Taco Soup

This has become my go-to meal for taking to families with new babies. Easy, relatively cheap, and it feeds a ton of people. Remember the old school recipe with taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix? This was inspired by that, but I'm way too cheap to buy ranch dressing just for soup, so inspired is used loosely. Because of the ranch ingredient, I used dried parsley and garlic in this, which I think work well.

Taco Soup
loosely inspired by the retro ranch-dressing-including taco soup

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
4 cups pinto beans
16 oz frozen corn
4 oz canned green chiles
3-14 oz cans diced tomatoes (for this batch, I did fire roasted, whole, and diced plain)
4 cups water
1 t salt
2 t cumin
2 t coriander
1 T chili powder
1 t pepper
1 T dried parsley flakes (there's my nod to the ranch)
2 t garlic powder

toppings: chopped cilantro, lime wedges, diced jalapeno, sliced radishes, chips, sour cream, cheese

Cook the ground beef and onion together until beef is browned and onion is translucent. Drain if needed. Add all other ingredients, and allow to simmer for 1 hour for flavors to blend. Serve with assorted toppings (the fun part!).

Indian Mexican Fusion

I checked out a great cookbook from the library last week, 660 Curries. I love, love, love some good Indian food. I also love, love, love some good Mexican food. So, when I saw the recipe for Mexican Indian fusion, using flavors from both, I knew that I had to have it. This recipe takes some time. It requires making the sauce, preparing the peppers, making the batter, then frying. But it's so. worth. it. One of the best new recipes I've tried in a long time.

Potato-Stuffed Peppers in a guajillo chile sauce
For the sauce:
12 dried guajillo chiles
3 cups boiling water
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 t toasted cumin-coriander blend (I used 1 t of each, but you can buy this as dhania-jeera masala)
1 t salt

For the peppers:
1 pound potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 t salt
1/4 cup cilantro
4 cloves garlic
4 fresh green chiles
6 large poblanos or anaheims (but tailor this for your crowd; count on 1-2 per person)

For the batter:
1 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 t salt
1/2 t turmeric
3/4 cup warm water (I needed a little more)

Canola oil for frying
2 T cilantro for garnish

To make the sauce, soak the guajillos in the water until soft (about 20 minutes). Take them out and blend until smooth (in a blender), adding most of the 3 cups of water. Strain into a saucepan, then add the salt, cilantro, and spices. Simmer until it's thick enough for a sauce (I just left mine simmering slowly on a back burner while I made the rest of the recipe).

To make the peppers, roast, peel, and then remove the seeds of the peppers. The original recipe called for them raw, but we just prefer roasted and peeled. It's all good. In a food processor, grind the cilantro, garlic, and peppers until very finely chopped. Mix that into the potatoes along with the salt. Then, stuff the peppers with the potato mixture and set aside.

Mix the batter, adding the water slowly, until you get sort of a thick pancake batter. You want it to cling to the peppers.

Heat the oil, and when ready to fry, dip a pepper into the batter, then place into the hot oil. My skillet holds two poblanos at a time, so that's how many I did. Fry until golden brown (cause everything is already cooked; you're just frying the batter). Drain on paper towels.

To serve, top each pepper with the sauce and some cilantro. Enjoy!

Today, I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Check it out!

Meal Plan 1/23

Another week, another meal plan.

Tuesday: red chili

Wednesday: potluck (we're taking salad)

Thursday: black bean burgers, chips, salad

Friday: potato stuffed peppers in a guajillo chile sauce (recipe coming tomorrow!), rice, beans

Saturday: bean and rice burritos with green chiles (lunch), ribeye, chard, salad, baked potatoes (supper)

Sunday: pasta with broccoli (lunch), sweet potato black bean chili (supper)

Monday: Moe's Monday (I promised my kids that if they'd eat cheap stuff all week, I'd save out enough money for this, which they adore. Lots of beans this week, only to eat more beans at a restaurant. Go figure. )

The Perfect Meal for Monday

We love red beans and rice here. So good it makes your heart sing. My whole life I've heard that you eat red beans and rice on Mondays, so that's what we do. (It's a good, slow cooking, not much attention, meal for washday.) And, don't let it fool you. This sounds (and might look) like a winter dish, but it's completely appropriate in the summer, too. Just use your crockpot for the beans (or buy canned).

