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Hundreds of Burritos and Not One Chimi

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Several months ago I was reading a few of the foodie blogs I follow and one of the authors (I wish I could recall who) had created a Foodie Bucket List. I thought that was an awesome idea. Starting small, I decided to write down all of the dishes that I had never made that I had been meaning to. The first on the list, chimichangas.

I don’t know why I hadn’t made them. I’ve made hundreds of burritos, hundreds more tacos, dozens of enchiladas and even a few tostadas, but not a single chimi. Time to rectify it.

This was great. I don’t know why it took me so long. I guarantee it won’t take me much longer to make more!

There are a lot of ingredients here, but keep in mind that some of them are part of the serving suggestion.

The pan was very crowded at first. I was a little concerned about adding more, but everything cooked down.

The onions didn’t saute as there were quite a bit of beef juices in the pan, but they still tasted really good.

I did need to add about two more cups of beef broth before it was over.

Shredding the beef is a thankless job.

With the beans and cilantro.

Making the chimis.

As there were four of us, I decided to make only 8. Even with that, I used only about half of the meat, so I froze the rest.

Frying up four at a time.

Delicious! The meat was just plain awesome!

Top Notch Top Round Chimichangas

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 2 hr 30 min | Makes: 10 servings | Difficulty: Difficult

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 3 pounds boneless beef rump, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 yellow onions, chopped
  • 3 teaspoons seeded and minced jalapenos
  • 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 2 1/4 cups beef broth, plus extra if necessary
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup lime juice (about 3 limes)
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 4 to 6 cups corn oil
  • 10 (11-inch) flour tortillas, steamed
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
  • 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
  • 3/4 cup salsa
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup seeded and diced tomatoes
  • 1 avocado, diced

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cayenne, granulated garlic, and flour. Set aside. In a heavy bottomed, large stock pot, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add beef cubes and brown on all sides. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute more. Mix in flour mixture, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes. Deglaze with beef broth. Then add vinegar. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours, adding additional beef broth, if necessary, to keep meat simmering in liquid. When meat is fork tender, remove to a sheet pan and shred with 2 forks. Add shredded beef back into pot, along with pinto and black beans, lime juice and half the cilantro. Cook until mixture is heated through. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large, deep-sided skillet, heat corn oil to 325 degrees F. While oil is heating, prepare chimichangas. Fill bottom half of a tortilla with 3/4 cup of the beef and bean mixture and 2 tablespoons pepper jack cheese (when filling tortillas, use a slotted spoon to scoop out beef if mixture is a little liquidy). Lift the edge of the tortilla and roll it over the filling to secure it. Fold in both sides and continue rolling until you reach the opposite end. Secure with a 6-inch skewer weaved through the seam side of burrito. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Slowly lower chimichangas into hot oil and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. You can cook 4 burritos per batch. Remove from oil, drain on paper towels and keep warm in oven until all are cooked.

To serve, place a bed of shredded lettuce on each plate, then a spoonful of salsa. Place chimichangas on top and add a dollop of sour cream, sprinkle with diced tomatoes, avocado and remaining cilantro to garnish. Serve immediately.

Note: If tortillas tear while folding, make them more pliable by wrapping tortillas in a damp paper towels, then fully cover with foil. Place in 250 degree F oven to warm them up.

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/top-notch-top-round-chimichangas-recipe/index.html

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Couples Salad

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With my boys growing up and into all sorts of activities, I find that many weekend lunches end up being for just my wife and I. When this happens, one of my quick go to dishes is Buffalo chicken on top of salad – it is like a couples salad.

The heat of the Buffalo sauce and the creaminess of the cheese work really well with the crisp romaine.

I will often use canned chicken or cut up chicken breasts, but I had some tenderloins on hand.

The salad base is ready.

So is the dressing.

Chicken in the pan.

Gettin’ some heat!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Cook Time: 8 min | Makes: 4 servings | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

  • 2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 1 cup shredded carrots, available in pouches
  • 2 ribs celery with greens, chopped
  • 1/2 cup ranch dressing
  • 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
  • 1 package, 3/4 to 1 pound, chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 turn of the pan
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1/4 cup hot sauce

Directions:

Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat.

Combine lettuce, carrots and celery in a salad bowl. Combine ranch dressing and blue cheese crumbles in a small bowl.

Add oil and butter to hot pan with the chicken. Season with salt and pepper and sear for 2 or 3 minutes, then add hot sauce. Reduce heat a little and cook 5 minutes more.

Toss salad with dressing and season with salt and pepper. Top salad with Buffalo chicken and serve.

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/buffalo-chicken-salad-recipe/index.html

Awesome Flavors

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In the previous post, I talked about how life moves in circles and how I was the first generation of computer kids. This was so very true. We got our first computer in the late seventies, back in the days when the Apple II was battling the TRS-80 for dominance. IBM had yet to release the PC and data was still stored on cassettes or very large and very expensive floppy disks. I grew up with computers and spent many hours on them, working (writing papers for school), playing (if I had a penny for every hour I played computer games….) and socializing (using electronic bulletin board systems prior to the Internet and email).

With my journalism training, my computer experience and love for cooking, I am really surprised it took me so long to start this blog. It is now my hobby. Besides my family and work, I spend more time on the blog than any other pursuit. I thank all of my readers for making sure that my words and efforts are listened to and worth doing. Another of life’s circles.

