Mr. R's dinner time adventures

So, Mr. R had the day off on Monday, so he decided to cook dinner for me and my mom. He settled on Emeril's Cowboy Chicken Casserole with some modifications (flour tortilla strips instead of corn tortilla chips, added zucchini, and a few other very tiny modifications due to what we had on hand). He didn't realize this was a recipe we'd made before with "eh" results. Actually, re-reading my past entry, we seemed to have liked it then. And R liked it this time, but I was less than enthused. We put Anaheim peppers in, and they ended up not being cooked and were kind of "squeaky" instead of edible. R viewed it as "crunchy" and liked it. There was good flavor, but again, I think I'd opt for salsa AND tomatoes to give MORE flavor. And no anaheim peppers unless they've been sauteed or blanched. There was also a weird carb to casserole ratio - not enough carbs for me.

Isn't it pretty though? Mr. R did a nice job of preparing it.


Here is a "slice" of said casserole...an offensive bit of Anaheim at the top...but delicious garden tomatoes throughout. Yum.


I ended up picking out the peppers and serving it over rice with some salsa on top. Then I was good to go.

Monthly menu update

We had tacos last night (beef) and will be having them again tonight. No photos, as they are boring, and we eat them all the time.

Just an FYI, I decided that since we eat a TON of caramelized onions and roasted peppers, I would do the caramelizing/roasting all at once, divide, and freeze into meal-sized portions with our lovely Reynolds Handi-Vac. I was concerned the onions/peppers would get "weird" from the freezing but they pretty much stayed the same. I will be doing this EVERY month as a prep activity.

Mmm...giant burrito

Much to my surprise, R agreed to forgo the dull planned dinner of leftovers (blah, pork chops) and replace it with GIANT BURRITOS from Chipotle! Yay! He strayed from his normal fave of barbacoa beef to just regular spicy steak and I had the veggie burrito with black beans. Both of us opted for tomato AND corn salsa with sour cream and cheese. Mmm fat. He also had lettuce. Delish.

I made the mistake of hoovering a bowl of cereal when I got home from work (I was hungry) then eating this burrito less than 2 hours later...I was hurting...I had to lie down on the sofa bed...for an hour...watching Birth Day...

LW continues...

Fajitas. Lovely fajitas. Beef or chicken. Cheese. Sour cream. Salsa. Peppers and onions. Mmm.

Marinade meat (any meat, just adjust marination time - is marination a word?) in lime juice, olive oil, balsamic, garlic, salt, pepper, something spicy (red pepper, cayenne, whatever) and any other seasonings you desire. I let beef go a long time, chicken at least 4 hours. If you AREN'T like me and you DO eat fish, fish just get to look at the marinade for a bit - no more than 20 minutes or so, or else you'll have cooked fishies. Grill that up. Slice and serve. Booya.

Not the easiest food item to take a picture of, especially if you don't have a chip to support your soft tortillas.

Favorite school lunch

Well, apart from the pizza/french fry day that is. As R reminded me, TACO SALAD day was a big "buy your lunch" day at lots of elementary schools, mine included.* I also roundly enjoyed "chicken pot pie/green bean" day, but I digress.

After going with the lovely Miss A and Elle to El Arepazo for a fab Venezuelan lunch a few weeks ago (I don't know that it has its own website, see here, here, and here for more info) I was inspired by the tostada that I devoured to recreate something similar, albeit much more pedestrian and suburban and white-bread in my own home. Hence, the rise of the taco salad.

At its base, a bed of crunchy romaine. Contrary to what the picture portrays, there is a large amount of lettuce. Next, some lightly crunched tortilla chips. Next, a mixture of seasoned beef, onion, and black beans (again, was lazy and just used taco seasoning, what can I say, I heart it). Then prepared salsa, fresh tomatoes, shredded cheese, and a "dressing" of sour cream mixed with lime juice and some salt/pepper. I managed to get R to eat approximately 2 1/2 c of a green veg, so it was quite a meal accomplishment, even if that green veg was drowned in meat and cheese.

