Texanista Red Enchilada Sauce

Jessica posted this picture on her blog this morning and I immediately knew what I wanted for dinner. Luckily, she called and I was able to procure the recipe given to her by Aunt-In-Law Lidia, a true Texanista and master of Southwest/ Mexican cuisine.

Red Enchilada Sauce

1/4 cup oil (I used olive)
1/4 cup flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt (I may reduce this next time)
2 Tablespoons red chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
3 cups broth (I made it from my favorite veggie broth ever)

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Whisk in flour and cook until it is browned. Add garlic and saute until tender. Add cumin, pepper, salt, chili powder, and oregano. Slowly add broth while whisking. Bring mixture to a light boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

Tonight I was feeling lazy so I mixed up some shredded cheese, sour cream, and shredded zucchini for the filling (kind random, but it was tasty). Then I stuck individual enchiladas in the micro as kids got hungry, but here are the instructions for Lidia's.

Lidia's Enchiladas

Cook and shred fryer chicken. Combine chicken with 1/2 cup of red enchilada sauce. Warm corn tortillas in hot oil in a shallow pan on the stove. Dip tortillas in red sauce. Fill with chicken mixture and roll. Place in casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

I haven't tried this rice yet, but I surely will. Tonight I mixed some leftover quinoa with some of the enchilada sauce and it was great.

Mexican Rice

1 T. oil
1/2 green onion, sliced lengthwise (you will remove this before serving)
1/2 green pepper
2 T bouillion
2 C. water
8oz tomato sauce

Heat oil in saute pan. Add onion pepper and rice. Saute until rice is lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Red Curry with Basil

Recipe from Linda Brown


2T oil
1 1/2 T red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 lbs. chicken (cut into bite-size pieces) or the same amount yellow potatoes (my pref)
2 t. sugar
2 t. fish sauce
1 red bell pepper
10 large fresh basil leaves, chopped

Heat oil over medium heat. Add curry paste and simmer for 2 minutes so it is dissolved and foaming. Stir in coconut milk and continue stirring for 4 minutes over medium heat. Add chicken pieces while continuing to cook. Stir in sugar, fish sauce and bell pepper. Simmer for a few minutes more. Add chopped basil. Season to taste with more fish sauce & sugar as desired. Serve over warm rice.

Fettucine Alfredo (My Go-To Recipe)

Recipe adapted from KraftFoods.com
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, cubed

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 tsp. white pepper(or black if you don't mind seeing it)

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

8 oz. fettuccine, cooked, drained
1/2 lb cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp (optional)

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

In skillet over medium low heat, mix cream cheese, Parmesan, milk, butter, pepper and garlic powder until smooth.

Serve over hot fettuccine and shrimp. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg.

Tortilla Soup

Both my mom and Aunt Cathy make this soup. I don't know whose recipe it was first, so I don't know where credit is due.

Blend until smooth:
15 oz can of tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion
2 T. parsley

Pour tomato mixture into large saucepan and add:
4 c. chicken broth (I use low-sodium because the bacon makes it pretty salty too)
1/4 tsp sugar.

Simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with:
Crumbled bacon
diced avocado
shredded cheese
tortillas warmed in a little bit of oil (or tortilla chips)

Pot Pie

This is only one of the reason Neisha is one of our favorite cooks. Another reason is that she always shares! She says she just made this recipe up and just throws in whatever so the recipe is more of a guideline. Made as written you'll get 2-3 pies, so scale down as needed.

Last time I made it I left out the chicken and went vegetarian. It was delicious!


Pot Pie
1 lb chicken, cut into chunks (or compensate with extra veggies)
1/2 to 1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c. butter
3 celery stalks
3 T flour
28 oz chicken broth-maybe more (I used vegetable)
Small package baby carrots
3-4 baking potatoes, diced
1 to 2 C. frozen peas
1/4- 1/2 C. cream
salt, pepper, thyme, parsley

Season chicken as desired. In large pot, brown chicken pieces, don't overfill the pan or the chicken cooks without browning. Remove chicken from pan, add butter, and saute onions, celery, and garlic until tender. Stir in flour, and let cook a little bit to get rid of the flour taste. Whisk in broth and bring to a boil. Add the chicken back in with the carrots, potatoes, and herbs and simmer for 20-30 minute until desired tenderness (they will cook in the oven to so more crunchy is better). Add cream and peas. Season to taste.

Pour into pie pans (or square pans, whatever). Top with single crust. (Heather uses Betty Crocker's or a frozen one from the store. Put in oven and cook according to crust's directions. I think I cooked it at 425 for 20-30 min.

White Bean Chicken Chili

Neisha brought this chili to playgroup once and it has become a favorite around here. I think I've made this more than any soup this winter.

A few things to note:

• Canned tomatillos are found in the Mexican section of the grocery store. I found them at Smith's.
• If you don't have coriander just skip it. You won't miss it.
• Just use frozen or canned corn. Who is making soup during fresh corn season?

I had a chicken breast to use up today, but next time I think I'm trying meatless. There is so much other good stuff who needs it?

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti

Delicious and creamy, easier than lasagna and just as satisfying. I made my last batch meatless and still loved it. This is also a great recipe for sneaking in whole wheat pasta because it is so saucy. You can also substitute ricotta or cottage cheese for all or part of the sour cream.


Ingredients

* 1 pound dry ziti pasta
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 pound lean ground beef (usually make it without)
* 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
* 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
* 1 1/2 cups sour cream
* 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Creamy Wild Rice Soup

I made this Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup from MelsKitchenCafe.com without the chicken and substituted veggie broth for the chicken broth (compensate for the chicken with extra veggies and rice). No one missed the chicken at all. It was very hearty and filling, and with the rice, almonds, and milk you easily have a complete protein.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Printable Version

*Note: The vegetables in this soup are very adaptable. I usually use a combination of carrots, celery and corn and use the guideline of having 2 cups total of any number of combinations (i.e. only carrots and corn, carrots and celery, carrots, celery AND corn, you get the picture).

½ cup butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
½ – 1 cup frozen corn
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup carrots, sliced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half (use normal half-and-half if you prefer, but you won’t believe how delicious this is with the nonfat variety!)

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5-7 minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Bring the soup just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer, while stirring, for 5-6 minutes, until it has thickened slightly.

Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow all the ingredients to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let the soup gently simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. The soup should not boil but should simmer over low heat so that it thickens slowly.

Open-Face Sandwiches

Recipe adapted from Lion House Entertaining
Layer the following:

Half of a Whole Wheat Sandwich Roll
1 T sauce*
1 slice of turkey deli meat (optional, if you don't use it be generous with the other toppings)
sliced tomatoes
another T or so of sauce
sliced avocados
shredded cheddar cheese
sprinkle of reserved seasoned olives (see below)

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.


*Sauce
Combine:
1/2 C. chopped black olives
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. salt

Set aside 2 T. To rest add:
1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1/2 C. Sour cream
1/4 C. chopped green onions

(Makes enough sauce for 8 open-face sandwiches

Mexican Chowder

1 can cream of chicken soup (okay, so this makes it not vegetarian, but it's close)
2 C. chicken broth
1 C. water
1 40z. can diced green chiles
2 T fresh cilantro
2 T taco seasoning
2 C. corn
2 C. chopped chicken or 1 can white beans

1 C. sour cream

In large pan combine all ingredients except sour cream (unless you are using beans, add those after you have simmered). Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in 1 cup hot mixture with the sour cream; return to sauce pan and heat through.

(I also added a cup or so of cooked brown rice to bulk it up a bit when I made it with beans)

Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.