Category: Things I Make

As I mentioned a few posts ago…I recently caught up with an old college friend in DC Amina, and this hs her recipe that I have just revised a bit. It’s so so easy and really delicious! Thanks Amina!

Ingredients: 

1 can enchilada sauce  

1 can refried or black beans

1 can corn, drained

1 can chopped or sliced olives, drained (I omitted these…not an olive fan) 

1 package shredded Mexican cheese mix (she uses light…so do I)

1 package tortillas (she likes flour, I like corn)

Some chopped onions (she uses frozen, I chopped mine)

 I also added in some left over crab cakes my Dad had made, and some steak.

Directions:

Spray rectangular Pyrex casserole dish with Pam.  Pour half of the can of enchilada sauce into it.

Put one of the tortillas down in the sauce and put in one handful each of beans, corn, and cheese. Add around a tbsp each of the chopped onions and olives. Roll the whole thing up so there’s sauce on most of the outside of the tortilla.

Repeat filling and rolling tortillas until there’s no more room in the pan.

 Like this:

Then pour the remaining sauce over the top of the tortillas. Spread the remaining cheese and olives on the top too. Poke the ends of the tortillas down a bit.

Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is all melty.

Serve with any/all of the following: rice, tortilla chips, salad, or guac.

I thought for sure the boyfriend and I would love the crab ones more than the steak ones…but alas we loved the steak.

See you all soon!

If you work in Uptown Charlotte like I do chances are good that you have been to Fujo, the chinese restaurant in one of the Wells Fargo buildings. Before my company moved, our Charlotte office was located in that building and I’m sure it was one of my co-workers that first took me there. It’s great for a quick lunch and some time back I started eating Singapore Rice Noodles there. Essentially, it’s noodles, curry, chicken and fresh veggies.

During my trip to the Super G, I saw some dried rice noodles on the shelf and thought I’d give it a shot.

I googled a few recipes and ended up combining a few to come up with this recipe. NOTE: There is only one photo of the end product for this blog entry as once everything is chopped and ready…it cooks quickly. And since it was my first time making it, I was a bit pre-occupied.

So here is what I did/used:

I read all different kinds of ways to get the dry noodles ready. Eventually I followed the directions on the package and soaked them in a bowl of tepid tap water for 45 minutes (it said 5-10 but it just needed more time for the noodles to get al dente). After this, I used a colander to dry them off.

2-3 red/orange bell peppers sliced thin

2 green onions chopped

1 med size piece of ginger (to clean ginger simply chop the skin off on all sides and then chop it up)

2 handfuls of pre-shredded carrots

1 chicken breast sliced thin

2-3 cloves of minced garlic

I don’t have a wok so I used my deepest frying pan I had. I put in 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil in the pan and cooked the chicken. Because it was sliced thin it didn’t take long.

While the chicken was cooking, I combined 3 eggs, 2 more tablespoons of toasted sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder. Strangely enough, I didn’t buy curry at the Super G and found curry (it’s yellow in color) at Wal-Mart in the spice aisle.

Once the chicken was done, I moved it onto a plate and scrambled the eggs.

I then moved the eggs onto a separate dish.

I then added another tablespoon of sesame oil and added in the ginger, garlic, and curry for about 1 minute.

Now it was time for the veggies. I added one more tablespoon of sesame oil and threw the veggies in.  After about a minute or so I added a few tablespoons of water.

One more tablespoon of sesame oil and I added back the noodles to fry them up for a bout 30 seconds. Next, 1/2 cup of chicken broth is added. Bring it to a boil. Added back in the chicken and the eggs. Added some soy sauce and dry sherry (a few tablespoons each) and tossed.

I plated it and added some sprinkled cilantro over it. It was really really good.

The boyfriend and I crushed this plate with ony a left over lunch portion left for me. I can’t wait to make it again. Now…who to invite?

File this in the “If you have been to my house you have eaten this file” because I love making this dish and serve it often. Additionally, it’s two recipes for the price of one because a crucial part of this pasta salad is Giada’s red wine vinaigarette, which is also a staple in my house (and my work fridge for that matter). I rarely buy salad dressing anymore that’s how much I love this dressing. This is illustrated by how beat up the pages are in my Giada book on that particular page…

I know I know, you can’t read that…so here is a link to the recipe as well. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/red-wine-vinaigrette-recipe/index.html

I make one adjustment I feel you should know about. I don’t put a full cup of Olive Oil. I did at first but to me…it’s just a bit too much…so I do 3/4 of a cup and it comes out great.

Ok so now to the orzo pasta salad…which is also a Giada recipe. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/everyday-italian/orzo-salad-recipe/index.html

I make some adjustments but want you guys to know where/how I started making things. She includes garbanzo beans and mint…I omit them. Sometimes I put cheese in, sometimes I don’t. I LOVE red onion in this recipe…but the other night when I made this I didn’t have any.