First, you cook the beans. These were cooked with a ham bone, so that's why you can see some of the fat in the broth. If you aren't a fan, you can chill the beans, then take the chilled fat off the top. Or be lazy like me. It's all good.

Beans take 2-3 hours to cook stovetop. Or like I said, use your crockpot. I do all day on low, half a day on high (how's that for exact?). Once the beans are cooked, use a wooden spoon to mash about 1/4 of them into the broth. It'll make the whole bean dish thicker.

I prefer the contrasting texture of smooth beans and vegetables that still have some body, so I add everything else at the end. This is 1/2 lb andouille, onions, a bell pepper, and celery (the trinity). Cook all that up, then dump it into the pot of beans.

Serve over white rice (and don't be like me--at least take the time to wipe off the rim of the bowl). The perfect slow cooked Monday dish while you do laundry (you do your laundry on Monday, right??).

I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam today!

Potato kale enchiladas

I love enchiladas. So good! I especially like plain cheese enchiladas from our local Mexican place. The sauce is sooo good, the cheese melty, and they always hit the spot. But...with no dairy, it makes it a little harder to eat enchiladas! So, I remembered an old recipe from Veganomicon that I made once for a vegan relative. They were tasty, but a lot of trouble. The filling was what was great about them, though. Hearty and filling, even without the cheese. And, as kale season draws to a close, a perfect choice.

I topped these with an equally old recipe from Cooking Light, for tomato almond mole. It's a really great sauce that goes together quickly (win!).

And, my potato kale enchiladas were born. I was lazy and just layered these, casserole style. My homemade enchiladas always end up a big, tasty, mushy mess, so sometimes, I just go with it instead of doing the work of rolling them. But, rolling works, too. Whatever you have the patience for.

Potato Kale Enchiladas
adapted from Veganomicon
1 pound waxy potatoes
1 bunch kale washed, trimmed and chopped finely
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup toasted pepitas
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 – 14 corn tortillas
Enchilada Sauce (recipe follows)

Prepare the filling: Peel and dice the potatoes, then boil them until tender. Drain and set aside. Cook the oil and minced garlic over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until the garlic is slightly browned. Add the kale, sprinke with salt and raise the heat to medium stirring constantly to cover the kale with oil and garlic.

Partially cover the pot to steam the kale until it has wilted – 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and mix in the potatoes, vegetable stock, lime juice, pumpkin seeds and salt. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash some of the potatoes. Cook for another 3 – 4 minutes.

To assemble, place a ladle full of sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan. Add a layer of torn corn tortillas, followed by a layer of potato kale filling. Top with another layer of corn tortillas, and top entire casserole with the enchilada sauce.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Garnish with cilantro and white onion rings.

Enchilada Sauce
adapted from Cooking Light, October 2002
1/2 c roasted almonds
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
2 dried Anaheim chiles -- stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1 chipotle chile canned in adobo -- chopped
1 1/2 c fire roasted crushed tomatoes -- such as Muir Glen
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cloves
2 6-inch corn tortillas -- torn into pieces
14 1/2 oz chicken or vegetable broth (I used better than bouillon chicken)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Place almonds in food processor and process until smooth (about 2 1/2 minutes) scraping side of bowl once. Set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high. Add Anaheim chiles; saute 1 minute or until softened. Add onion and garlic and saute 4 minutes or until onion is lightly browned.

Add chipotle, tomatoes, sugar, spices, tortilla pieces, and broth to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon the mixture into a food processor and process until smooth. Return mixture to pan; stir in almond butter and vinegar; cook 1 minute.

I'm linked to the summer link party at Rhoda's, as well as Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam today.

Menu Plan April 4

I'm so excited that it's April. I love this month, almost as much as September, when all the harvest is rolling in. I think I love the change of seasons most of all. April is also a very sweet month for us, with my parents' anniversary, and the birthdays of three of my favorite people--my sweet Tomato King, my mom, and my stepdad. So, lots of cake this month. Yay! I am rolling around some dairy free options for Mike's birthday, and I can't wait to try them out. This is also the first year that my 4 year old has some understanding of Easter, and he's very excited. I'm loving hearing him tell me all about Easter and why we celebrate.

