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Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

June 11, 2012 in Mains, Poultry

This is one of my top ten favorite foods of all time.  Chicken enchiladas enrobed in green enchilada sauce and melty cheese is a definitive comfort food for me: robust flavors, gooey cheese, warm in my tummy, and everything else wonderful.

I honestly can’t vouch for authenticity in this number.  It’s definitely on the side of Tex-Mex, but not exactly Mexican.  Regardless of how you want to label it, it’s oh so delish!

Ingredients:

  • 3-5 cups of shredded chicken (I lucked out and used a smoked chicken my mom gave me.)
  • taco-sized flour tortillas
  • sour cream
  • 2, 15 oz. cans of green enchilada sauce or your favorite jar or 2 of salsa verde (If you can get a hold of Hatch brand, DEAR GOD, DO IT.)
  • 2 cups shredded cheese (I can vouch for a “Mex” blend or white cheddar, monterey jack, or a Mexican queso blanco that melts)

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Take one of the cans of sauce and mix in about 1/2 cup of sour cream.  This will yield a creamy chile sauce.

In a large bowl, mix together the shredded chicken, the sauce, and 1/2 cup of the cheese.

In a large casserole dish (about 13×9), put a few tablespoons of the other can of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish.  Spread it around.  This basically prevents the enchiladas from adhering to the bottom and resulting in dinner frustration.

Let’s fill!  Take a single tortilla and add the chicken-cheese mixture.  Wrap, and place seam side down in the dish.  Repeat until you run out of filling, tortillas, or space.

I ran out of space, so I spread what little filling was left over the top.  Sparse, isn’t it?

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the wraps, and finish with the rest of the cheese.

Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the whole lot is bubblin’.  (Note: I baked it halfway covered in foil, and then finished it without because I was afraid of burning the cheese.  I tend to do that.)

Serve with some sides or have on its own!

 

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Parmesan-Herb Grissini

May 8, 2012 in Sides, Snacks, Starters

Say it with me:

grees-SEE-nee.

grees-SEE-nee.

Grissini.

Perfetto!

I don’t know how to speak Italian.  Google translate is a helluva tool.  Onward to baking these little crunchy and delicious breadsticks!

I’m working on expanding my bread repertoire.  I think I have an okay handle on basic sourdough (sourdough starter, flour, water, salt), and I have my go-to method for bread… so what else do I do with this delicious dough instead of miles and miles of loaves?  Breadsticks!  I guess technically you could still call them “loaves,” just long and skinny.  These aren’t the typical breadstick you’ll find at say, Olive Garden, but a lighter version you don’t have to skip if you want to be able to enjoy your entree.  These make for a great alternative to snack crackers, both savory and sweet, just tweak the add-ins and you’ll be golden.

Parmesan-Herb Grissini

Ingredients:

  • basic bread dough (I like to use this gem: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. If you would rather use a pre-made, store-bought dough, I’ll look the other way.)
  • shredded parmesan cheese
  • black pepper
  • dry Italian herb blend
  • olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

With the “5 min.” method, I take the dough out of the fridge, carve out a chunk, and plop it on a floured surface.  If you’re using another method, I believe this will be after you proof your dough and stands in for the shaping period.

Flatten out the dough with your fingers, gently.  If you overwork it, the gluten could get too stiff.  If that happens, just let it sit for about 5-10 minutes and then continue.  Think of it as making a pizza crust.

Once it’s flattened out, top it with the parmesan, herbs, and pepper.  How much you use depends on how much dough you have and your personal taste.  I go by look.  Does it look evenly distributed?  Is there enough cheese for me?  Drizzle olive oil over the “pizza.”

Next, fold the dough over on itself a few times and flatten it out again, like the first round.  This time, I made a rectangular shape.  For me, it makes it easier to cut off strips to roll.

