new recipes, part 4.

Almost there! These are recipes (goal #14) 16-21:

Baby Red Potato Salad

Even before I cared about the fat content of the food I was eating, I wasn't a fan of thick and heavy mayonnaise-based salads, and this version is good. I made this for as Easter picnic with friends.

Veggie Stuffed Bell Peppers

Very good, and very filling! I did a couple of things differently, just to fit my tastes - I used twice the amount of brown rice (I don't use white rice at all anymore), and I left out the mushrooms. And although I made up the entire amount of filling, I only made two peppers at first, since I wasn't sure how well they would reheat. I put the rest of the filling in the refrigerator, and made up more the next night.

Black Bean and Corn Relish

I found this recipe when I was looking for a way to create Chick-fil-A's Southwest Chargrilled Salad. Salads make for easy weekday lunches, because I can marinate and broil several chicken breasts over the weekend, and the salads are easy to put together in the morning. And if a salad has enough liquid-y stuff, then I don't add dressing to it at all. This recipe has a bit more kick than Chick-fil-A's (but not so much that the average non-spicy-food-wimpy person would probably notice). I added it to a mix of salad greens, tequila lime marinated chicken, and a bit of salsa.

Strawberry Bread

I've made strawberry bread before, but it didn't turn out as tasty as I thought it would, so I decided to try another recipe.  The batter was more dry than I expected, but I decided to trust the recipe. When I checked on the bread after 35 minutes, it was bubbling up over the sides on the pan (and some had fallen to the bottom of the oven). I tested it with a toothpick to see if it was done, and since the toothpick came out clean, I took the pan out of the bread to let it cool. When I went back, it had fallen, and it really hadn't cooked all the way through.

I'm not sure exactly what went wrong, but the parts of the bread that were cooked were really good, so I think I'll be trying this again. Next time I think I might use a bit more baking soda, full the pans a bit less, and definitely let it cook longer.

Fruit Salsa

So easy - I'll definitely be using this one again! I made mine with pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, and blackberries, then added lime juice and some sugar.

Baked Cinnamon Chips

Also easy, and goes great with fruit salsa.