Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Easy, Crock Pot, Shredded Mexican Chicken

I ate out almost every meal last week.  Now this doesn't only affect my health and well being it also severely impacts my wallet.  I wonder why I am broke and my jeans are too tight.  Duh!  Last week we were invited over to some friends house for dinner and were privileged to eat some truly tasty tacos and enjoy some even tastier mojitos .  This inspired me.

You should know that of all the ethnic foods I enjoy Mexican is at the top of the list.  Tacos make me happy.  So does using a crock pot.  Here is truly the easiest recipe for shredded chicken.  It took me about 5 minutes to combine the ingredients last night, about 90 seconds to take it out of the fridge this morning to get it into the crock pot and while i sit at work, hardly working, my crock pot is working hard.  When I get home, I have shredded chicken ready to go into tortillas with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar and some hot sauce. Minimum effort, maximum taste. 



What you need

1-package of boneless skinless chicken breast (1-1.5 lbs)
1-15 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
1- small can of diced green chilies
3- TBSP taco seasoning of your choice
1- TBSP chili powder
1- tsp garlic powder
2-TBSP water or stock
Several shakes of your favorite hot sauce
Pinch of Salt

How you do it

1. Combine all ingredients in crock pot.
2.  Turn crock pot on low for the time you are at work.  Anywhere from 6 to 8 hours.
3.  Turn crock pot off, shredded chicken with two forks.
4.  Serve with flour or corn tortillas, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce and any other fixins you prefer.  Another options is to use the chicken in enchiladas or soup or a ton of other ways.  



Monday, September 21, 2015

Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash and Poblano Soup

Today is 6 days before my 32nd birthday and my boyfriend, who I love and adore, can't help himself when there is a present involved and always wants to exchange early. I didn't exactly fight him off but today.... I got a Ninja!  The food blender system, not the ancient warrior.  I have wanted this for a while now, actually I have wanted this since I had a sleepless night last spring which was spent watching infomercials, and now I have it.  So naturally, I scraped my whole pork tenderloin, salad and potato recipe and dashed to the local store to pick up some essentials and soup it was.  This soup was delicious, some nice heat from the chili powder and some sweetness from the apple, carrot and squash. Soup for dinner always needs a sidekick and for us it was a pepper jack and wheat grilled cheese. 

What you need...

1/2 large onion, sliced
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1.5 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed.  
1 apple, peeled, cored and cubed
1 Roasted Poblano Pepper, sliced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
2 cloves of garlic
1 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2  tsp cumin
1/4 tsp curry
4 cups Chicken Stock

How You Do it...

How to roast a poblano pepper:
Place the dry pepper either under the broiler or on a gas stove or grill until the outside is blackened. Next, place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave alone for 5 minutes.  After the five minutes, remove the pepper, peel the blackened skin and remove the stem and seeds.  

1.   Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom stock pot on medium heat.  

2.  Add the onions, sprinkle with salt and cook until softened.

3.  Add the sweet potato, squash, apple, pepper,  garlic, spices and hot sauce.  Stir frequently and cook for 3-5 minutes. Season with salt, be generous. 

4. Add chicken stock and bring to boil; reduce to a simmer. 

5.  Simmer until the vegetables are fork tender.  

6. Transfer to a blender (or a fancy Ninja, wink, wink) and puree until smooth.  

7.  Serve with some crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy!


Note:  My mom's best friend gave me a "talking to" recently for not posting enough.  Thanks Lisa. 




Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Drumsticks Braised in White Wine with Carrots

I went to the supermarket in my neighborhood the day before a blizzard was expected and as you could have guessed it, the place was cleared out.  I usually don't buy the store brand chicken (Ever watch Food Inc?) it freaks me out a bit, I prefer to buy the HarvestLand (which is the only natural option my market has), they promote that their chickens as being cage-free, antibiotic/hormone/steroid free, and  all natural.  If you buy the natural chicken and then go back to the regular stuff you can tell the difference, worth the extra money.  Either way, drumsticks were my only option on the shelf.  Convenient they are one of my favorites. Picked up some other staples and some other indulgences and I was on my way and fully prepared for the storm.   

