tamale all about it!

I love me some tamales! But the only thing is that I don't have the time (or rather kind of lazy) to make tamales on my own. Even though it's not authentic, I find that pot pies that mimic tamales are something that I can definitely do.

Since I like the ease of making casseroles, this tamale pie was something they've been wanting to make. I've been experimenting with different ingredients inside the pie and so far this is the most of that been happy with. It's got a lot of feeling and as much vegetables I can fit in. Add some extra toppings and this makes a great meal!

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Chicken Tamale Pie

(makes one large pot)

Filling:

4lbs skinless boneless chicken, cubed

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp bottled minced black garlic

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp Jen's everything seasoning

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ancho chile powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 bay leaves

1 large onion, diced

1 large poblano chile, diced

1 can black beans, drained & washed

1 can sweet corn, drained

1 medium zucchini, diced

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro, divided

1 large can Las Palmas mild/medium enchilada sauce

1 tsp better than bouillon, chicken bouillon​

2 tbsp masa flour

Cornbread Topping:

Dry Ingredients

    2 cups  cornmeal

    1 cup all-purpose flour

    2 tsp baking powder

    1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Wet Ingredients

    2 cups milk (room temperature)

    2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar

    5 tbsp salted butter (melted/liquid)

    1 small can chopped jalapenos, drained 

    1/4 cup canned corn

1/4 cup Mexican cheese blend

sour cream for serving

finely chopped red onion for serving

hot sauce for serving

Heat 6 quart dutch oven. Mix chicken, black garlic, and spices then add to hot pan to brown. Add onions and poblano and cook until onions are translucent. Add black, beans, corn, zucchini, and half of cilantro. Cook for 10 minutes then add enchilada sauce, bouillon, and masa flour. Cook mixture until thickened and reduced by 1/4. Remove from heat set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Combine together wet ingredients for cornbread in a small bowl until frothy.  In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together.  Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Top filling with cornbread mixture then with Mexican cheese blend. Bake in oven until cornbread is cooked through and filling is bubbly, about 30-35 minutes.

Serve with sour cream, finely chopped onions, olives, and hot sauce.

leftover remix: turkey enchiladas!

The hubby and I were looking forward to turkey day this year. Man, oh, man, the good thing about people not eating the turkey was having so much leftovers! Why? to make turkey enchiladas, of course! This dish is soooo freakin' tasty and is a great alternative to casserole or sandwiches.

For Thanksgiving this year, the hubby decided to forgo the usual canned cranberry sauce and decided to make a huge batch of cranberry salsa. We made this salsa last year when we experimented making enchiladas using our usual recipe. Since he didn't have a high tolerance for spicy heat, we opted for pablano peppers for a milder salsa to keep the flavor or chiles but without the mouth-burning heat of jalapenos. Turns out, that was a great idea!

You would think that the Mexican flavors of the enchilada would clash against the festive flavors of cranberry and turkey. In actuality, it actually blends together with the turkey and the tart cranberry salsa is perfect with the pablano and cilantro. If Thanksgiving had a Latin version, this would be it!

I can see a pattern developing here, lol. Right when I started packing up the turkey, he asked whether of not we were going to have enchiladas the next few days. I can see why he loves it so much. Not only is this good, but it's so festive looking on a plate! Heck, even on sad paper plates, this looks super tasty! Huzzah for leftover turkey!

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Turkey Enchiladas with Cranberry Salsa
(adapted from Laura's Best Recipes and Food Network)

For the Salsa:
1 (12.oz) bag fresh cranberries, divided
1 cup sugar
zest from a large orange
2 tbsp water
1/2 pablano pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

For the Enchiladas:
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ancho chile powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups turkey broth
handful chopped cilantro leaves
2 (14.oz) cans green or red enchilada sauce
3 cups shredded turkey
3 rounded tbsp chopped green chiles
6 large flour or corn tortillas
1 to 2 cups Mexican cheese blend
salt and pepper, to state

light sour cream
chopped tomatoes
finely chopped romaine lettuce
shredded cheese blend

 
Make the salsa:
Empty bag of cranberries into saucepan and reserving 1 1/2 cups to a small bowl. Add sugar, zest, and water to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst, about 12 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and stir in 1/2 cup reserved cranberries. Add sugar, then salt and pepper to taste.

