Fon-Don't

Wow, I see it's been over a week since I've last posted.  Don't worry, I didn't go anywhere, and I've been cooking and eating delicious meals.  I guess life just got in the way of posting.  Since it's been a bit since I've been on here I hesitate to post a kitchen fail, but this blog obviously isn't about perfection, so I figured I'd share with you anyway.  

I got a fondue set as a wedding gift, and I was curious about it.  It seemed like a fun way to have an interactive dinner at home.  I considered a cheese fondue, but ultimately decided on a broth fondue where you stick raw meats and vegetables into a simmering broth and cook them.  I thinly sliced chicken, broccoli, and potatoes and awaited my interactive supper.  The chicken cooked fine.  It was moist and flavorful, and didn't cause a problem.  The vegetables where an entirely different story.  The potatoes would not stay on the fondue forks.  This is probably because I thought slicing them would be better than cutting the potatoes into cubes, but it was too late at this point.  As we waiting patiently (or not) for our food to cook, we kept fishing around for the potatoes and finally realized it was a lost cause.  The broccoli stayed on the fork, but took too long to cook.  

Our supper that night ended up being small strips of chicken, raw broccoli, and sliced potatoes that I slipped into a casserole dish with some of the broth, salt, and pepper and microwaved.  Next time I'll stick with the cheese sauce.

Weeknight Kitchen: Peasant Bowls

One of this weeks recipes from The Splendid Table's Weeknight Kitchen newsletter was Peasant Bowls.  This was a bowl layered with black beans, rice, spices, Monterey Jack cheese, tomatoes, and green onions.  I've had other layered bowls similar to this, but the small amount of cheese in this one really set this one apart. The flavors were excellent, and it was a filling and healthy supper.  This would be great packed up for lunch.  I forget how delicious a simple bowl of rice and beans can be when it is properly seasoned.

Stir-fry and a Rice Tip

This stir-fry almost didn't happen.  I had a recipe for it, but I didn't feel like following the steps.  I was sitting in class thinking about what I would do for supper instead, and I was thisclose to picking up something on the way home.  I eventually talked myself out of it, and decided I could make a stir-fry without using the recipe I had.  I knew my husband was thawing out some shrimp for the original recipe.  I had some veggies and chicken in the fridge already thinly sliced from the fondue fiasco of the night before (I will post on this later), and I could quickly whip together a sauce.  I don't have a recipe for this, but I cooked the shrimp and chicken in a hot pan, removed them, and added carrots and broccoli.  When the veggies were soft I added some frozen peas.  Back in the pan went the cooked shrimp and chicken, and I threw on a sauce that contained sesame oil, soy sauce, and agave nectar.  The sauce was then thickened with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked with 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.  I served the stir-fry with rice.  

For those of you who don't know (and I just recently discovered this by accident), rice freezes really well.  Every time I need rice for something I cook extra.  I put the extra in a bag and freeze it.  The next time I need rice I just put some of the frozen rice in a covered bowl in the microwave and zap until warm.  It's much better than resorting to minute rice all the time, and it's even easier. 

Enchilada Casserole Because I Live in the Midwest

I've mentioned it before, but I've heard that the common stereotype about Midwesterners is that we're nice and we make casseroles.  Once again I'm reinforcing the stereotype, and I've decided to turn my dinner plans into a casserole.  I had a post on cabbage rolls about a month ago when I decided that instead of taking the time and effort to actually roll the filling in the cabbage I would just layer everything and bake it.  I had the same thought while making enchiladas last night.  I always have a problem with the tortillas splitting on me when I try to roll up the filling, so I thought I would be so much easier and faster to just layer the ingredients like a casserole.  I was right, and I will make enchiladas this way from now on.  The recipe I have can be changed to suit your tastes and pantry.  If you don't want peppers and onions, don't use them.  If you don't eat meat, add more veggies and use veggie broth or water instead of chicken broth.  Use the following recipe more as a guideline than a strict rule.  Also, please don't be intimidated by what looks like a long list of ingredients and steps.  It's very easy and comes together quickly.


