It's Easy Being Green Enchiladas

1 large jar of green salsa (I used Safeway's Salsa Verde)
1/2 Cup Tahini
2 tsp Pork Soup Base (I used this because I didn't have chicken and pork tastes richer)
1 1/2 Cups water
4 Tb Canola Oil
2 Breasts of Chicken, cut into thin strips
5 Cups of fresh Spinach
1/2 lb Mushrooms (mine happen to be Crimini), sliced
10 Corn Tortillas
Mexican Crema or Sour Cream (optional)
Queso Fresco (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
In a blender combine the salsa, tahini, water and soup base (you can use stock if you have it).  Puree until smooth.  In a large pot or sauce pan, heat 2 of the Tb of oil on high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the sauce all at once.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce begins to thicken.  You don't want it to be runny, but you don't want it to be as thick as ketchup.  Once it is done, set it aside.

Heat a large sauce pan heat up 2 Tb of the oil on medium high heat.  Brown the chicken and then set it aside.  Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a couple minutes.  Add the onions and cook together until the onions are translucent and soft.  Add the spinach and the chicken.  Cook it all together until the spinach is wilted completely.

Meanwhile, put your tortillas into the microwave for 30 seconds to soften.  Most Mexican recipes call for frying these, but, with all the oil and tahini already in the recipes, I skipped the frying.  Coat the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish with sauce.  Then, one at a time, dip the tortillas in the sauce to coat.  Add a heaping spoonful of the filling and then roll, seam side down.  Fill the pan with the enchiladas, packing them together.

Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and then sprinkle with Queso Fresco.  Bake for 15 minutes.  When plating, drizzle each serving with crema.  I think I'll skip the cheese and cream for me...trying to cut out some fat.  :)

Back in Business!!

After weeks of illness circulating in our house, I am pleased to say that everyone is healthy and sleeping pretty well.  And, best of all, Mommy is food-inspired once again.  I've made a few great recipes recently, so I'm going to post those this afternoon.

Here's what's coming:

1. Sweet Potato Stew with Cranberries and Chicken
2. It's Easy Being Green Enchiladas
3. Beans and Rice
4. Spaghetti Squash with Lemon and Olives
5. Fish & Green Beans in Pipian Sauce
6. Garlic & Olive Hummus
7. Kale Smoothies

Check back later for recipes and tips! :)

Fish & Green Beans in Pipian Sauce

I adapted this recipe from a Rick Bayless recipe in his cookbook, Mexican Everyday.  I used more veggies and simplified the cooking just a bit.  I highly recommend his cookbook.  He makes cooking authentic Mexican food an easy thing to do on a week night.  He also gives great tips for using various ingredients and making vegetarian versions.  I have made many of the recipes from this cookbook!

Fish & Green Beans in Pipian Sauce

1 Jar of store-bought Green Salsa*
1 Cup Chicken Broth 
1 1/2 Tb Olive Oil
1 C Pepitas (green pumpkin seed kernels)**
Salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar
2 Cups Green Beans or Peas (fresh or frozen)
Four 4 - 5 oz Skinless Fish Fillets (salmon, halibut, walleye, snapper or striped bass)
1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro

In a blender or food processor, process the salsa, broth and pepitas until a smooth puree.  Heat the oil in a very large (12 inch) skillet over medium heat.  When it is quite hot, add the puree all at once.  Stir as the puree reduces and gets thicker, about 10 minutes.  Take care that the mixture doesn't stick.  If it seems coarse, process again in a lightly covered blender to smooth it out.  Taste and season with salt and sugar.  (The sugar will help balance the natural tartness of the salsa.)

While the sauce is simmering, pour the peas or green beans into a microwaveable bowl, sprinkle on a tablespoon of water, cover and heat on high until veggies are hot and tender.  Discard the water.  

When the sauce has simmered for 10 minutes, nestle the fish fillets in it, completely submerging them.  Continue simmering gently until the fish flakes when pressed firmly, usually 5 to 6 minutes for 1/2 inch thick fillets.  

