RECIPE: Spinach and artichoke/hearts of palm dip for slow cooker

Well...it's almost impossible to find artichokes in CR. So what to substitute with?
This is what I chose because these are easy to get in CR!
palm hearts
broccoli
olives 
...and I added to the list: Chayote!

GOOD RESOURCE FOR SUBS: http://www.foodsubs.com


http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060725115825AA0Pxp2

red,yellow,green,orange peppers,spinach,palm hearts,avocado,

or broccoli.

MEAL: Fish Tostada and Cilantro sauce, with Watercress and Hearts of Palm

He was expecting a tipico Fish Taco, and boy was he very delightfully surprised!
This meal had a lot of exquisite parts, all essential to the final package delivering this wonderful ymminess.

• Fish fried in butter 
• Tostada - a Mexican fried tortilla and the dish based on it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tostada
• Cilantro cream sauce on top of the Fish
• Watercress and Hearts of Palm dressed in a Vinigarette dressing

FISH

Depending on fish, you may need to:

- cut in strips

- increase heat to high to brown

CILANTRO CREAM SAUCE

This is what I used after Googling "" because it was the easiest, and I knew there were so many other tastes in the meal. I added 1/4 tsp of cumin.

http://www.food.com/recipe/mamas-cilantro-cream-sauce-166779

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

2 green onions, chopped

4 teaspoons lime juice

I also looked at these recipes that I could try in the future:

- In this recipe, I used the Cumin, and I might use the cream cheese next time to make it a dip: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/amys-cilantro-cream-sauce/

WATERCRESS AND HEARTS OF PALM

This is the recipe I used, and TicoFusioned it!

http://www.food.com/recipe/hearts-of-palm-blood-orange-and-watercress-salad-450181

4 blood oranges - SUBSTITUTE with mango or Star Fruit
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 (14 ounce) can hearts of palm
one small shallot - SUBSTITUTE with onion+garlic, or http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080224083313AAkE7rg
one bunch watercress
1/2 teaspoon large flaked sea salt

I also looked at these recipes that I could try in the future:

- Interesting with corn & olives:

http://www.thekitchn.com/easy-recipe-chilean-composed-salad-169534

- Too much going on here, and it used cilantro again, not watercress:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/hearts-of-palm-salad-with-cilantro-vinaigrette

BEST PRACTICES: Meal Pipeline

Pipelines have been good for sales. We've also used them to manage fruits so there is a perfectly ripened fruit each day. Now let's see how it looks like when planning meals!

I love to cook, but if I had to cook every meal, then i would spend more than half my life in this hot kitchen (I exaggerate). And then I won't have time to do my other jobs. So, I've designed a system where:
- I cook enough for 3 meals
- 1 meal is eaten fresh, the other 2 days later, and the 3rd is immediately frozen to be eaten in a week (a healthy frozen dinner)....space it out so we don't get bored of the same meal day after day.
- The meal does not take that much longer to prepare if 3 times the size. And if the meal is time-consuming to prepare, then the time spent delivers more value.
- The meal freezes and thaws well.
- Alternate...do a recipe once every month or so, and not more often,
- Introduce 1 newly prepared side dish when there is a left-over; e.g. salad.

EXAMPLES:
- Spaghetti sauce...then use this with different recipes like: Mexican Starw Hat, Chili beans, etc.
- Tuna casserole...and other casseroles
- Lasagna
- Moussaka
- Hainanese Chicken
- BBQ Chicken
- Curry dishes with Pork & Chicken
- Red Stuffed peppers and spinach
- Sauces for baked fish like: leek and butter
- Salad toppings like: caramelized beets (ginger, etc)
- I need more ideas or I will get bored!