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Tex Mex Sloppy Joes
Monday, December 10, 2012
10


I feel lucky enough, with my aging and increasingly cluttered brain, to have distinct memories of many nights at the dinner table with my family.  Family dinner (at the kitchen table) was a basic requirement to living in my parents house.  I’m sure my adolescent years were filled with dread about that required family time but today I couldn’t be more thankful for the memories I have about those nights.

On one such night when I was maybe 11 or 12, we had taco salad for the first time.  It was nothing fancy, as tacos don’t need to be – taco meat with all the fixings over crunchy tortilla chips – but it felt like a revolutionary dinner.  Tortilla chips with dinner?! Score!! I don’t remember tacos being in my mom’s rotation previous to that (she may tell you otherwise in the comments here) so this was quite possibly a seminal moment happening.  It was also likely that we didn’t eat much Mexican or Tex Mex food aside from tacos or taco salad after that since it turns out that my mom loathes cilantro.  I died a little inside when I learned that recently.

So these Tex Mex sloppy joes combine an American staple food that epitomized my childhood dinners with my utter love for Tex Mex food today.  Set between two halves of a soft homemade bun with a hefty serving of guacamole, these sloppy joes are a little spicy but totally homey and familiar at the same time.  Get your napkins ready and belly up to the table for this dinner – it’s a favorite we’ll keep coming back to, even if *cough* we eat ours in front of the T.V.

Print
Tex Mex Sloppy Joes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

    For the sloppy joes:
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
  • 1 chipotle chile en adobo (or ¼ tsp chipotle powder)
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 ¼ lbs ground chicken, turkey, or beef
  • 1 tsp canola oil
  • ½ medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 12 oz beer, such as a light ale or lager
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • ¼ cup cilantro
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
    • For serving:
  • 6 warm hamburger buns (like these jalapeno cheddar buns)
  • Guacamole
  • Sliced jalapenos, chopped cilantro, diced onion, grated cheddar or Monterey jack or crumbled queso fresco (all optional)

Instructions

  1. Add the tomato sauce, chipotle chile (or powder), oregano, ground cumin, smoked paprika, allspice, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
  2. Brown the ground meat in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until browned, about 10 minutes. Drain off the fat. Warm the canola oil in the pan with the browned meat then add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Pour the tomato mixture into the skillet along with the beer, ketchup and cilantro. Stir until well combined.
  3. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat then reduce the heat to medium-low heat and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir in the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on warm buns with suggested toppings, if desired.

Notes

source: adapted from Homesick Texan

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10 comments
Sweet Corn Cakes with Tomato-Avocado Relish
Monday, August 27, 2012
2

We’re having a blast in the kitchen this summer, thanks to having such great luck in the garden so far.  Our beefsteak tomato plants really surprised us in actually producing edible fruit as opposed to the rotted, blighted tomatoes we were expecting after the first couple that ripened went bad.  So with these beefsteaks and the insane amount of cherry tomatoes we’ve picked so far, at least 75% of our meals over the last few weeks have included something from our garden.

And that goes for these corn cakes too.  The tomato-avocado relish isn’t just a condiment here – it’s really part of a wholly fabulous (and quick!) meal.  Inside of 30 minutes, we had these fresh sweet corn cakes topped with the refreshing relish on the table – my kind of meal for a weeknight!  The corn toasts and sweetens even further when cooked making the light and fluffy cakes virtually irresistible.  It’s kind of like the awesomeness that grilled corn is but there is frying involved (who’s complaining?). Then they’re piled high with the type of topping that’s good enough to eat with tortilla chips or as a Tex-Mex bruschetta on crunchy bread.  In other words, this is an all-around winner of a meal and if I can get my hands on some more of that local sweet corn, we’ll be having it again soon!

Print
Sweet Corn Cakes with Tomato-Avocado Relish

Yield: 10-12 corn cakes

To keep the finished corn cakes from getting cold while cooking the others, keep them on a wire rack in a 250° F oven. These corn cakes can almost be made a little ahead of time as an appetizer for company - just keep them warm in the oven and serve with the cold tomato-avocado relish. If you're making this dish in the winter, you can use frozen corn - just thaw it in a colander first.

Ingredients

    For the tomato-avocado relish:
  • 1 large tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped
  • 1 scallion or a small handful of chives, minced
  • 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Juice of half a lime
  • 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 ripe avocado, pitted and diced
    • For the corn cakes:
  • 3 large ears of corn, shucked, and the corn cut off (this should yield about 3 cups of corn)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
    • For serving:
  • Ranch dressing (optional but strongly suggested)

Instructions

  1. To make the relish: Mix all of the ingredients except the avocado together in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 2 days. Just before serving, stir in the avocado.
  2. To make the corn cakes: Place the corn kernels in a large bowl. Place 2 cups of the corn kernels in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky. Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the remaining corn kernels. Add the flour, cornmeal, onion, cilantro, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix well. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and butter, and stir with a fork just to combine - the batter will be lumpy and that's fine.
  3. Place a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add just enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan and heat until sizzling hot. Scoop the batter into the skillet about a 1/3 cup (for main course corn cakes) or a heaping tablespoon (for appetizer-size) at a time, cooking the cakes in batches so that they are not touching while they cook. Fry 3-4 minutes per side (or 1-2 minutes per side for the smaller cakes), until golden brown. These cakes will cook a little like pancakes do so you'll know the insides are cooked through when the top of the cake is slightly firm (not hard or crisp) when gently pressed with your finger. Transfer the cooked cakes to a wire rack and keep them warm in the oven (see note above); repeat with the remaining batter. Serve hot topped with the relish and drizzled with ranch dressing, if desired.