So start by cooking your orzo pasta. I do follow her direction about this and cook it in chicken broth. Adds such a nice flavor. This time I used 3 cups of broth (as I had some open) and 3/4 cup of orzo. Once it’s al dente…give it a bath! I put mine in the colander and rinse it off.

It stops it from continuing to cook, keeps the salad from being too starchy and also cools it off at the same time. While the orzo was cooking…I got busy and chopped a tomato (one of the ones from the Super G market I bought a few weeks ago…yes weeks), some basil I needed to use, and a bit of buffalo mozarella I had left in the fridge.

Add in your orzo…and your red wine vinaigrette and boom orzo salad. Giada says to use 3/4 of a cup of vinegarette…again I use less. Use your best judgement.

Enjoy! Happy Memorial Day! Don’t forget to honor those who fought for our freedom! Oh and enjoy some racing too with the Coke 600 on FOX at 6pm ET! Sorry I couldn’t resist a tune in message!

A few years ago I started making turkey meatballs and putting them in the freezer to mix with whole wheat pasta for an easy weeknight meal. I’ll use either a pound or two pounds of frozen turkey depending on how ambitious I feel that day.

This is so easy to do on a Sunday and prepare yourself for the weeks ahead.

So get a bowl and let’s make some meatballs. Here’s what to put in the bowl.

Ground Turkey

Chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs

An egg

Garlic (2-3 bulbs…whatever you are comfortable with)

Onion (1 medium or small is fine. Sometimes I will use shallots to use them up)

Parmesan Cheese (to taste)

It’s going to look like this

Now here is the key…don’t over mix it. Once the ingredients are somewhat combined…start making the balls.

I roll mine in a bit of flour before I put them in the pan to keep them together. I fry them up in olive oil. NOTE: Use a non-stick pan for this. I don’t know why I used this pan this time but I won’t do it again. Brain fart by me.

Make sure to turn them once the bottoms get carmelized and yummy.

A twist that I love…is to put some lemon juice on each one after they are done. YUM! Sometimes I do it in the pan, sometimes I do it on the paper towel when they are cooling.

I then put 3 or 4 in a freezer bag and make mid-week packages. When I pull them out of the freezer…I put some olive oil over them and let them cook for about a minute in the microwave.

Coming soon:

Singapore Noodles

A trip to the Matthews Community Farmers Market

and much much more TBD!

Greetings!

My parents and I spent the Christmas holiday in Cancun, Mexico this year and I fell in love with Tikin Xic fish. At the all-inclusive resort we stayed at, there was a little restaurant near the pool that only served lunch. We stumbled in there the first day and I tried this fish. I then ate it every day, and even tried it at a local restaurant.

I wish I had taken photos of that fish because it was presented so beautifully.

Here is the wikepedia description of Tikin Xic fish.

Tikin Xic, pronounced “teekeen sheek” in Yucatec Mayan and meaning “dry fish”, is a fish dish prepared in the Meso-American style. The fish is prepared whole then marinated with adobo de Achiote and sour oranges then wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked in an earth oven beneath a wood fire.

The reason I went to the international market Super G Mart (see last post and then run there) was to find the Achiote paste. I did not however purchase a banana leaf and in hind sight perhaps I should have.

Here is a photo of the Achiote paste and ground Achiote…which I may experiment with next time. The paste is up top.

I  looked at many recipes on the internet and here is what I did…

I squeezed two limes into a bowl

Added a cup of orange juice

Used 1 oz or about half of the package of Achiote paste and dissolved it into the juice

Added some of my Dos Equis

and then threw my fish (I used Tilapia but might use another white fish next time) in a bowl and let it marinade for a few hours. I put a bit of fresh oregano on top.

So the key to this dish…is the pickled onions. Remember this…the key to the dish.

I chopped up some fresh thyme and oregano I had in the fridge. Sliced a red onion into thin rings. Juiced my remaining two limes from the Super G Mart. Added some fresh pepper and some white wine vinegar and added them all together. YUM!

I also put some rice in my rice cooker. 1 cup of rice. 2 cups of water. And wash the starch out of your rice for goodness sakes. It makes all the difference.

Once the rice was done, I added about a tablespoon of vegetable oil, some salt, a bit of lime juice (I keep some in the fridge at all times) and some chopped cilantro. Homemade Chipotle cilantro rice. So yummy and not as fattening. They use way too much oil.

I decided to try and cook the fish on a flat fry pan I have since there was the yummiest carmelization on the fish at the resort. It didn’t really work out as I had planned, but was still yummy.

The entire time the boyfriend and I were eating this I felt like something was missing…but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It kinda tasted like the resort but something wasn’t right. It wasn’t until about an hour later when I went to show him a photo on my phone that I discovered…I had forgotten the onions! Oh no! The delicious pickled onions were in the fridge!

Luckily we had some fish left over and I made us both lunch for the next day with the onions. We both agreed it was so much better. And yes, I am still bitter I forgot the onions.

Might have been the best Monday lunch of all time. And we used the onions for Taco Tuesday but damn! Let’s just say I will be making this again in the near future.

