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!

Grilled Chicken Thighs Cacciatore w/ Super Smashed Garlic Potatoes

This is a Rachael Ray 30 minute meal, Chicken Thigh Cacciatore.  It took me about 45 minutes to do it, and well worth it.  I thought it was yummy and had alot of complex flavors.

 I loved how the grilled chicken thighs turned out and the marinade...awesome.  I would do definitely make this one again.  Will even like it, especially the potatoes, but said they needed more butter, and I said, "Hello!!! This is not a Paula Deen dish.  Anyway, give it try and let me know what you think.  Good Eats!

Laura's Lean w/ Creamed Spinach and Rotini

It has been awhile since my last post, but I revisted many of my previous dishes, so nothing to post. I'm glad to be back and this is what I've got.  I subscribe to Laura's Lean Newsletters and today she had some spring recipes, so I thought I would give one a try. It probably would've been worse, but I dressed it up a bit. Before I share my additions, here is her recipe: 1 med onion finely diced, 1 lb of LL 92/8 ground beef, 1 pkg of thawed creamed spinach, 2 eggs lightly beaten, 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese. You will need to brown your beef with the onion. When beef is no longer pink, stir in the spinach, then stir in the eggs. Serve immediately over pasta and sprinkle with the cheese. Although very quick and simple, my thoughts were bland-a-rama. I kicked it up a notch by adding 6 cloves of minced garlic, kosher salt to my liking, and fresh ground pepper to the beef/onion while cooking, then followed remaining steps, and my last step was to add crushed red pepper. I served it over Rotini Pasta, but you could use whatever you have in the pantry. Healthy yes, but needs help. Try it and let me know what you did differently.

Mexican Sliced Spiced Pork Soft Tacos w/ Texas Oven Fries

This is so yummy, please try!!

This is a Rachael Ray 30 minute meal and it is really yummy.  I've never worked with fresh tomatillos before.  When you peel the husk off they are really sticky, so be sure to wash them well.  The only things that I did differently are: 1. I cut the recipe in half  2. brined my pork tenderloin over nite  3. I didn't use the pumpkin seeds b/c they weren't available at my market  4. I added a tsp of cumin to the salsa while it was cooking  5. I blended the sauce after cooking in my food processor to reduce the large chunks of tomatillo.  I thought the salsa was really good and found that it had creeping heat that I really like, although not so hot that I need extra napkins and I wasn't sweating profusely.  I really liked the potatoes too.  They baked well and had a nice crunch on the outside and tender inside.  Rachael said to cut the potatoes into 10 each, so just cut the potato in half and cut 5 slices out of each half.  For some reason, that was a challenge for me to get with the first potato. You ought to give it try.  It's simple, but it took me about 45 minutes to do it all. Good Eats!

Thai Pork and Noodles

This dish is awesome, easy to make and fairly quick, about 40 minutes.  Thai Pork and Noodles from the Food Network Kitchen. At first when I tasted it, it kind of took me by surprise. I wasn't familiar with the combination of flavors.  After each bite it got better and better and the heat was a creeper.  By the time I finished,  I was sweating and I went thru several towels for my runny nose.  If you like heat and intense flavor I would definitely suggest that you give it a try.  Oh, instead of using thin pork chops I used  a 1.5 lb pork tenderloin that I had brined over night and sliced it into thin strips that I stir fried to medium well. Good Eats!!

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

40 Clove Garlic Chicken with Green Beans & Mashed Tators

My Immersion Blender

I found this recipe "40 Clove Garlic Chicken" on The Stinking Rose Restaurant website.  OMG!  You have to try it, it's the best chicken I  have ever, ever had.  You might think the garlic would be overpowering, but it's not.  The garlic sauce is so mellow, Will said it was so good that he could take a bath in it.  Kudos to The Stinking Rose for sharing such an awesome recipe.  This recipe is definitely on my "A" list.  Give it try, trust me, you won't be disappointed.  BTW, instead of putting the sauce in the blender after it reduced, I just used the immersion blender.  It did the job with less clean up.

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?