Chorizo Fiesta

Spicy Chorizo Mac N Cheese

Went to the grocery and they had chorizo on sale so I bought a few pounds and yesterday we had a chorizo fiesta.  Will wanted a chorizo con queso dip, so I googled a few recipes and these are the ones I tried.  This recipe from food.com was very easy, but Will didn't like it.  He's not fond of cream cheese, so that would explain it.  The other one I found on food network.  Will liked this one much more and that is the one he proceeded to eat in its entirety.  I also made a spicy macaroni and cheese also from the food network.  Yummy!!  This is one of he best mac and cheese dishes I've had in a long time.

Since Will didn't like the recipe from food.com I took the dip and added an additional pound of cooked chorizo (casing removed), a few TBS of my own mexican spice blend and a blended a can (to eliminate the chunks) of Rotel tomatoes to it and I simmered it for about 20 minutes.  I served it over a pasta with cilantro.  This was a very good use of the dip that wasn't a huge hit and it really tasted good.

All of these dishes were easy to make and not too time consuming.  Give them a try and good eats!!

Chorizo & Chicken Tex Mex

I'm back at the Chorizo again and this time it was a success, yay!!  If you're not familiar with Chorizo, it's a spanish sausage loaded with paprika and spices.  It has a very strong flavor and I think it works well with chicken.  The chicken will absorb the flavors of the Chorizo and sometimes it's not necessary to add extra spices when you cook with it.  This dish tonight is loaded with flavor and textures, so lets get started.   You will  need:  2 Chorizo sausages, casing removed torn into bite size pieces, 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs rinsed & patted dry, 3 cloves garlic chopped, juice of 1 lime, 1/2 of 1 red bell pepper julienned, 1/2 of 1 green bell pepper julienned, 1 jalapeno julienned (I didn't remove the seeds), 1/2 Spanish onion sliced thin, 2 tbs tomato paste, 1/4 C low fat sour cream, 1/4 C heavy cream, 2 tsp hot hungarian paprika, 2 tsp cumin,  S&P, 1 tbs EVOO, for garnish -3 scallions chopped, 1/2 avocado sliced/ 1/4 C cilantro chopped and 1/4 C shredded monterey jack cheese.  You will also need your favorite rice to serve this with.  I used 1 C basmati rice and simmered it in 1.5 C of chicken stock for 20 minutes after it was brought to a boil.  Now let's make the meal- I took a large skillet and added the EVOO and heated on med high heat for about 3-4 minutes.  I seasoned the chicken thighs with S&P on both sides and added the whole chicken thighs and the garlic to the skillet and let the thighs brown on each side for 2-3 minutes and removed them from the pan.  I then added the Chorizo pieces, lime juice and the peppers and onions, stirred them and let them cook for about 5 minutes.  The lime juice will deglaze the skillet and add a bit of acidity. While that was cooking I cut my chicken thighs into bite size pieces and added them back to the skillet with the Chorizo and peppers.  I added the spices, tomato paste, sour cream and the heavy cream to the skillet, stirred it in and then reduced the heat to low and let this simmer for 5 more minutes.  At this point is was really getting thick so I added less than 1/4 C water. I continued to simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes until chicken was cooked thru.  I removed the skillet from the heat and let it rest covered for about 5 minutes.  I served the Chorizo & Chicken over the basmati rice and garnished it with the a sprinkle of shredded cheese, scallions, cilantro and wedges of avocado.  Give it a try, it's easy, quick and really yummy!!

Bacon Burgers and Fries

We do burgers fairly regularly, today inspired by Chef Symon. There are some out there that I would love to make, but my honey is a little picky, so I try not push the burger creativity over the top.  Tonight we had bacon burgers and fries.  The first thing I did when I got home was to take 2 large russet potatoes that had been scrubbed and cut them in half lengthwise and cut the halves in to 5 wedges each.  I placed them in a bowl of water and let them sit for about an hour, because I didn't want them browning on me while  me and my honey took little ride thru the country on the bike, since we haven't really been able to get it out with all of this rain, BTW which will back tomorrow evening. When I got home I preheated my Breville oven to 450, drained the water, dried the potatoes and coated them with EVOO and S&P and placed them on baking sheet and popped them into the oven for 35 minutes.  While those were baking I took 1 part 80/20 organic ground beef, 1 part organic ground pork and 1/4 part organic chorizo, mixed them all together, formed into burgers and sprinkled both sides with S&P and put aside.  I took the bacon outside to cook  on the side burner of the grill.  Don't get me wrong I love the smell of bacon, but it permeates the house, and sometimes its just a little much.  Anyway, when there was 15 minutes remaining on the tators I heated my grill- 1 side on med  and 1 side on high.  Once heated I placed the burgers on the med heat side of the grill and let them cook thru, flipping only one time.  I placed the bacon slices and slices of red onion and monterey jack cheese over top, closed the grill and let the cheese melt.  While the burgers were grilling I also took my burger buns and lightly seared them on the grill.  That was it.  No mess, little clean up, easy and yummy.  We served our burgers with a little mayo, and some pickles next to those perfect fries.  Mmm! Mmm!

Chorizo, Spinach & Chick Pea Saute

This recipe is from Guy Fieri's "Guy's Big Bite". We both found it, well kind of interesting and not so yummy. I really hate it when I try new recipes and they just don't work, but that is why I do this blog, so you won't waste your time.
This dish had a very earthy flavor from the spinach and chick peas. I normally like earthy, but this dish just didn't get it for me. I think I need to give Chorizo a break, because I haven't really liked the dishes that I've made recently, using it. Anyway, won't do this one again. Unfortunately, NOT Good Eats!

Chorizo Tortilla

Chorizo Tortilla from the food network was kind of disappointing because of the time involved and well it was kind of boring.  We did a few things differently by cooking the  potatoes in my WMF pressure cooker to speed up the process.  We also thought the dish lacked something, so when it finished baking we added some colby jack cheese over the top and let it melt then we served the wedges with salsa and sour cream.  You know, I really wasn't sure what to expect, but now I know and I won't make this dish again.  Not Good Eats!

Disaster Dish

Like I said, tonight I was going to do something with Chorizo and unfortunately it wasn't great. I decided to add some diced chicken breast, chopped onion, chopped jalapeños and diced red skin potatos. I first cut mt potatoes in half and placed them in boiling water for 15 minutes. While those were going I crumpled my Chorizo and placed it in a skillet, along with the chicken and browned it. After about 12-15 minutes I removed the meats and placed them on paper towels to drain off the excess fat. I poured off all the juices/fat from the skillet minus 1 tbs. I drained my potatoes and diced them into small cubes and placed them in the skillet with the onions and the jalapeños and browned them over medium heat for about 10 minutes. I put the meats and the cooked potato mix in a large bowl and grated Manchego cheese over it and mixed it gently. I served it with crumples of Cotija cheese (it's a mexican type feta), along with a salad. The dish reminded me of a hash. Although it tasted good, it was dry and lacked something. Probably good as a hash with some ooyey gooey fried or poached eggs, maybe a taco or burrito filling. Any suggestions?