Hashing It Out

I decided to get creative again! Twice in one day...hello right brain!  Where have you been?

I'll admit, I was feeling like having Mexican food.  Actually, I've been feeling like eating Mexican food for over a week.  Unfortunately, my husband--though of Mexican descent--can't handle spicy foods all that well.  I have to keep things somewhat light, but that doesn't mean that the meal has to lack flavor.

I pulled out our tortillas and all the small bags of chips, cooked up a little hash, and then let my sister and husband figure out how they would like to enhance their meal experience.

My sister said she liked it, even went back for more.  My husband came back to me after eating his three mini-burros and told me it was one of my greater dishes.  Those words made me so happy!  This kiss afterward didn't hurt either!

It was super simple, had a nice texture and was full of flavor without being too spicy for him to eat. Check it out.

Mexi-American Chicken Hash

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 cups of shredded chicken*

1 cup cooked black beans, drained

1 4-oz can of green chile

2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp mesquite flavor**

1 cup chopped cilantro

Saute onion in olive oil on medium-high until translucent, stirring occasionally.  Add chicken and black beans and allow to heat through while covered over medium heat for approximately twenty minutes.  Add green chile, garlic salt and mesquite, mix well.  Add cilantro, mix well and allow the cilantro to gain its bright color through the heat on low for five minutes.

Serve as nacho topping, in a tortilla for your burrito or in a taco shell.

Makes 4 servings

*May also use two 13-oz cans of chicken
**The mesquite flavor used in my recipe was from Garlic Festival Foods.  It's called Mesquite Grill.  You can purchase it here.

Grilled Cheese Anyone?

A while ago I got the urge for a grilled cheese sandwich, but I wanted it with more than just a few slices of cheese.  Craving a bit of a zing, I added sliced onion and strips of ham.  That was good for my palette on that day, but today was a different day.

Since my sister suggested we have grilled cheese sandwiches, and I love her so, it is thus aptly named...

Sisterly Love Grilled Cheese Sandwich

A wee strip of pepper snuck its way out of the sandwich.

1/4 of a large yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1/4 of a large yellow onion, sliced thin
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp dried cilantro
1/4 tsp black pepper
Three of your favorite cheeses (today's choice: Mozzarella, American & shredded Cheddar)
4 slices of your favorite bread
Butter or mayo

Makes 2 sandwiches.

In a small skillet, saute bell pepper and onion in butter over medium-high heat until they just begin to caramelize.  Add garlic salt, cilantro and black pepper.  Mix well and heat until onion is translucent. Set aside. 

Spread a thin layer of butter or mayo on one side of each slice of bread.  In a separate skillet, place a slice of the bread--spread side down--lay a slice of American cheese down on top of the bread, crumble Mozzarella onto the slice, dust cheddar across the top.  Add a layer of the onion, bell pepper and spice mix.  Sprinkle shredded cheddar over mixture, crumble mozzarella over top and add a final slice of american cheese.  Top with another slice of bread--spread side face up.  Cover and allow base to brown. 

Flip, cover and allow other side to brown while covered.  This helps the cheese to melt and adhere to the veggie mix.  Remove and serve.

For additional flavor, saute strips of ham with bell pepper and onion.  

For a stronger garlic flavor, thinly slice a clove of garlic and saute with the vegetable mixture.

Serve with apple slices and/or grapes.  The tangy sweetness of the fruit is a nice balance to the salty creaminess of the sandwich.

Enjoy!

Kitchen Sink Recipes and Me!

Hubby and I couldn't figure out what we wanted for dinner tonight, but we both knew that neither of us wanted to cook.  So, what does one do when no one wants to cook nor can they agree on what to eat?

Grab the take-out menus!!

Nope, not us.

To the leftovers!

Funny thing about our leftovers from the weekend...we didn't really have a lot.  There was some crispy bacon, hardboiled eggs, a teensy amount of grape tomatoes and cookie dough.

I had to tell myself to save the cookie dough!

It was enough to make a meager egg salad, but that wasn't really what I wanted, so I began perusing the pantry.   I saw a can of chicken, noodles, pasta, macaroni, green chiles, etcetera.  I absolutely did not want to cook. It had been too hot throughout the day and I just wanted something cool.  I then went back to the fridge to see if there was anything that would strike me.

After some thought, I decided it was time for another of my "Kitchen Sink Recipes".  Have you ever heard of those?  It's when you just throw a bunch of items together and make something--everything but the kitchen sink.

My mother used to do that sort of thing when we were little.  Sometimes we really dreaded those nights and prayed that the dog was close. **shiver** She'd call every single one of those mystery mixtures, "Goulash."  I've had Goulash, Ma.  That stuff is good!

Sometimes her concoctions were alright, but boy oh boy there's only so much a kid's constitution can take.  A few times there was not enough milk on the planet to help choke that stuff down with.

Sorry, Mom.  I love you, but you know it's true.  I think that's why you didn't always eat when we ate.  How rude!

I have quite a few Kitchen Sink Recipes already.  Some I have starred because they have been so interesting, that I actually decided they were good enough to feed them to other people to gauge reactions.  Some were extremely favorable--one in particular, that I may or may not share later.