With the change of seasons, we also change the way we eat a little bit. Less oven meals (too hot!) and more main dish salads. I do a few set meals each week , and I think I'm going to change one of them to a salad meal. We'll see. We're also still in Lent, and our family is doing meat-less Fridays, which has been a blessing to us this year.

This week, we are also taking our first camping trip of the season. Two years ago, we bought a new-to-us-but-really-well-used pop up camper. We had a great time in it. Last summer, though, I was pregnant, then had a newborn, plus we moved, so we never made it camping. This year, we have great plans for several trips. This is the first one, to south Georgia, and I'm excited. We're meeting my sister-in-law there, too, so I'm looking forward to seeing her (she's not into camping, so she's going to just come see us and sleep in her comfortable hotel bed.. I'm not sure if I should call her a wimp or brilliant! ~smile~)

But, without further ado, here's the plan for the next 2 weeks:

Friday--omelets with red peppers and chard, home fries, toast

Saturday--leftovers (lunch), sushi (supper)

Sunday--main dish salads with chicken, black beans, and corn (lunch), brunswick stew (supper)--this was a hold over from last week, but I'm glad I finally got to it. Such a hit with our family every time, plus we have leftovers for the freezer

Monday--stuffed peppers, salad, roasted potatoes, beets

Tuesday--pork stir fry with baby bok choy, chard, beet greens, and whatever else I can find over ramen

Wednesday--chicken, sausage, okra gumbo over rice

Thursday--lunch with my mom to celebrate her birthday, then chicken cutlets with mushroom sauce, buttered pasta, salad, any greens left from the week (an easy meal to use up any perishables before we leave for the weekend)

Friday--camping--bean burritos (lunch), vegetarian chili (supper)

Saturday--eggs, sausage, biscuits (breakfast), quesadillas or chicken salad (lunch), hamburgers (supper)

Sunday--pancakes, sausage (breakfast), fast food (lunch), frozen soup (supper)--I'm no fool! Coming home from camping is exhausting, and I need the easiest thing I can muster this night

Monday--black beans and rice and chicken, salad

Tuesday--tortilla soup

Wednesday--salmon croquettes, rice, salad, some sort of vegetable

Thursday--spaghetti

As always, I'm linked to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie. Lots of great ideas if you need something new!

Brownies

Sometimes an old classic is all you need. I've been revisiting some of my childhood favorites in the last 3 or 4 months for a few reasons. They're cheap, and my kids love them. That's the top two. But, also, my mom always used margarine, so I know that they'll taste okay dairy free, and she wasn't big on cream, cheese, or the like, so most of them are naturally lower in dairy. It's nice to be able to make something that I *know* will turn out. I've made these brownies twice in the last month. They come from the cookbook of my elementary school. We lived at the beach at the time, and our school mascot was a dolphin, hence the name.

This is one of the first recipes I learned to make. I was 9 years old. In the last 25 years, I'll bet I've made these brownies 150 times. Easy. There were years that they were a weekly or monthly treat. It makes me smile to see the splattered page.

But, it really makes me smile to see the pan come out of the oven! So good. So easy. So cheap. You gotta try these.

Brownies
1 stick butter or margarine
6 T cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 egg for fudgey; 2 for cake like
1 t vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 cup pecans, chopped (this is optional, but a good addition)

Melt the butter (I do it in the microwave). Whisk in the cocoa, then the sugar. Add in the egg, whisking well to combine, then the vanilla. Stir in the flour. The batter will be thick. Bake in a greased pan at 350 for 15 minutes. The center will look like it's not quite set. This is what you want! As they cool, the center will stay fudgey and delicious. If you prefer a more cake-like brownie, cook for 20 minutes, until the center is completely set.

These are so easy! What are you waiting for??