Notes

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2 comments
Roast Chicken Soft Tacos with Cilantro Cream
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
8

Our favorite Sunday activity in the fall doesn’t have anything to do with tailgating and pigskins. Instead, it has everything to do with cranking up the oven and slow roasting a plump whole chicken stuffed with herbovacious goodies.

And even though it’s now only early August, I am totally craving cozy sweaters and roast chickens. So lucky for me, our local grocery store sells rotisserie chickens all year-round for just $5 on Fridays. Five bucks! You can’t even buy a whole raw chicken for five bucks and we don’t have to heat up the kitchen for a quick dinner!

Of course with just the two of us in the house, we always have leftover chicken so I’m constantly trying to come up with ways to use up the leftovers. These chicken tacos with cilantro cream are a prime example of a perfect meal made with said leftovers…and actually, I bought the whole roaster with the intention of making two quick recipes (yielding about 4 meals or 8 servings) with it in the first place.

We attacked the first half of the chicken to use for some creamy baked chicken taquitos and the other half got shredded and stuck in the fridge for the next night (i.e., for these tacos). And oh goodness, these tacos!  A quick and fresh cilantro cream dressing that you’ll whip up in the blender lightly coats a bowlful of crunchy red cabbage, scallions, and just enough diced jalapeño to create a little kick. This cilantro-cabbage slaw will sit for just 15 minutes to allow the cabbage to soften just a wee bit and then you’ll add the shredded chicken, mound the mixture in some soft flour tortillas, and dive in.  The crunchy-soft contrasting textures of the thinly sliced red cabbage and the chicken and flour tortillas is really what makes these tacos so crave-worthy (aside from the creamy dressing, of course) and the cabbage has such a mild flavor when eaten raw that I strongly encourage all the skeptics out there to give it a chance.

What about the rest of the chicken, you ask? Well as my mom always says (insert best Forest Gump impression here), waste not want not! I freeze the bones from my roast/rotisserie chickens in a zipper bag until I have a second carcass and then I’ll make chicken stock (another post for another time). So from this one [$5] chicken, we’ve made two full recipes (yielding about 4 meals or 8 servings total) and the carcass will help to produce about 4 quarts of chicken stock in the near future.

It’s an amazing shortcut to be able to use whether you’ve got crazy-busy weeknights happening or it’s just too darn hot to cook. And if you want to pull out all the stops, try roasting your own chicken (autumnal Sundays are not required) – for the 10 minutes it takes to prep a whole chicken and the 1hr 20min (approximately) of downtime while it cooks, there is nothing more satisfying…except when you’re able to throw together amazing meals like this one with just a few leftovers!

Need some other ideas for using up leftover roast chicken?

Roast Chicken Soft Tacos with Cilantro Cream
source: adapted from Food and Wine Test Kitchens

This recipe works great with a fresh, hot rotisserie or homemade roast chicken or with one that has been cooked and refrigerated.  If your chicken is cold, place the shredded pieces in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a damp paper towel, and heat for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the chicken is warmed but not overcooked and dry.  If you want to halve this recipe or use only white meat, two breasts from a rotisserie chicken yields plenty of shredded chicken (about 2 cups) for 3-4 servings.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • 3/4 cup sour cream, preferably reduced-fat
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 small red cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved, cored and finely shredded
  • 1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely diced (or leave some of the seeds for extra heat)
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded, skin and bones discarded or saved
  • 6-12 (8-inch) warm flour tortillas, for serving

Instructions:

  1. In a blender or the bowl of a food processor, add the cilantro, sour cream, lime juice and olive oil and purée until smooth, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Transfer the cilantro cream to a large bowl and toss in the red cabbage, jalapeños, and scallions, coating everything well with the cilantro cream. Let the cabbage mixture stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, until the cabbage just begins to soften but still has a bit of crunch to it.
  3. Add the chicken to the bowl and with a pair of tongs, toss the chicken into the cabbage until it is well-coated with the cilantro cream. Season with salt and serve in warm tortillas.

Yields: 6-8 servings

“This post is part of the BlogHer Leftover Makeovers editorial series. Our advertisers do not produce or review editorial content. This post is made possible by Bank of America and BlogHer.”