Mind you...this was made from some leftover ingredients and remember that I LOVE to experiment.  I also believe in tasting as you go.  If you taste as you work, you won't serve something horrid to those you love.

Tonight's Kitchen Sink Recipe:


Chicken Club Salad


Ingredients:

10 grape tomatoes, sliced
4 hard-boiled eggs, diced*
1 13oz can of shredded chicken, drained*
6 slices crispy bacon, finely chopped*
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
2 ripe avocado, cut open and diced or ready for mashing
2 Tbsp pickle juice*
1 Tbsp spicy mustard
1 Tbsp Mayo*
1 tsp garlic salt
Salt & pepper to taste

Shred the chicken with a fork until it is the size you would prefer it to be.  Salt and pepper as desired.  Add egg, tomatoes, bacon and onion.  Add avocado and mash-mix the ingredients.  The avocado will be your bonder for the most part.  Add pickle, mustard and mayo and mix well.  Add garlic salt and mix again.

Serve on bread, crackers or cucumber slices.

Viola!

Conclusion and Notes:
*I only used about half of one yolk and used all the whites. Do what you think is right for you.
*I would have preferred to use shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken for added flavor, but I didn't have that on hand.  With the rotisserie chicken, I don't believe the salt or pepper would have been needed.
*As for the bacon, hubby didn't care for this texture. I think it's a preference thing.  I rather liked it and the saltiness it added.
*Pickle relish definitely would have been better for that extra tang.
*If I'd had plain yogurt, I would have used it instead.

The Hootenanny

You're probably thinking, what is a Hootenanny?  Is that a redneck thing?

The latter is what my husband's uncle would ask.  I, on the other hand, had never heard of such a thing.  When it came across as a breakfast food item on Pinterest, I was intrigued.

Admittedly, my husband and I are not big breakfast eaters, but I'm willing to try anything once and it seemed super simple.  I played with the recipe a little. 

Hootenanny

(Oven-Pancake)

Original Ingredients:                                     Food Junkie Ingredients:

1 cup of white flour                                            1 cup all-purpose white flour

1 cup milk                                                          1 cup 2% milk

6 large eggs                                                        4 jumbo eggs

1/4 tsp salt                                                         A handfull of blueberries

1/2 c melted butter

Mix flour, milk and eggs well (if you are using the salt, mix that in also).  Pour batter into a greased 13x9 pan (I used a glass pan).  Pour melted butter over batter (or sprinkle blueberries); do NOT mix.  

Bake in oven preheated to 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Time varies slightly depending on oven size and altitude.

Cut into pieces, drizzle with maple syrup--or a syrup of your choice--and serve!

Their Result

Food Junkie's Result

Conclusion:

Hubby liked it.  He worried me at first, because he said, "Wow, that's interesting."  That's usually a bad thing, but he took another bite.  "That's like French toast, an omelet and pancakes all mixed up."  I asked if that was good or bad, and he said it was a good thing.  I left him alone and knew that I would find out in a few minutes whether or not he actually liked it.

Sure enough, he finished the serving I had given him and then went back for more. Whew!

He and I discussed it and I will pour the butter over the batter next time, but maybe not as much.  We think it would be good to add a 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon to enhance the flavor a little.  For a sweeter taste, I may add a little brown sugar as well.

All in all, I would consider it a success!  Go make yourself a Hootenanny!

A Self-Proclaimed Food Junkie

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love food.  I have more than a love of food; I LOVE experimenting with it.  Through experimentation, I've learned what flavors go well with certain types of food and what contrasts are a nice balance.

My husband calls me a food snob.  I can't argue.  I tried once, but he's right.  I am a complete food snob.  I have my favorite dishes at some restaurants and then there are others that I refuse to eat at because of their menu.  Allow me to explain.

My husband and I went to Marie Callendar's years ago.  I didn't know what I wanted when I went in--looking back, that may have been my first issue.  I perused the menu and came across some chicken tacos that had its sides listed as "rice and vegetables."

I know what you're thinking.  Mexican food at Marie Callendar's?  I thought that too, but common sense should have come into play on the chef's part as well.  I was oh so very wrong. The spicy chicken tacos came out with rice pilaf and a mixture of cauliflower, broccoli and carrots.

Okay...I understand that Marie Callendar's is not a Mexican food restaurant, but a good head-chef should know that rice pilaf and that particular mixture of vegetables would not go well with tacos.  There should have, at minimum, been a tomato based rice and the vegetables could have been a mixture of bell peppers and onion.  I voiced this to my husband, and he was not pleased with my "attitude".

He was right on some level.  After all, I am not a school-trained nor a professionally-trained chef.  I am a self-trained cook and baker.  I am a wife, an aunt, a sister and a daughter.  I love to entertain and please people by way of food.  It's the thing I get right approximately 95% of the time.  If I get it wrong, I try again.  If I get it right, I want to try a new way of mixing things up.

I figured it'd be fun to catalog my experiments and successes with a recipe or my own creations, whether good or bad.  This blog will show my passion.  You're welcome to join the journey, let me know what you think, whether or not you tried it and your results.

"Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements."

~Marcel Boulestin