I love the folks at the California Avocado Commission. And not just because they sent me a case of avocados today! They really are a great group of people representing a great product: California-grown avocados. In fact, a lot of those avocados are grown right here in San Diego!

The commission shared a fun fact with me last week: the Fourth of July is the highest consumption day for avocados in the US. I guess we all love guacamole on the Fourth! The great thing is avocados are actually in season right now, so our demand matches the time when they taste best!

To get us ready to eat our 96.4 million avocados this Thursday, I think an avocado Call for Recipes is in order!

I’ll kick us off with one of my most favorite dip recipes: Hummus Guacamole Dip with Black Beans. If you haven’t tried it yet, I’m sure you’re thinking it sounds weird. It is actually really delicious. Like, I can eat the whole bowl myself. It’s also very healthy!

Your turn! What are your favorite recipes using avocados? Please type up the recipe or share links to recipes in the comments. Anything goes as long as there are avocados involved!

I looooooove sandwiches. I can eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I don’t know what it is, but they hit the spot! I really like making sandwiches for dinner because they are simple and quick but are (or at least can be) filled with all kinds of balanced goodness. And in the summertime, when the last thing you want to do is turn on the oven or stove, sandwiches are a really great dinnertime option.

Since summer is here and since I love sandwiches, I have decided we need to do a sandwich Call for Recipes! Share your favorite sandwiches, whatever they may be…hot, cold, easy, complicated, open-faced, closed-faced, silly-faced, anything! Feel free to link to recipes or just give a quick description of how to make the sandwich. Let’s put together a long, fabulous list of sandwich options for us all to choose from. I know you can deliver!

I’ll kick us off with the Rachel. I think it is safe to say this is my favorite sandwich. My friend Jami introduced them to me years ago in Cambridge, MA at a little deli near our work. I was hooked at first bite, and the great thing about the Rachel is that it is completely replicatable (new word alert!) at home. My Rachel sandwich is as good as any Rachel sandwich I’ve had in any restaurant.

Your turn! Share your favorite sandwiches! Ready, set, GO!

The Rachel Sandwich

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Your favorite bread, sliced
• Sliced turkey
• Classic coleslaw
• Swiss cheese
• Thousand island dressing

Instructions

1. Spread dressing on both slides of bread, top with cheese, coleslaw and turkey, then put sandwich together. Butter outsides of the bread (or add butter to the pan) and grill in a frying pan on both sides until golden.

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Last week I decided to make white chicken chili for the first time, which involved using two ingredients I’ve never worked with before: hominy and poblano chili peppers.

Honestly, I was skeptical of the hominy. Like I said, I had never used it before and when I opened the can, the smell was reminiscent of corn nuts. I can’t stand the smell of corn nuts, by the way, so I was really hoping the soup would turn out! I am happy to report that the soup not only turned out but was very delicious and a big hit with every member of the family. In case you are wondering, it tasted nothing like corn nuts. PHEW! Nate came home from work, looked in the pot and declared that he was certain he was going to love this soup, even before he knew what it was. And he did!

I used the white chicken chili recipe from The America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook. So far every recipe I’ve used from that book has been a winner. The recipes have all been delicious and quick! This chicken chili was no exception. This recipe was simple to prepare and was no problem to throw together on a busy weeknight. I will include my various notes on the recipe below!

White Chicken Chili

 

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From The America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook, with my notes

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Poultry

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can white or yellow hominy (ATK recommends white because it has a deeper flavor)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed (Jane note: I used two chicken breasts)
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 poblano chili peppers (Jane note: I only used 1) – de-seed and core the pepper, then chop
• 1 onion, chopped fine (Jane note: I only used ⅓ of a large yellow onion)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (Jane note: I used my garlic press)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander (Jane note: I didn’t use coriander b/c I didn’t have it in the cupboard and didn’t feel like buying it)
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (Jane note: I used ¼ teaspoon of black pepper because I am out of cayenne, which makes me very sad – I need to rectify that!)
• ½ cup tomatillo salsa or salsa verde
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (Jane note: I bought flat leaf parsley instead of cilantro, which I didn’t discover until I took it out to start chopping. I was SO bummed because cilantro would taste wonderfully in this soup, but I just went with the parsley because that’s what I had. I am happy to report that the parsley was also very delicious! So, feel free to choose the herb you like better and go with it!)

Instructions

1. Process the hominy with 1 cup broth in blender of food processor until smooth.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, season with salt & pepper then brown chicken lightly on both sides, about 5 minutes. (If you don’t have a dutch oven, a large pot should work.) Transfer chicken to a plate. Add remaining oil, poblanos and onion to the pot and cook until onions and peppers are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, garlic, cumin, corinader (if using) and cayenne (or pepper) and cook about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in remaining 3 cups broth, deglazing the bottom of the pan. I used a flat whisk here and it worked very well, but a standard whisk will suffice.
3. Stir in pureed hominy. Add chicken, along with any accumulated juices, and simmer gently over medium-low to medium heat until chicken registers 160 degrees, about 10 minutes. I highly recommend using an instant-read thermometer so that you don’t overcook the chicken – it will be super tender if you cook until 160 degrees. Remove chicken, shred then return to soup. Add salsa, cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook about 1 minute then serve!

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Today I have an easy, reliable recipe for simple slow cooker pot roast. This pot roast cooks perfectly every time and provides all kinds of wonderful juices for making gravy.

Growing up my mom and my mom’s mom always made roast beef that was cooked in the oven. I loved their roast beef dinners, complete with mashed potatoes and gravy. Fast forward a few years to when I got married and started really cooking for myself. The first time we had friends over for dinner I chose to make roast beef, after all that was company-worthy food. Welll…despite my best efforts, the roast beef came out tough and dry. Our friends and my husband were incredibly sweet, praising my efforts. But I knew better. I tried cooking roast beef a few more times and eventually gave up. I just couldn’t replicate what my grandmother and mother could do.

Fast forward a few more years to dinner at my friend Katie’s house. She made us pot roast in the slow cooker and it was delectable. She kindly shared the recipe and it has been a standby for me ever since. My family loves this pot roast because it tastes so good. I love it because it’s beyond easy and it makes a ton of wonderful juices that can be made into gravy. While this roast is different than the magic my mother and grandmother conjured, it is just as delicious and has provided new memories for our family. Enjoy!

Pot Roast

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

8 hours

Total time

8 hours 10 mins

 

From: Katie Tullis

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Beef

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 chuck or round beef roast, 2-3 pounds
• Olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 can beef consumme
• 1 can water

Instructions

1. Generously salt and pepper the roast on all sides.
2. Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large frying pan at medium-high heat. Once pan is hot, add roast, browning on both sides for a few minutes per side until it browns.
3. Place browned roast in slow cooker. Add beef consumme and water to slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (I always try to go at least 8 hours so it gest super tender and "potroasty").
4. Use fluid in crockpot to make gravy. Click here for instructions on how to make gravy with white roux (the best way!).

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OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

• White Roux / How to Make Perfect Gravy
• Mashed Potatoes
• Slow Cooker Pot Roast

EQUIPMENT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Skillet
• Crock Pot 6-Quart Manual Slow Cooker