Enchiladas

Today I made a quick version of homemade enchiladas.  I say it is a quick version because I did not have time to make my own sauce and bought the Ortega enchilada sauce which I think it is pretty good.
We used the left over pork from the pulled pork, but I used to make these for my parents with refried beans and cheese.  I have also made them with shredded rotisserie chicken or ground beef.

Ingredients
1 package of corn tortillas (about 24)
19 oz of enchilada sauce
4 oz diced jalapeños(optional)
4 cups shredded Mexican Cheese (We like the 4 Cheese Sargento Mexican)
1 lb of shredded pork (substitute 1 32 oz can of refried beans or a 1 lb of chicken/ground beef)

Method:
Preheat oven 355 degrees.  In a 9x13 pan place 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom.
Mix about 1 cup enchilada sauce with the meat, jalapeños and 1 1/2  cup shredded cheese.
Place the filling in the middle of the tortilla and fold one side and then the other in to create a cylinder. Place seam side down in pan.  Continue until pan is full.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas and top with remaining cheese.

Bake until cheese is filly melted and begins to caramelize.

Pulled Pork Hoagie

The local grocery store started doing an asian pulled pork sandwich in their Deli.  I tried to recreate the sandwich at home with my own twists.

Ingredients
2 pork tenderloins (2 lbs)
4 tbs (or more) Chorizo Spice
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 can Guinness beer
1 can Pepsi (throwback)


Optional Toppings:
Cilantro
Shredded Carrots
Shredded Radish
Sliced Cucumber
BBQ sauce


Rub the chorizo spice all over the pork tenderloin.  Heat a large skillet and sear the meat.
In a crock pot add the onion and top with the pork tenderloin.  Pour the beer and Pepsi over the pork.
Simmer on high for 5 to 6 hours.  The pork should easily pull apart.  Serve on favorite bun/hoagie with your choice of toppings.

Whole Maa Daal -AKA Lentil Soup

This is one of my favorite lentil soups (Daal) that my mom makes.  She makes it using a pressure cooker, but I like how it tastes when it is made in a crock pot.  Whole Maa Daal can also be found in Indian Stores marked as Urad.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole maa daal
3 cups water
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ginger minced
1 tsp garlic minced
1 medium sized onion chopped
1 14 oz can cut tomato
Salt, red chili powder, garam masala to taste but I use about a tsp to start out with and then adjust.
2 tbs butter
Fresh cut cilantro (optional)

Rinse the whole maa daal under warm water.  In a crock pot place all ingredients except butter and cilantro.  Cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 10 to 12 hours.  Before serving add the butter and the cilantro and stir.  Adjust spices as necessary.

Serve over rice or eat on its own as a soup.  I had a friend use it as a topping to a baked potato.

Butter Chicken

A few months ago we went to my friends house and she made butter chicken.  Her's was really good and I asked her for her recipe.  She sent me her recipe and I mixed and matched with a few other recipes to come up with this one.  I know most butter chicken uses tandoor masala in the marinade but because that is not available in regular grocery stores, I substituted with garam masala. I also omit the heavy cream and use water or chicken broth.  The Cashew/Almond paste still gives it a nice rich flavor.


Ingredients marinade:
8 oz yogurt
1 tbs garam masala
1/2 tbs hot red chili powder
1 tbs ginger paste
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp kosher salt
2 lbs chicken breasts

Ingredients for Butter Sauce:
1/2 lb butter
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tbs garam masala
1 tsp hot red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric power
1 cup cashews
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup water
Cilantro (optional)

Marinade chicken for 6 hours or overnight.  When ready to make the dish, grill chicken until internal temp 160 degrees.

For butter sauce-
In a large wok, melt the butter, add the tomatoes, minced garlic, ginger.  Bring to a low boil.
Using a blender combine the cashews, almonds and 3/4 cup water to make a paste.
Pour the melted butter/tomato mixture into the blender and blend until smooth.
Return to sauce to pan and add red chili powder, turmeric and garam masala.  Heat through.
If the sauce is to thick you can add water or heavy cream to thin it out.

Add cooked chicken and serve over rice.

Frozen Dog Treats

I gave my pups the last of there store bought frozen dog treats.  The next morning I saw the lid of the treat and it did not look like it had defrosted.  It was actually a little disturbing.  Since the weather is warmer I decided to make them the homemade version of this treat.  These treats are also edible by humans.

Ingredients
24 oz yogurt
1/2 cup of peanut butter
2 jars banana baby food
1 tablespoon honey
Dixie cups

Mix all ingredients until smooth pour in dixie cups and freeze.  Once frozen they can place in a ziplock bag or a plastic container.

Veggie Samosas

I had the day off from my job yesterday so I decided to make samosas for a lunch I was having today.  Yes they really do take two days to make when you only have one person.  I really missed having my mom around and her efficient assembly line.  Granted, when I was a kid I hated having to sit at the dining room table stuffing little triangles.  Our family always made vegetarian samosas but you can stuff them with almost anything from homemade cheese(paneer) to ground beef.  For the triangle pockets, I use egg roll wrappers but my mom uses uncooked tortillas that she finds at her local stores. 

