Saturday, March 24, 2007

Southwestern Salad

Southwest seasoning:
2TB Chili powder
1 1/2 TB cumin
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion salt
Dash cayenne pepper
Fresh ground pepper


Southwest Vinaigrette

1/3 cup lime juice (I use a fresh lime)
1 cup light olive oil
1 tsp southwest seasoning
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
fresh ground black pepper.

4 Chicken breasts. Rub both sides with Southwest seasoning and grill until done. (no Pink) Cool slightly, shred with a fork and douse with 1/2 cup of lime juice

1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
1 bunch green onions
2 -3 cups white corn (it must be white corn or it will not taste the same)

Mix vegetables with chicken and toss with 1/2 cup vinaigrette
Cornbread

2 boxes of Jiffy corn bread mix (you know those small boxes for $.30 each)
1 box of pound cake

Use all the ingredients for all three boxes and mix in one big bowl.
It is so moist, sweet and not dry and flaky.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Mexican Lasagna-Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Serving: Serves 4
1 Cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
10 Ounces fresh baby spinach
Nonstick cooking spray
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 (15.5 ounces) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 Cup prepared salsa (mild or medium)
8 Ounces pepper Jack cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees;. In a food processor, combine cilantro, scallions, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper with as much spinach as will fit; pulse, adding remaining spinach in batches, until coarsely chopped.
Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Lay 4 tortillas in bottom of dish (they will overlap slightly). Layer with half of beans, salsa, spinach mixture, and cheese; repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with cheese and pressing in gently.
Cover dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes; remove foil, and continue baking until golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Buttermilk Chicken

From Martha Stewart

Serving: Serves 4
Vegetable oil, for baking sheet
8 slices white bread
1 Cup buttermilk
1 Teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
Salt and pepper
3/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese, (2 1/2 ounces)
1 Teaspoon dried thyme
4 Pounds chicken parts, (preferably legs, thighs, and wings), rinsed and patted dry
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously rub a baking sheet with oil. In a food processor, pulse bread until it turns into coarse crumbs.
In a large bowl, stir together buttermilk, hot-pepper sauce, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In a separate bowl, mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan, thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
Place the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, turning to coat evenly. Working with one piece at a time, remove chicken from liquid, letting excess drip back into bowl; dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat evenly. Place coated chicken pieces on prepared baking sheet.
Bake until chicken is golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Bombay Potatoes

6 potatoes, peeled, cubed -parboiled
6 slices bacon, cooked
1/2 t. ground mustard
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
2 t. curry (or more)
1-2 t. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 scallions chopped
2-4 tomatoes, chopped
handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Boil the potatoes, but not completely, they will finish cooking in the next step. Watch them so that they do not cook all the way through otherwise they will get a bit mooshy (which isn't a bad thing). Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a pan. Remove cooked bacon to a towel or rack. In the same pan you used for the bacon(leave all of the bacon fat in there) add the scallions, ginger and spices, let cook over medium heat just for a few seconds, don't let burn. Now add the potatoes to finish cooking, stirring to get the potatoes covered with the spices. If you need more spices, then add more. Crumble the bacon into the potatoes. Add salt if needed. Once the potatoes are cooked through, turn off the heat and add the cilantro and tomatoes. I hope I haven't left anything out.

Lemon Chicken

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast or chicken tenders, cut into chunks
1/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons wok or vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan (preferred brand: House of Tsang)
1 tablespoon (a splash) white or rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
8 ounces (1 cup) prepared lemon curd
1/4 cup hot water
1 lemon, zested
2 scallions, thinly sliced or 20 blades fresh chives, finely chopped

Coat the chunked chicken lightly in flour, seasoned with a little salt. Heat a large skillet or a wok-shaped nonstick pan over high heat. Stir fry chicken until golden, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan and return pan to heat. Reduce heat to medium.
Add a splash of vinegar to the pan and let it evaporate. Add stock or broth to the pan and scrape up any drippings with a whisk. Thin curd by stirring in a little hot water. Add curd to broth and whisk to combine. Add chicken back to the pan and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken sauce and finish cooking chicken pieces through. Remove the pan from heat, add the scallions or chives and zest, and toss chicken pieces well to combine zest and scallions or chives evenly throughout the sauce. Serve with Special Rice, recipe follows.
Cook's Notes: Wok oil infused with ginger and garlic is usually available on the International Foods aisle in many markets.
Chicken broths and stocks are available in resealable paper containers, making storage of remaining product easy and on hand in the refrigerator; they are found in the soup aisle.
Lemon curd is a sweet lemon spread available in most markets. It is on the jam/jelly aisle.

*Rachel Ray

White Bean Stew

A colorful and satisfying stew is priceless this time of year, and you can't do much better than a tomatoey broth full of hearty cannellini beans, baby greens, and cubes of baked ham.

2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 (14- to 15-oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 (19-oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups)
1 (1/2-lb) piece baked ham (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (5-oz) bag baby romaine or baby arugula (10 cups loosely packed)
8 (3/4-inch-thick) slices baguette


Cook garlic in 1/4 cup oil in a 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, stirring, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Coarsely cut up tomatoes in can with kitchen shears, then add (with juice) to garlic in oil. Stir in broth, beans, ham, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in greens and cook until wilted, 3 minutes for romaine or 1 minute for arugula.

While stew is simmering, preheat broiler. Put bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat until golden, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Serve stew with toasts.

Makes 4 servings.

Gourmet
Quick Kitchen
January 2007

Another Crock Pot recipe-Chalupas

3 lb. pork loin roast - browned (i didn't brown it and it was still good), you can also use chicken
4 - 15 oz. cans of beans - any mixture will do i.e. pinto, kidney, black, etc. drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-4 oz. can chopped green chilis
2 garlic cloves - minced
1 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
1 T. salt
1 t. oregano

Dump the above ingredients over the meat and mix a little bit. Cook in crock pot until it falls apart, on high for half day or low for all day. Shred with a fork and mix well. This makes a LOT, so you may want to make half. Now for the boat part. Fry up some tortillas in a little oil and place over a bowl to cool thus making the shape of a little boat. Or you can omit that step and just serve in a soft tortilla and roll it up, burrito style. Fill with pork filling and other toppings if desired i.e. cilantro, cheese, salsa, sour cream

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

The Gift of Dinner

Taco Chili Mix:
1 cup dried kidney beans
1/2 cup dried pinto beans
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package buttermilk salad dressing mix
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cups corn or tortilla chips
Taco Chili:
1 packet Taco Chili Mix
4 cups water
1 (11 3/4-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained


For the mix: In a 1-quart wide mouth jar, layer kidney and pinto beans.
In a small bowl, combine taco seasoning mix, dried salad dressing mix, onion, chili powder, and cumin. Wrap seasonings in plastic wrap or cellophane and place in jar.

Put chips in a bag and place in jar. Decorate with ribbon or fabric.

For the chili: Place beans in a large bowl, cover with water and soak 6 to 8 hours, or overnight. Drain and add to a Dutch oven. Add seasoning packet, water, diced tomatoes and green chiles, tomato sauce, and ground beef.

Heat to boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2 hours, or until beans are tender. Serve with corn or tortilla chips.