Untangled

As I've mentioned, when I get all tangled up in ugly emotions I often turn to the kitchen for therapy. Yesterday I pulled out one of my new favorite cookbooks, Claire's Italian Feast by Claire Criscuolo. Since I have a garden full of mint that shouldn't be used exclusively on mojitos..wink..I decided to whip up my version of her White Bean and Mint Salad:




White Bean and Mint Salad

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30 ounces great northern beans, canned
3 large garlic -- finely chopped
4 tomatoes -- cut into cubes
1 small sweet onion -- finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh mint -- coarsely chopped
salt and pepper -- to taste

Drain and rinse beans, turn into a bowl

Add the garlic, tomatoes, and onion and toss to mix. Drizzle the oil evenly on top, toss gently to combine. Scatter the mint leaves over the salad; add salt and pepper, and toss gently but thoroughly. Taste for seasonings. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.
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Serves 6. Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 229 Calories; 5g Fat (20.3% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 36g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 15mg Sodium.


Oooh, this was delicious! A perfect summertime lunch or side dish, cool and refreshing...yummy!

While I was preparing the salad I also put dinner in the crockpot..sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product but it was very tasty as well!


Slow Cooker Chicken with Black Beans and Sweet Potato

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4 chicken breast halves without skin
2 tsp ground cumin
1 dash salt and pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa
3 garlic cloves -- chopped
15 ounces canned black beans -- rinsed and drained
4 medium sweet potatoes -- peeled and cut into 2" chunks

Mix all the ingredients with the exception of chicken, beans and sweet potatoes in a bowl. In the slow cooker, combine the beans and sweet potatoes. Place the chicken on top of the mixture, then pour broth mixture over the chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Serve over cooked brown rice if desired.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 384 Calories; 3g Fat (8.1% calories from fat); 37g Protein; 49g Carbohydrate; 10g Dietary Fiber; 68mg Cholesterol; 799mg Sodium.


I did enjoy one small indulgence yesterday, $4 martinis at our favorite happy hour spot here in Daytona!



Overall, we were able to (mostly) recover from the rocky start to our vacation. We intend to do the same today!

How about you? How are you spending this lovely Saturday?

xoxoxox