Pork Chili Verde

I love making Chili Verde. I usually serve it over a bowl of fluffy white rice, but occasionally, as I did this time, use it in enchiladas. It is muy delicioso.

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs boneless pork, cut into bite size pieces (I use the boneless pork roasts from Costco that come three to the package. Very affordable and perfect for this type of dish.)
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbls olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Large can green enchilada sauce (I think it is the 28 oz size)
Small can diced green chilies
1 ¼ cup Chicken broth
1 Tbls oregano

If making enchilada’s with the chili verde you will need tortillas (I use flour) and cheese.

Directions:

Heat a soup pot, add olive oil, sauté onions and garlic until onions are translucent. Add pork; sauté for about 15 minutes.

Add enchilada sauce; chicken broth; green chilies and oregano. Cook over low heat for about 1 ½ hours, until pork is very tender.

If serving over rice, which is delicious, you’re done. If making enchiladas heat the tortillas slightly so that they are pliable. Spray a baking pan with Pam, place a small amount of the sauce in the pan to cover the bottom.

Using a slotted spoon, place some of the pork – minus the sauce – in a tortilla; add some cheese and roll the enchilada. Place seam side down in baking dish. Continue adding enchilada’s to fill the pan. Spoon much of the sauce mixture over the enchiladas. You want the enchiladas to be juicy, but you don’t want the pan to be completely full of the sauce.

You can place the enchiladas directly into a 350 oven for about 25 minutes, or you can cover and place them in the fridge for the next day. Remove from fridge and cook in a 350 oven for about 45 minutes. You want to make sure they are completely heated through and that the cheese has melted.

Rosemary & Lemon Pork Stew

I found this recipe on "RecipeZaar". It sounded savory and different, so I thought I would give it a try. It truly is DELICIOUS. It is a Portuguese recipe, according to the website. I've adjusted the recipe slightly, and found it easy to prepare. We so enjoyed this dish that we had to go back for seconds. There's just a little bit left in the fridge - I need to hide it from hubby so that I can have it for my lunch today!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless pork, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
Olive Oil for frying the pork

4 ounces trimmed and sliced portabella mushrooms
1 ½ white onions, sliced lengthwise
1 ½ cup dry white wine – I used chardonnay
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
Cornstarch and water for thickening stew
Juice of one lemon
Parsley or cilantro (to garnish)

Serve over cooked white rice.

Directions:

Toss the pork cubes in flour, salt, pepper and paprika; in a large saucepan, brown them (in batches) in the olive oil. Remove to a plate covered in paper towels to absorb extra olive oil.

Add portabella mushrooms and sliced onions to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes.

Stir in the wine, basil, coriander and rosemary, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

Return the pork to the pan; cover stew and cook over low heat for an hour.

Uncover stew. Mix approximately 1 Tbls cornstarch with some cold water; add to stew and cook until liquid thickens up. If more cornstarch and water is needed, do so.

Just before serving, stir in the fresh lemon juice; garnish with fresh parsley or cilantro. Serve over white rice.

Creamy Noodles and Beef

Here's another "what the heck am I going to make for dinner" inventions! I used ground beef in this recipe, but you could easily substitute ground turkey or ground chicken. Your choice. It's easy and filling and best of all TASTY!

Ingredients:

1 to 1 ½ lbs ground beef – I like the extra lean, you could substitute ground turkey or chicken as well.
1 white onion chopped
Drizzle of Olive oil

4 Tbls butter
4 rounded Tbls white flour
1 tsp. Tony Chachere’s Seasoning.
1 ½ cup milk
Chicken broth – approximately 2 – 3 cups.

1 pkg rotini, cooked and drained (I like the Bertolli brand – but use your favorite)

Directions:

Heat a large skillet or pot. It needs to be large enough to mix the beef, sauce and pasta into it. Drizzle the olive oil into it. Add the chopped onions and cook until translucent. Add the ground meat of your choice and cook until it thoroughly cooked.

Cook the pasta.

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Be careful not to let it burn. Add the flour, making a roux. Cook for just a minute to take the raw taste out of the flour. Slowly add the milk, whisking until thoroughly mixed. Begin adding the chicken broth – a little at a time – all the while whisking. You are making a cream sauce so you want it to be thick, but not like paste. And, you want to be able to pour it over the noodles and beef mixture. Once you have it to the consistency that you would like, add the Tony Chachere’s seasoning and mix well.