8 comments
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Thursday, August 2, 2012
7

Every so often we come across a recipe that makes it into our rotation on a semi-regular basis.  And even less often than that, it’s a meal that can be prepped in large batches and well ahead of time and then frozen.  These baked creamy chicken taquitos will be your best friends.  I first started making them well over a year ago and one of the things I love most about them is that they are the kind of meal that you can throw almost anything into.  Black beans?  Sure!  Leftover roast or grilled chicken?  Definitely!  Avocado?  Why not!  A lonely unused half of a jalapeño or poblano pepper? Spice it up!  Nubs of various leftover cheeses that have almost no use for anything else?  Cheese is always welcome!

Served with a side of refried or black beans, these taquitos are are truly a favorite around here and I certainly can’t ask for a more versatile and quick meal, especially for a weeknight.  And it’s even better when all I have to do is pull a few ready-made ones from the freezer to pop in the oven!  Oh, and I also think they would make a spectacular appetizer or snack if you use smaller tortillas or even cut out rounds with a cookie or biscuit cutter from larger (burrito-size) tortillas.  Game day anyone?

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Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 10-12 taquitos

I tend to make a double recipe when I make these taquitos and freeze whatever we don’t plan on eating for dinner that night. You’ll just freeze the uncooked taquitos on a parchment-lined baking sheet until completely frozen (don’t let them touch or they will freeze together) and then transfer them to a plastic zipper bag. When you’re ready to eat them, toss them directly into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until the filling starts to ooze out the ends.

Ingredients

  • 3 oz cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ – ½ cup salsa
  • 1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 tsp chili powder (we love using ancho chile powder in this recipe)
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp. onion powder
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 1-2 green onions or a handful of fresh chives, chopped
  • 2 cups shredded cooked/diced chicken
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, etc. would also be good)
  • 10-12 6-inch flour tortillas
  • Cooking spray
  • Kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425? F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, ¼ cup salsa, lime juice, spices, garlic, cilantro, green onions or chives, chicken, and shredded cheese. Mix everything together until well combined and the cream cheese is evenly distributed throughout the mixture. If the filling seems too dry, add a few extra tablespoons of salsa until it loosens up a little.
  3. Sandwiched between two damp paper towels, briefly heat the tortillas in the microwave to make them soft enough to roll easily, about 20-30 seconds. Place a warmed tortilla on a work surface, keeping the other tortillas covered by the paper towels to avoid drying out. Using a medium-size cookie scoop, line the middle of the tortilla with a heaping scoop (about 2-3 tablespoons) of the filling mixture. Roll the tortilla up tightly around the filling and place it seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling, spacing the assembled taquitos evenly on the baking sheet.
  4. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle a very small pinch of kosher salt onto each taquito – don’t skip this as the salt finishes off the taquitos. Bake 15-20 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Serve with sour cream and salsa, if desired.

Notes

source: adapted from Our Best Bites via Annie's Eats

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7 comments
DIY: Soft Flour Tortillas
Monday, July 30, 2012
74

I’m so excited to tell you guys that I’ve got this big item to cross off my ever-daunting and always-growing to-make list!  These flour tortillas were major for me.  We eat a lot of Tex-Mex food that requires soft flour tortillas (and I always use them in place of corn tortillas) and when we have leftovers, I bring wrap sandwiches to bring to work.  And if you’ve been around these parts long enough, you’ll know that in the past couple of years, I’ve been DIY-ing more and more in order to cut out ingredients we can’t pronounce (check out the short and basic ingredient list below!) and to save a few bucks in the process.

These tortillas are my latest feat and when I tell you that they are soooo worth the little bit of effort, I’m not kidding.  After only 30 minutes, I had a warm stack of these guys ready to use for multiple meals.  And as far as quality goes, there is just no comparison with store-bought tortillas; where store-bought are rubbery and dry, the homemade version yields soft and always pliable tortillas.  You don’t have to worry about the bottoms splitting in your hand and you can fold them and roll them without any cracking.  Basically, for the Tex-Mex lovers that we are, these DIY soft flour tortillas couldn’t be more perfect.

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DIY: Soft Flour Tortillas

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 12 (8-inch) tortillas

I rolled my tortillas out into 8-inch rounds and they yielded some pretty hefty-sized tortillas, even for soft tacos. So in the future, I'll reduce the size to 6 inches by cutting the dough into approximately 1 1/2 oz pieces (or about 16 pieces). If you want larger tortillas, like for burritos, cut the dough into fewer pieces and roll them out to 10 or 12 inches in diameter. If you don't have a food processor, you can make these tortillas by hand, using a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the ingredients into each other and a wooden spoon to mix everything up.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 heaping tsp table salt
  • 5 tbsp shortening, lard, or softened unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup warm water

