Weeknight Enchiladas

First let me start off by telling you this is not what was planned for dinner tonight.  I had planned on making a wonderful grilled vegetable pasta dish that I had hoped would wow you all! As I was prepping my veggies I realized the Eggplant that I had just purchased the day before was now showing signs of being less than fresh.  Hmmmm I said to myself, and when I cut it open sure enough it was brown!!!! I was so aggravated! It is not like I had it sitting around in the fridge for a week or more. Plus I bought it at a very well known and posh grocery store!
So I had to quick scramble and decide what to make with two hungry boys staring me down.  I quick grabbed my Southern Living Easy Weeknight Meals and thought this would be easy and the boys would love it! So from WOW to easy dinner went…..
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Adapted from a Southern Living recipe
1 lb leanest ground beef
1 small red onion chopped
1 tsp of salt and pepper
2 tbs taco seasoning
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can enchilada sauce
8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream, sliced black olives, and fresh cilantro for garnish

In a large skillet drizzle olive oil and saute onion for 3-5 min. 

Add the ground beef and seasonings and cook till meat is cooked all the way through.  I add my seasoning while the meat is still red that way the meat really absorbs the flavors as it cooks.  If you wait till the meat is brown the flavor just sits on top and doesn’t give that layering of flavors you want to achieve.  Once cooked trough drain the grease off and add the cans of soup and sauce.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer cooking approx 8 min till thickened slightly.

In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish place a bit of the meat mixture on a tortilla and sprinkle with a bit of cheese.

Wrap each tortilla up and place in the baking dish seam side down.  Nestle each bundle in the dish tightly against each other.

Pour the rest of the meat mixture on top.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 min.  Uncover and sprinkle the rest of cheese on top and continue cooking until it look like this….

Serve with the garnish and enjoy a quick and easy weeknight meal or a quick and easy weeknight meal when the one you wanted to make goes awry…

New Mexican Corn Chowder

After a week of super ridiculous easy recipes I thought it was time for something with a bit more substance.  This dish is by no means hard, I don’t do hard, but it does have quite a few steps.  Don’t be intimidated though, this is worth every bit! I am talking show stopping you will want everyone you know to taste it! I adapted this from Light and Delish.  As the summer winds down and we are quickly approaching cooler weather it is time to grab up the last of summers bounty! Corn and Hatch Chile’s are the main ingredients in this dish.  If you read my How to Roast Hatch Chile’s post you will know how much I love these!

8 cups fresh or frozen corn (I have to confess I used frozen. 8 cups of corn is an awful lot of ears to strip)
1 roasted and diced Hatch Chile see this link on how to roast How to Roast Hatch Chiles
if you can not get your hands on these chiles 2 4oz cans of drained green chiles will work
1 cup onion diced
1/2 tsp each of Cumin, Mexican Oregano, Marjoram, Salt and Pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
3 cups Chicken broth
1/2 c half and half
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes well drained and 1/4 cup cilantro minced (not pictured because, well I forgot)

In a dutch oven drizzle olive oil to coat bottom of pan and cook corn, chile, onion, garlic, and seasonings for 8 min on med high.

Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cover pot and cook for 15 min. Stir in a large pinch of the diced cilantro.  If you have an immersion blender you can blend till creamy.  If like me you don’t then transfer to a blender and puree till creamy.  Hey Steve here is another good Christmas gift idea!

Return the soup back to the dutch oven and add the 1/2 cup half and half and another large pinch of cilantro.  Cook over low for 5-8 minutes.  At this point I do a tasting and add any seasonings it may need.

In a mixing bowl stir the fire roasted tomatoes and the remaining cilantro with salt and pepper to taste.

Plate up the chowder and garnish with the tomato mixture. I promise that you will love it and this will become a family favorite!



Greek Cauliflower

My friend Ashley at http://www.kitchenmeetsgirl.com tells the best stories about her day and all about the inspiration that got her to make a particular dish.  I am not so good about that. I am like “hey I was hungry this is what I made and here it is”……. Not that I don’t have alot to say, just ask her or my husband! So as I struggle to find a good balance of how much back story to give you on a dish go ahead and make this one and I will work this problem of mine out……
P.S. This cauliflower is amazing with Zeus Burgers!

1 cauliflower cut into florets
1/2 red onion sliced in rings then cut in thirds
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup feta cheese
2 tbs white wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tomato diced
1/2 cup kalmata olives sliced

Boil salted water and cook cauliflower till tender but not soft.  Drain and keep warm.  Drizzle olive oil in pan and cook red onions till almost brown. Approx 8 min.  Add the cauliflower back in and all reaming ingredients.

Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook about 3-5 minutes.  This Dish is tangy, and savory and all around delish!