Chop remaining 1 cup cranberries in a food processor and add to cranberry sauce. Stir in pablano pepper, lime juice, honey, and salt. Let cool to room temperature then stir in cilantro. Set aside.

Make the enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and ancho chile powder then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on flour and stir to ensure flour doesn't burn.

Gradually add stock to make a sauce. Continue stirring over low simmer until flour cooks and liquid thickens. Add green chiles, chopped cilantro, and shredded turkey. Stir in 2 tbsp of enchilada sauce and continue to cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Mixture should be thick, but not runny.

Take a large foil-lined baking pan and lightly coat with cooking spray. Cover the bottom of the pan with a light layer of enchilada sauce. Take a tortilla and briefly toast both sides on a griddle pan. Put a scoop (about 1/2 a cup) of the shredded turkey mix on top of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Place the rolled tortilla in the baking dish and repeat for the remaining tortillas.

With the remaining enchilada sauce, pour in between and over tortillas then top with shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese has melted. Serve topped with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream with cranberry salsa on the side.

viva, mexico!

Next stop...Mexico!

Okay, so for tonight's theme, I decided to make it easy for myself and do a no-brainer. Chicken fajitas is one of our favorite things to make. We have it about every two weeks or so, so it's fairly common 'round these parts. Heck, even the hubby's made them before (btw, it's rare to see him in the kitchen nowadays...he cooked a lot more when we were just dating, lol).

For these fajitas, I found a recipe online that had some ideal ingredients that I was looking for. But being the gal that I am (and being from California to boot!), I decided to change the ingredients list...namely reducing the Italian dressing and adding more "authentic" Mexican flavors in the mix. It's a lot of things going on in the marinade, but this works for me and the hubbs. Usually, since it's just me and him, I halve the recipe so that we won't have too much leftovers. Oh, and did I forget to mention that this goes great with a couple of cervezas? Olé!

Chicken Fajitas
(adapted from Plain Chicken)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp bottled Italian dressing
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cornstarch
2 large bay leaves
4 to 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into strips (about 4 lb.)

1 large onion, sliced
1 medium green pepper, sliced
1 medium red pepper, sliced
salt and pepper
olive oil

flour or corn tortillas, taco or fajita size
mexican four cheese blend
light sour cream

Whisk together first 12 ingredients. Pour into a large zip-top plastic freezer bag then add the chicken and bay leaves. Seal and give the bag a few shakes to evenly coat the chicken. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours up to overnight.

When ready to cook, remove from fridge 30 minutes prior to use. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high then add peppers and onions. Let sear for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken with the marinade and reduce heat to medium. Cook until chicken is no longer pink and sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

To serve, top warm tortilla with chicken mixture, some cheese, and a dollop of sour cream. I take mine with added cilantro, jalapenos, and hot sauce!

works every time...

Happy New Year!

For the first post of the year, I think I'll start off with my favorite scone/biscuit recipe. I think everybody goes through a period where they try different things, hoping that whatever new thing that they find will be *the* one (enter resolutions, recipes, style, what-have-yous here). Sometimes it works, but sometimes what you know works best.

Take this recipe, for example. Before I ever found this recipe, I've tried my hand at making scones or biscuits before and sometimes failing miserably. Apparently, cutting butter into dough is not something that I can do easily. So when I found out about "cream scones", I was a little dubious. No butter? What's *that* going to taste like??