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of the food processor fitted with the dough blade, pulse the flour, baking powder, and salt a few times to stir up the ingredients. Add in the fat and process in quick pulses until the mixture starts become crumbly. With the food processor on, slowly stream in the water through the feeder at the top, just until the a cohesive ball forms and starts traveling around the sides of the bowl.
  2. Turn the food processor on and let the dough knead for about 30 seconds. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl and be soft but not overly sticky.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board or countertop and divide it into 12 equal-size portions, 2 oz each if you're weighing them. Cover the dough pieces with a kitchen towel and let them rest for 10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, heat a large, dry saute pan (cast iron works great here) over medium-high heat.
  5. One at a time, roll the dough balls into thin rounds (about 8 inches each), dusting the top with just enough flour to keep the tortilla from sticking to the rolling pin. Try not to roll out too many at a time or they will start to dry out while they wait to be cooked.
  6. Lay one tortilla flat in the heated pan and cook on each side for 20-40 seconds, until the tortilla starts to bubble in places and the bubbled areas start to brown. While each one cooks, you can roll out the next tortilla to get it ready for the pan.
  7. Keep the finished tortillas covered with a kitchen towel to keep them warm and pliable until you're ready to use them. Unused tortillas can be cooled completely and refrigerated in a large zipper bag for up to 5 days.

Notes

source: adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

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74 comments
Smashed Avocado-Chile Tartines
Monday, July 9, 2012
9

I’ve got this thing about weekend lunches.  Kyle’s got this other thing.  I feel they should be quick and easy, not requiring thought or time.  Kyle, it seems, grew up in Europe where lunches are often have more emphasis than dinner.  (He didn’t, by the way.)  For me, a sandwich and some fruit or chips or leftovers from during the week make the perfect weekend lunch.  For Kyle, roast chicken with herbed potatoes and steamed vegetables are ideal.  (Actually, it’s more like hot dogs or burgers on the grill with potato salad and beans.)  And I realize that throwing a few dogs on the grill is not complicated by any standard but I grew up with the mindset that the kitchen is closed for lunch on the weekend – make yourself a sandwich or starve…and I’m ok with that.

But I made an exception on the 4th of July – it was a holiday, what can I say?  These avocado-chile tartines were just as easy as making a sandwich…and let’s face it, tartines are the European version of sandwiches so I’m still moving with the same train of thought here.  Basically, I steeped some garlic and chile flakes in olive oil, grilled some bread, and smashed up some avocado.  That’s it.  And now I can add an avocado tree to my list of must-grow fruit trees (do they even grow in the northeast?) because between guacamole and these tartines, I could seriously go broke on avocados.  Rich, buttery, creamy smashed avocado with a hint of heat on crispy, crunchy grilled bread – the perfect light weekend/day-off lunch.

**Note** – When writing the original recipe, I forgot to include the lime juice; the recipe below has been adjusted to include this.

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Smashed Avocado-Chile Tartines

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 3-4 lunch servings

These tartines would make an excellent and quick weeknight dinner served with a side salad or fabulous appetizers for a party – just grill or toast up small rounds of French bread instead of ciabatta. For our tartines, I used sesame semolina (a crusty Italian bread) but if you can’t find it, ciabatta bread will work too. There will be some leftover chile-oil – it keeps well in the fridge for a couple of weeks and can be brought to room temperature to be used in other recipes (like brushing onto pizza dough before building a pizza).

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ tsp red pepper chile flakes plus extra for sprinkling
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed (skins removed)
  • ½ loaf ciabatta or other crusty Italian bread, sliced on the bias (diagonally to maximize surface area), about ½-inch thick
  • 2 ripe avocado, pitted, removed from skin, and cubed
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat grill to medium-high heat (about 400° F).
  2. In a small saute pan, heat the oil, chile flakes, and garlic over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, or until the chile flakes and garlic start sizzling. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes – do not let the garlic burn. Remove from the heat and pour the oil through a mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Discard the garlic and chile flakes and set the oil aside for 5 minutes.
  3. Brush both sides of the bread slices lightly with the oil. Grill both sides of the bread until they are lightly browned and toasted around the edges – this takes about 3 minutes per side.
  4. While the bread grills, in a medium bowl, smash the avocado with, lime juice, about ¼ tsp salt and a sprinkle of pepper with a fork, leaving some larger chunks, if desired. Stir in 2 teaspoons of the chile-oil.
  5. Divide the smashed avocado between the grilled bread slices, drizzle with a little extra chile-oil and sprinkle the tops with extra chile flakes before serving. Serve the avocado at room temperature while the bread is still warm from the grill.

Notes

source: inspired by Bon Appetit Magazine, July 2012

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9 comments
BBQ Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Sunday, June 17, 2012
12

I love lazy weekends where anything is possible.  Breakfast at the diner? OK.  Fussing in the garden?  I’ll take it.  A whirl around the gym?  Only because I have to.  Making grilled cheese for lunch?  You betcha!  (Hence the time at the gym.)  These bbq pulled pork grilled cheese sandwiches were a creation I had been dreaming of since the pork shoulder went in the oven a few weeks ago.  I had also planned on making taquitos with the leftovers but sadly, the leftovers never made it that far.  Anyway, perfectly buttered and toasted white bread hold together this magnificent sandwich combination.  The Monterey Jack melts into the pulled pork just as it should, leaving you with sandwiches that you’ll wish there were more of (though one certainly was plenty for lunch for us).  I decided to toast all of the bread slices independently and to cover the pan to allow the cheese to melt before combining the halves because all too often, when grilled cheese sandwiches have a lot going on inside, the cheese doesn’t melt completely.  Problem solved.  And?  The perfect weekend lunch.