Enchilada Casserole


For the enchilada sauce

• 1 can chopped tomatoes (I used fire roasted adobo seasoned tomatoes)
• 2 dried chilies (I used a medium chili, but use the hottest or mildest one you like)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt

For the enchilada filling (these are suggestions, use whatever you like.  I had these ingredients on hand)

• 3 cups cooked chicken
• 1 bell red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 cup cooked black beans with 1/4 cup cooking liquid
• 1 oz white tequila
• 4 cups shredded cheese (I used co-jack and Montery Jack)

You will also need:

• 12 small corn tortillas

Optional toppings:

• lettuce
• diced tomato
• diced green onion
• diced black olives
• sour cream
• hot sauce

To make the sauce:

1. Roast dried peppers in a dry skillet for a little less than a minute on each side.  Take out of skillet and cool to touch.  Meanwhile, heat chicken broth.  When peppers are cool, remove the seeds.  Place peppers in warm chicken broth, soak for about 5 minutes.  Place broth, softened peppers, tomatoes, and garlic in blender.  Puree until smooth.  Taste for salt and spice.  Add salt and chili powder/hot sauce if needed.  Set aside.  (This freezes really well, and you've made more than you need for the recipe.)

To make the filling:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Add chopped pepper and onion.  Cook over medium low heat for about 8 minutes.  You want the onions very soft and brown.  Add the tequila to deglaze the pan.  Add cooked chicken, beans, and broth and over medium heat until the chicken is warm and some of the liquid has reduced.  Set mixture aside.

To Assemble:

1. Line large baking pan with corn tortillas.

 2. Top with chicken and veggie filling

 3. Top with cheese

 4. Add second layer of corn tortillas
5. Top with enchilada sauce.  It will look very soupy, but don't worry, the sauce with soak in when it bakes.

 Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes

 Cut and serve with toppings of your choice

Quesadillas: Better the second day

I've mentioned in previous posts that Mondays around here are referred to as Mexican Monday.  I always plan a Mexican themed dish on Monday nights because my husband could each tacos three times a week.  Last week we decided that chicken and chorizo quesadillas would be on the menu.  These were a very fast weeknight supper.  I already had some cooked, shredded chicken in the refrigerator, so all I had to cook was the chorizo.  I layered cheese, chorizo, and chicken in flour tortillas, and then I put them in the oven at 350F to bake while I cut olives, tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado to top the quesadillas.  I had never baked quesadillas before, but I will start doing this from now on because it's much easier to get all the other side dishes or accompaniments together.  I keep cooked black beans and refried beans in the freezer, so I pulled them out and stuck them in the microwave for a quick side dish.  I also made two extra quesadillas for lunch the next day, and I found out that the flavor of the chorizo was much better when we had these for lunch.  I will start making the quesadillas ahead and just reheat them for supper, which will make an even quicker supper.  

German Potato Salad

I don't have a recipe for this yet.  It's something we've always had in my house.  We serve it warm, and it's done by taste.  It contains potatoes, dill seed, bacon, vinegar, water, and eggs.  I will start measuring and tasting so I can get a recipe soon.  

Slutty Brownies

If you read many other food blogs you'll know that I am behind the times with these brownies.  I first saw them here and was intrigued.  I don't often get very excited over dessert as I would normally rather just have an extra helping of mashed potatoes, but something about the idea of slutty brownies had me talking about them constantly for a week. They are a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough, a layer of whole Oreo cookies, and a layer of brownie batter.  I don't really have a recipe for these, but I made a batch of Nestle's Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie dough, and then used one box of Ghirardelli brownie mix.  For a 9x13 inch pan, I really should have used two boxes of brownie mix, but these are so rich, I thought one box actually worked better.  For a dark metal pan, bake at 375 for about 35 minutes.  If you bake this in a glass pan they take about 50 minutes.  Check for doneness often because you want to err on the side of underdone and gooey than overbaked and dry.  These really are amazing brownies, and they would be great for a carry-in or to share as they are really rich.