Another fabulous dish with spicy mexican flavors and the coolness of avocado.

I used boneless thighs as my chicken cut.

Not quite a guacamole, but more of an avocado salsa without the tomato.

Frying up the chicken.

I decided to add some slices of pepper-jack on the top of the chicken.

After putting the lid on for five minutes the chicken is cooked and the cheese is melted.

Awesome flavors.

Spicy Avocado Chicken

Makes: 4 chicken breast halves

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 red onion, minced
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Stir 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl; rub evenly into the chicken breasts.

2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the chicken in the heated oil until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

3. Stir the onion, lime juice, and avocado together in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Spoon over the chicken breasts to serve.

Nutritional Info:

Total Fat: 17.8g Cholesterol: 69mg Sodium: 743mg Total Carbs: 8g Dietary Fiber: 3.9g Protein: 26.8g

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spicy-Avocado-Chicken/Detail.aspx?ms=1&prop25=94079436&prop26=DailyDish&prop27=2012-09-24&prop28=DailyRecipe&prop29=FullRecipe&me=1

This Recipe is Not Boooooorrrrrrriiiinnnnngggggg

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It is always interesting how life moves in circles.

When I went off to The Ohio State University, I had a much better idea of what I didn’t want to do than what I did want to do. I was really good at math, but the sciences just didn’t interest me. With no aptitude for foreign language, that was out. Business? Boooooorrrrrrriiiinnnnngggggg.

The university put all of us undecided into a survey class where we explored majors and later, careers. Most of the class was uninteresting, but they had several sets of questionnaires that would ask you questions of what you liked and your set of answers would drive a recommended career. I went through three sets of questions like, “Do you prefer to work as part of a group or by yourself?” and “Would you prefer to work outside, even in inclimate weather, or in an office building?”. All three sets ended up pointing me to the same career, Public Relations.

At OSU, Public Relations was housed in the School of Journalism, and you were required to take many journalism related classes. As a result I was a reporter, photographer and copy editor for the school paper, The Lantern (daily circulation of 50,000 – larger than many, many towns). Upon graduation, I sought a public relations job but never ended up in one. As I was the first generation to have a computer in the house (starting with a Radio Shack TRS-80), my first three post-graduation jobs were related to technology. Now, and after earning my MBA, I’m in business (generally not Boooooorrrrrrriiiinnnnngggggg.)

This recipe was very flavorful and gorgeous to look at.

I don’t often cook with chicken tenders as I’ll usually just slice up some breasts, but I had several chicken tender recipes I wanted to try so bought a mega pack.

Cooking the tenders.

And the veggies.

With the spices, salsa and corn this turns into such a great dish.

Mexican Chicken Skillet

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp
  • 8 chicken tenderloins
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup green bell pepper strips
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper strips
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn
  • 1 cup salsa

Directions:

In a skillet, heat the 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and stir fry 3 minutes. Stir in all 3 spices. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Add remaining oil to skillet, and heat over medium high heat. Add the green and red bell pepper and onion, stir frying together for about 3 minutes.

Return the chicken to the skillet and stir in the corn and salsa. Stir fry 2 minutes longer or until all is thoroughly heated.

Source: http://www.easymealsformoms.com/2010/07/i-dont-normally-fly-by-seat-of-my-pants.html

Maggie Monday: Pretty Woman Tomato Potato Pie

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Pretty Woman is one of those movies that has made its way into the collective consciousness. There are some great lines and memorable scenes and its popularity has generated dozens of spoofs. I liked the one from The Office where Dwight is turned down in gaming store for looking like a blood stained murderer. Here’s Maggie with a Pretty Woman Tomato Potato Pie….

A friend gave me this recipe about 15 years ago, and I’ve always meant to try it, but never got around to it. Big. Mistake. Big- like in Pretty Woman when the saleswoman was snobby and wouldn’t help Julia Roberts when she was on her shopping spree sponsored by Richard Gere. That kind of big mistake. It was sooooo good. I want more now!

I just wrapped up the leftovers (just me and the hubs tonight- no kids, so there are leftovers!) and I can hardly wait for dinner tomorrow. This was awesome.

It takes awhile to make due to that fact you have to bake it twice. So, you might want to save this for a weekend or a day off. But it is totally worth the baking time. The ingredients and process is super easy. In fact, I bought a bag of the fresh shredded potatoes you get in the dairy section, which made the assembly super easy. The hardest part was dicing the onions.

The Swiss cheese brings a nice sharp kick to the sweetness of the onions and tomatoes. A huge yummy success that I will definitely make again.

Tomato Potato Pie

What you need:

Crust:

2 cups grated raw potato

1 small onion, diced

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup flour

Dash of salt

Filling:

2 cups grated Swiss cheese

2 cups thinly sliced zucchini

1-2 large tomatoes, sliced

1 tsp dried Italian salad dressing mix (or basil, oregano and garlic powder)

1 small onion, diced

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350  degrees. Mix all ingredients for crust and press firmly into a deep pie dish. Really get in there with your hands and compress the heck out of it. Bake crust for about 30 minutes, or until it begins to crisp and is browned.

Layer 1 cup of the cheese on the crust; arrange zucchini, then tomatoes. Sprinkle on spices, the layer the diced onion. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for an additional 35-45 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.

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