Last night was cold and the snow had started coming down heavy in the afternoon, it seemed like a good night to have something warm and delicious cooking in the oven.  Also seemed like a good night for a nice bottle of wine (or two).  

The chicken drumsticks were rubbed down with a mixture of spices and left to sit in the spice rub for about 3 hours.  I think this time really gave them a good flavor.  They were then dredged and browned. After adding whole carrots and chopped onions and garlic, I made a delicious braising liquid of wine and stock.  Transferred to the oven and 45 minutes later, wow! The chicken meat pulled right off the bone clean, to me that is the measure of a good braised meat, clean off the bone.  I served this with pearled Israeli couscous and made a gravy with the leftover liquids and it was a killer dinner. 

What you need...

for the rub:
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp of brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp of seasoned salt
1/2 tsp of onion powder
1/4 tsp of cinnamon (little goes a long way)
pinch of cayenne

everything else…
6 chicken drumsticks
2 bunches of carrots with the green tops on, trim the greens short and peel the carrots
1 cup of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 large onion, chopped small
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Bay Leave
1 tsp of dried rosemary
1 cup of white wine
1/2 cups of chicken stock
2-3 TBSP of Canola Oil
2 TBSP of Olive Oil

for the gravy… (optional)
1 large pat of butter
1/2 tsp of cornstarch

How you do it...
1.  Remove the chicken from the package and pat dry with a paper towel

2.  Combine all the ingredients for the rub in a large bowl, add the drumsticks and toss to coat.  Now cover and refrigerate.  Leave in there for anywhere from one to three hours. You could leave this overnight.  

3.  Turn the oven on to 425 degrees. 

4.  In a large heavy bottom pot (I like to use the dutch oven) heat the canola oil to medium high heat on the stove top.

5.  Put the flour into a large mixing bowl.  Once the oil is hot,  dredge the chicken in the flour, shake off the excess and lay carefully in the hot oil.  Don't fuss with the chicken too much, Let it get brown on the first side and then flip onto the other side.  It needs a few minutes on each side.  Then remove the chicken to a plate. (don't crowd the pan, do a few drumsticks at a time, better to do batches then crowd the pan, you won't get anything crispy that way)

6.  Drain the oil off the pan but leave all the crispy bites on the bottom (If anything looks burnt wipe out the pan)

7. Add the Olive Oil to the same pan over medium heat and add the onion, let cook 3-4 minutes, add carrots and the garlic. Stir everything for about five minutes.  If anything looks like it is getting too brown, reduce the heat. 


8.  Add the wine and scrap all the bites off the bottom of the pan, add the stock and then lay the chicken on top of the carrots.  Add the bay leave and the rosemary. (The chicken should be submerged 2/3 of the way)

9. Transfer the uncovered pot to the oven, after five minutes turn down to 325 degrees. 

10. Let the chicken cook for about 40 minutes.  An instant read thermometer should read at 165 degrees when it is done. Remove the chicken and carrots to a plate and cover with foil.

11. OPTIONAL: Put the pot with all the cooking liquids back on the stove top.  Now take a ladle of the braising liquid into a small bowl and add the cornstarch and stir to combine, now add all this mixture back into the pot and turn the heat back on to low. Add a pat of butter and whisk until it thickens.  Takes only a few minutes. 

This is the kind of meal that keeps you warm, it received rave reviews from my boyfriend who I cooked for. Bet the leftovers will be even better. Don't forget to enjoy with a nice bottle of wine. 

Monday, January 26, 2015

Happy Snow Day!

New York City is expecting approximately 18inches of snow. Mayor Deblasio has already canceled school for tomorrow which means I have no work.  Yipee!!!
Made an emergency trip to Vine Wines to load up. Stay wam, drink red wine! Cheers!




Friday, January 23, 2015

Calling my fellow tiny kitchens!