Ingredients for Stuffing: 
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs cumin
6 medium russet potatoes (peeled and uni formally diced)
2 medium onions (uni formally diced)
2 cups frozen peas
2 Serranos chili peppers (finely chopped) -optional
Salt and red chili pepper to taste
1 tsp Amchoor-dried mango powder (can substitute citric acid but use 1/4 tsp because it is strong stuff)
1 tbs garam masala (recipe here)

Ingredients for paste
1/3 cup white flour
enough water to make a paste


In a large skillet over medium-high heat place oil and cumin.  Once the cumin starts cracking add potatoes, salt, red chili pepper, mango powder, and garam masala.  Cover skillet and turn heat down to low and let potatoes cook.  Stir every few minutes to make sure potatoes are not sticking to the skillet and burning.  When potatoes are soft, add the onions, Serrano peppers, and frozen peas. Cover and turn off heat.  Let sit and cool on the warm burner.  This allows the onions to cook with the steam of the defrosting peas.  Once the mixture is cool you can either stuff your triangle pockets or store in the fridge until you are ready to continue. 

Now here comes the fun part.  Making the triangle pockets. 
Step 1: Combine the water and flour to make a paste.



Step 2:  Cut Egg Roll wrapper into two rectangles



Step 3: Fold the bottom left corner up to the top right corner

Step 4: Apply a thin layer of paste on the newly created diagonal and from the top right edge to the bottom right edge.  Fold the bottom right edge to the top left edge.
 



Step 5: Fill the pocket until the line.  Do not over stuff or wrapper will burst.

Step 6:  Apply paste on the edges of the flap and fold over.

Step 7: Fry in 400 degree oil until golden brown.  Place on paper towels after frying to soak up exessive oil. 

Serve with your favorite sauce.



Turkey Blue Cheese Burger and Vinegar Cole Slaw

Today I remade the burger with blue cheese but instead of Beef I used Turkey.  I was a little worried that the turkey would dry out, but the blue cheese made it really juicy.  I topped the burger with caramelized onion, jalapeños and decided to try watercress for the first time.  For those of you who have never had watercress I would say the flavor has hints of horseradish.

The recipe for the burger can be found at : Blue Cheese Burger

The recipe for the cole slaw can be found at: Vinegar Based Coleslaw

Almond encrusted chicken

I watch a lot of cooking shows on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and I saw this recipe on America's Test Kitchen.  I also got to use some of my new kitchen toys with this recipe.  I got a digital meat thermometer and spray cans for my olive oil and it wasn't even my birthday.

Ingredients
2/3 cups sliced almonds
2/3 cups panko
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs hot red chili powder (optional)
1/3 cup white flour
2 eggs
5 bone out chicken thighs (or chicken breasts)
about 1 tbs oil (spray)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a food processor pulse the sliced almonds until they are about the same consistency as the panko.  In a large skillet (coated with some olive oil spray)  over medium to low heat, toast the panko, almonds, and the other spices.  Coat the chicken with the flour, then the egg and then the almond/panko.  Place on a baking rack over a cookie sheet.  Spray chicken with olive oil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken's internal temperature is 160 degrees.

Meatless Monday

Today I needed a quick and effortless meal, so I made a pasta bake.  You can add meat if you like, but I  did baby portabella mushrooms.

Ingredients
1 package of uncooked pasta (elbow or rotini)
1 jar Barilla pasta sauce
1 can large black olives
10 baby portabella mushrooms
1 tbs butter
2 cups Sargento 6 cheese blend

In a large pot, boil pasta to package instructions.  While it is boiling slice mushrooms and black olives.
Once pasta is cooked drain and set aside.  In the same pot cook down mushrooms with butter.  Add black olives and jar of pasta sauce.  Add back pasta and mix.  Place mix in a 9 x13 pan and cover with 2 cups of cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Ahi Tuna on a bed of greens

'Tis the weekend which means that we go to Costco.  For those who do not know what Costco is, it is a wholesale big box store.  Today we found that they had ahi tuna.  Tim and I really enjoy ahi tuna and so we thought we would give Costco's a try.

Ingredients
2 ahi tuna steaks about 1 lb
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
wasabi powder to taste


While your grill or skillet pan is heating, mix all marinade ingredients and let  the tuna steaks sit in the sauce until the grill/skillet is ready.  So here is the catch...it is up to you how long you grill the Tuna steaks.  If you have sushi grade tuna you can do a quick sear on each side and call it done.  For those of you who like your Tuna a little more cooked I would say 3 to 5 minutes on each side so that there is still a little pink in the middle.  You can cook it all the way through if that is what you like.

We served over a bed of lettuce that had some sesame ginger dressing and toasted sesame seeds and pine nuts.

Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Basil

Tim went to visit his sister a few months ago and tried some locally produced goat cheese.  He came back and said I needed to try the stuff.  Okay so what we used in the recipe is probably not locally produced but it was really good.  Next time I think we we will tenderize the chicken and make a spread of the goat cheese and basil, but for my first try, I thought it turned out really well.


Ingredients:
3 Chicken Breasts
4 oz goat cheese
Fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the chicken breast flat on the cutting board and with a sharp knife cut a deep pocket horizontally in the center of the meat.  Stuff each pocket with 1 to 2 basil leafs and about 1 oz of goat cheese.  Seal slit/pocket with a bamboo skewer or tooth picks.  Salt and pepper the chicken and place on a preheated grill.  About 10 minutes each side or until internal temp reaches 165.

Sorry No Posts

This week I did not post a lot...not that I did not cook, but I did repeat meals.  We had chicken soup a few days since both Tim and I had the sniffles.  I also did make Chicken wrapped in bacon..it was good but I need to figure out how to make it better before I post it.   I have been addicted to the Strawberry Blue Cheese salad so I did that a couple of times this week.

I am excited to start our garden.  This year we did eggplant, summer squash and habaneros from seed. Hopefully they will all take.  I am very excited about seeing if we actually get anything this year.