Transfer a fish fillet to each dinner plate.  Spoon a portion of the sauce over the top.  Serve with the peas or green beans and cilantro.  Eat it up!  
___________________

*Salsa Verde

You should be able to find this at a local grocery store.  I particularly like the Safeway brand Salsa Verde Medium, Herdez Salsa Verde and Frontera brand.  You can make a salsa verde using tomatillos.  I'll include a recipe for that in the next week.  You can make this recipe as hot as you like depending on the spiciness of the salsa.  You can also add more tomatillos to a hotter salsa to lessen the heat.  

**Pepitas

You can often find these at local Mexican grocery stores.  You can also order them online.  I found them at:

Nuts Online

Boxed Greens (organic)

Week Review - 9/26 - 10/02

This week was rough.  We've had sick kids and have now gotten sick ourselves.  Still, my people had to eat, so here's what I made them.  Looking back, I guess we ate pretty well.

Sunday
 
Marco and the kids ate these awesome uncured hot dogs from Whole Foods.  I no longer eat beef, so I ate salad with leftover chicken.  It was a super quick dinner after a long day.
 
Monday
 
Peanut Soup
 
I got inspired by an old friend to make peanut soup.  I've made a peanut soup before that had butternut squash and tomatoes.  What I made was not as good, but I have posted a few links to some great recipes and some tips on how to make it better!
 
Tuesday
 
Albondigas al Chipotle and Garlic Rice
 
I used a recipe from my Rick Bayless cookbook, Mexican Every Day.  I highly recommend this cookbook.  He has taken classic Mexican recipes and simplified them for people to make for weeknight dinners.  This was really easy.  The entire dinner, including the rice and salad took me 45 minutes.  I was able to use mostly produce from our garden, including the mint in the meatballs.  I find it hard to find ground pork, especially humane, hormone-free ground pork.  Fortunately, I found some at Whole Foods.
 

 
Wednesday
 
All hell broke loose on Wednesday.  The car was in the shop.  Marco was stuck in traffic.  It was pouring rain.  So, my people ate fish sticks and tomatoes.  Marco and I ate leftover peanut soup.
 
Thursday
 
Pasta with Potatoes and Broccoli

 
I found this recipe in Food Network Magazine that incorporated a bunch of stuff I had on hand.  I modified it to use a pasta that is easy for little fingers to pick up.  They have trouble with spaghetti.  Everyone loved this.  Well, the short people did avoid the broccoli.  But Marco and I really liked it.  I tried to keep it fairly low fat.  
 
Friday
 
We splurged and walked down to our little neighborhood Mexican restaurant, Fajita Coast.  It was so nice to relax.  I had some really good ceviche.
 
Saturday
 
Fun times were had at our neighbor's cookout.  I contributed grown up mac-n-cheese (with bacon, red onion and spinach) that was enjoyed by many.  The babies gobbled this up too!  I'm on a diet and could not partake, but I did sample it (seriously yummy).
 
Grown Up Mac-n-Cheese

Grown Up Mac-n-Cheese

Cheese Sauce:
3 C Havarti, grated
2 C milk
3 Tb butter
3/4 C flour


6 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
4 C spinach, roughly chopped
1 red onion, chopped finely
1 box of pasta (I always use whole wheat, I love the nutty texture)


Start your water for the pasta.  Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crispy.  Strain out the bacon, reserving the fat.  Cook the onions in the bacon fat until they are nice and soft and browning.  Set those aside.  Combine the butter with the remaining bacon fat.  


Cook the pasta according to the instructions.


Melt that over medium high heat, then add the flour.  Cook this, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes.  Careful not to let this burn.  After the 5 minutes, pour in the milk, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Cook at medium high for about 10 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken and loses its flour flavor.  Add the cheese and let it melt. 


Mix the cheese sauce, bacon, spinach, onion and pasta.  Salt to taste.  Eat it.  Get fat. 

Pasta with Broccoli and Potatoes

This is a reprint of a recipe I found in my Food Network Magazine (September 2010).  It's a great magazine with tons of amazing recipes!  Check it out!  I made some minor changes that are noted.


