Monday, July 23, 2012
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Our Version of Cafe Rio’s Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- a dash (or two) cayenne
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 5 c. chicken broth
- 3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- juice of 1/2 lime
- pepper, to taste
- 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
- 1 Tbsp. paprika
- vegetable oil (to taste)
- pico de gallo (click HERE)
- 2-3 avocados, diced
- 2 c. pepper jack cheese
- tortilla strips (Click HERE)
- cilantro (for garnish)
- lime wedges (for garnish)
Instructions
- In a small skillet, saute onion in 1 Tbsp. oil until onions become slightly soft. Stir in cumin, cayenne, and chili powder and saute an additional minute or two.
- Transfer seasoned onions to a small crock pot (or medium-sized saucepan). Add chicken broth, cliantro, lime juice, pepper and pinto beans to onions and simmer on low-heat for at least 2-3 hours.
- In the meantime (when you are close to serving), combine taco seasoning and paprika. Brush chicken with oil and rub with taco seasoning/paprika mixture. Grill chicken over medium-heat until cooked through (try to turn only once during the grilling process). Remove from grill and shred.
- In individual bowls layer chicken, about 1/3 c. pico de gallo, 1/3 c. diced avocado, and 1/3 c. pepper jack cheese. Ladle about 1 cup of chicken broth directly over the layers. Top with tortilla strips and garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Arepas- Cuban Grilled Cheese
Arepas – Cuban Corn "Pancake" Sandwiches
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By Three Guys From Miami
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6-8 arepas
The famous corn pancake sandwich served at fairs and exhibits in Miami – two cornmeal "cakes" with a layer of gooey cheese inside.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup milk
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup ground frozen corn kernels
1 cup arepa flour or finely ground yellow cornmeal -- also known as corn flour.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup water(approximately)
6-8 slices Mild Swiss cheese, sliced
Bring the milk to a boil in a small pan.
Add the five tablespoons of butter. Let stand.
Grind one cup frozen yellow corn kernels in a food processor. In a large bowl, mix the arepa flour, salt, sugar, ground corn, and mozzarella. Make a well in the center and gradually add the hot milk. Stir until there are no lumps.
Work the dough until it is smooth and sticky. Add water as necessary if the dough is too thick. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough between two sheets of wax paper to about 1/4" thickness.
Cut out arepas with a large cookie cutter-- about 3 inches in diameter. (We've had good luck using a small straight edged bowl.)
Heat a lightly buttered griddle on medium. Cook the arepas in batches until crispy and golden brown on each side. Immediately place a slice of cheese on one arepa and cover with another to make a sandwich.
Heat on griddle until cheese melts. You can also make the pancakes only and store them in the refrigerator or frozen until ready to serve. Just lightly butter two pancakes, put a slice of cheese in between (on the unbuttered sides) and heat on the griddle at low-heat until the cheese melts.
By Three Guys From Miami
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6-8 arepas
The famous corn pancake sandwich served at fairs and exhibits in Miami – two cornmeal "cakes" with a layer of gooey cheese inside.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup milk
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup ground frozen corn kernels
1 cup arepa flour or finely ground yellow cornmeal -- also known as corn flour.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup water(approximately)
6-8 slices Mild Swiss cheese, sliced
Bring the milk to a boil in a small pan.
Add the five tablespoons of butter. Let stand.
Grind one cup frozen yellow corn kernels in a food processor. In a large bowl, mix the arepa flour, salt, sugar, ground corn, and mozzarella. Make a well in the center and gradually add the hot milk. Stir until there are no lumps.
Work the dough until it is smooth and sticky. Add water as necessary if the dough is too thick. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough between two sheets of wax paper to about 1/4" thickness.
Cut out arepas with a large cookie cutter-- about 3 inches in diameter. (We've had good luck using a small straight edged bowl.)
Heat a lightly buttered griddle on medium. Cook the arepas in batches until crispy and golden brown on each side. Immediately place a slice of cheese on one arepa and cover with another to make a sandwich.
Heat on griddle until cheese melts. You can also make the pancakes only and store them in the refrigerator or frozen until ready to serve. Just lightly butter two pancakes, put a slice of cheese in between (on the unbuttered sides) and heat on the griddle at low-heat until the cheese melts.