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BBQ Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 2 sandwiches

As with most grilled cheese sandwiches, the bread you use makes all the difference. Because these sandwiches have the tendency to be on the messy side, choose a hearty white bread that can stand up to the awesomeness within; thick-sliced country white or homemade white bread are excellent choices. I didn’t think of this when making these sandwiches, but if you love red onion like we do, thinly sliced onions would be an excellent addition to this sandwich, as would sliced pickled jalapenos if you’re looking for a little extra bite.

Ingredients

  • 4 slices white bread (see header)
  • Salted butter, softened to almost melted
  • 1 ½ cups bbq pulled pork, warmed
  • 4 oz Monterey Jack or sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

  1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Butter one side of all of the bread and place the butter side down in the skillet. Divide the cheese between all of the slices and top the cheese on just of the two slices with the pulled pork.
  2. Cover the pan with a lid or sheet of aluminum foil for about 3 minutes; this will ensure heat melts the cheese and heats the pork through. Remove the lid (or foil) and check the undersides of the bread with a spatula. If all of the slices are lightly browned, flip the slices with the cheese onto the pulled pork so the cheese and pork can meld together. After 30 seconds to 1 minute, flip the sandwiches to finish off the other sides. When both sides of the sandwiches are perfectly browned (you know what that looks like) and the cheese is fully melted, remove them from the pan, cut, and serve hot and gooey.

Notes

source: Smells Like Home original

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12 comments
Queso Fundido with Chorizo
Thursday, May 3, 2012
21

Before seeing queso fundido posted here and there around the interwebs in the past few months, I don’t ever remember previously coming across it.  Not on a restaurant menu or in a cookbook, in magazines, or on blogs.  And even though the recipe was completely new to me, I knew I’d love it.  I mean…it starts with queso and damn, I know that means cheese.  I have no idea what fundido means but doesn’t it sound like a happy word??  (Actually, according to my Google search – go figure – it means molten or melted.)

And omgosh, this is a happy cheese dip.  Smoky chorizo (thanks for the suggestion, Annie!) is mixed in with handfuls of cheese and more of the usual Tex-Mex suspects: onion, tomato, jalapeño, and cilantro.  The chorizo actually cuts through all the cheese and adds a bit of needed “heft” to the dip.  It’s a glorious combination of ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to pull together.  And it was gone almost as quickly.  Along with nearly an entire bag of chips.  Salads really do pay off when dinner looks like this one.  Our dip did turn out just a little runny and I’m pretty sure it’s because of the excess liquid from chorizo so make sure you drain it off before adding the tomatoes, onion, and jalapeño.  But honestly, this didn’t detract from the cheesy goodness at all.  The recipe calls for “Mexican melting cheese” (see the recipe below) of which I could not find during my change-of-dinner-plans-on-whim grocery store trip, though I’m sure stores like Whole Foods or ethnic food marts definitely carry one of them.  If you’re still planning out a menu for Cinco de Mayo on Saturday, add this one to it…otherwise, it works just as perfectly with a beer for dinner in front of the baseball game on a random weeknight.

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Queso Fundido with Chorizo

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive or canola oil
  • 2 chorizo links (about 6 oz total), ½-inch diced
  • 1 tomato, seeded and diced
  • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 large jalapeño or 2 large serranos, seeded and diced
  • 3 tbsp tequila (optional – we forgot to add it)
  • 8 oz Mexican melting cheese like Chihuahua, quesadilla or asadero (or a combination of Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar)
  • ½ cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in an 8- or 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes; drain off most of the liquid. Add the tomato, onion, and jalapeño and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to soften and brown, about 7 minutes. Add the tequila (if using) and cook, stirring, until reduced to a glaze.
  2. Sprinkle in the cheese. Stir slowly and constantly until just melted then stir in the cilantro. Serve immediately in a warm dish with chips for dipping.

Notes

source: adapted from Rick Bayless in Fine Cooking and Fiesta at Rick’s via Annie’s Eats

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Baked Chicken Burritos with Sour Cream-Poblano Sauce
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
13

I start off most of my mornings with a cup of coffee.  Sometimes I make it at home.  Sometimes it’s on the run on the way to work or on the way home from the gym, which happens before work and usually involves a LOT of rushing around.  But it’s part of my routine and even though I look like a whirling dervish most mornings on my way out the door (like this morning when I dropped my laptop in an effort to muscle my way through the door at 6:30am with my purse, work bag, gym bag, and laptop bag strung over my arms), I’m happy with my little routine.

