enchiladas

Enchiladas, they are my go-to order at Mexican restaurants, but there aren't any Mexican restaurants here.  I've used a Rachael Ray recipe for firecracker enchiladas several times.  Lately, I've begun experimenting with different types of fillings for the enchiladas.   I've also used flour tortillas in place of corn, but I think I'm in a corn phase now.

enchiladas 
vegetable oil
one onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 29-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
8 tortillas, corn or flour
tortilla filling
muenster cheese, grated

for the enchilada sauce -- 

In a medium saucepan heat a little oil over medium-high heat.  Cook onion until soft. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes.  Whisk in water and then add tomato sauce.   Add chili powder, cumin, salt.    Bring to a boil.  Simmer for five minutes.  Set aside.

for filling -- 

I've used chicken, cooked spinach, leftover bbq pork, sour cream and cottage cheese, or beans.  Whatever you do, mix some cheese of some sort in there.  

This most recent time I mixed 1 cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 teaspoon cumin and 2 sliced green onions (white and green parts).  

And leftover shredded crock pot pork.

method -- 

Dip both sides of tortilla in the enchilada sauce.  Put the tortilla on a plate.  Put a soup spoon of sour cream mixture on the tortilla and some pork (or whatever filling you are using).  Roll the tortilla and place into a baking dish, seam side down.  Continue, making a total of eight enchiladas.  Top with the remaining enchilada sauce.  Top with muenster cheese.  Bake at 350° F for 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.     

where does all this food come from

This week's suppers:
   Monday -- fish sticks, cole slaw, potatoes
   Tuesday -- tofu curry
   Wednesday -- slow cooker meatloaf, mac & cheese, brussel sprouts
   Thursday -- bloody mary vegetable stew
   Friday -- out
   Saturday -- sweet & sour soup, cashew chicken
   Sunday -- Super Bowl feast

I've made my grocery list and it seems like there is hardly anything on it.  We've already got everything we need for Monday and Tuesday's meals and a good bit of what I need for Thursday night.  I always make grocery lists and I'm pretty good about sticking to them.  And we don't have that much room to store food in our house.  But with food I'd stocked away for my husband when I was away, my friend moving, and leftovers, we've got a good amount of food in the house.  Many of the things that my friend left do not easily go together to make a meal so it will take me awhile to get through those things.

We've had these frozen fish sticks in our freezer for awhile so I'd better use them.  I've been making homemade ones lately so I guess we'll see if the extra effort is worth it.  I've got this curry sauce from the friend who moved away and I'm going to use it.  Wednesday and Thursday we'll be trying new recipes from Southern Living and Everyday with Rachael Ray.  My husband is insisting that we go out for pizza on Friday and who am I to argue.  Saturday night we'll celebrate the Chinese New Year.  I'm not exactly sure what we'll have for our Super Bowl feast, but when I decide I'll post a menu.  We won't be watching it as it's on way too late, but it's a great excuse to have one more meal of fun football game food.

shrimp & grits

I absolutely love shrimp.  They are one of my favorite foods and my most often requested birthday supper item.  I like them anyway you cook them.  And I've always liked shrimp cooked with tomatoes.  But (surprisingly) I'd never had shrimp and grits until fairly recently.

The May 2009 issue of Southern Living included a few recipes for shrimp and grits and I had to try them.  The first time I made it I followed one recipe by the letter.  But after that I started combining the three of them to come up with my own recipe.  There were pieces of each recipe that sounded good to me:  sausage, green beans, tomatoes, mushrooms.  So I discovered the combination that my family and I like best and I've stuck with it.

Good, good, stuff.  In some areas this is traditionally a breakfast dish and I've been known eat leftovers for breakfast the next day.  

shrimp & grits

1 pound unpeeled medium-sized raw shrimp (I use frozen sometimes)
1 tablespoon flour
2 cajun sausage links
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 pound fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (or frozen)
1 can diced tomatoes (or 1 fresh tomato, diced)
2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion.

Peal shrimp.  Toss with flour until lightly coated.