Chicken and rice casserole

The very first meal I cooked start to finish was for my 6th grade home economics class. It consisted of chicken and rice casserole (my mom's cookbook called it "chicken supreme"), a can of green beans, and jello no-bake cheesecake. I remember that the family gave me such compliments on it, and those flavors always take me right back. Only thing...chicken supreme is a no-go right now. It has two cans of soup in it, and without dairy, there is no canned soup. What to do? What to do? Cause when you need some chicken and rice, you must figure out a way! This version was really good (surprisingly so), and all 5 of us enjoyed it. Definitely a repeater. I started by browning the chicken. This is most of a cut-up chicken (minus the breasts--I used them in another meal), plus two thighs. It always amazes me how much bigger chicken pieces are when you buy them separately rather than cut up your own chicken. I wonder if they chickens are different breeds...Hmm. Must research this. But, back to the casserole

Once the chicken was brown (you don't want it cooked through, cause it's going in the oven), I toasted the rice in the same pan. Just until the center turns a little white.

Made the sauce. This is margarine, flour, and chicken bouillon (from a jar of better than bouillon ). I think the bouillon works really well here, because it's replacing canned soup. I was afraid chicken broth wouldn't have the stronger flavor I was looking for. I did add about 1/3 cup of coconut milk (the kind that is in the refrigerator section) at the very end to give it a creaminess. It would have been cream if we ate dairy.

Mix the sauce with the rice, then layer the chicken on top.

Once baked, the rice absorbs the sauce and all the goodness from the chicken, and the whole thing is really, really good. It'll take you right back to 6th grade. In a good way.

Chicken Supreme approx 3.5 pounds of chicken pieces (about 6 pieces) 1.5 cups rice 1/2 stick butter (or margarine for dairy free) 5 T flour 3 cups chicken bouillon (you could use chicken broth, but season it well) 1/3 cup cream or dairy substitute such as coconut or almond milk Brown chicken in a deep skillet and remove. Add rice to the same skillet and toast just until the centers of the rice turn white. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter/margarine, and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes to get the raw flour taste out, then add the chicken bouillon, whisking continually until the sauce thickens. Add the cream/substitute and stir well. Taste and correct seasoning (salt and pepper) as needed. Add the sauce to the rice in the skillet, stirring well to combine. Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice. Cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid or aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for approximately 50 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and rice is done.

I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Lots of great ideas! Check it out!

Mexican Skillet Meal

A few months ago, I submitted a recipe for a skillet meal to All You magazine. This is one of those easy meals that everyone likes. My kids are huge fans of rice, as well as taco flavors. It's rare to find a meal that all 5 of us willingly eat (I have a child that survives on air, chocolate milk, and peanut butter), so this is a great meal.

It starts, as so many do, with browning ground beef along with an onion and garlic.

Next, I add the rice until it turns sort of white and opaque. You want to slightly toast the rice at this step.

Add the spices, tomato sauce, and water.

After it simmers, serve it up! I make spinach separately to mix with the adult portions in our house. Green is wayyyy too frightening for my young children. *rolling my eyes here* And, I top everyone's with taco toppings--crushed chips, cilantro, onion, jalapenos, and a squeeze of lime. It would also be good with dairy, of course. I'd top it with cheese and sour cream.

All You liked my recipe so much that they declared it a winner! They sent this great non-stick skillet set as my prize. I'll also be in a future issue.

I love the skillets (they work really well), but I really love knowing that I was a winner. Thanks, All You!


Mexican Skillet Meal

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup tomato sauce
3 cups water
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
toppings:
shredded monterey jack cheese
crushed tortilla chips
jalapenos
cilantro
diced onions
sour cream
salsa

Brown ground beef in skillet, draining if necessary. Add onion and saute until onion is translucent, about 4 more minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 additional minute, until fragrant. Add rice to skillet, stirring until rice is slightly opaque and white, about 2 minutes. Add in spinach, tomato sauce, water, and spices. Bring to a boil. Place a tight fitting lid on skillet, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, until rice is done.

Top skillet meal with monterey jack cheese, cilantro, onions, sour cream, salsa, and crushed tortilla chips, as desired.

Sausage gravy

One of my favorite breakfast for supper meals is biscuits and gravy. I didn't grow up with this meal (it's not that common in the very deep south, and my mother isn't a huge fan of white gravy), but I discovered it in my late teens, and I've been a convert ever since.