Have you seen the tiny house movement?  I think it's pretty cool to be honest, but it also makes me chuckle a bit because if you live in a NYC apartment you probably already live in a tiny home.  Mine is no exception and my 8-year old nephew has estimated my entire apartment at around 400-sq feet. Now he is 8 but he is pretty smart, so i believe him.  None-the-less, space is a luxury here, not one that i am rich in.  So when i can find something that can do a lot in a little space, I am down for that. 

I received this Rosle Multi Cutter as a Christmas present and initially I was a tad perplexed upon opening the package.  What was this thing and why can't I read any of the directions? It ends up this thing, was the magical German made kitchen tool that fits multiple functions into a small package and doesn't require a plug. It also ends up there was an English portion of the direction manual and I just wasn't patient enough to look through the pamphlet.  

Hello New York City apartments! This tool was made for you.

This tool is great because it is an alternative to my food processor, salad spinner and mixer.  Yep, all three. This is actually smaller than a salad plate, has a chopping blade, spinning basket and mixer attachments.  It is hand operated and works with a pull mechanism on the lid. One pull for a rough chop, three or four pulls for a finer chop.  It even comes with a container lid for storage.   I guess you won't be making a huge salad in it, but you could def chop and spin dry your herbs for cooking.  I recently used it to chop the veggies for my chili and also to make a filling for stuffed chicken.  Was really pleased with the performance in food prep.  Also, in my tiny kitchen, a dishwasher is definitely something I don't have, so i appreciated how easy it was to clean.

I wouldn't lie to you, I promise this is cool. 





Bad Ass Beef Chili and Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread

This is a Sunday dinner.  I say that only because it is a stick to your ribs, prepare you for a grueling work week (probably have leftovers), cozy up on the couch with a movie sort of dinner. I recommend that it cooks low and slow for at least three hours, and who in their right mind has that time on a work day? I was looking for a creamy, thicker chili  and I was pretty pleased with myself.  The best thing about chili is there are no rules; you make it the way you like it (don't like kidney beans, try black beans), you top it the way you like, cheese, sour cream, saltines, scallions, whatever.  I have also found that whenever you tell someone you made chili, they always like to tell you 'their way' or 'the way my mom did it'. Personally I came from a Cheddar and saltines type of family. My best friend grew up eating it with white rice. I like the stories, I like hearing the different ways people grew up with food. You can usually get an idea or learn something.

So if you are toughing the New York winters like I am or you're somewhere even colder (God Bless ya) or you moved to Florida and just have the AC in your condo really high, make this and curl up on the couch while you eat it (the rest of the time I recommend the dinner table)!


   (No one actually eats a portion this small when it comes to chili)


What you need....
1 can of tomato paste
1 can of tomato sauce
1 15 oz can of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
1 15 oz can of Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 lbs of ground beef
1 Poblano Pepper-chopped small
1 Small Onion-Chopped Small
3 cups of beef broth (you can use another kind of broth or water, if you like)
1 TBSP Brown Sugar
1 TBSP Hot Sauce
2 TBSP of Chili Powder
1 tsp of Cumin
1 tsp of Oregano
1 small pinch of Cayenne
Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper

**Tip: When buying canned tomatoes or beans, get the low sodium or no-salt option.  Better to have the control of what you add to your recipe.

How you do it...

1.  In a heavy bottom pot (I like the dutch oven) over medium-high heat drizzle olive oil.  Once it has gotten hot, add the beef and brown, while breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Once everything is cooked, remove to a bowl and drain any liquid from the pot.

2.   Lower the heat to medium, add some more oil to the pan and add the chopped pepper and onion. Cook about 5 minutes or until they are soft.  If they start to brown, turn down the heat.

3.  At this point you are going to add the cooked beef, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, broth, sugar, hot sauce, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine. 

4.  Turn the heat up to high and bring to boil, then reduce to very low and let simmer for 2 hours uncovered. Stir every 20 or so minutes, just to make sure nothing burns on the bottom of the pot.