I really shouldn't of worried. While they're not as flaky as traditional scones or biscuits, I find that I actually prefer the lighter and fluffier product that this recipe produces. Don't get me wrong, I still love trying different recipes, but this one seems to be "it" for me...my go-to for this kind of bread. Do I really need the butter, anyway? ;P

And what's more, I can easily adapt the recipe to make it savory or sweet. I also found that I could use any dairy (or non-dairy) product that I want and get consistent results! Wow! It's quick, and easy, *and* it freezes really well. What more could I ask for? :D

For this particular version, I decided to make some scones. It's got rum-soaked craisins, sweet flaked coconut, walnuts, and an awesome sugar wash that bakes up delightfully nice and crunchy on top. And yes, some of the scones do have an extra topping of sugar...more crunch! :D For the dairy, I decided to use sour cream as my base since that was all I had in the fridge. This version also has the full amount of sugar called for as well as a little bit of the rum from the soaking cranberries. Holy cow! I think these may be the best scones I've ever made in my life, lol! Maybe next time, I'll add some white chocolate chips and see how that turns out. :)

 
Cream Scones or Biscuits
(adapted from Rita's Recipes)

Scones/Biscuits:
2 cups flour
2 tbsp baking powder
sugar
salt
1-1/4 cup chilled dairy of choice*
1/2 cup add-ins (optional)

Optional cream wash for scones:
1 tbsp chilled dairy of choice*
1 tbsp or so water
1 tbsp powdered sugar

*These have worked well for me so far:
  - heavy cream
  - half and half
  - coconut milk
  - buttermilk
  - sour cream

For scones:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix flour, baking powder, 1/8 to 1/4 cups sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl. Stir in the dairy of choice and any additional add-ins just until a dough forms.

With a floured hand, knead the dough in the bowl for 6-8 times. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and pat out into 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick circle or rectangle. Score and cut, or cut into circles using a biscuit cutter.

Place dough on a foil-lined baking sheet. If using cream wash, combine dairy, water, and powdered sugar together in a small bowl then brush the tops with the wash. Alternately, melted butter and a sprinkle of sugar may be used instead.

Bake about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

For biscuits
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix flour, baking powder, 1 tbsp sugar, and I tsp salt in a large bowl. Stir in the dairy of choice and any additional add-ins just until a dough forms.

With a floured hand, knead the dough in the bowl for 6-8 times. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and pat out into 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick circle or rectangle. Score and cut, or cut into circles using a biscuit cutter.

Place dough on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

To freeze:
After cutting the dough, lay cut biscuits on a pan and freeze for a couple of hours. Afterwards, store in freezer safe container or bag for up to 6 months. To serve, bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

fishy business.

feeding my husband can be a little tricky sometimes. it's not that he's a picky eater...it's just that he knows what he likes and it's hard for him to like something that he's had a bad experience with before. like couscous, for example. he really hates the stuff. for him, the textures are weird and the taste is icky. whereas me, i freakin' love couscous!

another thing that he has a hard time eating is cilantro. while i grew up with having lots of cilantro in my diet, it was almost non-existent in his. he really could care less for the stuff. the same goes with fish tacos. he just never ate one he liked, no matter how many times he had it. so when i saw this recipe, i knew that i really wanted to try it for our "fishy friday" on our weekly dinner routine. there was a lot of different but familiar things going on and i really liked the use of red cabbage. i scaled waaaay back on the cilantro so that it's more of a hint and i tweaked the recipe to suit our taste. the result? a whopping success!! we've had this twice now and he gobbles this up every time. that's a win for me and definitely a win for him!