Kosher salt
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large bunch broccoli, florets and some chopped stems
12 oz pasta (I use only whole wheat pasta)
4 Tb unsalted butter (I did not use this)
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced into half-moons (I did not use this)
Freshly ground pepper
1 head Boston lettuce, torn (I used fresh spinach)
1 1/2 C grated fontina cheese (about 4 oz)
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese (about 1 oz)
(I used a total of 1 C of a cheese mix of parmesan, asiago and fontina)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook 10 minutes, then add the broccoli and pasta and cook as the pasta label directs.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the leeks, 11/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste.  cook until soft, about 7 minutes.  (I did not do this)
3. Put the spinach in a colander.  Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, then drain the pasta, broccoli and potatoes over the spinach to wilt it.  Return the pasta and vegetables to the pot.
4. Add the cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Babies rejected the broccoli and potatoes.  Maya cried.  Marco ate two helpings.  I struggled to only eat one helping.  It was really good.  

Albondigas al Chipotle & Garlic Rice

The original recipe I got from my Rick Bayless cookbook, Mexican Every Day.  It is the BEST cookbook.  I highly recommend buying it.  This is what I made, from his recipe.  Basically, I just doubled it and got three meals out of it!  The garlic rice recipe is basically from my mother-in-law, though usually I use onions too.  But the garlic alone makes it really rich and creamy tasting.
 
Meatballs:
6 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
6 garlic cloves, peeled (divided use)
3 large eggs
1 C bread crumbs
salt
2 lbs ground pork
1 C (loosely packed) coarsely chopped mint leaves, plus extra leaves fro garnish, if you wish
 
Sauce:
2 28 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice (preferably fire-roasted)
2 - 4 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, stemmed and seeded
2 - 4 Tb chipotle canning sauce
2 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
About 3 C chicken stock 
 
Garlic Rice:
4 cloves garlic
1 bullion cube
4 C water
2 C brown rice
1 Tb oil (Canola or EVOO)

1. Turn on the oven to 450 degrees.  Then, start making the rice.  Saute the garlic.  Once it's done, blend it with the chicken stock (water and bullion cube).  Use this garlic liquid to cook your rice according to the instructions. (Usually takes about 45 minutes)
2. Using the food processor, combine the bacon and 2 garlic cloves.  Process until finely chopped.  Add the eggs, bread crumbs and 1 tsp salt.  Pulse several times to combine thoroughly.  Using your hands, combine this mixture with the ground pork.  It will be too much to mix it in the food processor.  Don't over mix it.  
3. Form the meatballs into plum-size spheres.  Space them out in a greased 13x9-inch baking dish.  I used two.  Bake until lightly browned (they'll be browned more underneat than on top), about 15 minutes.
4. While the meatballs are baking, combine the tomatoes with their juice, chipotles, canning sauce, oregano, the remaining garlic cloves and 1/2 tsp salt into the food processor or blender.  Process to a smooth puree.
5. When the meatballs are ready, spoon off any rendered fat from the baking dish, then pour on the tomato mixture, covering the meatballs evenly.  Bake until the sauce looks like tomato paste, 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Microwave the broth for 1 minute to heat it.  Once the meatballs are done, mix the broth in with the tomato sauce and meatballs.

I made enough with this recipe to feed our family and my dad and froze two bags of meatballs and sauce for future meals.  I did not add the broth to the freezer bags.  I'll add that when I defrost them.  When I defrost, I'll update this recipe with how they came out.  Rick Bayless mentions that you can use lamb or beef for these if you do not eat pork.  We prefer the pig. :)

Peanut Soup

Here are a few different peanut soup recipes that I combined to make mine.  First is the one I got from my sister.  It is delicious.  The second is a link to one I found online as I forgot I even had this one.  The final one was sent to me by a friend.  That's where I got the idea to use the green beans, which I had on hand.  This is an example of taking several recipes and making what you can out of what you have on hand.  


Indonesian Peanut Soup 

4 c. chicken stock
2 T. soy sauce
1 1/2 T molasses
2 T lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
Cilantro - optional

Saute garlic, and rest, simmer 15 minutes.
Add:

1/4 c. peanut butter
1 c. cooked chicken

Simmer 5 minutes, garnish with
1/2 c. green onions

I usually have to triple this recipe – I have no idea who they were feeding, but it looks like soup for two!


West African Peanut Soup


African Peanut-Potato Stew


I used:
Garlic
Onions
Banana Pepper
Green Beans
Canned Tomatoes
Leftover cooked chicken
Leftover cooked mango rice


Go have fun and create your own!

Week Review - 9/19 - 9/25

Sunday

I made Tequila Shrimp and Broccoli Pasta.