Use a dough scraper, or butter knife, and cut off a thin strip of dough.  If you need to add a little flour to the work surface, go right ahead.  The addition of the olive oil makes the dough a little wetter.

Using your hands, roll the strip into a long tube.

Place it on a baking sheet.  Repeat cutting more strips of dough and rolling until you have no dough left.

Bake on the middle rack of your oven for about 10 minutes.  Rotate the sheet and continue baking until they are golden brown.  In the event they are a good color and still soft, turn the heat down to 300°F and let them bake until they are hard.

it's not supposed to look THAT yellow. i still need to get used to the lighting in my kitchen.

Let them cool and try one! Or 10!

 

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Your Basic Meatball

March 30, 2012 in Beef/Lamb, Mains, Pork

You could call them mini-meatloaf bites if you wanted to.  They essentially are.  A basic meatball can be used for a variety of cuisines and is so simple to accomplish.  The worst meatballs are dry and have a texture that could remind you of food not fit for human consumption.  The best meatballs are moist, tender, and hold up well in sauce as well as on the end of a toothpick and dipped in a condiment.

Meatballs, like meatloaf, are better made when you have a party of animals going on there. In mine, I do a combination of ground pork and ground beef. Ideally, I would have wanted a less lean pork.  Why?  Fat = moisture = flavor. Alas, the local grocery only had one type of unseasoned “extra lean” pork for sale. *sigh* Ce la vie, I suppose. As for the ground beef, it was 20% fat. I admit, the lacking pork fat was missed.

I prepared these meatballs two ways.  One way, I pan fried them, getting a nice dark brown crust on the outside.  The seared meatballs were then finished in a marinara sauce.  The other way, I baked them in the oven so I could freeze and store them.

Basic Meatballs

  • 1 lb. of ground beef (not lean, you want something like ground chuck)
  • 1 lb. of ground pork (go for around 70% – 80% lean)
  • 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (I would have used a bit more, but I got tired of grating cheese.)
  • 3 eggs
  • salt and pepper (be generous, you’ll be happy with the results)

Dump everything in a bowl.

Get down and dirty and mix WITH YOUR HANDS.  It’ll be fine.  You’ll survive.  Just mix it up until everything looks incorporated and evenly distributed.

crappy shot. that's what happens when you have a "meat hand."

Next, still with your hands, grab a chunk any size you want and roll into a ball.  Do so with all of the mixture until you no longer have any leftover.

Cook however you want!

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot enough, lay in the meatballs. and let them fry until a brown crust forms.

When they have enough color, turn over and let cook until they reach a similar shade again.

If you want the meatballs in a sauce, pour in your sauce of choice and turn the heat on low-medium, cover the pan, and let them simmer until cooked through. (I used Trader Joe’s Low Sodium Organic Marinara.)

If no sauce is desired, then give the meatballs a stir, and pour in a small amount of water or broth. Cover, and let the steam finish them off.

If you want to bake them, put the raw meatballs on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes (maybe longer depending on the size of your meatballs); flip them over, and rotate the sheet halfway through.

Easy peasy, George and Weezy!

 

 

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Shrimp: Two Ways

March 22, 2012 in Salads, Starters

 

It’s simple.  Shrimp.  Two ways.

After a few days of heavy dinners and their equivalent leftover lunches, the Dear Husband had suggested having salads and shrimp cocktail since there was about half of a bag of shrimp sitting in the freezer.  As I was defrosting the shrimp in the sink, I thought about whether I should peel them before cooking, and if I peel them, do I leave that little bit of tail on for handles? Or do I just let them be… naked?

Naked it was.  Well, for half of them.  Because when you have about a pound of 36/40 shrimp, you can’t just have them all the same way, right? Right.  So the resulting dinner was this:  Cocktail Shrimp and Shrimp Caesar Salad. Shrimp cocktail has a semi-homemade cocktail sauce for dipping, of course. By the way, horseradish + ketchup = cocktail sauce! Mind. Blown.

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