Slice sausage.  Cook sausage.  Remove from pan.  Cook onion and garlic.  Add mushrooms and green beans.  Cook until green beans just begin to get tender.

Add tomatoes.  Cook until heated through.

Return sausage to pan.  Add shrimp.  Cook until shrimp are pink.  Add hot sauce and salt.  Add lemon juice and turn off heat.  Test for seasoning.  Add salt and pepper if needed.  Garnish with green onion.

Serve over creamy cheddar cheese grits

1 tablespoon butter
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
dash of hot sauce
1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
1 cup uncooked old-fashioned grits
1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese

Bring first six ingredients to a boil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat.  Gradually whisk in grits, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir cheese into grits until melted continue to cook (just a minute or two) until grits have thickened.

suppers

This week's suppers:
   Monday -- tofu pad Thai
   Tuesday -- enchiladas
   Wednesday -- tortilla soup
   Thursday -- leftovers
   Friday -- lazy Bolognese-style lasagna (still not available online)
   Saturday -- Moroccan chicken thighs
   Sunday -- chili

The lasagna appears again because we had a lot of leftovers last week and I just didn't need to make it.  Hopefully we'll get to try it this week.

Just two new recipes this week.  But it's not like I've never made tortilla soup or lasagna before.  I think it will be a good food week.

You may wonder, why the leftovers on Thursday night?  I usually play volleyball with a group of ladies on Thursday, so that's an easy fix that night and there's usually plenty to be found in the fridge by then.  The pasta on Friday nights is an old habitat from when we did our long runs on Saturdays.  The long runs are not-so-long anymore or don't even happen, but the pasta remains.

baked sandwich

We had this earlier this week.  I'd originally called it mufuletta-style sandwich, but I've realized it's not really.  It was inspired by a muffuletta-style sandwich recipe I read in a magazine and then another in Jamie's (Oliver) America cookbook.  But with my family's preferences and what's available to me here in Stavanger I can't call it that anymore.

This is a recipe that my whole family likes a lot.  So much that I served it at my daughter's third birthday party.  She's not a picky kid.  But I also made another one that was divided with ham and cheese and tomatoes and cheese.

baked sandwich
1 - 2 cups packed baby spinach, depending on how much green you fancy
1 cup sweet pickles
1/2 cup green olives
3 tomatoes, sliced
8 slices of cheese (I use Norwegian cheese, milder than Swiss)
24 slices of deli meat (3 kinds -- salami, ham, turkey, or whatever)
focaccia bread or 8 slices of bread
mayonaise
mustard

Put spinach, garlic pickles, and olives in a food processor with chopping blade and chop very finely.

Cut focaccia bread in half and lay out on a cutting board.  Spread mustard on the bottom of the bread.  Spread spinach mixture on bread.  Layer meat, cheese, and tomatoes -- add more or less meat, cheese, and tomatoes according to your preferences.  Spread mayo on top piece of bread.  Wrap sandwich in aluminum foil.

Can be made with 8 slices of sliced bread, but I prefer the focaccia.

Bake at 350° F for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

butter chicken

So. Very. Good.  I love the combination of tomatoes and cream.

I found this recipe this summer through The Pioneer Woman and tried it the next day.  And then I made it again Monday night.  I won't go so long before making it again.

This time I did add some extra vegetables to the dish.  I diced one carrot and added it with the onions.

I also seasoned cubed eggplant with the same spices used for the chicken marinade (garlic, salt, pepper, cayene pepper, coriander, cumin, and cardamon), sauteed it, and topped my butter chicken with the tasty eggplant.  For my husband and daughter (who aren't big eggplant fans) I just sauteed green beans with just a little bit of onion and salt and put that on top of their dishes.  They liked it that way too.

I've found cardamon in a few recipes lately, but have never used it before.  Since it kept coming up I bought some at the store Monday.  I added it to the chicken a few hours before it was finished marinating.  Not sure how much, if any difference, that made.  But now I've got it for this and the next time I make chai tea concentrate.

two keepers

Last week I tried two new recipes -- one from Robert Del Grande, the other from Rachael Ray -- and I'll be keeping them both.