5. After two hours, add the beans.  Let cook for one more hour. 

** If at any point you think it is too thick, add a little more water, if it is too watery, turn the heat a bit to cook off some of the liquid. If you do this though, keep an eye on it.

6.  After about a total of three hours (give or take) you are ready to go.  I served mine with the below corn bread recipe, Cheddar cheese and sour cream. 

I never made corn bread before today. The Cast Iron Corn Bread came from the Godmother of Domestication, Martha Stewart. The cast iron gave it a rustic feel with a nice buttery crust. You can serve the chili over the corn bread, crumble the corn bread on top of the chili or eat the corn bread for breakfast the rest of the week (I might have done this). 

Here is Martha's Corn Bread recipe.  I see that the recipe only has three stars, those people are stupid, it deserves at minimum 4.  Maybe they just didn't have it with my chili.  Must be the problem








The Modern Workday Sandwich- A Manifesto

This is a guest post. All I can tell you is the person is truly a pioneer in the field of sandwiches. Truly a great read.

America is unequivocally the greatest place on earth. Yet despite our great America exceptionalism, an often overlooked aspect of our day-to-day lives in under siege. You probably haven’t noticed. Not surprisingly, this horror has been buried by the left-wing news machine, who sit in comfy chairs at the upper echelon of society, spoiled with riches and lavish lunch time cafeterias. Yes folks, I am talking about the sandwich, that standby of the working man and women’s lunch pail. The inexplicable assault on the sandwich can be chocked-up dozens of small changes that have occurred in how we now live our lives. The most likely culprit is obviously government overreach (keep your Obamacare off my sandwich please).

Does this recent lunch room conversation sound familiar:

Richard: Hi Dolorous, how are you today (said in a dull tired voice)

Dolorous: I am good Richard, what’s for lunch today?

Richard: Another ham and cheese sandwich, blah. And please Dolorous, my friends call me Richard, you can call me Dick.

Dolorous: Sure thing Dick. Sorry to hear about your sandwich. Looks pretty lame. Is that yellow mustard?

Rich: Yup, kids ate all the good stuff. And actually we are out of ham so this is just a piece of soggy pink construction paper.

Dolorous: Tell me about it. I am eating turkey and cheese wrapped in lettuce, can’t have the carbs.

Dolorous and Dick proceed to eat and cry together over there lame sandwiches.

Friends, life cannot continue like this. I am here to help. With a little American ingenuity, and elbow grease, I have devised two iterations of classic sandwiches. Not only will these new and improved classic’s will bring a little perk to your midday lunch, make you smile a little more and put a little bounce in your step. AND, they are also guaranteed to; improve the effects of male pattern baldness; aid in weight loss; will make you a better lover;  help you read faster; and for women, will improve bust size, in as little as 2 weeks. How is that for American Exceptionalism!

 

Sandwich 1- Not-yo-momma’s Ham sandwich

Challenge- Ham and cheese is boring! There, I said it.*

Objective- Lets spice it up. Not enough to give you a heart attack, but enough to get the hair growing on your head and that libido pumping. “Jeez Dick, you are looking sexy today, and have you lost weight! You didn’t happen to have a not-yo-momma’s ham sandwich for lunch?”

Step 1: Go buy some fresh ham, sliced thin. You will also need some flat sliced pickles (stackers), a sturdy grainy mustard (ingelhofer?), imported Swiss cheese, salami and rye bread. Fortunately, all of these things can be find at your local neighborhood suburban grocery store. Get the imported Swiss, it has more bite, and leave that lacey crap for someone else. Also, if you happen to live somewhere like Williamsburg Brooklyn, the epicenter of coolness, there is probably a fancy pickle store down the street from you. I have heard that pickles are the new jeans that are too tight to walk in (meaning very hip). If this is the case, and you can still pull your wallet from you jeans pocket, go get some bad ass pickles at your local picklery.

Step 2- Put a piece of sliced rye on a cutting board. Add 2-3 slices of ham and 3 slices of salami. Yup, 3 of both. You want to be taller don’t you?