It sounds weird.  However, it was very delicious, and everyone ate it up!  Necessity was the mother of invention on this one, and I was quite pleased with the results.  

Monday

I made Vegetable Matzo Ball Soup.  Everyone ate this up!  It was super healthy and nice and warm on a cool fall day. 

 Tomatoes from the garden for dessert...so yummy!!

 Maya loved the "meatballs"!






















Tuesday


I turned Trader Joe's marinated tuna steaks into Fish Tacos with Chipotle Avocado Slaw.  This was not a hit with the kids, but Marco and I both loved it.  That's why it's labeled as "ADULTS ONLY".  I'll have to modify next time to make a dish for the little people.












Friday

I had leftover chicken and romaine lettuce as well as an abundance of tomatoes from the garden.  I was also able to use up the last of the banana peppers.  I made Refried Beans, and we all devoured Tostadas.  There's no recipe for this dish.  Just buy tostadas and pile on what you like.  We topped it off with Marco's homemade salsa (a recipe he refuses to share)!  

Elliot really loved the beans!

Refried Beans

Making homemade refried beans is really easy and so worth it.  You can control the taste and variety and amount of fat.  When I want to be indulgent, I use bacon grease, but usually I use Canola or Olive Oil to cook the beans.  


Cook the dried beans according to the instructions.  Usually you have to soak them and then cook them for a couple hours.  Don't salt the water in the beginning.  It hardens the beans, and they take longer to cook.  Once they are soft, then you can add salt to taste.  Don't go overboard, just enough to add a little flavor.  Then puree the beans using an immersion or regular blender with a little of the cooking liquid.  You want them to be a little runnier than what you want as refried beans.


Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a pan and cook a bunch of garlic and onions until they begin to get soft.  Take out all the garlic and onions.  Then add your pureed beans to the oil.  Cook the beans until they start to get nice and thick and you can smell that they are toasting a little bit.  Done.


This last time I just used garlic, but I used a LOT of garlic.  The beans were amazing.  

This week's produce delivery!!!!

Here is what's coming this week from South Mountain Veggies!!


Greenhouse:
• Hydro-Boston Bibb Lettuce, MD
Organic:
• Sweet Potatoes, 2 lbs, PA
• Spinach - 1/2 lbs - PA
• Broccoli - 1 bunch - PA
• Green beans - 1 lbs - PA
• Tomatoes - 1 lbs - PA
• Spaghetti Squash - 1 pcs - PA
• Onions - 2 lbs - PA
• Brussel Sprouts - 1/2 lbs - PA
• IPM: Liberty Apples, 6 pcs - MD 


I'm certainly thrilled to see the spinach, lettuce and squash!!  And I'm very happy to not see any beets on the list!!  


Here's what I'm thinking of making in the coming days with this stuff.  I'm hitting up my Mexican Every Day cookbook by Rick Bayless.  It's a great cookbook that has tons of traditional Mexican dishes that can be easily prepared for weeknight dinners.  Plus, he offers tons of "riffs" on his recipes to make them vegetarian or healthier.  He's awesome.


Albondigas al Chipotle with Green Bean Salad with Red Onion & Salsa Dressing


Tomatillo-Sauced Enchiladas with Spinach and Mushrooms


Jalapeno-Baked Fish with Roasted Tomatoes and Potatoes


Well, I better head off to the grocery store while these babies are still sleeping and get the rest of what I need.  Thank goodness Papi is working from home today! :)

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Avocado Slaw

This came about because of my need to use a head of cabbage.  Plus, we happened to have some marinated tuna steaks from Trader Joe's in the freezer.  Marco suggested tacos.  So, here's what I made!

I cooked the fish in a pan on the stove on high heat.  I needed to cook it through because of the little people.  Normally I would have just seared it and cut it up.  But it was really good cooked through. 

Chipotle Avocado Slaw

1/2 Head of Cabbage, chopped in thin strips
1 1/2 Avocados, cut into small cubes
Juice from 2 Limes
1 tsp Chipotle powder (you could also use the canned variety, chopped very fine)
2 Tb Mayo
2 tsp Honey
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped in small little cubes
1/2 bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
Salt to taste

Cut everything up and dump it into a bowl together.  Stir it up gently so as not to completely break down the avocado pieces.  Add as much of the chipotle as you like.  I made it fairly light for the kids but then we sprinkled more on our tacos.