My afternoon routine is much more serene.  Come home, make dinner, relax…except on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I meet with my trainer at 4:00.  By the time I pull myself into the house, it’s all I can do to move.  She’s insane.  So it’s those nights where throwing a simple meal together or reheating leftovers works best.  These baked burritos serve both purposes.  On the table in about half and hour and filled to the brim with Tex-Mex-y ground chicken and black beans, this meal rejuvenates my weary body.  The sour cream-poblano sauce is spicy and cool at the same time and it’s a genius sauce since it reheats perfectly for leftovers.  And speaking of leftovers, these burritos reheat like champs.  The recipe yields 4-5 large burritos so you can bake all of them then reheat leftovers quickly in the microwave and throw them in the oven to crisp up the tortillas.  It’s pretty much my favorite meal from over the past few weeks and  I may even make a big batch this weekend to have in the freezer at the ready on those crazy kinds of days.

Baked Chicken Burritos with Sour Cream-Poblano Sauce
source: adapted from Elly Says Opa!

Ingredients:
For the burritos:

  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup water or beef broth
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
  • 4-10 whole wheat tortillas, depending on size (4 for burrito-sized, more for soft taco or fajita sized)
  • Cooking spray

For the sour cream-poblano sauce:

  • 2 poblano peppers
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2/3 cup chicken broth at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sour cream (light is fine) or non-fat Greek yogurt
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. To make the burritos: Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and then add the oil. Once hot, add the onions and cook for 3-5 minutes until they begin to soften. Place the ground chicken in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned.  (At this point, drain any excess fat if necessary/desired).  Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 30-60 seconds before adding in the beans. Add the water or broth, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne, brown sugar and salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon). Reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
  3. Place 2 tablespoons of the cheese at the end of each tortilla (depending on size) and then spoon some of the beef and bean mixture over the top. Fold the left and right sides of the tortilla in, and then roll the tortilla up, from the end closest to you, to the top. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet and lightly spray the tops of the burritos with cooking spray.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until tortillas are golden brown and crispy.
  4. Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Place the poblanos directly over a gas burner. Using tongs, turn occasionally until skin is blackened on all sides. Place in a bowl and top with plastic wrap or a clean towel, until cook enough to handle. (Alternatively, you can roast the peppers under the broiler until all sides are well-charred.)  Peel the peppers, remove the stems and seeds, and dice them.
  5. Heat a small sauce pan over medium heat and melt the butter; stir in the flour and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and then the diced poblano; continue to simmer, whisking frequently, until thickened.  Stir in the sour cream/yogurt and warm through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve the sauce over the baked burritos.

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Healthy Turkey Tacos
Friday, April 20, 2012
8

Tacos were pretty much an every-week staple at my elementary school growing up.  And I remember this being a crazy popular lunch day but I don’t remember eating them at school.  In hindsight, my brother and I were lucky kids; our mom was a work-at-home mom (almost unheard of in the 80s) and she had the ability to be there every morning to make our lunches.  Once a week, she gave us money to buy lunch at school and I picked carefully: either deli day (Thursdays) or pizza day (Fridays, naturally).  I don’t think my mom was ever exposed to tacos and refried beans until we were at a Girl Scout jamboree camping trip circa 1988 so until then, we never ate them at home either.  I couldn’t tell you if that was weird for the time but I can tell you tacos soon became a revolutionary meal in our house.

In our house now, you’ll see tacos show up on our menu at least twice a month and while Kyle and I love to make them traditionally with my homemade taco seasoning, we’re not against trying other varieties either.  These turkey tacos are a little different from the norm.  There’s a little brown sugar and cider vinegar added, both of which add a tiny hint of sweetness to the turkey and boost the flavor of the tacos exponentially, especially with the contrast of a little heat from the chili powder.  I’ve been heating up the leftovers for lunches this week along with the leftover refried beans I made to go with the tacos and either for lunch or dinner, these tacos are already a mainstay on our menu – we’ve made them 3 times in the past 6 weeks!

Print
Healthy Turkey Tacos

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • ¼ ½
    • For the tacos:
  • 1 tsp canola oil
  • 1 medium onion, minced
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp tomato paste
  • 1 ¼ lbs (20 oz) ground turkey (not 99% fat-free)
  • ½ cup canned tomato sauce
  • ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tsp cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp light brown sugar
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • For serving:
  • 8 corn tortilla shells
  • Shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Diced avocado
  • Chopped red onion
  • Sour cream
  • Lime wedges

Instructions

  1. In a 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder, garlic, oregano, and tomato paste and stir for 30 to 60 seconds, until the tomato paste is evenly distributed.
  2. Add the turkey and cook for 3-5 minutes, breaking up the turkey with a wooden spoon into smaller pieces as it cooks; the turkey should be cooked through but still slightly pink.
  3. Stir in the tomato sauce, chicken broth, vinegar, and brown sugar and bring the mixture to a simmer; simmer until thickened, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper before serving hot in taco shells. Stuff your tacos as desired.

Notes

source: adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook by the editor’s of Cook’s Illustrated

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Tomatillo Chicken Fajitas
Friday, April 13, 2012
7

Last summer, I fell head over heals in love with salsa verde.  Like, so in love that tomato salsa could never again compare.  I was relatively new to using tomatillos and I was floored by how pan roasting them imparted such a smoky sweetness to the salsa.  Add some garlic and a big handful of cilantro…perfection.

