Black Bean Soup with Chorizo Sausage

E found this recipe in a magazine at George Washington's house. Mr. and Mrs. (not Martha) Washington lived in a house that E was restoring in the Shenandoah mountains. George Washington also made us some bbq sauce, but that's a whole other post. Mrs. Washington told E that she thought Mr. Washington's parent's drank too much "apple cider" when they decided to name him George.

We serve this soup with heated flour tortillas for dipping.

Black Bean Soup with Chorizo Sausage

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 of a medium onion, finely chopped (use more if you like)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 canned chipotle chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cans (15 oz) black beans (2 drained, 1 undrained)
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 lb. chorizo, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt & Pepper

1. In a medium sauce pan, heat oil until simmering. Add the onion, stirring occasionally until softened. Add garlic along with chipotle chile, cumin & oregano and cook; stirring until fragrant, ~ 2 minutes. Add the black beans and chicken stock and simmer, partially covered for 15 minutes. Using potato masher, coarsely crush 3black beans.

2. Meanwhile, heat large skillet over high heat. Add the sausage and cook until brown. Add sausage to the beans along with lime and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer coup for a few minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Recipe credit: I found this recipe in Food & Wine in 2002 and can be be found here. We've changed it up a bit through the years (as reflected above) to reflect our tastes (as usual).

Balsamic Glazed Salmon

We only use wild caught salmon for our recipes. That and farm raised salmon is just plain nasty (and bad for a number of reasons).



Salt and Pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb salmon steak

1/2 cup chicken broth (we use less sodium, its healthier)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

6 teaspoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 cup diagonally sliced green onions (white portion, mostly)



1. Place a grill pan over medium high heat until hot. Brush the salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place fish on grill pan, skin side up, and cook for 3 minutes. While cooking in the pan, pre-heat the broiler. After 3 minutes, place fish on broiler pan and place in broiler. Cook for approximately 10 - 15 more minutes, until desired doneness.



2. Combine brother, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and corn starch in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.



3. Spoon glaze over fish and top with sliced green onions.



Recipe inspiration: Cooking Light, January, 2003, page unknown. This recipe was orginally prepared with Tuna and half of the glaze. We have adapted it to our tastebuds.

Mitch's Meatloaf

For the meatloaf:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb bulk pork sausage or ground pork
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup ketchup and A1 mix
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
1/4 medium onion, chopped
Seasoning (salt, pepper, montreal seasoning)

For the glaze
3 teaspoons brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon dry mustard

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients for the meatlooaf in a large bowl. Mix well with hands. Place in a 9x13 pan and shape into a loaf.
3. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes.
4. While meatloaf is baking, mix all of the ingredients of the glaze.
5. Once the 50 minutes is done, remove loaf from oven and cover with glaze mixture.
6. Return to oven for another 10 minutes.

Angel Hair Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

I am sensing a pattern here. It really looks like we eat a lot of vegetables (well, just spinach). I'm Popeye!

We love this easy and fast meal for weeknights. We like to have a baguette and dipping oil (usually olive oil, balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese) with it.

2 chicken breasts

Italian seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

1 bag baby spinach

Minced garlic

Cherry tomatoes

Goat cheese

Heat olive oil in large pan. Coat chicken in Italian seasoning, salt & pepper to taste. Place chicken in pan and cook until just cooked through. You want the chicken to get a bit crispy. Remove and place to the side.

While cooking chicken, cook the pasta according to package directions.

In the same pan that you cooked the chicken, place the spinach. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and add garlic. Using tongs mix it up. Cook the spinach down, way down. Once the spinach is all
wilty, mix in the cherry tomatoes and cooked noodles. Mix it all up. There should be plenty of oil in the pan already to coat. If you think you need more, add it, but the dish should not be overly oily. Also, if you think you need more seasoning, go ahead and add it. I don't usually need to, but its up to you.

Once mixed, get yourself a plate and pile on the goodness. Top with some goat cheese.