Mmm...enchiladas...

Here is my gringo take on the ol' enchilada. Make a filling. Any filling. Mine consisted of chicken, black beans, red onion, red pepper, diced chiles, cumin, cheese, salt, and pepper. Fill flour tortillas (I know you should use corn. I don't really like corn tortillas. Sue me). Roll up and smush into a casserole dish. I managed to squeeze 8 into this 9x13 dish.



I topped it with some cheese, then some enchilada sauce, then tasted the sauce and decided I didn't like it, so I stopped pouring it and put on some salsa instead. Then, of course, more cheese.






I then baked the casserole at 375 degrees , covered with foil, until things looked hot and bubbly. Then took the foil off until the cheese was melty and browned. Serve with any desired toppings, such as sour cream.

Eggy, cheesy, porky, carby goodness

As another homage to winter, even though it was 70+ degrees and springlike, R requested penne carbonara for dinner. Fry up some pancetta (mixed with bacon, I didn't have quite enough pancetta, and I think I like the addition of regular smoky bacon) and boil up a pound of your favorite pasta. Meanwhile, I mixed four eggs, a hefty splash of cream, and as much parm as R could stand to grate with a microplane (our box grater being out of commission). Drain the pasta, add in the crisp meats, then slowly add in the egg/cream/cheese mixture and mix well. I let mine rest for a few minutes while I toast up some crusty bread, then serve with a sprinkle of additional cheese and a salad on the side.

Peanut Butter bars

Mmm...I get many good ideas from other food blogs, this time, a recipe for Peanut Butter Cup bars from the Eat With Me blog, who has many good recipes I'd love to try. A shortbread crust, creamy peanut buttery filling, topped with melty Reese's cups. Delish. Although, do not overbake your bars. I baked mine until I thought the center was "set" and it was overdone on the edges. The middle should be quite jiggly when removed from the oven, it will set up just fine when cooled.

Check it out

Miss J did a sweet phyllo dough pizza that sounded delish. Check it out.

Stovetop Helper

R and I were plowing through some Hamburger Helper during the move until I got really grossed out by it. He thought he'd converted me to some sort of Helper wench, but that was only a temporary phase. I'm over it now. I did, however, decide to make him a Helper-esque meal that will last a few nights, since work may be hectic. Behold the stovetop Italian-style helper!

Soften two onions. Add a bell pepper if desired. Throw in a pound of ground beef. Several garlic cloves. Some wine, any wine. Large can of tomatoes. Some pasta sauce, leftover in the fridge. Some random pesto I had in the fridge. Random Italian-esque seasonings. Pepper, salt, etc. A pound of macaroni, that I had cooked in boiling, salted water for about 5 minutes. Some grated cheese, I think grana padano, which is similar to parmigiano reggiano, the ultimate Italian cheese, smelled the same at least, v. hard, VERY hard. I also tossed in some beef broth because it was getting a bit thick with all the macaroni. Voila.

Crunchy pork

Last night's meal featured some lovely boneless pork chops, pounded flat, encrusted with some delicious pecan panko breadcrumbs from Whole Foods, courtesy of little brother (thanks!). The pecan panko mixture was delish - a mix of chopped pecans, panko breadcrumbs (lovely and crunchy, my fave), and some seasonings (not sure what, just enough to give it a bit of flavors). I just dunked the flat pork chops in a bit of egg, then in the panko, then pan fried up in a bit of butter and oil. Delish, with some roasted potatoes, applesauce, and a green salad.

Oatmeal bars

This month's Southern Living featured some oatmeal bar cookie recipes that start with a boxed yellow cake mix. I was intrigued, so I gave one a go - with chocolate and walnuts (instead of pecans). You mix yellow cake mix, melted butter, and oatmeal, and pat it into a baking dish. Then top with chocolate chips and nuts. Then more of the cake mix/oatmeal. Then bake. It couldn't have been simpler.


The results were mixed. It tasted good, which is of course important. But I think if I were to make them again, I'd either mix the chocolate chips and nuts in with the oatmeal/cake mix mixture or else make a thin topping of chocolate and nuts, because the "filling" method led to a complete lack of cohesion between the bottom and the top of the bar cookie. As you can see, they are fragile, crumbly, and don't cut very easily. Maybe it was user error. But I would recommend for a fast treat, they are v. easy, easy cleanup, and tasty.

Peanut butter good. Chicken good. Bowties good.

Time to bring up the summer food wardrobe, including various pasta salads. This week's lunches will feature a variation on the Barefoot Contessa's Chinese Chicken Salad. My changes are to add some hot sauce to the dressing and noodles to the salad. The amount of dressing ends up being insane otherwise. To the right is the dressing - peanut butter, cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, etc. Delish.


Finished product - farfalle noodles, asparagus, scallions, red and orange bell pepper, and chicken...yum.

Pork with more pork

For ma mere's last supper at Chez Cummiskey, I prepared some luscious stuffed pork chops. I browned some breakfast sausage (hot homemade sausage courtesy of one of my dad's outdoorsy colleagues) and added that to a package of prepared Stovetop Pork stuffing. I then partially butterflied 3 relatively thick boneless pork chops, stuffed some stuffing in, seasoned with s/p, and browned them, then baked them in a 375 degree oven until cooked through. Served with more stuffing on the side and some garlicky green beans, they were delish.

The pork chops are really easy, and the same method can be employed with chicken breasts as well. Using the stovetop stuffing means you get a lot of nice flavor with minimal effort, although they are probably saltier than need be, but I don't care, I heart the Stovetop.

Dessert. We had an abundance of desserts due to a ton of leftovers from Saturday night. Barefoot Contessa Outrageous Brownies, an Italian Cream Cake, a Key Lime Pie, and a Cherry Pie from Grandpa's Cheese Barn.

Daisy likes stew!

I made beef stew on Sunday since it is getting out of "stew" season here in central OH. I neglected it for a bit, and as a result, got a lovely ring of baked-on goodness in the bottom of the pot. When we finished said stew, I gave the pot to Daisy to help Mommy clean. She did a great job! Clean as a whistle, if you don't mind Daisy drool!

Happy Birthday to Me!

After an EXTREMELY long absence, I have returned with what I hope it is a small bang at least, the Barefoot Contessa Beatty's Chocolate Cake. It is tres good - mainly because the cake itself is so v. v. luscious. I think the whole bit of adding hot coffee to the batter right before baking does something to it. It makes an extremely runny, but moist batter. I think Nigella did a similar cake with that trick as well. It was DELISH! Also, notice the cookbook behind the cake open to the recipe for the cake. Tres artistique, non?