When the kids were young we had taco night weekly. They loved it and it was so quick and easy that I loved it too. But I also loved going to a local restaurant and having an India de Pollo. It was so good and they don't have them on the menu anymore. Can you see my sad face? So whenever taco night rolls around, I make this variation for me.
I've tried to recreate Ninfa's India de Pollo and somehow it never seems to be the same. Can the memory be better than the actual dish? Maybe so since I asked if I could order it and being a customer oriented restaurant they said yes. And that one was missing something too.
Even though the kids are older now, they still like taco night. And I continue trying to get that taste right on the India.
The difference between and taco and an india is the tortilla. An india is a flour tortilla lightly fried. A taco is either a flour tortilla or a crispy corn tortilla.
I made ground beef with taco seasoning and also grilled chicken with a little of the same seasoning. See what I mean about easy. And I use canned refried beans. So now you get to build it any way you want it.
The india has a flat tortilla and has to be eaten with a knife and fork. And the only thing I didn't have was an avocado.
It was pretty darn good but I'm going to keep trying until it's perfection. I'll let you know.
We were fairly low key for the Super Bowl. The menu was far and away less than for when the Texans played. But then again, we also decided to stay home and watch the game by ourselves. My team won!!! I am a big, big fan of the Manning boys!
I'll try to hide my excitement....
These wings are so easy. We used our pulled pork sauce that is sweet and vinegary all at the same time.
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup spicy brown mustard
3/4 cups brown sugar (I use Splenda mix)
1/2 cup onions, diced very finely
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sriracha
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (I used heaping teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used heaping teaspoon)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Combine everything except salt and pepper in medium saucepan. Heat to a boil. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes to reduce.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
We put this on wings, pulled pork, brisket, hamburgers. It's all good.
We fried the drumettes in the deep fryer to crisp the skin then put them in the oven to cook through. We go low and slow on these.
The inspiration from this recipe came from Plainchicken.com. I am such a fan. Steph's recipes are quick, easy and most of all, use what I already have in the kitchen.
I must apologize in advance for the picture. It was late. We were hungry. And my brain doesn't function right when these things are happening.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Steph's recipe stuffed the crescent rolls rolls but I had so much chicken mixture that I made it into a casserole.
I rolled out the crescent rolls in a 9 x 13 pan and layered it with chopped grilled chicken, chopped ham and chopped swiss cheese that we mixed with a can of cream of mushroom soup. The couple that chops together, stays together. I think it's the unsettling feeling that you have knowing that the other one knows how to use a knife!! And if you know me, you will definitely see the humor in that since I cut myself all the time.
Put it in the oven for about 30 minutes or when you can see it's bubbly and yummy.
Charlie wants the dough on top next time so it gets crispy. I really liked that the soup mixture was all creamy and soaked into the crescents a little bit.
Charlie and I were lucky enough to spend Christmas with our new grand-daughter and her Mom and Dad, who is also Charlie's son. The baby is a beautiful, healthy and happy little bundle of bliss for us. And unfortunately we live 1500 miles away from them. Which is why we both try to get the most of our visits with them. We stay home, talk a lot, watch sports and movies and most of all, cook some really good food.
Katie received this recipe at her bridal shower and it has become a staple in their kitchen. Once you taste it, you will see why. Charlie has been bugging me about making this since we got back.
Houlihan's Chicken
4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 container Alouette garlic & herb cheese (we used Laughing Cow)
salt & pepper
panko bread crumbs (we used regular bread crumbs)
vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice a pocket 3/4 way through chicken breast.
Spoon as much cheese stuffing as you can fit into pocket.
Close pocket with toothpick.
Beat egg and mix with milk. Dip breast in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, then in egg/milk, then in panko.
Use ovenproof skillet and fry breast until golden brown.
Remove skillet from stove and slide into 350 degree oven and bake until cooked through, 30-40 minutes.
Combine all ingredients. Pour over cooked chicken breasts.
We had made cheesy cauliflower the other night and paired the leftovers tonight with the chicken. It is really cheesy and gooey and good. I could eat this instead of mac and cheese on a regular basis. One thing to keep in mind though, unlike mac and cheese this is better the first time you make it. Reheating causes the cauliflower to get a little mushy. But that does give me an idea for a cheese soup!
As work continues to drive me crazy, I am trying to keep my sanity by watching episode after episode of Sons of Anarchy. It's not a show that I thought I would enjoy and yet, I can't wait to see what happens next. I'm so hooked. Thank goodness for Netflix and Amazon live.
I am hooked on food blogs. Every morning with my coffee, I read my favorites and try one or two new ones. There are so many that one person could never read them all but I try to get to a variety of them.
One of my favorites is Steph at Plain Chicken. Her recipes are easy and we have enjoyed many of them. Last week she posted Yum Yum chicken and I knew it was going to be on our table over the weekend!