ARMADILLO EGGS
Armadillo eggs
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Ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup yellow cheddar cheese, shredded (2 ounces)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
6 medium-sized jalapeños
2 pounds breakfast sausage or any other spicy uncooked sausage, removed from its casing
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease a baking sheet.
Mix together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic, cilantro and cumin until well blended. Taste and add salt, and adjust seasonings.
Remove the stems from the jalapeños and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and then cut the sliced jalapeños in half, horizontally.
Place about a teaspoon of the cream cheese filling in each jalapeño quarter. Take about 1/3 cup of the sausage and pat it into a 3-inch circle and place the stuffed jalapeño in the center of the sausage. Wrap the sausage around the stuffed jalapeño until it’s completely covered, and form into an egg shape.
Place sausage-wrapped jalapeños on the sheet, about an inch apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked. For additional browning on top, you can place the sheet under the broiler for 2-5 minutes.
Serve with buttermilk dressing, queso or salsa.
Ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup yellow cheddar cheese, shredded (2 ounces)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
6 medium-sized jalapeños
2 pounds breakfast sausage or any other spicy uncooked sausage, removed from its casing
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease a baking sheet.
Mix together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic, cilantro and cumin until well blended. Taste and add salt, and adjust seasonings.
Remove the stems from the jalapeños and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and then cut the sliced jalapeños in half, horizontally.
Place about a teaspoon of the cream cheese filling in each jalapeño quarter. Take about 1/3 cup of the sausage and pat it into a 3-inch circle and place the stuffed jalapeño in the center of the sausage. Wrap the sausage around the stuffed jalapeño until it’s completely covered, and form into an egg shape.
Place sausage-wrapped jalapeños on the sheet, about an inch apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked. For additional browning on top, you can place the sheet under the broiler for 2-5 minutes.
Serve with buttermilk dressing, queso or salsa.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Garlic SPA'GETTI SQUASH
Spagetti Squash
1 spagetti squash
Butter
Garlic parsley Salt or just make your own add parsley flakes, garlic powder and omit salt.
Pepper
Bake Squash for an hour to an hour and 20 minutes to prep for over place small amount water in bottom of pan and bake at 375 degrees. poke holes with skewer thru out squash so it does nto burst during baking.
Bake till ends of sqaush should be tender and easy to stab with fork.
Cut in half, Scrape out seeds and middle fibers.
After you clean sheds insides with fork inot large bowl and add butter and seasoning.
Get creative with it! change to your own seasoning.
1 spagetti squash
Butter
Garlic parsley Salt or just make your own add parsley flakes, garlic powder and omit salt.
Pepper
Bake Squash for an hour to an hour and 20 minutes to prep for over place small amount water in bottom of pan and bake at 375 degrees. poke holes with skewer thru out squash so it does nto burst during baking.
Bake till ends of sqaush should be tender and easy to stab with fork.
Cut in half, Scrape out seeds and middle fibers.
After you clean sheds insides with fork inot large bowl and add butter and seasoning.
Get creative with it! change to your own seasoning.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Crockpot Gryos
For the gyro meat:
--1/2 pound ground lamb
--1/2 pound ground turkey
--2 t oregano
--1 t paprika
--1/2 chopped onion
--3 cloves minced garlic
--juice from 1 lemon
For the Tzatziki sauce (optional, but not really):
--1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
--1 cup plain non fat yogurt
--1 T olive oil
--3 cloves minced garlic
--2 T chopped fresh mint
--juice from 1 lemon
Extra stuff (optional. for reals.):
--pita bread (but we used corn tortillas)
--lettuce
--tomatoes
--feta cheese
--olives
The Directions.
Don't freak out about the number of ingredients. This comes together very quickly. I promise. Chop up the onion, and 3 cloves of garlic, and put them in the bottom of your crockpot. In a small mixing bowl, combine the two kinds of ground meat with the paprika and oregano. If your spices don't have a fresh smell anymore, or if you think they may have been purchased in the 90s, consider buying fresh bottles for this dish.
Make a little meatloaf with your hands. Put the meatloaf log on top of the chopped onion and garlic in your crockpot. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the top of the meat.
Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours, or on HIGH for about 2.
I, um, forgot to plug in the crockpot until 2pm yesterday and cooked this on high for exactly 2 hours.