We haven't had the meal in oh so long, because I was scared to try it without milk. But, my cravings got the better of me, and I decided to go for it last week. It turned out really well.

I started with homemade sausage, just because I'm more likely to have ground pork in the house than breakfast sausage. For sausage, I just season the meat and allow it to sit for an hour or two. I use salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, and garlic, but you can use whatever seasonings you like.

Once the sausage is browned (and I prefer bigger pieces, pretty well browned, but again, that's a personal preference), add flour to make a roux. This sausage was a little dry, so I added about a tablespoon of oil to make it come together.

And, then, I added soy milk. I seasoned with worchestershire sauce and nutritional yeast. I've found these flavors work really well with the soy milk, sort of taking away any funny soy flavor.

I served this gravy over store-bought biscuits (still working on a good dairy free biscuit recipe), with scrambled eggs. Breakfast for a king!

In our house, Sunday nights are almost always breakfast for supper. It's good (for me, at least!) to have such an easy meal to make at the end of a busy weekend. And who doesn't love breakfast for supper? Put it on your menu this week! It'll make everyone smile.

French salad dressing

For the last few years (!), I've been stuck on one salad dressing. Yes, folks, the redneck in me loves some ranch salad dressing. So good, so creamy, so delicious. And so full of dairy.

So, with the dairy free diet, I've been experimenting with some different dressings. My husband and all 3 boys love Good Seasons Italian, almost to the exclusion of all others. And, it's okay, but it's not something I want to eat everyday. So, on the quest for something new and different, I reverted back to an old, retro favorite. Just as good as I remembered.

French dressing
1/3 cup oil (something light--I used canola)
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water

Place all the ingredients in a jar or cruet, shake to mix, and enjoy.

Ah, Grit Tofu

I grew up in a college town. As such, there is always someone around experimenting with alternative ways. They have a rocking music scene, and in college, I was introduced to all sorts of styles of music (as well as some classics--I even saw the B-52s in concert!). But, it seems almost required that everyone in town experiments with vegetarianism at some point. And, to help those folks along the way, there is a beloved vegetarian restaurant in town that almost everyone has tried at least once, and most people love. Me? I adore the place, and I never get there often enough.

One of their staples on the menu is called The Golden Bowl. Rice, fabulous tofu, yeast gravy, and stir fried vegetables. Ah, heaven in a bowl.

So, for dinner last week, I made the very best part of this meal--the tofu. In an attempt to make everyone happy at the table, I served it with fried rice and sauteed bok choy. This meal was wonderful. The Tomato King, the baby, and I devoured it. The middle one ate it with ketchup (and gusto--he had 4 servings!), and my oldest child licked it and went to bed determined to have an extra big bowl of oatmeal the next morning. This is a successful recipe around here. :)

This is a great beginner tofu dish. Even if you think you don't like tofu, there is something addicting about the savory, salty, yummy goodness of these little cubes. The double fry technique is similar to what good restaurants use on their french fries, and it really works. Try it soon! You'll be dreaming about tofu, too.

Grit Tofu

1 pound firm tofu
nutritional yeast
soy sauce
oil

Cut tofu into cubes slightly smaller than playing dice. Lightly oil a non-stick skillet and place over medium high heat. Allow oil to heat slightly and add tofu. Toss until evenly and lightly golden born. Sprinkle lightly with soy sauce. Remove from skillet, draining and discarding any excess fluid.

Rinse and wipe skillet dry. Lightly oil and place over high heat. Allow oil to become very hot and add tofu. Saute tofu until very well browned. Sprinkle with soy sauce. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast to coat tofu cubes and, tossing vigorously, saute for a few seconds and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday today over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Lots of good stuff. Check it out.

Meal Plan Monday

Grocery prices where I live have been climbing recently. It's time for me to consider increasing my grocery budget, but I haven't done it yet. So, for now, lots and lots of low-meat and bean based meals. Luckily, my kids count beans as their favorite foods (I know! I consider this very lucky as well), so we have them frequently without complaint. And, as always, meal planning lets me look ahead at the week, make sure I have everything I need, then make adjustments ahead of time to keep within my budget. Cause no one wants to eat steak on the first day of the pay period and ramen on the last!

