Recipe #13 - Mediterranean Salad

Very, very simple and very, very healthy. I served this as a side for Recipe #14 - Salmon Cakes. 

Combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, radishes & parsley in a salad bowl. 

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper & mint. Pour over salad & toss to coat. Serve immediately with warm pita halves.

The warm pita worked well for scooping. The 100% wheat was pretty tasty too!

I really liked the dressing. It had a hint of lemon and mint that went well with Lemon-Caper Yogurt Sauce that I served with the Salmon Cakes. 

Time: 20 mins.
Rating: 6
Ingredients:
1 medium head romaine lettuce, torn
3 small tomatoes, diced
1 medium cucumber, sliced
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 small onion, cut into rings
6 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt & pepper
1 teaspoon fresh mint, minced
Pita bread halves

Recipe #5 - Taco Chili

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I originally planned to make Taco Soup, but every recipe I found seemed to be missing something. I looked from Rachel Ray to Paula Dean and even just Googled "Taco Soup". So I decided last minute to make huge changes to the recipe.

I started out browning the Angus ground beef with the two onions over medium heat in a stockpot (apparently those are the tall ones). Since my parents still haven't replaced the automatic can opener, I made dad earn his dinner by opening up ALL the cans for me by hand. Lol. He didn't seem to mind.

Drained excess fat. Then added both types of kidney beans, Mexican tomatoes, niblet corn (frozen then thawed), tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, Rotel, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing seasoning, to the stockpot.

Simmer over low heat for at least an hour.  Then top with sour cream, cheese and Fritos.

I really didn't think it looked like soup at all. It looked more like chili. So instead of calling this "Taco Soup" I've rightfully renamed it "Taco Chili". I'm happy with the way it turned out. I'm not a huge soup fan to begin. I'd much prefer a thicker chili type dish than a soupy one. I think it's the broth. I don't think I'm a broth person if that makes any sense. Lol.

How I made mine.

How Dad made his.... oh dad...

Time: 1 hour, 15 mins
Rating: 8.5 (I'd def make this one again)
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
2 chopped onion
1 (15 1/2 ounces) cans Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained
2 (15 1/2 ounces) cans Light Red Kidney Beans, drained
2 (15 1/2 ounces each) cans Mexican Tomatoes
1 (15 1/2 ounces) can or frozen Niblet Corn, drained
1 (14 1/2 ounces) can diced Tomatoes
2 (4 ounces each) cans diced Green Chilies
1 small can Black Olives, drained
1/2 cup Green Olives, sliced
2 cans Rotel - original 1 package Taco Seasoning Mix
1 package Ranch Salad Dressing Mix Sour Cream
Grated Cheese
Chopped Onions
Fritos (corn chips)