Dark Chocolate

A few years ago I came across a doctor who wrote a book called "Eat Right For Your Blood Type".
My blood type is "B" and on the DO NOT EAT list is milk chocolate. Each time I have any milk chocolate I get bad indigestion. Lately we have been buying Dark Chocolate at Trader Joe's. I have no problem with this chocolate at all. Below I will give you the ingredients for Trader Joe's organic chocolate bar and a popular chocolate bar.

Hershey Chocolate Bar:
MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR; MILK; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; LACTOSE; MILK FAT;SOY LECITHIN;PGPR, EMULSIFIER; VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR)

Vanillin: compound obtained from vanilla: a white aldehyde obtained from vanilla or prepared synthetically.

 PGPR: It is a long definition so I just gave you a link.

The rest you should know.

Now for Trader Joe's Organic Chocolate Bar;

Organic dark chocolate, (cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter) roasted almonds, dry cocoa solids 73% minimum.

We have a small square with our Trader Joe's wine. We don't pay over $7 for a bottle red wine blends. Lots of good good wine there.

Info on my "Green Chili Tortillas" or "White Enchiladas"

As I was getting my flour tortillas out to make this dish again I found that the tortillas had dots of mold. I of course took them out as there weren't really that many. 
I bought these large flour tortillas from Trader Joe's.  I forgot that these tortillas don't have preservatives. If you buy these make sure you EAT THEM WITHIN A WEEK. Actually, any bread product. 
I decided to get the ingredients from a popular flour tortilla and compare it with Trader Joe's.

Mission Flour Tortillas:

Ingredients: Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Vegetable Shortening (Interesterified Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil and/or Palm Oil), contains 2% or less of each of the following: Salt, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate and/or Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Calcium Sulfate), Distilled Monoglycerides, Enzymes, Wheat Starch, Calcium Carbonate, Antioxidants (Tocopherols, Ascorbic Acid), Cellulose Gum, Dough Conditioners (Fumaric Acid, Sodium Metabisulfite), Preservatives (Calcium Propionate, Sorbic Acid and/or Citric Acid).

Trader Joe's Flour Tortillas:

CONTAINS WHEAT AND SOY. Ingredients: Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Water, Liquid Soy Oil, Salt, Baking Powder (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate). 

Interesterified
Sodium Aluminum Sulfate
Calcium Sulfate
Monoglycerides
Calcium Carbonate
Tocopherols
Ascorbic Acid
Sodium Metabisulfite
Calcium Propionate
Sorbic Acid

Non packaged Mac and Cheese

I havent used a packaged mac and cheese for 30 years. My grandson ate my homemade mac and cheese and now he doesn't like packaged mac and cheese.

White sauce is real easy to make.

In medium pot add 4 tbls butter, add onions if you put onions in your mac and cheese. When melted add 4 tbls flour and stir. It gets real pasty. Add 2C milk. Stir until thickened. If it is still two thick add more milk. If it needs thickening combine a tablespoon butter and tablespoon flour and add to mixture. This way it won't lump. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add 1C grated cheese of your choice. More if you like with more cheese.
Grease 9x11x glass baking dish or any dish it will fit in.
Cook @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes with foil on top. Take foil off and cook for 10 minutes more if you like the top crunchy.

Turkey Pasta Salad

I had some left over roasted chicken from a restaurant we stopped at last week. Pasta salad is like goulash. Add what you have in your frig. It's a good way to clean the frig out at the end of the week.

Here is what I put in mine:

Left over chicken
Cooked pasta (any type)
Chopped celery
Chopped red onion
Olives
Can of pinto beans ( I use Trader Joe's beans because they have  no GMO's)
Newman's Italian salad dressing

Green Chili Tortillas or White Enchiladas

My husbands favorite meal. I leaned this recipe from my mother years ago. It's real easy and tastes so so good.

You can make any amount you want, that's the secret to this recipe.
Green Chili Tortillas
Medium flour tortillas Jack cheese (or any spicy cheese you might like)Whole sweet chili's in the can. I use one chili per flour tortilla and evaporated milk

The only difference this time is that we now use Trader Joe's Organic Wheat & Corn Flour Tortilla. NO LARD.
Ingredients: Wheat flour, water, corn flour (corn masa, trace of lime), soybean oil, honey, baking powder ( monocalcium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch(, salt, and citric acid.
Check out the ingredients of your tortilla.

You can make any amount you want, that's the secret to this recipe.
Just put a sweet green chili (from the can) and top it with shredded jack cheese in the tortilla and roll it up and put seam side down in glass casserole dish sprayed with vegetable oil.  Add canned milk until it is 3/4 full in dish. Add more cheese on top. Top with foil. I spray the inside of my foil so the cheese won't stick to it.
Cook at 375* until it bubbles and when you stick it with your fork it is tender. Take the foil off and put your oven on broil or just turn the heat up and brown the top. Let it cool or you will burn your mouth big time.



Add chili in tortilla with cheese

Add canned evaporated milk

Top with Jack Cheese

This is a bit darker than I planned but still tasted good







Non Velveeta Nachos

At work we got into a conversation about what Velveeta Cheese was. My response is, why is it sitting on a shelf and not in the refrigerator if its cheese.
My recipe is about the same as others with the exception of how I make the cheese. Its simple...yep back to the basic white sauce and add grated cheese. Pretty easy.
So no real recipe for this other than I used baked tortilla chips from Trade Joe's. Seems this place is our new grocery store. My next blog will explain our goals.
Stack tortilla chips in layers of cheese and ground beef add:
Guacamole (smashed avocados, squeeze of lime juice, salt/pepper.
Home made salsa (chopped tomatos, jalapeno, onions, cumin seeds, cilantro, lime juice, and salt and pepper.
Sour cream
Olives
Jalapenos if you like.

 

Sloppy but real good.

PASTA BEAN SALAD

This is a great salad for those of us who take our lunches to work. Very easy also.
I use this same recipe eliminating the pasta and add grilled turkey or chicken.

2 C cooked penna pasta and chill or cool off under water (or any pasta you might have)

Combine in large air tight bowl:
Pasta
Sliced celery hearts with leaves
15 ounce an of Pinto beans rinsed
15 ounce can of Garbanzo beans rinsed
1/2 C of Edamame bean thawed and rinsed (these I find frozen)
  hubby doesn't like to many
Chopped red onion (amount depends on you. I use 1/4 C)
1/2 can of small black olives
1/4 C fresh parmesan cheese (plz don't use that powdered stuff in a box)
1/2 tablespoon dried basil or 8-9 chopped fresh basil
Salt/pepper
3/4 C Italian dressing (I use Newman's)
1 teaspoon cane sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (optional, I like the extea zing)
P in air type bowl and shake to combine

This needs to sit for a few hours....if you can keep folks out of it.

My lunch portion.

After I took my portion