 

Crispy Fish Tacos
(adapted from Delicious Shots)

Corn Salad: 
2 ears fresh corn, husked with silks removed (or 1 can vacuum-packed super sweet corn) 
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped 
1/2 red or green bell pepper, finely chopped 
1 medium tomato, finely chopped 
1 tbsp chopped cilantro (or more, to taste) 
1 to 2 sprigs italian parsley, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 to 2 tbsp lime juice 
salt and pepper to taste 
1/4 tsp cumin 
1/4 tsp paprika 

Avocado Crema: 
1 very ripe avocado 
1/4 cup light sour cream 
1 tbsp lime juice 
1 tbsp chopped cilantro 
1 sprig of italian parsley, chopped
sprinkle of cumin 
salt and pepper to taste 

Fish Tacos: 
3 firm white fish fillet (like tilapia or pollock), cut into strips 
1 cup flour 
1/4 cup corn starch 
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1/2 tsp paprika 
1/2 tsp garlic powder 
1/2 tsp onion powder 
beer from 1 bottle 
salt and pepper 
flour or corn tortillas 
red cabbage, finely shredded 
vegetable oil for frying 
taco or hot sauce for topping 

For the Corn Salad:
Heat grill to high and grill the corn until charred on all sides. When ready, remove the kernels with a sharp knife. (If using canned corn, skip the grilling part.) In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and season accordingly to taste. Cover and set aside for thirty or so minutes to let marinate.

For the Avocado Crema:
Puree all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Season to taste. Set aside for thirty or so minutes to marinate.

To make the Fish Tacos:
In a small mixing bowl whisk together the flour, corn starch, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Add just enough of the beer to make a thick batter and whisk until smooth. The mix should look like thick pancake batter.

In a skillet, add vegetable oil about to 2-inches deep and heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Season the fish with salt and pepper, dip the fish strips into the batter and carefully place in the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. To assemble the tacos place one piece of fried fish* in a warm tortilla and garnish with cabbage, avocado crema, corn salad, and taco or hot sauce. Serve immediately.

*also, the batter works well for a shrimp taco version too! :)

super-topped green enchiladas.

ahh, enchiladas. i've actually never been a big fan of enchiladas (always been a rolled tacos girl myself) until recently. usually the chicken's super dry and the sauce is watery. it's only been as of late that i've been finding some awesome hole-in-the-walls that have tasty enchiladas. so, decided to try my hand at making some. :)


after searching the internet for a bit, i found this recipe from laura's best recipes and decided that the ingredients that she used sounded pretty darn appetizing. so, i took my happy little self to the nearest grocery store and purchased a small rotisserie chicken to shred. chicken...gooooood.



followed the recipe closely except for some changes (changes being not having the ingredients and compromising). let it bubble away and get thick in the pot, rolled them up, then used green enchilada sauce since that was the only can that i had on hand. this was new to me since all i've ever had was red sauce but the boyfriend liked green. i didn't care either way but it was still weird to see green sauce on them enchiladas...


after that was put in the oven for about 45 minutes, i prepped the toppings and set it aside. afterwards, before the last ten minutes of cooking, i took some shredded three cheese blend as well as some grated cotija cheese and topped the little sucker! it came out gooey and bubbly, and smelled fantastic!


ohh, yeah. this was an awesome enchilada! the meat was deliciously spiced, the sauce just perfectly portioned, and completely filling! i'm such a topping-girl...whenever toppings are around, i go crazy. in this case, i was glad for the topping...i needed a little veggie action for so rich a dish. :D this will definitely be added on the dinner rotation for the future! huzzah, another experiment that ended well! XD
 

Chicken Enchiladas with Tangy Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa
(from Laura's Best Recipes)

Salsa:
1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 white onion, peeled and quartered
6 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin (best if you grind seeds in a mill)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 lime, juiced
* Note: I skipped this and just used a can of green enchilada sauce. :D

Enchiladas:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (it’s best if you toast and mill whole cumin seeds)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, (yours or Organic – but not low sodium)
Chopped cilantro leaves (lots)
1 high-quality (i.e. whole foods) deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
10 large (but not burrito size) flour tortillas (
3/4 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 cups sour cream
Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the salsa:
On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.(SKIPPED! can o'enchilada sauce is soooo my friend right now. <3)

Enchiladas:
Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized – this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn’t burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Assembly:
Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa.

Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato. I also swirl some adobo saurce from a can of chipotles into sour cream and use that as a garnish.