The Whole Enchiladas

In the backroom of a seedy Tijuana bar Jen and I were engaged in the final hand of some high stakes poker. We raised the pot but all our adversary had was his mother's enchilada recipe to throw in. Needless to say we won the hand and got The Whole Enchilada.

Ingredients

• 2 bone-in chicken breast halves
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 white onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 pound fresh tomatillos, husks removed
• 5 serrano peppers
• 1/4 white onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 pinch salt
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup crumbled queso fresco
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine chicken breast with chicken broth, one quarter onion, a clove of garlic, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, and then boil for 20 minutes. Reserve broth, set chicken aside to cool, and discard onion and garlic. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken with your hands.
2. Place tomatillos and serrano chiles in a pot with water, enough to cover them. Bring to boil, and continue boiling until tomatillos turn a different shade of green (from bright green to a dull, army green). Strain tomatillos and chiles, and place in a blender with another quarter piece of onion, 1 clove garlic, and a pinch of salt. Pour in reserved chicken broth, so that liquid just covers the veggies in the blender by about an inch. Blend all ingredients until they are completely pureed. Pour salsa in a medium saucepan, and bring to a low boil.
3. Pour oil in a frying pan, and allow to get very hot. Slightly fry tortillas one by one in hot oil, setting each on a paper towel afterwards to soak some of the oil. Finally, dip slightly fried tortillas in low-boiling green salsa, until tortillas become soft again. Place on plates, 3 per person.
4. Fill or top tortillas with shredded chicken, then extra green sauce. Top with crumbled cheese, chopped onion, and chopped cilantro.

Sloppy Italian

I like to call this dish "Chuck Norris Pasta". That's because after you cook it, it looks a little dishevled, almost like you shouldn't really approach it. If you put a little salad next it, it's like it's just hiding in the woods. Then you eat it and BLAMO! You just got roundhoused kicked right in the mouth by the bearded penne!



Ingredients

• 1 pound gluten-free brown rice penne pasta
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 1/2 diced onion
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 pound chicken sausage
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons red chili pepper flakes

Directions

Cook pasta until tender. While pasta is cooking brown sausage in a saute pan. When thoroughly cooked, remove meat and add olive oil to the pan. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are tender. Add the meat back to the pan and add marinara sauce and drained pasta. Stir in cheeses and pepper flakes.

Pour into a casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top.

Nothin' Beets a Salad!

Dwight Schrute made us work on the farm out in Sisters for 3 weeks before he gave up this little gem. That explains why it has been awhile since our last post.

Ingredients

2-3 large red beets
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon agave nectar or honey
1 clove minced garlic (or less)
3/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound spinach, chopped 
1/2 cup walnuts or hazelnuts

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese or chevre

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F. Cut stems off beets and place on a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Make a pouch out of the foil, sealing it tightly. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let beets steam for 10 minutes. Open pouch to cool.

Meanwhile, whisk together vinegar, mustard, honey, and garlic in a small bowl. Whisk in the oils and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

After beets have cooled, peel off the skins and cut the beet into bite-size pieces. Mix beets with half of vinaigrette, then mix spinach with the rest of the vinaigrette. Transfer greens to plates and top with beets, walnuts, and cheese.

"I'm stuffed" squash

 This dish is so good it was once described as the equivalent of riding a unicorn on a rainbow alongside Neil Patrick Harris while drinking pure joy from a Lil' Jon pimp cup made of squash.

Ingredients

• 1 small acorn squash cut in half  
• 1/2 pound ground chicken sausage 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup diced bell pepper
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth 
• 1 cup cooked rice 
• 3 cups spinach
• 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
•  1 Tablespoon chopped fresh herbs
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.


Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. If necessary in order for the squash to sit upright, cut off a small portion of the bottom. Set squash on a baking pan and set aside.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, brown the sausage. Remove the meat from the pan, add the olive oil and saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until they begin to soften. Add cooked rice, sausage, wine, broth, and spinach and continue cooking until heated through. Add herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Cram as much of the filling into the squash halves as you can. Top off by pouring extra broth ton top of the rice mixture to fill in any holes in the filling. Bake for 1 hour or until the squash is tender. Serve extra rice filling on the side. Eat.

Stolen lentil salad

The bearded man we stole this from called this "East meets West salad." We traded some very important things for this recipe. I'm going to miss my brother...



The ingredients:
2 cups cooked lentils
2 cups grated carrots
1 bunch scallion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 stalk celery
1 red pepper
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/2 ume plum vinegar

Mix together and enjoy!