The first was Robert Del Grande's jalapeno, avocado and bacon burger (Everyday with Rachael Ray, June/July, 2010).  Del Grande is the chef of Houston's RDG + Bar Annie.  I've never eaten there, but I've heard wonderful things about it (and it's predecessor, Cafe Annie) from several people and I've eaten at other Schiller-Del Grande restaurants.  The restaurants are always very good.  And so was this burger.

The recipe makes six half-pound burgers.  I cut the recipe in half and made four burgers with that...I don't think any of us could have eaten such a large burger.  I absolutely loved the ranch sauce that went on top of it -- it was delicious on the burger and on the roasted potatoes I served with supper.  Queso fresco is not available here so I used feta cheese.  I've always liked avocado on my burgers and it's one of my daughter's favorites too.  And the bacon, it certainly made this burger better.

The Rachael Ray Show is one of the few American talkshows on tv here at a time when I can watch it, so sometimes I do.  My daughter and I both like the end segment when she cooks the best.  The other day we saw her make a baked shells casserole that looked worth trying.  I'm so glad we did.  This one is definitely getting added to the rotation.  I especially like that it's a vegetarian dish (if you use veggie broth instead of chicken broth).  And with the frozen spinach, it is great for making during the winter when fresh vegetables are limited here.

suppers

This week's suppers:
   Monday -- butter chicken
   Tuesday -- golden bowl
   Wednesday -- muffuletta-style sandwich, raw veggies, chips & dip
   Thursday -- potato soup and leftover sandwiches
   Friday -- lazy bolognese-style lasagna (from February Rachael Ray Magazine, not yet available online)
   Saturday -- shrimp & grits
   Sunday -- crock pot bbq & cole slaw

Butter chicken appears again because we ended up going out for supper last night so I rearranged some things and pushed it to this week.

I'm finished with my serious using up phase, but I'm still thinking about it when I plan our meals.  We've got brown rice, potatoes, lasagna, and lots of grits in our pantry right now and frozen shrimp in the freezer.  My husband requested the sandwiches and when I asked what kind of soup they wanted this week, my daughter quickly said, "potato."  So that's what's for supper this week.

lazy baked Greek chicken

We had lazy baked Greek chicken the other night.  Quite good.  Everyone liked it.

If you have the February issue of Rachael Ray Magazine, try it.  The filling is delicious.  And the bread crumbs too.  If you don't have that issue, the recipe will be available online in late January. 

my afternoon coffee

My afternoon coffee has been replaced with by my afternoon chai tea.

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen for chai tea concentrate and I had to try it.  Today.

I didn't have cardamon or star anise in the cupboard.  So I left it out.  I only had ginger powder so I used a teaspoon of that.  It didn't matter.  I used only 1/2 cup of brown sugar.  It was good.

  

two winter recipes

I am always tearing new recipes out of magazines.  There is always something new I want to try.  And as a result I have a folder full of recipes that I've tried (at least once) and like and another folder full of recipes that I have not gotten around to trying yet.  I need to do something with that folder of recipes that I do like -- organize them and put them in a 3-ring binder.  Also I am trying to work my way through the folder of recipes that I have not yet tried.  So that I can add them to the other folder or recycle them.  And sometimes I think I try new recipes just for the ideas and knowledge and even though I like how the recipe turns out, I may never make that exact recipe again, but will us a little something from it another time.

Last week I tried two new recipes from Real Simple.  They both turned out pretty well, but I did have to make a few modifications to both because of the ingredients that are available to me here in Norway.  So maybe it's my fault the Cuban braised beef didn't turn out better.  But I think the soup was better for the changes I made to it.


Cuban braised beef & peppers  (Real Simple, December, 2009) -- a crock pot recipe
I liked it, but I'm not sure I'll make it again.  It is a recipe that I've learned from though.

What did it need?  Something.  Perhaps just salt and pepper on the beef prior to putting it in the crock pot.