So let’s just say that not eating all of this salsa with a bag of blue corn chips was nearly impossible when I made it for these tomatillo chicken fajitas.  And let’s also say that making chicken fajitas with salsa verde was close to genius.  You’ll brown up some onions and red peppers, sauté thinly sliced chicken with some of the salsa, and then use some extra salsa as part of the fajita fixins.  It’s an awesome 15 minute dinner and I strongly recommend taking a few extra minutes before making the fajitas (or even a day or two in advance) to make your own salsa verde – it totally makes this meal!

Tomatillo Chicken Fajitas
source: adapted from Sargento via Confections of a Foodie Bride

Ingredients:

  • 3 tsp canola oil
  • 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
  • 3 sliced onion rounds (red or yellow), 1/4-inch thick
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced 1/4-inch thick
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 cup salsa verde (double recipe is recommended)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For serving:

  • 6-inch flour tortillas
  • Additional salsa verde
  • Monterey jack cheese
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges
  • Chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

  1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping just as the vegetables begin to brown.
  2. Remove the vegetables from the pan and keep warm on a plate.  Heat the remaining teaspoon of oil, add the chicken, garlic, and chili powder and sauté 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is browned and almost cooked through.  Stir in the salsa and cook for 1 minute.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.   Serve in tortillas with toppings of your choice.

7 comments
Spicy Bean Burritos
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
13

IMG_0447

For the past couple of months, we’ve been eating more vegetarian meals each week than I ever expected to see on my menus.  And coincidentally, in the spirit of saving money on groceries when the new house budget is our first priority, these vegetarian meals oftentimes come in comparatively less expensive than non-veggie meals.  I think this has helped get Kyle on board with eating less meat but honestly, he’s been really impressed with the meals I’ve been making, these spicy bean burritos being one of them.

We all know that beans are cheap but these burritos weren’t completely about eating on the cheap.  They were about amping up the flavor of canned beans (pantry staples) with garlic, cumin, chile powder, and pickled jalapeños (more pantry staples) in a healthy way.  I liken the bean mixture in these burritos to a cross between two of my favorite Tex-Mex side dishes, refried beans and Elly’s world famous black beans (but without the bacon)…which means that I totally loved these burritos.  Actually, we both did and there was so much leftover filling that we each had lunches for the next few days covered.  I certainly didn’t hear any complaints about this vegetarian meal, and in fact, Kyle commented how these burritos were almost exactly like the ones he orders from the Mexican food truck for lunch on Fridays.  Sounds like a winner to me!

Spicy Bean Burritos
source: adapted from Cooking Light as seen on Pink Parsley and Annie’s EatsIngredients:
For the bean filling:

  • 2 tsp canola oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ancho chile powder
  • 2 tsp minced pickled jalapeños
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup water or vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you choose)
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp salsa
  • Juice of one lime

For serving:

  • 6 10-inch flour tortillas (burrito size), warmed in microwave for 10-15 seconds between 2 damp paper towels
  • Shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, monterey jack, or a mixture)
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Shredded lettue
  • Chopped cilantro
  • 2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
  • Nonfat Greek yogurt or low-fat sour cream

Instructions:

  1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic, chile powder, jalapeños, cumin, and salt, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the beans and broth, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat, stir in salsa.  Mash the bean mixture lightly with a slotted spoon or fork to desired consistency.
  2. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Top each serving with desired toppings and roll the burrito tightly.  Slice each burrito in half and serve immediately.

13 comments
Frito Gorditas
Sunday, October 23, 2011
1

Frito Gorditas

It seems like this past week has just slipped by in the blink of an eye.  This time last week, Kyle and I were jamming to Sirius XM’s Hair Nation (Kyle’s choice) on our road trip up to Lake George, NY as a stopover before meeting up with Annie of Annie’s Eats on Monday in Vermont (pictures to come tomorrow!).  The bourbon pumpkin tart I made last week was a big hit around here and leftovers lasted until mid-week (even the whipped cream stayed nice and fluffy!).  This week’s Project Pastry Queen recipe brings us back to the savory side of the cookbook, traditionally one of my favorite parts of this book.

Frito Gorditas

And by traditionally, I mean I’ve loved every single recipe I’ve made from this part of the book…except this one.  This recipe for Beef Gorditas sounded excellent in theory but neither one of us was blown away by the filling.  As you can see, I opted out of making the actual gordita buns since I’ve been fighting a nasty head cold since Wednesday and decided to put the filling, which is much like Tex-Mex sloppy joes, over Fritos because…well, hello…it’s Fritos!  I found the filling a little on the bland side as written and I added an extra 1/2 tsp salt, an 1/2 tsp of cumin, and drizzled the final dish with extra hot sauce (Frank’s).  The Fritos and the hot sauce definitely helped to give the meal a boost but I can’t really see us making this recipe again.  In any event, Amanda of Fake Ginger has the full recipe posted if you’re interested.  Next week we’re doing apple pie!!