Zeus Burgers

These burgers are stuffed full of great Greek flavor that they are fit for the Greek God Zeus Himself!!! I made these on a whim and holey moley they were good! (Says the non red meat eater) So please make these, enjoy them, and pass them along! 

1 pound leanest ground beef
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 garlic clove thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp ground rosemary
spinach dip
1 tomato diced
green olives for garnish

In a mixing bowl mix beef, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper, and rosemary.  Form into patties and grill on medium heat 8 min each side. Only flip once to keep the patties together.  Butter and lightly grill your buns. I always do this as I just love the way it tastes!  Spread a little or a lot of the the spinach dip on the grilled buns, place burger, and garnish with the olives and diced tomatoes.

Too Good to describe! You just need to  make these for yourself!

How to Roast and Freeze Hatch Chiles

It is Hatch Chile Time!!! The best green chiles in the world, yes I said it the WORLD, come from New Mexico! And it is Harvest Time!!! Once a year, once a blessed time of year these wonderful little green peppers are available and I am like a kid in the candy store!  The time we spent in New Mexico was filled with some of the best cullinary delights I have ever tasted!  These chiles were the main compent of every dish that I fell in love with.  I loved Albuquerque so much and wish we had been tansfered there permanetly.  As it was the few months we spent there in 2003 and 2009 were great and we have wonderful memories.  So as you can imagine when I was in the grocery store on Saturday and I saw Fresh Hatch Chiles I went a little LOCO! I did not think that I would have ever found them way out here in Kansas City, MO!  I purchased some then I went back and got some more!
Here is an easy way to prepare them to freeze so you can enjoy them year round!

Heat a pan on the stove over high, NO OIL added! Place the chiles on the hot pan and let sit till they pop and the skin blisters.

As they cook they will pop and curl up a bit.  Just press them back down.  You will want to flip them over a few times to ensure even cooking. Once the skin is black and they are tender and starting to split a bit it is time to pull them off. 

Once you take them off the stove place them in a large ziploc baggie and seal.  The steam they create will help cook them further.  Let cool completely in the bags.

Once cool, take them out and peel the skin off.  (a little tip:  if you  did not cook them enough the skin won’t peel easily.  So in the baggie pop them in the microwave for 1 min.)  The skin should just slough right off.  I take the seeds out before I freeze them. You can leave them in , but I think it is easier to do this step now rather than after you thaw them out.  I wrap each chile in cling film individually then place them in a freezer safe bag.  This way I can thaw one out at a time if I need to.  These chiles have so much flavor and they really add a wonderful kick to any southwestern dish!
Enjoy!

Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu

We have just about been around the Globe together this week! Morocco, India, Asia, now France! This is my quick and easy version of a traditional Cordon Bleu. I wanted to show all my readers and my husband that chicken can be exciting and flavorful in ways he couldn’t imagine.  How do you all think I am doing?

One good thing about this recipe is that there is no exact measuring. So the amounts can be as large or as small as you want depending on how many you are feeding!
skinless boneless chicken breast
turkey or streaky bacon ( I like the turkey bacon healthier)
salt and pepper
herbs d’ provence
blue cheese slices or crumbles.

Fry bacon in a skillet, slice chicken breast half way through the thickest part of the breast to make a pocket.  Stuff with the blue cheese.  Sprinkle the salt and pepper and herbs d’provence, wrap two slices of bacon around each breast and arrange in a shallow baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Bon Appetite! Serve with the Pomme Frite Crisps and a spring salad.

Asian Fusion Chicken

OK so believe me I know how pretentious that name sounds.  We just recently moved to Kansas City from California and everything in the Bay area is Fusion this, Fusion that….. It is all over the food world when you don’t have a pigeon hole to stick something we call it Fusion.  I could call this, it was at the end of paycheck and I did not have all the ingredients to make either Pad Thai or Chop Suey so I made this.  Somehow I don’t think you would respond to that so well. Asian Fusion it is!! This is the latest installment on my World Tour of Chicken Dishes!  If you like Pad Thai, and you like Chop Suey, or if you like one but not the other, I promise you will Love this!

For the Sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth
3 tbs peanut butter
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs brown sugar ( I use the Splenda Blend)
2 tsp Asian chili sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 pound ground Chicken
1/4 red onion chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
salt and pepper
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 can water chestnuts chopped
1 bag of frozen chop suey vegetables or any other Asian vegetable blend

In a mixing bow combine all the sauce ingredients and cover and set aside. Do not chill.  In a hot wok or skillet, heat 1 tbs canola oil add onion and garlic.  Always add onion and cook for a few seconds before adding garlic. Garlic is tender and the pieces are small and will burn easy if you throw them in first.  Cook for 1-2 min.  Remove from pan and reserve.  Season the ground chicken with salt and pepper and ginger power and cook in the hot wok till crumbled and cooked all the way through.  Add the onions and the garlic back in and add the frozen vegetables.  Pour the sauce mixture over all and mix till all is coated. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer and cover.  Cook 7-10 min till vegetables are done, stirring occasionally.
Asian Fusion without the pretension served up on a platter!