The canned tomatoes that I like best in Norway do not lend themselves to draining.  They're in a rich sauce and I didn't want loose that.  Maybe that's why I felt like it needed more seasoning.  


Kale & white bean soup (Real Simple, January, 2010) -- a good soup for a cold night
I modified it, but it's a keeper.

I did use the optional parmesan rind in the soup while it was cooking.  I especially liked the lemon juice added at the end of cooking.

What was different?

• I can't find canned white beans here.  Had to use dried so there was some planning involved.
• Instead of the 8 cups of water that the recipe calls for, I used 4 cups of veggie broth and 4 cups of water.
• And I cannot find kale here, so I used spinach instead.  But I didn't want the spinach to cook too much so I sautéed it and then just put it in the bowl before serving the soup.  
• And instead of the 30 minutes cooking time, mine cooked for well over an hour.  Perhaps it could have used more as I enjoyed it even more the next day for lunch.   

trying some new recipes this week

This week's suppers:
   Monday -- veggie pizza
   Tuesday -- lentils & rice
   Wednesday -- lazy baked Greek chicken (from February Rachael Ray Magazine, not yet available online)
   Thursday -- leftovers
   Friday -- baked shells casserole 
   Saturday -- jalapeno, avocado & bacon burger
   Sunday -- butter chicken

We are still working on using up what we have.  A friend recently moved and I received many of her pantry items.  Including pizza crust mix and tomato sauce mix.  Not the way I would normally make homemade pizza, but it will work.  And it won't change the way I top it -- with all of my favorite vegetables.

I'm also trying lots of new recipes this week: lentils & rice, lazy baked Greek chicken, baked shells casserole, and jalapeno, avocado & bacon burger.   Thanks to Mark Bittman, Rachael Ray, and Ree Drummond for this week's recipes.

orange water

I bought an insane amount of oranges before Christmas.  Ten kilograms.  22 pounds.  And right after I bought them my daughter decided oranges were not her favorite fruit anymore.

So in effort to use as many as possible, I've started slicing oranges and putting them in my water.  In the water pitcher that we used over the holidays and in the water bottle that I take everywhere with me.

I drink a lot of water.  I drink even more when it's orange water.

tasty-asty to me

I often do not follow a recipe -- sometimes there is one in my head that I've used many times before and other times I'm just using what I know and what I have on hand.  Last night was one of the nights when I was just going with what I had and hoping for good results.  My husband and I liked it and my daughter declared it, "tasty-asty to me."

One unfortunate thing about just making things up is that it can be hard to recreate the next time.  That and the ingredients in my fridge yesterday are not likely to be there at the same time again.  But anyway, this should help with making it again.

Ingredients:  1/2 onion, garlic clove, 1/2 bag spinach, 1/2 can corn, leftover black-eyed peas, can of tomatoes (seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin and sugar), leftover spinach/artichoke dip, sour cream, cheddar cheese, 4 tortillas, crushed tortilla chips.

Saute onion, garlic and spinach.  Add corn to warm.  Warm and season tomatoes.  Layer in square baking dish as follows: about 1/2 of tomatoes, tortilla, spinach/corn mixture, tortilla, spinach/artichoke dip and 1/2 remaining tomatoes, tortilla, spinach/corn mixture, tortilla, tomatoes. Top with sour cream, cheese and crushed tortilla chips.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and dish is heated through.

That's right, just my second post and already I'm topping a casserole with crushed chips...

a new year, a new blog

I've been thinking about starting a food blog for the longest time, but I haven't, so with the new year I thought I'd give it a try.

This week's suppers:
   Monday -- brunswick stew
   Tuesday -- tex-mex with what we have in the fridge
   Wednesday -- meatballs with pepper & pineapple
   Thursday -- leftovers
   Friday -- veggie spaghetti
   Saturday -- cuban braised beef
   Sunday -- kale & white bean soup

This week (and maybe next) is all about using up what we have in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.  And we have a lot.  Some of the meals are old favorites and others are new recipes that I'm trying out for the first time.  

Happy New Year!
(what we ate yesterday)