More from the international market adventure soon!

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that I find myself a little sad this morning. If you are 30-45, chances are you too are sad that today you woke up and realized that today is the first full day living in a world without MCA from the Beastie Boys. I love the Beastie Boys. I’ve seen them three times live. I have every album. And…this…

One of my most prized possessions in my house…is my skateboard signed by the Beastie Boys. I won it listening to KROQ all day one Saturday as I cleaned my room in the House of Hooch (my post college two story apartment where I lived with friends Annie and Kate…yes there were two Kates in one house). Those ladies let me try out new dishes on them when I really had no clue what I was doing in the kitchen. 🙂

Strangely enough…on my agenda today after this blog is cleaning my closet. And I will listen to the Beasties or Jazz Fest from NOLA while I do it. Weird.

Ok now to the recipe! So I make Huevos Rancheros quite a bit. I normally make it when I have leftover homemade salsa and guac (see previous post) but today I didn’t have that so I just made it with what I had…Cholula hot sauce…which is always in my kitchen.

As you can see…you don’t need much to enjoy this Mexican deliciousness.

Eggs

Cheese

Beans (I used black)

Tortillas (I used whole wheat)

and some hot sauce of your choosing.

It’s so quick too!

I put a tortilla in a non stick pan to heat it up, start another fry pan to cook the eggs, and put the beans in the microwave just to heat them up.

Once your eggs are firm on the bottom, turn on your oven to broil and start assembling.

Put your beans on your tortilla, slide the eggs on top, and add cheese. Put them in the oven to melt the cheese and finish cooking the eggs.

Once browned in the oven use a spatula if needed to get on to the plate. Add the Cholula and boom! Huevos Rancheros.

This seriously took me about 10 minutes to make this morning for the boyfriend and I.

A few more notes: yes I fully understand I need to go into pre-production on this blog and post this so you can make it on Cinco De Mayo. But I only make breakfast on the weekends, so I will try to pre plan better so you can enjoy holiday meals on the holiday. I’ll try to pretend I’m a big Food Network star. Also, I am trying to be a better photographer so I also took this photo using the foodie package on Hipstamatic. A real camera is on my list of things to buy…but the closet calls my name first.

Have a great weekend! Tomorrow I am trying a new recipe based on a fish I ate in Mexico every day over the holidays. Ticin Xic style fish. So yummy!

Greetings!

This has become a staple in my house and it’s courtesy of @bethenny aka Bethenny Frankel of RHONY and now Bethenny Ever After. I think she rocks in general. The recipes on her site are really really good.

Here is a link to her recipe…I made a few adaptations that she would have encouraged. One of her motto’s is “use what you have”.

http://www.bethenny.com/2010/08/10/stuffed-peppers-recipe/

First, take a knife and cut the top and bottom off of your peppers. These green peppers looked so good at the store this week I couldn’t pass them up.

Oh and you should heat the oven to 400.

Next chop up those tops and bottoms, and throw them in a pan with a pound of ground turkey (or whatever meat you want) and a chopped onion.

I wait until the turkey is almost cooked to add the other ingredients like 2 cups of tomato sauce (i used jarred marinara from TJ’s), Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, chopped thyme and garlic salt.

I also cheated by using a microwavable brown rice and quinoa package. 90 seconds. Hot. Add it in.

It’s going to end up looking yummy like this…

So get to stuffing those peppers. She calls for feta cheese in the recipe…but I didn’t have that much so instead I just put on the top.

Cook for 30 minutes at 400. YUM!

Note: I started putting foil on the pan because the runoff was a killer to get off my pans! Also, I was able to stuff these two peppers and still have some left over. I’ve also made double batches and frozen it for later use.

Fritatta’s are easy! I know they sound fancy but they aren’t. Let me walk you thru it.

Crack some eggs in a bowl (I normally use 2-3 per person)

Chop some herbs (this time I used some basil and thyme I had in the fridge)

Chop some deli turkey (I had some extra I wanted to use up but you can use anything really. Have some leftover chicken or bacon? use it)

So crack your eggs in a bowl and scramble them up. Add in your herbs and turkey. Add some cheese. Most of the time I will add in some parmesan but this time I am going to add the cheese mid-way. Please hold.

Take a non-stick pan and add some butter or margarine, etc. just enough to coat.

Add in your egg mixture but don’t stir. Did you hear me…DON’T STIR.

It’s gonna look something like this.

You will see the egg mixture start to set on the bottom and the sides and that’s a good thing.

So at this point…I added some goat cheese (I know I know again w/ the goat cheese) and turned on the broiler.

So the reason why we turned the broiler on is now that the bottom is cooking, we need to cook the top. There are some fancy fritatta pans out there that are like two pans locked together. I think these are lame and unnecessary. Just my opinion. Here is a photo.

I put my fritatta in the oven on broil and just keep any eye on it until it turns golden brown on the top. I chop it into four pieces and serve it up. Really an easy breakfast and a great way to use up what you have in your fridge.