Friday--homemade pepperoni pizza
Saturday--frito chili pie (lunch), chicken tettrazini, salad (supper)
Sunday--omelets, biscuits, sausage, potato pancakes (lunch), gumbo (supper)
Monday--red chilaquiles with chicken and avocado, refried beans
Tuesday--burritos with pinto beans, sweet potatoes, and collards
Wednesday--chicken and sausage etouffee, rice, salad
Thursday--salmon croquettes, rice, butter beans

As always, I'm linked to Meal Plan Monday at orgjunkie. Lots of great ideas over there!

Moo Shu Chicken

For Christmas, I got the cookbook, Cheap.Fast.Good! It's a really great cookbook for my everyday, needs to be ready in 30 minutes, no funny ingredients, sort of cooking style. Now, I love tackling a big, complicated recipe as much as the next girl. In fact, maybe more. But, on a Tuesday night when my kids didn't take naps, the dog won't stop barking, and my living room needs to be vacuumed again. Well, on those days, I'm not busting out Gourmet. Thirty minutes will have to do.

I also appreciate that the authors of this book cook with a slant towards southern food. When my mom made gravy, it was brown. Not white like those mountain folks. Not red like those odd birds in the northeast. Brown. And it usually came alongside fried chicken. So, those are the flavors that speak to my soul. I was thinking just the other day that it's no wonder our ancestors fried so often. It's so darn easy and fast and good. And, then I thought to myself, okay, that probably totally gives away my roots.

But I digress.

This is a quick, easy meal that everyone liked. Couldn't be better.

It starts with a couple of convenience foods. Bagged coleslaw mix and hoisin sauce. I bought this at the Asian market (hence the writing that I can't read), but you can get it anywhere.

And, it ends beautifully, in what we told our boys were "Chinese tacos". Hey, whatever works, right? I served them alongside store-bought (Trader Joes) egg rolls.

Mu Shu Chicken
adapted from Cheap Fast Good by Beverly Mills
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
8 oz mushrooms, coarsely chopped
16 oz bag coleslaw mix
1 T oil
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 t dark sesame oil
12 small flour tortillas
extra hoisin sauce for the tortillas

Chop chicken breasts into bite size pieces. Heat the oil in an extra deep skillet over medium heat. Add the chicklen to the skillet and cook, until browned and almost cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until they just begin to brown. Meanwhile, mix the hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. Add the hoisin mixture and coleslaw mix to the skillet. Stir well, cover, and cook for about 3 minutes. Heat the tortillas in the microwave or a cast iron skillet. Spread a little extra hoisin sauce in the center of each tortilla. Using a slotted spoon, place about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. Serve immediately.

Pork Roast

It's the dead of winter. Which means one thing. We want what we can't have. Of course. In my house, we love some barbecue. Smoked all day, until it's tender and falling apart. Really, nothing could be better. And my husband does a fine job of it. But, for us, barbecuing season is over around Christmas. January and February just prove to be a little cold to tend a fire for several hours. Come spring, we (who am I kidding? Mike) will be back out there barbecuing with the best of them. But, for right now, we make due with this great recipe from the Lee Bros.

It starts with a heavy pot with a well fitting lid. I use this beloved pot from Le Creuset. It's a bouillabaise pot, and it's perfect for everything you can think of. I use it to stir fry, to deep fry, to braise in the oven. I use it for stews and soups, for boiling peanuts. You name it. I've cooked it in this pot. It's my favorite kitchen equipment, and I'm glad that Mike splurged on it one year for Christmas.

But, I digress. First you get a pot.

Brown the pork butt on all sides. This takes about 8-10 minutes per side, so it's not quick. But, it's well worth it for the flavor it brings to the table. This is a really big butt. I think it was about 7 pounds or so.

Once all sides are browned, place the butt so that the fatty side is up. This will help baste the meat during cooking, keeping it moist and flavorful. I pour flavored vinegar in as the braising liquid.

And now the tedious part. Baste. And baste some more. Cooked low and slow, basted forever and a day. The meat will turn out like this. Beautiful brown and crispy on the top, moist and flavorful inside. It will shred with 2 forks, very, very easily.

Serve with your favorite sauce. Winter barbecue. It'll put a little summer on your table, even with nastiness outside.