To serve:
Warm up some corn tortillas on the stove.  Take a tortilla and load it with a little of the fish and a little of the slaw.  Add a little hot green salsa to really kick it up.  Eat. 

BTW - the kids all hated this, including the tuna.  But I'm going to make it again down the road because we loved it, and they better learn to like it, or else!

Vegetable Matzo Ball Soup

For Matzo Balls:
1 Box Manischewitz Matzo Ball & Soup Mix
2 Eggs
2 Tb olive oil
1 tsp thyme

For Soup:
5 carrots, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced finely
1 bag dried cannelini beans
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
Seasoning pouch from soup mix
1 Cup Soycutash (mixed frozen veggies)
1 Cup frozen peas

I followed the instructions to soak and cook the beans until tender.  It takes a few hours.  Meanwhile, I cut up the carrots and onions and garlic and mixed up the matzo ball mix.  When the beans were almost done I sauteed the carrots, onions and garlic in a little olive oil.  I added the soup packet and the thyme and oregano to the beans with a lot more water.  I made the matzo balls and got them cooking.  Once they were almost done (10 minutes), I dumped all the veggies in and let it cook for a little longer until all the frozen veggies were cooked through. 

The seasoning packet did add a lot of flavor, but it had TONS of salt.  Next time I will just skip it.  Everyone ate this up.  Marco really liked it and ate two bowls.  I love those matzo balls, but the veggies were amazing.  Those fresh local carrots from South Mountain Veggies made the soup so vibrant.  Can't wait to eat it for lunch! :)

Tequila Shrimp and Broccoli Pasta

This sounds weird but ended up pretty tasty.  It was one of those things where I looked at what we had and just had to create something.  I wasn't sure that the broccoli was going to taste good with the tequila, but I had no wine and no other veggies.  So, this is what I made...and how I would do it differently.


1 1/2 oz. tequila (the better the brand, the better the taste.  I used Herradura Anejo)
Juice from 1 lime
20 medium size shrimp (I used this many because I counted out the amount foe each person)
2 small heads of broccoli
3/4 box of spaghetti (Take note below)
1 Tb butter
2 Tb Olive Oil
6 cloves of garlice, finely diced


I thawed the shrimp and then marinated it in the tequila and lime juice.  While that was soaking, I cooked the pasta.  I put the pan on medium-high and cooked the garlic for a couple minutes (don't let it start to burn or it will taste bitter).  Then I threw in the broccoli and tossed it in the garlic and oil and let it toast up a bit in the pan.  Then I added 1 ladle of the pasta cooking liquid and let the broccoli steam a little bit.  When the pasta only had 2 minutes left, I added the shrimp with all the marinating liquid and let that steam up.  As soon as the pasta was done I drained it and threw it into the pot with everything else and let it all hang out on low for a little bit to get happy.


Changes and Tips

• The babies had trouble with the spaghetti, so next time I'll use elbow or farfalle or something more "grabbable" for little fingers. 
• I'd add more tequila because the taste was kind of weak
• Don't forget the broccoli stalk.  Just peel off the tough outer layer and cut it up into small cubes.  It is really delicious and mild.
• For small children:  Cut the broccoli up pretty small and overcook it just a little bit without losing the bright green.  This way little hands can grab it more easily and broccoli rejecters end up eating more than they realize because the heads break down and coat the pasta.

Week Review 9/12 - 9/18

Here's my first week in review. Please let me know what you think - feel free to comment and suggest different ideas. I originally posted my "plan" for the week on my other blog. As you can see, things change. Here's what we ate, how I made it and a few pictures of what it looked like. Enjoy!


SUNDAY


We made pizza. This was a total "Semi-Homemade" recipe using Trader Joe's herb pizza dough, a jar of putanesca sauce and a bag of shredded "quatro formagio" cheese (also from Trader Joe's). I added spinach and bacon to make it awesome. It was devoured by all.


MONDAY


So much for braising… I ended up really busy cleaning all day and didn’t cook ahead, so when I got back from picking up Maya, I had to make dinner fast. The natives were restless. I pulled the mandarin chicken out of the freezer and made a quick carrot and fennel salad. For some reason, my kids LOVE shredded carrots, especially really fresh ones from the garden. It’s one of those foods I know they’ll eat. The mandarin chicken from Trader Joe’s is the same. Everyone loves it. And it is so easy.


