How I Won My Husband!

Years ago, I had to fix a dinner for my boyfriend (now husband), his mother, and my parents.  What to fix that would please everybody was a dilemna.  Hence, my chicken enchiladas.

I still make these today, and will make them tonight to take to a Mexican potluck.  Here goes.

Serves 4, 2 each 

Preheat Oven to 375

In a large saute pan, cook 4 medium sized chicken breasts in 1/2 bottle of a Mexican beer of your choice. When they are cooked through, (no pink), take them out of the pan and let them cool.  Shred them, or cut them into small dice.  

Ingredients:

4 medium sized chicken breasts

5 medium tomatoes diced with the skin and seeds 

1 yellow onion diced finely

2 tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tbs. cumin

1 lime

1 bunch of cilantro

1 small container sour cream or plain yogurt

1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese

8 - 8 inch flour tortillas

1 can of el pato red enchilada sauce, that has been heated on the stove.  

Heat the olive oil in the saute pan and add the onions, cook until they are translucent, then add the tomato and cook until they have broken down and it looks saucy.  Add the chili powder and the cumin, the lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the chopped up chicken and 1/4 cup cilantro.  Cook just until the chicken is heated and take off the stove.

To assemble the enchiladas, take a tortilla, spread 1 tbs of the sour cream on it, add 1/8th of the filling to the tortilla, 1 tbs of cheese, and roll it up.  Place in a square casserole dish and then repeat with the rest of the tortillas.  

Cover with the heated red sauce, and the rest of the cheddar cheese and bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown, and the sauce is bubbling.

Variation:  I use this filling to make a great appetizer.  Use puff pastry squares in place of the tortillas.  Place the sour cream on one corner of the pastry square add the chicken filling, sprinkle it with cheese, and fold the square to make a triangle.  Dip a fork in an egg and water mixture, and press around the edges to seal them.  Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash and then put into the oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until they are golden brown and have puffed up.  

Leftovers!

My husband is an attorney, which makes for lots of long nights at the office.  Tonight was no exception.  We had leftovers.  Last Monday we drove back in from Reno and we had a roast chicken from the grocery store.  There is nothing better than roast chicken, Brussel sprouts with sauteed onion, Peruvian purple potatoes, and garlic.  It was so tasty.  

Brussels' Saute

1 lb of Brussel sprouts, trimmed and washed, and cut into quarters

3/4 lb of Peruvian purple potatoes (We got these from our friend Shannon.  She and her husband Rob, grow them out on their property.) Peeled, and quartered and then sliced.  

1 yellow onion, quartered and then sliced

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

2 tbs. olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Never heat olive oil at a high temperature, it burns too quickly.  Add the potatoes and start them cooking, when they become slightly tender, add the onion, brussel sprouts.  Cook for eight to ten minutes until the brussel sprouts are tender and then add the garlic.  Cook for an additional two or three minutes, and then use a seasoning mix like Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute to add a dash of flavor.  

We had our friend Shannon over for dinner on Tuesday and I made pizza.  I love to make a good vegetarian pizza.  

When I make pizza, it's usually whatever we have in the refrigerator.

Crust:

1 cup hot water

2 tsp. yeast 

2 tbs. olive oil

1.5 tsps of kosher salt

2-2/3 cup of flour

MIx the yeast and hot water together and let the yeast get foamy on top of the water.  This usually takes about 5 minutes or so, then add the salt and olive oil.  Blend with a wisk and then add the flour.  Knead for 5 minutes, put in an oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let sit for 30 minutes until it rises.  

Sauce:

1 can of garlic and onion tomatoes, 14.5 ounces

1 can of Italian style stewed tomatoes

1 tsp of sugar

1.5 tsp of italian seasoning.

Using a hand blender, puree the two cans of tomatoes.  Put them in a sauce pan on medium heat and let them reduce.  When there isn't a lot of liquid left, add the sugar and the Italian seasoning.  Let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Toppings for the Pizza:

2 cups mozarella cheese

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese

1 can of artichoke hearts marinated in water

15 pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half 

1 lemon sliced very very thinly

8 ounces of sliced mushrooms

1/2 purple onion, sliced very thinly

4 cloves of garlic sliced very thinly

Saute the onion and garlic, add the mushrooms and saute them until the mushrooms lose their water.  Add the artichokes, the olives until they just are warm.  

Roll out the dough, place it on a pizza stone or a pizza pan.

Cover with the sauce, top with all the veggies, the mozzarella and cheddar cheese, and then the parmesan cheese.

Bake at 450 for 25 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown and the crust is crispy.  

Wednesday was left over roast chicken and Brussels saute.

Save those chicken carcasses and put them in the freezer.  When you have enough, you can make a great chicken stock for the freezer.  

