Black bean, Corn, and Quinoa Salad

Found this delicious recipe here, and made a few modifications.  Seriously yummy, light, and filling.  This was the first time I've ever used quinoa, and it was delicious!  I found it in the "hippie section" (as my daughter would call it) of the grocery store -- a.k.a the organic/natural foods section.

1 Tbl. oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I think I'll eliminate this next time, I wasn't crazy about the bit of heat it added)
Salt and pepper
1 c. frozen sweet white corn (yellow works too, obviously :)
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed (I thought one can was plenty)
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped (I HATE cilantro, so I left it this out)

Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and garlic and saute until lightly browned.

Add quinoa and cover with broth. Stir in cumin, cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes (or until all the liquid is absorbed).

Stir in frozen corn and black beans until heated through. Remove from heat and add chopped cilantro. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.  I tried it all three ways and thought it was most delicious at room temperature.

Almond Butter Cups

I decided to try a little twist on Grandma Tomazin's Peanut Butter Cups.
My dad has switched over to Almond Butter and I was inspired to try it out in this recipe. I switched the peanut butter out and added the same amount of almond butter. I also ended up adding between 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt to the filling.
These were very rich, but oh, so very fantastic.

Manti BBQ Chicken

I don't know why this is called Manti Chicken, but it tastes really good!
Start off making your marinade;

3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 can or 12 ounces 7 up or lemon lime soda

Marinate 7-8 breasts of chicken overnight or a minimum of 6 hours.

Cook on the grill or broil until chicken is cooked through.
This is so very yummy!

Chocolate Pound Cake

This is delicious. I remember my mom making it for Easter several times growing up and I have continued the tradition on several occasions. It’s really good pretty much any time though. Don’t forget an ice cold glass of milk to go with it.

1/2 pound butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream together the butter and shortening. Add sugar and eggs. Sift dry ingredients together and add vanilla. Add alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Bake in a 10-inch tube pan at 325 degrees for about 80 minutes.