Spicy Chipotle Chicken

I decided to go out on a limb and make something spicy.  My husband isn't a spicy food fan, but my boys and I are.  I've had a can of chipotles in adobo in my cabinet and I've been looking for a good recipe to use it in.  I'm glad to say that I found one that was super easy and tasty!

I found this recipe where else but at Pinterest!  It was very spicy but very good!  We ate wrapped in tortillas and mixed into white rice.  Definitely follow the recipe to reduce the liquid to make the sauce.  We used that sauce to mix into the rice for more flavor.  I will definitely be doing this again for an easy Friday night meal for the boys and I. 

What did the girls and the husband eat?  French fries.  I'd say we had the better meal!

Spicy Chipotle Shredded Chicken

Crazy Pork Concoction

I call this a crazy pork concoction because it has some weird ingredients, but they surprisingly work very well together.  I didn't tell anyone, especially my husband, what was in it until they tried it tonight.  I wish I took a picture of it before, but I forgot.  This was the aftermath...

So what was this recipe you ask?

I love Pinterest!  This dish turned out so flavorful!  So much more flavorful than any pre-marinaded pork tenderloins I have paid $8 or $9 for.  Plain old pork tenderloin is much cheaper.  It even got the husband "I'll eat that again" seal of approval.  Everyone enjoyed it so it will definitely be added into my rotation.

Sloppy Cubanos

It's been a very long time since I've blogged!  I've had requests to get back into it but life has a funny way getting in the way.  I'm still marathon cooking every weekend, along with being head chauffer and laundress.

I've found lots of new recipes on Pinterest so I'll try to post as many as I can.  You can follow me on Pinterest as well.  I've wasted spent many hours looking for recipes there!  I've pinned more than I've tried but I'm starting to work through what I have. 

So, on to the title of this post: Sloppy Cubanos.  This is actually an oldie but a goodie recipe that I pull out for my crew every once in a while.  It's a Rachel Ray recipe that I've tweaked a little.  You can do it as is, but I eliminated things and cut down on others.  My changes are in blue.



Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

• 1/4- 1/3 pound chorizo, casing removed, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

• 1 pound ground pork

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped

• 2 teaspoons paprika (about 2/3 palmful)

• 2 teaspoons ground coriander (about 2/3 palmful) (--I used about 1.5 teaspoon)                       

• 1 teaspoon allspice (about 1/3 palmful)  (--I didn't use this at all.  Me no likey allspice) 

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (eyeball it)

• Grated peel and juice of 1 lime  (--I used one of those little plastic limes full of juice so no zest.  The juice of 1 lime is about 2 tablespoons)                       

• 1 cup chicken stock                        

• 1 8 ounce can  tomato sauce

• 4 Portuguese rolls or submarine rolls, split (--I use hamburger buns) 

• 4 deli slices Swiss cheese

• 3 - 4 large dill or half-sour pickles, chopped   (--Claussen Kosher dill burger slices are perfect!) 

• 1 bag plantain or other chips

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring, until browned, 2 minutes. Add the pork and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the onion, garlic, paprika, coriander and allspice; season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, lime peel and lime juice and mix well; stir in the chicken broth and tomato sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes.
2. Lightly toast the rolls under the broiler. Pile the meat mixture onto the roll bottoms. Cover with the Swiss cheese and broil until melted, about 30 seconds. Scatter the pickles on the sammies, cover with the roll tops and serve with the plantain chips alongside.

Chili Con Carne a la Food Network Magazine

It's been a loooong time since I've posted a new recipe and it's probably been about that long since I've tried out new recipes.  Now that I'm working again I haven't had much opportunity to experiment.  I saw this one in my new Food Network Magazine January/February and had to try it.  We usually do the simple chili with the McCormick seasoning packets but this one just looked too good.  This recipe for Chili Con Carne does call for a bottle of amber beer, but if you don't have that you can substitute in more beef broth.  I personally loved adding the fresh scallions at the end and mixing them in for a little crunch.  I also did it without the beans.  Yes, yes, I know.  Some find that sacreligious, but the cook doesn't like beans so the cook doesn't put them in!  :o)

Chili Con Carne

Lucky Pot Roast

Ok, so it wasn't a lucky pot roast.  I was just lucky that I usually keep a supply of seasonong packets and broths on hand in case I need it.  Last week I needed it!  I defrosted a pot roast and was all ready to sear it and realized I didn't have everything I needed.  I dug through my cabinets to see what I could find.  I came up with a box of chicken broth and packet of Montreal steak seasoning.  I'm so glad I did!

I put a nice sear on both sides of the chuck roast in my dutch oven and then added the chicken broth.  Once the broth was in I poured the Montreal all over the chuck and the broth.  I brought the broth to a boil and then covered it and put it into a 375 oven for about 3 hours. 

Everyone noticed that this was something different than what I normally made.  The kids really liked it and my hubby actually wanted to take left overs for lunch and he hardly ever does that with pot roast.  Lucky Pot Roast will definitely be on the menu again!

Happy Friday!

I decided today that I wanted to try my hand at making spinod.  For the uninitiated that is Italian Easter bread.  My grandmother used to make it with anisette and without the hard-boiled eggs that the traditionalcEaster bread braids have.  I tried out a recipe today that worked pretty well.  Thank goodness for my professional Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook!  I got to catch up on The Guild while the mixer did all the work.  All in all this bread turned out really well and I'll be making it again soon.

Italian Easter Bread

Showing My Geekiness

As you can tell by the name of this blog, I'm a geek.  I love Star Wars, Star Trek, and Tolkien.  I'm currently home for the next few months (hopefully only a few months!) so I don't have to do marathon cooking on the weekends.  While I'd much rather be working, I'm glad that I don't have to use my entire Sunday to cook!  So, a while ago I was feeding my geeky needs for LOTR and new recipes and I came across this website Middle Earth Recipes that has lots of new recipes for main dishes and desserts.  I was reminded of it today because my son is currently reading The Hobbit (yes, I have a geek of my very own!).  Now that I have time on my hands I need to start using some of these recipes and reporting back.

Until next time!