It worked!
While you are waiting for the meat to cook, make up a batch of the yummy Tzatziki sauce and put it in the fridge.
You will know when the meat is done, because it will not be raw when you cut into it. This is all so very technical, you know.
Carefully! remove the meat from the crockpot and slice it thinly on a cutting board.
Serve it with pitas (or corn or brown rice tortillas) with the Tzatziki sauce and whatever desired fixings you have chosen.
The Verdict.
I loved making these! I hadn't used garlic and onion just as a flavor infuser before, and was really excited to learn a new trick. This is not greasy, and the flavor was good. It was not the same as how I remember the gyros from across the street at the Zoo, but close enough that I would definitely make them again. I remember a lot more grease, and a lot more salt. and since I'm not sixteen anymore, I'm no longer interested in that, anyhow.
--1/2 pound ground lamb
--1/2 pound ground turkey
--2 t oregano
--1 t paprika
--1/2 chopped onion
--3 cloves minced garlic
--juice from 1 lemon
For the Tzatziki sauce (optional, but not really):
--1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
--1 cup plain non fat yogurt
--1 T olive oil
--3 cloves minced garlic
--2 T chopped fresh mint
--juice from 1 lemon
Extra stuff (optional. for reals.):
--pita bread (but we used corn tortillas)
--lettuce
--tomatoes
--feta cheese
--olives
The Directions.
Don't freak out about the number of ingredients. This comes together very quickly. I promise. Chop up the onion, and 3 cloves of garlic, and put them in the bottom of your crockpot. In a small mixing bowl, combine the two kinds of ground meat with the paprika and oregano. If your spices don't have a fresh smell anymore, or if you think they may have been purchased in the 90s, consider buying fresh bottles for this dish.
Make a little meatloaf with your hands. Put the meatloaf log on top of the chopped onion and garlic in your crockpot. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the top of the meat.
Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours, or on HIGH for about 2.
I, um, forgot to plug in the crockpot until 2pm yesterday and cooked this on high for exactly 2 hours.
It worked!
While you are waiting for the meat to cook, make up a batch of the yummy Tzatziki sauce and put it in the fridge.
You will know when the meat is done, because it will not be raw when you cut into it. This is all so very technical, you know.
Carefully! remove the meat from the crockpot and slice it thinly on a cutting board.
Serve it with pitas (or corn or brown rice tortillas) with the Tzatziki sauce and whatever desired fixings you have chosen.
The Verdict.
I loved making these! I hadn't used garlic and onion just as a flavor infuser before, and was really excited to learn a new trick. This is not greasy, and the flavor was good. It was not the same as how I remember the gyros from across the street at the Zoo, but close enough that I would definitely make them again. I remember a lot more grease, and a lot more salt. and since I'm not sixteen anymore, I'm no longer interested in that, anyhow.
Tameles ala crock pot
Filling (quite mild)
1 (3.5-pound) store-bought rotisserie chicken or roast pork
1 tsp cumin
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 clove garlic, minced
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies, mild
1 (15-ounce) can corn or toamtoes drained optional
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional
Tamale Dough:
4 cups masa harina
2 1/2 cups beef broth or chicken or pork
2 tsp baking powder
1 can green chilies if you like.
1 1/3 cup lard or vegetable shortening (I used crisco)
1 (6-ounce) package dried corn husks (I needed to go to a Mexican grocer) banan leaves work well too
twine...........
The Directions.
There are a few parts here. I "cheated" and used a fully-cooked chicken as the meat in my tamale filling. If you'd like, you can cook a hunk of beef or pork overnight with spices and chili pods in your crockpot. The meat should shred easily with forks before it is ready to go inside the tamales.
If you're going to use the rotisserie chicken, combine the meat with the onion, garlic, can of green chilies, cumin, salt, and drained corn in a 4 quart (or so) crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6. The onions need to be translucent before going into the tamales. If you don't have time for this step, skip the garlic and onion, and combine the chicken with the chiles, cumin, salt, and drained corn in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Soften the corn husks by soaking them in very hot water until they are quite pliable.
To make the masa, combine all dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium-to-high speed until everything is mixed well and the dough is spongy. Check the dough by dropping a little ball of it into a glass of water. It should float. If it doesn't float, this source says to continue to beat the dough.