Carrot & Fennel Salad


Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken

TUESDAY


Lunch


I’m usually skeptical of Marco’s ideas. But he said the kids at eaten his tuna salad, so I attempted to recreate it. Basically, I made a coctel, which is the Mexican way of doing Shrimp Cocktail, but I made it with tuna. I wouldn’t normally include lunch, but this was so ridiculously good.


Coctel de Atun


Dinner


I made some chicken lettuce wraps. This was well received by everyone. I realize it’s not of a particular ethnic persuasion. However, it was small pieces, easily eaten by all and was actually quite good. It had veggies and protein and was really easy to make. The chicken came from South Mountain Creamery and was a free-range, humanely treated chicken. I used a great frozen veggie mix from Trader Joe's (of course) called Soycutash. It's taasty, and my kids eat it up!


Chicken Lettuce Wraps
















Cookies


Maya loves to make cookies, so we make them every once in awile even though she's hardly ever allowed to actually eat them. I thought these turned out really well. I took a recipe from the back of some Toll House milk chocolate morsels and then altered it a little bit. I think they're addictive.


Salted Chocolate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies















WEDNESDAY


I made salmon "burgers and sweet potato "fries." I got the salmon burgers at Trader Joe’s (big surprise). I think I overcooked them because they were a little dry. I mixed up a little “tartar” sauce with some of our pickled rhubarb, onions, mayo and dill. That was delicious and went well with the salmon. I cut up the sweet potato into thin slices and baked them with olive oil and salt. I didn’t let them crisp up, so they were basically just baked sweet potato strips, but they were still yummy.


Tartar Sauce

THURSDAY


My soup was so delicious! Seriously, I have to brag about how ridiculously good it was. Both Maya and Marco loved it. And the babies chowed down on their steamed chunks of the same ingredients. It was VERY easy and VERY healthy. It was perfectly balanced sweet and spicy. I used Penzey's Hot Curry, so it had good heat. You can add sour cream to each bowl if you want it more velvety and a little less spicy. We ate it with the French bread Marco made over the weekend. And Marco and I drank the Barefoot Muscato, which sounds funny to have with dinner, but the spicy/sweet combo was perfect.


Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup


FRIDAY


I stole this recipe from my sister who was trying to recreate a dish we had at Agave Mexican Restaurant in Lewes, DE. It is so easy and comes out really yummy. You can make it as hot as you want, depending on the salsa you use. I used Safeway's Medium Salsa Verde, which is surprisingly good. Because I was making the dish for a new Mom of Multiples and having friends over, I made dessert as well. Plus, I had all these Granny Smith apples that I was dying to bake!


Chicken Enchilada Casserole


Apple Crisp


SATURDAY


The kids had pizza again. Seeing as they were not big fans of the chicken casserole, I didn't want to force it on them while we were rushing to get ready to go out. I asked Maya, and she requested pizza, so that's what we did! Marco and I went on a date for my birthday. It was wonderful. We were fortunate enough to have SIX babysitters. My nephew and nieces came over with some friends. Thank you guys. And Happy Birthday to my nephew, Brad, as well. Hard to believe he's 24 years old!!


And now we're back to Sunday...what will I make tonight?? I'm thinking spaghetti with broccoli and potatoes. Maybe I'll steam that beet for the kids. I've also still got green beans and carrots and banana peppers and cabbage...carrot and cabbage slaw? Hmmm...a lot to think about this week. I'll let you know how it went! :)

Tartar Sauce

3 pickle spears, finely diced (I used some pickled rhubarb Marco made a while back)
2 Tb onions, finely diced
3 Tb mayo
Tons of dill

This recipe would be even better made ahead to allow the dill to season the mayo, but I made it right before we ate.  Still, it was really easy and went well with the Salmon Burgers from Trader Joe's.

Apple Crisp

Apple Filling:
8 Apples (depending on size)  I used Granny Smith and a couple local red apples
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 Cup butter, melted
1/2 Cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Crisp:
1 1/2 Cups flour
3/4 Cup butter, softened
3/4 Cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 Cup slivered almonds

Mix all the apple filling ingredients together and put into the pan.  Mix up the crisp topping and place on top of the apples.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until you see the apples bubbling and the top is browning and crunchy. 