A Taste of North Africa in your Kitchen!

In keeping with my global theme on chicken, I have a special delight for you tonight! This Moroccan inspired dish is healthy, fast, easy, and quite possibly the tastiest chicken you will ever eat!!!

3-4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
olive oil to coat pan plus more
1 onion sliced
1 yellow pepper diced
2 garlic cloves minced
2 heavy dashes of cinnamon
1 short dash of cloves
1 heavy dash of nutmeg
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lemon keep lemon halves

Cut the chicken into 1″ cubes and salt and pepper.  Dredge in the flour and pan fry in the olive oil in a hot pan till golden brown.  You may have to do this in small batches. Be sure not to over crowd the pan or you will end up steaming the meat and not getting a nice crunch to it. Remove chicken from pan.

Add a bit more olive oil to the pan and add the chopped yellow pepper and sliced onion. Cook for approx 10 minutes stirring occasionally, till they are golden and tender. Return the chicken and add the chicken stock, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Add the juice of the lemon and toss the rinds in to add more of a lemon flavor.  If you have Sumac, (which I thought I had, but apparently not so much) you can keep the rinds out and just add 2 tsp.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 5-7 min.  Add the cilantro and stir.  Serve with Risotto, or couscous.  Tonight my dear husband made the Risotto, hence that is why it is not shown in the picture.  But he did try and it was so sweet to have a sous chef in the kitchen.

Grilled Chicken with Indian BBQ Sauce and Peach Relish

So after a week of over indulgence in red meat it is back to my staple meat, CHICKEN!!!  Now don’t let the idea of bland, white, boiled, tasteless white meat rule your thinking of chicken.  I can make even the most mundane of proteins exciting for you!!! Just follow me on my global tour of chicken this week and I will make the most skeptical of you (my husband) see just how exciting and versatile this important healthy protein is!

For the Indian BBQ sauce

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup white wine

1 tbs brown sugar

1tbs chili powder

1tbs coriander

1tbs curry

1tbs cumin

1tbs paprika

1tsp allspice

For the Grilled Chicken
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
salt and pepper
For the Peach Relish
4 Large peaches
1 red pepper
1 jalapeno seeds and veins removed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup orange juice
juice of one lime
1 tbs honey

Slice peaches, dice both peppers and combine in a mixing brown with cilantro, honey, and lime and orange juices.

To make the BBQ sauce combine the vinegar, wine, all the spices and brown sugar in a mixing bowl, cover and chill.

Brush the chicken with olive oil on both sides and salt and pepper each side.  Grill over medium high direct heat 5-7 min each side. Making sure to baste the chicken multiple times each side with the BBQ sauce.

Plate the grilled chicken with the peach relish and serve with the extra BBQ Sauce.  A taste of Mumbia in your family’s kitchen!! Just think you didn’t even have to travel the 10,000 miles!!!

Grilled Eggplant Salad with Kalmata Olive Dressing

This was the Vegetarian dish that made my red meat crazed husband say these exact words,”I could give up meat if all veggie dishes taste like this. You have outdone yourself babe!” A compliment like this is better than receiving a Micheline Star!

1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
salt and pepper
1 eggplant
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 bunch baby spinach washed drained and pat dried
1 cucumber sliced
2 tomatoes quartered
for the dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large shallot or 1/8 red onion minced. (on this occasion I did not have a shallot so I used the red onion)
1 tbs champagne vinegar
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
12 kalmata olives chopped
1/8 c sliced pepperoncini’s chopped

Peel the eggplant and cut into 1/2″ slices. Place on paper towels and sprinkle a little salt on both sides.  This will remove moisture and any bitter taste.  Let sit for 30 min.  Flip half way through.

To make grilling the peppers easier, slice off the top and make one slice down the middle.  Open like a book and remove the seeds and veins.

In a mixing bowl whisk 1/4 cup olive oil, chopped garlic, pinch of salt and dash of pepper.  Add eggplant and peppers and toss till coated.  Grill on low heat with cover closed approx 5-7 minuets each side. Watch to make sure eggplant does not burn.  Remove from grill and let cool to room temperature.

To make the dressing whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, shallot/red onion, both vinegars,Dijon mustard, olives, pepperoncini, and salt and pepper,(1 tsp each).  Slice the cooled eggplant and peppers.  On a large serving platter plate up the spinach and add a dash of each salt and pepper. Layer the sliced grilled veggies across the top.  Arrange the sliced cucumbers and quarterd tomatoes around the edge of the platter.  Pour dressing evenly over entire salad!

A perfect Summer Vegetarian (even vegan) meal!!!!