1 comment
Red Chile Chicken with Rice and Black Beans
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
17

red chile chicken with rice and black beans 1

I’m sorry I’ve been holding out on you for so long.  I’ve been making this Red Chile Chicken with Rice and Black Beans for well over a year and I’ve not once had the opportunity to take a photo.  Actually, I’ve probably had many opportunities but I can’t say that I’ve had the desire to have to wait to eat this meal while I take photos.  It’s just too good.  You see, it’s a simple one-pot meal of rice, black beans, chicken, chicken broth, and some spices.  And somehow, these very basic ingredients are magically transformed into this amazingly comforting meal as they simmer together.  A little smoky undercurrent of heat from the ancho chile powder (my favorite chile powder) sears into the chicken then infuses the chicken broth and rice and leaves you with an unforgettable meal.  We sometimes serve this with some sour cream and a little shredded cheese on top but toppings certainly aren’t necessary.  Mix-ins are good too – I had an ear of corn hanging out in the fridge and I sliced the corn off the cob and threw it in at the end – lovely!  And if you consider serving this to company, which it would be perfect for on a crisp fall weekend night or for a game day Saturday or Sunday, I think some jalapeño cheddar cornbread or chile cheese bread would be great accompaniments.  Regardless of how you decide to serve it, make this soon and thank me later.

Red Chile Chicken with Rice and Black Beans
source: Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless, via Elly Says Opa

I have successfully made this dish with brown rice but it takes twice as long as white rice to cook and needs about 1 extra cup of chicken broth.  If you want to go that route, add the chicken back in after the rice and onions cook for 30 minutes.  Aside from some improved nutritional value, I didn’t see any other benefit to using brown rice and since we so rarely eat white rice, I’ll stick with it in this dish in the future.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp canola oil
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs total)
  • 2 1/2 tbsp ancho chili powder, divided
  • 1 medium onion, large diced
  • 1 cup white rice
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions, roots and wilted outer leaves removed before chopping (OR 1/3 cup cilantro)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup salsa or chipotle hot sauce for serving (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Heat the oil in a medium-large heavy pot (with a lid) over medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breast with salt and 1 tbsp of the ancho chili powder. Place the chicken in the hot oil and brown on each side, 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate, leaving behind as much oil as possible.
  2. Add the onion and rice to the pot. Stir for several minutes, until the rice turns from translucent to opaque. Add the garlic and the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp ancho chili powder. Cook one minute, and then add the broth and salt to taste. Stir well. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
  3. Cut the chicken breast into 1″ pieces.  Add them to the pot along with the beans. Re-cover and cook 12 minutes longer.
  4. Sprinkle the green onions and test a kernel of rice.  It should  have no more than a hint of chalkiness at in the center, in which case you place the cover back on, remove it from the heat and let it stand 5-10 minutes.  If it’s not cooked, cook for another 5 minutes or so.
  5. Fluff the mixture with a fork and serve with salsa (if using).

17 comments
King Ranch Casserole
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
3

King Ranch Casserole

I can honestly say that in my life since moving out on my own almost 10 years ago, I have never made a “traditional” casserole.  If you were born after 1940, you know what kind of casserole I’m talking about…the kind that involves canned cream of ::fill in the blank:: soup.  We’re all familiar with them as most of us grew up with them as staples in our mother’s cooking repertoires and I’m not ashamed to admit that I likely ate them with gusto as a kid myself – hello “clean plate club!”  However, as an adult, I figured out how to read a nutritional label (holy sodium batman!) and understood what everything actually meant…and I proceeded to banish all canned soup from my pantry, including the broth soups I had been eating for lunch for months when soup was the only thing I could afford during graduate school.  So needless to say, “traditional” casseroles have not been a part of my adult life.

IMG_0433

And then in walks The Pastry Queen with her seductive homemade casserole boasting its mighty name.  After all the amazing recipes I’ve made from this book, how could I turn this casserole down?  I couldn’t.  And I didn’t.  And I fell head over heels for this dish – we both did, actually.  After all my lamenting about the unhealthiness of canned soup, don’t let me fool you into thinking this recipe is healthy because it definitely is a “once a year” kind of meal, but at least by making a homemade sauce, you’re able to control the ingredients that go into it.  I made the recipe as written except that I halved it, used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, and used one poblano chile and one jalapeño.  The sauce, while not all that appealing to look at, is downright fantastic; it’s what makes this whole meal so great.  The mushrooms disappear into the sauce and by the time the casserole made its way to my plate, I had forgotten they were even involved.  Be prepared for some spice with this dish but it’s more a smokey heat than a burn-your-tongue-off heat and if you’ll be serving this to kids or lightweight adults, you can cut back on the amount of fresh chiles you use.  Overall, this King Ranch Casserole is a complete winner in our book and I won’t hesitate to bring this to any potluck or serve it for a casual dinner with guests.

You can find the full recipe on Jody’s blog, Savory to Sweet.  I’m a little behind with Project Pastry Queen recipes so later this week, I’ll be posting a fun twist on pizza…stay tuned!

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