Once the beef mixture is cooked, and the pasta and been cooked and drained, add the pasta to the beef and mix well. Pour the sauce over the pasta and beef mixture. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste, if you feel it needs more seasoning.

St. Patricks Day Feast

With a name like Mulligan, we're expected to be party central for St. Patricks Day. Unfortunately, this year we've all been sick - so no parties for us. But, that didn't stop us from having a Corned Beef and Cabbage feast for dinner on Saturday. We'll have the left overs on Tuesday - St. Patricks Day. Of course, I've heard that if you offered a person from Ireland this meal - they wouldn't know what you were talking about. It is totally an American invention. And, I'd say a good one at that!

Ingredients:

1 Corned Beef
1 head cabbage

Directions:

Remove the corned beef from the wrapper. Rinse well under cold water. Keep the packet of seasoning mix. Or, if the seasoning is already on the corned beef (as mine was this year) be careful not to wash it all off when rinsing the meat.

Place the corned beef in a large pot and cover with water. Put the cover on and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce heat, and place lid ajar on the pot. Cook for approximately 3 hours. You want the beef to be very tender.

When the beef is cooked, remove from the pot, but don’t throw the water out. Cut the cabbage into 4ths (or 6ths, depending upon the size). Keep the core in the cabbage. With the water simmering, drop the cabbage pieces into the water. Cook for approximately 3 – 5 depending upon how crisp you like your cabbage.

Serve the corned beef and cabbage with some steamed carrots and mashed potatoes. This year I used red potatoes, kept the skin on them, and added garlic cloves to the water as they were boiling. Delicious Garlic Red Mashed Potatoes. Yum!

Creamy Chili Con Carne Dip

This is yummy! It is a delicious and " ready in a jif " chili con carne dip. It is perfect for just about any occasion. Unfortunately, I can't take credit for coming up with the recipe - but sadly I can't remember who I got the recipe from to give them credit. All I can say is if you like chili and corn chips - you're going to love this creamy and savory dip.

Ingredients:

1 can "no bean" chili (I like Hormel)
8 oz of cream cheese (I use Philadelphia 1/3 less fat)
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Bag of Corn Chips

Directions:

Put the chili and cream cheese into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until they begin to melt together.

Add the chili powder and cayenne pepper

Cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to bubble.

Serve warm with corn chips. This dip is best if kept warm.

Carne Asada Soft Tacos

This is a quick and easy meal for those weeknights when you don’t have a lot of time – or for any time that you want a delicious meal. It is one of my son’s favorite, and we have served them many times when company is visiting. Ingredients:

Carne Asada meat
Corn tortillas – or flour your choice
Garlic Salt
Adobo Seasoning
Your favorite salsa

Accompaniments:

Lime wedges
Chopped white onion
Chopped cilantro
Chopped tomatoes

You could also use lettuce, cheese, avocado, sour cream or any other toppings that you like on your taco’s.

Directions:

Season the meat with the garlic salt and adobo seasoning. Barbecue the meat for a couple of minutes on each side. Because carne asada is already cut thin, it shouldn’t take long to cook.

Warm the tortillas. We have a plastic tortilla warmer that works great in the microwave. I’ve also used the oven to warm larger batches of tortillas. Just sprinkle them with a tiny bit of water and wrap in aluminum foil; warm in a 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

Cut the meat into bite sized pieces. Let everyone assemble their taco with the fillings of their choice.

Chicken Parmesan Soup

When out to dinner a few nights ago, the soup of the day was "Chicken Parmesan". Sounded delicious, so that is what I ordered. Unfortunately, I wasn't pleased with it. Couldn't really find any chicken in it, and the soup base pretty much tasted like tomato sauce. I was disappointed. However, it got me to thinking... if I was going to make Chicken Parmesan Soup - how would I do it. So, here you go - my version - fairly quick and full of flavor!

Chicken Parmesan Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs chicken tenders, cut into bite sized pieces (or you could use chicken breasts)
1 cup Italian Style bread crumbs
½ tsp garlic powder
3 Tbls shredded Parmesan cheese
Olive oil for frying the chicken (maybe 4 - 6 Tbls)

Place enough olive oil in soup pot to fry the chicken; heat thoroughly.

Into a Ziplock bag, place bread crumbs, garlic powder, and Parmesan. Shake well to combine. Put chicken pieces into bag and shake well to coat. (Save remaining bread crumb mixture. It will be added into the soup later on.)

Fry the chicken pieces in batches in the oil until browned and cooked through. Remove from pot and drain on paper towels.