Thursday, Rob worked until almost 10:30 so we had a great Pad Thai from Costco.  What an easy meal.  Add a little bit of chopped cashews and some lime juice and you are set.  

Dinner out on Friday.  Rob brought home part of the huge prime rib that he  had for dinner.  

Saturday we had our friend Jeri over.  Her dad passed away on Monday and we wanted to see her to make sure she was doing all right.  

I made chicken pot pie.  I don't mess with chicken pot pie.  Ree Drummond's pot pie recipe is the best and that's what we had for dinner with a salad. I made an apple galette for dessert.  Pie crust dough laid flat, covered with two apples, unpeeled and sliced thinly.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, ginger and sugar.  Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. 

So, that leaves us with leftovers on Sunday!  A great meal with my sweet husband.  Nothing could be better.  

"I love it when we are all together at your house, Grammer!"

It's Sunday, and I am at my mom and dad's house in Abilene, Kansas.  The whole fam damily is here.  

Shawn, (that's me), Meriam and her husband Tate, their three kids, Hogan, Jadyn, and Tiger, Mom and Dad, Nancy and her son Keil, (Kolby her oldest was in Wichita, and Kane the middle one was in Kearney), Heather  and her husband Kevin, and their three kids, Malorie, Audrey, and Miller were present and accounted for.  

The night before we had decided on Beef Stroganoff for dinner.  I could eat this with a spoon, a fork, a knife, or any implement you have.  I love (that is not too strong a word) my mother's beef stroganoff.

Recipe:  (Although, it never tastes as good as when my mother makes it.)

This recipe is for 15 people with hearty appetites and very few leftovers.

4 lbs of tenderized top round.  Cut this into strips, and dredge it with flour that has been mixed with salt and pepper.  Brown this in canola oil in the largest skillet you have.  Don't crowd the meat, or you will get gray meat instead of that carmel brown color you want.   Take the meat out, but don't get rid of the oil.  

Slice three large onions and add them to the canola oil.  Cook until tender and then add the meat back into the skillet,  add 3 cups of water and 3 tsps of beef bullion granules and let come to a boil.  Back the heat down to a simmer and let cook until the meet is so tender you can cut it with a fork.   

Now not all of my family likes mushrooms, so we cook them separately and people add them when they are getting ready to eat.  

Some people serve Stroganoff over egg noodles, not here, we are rice people, and we serve it over a big bed of white fluffy rice.  5 cups cooked with 10 cups of water for this big group.  

The vegetable was a big bowl of steamed broccoli and we had Garlic bread to sop up whatever stroganoff gravy that was left on the plate.  

Dessert was Nanaimo Bars with Vanilla Ice Cream.  The recipe for these luscious bars can be found at the Food52.  

The most excellent thing about the whole day was that we were together and having a great time.  My dad, who has Alzheimer's was chasing the kids around the house and actually remembering their names.  He had a super time, even though it is hard for him to keep everybody straight.  My niece Malorie who is 16 told me that she loved spending time at Grammer and Papa's house.  It was a great day.  Full of laughter and fun.  

Family

I went to visit my family in Abilene this week.  It has been a week of awesome days and challenging ones too.  I showed up last Friday at my parents' house.  When I got there Mom had made the classic pot roast, carrots and potatoes.  I love this meal. It's totally comfort food.  

Saturday was when the festivities began.  My sister Meriam, her husband Tate and their three kids got to Abilene Friday night as well, and we all decided to meet up to plan the meal for Saturday.  We had gone over to Heather and Kevin's, that's my other sister and  her husband to greet them.  Saturday's menu consisted of corned beef sandwiches on rye  bread, with swiss and homemade sauerkraut that my sister Heather made.  

(insert picture of rueben sandwich right here. )

It may sound crazy, but we don't worry about what we have for a meal, it may not sound like it goes together, but usually it is awesome.  My sister Meriam makes these wonderful egg rolls.  Usually, she makes them with pork, but since I don't eat pork, she made them with shredded chicken.  

Meriam's Egg Rolls

1 package of egg roll wrappers

1 package of pre-shredded coleslaw mix, without the dressing

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

garlic salt

onion powder

salt and pepper

soy sauce

mirin ( japanese rice wine vinegar)

and a dash of hoisin sauce

Mix the coleslaw mix, the chicken and all the seasonings together to form the filling.  

Wrap the mix in an egg roll wrapper and there you have it.  Awesomeness!  

Fry the egg rolls in canola or peanut oil that has been heated to 350 degrees.  When they are golden brown they are ready.  