Take a bit larger than a golf-ball size piece of masa dough, and spread it into a wet corn husk. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick--you do not want to see the corn husk through the dough. Add a bit of filling, and some cheese. Fold the corn husk over to join the edges of the masa. If you need to add more dough, do so---no filling should peek through. Fold all corn husk edges into the center and place into the bottom of an empty crockpot, seam side down (I used a 6.5 quart, and fit 19 inside).
Repeat. Many, many, many times. It took me about 2 hours to make all of the tamales. If you find that your corn husks are unraveling, you can add another the other way to secure it, and tear off a long piece to tie around or use twine if your using banan leaves. I had to do this a few times. I also needed to add more hot water to the soaking husks to keep them pliable. If you need to step away from the tamale-making-process for a bit, put the lid on your crockpot to keep moisture inside.
When the crockpot is full, put the lid on and cook on high for 4-6 hours, or until a tester tamale looks and tastes done. The tamales on the edges will cook a bit faster. Once your tester looks good (I used the same one, and kept re-wrapping it and adding it back when it wasn't ready), unplug the crockpot and keep the lid off. Don't unwrap any others until they've set for about 15 minutes. My tamales were cooked at 6 hours, but I began checking every 45 minutes at 4 hours.
The Verdict.
I was thrilled that these worked so well! They are definitely labor-intensive, but pack such an impressive presentation. Now that I know how to do them, I'll make them again----but not for a while.
1 (3.5-pound) store-bought rotisserie chicken or roast pork
1 tsp cumin
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 clove garlic, minced
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies, mild
1 (15-ounce) can corn or toamtoes drained optional
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional
Tamale Dough:
4 cups masa harina
2 1/2 cups beef broth or chicken or pork
2 tsp baking powder
1 can green chilies if you like.
1 1/3 cup lard or vegetable shortening (I used crisco)
1 (6-ounce) package dried corn husks (I needed to go to a Mexican grocer) banan leaves work well too
twine...........
The Directions.
There are a few parts here. I "cheated" and used a fully-cooked chicken as the meat in my tamale filling. If you'd like, you can cook a hunk of beef or pork overnight with spices and chili pods in your crockpot. The meat should shred easily with forks before it is ready to go inside the tamales.
If you're going to use the rotisserie chicken, combine the meat with the onion, garlic, can of green chilies, cumin, salt, and drained corn in a 4 quart (or so) crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6. The onions need to be translucent before going into the tamales. If you don't have time for this step, skip the garlic and onion, and combine the chicken with the chiles, cumin, salt, and drained corn in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Soften the corn husks by soaking them in very hot water until they are quite pliable.
To make the masa, combine all dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium-to-high speed until everything is mixed well and the dough is spongy. Check the dough by dropping a little ball of it into a glass of water. It should float. If it doesn't float, this source says to continue to beat the dough.
Take a bit larger than a golf-ball size piece of masa dough, and spread it into a wet corn husk. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick--you do not want to see the corn husk through the dough. Add a bit of filling, and some cheese. Fold the corn husk over to join the edges of the masa. If you need to add more dough, do so---no filling should peek through. Fold all corn husk edges into the center and place into the bottom of an empty crockpot, seam side down (I used a 6.5 quart, and fit 19 inside).
Repeat. Many, many, many times. It took me about 2 hours to make all of the tamales. If you find that your corn husks are unraveling, you can add another the other way to secure it, and tear off a long piece to tie around or use twine if your using banan leaves. I had to do this a few times. I also needed to add more hot water to the soaking husks to keep them pliable. If you need to step away from the tamale-making-process for a bit, put the lid on your crockpot to keep moisture inside.
When the crockpot is full, put the lid on and cook on high for 4-6 hours, or until a tester tamale looks and tastes done. The tamales on the edges will cook a bit faster. Once your tester looks good (I used the same one, and kept re-wrapping it and adding it back when it wasn't ready), unplug the crockpot and keep the lid off. Don't unwrap any others until they've set for about 15 minutes. My tamales were cooked at 6 hours, but I began checking every 45 minutes at 4 hours.
The Verdict.
I was thrilled that these worked so well! They are definitely labor-intensive, but pack such an impressive presentation. Now that I know how to do them, I'll make them again----but not for a while.
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