Soup Ingredients:

1 white onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup red wine
3 – 28 oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes
28 oz chicken broth
1 – 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 Tbls of oregano
Handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tsp sugar
Parmesan Cheese for garnish

After removing last batch of chicken from pot, add onions and garlic to the remaining olive oil. Cook for several minutes until translucent. Add wine to deglaze pan.

Add cans of tomatoes. Break tomatoes apart with spoon or fork. (You could use the diced tomatoes if you prefer. I just prefer the consistency of using the whole tomatoes.) Fill one of the tomato cans with chicken broth; add to the pot. Add can of tomato sauce. Cook until bubbles begin to form.

Add the oregano, bread crumb mixture and sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add basil; stir to mix in. Return the chicken pieces to the pot. Cook for another minute or two.

Serve in bowls with generous amounts of shredded Parmesan cheese on top.

Foodie Blogroll

Just a quick little posting to say how excited I am to be accepted to Foodie Blogroll. I've sure been enjoying wandering around other food sites. Too fun, for sure! If you have some time, check out some of the blogs listed with Foodie Blogroll. You can get to them by using the Foodie Widget posted in my sidebar.

Cheers!

Orange Honey Mustard Chicken

Oh, this is a good one. And, easy too. It is from the Taste of Summer cookbook, by Diane Rossen Worthington. Although, in my usual fashion - I have adjusted it. The original calls for slices of turkey breast, and for them to be grilled on the barbecue. I substituted chicken breast and pan fried them, and also made some slight adjustments to the marinade ingredients and sauce. I really think you're going to like this one!
Marinade Ingredients:

1 orange, juiced

Grated orange zest

1 medium lemon, juiced

2 Tbls soy sauce

2 Tbls finely chopped ginger

2 medium garlic cloves, pressed with a garlic press - or finely minced

2 Tbls finely chopped white onion

1 Tbls honey

2 tsp dijon mustard

1/4 cup olive oil

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup chicken stock

4 Tbls whipping cream

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbls finely chopped parsley

heaping tsp of corn starch

small amount of water

Directions:

Marinade: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Place chicken breasts in shallow non-aluminum dish or ziplock bag. Pour marinade over chicken and refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours. Turn the chicken several times during those hours.

Shake excess marinade off the chicken breasts. Prepare a pan with a little olive oil or pam and fry until cooked. You could also bake the chicken breasts, or barbecue them. Whatever your preference.

Pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the cream, pepper and parsley. Bring back to a boil. In the meantime, combine the cornstarch with a sufficient amount of water to make a pourable liquid. Pour into the sauce and continue cooking until it thickens. If needed, make more cornstarch mixture or add more chicken broth to achieve desired thickness. Taste for seasoning.

Spoon sauce over chicken breasts. Serve and enjoy! Delish!

Split Pea Soup

Let me preface this post with saying, SPLIT PEA SOUP IS REALLY DIFFICULT TO PHOTOGRAPH WELL! Ok, got that out of my system.

When posting many of the recipes on this blog I refer to the fact that the recipe in question brings back cherished childhood memories. Well, here is another one for the vault. My Dad absolutely LOVED Split Pea Soup. There was a restaurant in California called Andersons (I think it is still there) and they were famous for their Split Pea. If we were taking a vacation that involved driving past an Anderson’s – you could be sure that we would stop there.

I can’t recall if my Mom loved the soup, or not. But my Dad and I sure did. It has become one of those “comfort foods” in my adult life. I will order it on occasion when we are eating out, but I prefer to make a big pot of it at home and enjoy throughout the week. This recipe is for a double batch, so that I could freeze half of it. So, without further adieu - here’s my recipe – hope you like it too.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. dried split peas
1 onion, chopped
1 lb package of baby carrots, cut across in two in three chunks
2 celery hearts, chopped
6 chicken bouillon cubes
Enough water to sufficiently cover the peas and vegetables. Approximately 12 – 13 cups
1 lb package of cubed ham

Directions:

Wash, sort and drain peas. Add them to a large soup pot and cover with water.

Chop the onions, celery and carrots. Add to the soup pot.
Add the chicken bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer for about 1 ½ hours. Add the ham; continue to cook for an additional 1 ½ hours.

Keep a close watch on the soup so that it doesn’t burn, and also to make sure there is sufficient water in the pot. I like my Split Pea Soup to be more like a stew - nice and thick. Adjust the amount of water to your liking.