So dinner Saturday consisted of Grilled Rueben Sandwiches, Meriam's Egg Rolls, Potato Chips, Welton Onion Dip, (1 container sour cream, 1 packet of dried onion soup mix, and 1 tsp of  worstershire sauce), and wilted lettuce salad.  My mom puts green lettuce leaves from two heads of lettuce and 1/2  cup of chopped green onions in a bowl, she  cooks up about  10 slices of bacon, leaving the fat in the frying pan.  She  breaks up the bacon and adds it to the salad, and then in the grease, she adds 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar, along with 1 tbs of sugar  and it sizzles in the bacon fat, and then she adds the whole shebang to the salad.  It wilts the lettuce and makes a great dressing.  

We had Blackberry cobbler and ice cream for dessert.  The cobbler was made with two of my mom's pie crusts (2 cups flour, 1 cup shortening cut to resemble small peas, add 5 - 6 tbs of water and mix with a fork.  Divide into two disks and put in fridge to chill.  Roll out and use. )  I put one crust in the bottom and another over the blackberries ( 3 pints of blackberries, rinsed, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tbs cornstarch.)  Sprinkle the top with sugar and bake until the berries have released their juice and the cobbler is bubbling.  

Well, It Wasn't Really Dinner

The night before last, I cooked some of the venison that Rob had shot in the fall. It was the really tender blackstrap and we had decided to slice it rather thinly before we froze it. You have to be careful with venison because it is so lean it will dry out into leather very quickly. Because of this I have taken to marinating it with all kinds of wonderful spices, oils, and acids. I drizzled this batch of meat in olive oil, garlic, a seasoning mix called 21 season salute that you get from Trader Joe's, and the juice of a lemon, this was probably a pound of meat. I let it sit for a while and then put it on the grill. You have to watch it very carefully so it doesn't burn or dry out. 

 The meat was amazing! It had great flavor and I served it with sautéed onions and zucchini. So I had leftovers for my lunch the next day. I hate eating leftovers the same way twice so this is what I came up with. 

 A VENISON TACO

 This makes four tacos, enough for two people. 

 4 ounces of the cooked marinated blackstrap, this is the primo part of a deer.  The piece that is so tender you can cut it with a fork.  

1 very small zucchini

1/4 onion.  I had sautéed these with some garlic the day before.  

1/4 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp cumin

1 very thin lice of brie per taco

4 corn tortillas

and 1/4 tsp salt.

Cook the meat and the zucchini just to the point they are hot.  Remember they were cooked yesterday.  If you are not using leftovers, sauté them and cook the venison on the grill until pink in the middle.  

Pile it on a corn tortilla that has been grilled, or cooked in a little olive oil in a frying pan.  Add the brie, fold the taco and enjoy.  

Here We Go Again, Once Again, And Again!

It's been a year, I know it, well almost a year since I've put anything in here, and I want to start up again, you know school is going to start up again, and it's going to get crazy, and so let me add one more thing to my plate.

Last night we had salmon for dinner. I love it when we grill out and then eat in the back yard. I love my backyard. It's green and filled with birds, and it's cool.

Friday and Saturday Rob and I were in Reno. We were looking through all the things we have from his mom's house in the garage. I don't think we'll ever be through with this stuff, but someday. I'm digressing. We went to Costco and they had wild sockeye salmon, not the filet, but the whole fish. I had to have one. We bought it and headed home to Elko.

There are probably 100 ways to fix salmon, but sometimes, the easiest is the best. I cut two or three hand fulls of thyme and put it in the cavity of the fish with slices of lime, salt and pepper. I slathered the skin with oil, and put it on the grill. Cook at about 350 - 400 for 30 minutes.

I served that with roasted eggplant, red peppers, and asparagus. (This is called escalivada in Catalan). Cut them in strips, (not the asparagus), douse it with olive oil and kosher salt and grill until they are soft and a little charred.

The final side was a rice blend sauteed with onions, mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes. When you have finished, the saute, add a little parmesan cheese. It's quite good.

So think about the leafy green backyard, the cool sound of water running from the sprinkler next door and enjoying life with your husband in the backyard.

Roasty Toasty

I have to admit it. I am the luckiest girl in the world. My husband, Rob, got me the best gift for my birthday this year. He got me an oval 5 quart Le Crueset dutch oven. It's gorgeous, and I use it all the time.

Yesterday, I made a venison roast in my new pot. Oh was it easy.

1 22 ounce venison roast
1 packet of lipton onion soup mix
1/2 cup red wine
1 onion sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 lb. of carrots
3 tbs. olive oil.
your favorite seasoning blend
s and p to taste

rinse and dry the roast and then season with s and p.
In your dutch oven, heat the oil very hot, and sear the outside of the roast. Remove it from the pot, and then add the onions, and garlic cloves. Saute and then add the soup mix, the wine, and your favorite seasoning blend. Return the roast to the pan and put it in a 275 degree oven for a couple of hours, or until the roast is done to your satisfaction.

I served this with comfortable rice from Sunday and sauteed asparagus.