Chicken, black bean & tortilla salad

4 chicken breast- boneless skinless
1/2 C. zesty italian dressing
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot.
Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred with fork. Return meat to crock pot and heat through. Keep warm.

Serve with black beans on tortillas with fried tortilla strips, cheese, olives, lettuce, salsa, tomatoes, avocado, etc. Can serve with mexican rice and pico de gallo.

Home-canned Beans!

Another recipe from Joe's Mom. I love the way these turn out. It is so nice to have beans ready to eat and they taste delicious!

Clean quart jars. Rinse beans (Pinto or Anasazi). Fill jars with 1 1/4 C. beans, 1 tsp. salt & fill with boiling water. Tighten lids and rings onto jars. Read & follow instructions for Pressure Canner. Fill with 2 quarts of water (different size canners will need different amounts of water). Place jars in canner and put lid on. Bring to 15 lbs. pressure and keep at 15 lbs. pressure for 75 minutes. Then turn off heat and let canner sit until pressure is out. Do not speed the cooling process.

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

This is a recipe from Taste of Home.

2 1/2 C. flour ( I use 1/2 whole wheat)
1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 C. canned pumpkin
1/2 C. buttermilk (add 1 tsp. lemon juice to milk to substitute)
1/4 C. Canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/2 C. mini chocolate chips (not in original recipe)
Crumb Topping:
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1/3 C. finely chopped pecans
1/4 C. flour
1/4 c. cold butter

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pecans. Fill six greased jumbo muffin tins 3/4 full. Do not over fill!
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans and flour. Cut butter in until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. This is the best part of the muffins!
Bake at 375˚ for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm. Yield: 6 Jumbo muffins or 12 regular muffins.

Spinach Strawberry Salad

This recipe is from my sister Rebecca. It has become a fast favorite! SO delicious!

1 lb. fresh spinach
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
4 oz toasted sliced almonds (you can use Almond Accent brand honey-roasted)

dressing:
1/2 C. sugar
2 Tbs. sesame seeds
1/4 C. red onion, minced
1/4 tps. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 C. Canola Oil
1/4 C. white vinegar

Combine spinach, strawberries and almonds in a large salad bowl. Combine salad dressing ingredients in a glass jar and shake well. Shake dressing each time before pouring on salad ( it will separate). If you are serving the salad for a dinner, wait until the last minute to add the dressing. It is only good for a few hours and then the spinach begins to wilt.