Oven Roasted Pork Butt
The Lee Bros Southern Cookbook
One large (at least 3-3.5 pound) pork butt, skin on, bone in
1 teaspoon oil
2 cups vinegar barbecue sauce
1 T cane syrup or sorhum (optional, but good)
1/2 cup chicken broth (optional again)
1/2 cup apple cider (optional)

Remove butt from fridge 2 hours prior to cooking to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sear each side of the butt until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes per side, in a hot pan with the oil.
Pour the barbecue sauce over the meat, and heat until the sauce simmers. Transfer to the oven, cover, and bake, basting every 15 minutes, until a meat thermometer registers 175 degrees, about 3.5 hours.
Optional part: transfer 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid to a saucepan. Add the molasses, broth, and cider, and bring to a simmer. Simmer vigorously about 6 minutes, until reduced by half. Baste the shoulder the the syrup, return to the oven, and turn the heat up to 425. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes more.
Lazy girl option: uncover the pork, turn the heat up to 425, and cook for 15 more minutes.
Remove the pork from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes. Carve or pull the pork, and serve with your favorite sauce.

Vinegar sauce
2 cups white vinegar
2 T chili powder (use whatever you like; I like ancho for this)
1 t pepper
1 T salt
1 t sugar

In a jar with a tight fitting lid, put all the ingredients. Shake until well combined. This sauce will keep forever in the fridge.

This post is linked to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Lots of great ideas there.

Bowl of yum

I am in love with the flavors of spicy, bitter, and sweet. Yum. I can't get enough.

As it frequently does, this recipe started with beautiful greens. I'm normally not a fan of kale, but this was really pretty at the market, and it was better than usual. Although, really? How can anything go wrong when quickly cooked in olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes? That would make a shoe taste good.

I marinated some pork in chipotle (just boneless pork loin, sliced thin, rubbed with a mashed chipotle, and allowed to sit for a couple of hours). I pan fried this in a tablespoon or so of oil.

Oven roasted some sweet potato cubes. I let these go just a hair long, but they were fine. Just chop, toss with a little oil, salt, and pepper, then roast at 400 for 30 minutes or so.

We mixed all this together, topped with hot sauce, cilantro, onion, and chopped jalapenos. A burrito in a bowl, if you will, with cheap, in season ingredients.

This combination totally works. You must try it soon. So good.

Today, I'm linked to Balancing Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday. Check it out.

Chana Masala

Chana masala is one of the first Indian foods I tried, and I still love it just as much as that first taste (out of a can, so not even that great of a version). According to some of my Indian friends, it's the equivalent of macaroni and cheese. Homey, comforting, but maybe not something that adults eat all the time. And, it's true. When I'm in our local Indian fast food place, I always see the little kids eating chana. No matter, the stuff is GOOD. And I am not too proud to eat little kid food (who am I kidding? I make mac and cheese for me as often as for my boys). Anyway. All that to say, this is good stuff, and if you've never had Indian food, it's a good starting place.

Chana Masala
courtesy of Smitten Kitchen

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 fresh jalapeno, minced
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon amchoor powder (I was out, but it is very good if you have it)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
4 cups tomatoes, chopped small or 1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes with their juices, chopped small
1/3 cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 T lemon juice

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, amchoor (if using it), and paprika. Cook onion mixture with spiced for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt, lemon juice, and garam masala. (The garam can get bitter if added at the beginning)

I served this with basmati rice, sliced cucumbers, and a tamarind/apple butter chutney (literally half and half apple butter and tamarind paste--easy, but really good).

Today, I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. I get new ideas each week over there. It's fun to see what other people are cooking.

Clam spaghetti

Recently, I found myself with these tiny grape tomatoes, just a bit past their prime.

What to do? What to do?

I threw them in a pan, let them get hot and their skins split.

Then, I added 2 cans of clams, their juice, and a little white wine. Let that all simmer and reduce until the liquid was almost gone.

And I added the concoction to a pot of regular spaghetti sauce (I had made plain for my boys). Mixed the clam concoction and the spaghetti sauce, let it all simmer for a while, and easy as pie, it was done.

And easy, easy take on red clam spaghetti.