Yummy Food

I don't consider myself a great cook. I do love to try new recipes though and add my little improvements to others. Today I made some zucchini bread using some zucchini from my garden last year that I shredded, sealed in my Food Saver and froze. Mmmm...

So, I've decided to share a couple of recipes in my post today.

The other day, I found this recipe for Raspberry Jam Bars - so quick, so easy and SO yummy:

Oatmeal Jam Bars
(originally from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
• 3/4 cup margarine, melted
• 1 cup raspberry jam
• 1 T water
  
  DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, cake mix, and melted margarine so that it makes nice clumps and there is no dry mix left. Press 1/2 of the oats mixture evenly into the bottom the prepared pan. In a separate bowl, mix jam with water, and spread over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 23 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Cool before cutting into bars.

I'm pretty sure the water is to help thin out the jam for easier spreading. Instead, I measured out the 1 cup of jam and then microwaved it for about 30 seconds. When heated, the jam is pourable which makes spreading it over the crust so much easier. Also, I didn't have any margarine, so I used butter. I find that these keep better in the fridge so after they're cooled, I cut them up and put them on a plate in the refrigerator. I'm pretty sure you could also substitute other kinds of jams if you don't like raspberry. So yummy!

Ok, here's another one. I got this recipe from Weight Watchers and it was intended as a lettuce wrap, which is really good, but I added chicken and use whole wheat tortillas instead. It's great served with Mexican rice as a side dish. Here goes:

Chicken and Black Bean Wraps

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup canned black beans (rinsed)
• 1/2 cup cooked corn kernals
• 1/2 medium sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4 medium scallions, sliced (I use 3 green onions instead)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 T fresh lime juice
• 1 t olive oil
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 medium garlic clove, chopped
• 1/2 t table salt
• 2 skinless chicken breast pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the chicken into cubes and thoroghly cook
2. Combine all other ingredients in a medium bowl
3. Add mixture into the skillet with the chicken until heated throughout
4. Serve in whole wheat tortillas (you can top it with a bit of cheese, lettuce, salsa, jalapenos...whatever!)

Enjoy!