Step 3- Smear mustard on bread. If you are feeling flashy, you could go ménage à tois mustard. That is, apply spritely, honey mustard on one slice of bread, with the grainy sort on the other. (This is not for the faint of heart, and should only be attempted by experienced sandwichers).

Step 4- Layer 2-3 sliced pickles across the ham/salami stack. Gently let the pickles drip a bit before adding. It is crucial to keep the bread dry. Nothing says “The Canadians are taking over” like a soggy sandwich.

Step 5- Add Swiss cheese. The trick here is to layer the Swiss so that there are no exposed holes that would enable a soggy pickle to touch the top piece of bread. With a little practice, 2-3 slices of cheese will easily accomplish this goal.

Step 5- Add the top piece of bread. Pack in your lunch box.

Step 6- Strut (yes strut, you have earned it champ!) to work.

Step 7- Carefully and deliberately unpack you lunch for all to see. Eat while sipping a cool glass of water. Don’t dare touch a Perrier. That shit is for wimps. And this is not a wimpy sandwich, but you already knew that.

 

Sandwich 2- Magnanimous Tuna

Challenge- Tuna is protein packed and makes a great lunch. But let’s face it, what the hell is mayo. Get that shit off my sandwich.

Objective- Tuna from a can is a vehicle for whatever you want to add to it. Give it some sass. A little bite, a little crunch, and BAMMM, you got yourself a sandwich. “Wow Dolorous, have you gotten taller, and your blouse appears to fitting a little tight. Want to grab a drink after work today, and then maybe an itchy game of monopoly? Sorry to pry, but you didn’t happen to have a magnanimous tuna sandwich for lunch, did you?”

Step 1: Go buy some canned tuna in water. Pick up a little bottle of capers, and another of mixed olives. You can see where this is going. Grab a lemon, or more likely, one of those little yellow bottles of lemon juice. I don’t know who squeezes all those lemons either, but I bet he has huge forearms. You’ll need a pepper, go red if you can afford it. I will assume you have salt and pepper. If not, how are you reading this blog. And are you really paying for internet and don’t have salt and pepper in your house. No stupid, not Salt-N-Pepa, although this sandwich definitely make you want to “Push It”.  OK, I think we are ready.

Step 2- Toast bread in toaster. I also assumed you have this. If not, see above. Let the toast cool, otherwise it will get soggy. After it is done toasting just leave it in the toaster while you get everything else ready.

Step 3- Drain tuna and place in a bowl. Add about 1 tablespoon (a measurement known as “some”) of lemon juice. Eye ball it, measuring spoons and for wimps, just like Perrier. Add salt and pepper.

Step 4- Add some capers and cut up olives. If you are racing around and have kiddos, just rip those little olives to pieces with you bear hands. Trust me, it won’t hurt.

Step 5- Cut up some of red pepper and through it in there.

Step 6- Mix it around and much it a bit with a fork. Add a some more of anything that looks low.

Step 7- Place tuna on bread and pack lunch.

Step 8- Meander to work with your new bad ass sandwich. Yup, meander. You ain’t in no hurry with that sandwich. The world can wait for you today amigo.

Step 9- Unpack in the lunch room and allow everyone time to take in the aromas and vibe your sandwich is throwing off. Take out that useless smart phone of yours, delete the facebook and tweeter apps, and throw on some Salt-N-Pepa (Push It). Close your eyes and enjoy.

Concluding remarks: With great sandwiches comes great responsibility. If you dare eat sandwiches like this at work you must be ready to act like someone who eats sandwiches like this at work. People will look up to you, so act like a leader. You’re the boss now. In fact, you’re your boss’s boss. Don’t take shit from anyone, but lead kindly and fairly. This is what grown-ups do. The Canadians are retreating. They were sharpening their skates just a minute ago, preparing for invasion, but not anymore. There you go Dick and Dolorous, doesn’t that feel good. God bless the USA.