And am I glad it was. I made it Friday night so we could have it on Saturday. Look at me, planning ahead. We tasted it when it came out of the oven and it was good. But on Saturday, it was YUM YUM! It reminded my of Thanksgiving in a such a way that I am now so excited about planning our big dinner
As usual I changed the recipe a bit since I didn't have everything I needed and here's my version:
1 1/2 pound Rotisserie chicken, chopped
1 small onion, diced
4 oz mayonnaise
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can of mushrooms (use fresh if you have them)
1 box Cornbread stuffing, uncooked
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 stick melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix both cans of soup and mayonnaise. The original recipe called for 8 oz of sour cream but somehow there wasn't any in our fridge.
In a 9 x 13 dish, mix chicken, onions and mushrooms. Spread the soup mixture over the top of the chicken and onions.
Sprinkle the stuffing mix over the top of the soup. If you are using a seasoned stuffing mix or if your mix came with a seasoning packet, sprinkle that on top of the cornbread. My stuffing mix was a little bland so I used the poultry seasoning.
Mix the broth and melted butter and pour over the stuffing mix.
Bake for 30 minutes.
You get moist chicken and stuffing with a creamy sauce in every bite. It's not hard to tell why it is called Yum Yum Chicken.
Charlie and I watch Food Network shows all the time. It's a hobby or an addiction. I'm not sure which but it works for us. One of our favorite's is 'Secrets of a Restaurant Chef'. We love Anne Burrell. She loves brown food. Brown food tastes good. She says it and we believe it.
Fennel Sausage (we used breakfast sausage and added fennel seeds)
Chicken Thighs
Onion and Garlic
White Wine (we used apple cider vinegar)
Hot cherry peppers ( we used hot chili peppers)
Chicken Stock
Oregano
I read through the reviews before we started cooking since we didn't have any wine and got the suggestion of the apple cider vinegar. I wish I had gotten a different pepper when I couldn't find the hot cherry peppers. The chili peppers were extremely hot but did give a good flavor to the chicken.
It's simple to put together -
Brown the sausage.
Brown the chicken.
Cook onions until tender then add the garlic.
Add the sausage and chicken back to the pan.
Put in the rest of the ingredients and partially cover.
And walk away.
Let it work its beautiful magic.
I've been away for away. Completely wrapped up in my job, you know that thing that pays the bills but I'm trying to break free and not forget so much of me whilel I am knee deep in doing things for them. Oh well, enough of the pity party!
Last night we made these wonderful pizzas that were inspired by a lunch that I had at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was amazing. After everyone was finished eating, I wanted to go make another one. Come on...we had the stuff for one more and they were so good. What does it matter if I was already stuffed???
So, so simple to make...
Chicken, Spinach and Artichoke Pizza
1 cup Cooked Chicken, cut into cubes
1 package of Creamed Spinach - we used HEB brand - love it so good and steams in bag
1 can Artichoke Hearts
2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp (or so) Garlic Powder
Mozzarella Cheese to your liking
Olive Oil
Flatbreads - we used Kangaroo Traditional White (found at HEB)
I used a pizza stone in my oven and heated it to 450.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil onto the flatbread and sprinkle with garlic powder.
Throw them onto the pizza stone to crisp.
Cook spinach according to package direction.
When spinach is done, empty into bowl and add artichoke hearts and Parmesan cheese.
Mix well.
Remove flatbreads from oven.
Spoon and spread spinach mixture onto flatbreads.
Add chicken.
Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Return to oven until cheese is melted and brown, about 5 minutes.
The craziness here hasn't ended. Work is still stressing me out tremendously. James is having car problems that we are trying to work out. And it's cold. While we aren't having the severe weather conditions that most across the country have, we do have temps in the 30's consistantly. And it makes me sad.
I can't explain it but I can always expect it. I hate that it's dark at 6:00 pm. I also hate that you have to put on 3 layers of clothing to go out. All of my plants look dead. They aren't but they look so sad. I can't wait for Spring. And Sunshine. And Pretty Flowers.
I made a menu for this week and actually went to the store with a plan. Imagine that! So last night's supper was something new out of the the book 'America's Most Wanted Recipes'. It was a Christmas gift from Eric and Katie and I have earmarked everything that I want to try. It has some really good stuff in it from restaurants that are our favorites.
Asian Sesame-Chicken Salad
Adapted from Panera Bread
2 won ton wrappers
Oil for frying
4 cups Romaine Lettuce
1/2 cup Shaved Parmesan Cheese
3 oz. Boneless Chicken Breast - grilled and cubed (I used a much larger one)
Dressing:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Cut won ton squares into strips and fry.
Mix all ingredients for dressing except the oil. When everything else is combined, slowly pour the oil in while whisking to create an emulsion.
Put romaine, chicken and won ton strips in a bowl. Pour some dressing on and toss lightly. Then add the remaining dressing and toss again.
Sprinkle with parm before serving.
I didn't get a picture. Things were moving a bit too fast but since we will definitely be making this again, I will be able to post one later.
The original recipe called for almonds and sesame seeds, two things that Charlie would rather I leave out. And neither one of us missed them at all. It was tasty and light. While I grilled my chicken just for the salad, it would be a great way to used any leftovers.
I have a job interview today. Hopefully things will go well. My fingers are crossed.
