Lettuce Wraps

The first time we had lettuce wraps was at PF Changs.  Let me just say, these are better :)


Oh, and Around the World in five days makes two stops in Asia.  I guess my time in Thailand yields extra weight!


Nick ground the pork for me with the Kitchen Aid:

One interesting ingredient is toasted rice powder.  I actually had to toast the rice in the skillet and then grind it into a fine meal with the mini food processor:

The pork is the only thing that's cooked in this recipe!  I marinated the pork in fish sauce while I  prepared everything else: more fish sauce, crushed red pepper, juice from two limes, sugar, some of the toasted rice powder, shallots, mint, and cilantro.


I cooked the pork in a little bit of chicken stock, sprinkled the toasted rice powder on there, and cooked it until it was no longer pink.  Once it cooled a bit, I added it to the mixture above.  Nick helped me wash and separate the lettuce, and we were ready to eat!

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Night Two: Asia


Again, a meal with many components.  Don't you just love it?  I had Nick cut up the beef into thin strips and mixed it with spices and a little fish sauce.


I made the stir fry sauce with fish sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, water, and Asian chili-paste.


I cut up the required shallots and jalapenos, and added broccoli because I thought it sounded good.


I mixed minced garlic with a little vegetable oil.

We stir-fried the beef in batches, then emptied the pan to add more oil and stir-fry the veggies. I made a hole in the center of the pan and stir-fried the garlic.  Then I mixed everything together, added the beef back in along with the sauce.  When the sauce had heated through and everything was cooked, I added chopped mint and cilantro and took it off the burner.  I had already made brown rice in the rice cooker, so we were ready to eat!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I started the week with a quest: Around the World in Five Days.  We ate out a few too many times last week, so I decided to make my week of cooking interesting.  While Nick wasn't exactly excited about my big trip to the grocery store, it's five nights of eating at home, so that has to count for something!


Night One: Mexico


Like all Cooks Illustrated recipes, this was an intricate dance in the kitchen:


Simmering bone-in chicken breasts in chicken broth with onions, garlic, cilantro, and oregano:

Combining veggies as a flavor base in the food processor with chipotles in adobo sauce:

Making your own tortilla strips in the oven:

Straining the broth, shredding the chicken, and frying the flavor base in the soup pot

Adding the chicken broth to the pot and cooking until the flavors blend

Adding the shredded chicken back to the soup, and preparing the garnishes:

Putting it all together

It was a late dinner.  "Worth the wait" Nick said :)

Hash Browns

There is probably no food I like more in this world than potatoes.  I don't think I could have made it during the Potato Famine.  One of my favorite potato dishes is hash browns, because it combines my two loves: spuds and breakfast.  When Nick said he wanted Pancakes Sunday morning, I decided I would make what I wanted, too!


I had some leftover cut up peppers, so I combined those with the onions and potatoes

The trick to hash browns is to use a cast iron skillet and the right amount of oil.  A couple tablespoons is usually enough.  You start our by slightly browning the veggies in the oil.  Then, you stick the lid on and let the heat go to work cooking the potatoes:

Every once in awhile you take off the lid and stir.  Some of the taters might stick to the bottom, but that's ok.  When the potatoes seem like they're cooked through, you leave the lid off, turn up the heat a bit, and get the edges really crispy:

I love breakfast.

A Saturday Lunch: Pork Tostados

A typical conversation between Nick and I regarding food:
Me: What do you want to eat?
Nick: Whatever, I'm hungry, so anything that's quick
45 minutes later....


It's become sort of a joke.  This Saturday, Nick was on his way home from tutoring, and I needed to make something quick.  "Quick" in my book is somewhere between a half hour and an hour :)


I had leftover pork in the fridge from Tuesday, so figuring this was my last chance to use it, I chose pork tostados.  I didn't have any tostado shells, so I fried some corn tortillas in vegetable oil:

I refried some black beans that Nick had cooked in the pressure cooker while I was out of town.  I added onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt.  I mashed them once they had cooked a bit:

Finally, I set to work assembling the tostados: fried tortilla, refried beans, leftover pork, peppers, cheese, salsa, and sour cream:

Mexican Inspired Rice

We made the lime and orange-infused pressure cooker Mexican pork again.  Unfortunately, the pressure cooker had a slight malfunction and didn't seem to seal properly.  This kind of defeats the purpose of the appliance.  So, our side dish became the star while Nick finished the pork and I went to knitting.


I combined all the necessary veggies: tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, and garlic in the food processor:

Next, I brought the rice to a boil and added in the veggies (including some broccoli I had laying around)

After it boiled again, I put the lid on put it in the oven at 325 degrees.  It took about 45 minutes, longer than the recipe said because I used brown rice.  It turned out delicious!

Blizzard Buns

When the weather outside looks like this:

The only solution is to have your husband make these:

Thanks, honey!  Maybe now Floyd will stop hiding from the weather :)

Snow Day Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Here is what you need for a perfect snow day dinner: leftover smoked Thanksgiving turkey (frozen because there's only two of us), assorted veggies, lots of mashed potatoes, and home brewed stout.  With a little help from a Rachael Ray recipe, we had a delicious snowed in dinner!

And the final touch from Nick:

Enchiladas Verdes

Who needs to buy green salsa when you can make it at home?  Thanks to our nearby grocery store chock full of Mexican ingredients, we bought a couple pounds of tomatillos and some big poblano peppers.  I roasted them under the broiler and then chopped them up in the food processor with some salt, sugar, and the liquid I used to simmer the chicken.

I simmered the chicken in a mixture of sauteed onions, garlic, cumin, and chicken stock.

Nick shredded the chicken using two forks.  Then I mixed it with cilantro and  pepper jack cheese.

I rolled the chicken mixture up in flour tortillas and put them in a 9x13 inch pan.  I covered everything in the green salsa and sprinkled extra cheese on top.

I served the enchiladas with homemade guacamole!  Nick impressed me with his avocado buying skills, so I was able to use two avocados.  I mixed and mashed them with garlic, salt, lime juice, cayenne, and cilantro.  Delicious!

Chicken with Simmered Vegetables

Sometimes, I have to trick Nick into eating vegetables.  He "doesn't like" mushrooms and zucchini, but when I put it in a big pot with spices and crushed red pepper, he can be persuaded.  The fact that there's chicken, too, doesn't hurt.  Here's a recipe from Whole Foods that is easy and healthy.  I served it over quinoa and substituted canned diced tomatoes for the fresh the recipe calls for.

Chicken Burritos

I'm not sure where I found this recipe, but it is a keeper!  The filling is so creamy and spicy and delicious!  I'm pasting the recipe below the pictures of this success :)  By the way, it makes A LOT of filling.

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies
• 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno pepper, optional
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (15 ounces) great northern beans
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
• 8 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 24 flour tortillas (6 inches), warmed
• 6 cups (24 ounces) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
• Salsa, optional

Directions

• In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth.
• Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; add the tomatoes, jalapeno pepper if desired and seasonings. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Stir in beans and cream cheese until cheese is melted. Stir in chicken.
• Spoon about 1/2 cupful down the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each with 1/4 cup Colby-Monterey Jack cheese. Fold ends and sides over filling. Place in two greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dishes.
• Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until heated through. Serve with salsa if desired.
• To use frozen burritos: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 2 casseroles (1 dozen burritos each).