Mexican Potato Hash with Poached Eggs

This is really good., and with a few added ingredients, like fruit or sliced veggies you have full meal.

Ingredients


4 cup(s) water
1 Tbsp vinegar
4 large egg(s)
2 tsp olive oil
2 lbs  new potatoes, shredded
1/2  cup fat free salsa
1/2 cup low-fat shredded Cheddar cheese


Instructions

Preheat broiler.

In a large saucepan over high heat, bring water to a boil. Add vinegar and reduce heat to medium.

Carefully crack eggs into 4 separate small-size bowls (yolks should remain intact). Add eggs to saucepan one at a time, and simmer until egg white is cooked and yolk starts to solidify, about 2 minutes. Remove poached eggs with a slotted spoon; set aside.

Heat oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and saute until golden brown, stirring frequently, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add salsa and cook to heat through, about 1 minute. Top potatoes with poached eggs and sprinkle with cheese.

Place pan under broiler and broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Serve hot. Yields about 2/3 cup potato hash and 1 egg per serving.


See original recipe at:
http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=60601

Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients


2 small tomatoes
1 small onion
1 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic; 1 chopped, 1 smashed
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 15.5-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
4 6-inch corn tortillas, warmed
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (I use Chedder or Monterey Jack)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Prepare the salsa: Set a grater in a large bowl; grate the tomatoes and onion into the bowl. Add the jalapeno, chopped garlic, hot sauce, cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Heat a medium skillet over low heat and add 2 teaspoons olive oil. Fry the salsa in the oil until it thickens slightly, 3 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Add the beans to the same pan along with the smashed garlic, 1/2 cup warm water and a pinch of salt; cook over low heat until warmed through, smashing slightly with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in another skillet. Fry the eggs sunny-side up; season with pepper.

Place 1 warm tortilla on each plate. Divide the beans among them, then top with a fried egg, some salsa and cheese. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with the remaining salsa.

Per serving: Calories 360; Fat 19 g (Sat. 6 g; Mono. 9.5 g; Poly. 2 g); Cholesterol 228 mg; Sodium 430 mg; Carbohydrate 33 g; Fiber 7 g; Protein 16 g

Photograph by Con Poulos

Lunch at the Star Light Lounge

There are times when you have a taste for something, like good Mexican food, you need to skip the chains, and head for the smaller, “Mom and Pop” type restaurants. Sometimes you might even find the best food in taverns and bars.


My first summer in Denver,  I had just that experience.  We wanted Mexican food, and was directed to a tavern style eatery. We called it the “Star light lounge”. I don’t remember if that was its real name…

This place had a bar on one side and a small restaurant on the other. Even though the look of the place was not something we’d expected,  small, brightly painted, with a black ceiling with silver sparkles all over it, and not one word of English spoke in the bar. our meal was incredibly good. The chips were hand made and warm. And the salsa was just the right amount of spicy and tangy-sweet.

For the main entre we had chicken and green chili burritos. All I can say is Oh, My God! I had Mexican food before, and I spent some time in Colorado when I was little, that’s how a developed a taste for it. To start with the burrito was huge. The chicken was shredded and mixed with peppers and cheese, and smothered with a topping of cheese and sour cream.

There have been other chicken enchiladas, and other burritos, but that was the best.


This is my version, based on taste, it is very close.

1 lb chicken breasts without bone or skin
1 can green chills, mild heat save the juice.
1 cup sour cream
½ jalapeño seeded and chopped
½ small green peppers chopped
½ small onion, chopped.
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 cup cooked chili beans
½ cup chicken stock
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
½ cup Monterey jack cheese shredded.
8 large tortillas
Salt and pepper to taste





Place chicken in a baking dish. Add the broth, 1Tablespoon of the onions and 1 tablespoon of the green peppers 1 tsp of the chopped chilies, and the juice from the green chili can. Cover with plastic and set in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Take plastic off chicken. Add the chilies, the onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and peppers. Bake for 30 minutes. When the chicken is cool, shred the chicken with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste Mix the shredded chicken with the pepper mixture

To ensemble, scoop 3 tablespoons of beans  and 2 oz of chicken on each tortilla. Add 3 oz of cheese and 1 tablespoon of sour cream, fold up. Add burritos to a clean baking; add the rest of the sour cream and the cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Wierd Food Combo: How to make them work

Would you ever put Chocolate on Tomatoes? Or Ants? Grasshoppers? Or how about putting cheese on Okra? Would you dip your French fries in chocolate pudding or mayonnaise? Do you know people who put hot sauce on, oh say, everything?

Try mixing Teriyaki sauce, Soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire and olive oil. It makes a good marinade for beef and pork.

Back to the Chocolate and tomatoes: Heard of Mole sauce. It is fantastic on chicken. Sometimes this is how a really great recipe is created. We have all experienced it, we're chewing and tasting, chewing, and wondering to ourselves why the food tastes the way it does. You are trying to determine what is that?

Sometimes one must experiment in order to come up with just the right… zing.
Cheese on okra- When I was growing up it was the only way to get me to eat it. I would mix okra, onion tomato, turkey, and cheese. Cook it all together, and have it like a stew. Yes, my family and friends thought I was nuts.

I did go through a faze where I wanted cheese on almost everything. If the dish had meat, bread or veggies, I wanted cheese on it. Well even apples. The only thing that was not covered in cheese was Chinese and middle eastern food.
I’m still getting over my cheese fixation.

Ok back to the mole:
Here is a really good recipe. My favorite Mexican restaurant makes a chicken mole that could make you cry. It is that good. But I’m not in California anymore. Humm… wonder if they would send me a quart or two?

This is from Mexonline.com.

Mole Poblano
(Chicken with Chocolate Sauce)
• 4 tb Olive oil
• 1/4 c Raisins
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 ts Cumin
• 1/4 ts Nutmeg
• 1/4 ts Ground cloves
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1/4 ts Cinnamon
• 1 Green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 ts Salt
• 3 Slices canned pimento, chopped
• 1/4 ts Pepper
• 1 ts Sugar
• 2 Large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• Grated rind of 1 orange
• 2 Squares bitter chocolate, chopped
• 2 tb Chili powder (or to taste)
• 2 1/2 c Chicken broth
• 1/4 c Light rum
• 1/4 c Slivered almonds

In casserole, heat oil and cook garlic for a few moments to flavour oil; add chicken and brown. Remove chicken.
In remaining fat, cook onion, green pepper, pimento, and tomato over gentle heat for 10 minutes. To onion mixture, add chili powder, blending well. Add broth, almonds, raisins, seasonings, and rind; simmer, covered, 30 minutes longer. Add chocolate, stirring until melted.
Replace chicken, spooning sauce over. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until chicken is tender. Warm rum, ignite it, and pour over contents of casserole; allow to stand for a few minutes.
6 servings