How can it be Wednesday. I swear that yesterday was the weekend. Time gets the best of me. Other than the fact that my football teams didn't win, it was a great weekend. We cooked, we enjoyed good food, we watched some really good games. Hey, we even managed to get a school project completed with James.
This is what pays the bills. I work for an equipment company. They call me a Product Support Rep, that's a fancy name for 'I sell the company and make sure the customers are happy'. Sometimes it's a great job, other times it is the most stressful place to be.
Our kitchen on the other hand, is my de-stressser. Saturday morning I decided that we would cook a bunch of tailgate food then we could enjoy the games more. So we turned the music up loud, laughed a lot and made a ton food. Here's a look.
This started out as a pizza. I didn't flour the counter enough though and the dough stuck. Solution...Flip over the torn dough and make a calzone. it is stuffed with italian sausage, mushroom and onions. The dough is made with 1 1/2 cups of warm water, 2 packages of yeast, 2 Tablespoons of sugar, 1/3 cup olive oil and 4 cups of flour. Just bloom the yeast in the water, whisk in the sugar and oil then ad the flour. Let it rise for an hour and you are ready. That amount makes two pizzas. Or a calzone and a base for James' school project. More on that later.
I remember my Mom doing this with leftover biscuits. She would put butter, cinnamon and sugar on a halved biscuit and put them back in the oven. They would get hard on the outside and soft on the inside and I loved them. I did the same thing but used flour tortillas instead. And notice the game day activity of color sugar for the teams I was backing. Let see, green for the Eagles, yea right, they are gone. Blue for the Colts, Peyton and the boys let me down. Yellow for the Saints. Who would have ever guessed they would be out after the first round. And purple (well, purple-ish) for the Ravens. At least that defense pulled them through.
These little goodies were delish.. Cream Cheese, a slice of jalapeno and chicken all wrapped in bacon. I put them in oven to cook the chicken, then broiled to get the bacon crisp. Ree at the Pioneer Woman (don't you love her recipes?) had this posted. I usually do this with shrimp but went with what we had.
I've rambled enough and now must run to see customers. I think today is going to be one of the good days at work except that the wind chill is 22 degrees in Houston. Yikes!
Wikipedia - A spatchcock is a poussin or game bird that is prepared for roasting or grilling or a bird that has been cooked after being prepared in this way. The method of preparing the bird involves removing the backbone and sternum of the bird and flattening it out before cooking.
That all sounds very technical and scientific, doesn't it? I made a chicken this way for a cooking challenge and it has become my go-to way of roasting them now. Quick and easy but the worst part is cutting out that backbone and flattening the bird, you do hear the bones crunch...yuck!!
But I get over it quickly when I know that this is what I get when it is done.
You are actually supposed to spread the legs out evening and basically flatten it but my cast iron skillet isn't large enough to do that. So you live when it and make due.
Here's what you need:
A chicken
potatoes
onions
carrots
salt and pepper
olive oil or butter
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. You heard it right...500 degrees. Then stand back because baby, that's one hot oven.
Slice the onion in wedges, peel the potatoes and cut in wedges and wash the carrots. I buy the baby carrots that really need no prep. Just neglect them, they will forgive you later.
Then start work on the chicken. Make sure your kitchen shears are sharp then start on one side of the back bone. Then cut down the other side. It can be touch, just grab all the strength you've got to cut into it.
Flip that baby over, lay it as flat as possible and press the breast bone to flatten it more.
Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands. And the cutting board and the shears.
Season it up nicely and then add some butter or olive oil to the skin. Yum...nothing better than crispy skin.
Then wash your hands all over again. When you are done working with raw poultry, you should have washed your hands 537 times. Just sayin'...some people need to be reminded.
Next, move it to the skillet with the veggies. Again, try to keep it flat. That will lessen the cooking time. If you're like me and don't have anything big enough just increase the time. But don't be like me and let the onions and wings burn (you can cover them with foil).
Spread out the carrots and potatoes as much as possible. The ones underneath get moist and tender while the ones on the top roast to perfection.
Put it in the oven for about 20 minutes then start checking it. It really all depends on the size of the bird and how flat you get it. The skin gets crispy and the potatoes and carrots are to die for. And gosh, I've forgotten to tell you how moist the meat is, all of it. Dark or white, it is juicy and tender and oh so good.
This is one dish that is just as good the next day. So hid some for lunch tomorrow because if your house is like mine, there usually aren't a lot of leftovers unless you plan for them!
I got this from Taste of Home and changed it a bit but it is really, really good.
And.......it is soo easy.
You need a small crock pot or small backing dish.
1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 can Buffalo flavored canned chicken - use a fork to break up the bigger pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup Blue Cheese Dressing
1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack Cheese
I have a small crock pot and that's what I use but you can put it in the oven too.
Layer 1/2 of the cream cheese
1/2 of the canned chicken
1/4 cup blue cheese dressing
remaining cream cheese
canned chicken
blue cheese dressing
top with shredded cheese
If you are using a crock pot it takes about 2 1/2 - 3 hours on low.
Mix it up before serving.
No small crock pot, put it in an oven proof serving dish and put in 350 oven for 15-20 minutes.