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

1 whole chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)
1 large jar of green salsa  (I used Safeway's Salsa Verde)
12 corn tortillas
1 bag frozen corn
Shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
Queso Fresco

Preheat oven to 350.  Pour a little of the salsa to coat the bottom of your pan (9 x 13).  Tear up tortillas and line the pan as you would lasagna noodles.  Then layer the chicken, corn, 2 cheeses and salsa.  Do this two more times until you reach the top of the pan and put a final layer of cheese.  Bake it for 25 minutes with foil on top.  Then take off the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or so, until the cheese gets bubbly and brown.  You'll know it's done when it looks awesome. 

Serve this with sour cream.

Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

1 Butternut Squash, chopped
2 apples, chopped (I used one Granny Smith and one Red Delicious)
1 red onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 Tb Curry Powder (I used Penzey's Hot Curry)
1 cube of bullion (or use stock, which would be better)
Cayenne (add if your curry powder doesn't have much heat)

Chop everything up. It doesn't matter how big. I did about 1" cubes. Sautee the onions on medium-high until they get a little browned and clear. Add the garlic, just for a minute. Add the curry powder just for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the butternut squash and apples. Cook it all together for a minute or so. Then add the bullion and water (4 - 6 cups, depending on size of squash). Let that come to a boil and then simmer until the squash and apples are soft. Then puree using an immersion blender or transfer to a regular blender. Add salt or curry powder as necessary. The idea is to have it a little hot and spicy and sweet. Add sour cream the bowls as desired.

We ate this with Marco's homemade bread. It was ridiculously good! For the babies I just took some of the apples and squash out before I pureed it. They ate it up!

Salted Chocolate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Original Recipe:
1 1/4 Cups AP Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 Cup butter, softened
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1/3 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
2 Tbs milk
1 3/4 Cups milk chocolate morsels
1 Cup uncooked quick oats
1/2 Cup raisins

What I changed:
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 Cup cocoa powder
NO RAISINS

I mixed everything as you would normally for cookies (wet and dry then altogether). Then, before they went into the oven, I ground some sea salt on top. It added a nice little salty contrast to the super sweetness of the cookies. Baked them at 375 for 10 - 14 minutes. So yummy!

Chcken Lettuce Wraps

2 Chicken breasts, chopped
½ bag of Trader Joe’s Soycutash
3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 Tb holy basil, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, finely chopped
3 Tb EVOO
2 Tb Soy Sauce
2 Tb Rice Vinegar
1 Tb fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tb honey
1 tsp garlic powder
Bibb Lettuce
Chopped peanuts
Sriracha

I marinated the chicken in the soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder and honey for 15 minutes. I cooked the chicken on high heat in the EVOO. After the chicken was getting mostly cooked, I added the Soycutash and let that cook until it was cooked through and starting to caramelize. I then added the garlic and water chestnuts. I let that cook for a few minutes before adding the cilantro and holy basil. I turned off the heat after just a minute or so. Then, we ate it wrapped up in the lettuce with chopped peanuts and Sriracha on top. The babies and Maya just ate it with the rice I made (sesame mango rice, not especially awesome).

This was well received by everyone. I realize it’s not of a particular ethnic persuasion. It’s just “kind of Asian,” which is vague, at best. However, it was small pieces, easily eaten by all and was actually quite good. It had veggies and protein and was really easy to make. I think, including prep, it took me 45 minutes.

Coctel de Atun

2 cans of tuna
1 ½ avocados
½ bunch of cilantro
¼ onion, chopped finely
15 cherry tomatoes, chopped in halves
2 Tb sweet pickle relish
3 Tb mayonnaise
1 Tb mustard
Juice from ½ lime
Salt
Valentina

We mixed it all together, except for the Valentina, and ate it on bread. Everyone chowed down. And Marco and I spiced it up with the Valentina, and it was AWESOME. No more regular old tuna salad for me.

Carrot and Fennel Salad

5 – 6 carrots, shredded
1 bulb fennel, shredded
Fennel fronds, finely chopped
1 – 2 Tb EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 – 2 Tb Rice Vinegar
Juice from ½ of one lime
Salt
1 tsp Frontier organic orange peel granules

Mix it all together. Eat it.



5 Bananas