To forecast future blog entries, we're going to attempt a similar "saladization" of favorite foods this week with a Greek spin.

*I don't see taco salad on my local elementary school lunch menu per se. However, there are listings for "nachos with ground beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato and a tortilla" AND "soft taco with nacho chips." Also, a "BBQ ribbette on bun?" What is a ribbette?

We like tacos. A lot.

Tacos are a dinner staple in our house. They are easy. They are filling. They can be healthy (ish) although not generally the way we eat them. They are a go to meal. We almost always have the necessary ingredients. R likes them. I like them. You see where I'm going here. We eat them a lot. Probably every other week, and given my new plan to start shopping on a monthly basis for groceries starting in the fall, it may bump up to every week because they are so easy.

Cook onions/peppers. Cook meat (ground beef usually, we call them fajitas if it is non-ground beef or chicken). Heat tortillas. Top with toppings. Inhale.

Peppers and onions are pretty, no?

Cowboy Chicken Casserole

Now that I have less flexible work hours, I have to plan meals ahead over the weekends. For part of this week, R and I are dining on cowboy chicken casserole, or at least, my modification of such from an Emeril recipe.

To start, in a sauce pan, mix about 1 1/2 c chicken broth, 1 c water, 1/2 c white wine, a handful of cilantro stalks, the juice and hulls of two limes, salt, pepper, and oregano. Place 4 chicken breasts in the pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then let the chicken steep in the poaching liquid for 45 minutes on the back of the stove.

Meanwhile, crush many handfuls of tortilla chips and put at the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Once the chicken is fully cooked and steeped, pour one cup of the poaching liquid over the crushed chips.





Chop the cooked chicken, 1-2 onions, 1-2 bell peppers, and 1-2 jalapenos (or chipotles, as I used) and place over the chips.



Top this with shredded cheese, then place a layer of flour tortillas over the mix. Top with one can of drained and rinsed black beans, one can of drained corn, and one large can of diced tomatoes.



Top this layer with more cheese and more crushed tortilla chips.





Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Serve and enjoy. We found it tasted better the second day and with a dollop of sour cream.




If I were to make it again, I think I'd ditch the bottom mushy layer of corn chips - I didn't care for it - and replace it with more flour tortillas. I think I'd also make a cheese sauce versus just using shredded cheese. And finally, I think I'd use salsa instead of just canned tomatoes. But we really did enjoy it!

Eat a dang quesadilla!

Last night's dinner was fab quesadillas. Tortillas with a spread of refried beans mixed with diced chilis, some shredded chicken, a bit of cheese, and sauteed onions and peppers. Mmm. Delish.

Here's R's, sans beans. Photo by R.

Channeling the Southwest

Although I've posted on chili before, I've modified my recipe (as I do almost everytime I prepare almost anything I cook). I made some rockin' chili last night, served with some rockin' Jiffy corn bread. Here's a refresher:

To prepare said chili, brown 1 lb of ground chuck* in a dutch-oven style pot over medium head. Halfway through the browning, add 2 chopped yellow onions and 1 chopped pepper (red or green) and lightly salt. Once the meat is cooked and the vegetables are softened, add 3 cloves minced garlic, a handful of chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, another dash of salt, some pepper, some red pepper flakes, and cayenne to taste. Add a tiny dash of cinnamon (no more than 1/4 tsp). Stir well, and allow the spices to hit the heat. Add 14 oz. diced tomatoes, 14 oz. crushed tomatoes, and 2-3 tbsp tomato paste. Once the tomatoes have heated, add some frozen corn, black or kidney beans, or any other additions. Allow the chili to simmer for at least 15 minutes (30 is better). Serve with any toppings you like - onions, sour cream, cheese, jalapenos.


* You may sub ground turkey (shudder) or shredded chicken breasts or thighs (delightful!)