss them in the blender. Pulse a few times and you've got homemade breadcrumbs. So easy... and I love to put scraps to good use!

makes 12 small patties