Roasted Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
10 tomatillos (about 1 lb.)
1-2 cloves garlic, with the skin still on
2-3 serrano chilies
1/2 white onion
1/4 cup cilantro
salt

Directions:
Remove husks and wash tomatillos. Place tomatillos, whole garlic cloves, and whole serranos on a pan with edges. Place under the broiler and heat until charred on all sides.

Remove outer skin from garlic and stems from serannos. Unless you like salsa on your ceiling, allow the vegetables to cool to prevent a blender explosion. Place tomatillos, garlic, and serranos in a blender and puree until large chunks are gone. Add diced onion, cilantro, and salt to taste.

Corn and Chili Chowder

Some guy at the farmer's market was roasting freshly picked peppers over a fire pit. They smelled so delicious that we bought a whole bag. Crazy good cooking ensued. This soup is a little spicy and gets hotter the longer it sits in the fridge. Leave the skin on the potatoes for added iron.

Ingredients:
2 ears sweet corn
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups cream or half and half
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 lb. potatoes, diced
2 roasted, peeled and seeded green chilies
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Boil corn. Cut kernels off the cob and set aside. In a large soup pot, combine broth, cream, and corn cobs. Simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove cobs.

Saute onion in oil until soft. Add onion, potatoes, and roasted chilies to cream mixture. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add corn kernels and cook for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Green Chili and Corn Quesadilla

This is way basic, but also tasty.

Ingredients:
1 ear corn
1 roasted, peeled, and seeded poblano
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheeses
4 flour tortillas

Directions:
Boil corn in water for 5 minutes or until tender. Cut corn off of ear. Chop chili into small pieces and mix with corn. Spoon corn and chili mixture onto one tortilla, top with half of cheese and remaining tortilla. Cook until golden brown.

Orange Chicken

Jen and I found this one while we were traveling in the Sichuan Province of China. Not really. Actually, we were craving some Panda Express (Happy Panda if your Jen) and wanted it without the sodium. Its pretty good but needs the orange zest for a little extra flavor.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound chicken breast (cut into bite-size cubes)
5 dried red chilies (cut into 1.5 inch length, seeded and soaked in warm water)
1 teaspoon minced orange zest
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 inch ginger (minced)
1 stalk scallion (use the white part only, cut into thin threads for garnishing)
2 teaspoons oil
Oil for deep frying

Orange Sauce:
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons canned chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
5 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
1 teaspoon corn starch
Salt to taste

Frying Batter:
1/2 cup water
2 oz. all-purpose flour
1 oz. corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 egg
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 small pinch of salt

Directions:
Mix the orange sauce ingredients and set aside.

Mix the frying batter and dip the chicken meat into the batter. Heat up a pan of cooking oil. When the cooking oil is hot enough for frying, drop the chicken pieces into the oil and deep fry them until they turn golden brown or crispy. Transfer them out onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

In a pan, add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil and quickly stir-fry the minced garlic and ginger until aromatic. Add in the dried red chilies and toss around until you smell the spicy aroma. Follow by the minced orange zest and then chicken. Quickly stir the chicken around before adding the orange sauce mixture. Continue to stir-fry until the sauce thicken. Dish out, garnish with the scallion threads and serve immediately with steamed white rice.

Tasty Collard Greens

It was a nice day out so Joe and I headed to the farmer's market down on campus. We found some collard greens and decided to give them a try. I altered a recipe found online and they turned out pretty good. Not bad for my first time. Joe liked them with a little hot sauce over the top.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1-2 cups chicken stock
1 bunch collard greens - rinsed, trimmed and chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, and gently saute until light brown. Pour in the chicken stock. Add the collard greens to the cooking pot, and turn the heat up to medium-high, cover the pot. Let the greens cook down for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to medium, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook until the greens are tender and dark green. Drain greens, reserving liquid. Mix in red pepper flakes. Use liquid to reheat leftovers.

SPICY! Green Curry

The Ingredients:
2/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons green curry paste
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoon sugar
1 scallion
1 ½ tablespoon asian fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
½ tablespoon cornstarch (dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water)
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 tablespoon basil

The Preparation:
Add 2 tablespoons coconut milk with curry paste, sugar, and ginger in pan on simmer. Wisk together until smooth. Add remaining milk and remaining ingredients and boil.

Guiseppi’s Smoky Alfredo

Ingredients: 3 Tablespoons Butter
1 ½ cups of half and half
½ cup Smoked Gouda
1 Garlic Clove
1 Tomato
2 Green Onions
¼ cup of Basil
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Melt butter in a wide frying pan over high heat until butter is lightly brown. Add garlic and ½ cup of half and half and boil rapidly until slightly thickened. Reduce the heat to medium, add half of the cheese and ½ cup of cream. Let cheese melt and add remaining cheese and half and half. Let cheese melt and add remaining ingredients. Serve over choice of pasta.