Mexican Polenta

Polenta is usually an Italian dish made with corn meal. It is usually a side dish in some Italian restaurants. It is really good grilled.

Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of tomato and chili mix. Rotel is a good brand. 
• pinch of cumin 
•  Cheddar Cheese

Toppings:

• Grilled bell peppers, red, green and yellow, cut into strips.
• medium salsa

Directions

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and cumin. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the cheese and olive oil.Spread into a baking sheet. Pour salsa over the top. Bake at 250 for 15 minutes or until set. Top with the peppers. Slice and serve

Serve

Steak Italiano

Lidia oh Lidia. Have you met Lidia?

Here in Kansas City is one of her restaurants. It's on my list to visit one of these days. 

At this particular restaurant they feature a steak and potato dish.  

This is my version of that recipe. I call mine "Steak Italiano". 

This is really good. The steak tender, the fries crisp, and just hint of sweetness from the veggies. This is good eating KC style. The boy sat up and said " more please"

1- 10 oz strip steak

1/4 small onion

 1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 yellow bell pepper

2 cloves garlic

4 oz can sliced mushrooms

1/3 cup marinara sauce

3 tbl olive oil

Frozen steak fries

Seasoning salt

Salt and pepper

For the fries, preheat  oven according  to package directions. Put a single layers of fries on a greased cookie sheet. Cook to package directions.

In a large skillet heat oil. Add the steak. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 7  minutes on medium heat. Season the other side also. 

Meanwhile slice the peppers, onion,  into small strips. Mince the garlic.

After desired doneness, remove the steak from the pan. 

Add the veggies to the pan. Stir fry until tender. Add the marinara sauce. Cook on low heat another 5 minutes. 

Remove fries from the oven, sprinkle with seasoning salt. 

Slice the steak into strips. Serve steak, add veggie mixture on top of sliced steak. Add the fries on the side.
 

 

Happy New Year

Hello, it's been a while. I took a little break to clear my mind. Maybe get a little perspective on this blog thing.

It's still true. I love cooking a and i like writing.  Since the last post, I played some games, won a chili contest at the j o b, (is it kosher to beat your boss?) oh, yeah,  and started a novel. historical fiction with a little magic. ( she grins her Cheshire cat grin).

We had a fabulous Christmas dinner followed by a great brithday lunch at Zio's. That was so good. yum.

Then the new year came, an I got the flu. Yuck but i seem to be on the mend.

Since I've been down, i have come up with some interesting soup recipes, which I will share in a bit.

So, Happy New year, and I think we will start with breakfast.

Potatoes are so good. they are warm and comforting. I think that's why they are such a popular comfort food.

This used to be a favorite breakfast. I used to make it every Sunday morning. It's kind of like Potatoes O'Brien, except that the potatoes are shredded. One of my Grannies used to make us hash browns when we go visit. Funny how food can trigger memories.

With a big plate of potatoes veggies and eggs, I'd then watch a little football, and have a yummy brunch.

It's basically a cookie scramble with a special twist.

This makes 2 generous servings.

1 large russet potato

1/4 onion diced

1/4 cup diced bell pepper

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

2 eggs

2 oz sharp cheddar cheese

3 oz cooked sausage, crumbled

4 Tbls sour cream

4 Tbls chunky salsa

2 Tbls olive oil

Clean and shred the potato. add the olive oil to a large non stick pan over medium heat. add potato when hot. Fry till crisp on one side then flip. Don't stir let it cook in in one piece. After the hash browns are crispy on both sides, take out of the skillet, place on an oven proof plate. set in a 200 degree oven to keep warm.

In the same skillet, cook the sausage crumbles, onion and bell pepper. 5 minutes before finished add the mushrooms.

top the hash browns with cheese, and the onion pepper mixture. wipe the skillet and fry the eggs.

split the potatoes in 1/2 top each half with a fried egg, Each gets 2 tablespoons of sour cream and salsa

Southwest Chicken

I love Mexican food, and I like chicken. So, here is another twist from Weight Watchers. The recipe looks really good, but I am going to add more veggies.  in the form of onions, garlic and bell peppers. With the additional veggies you could have 1 1/2 cups as a serving size.

1 lb. (4 cups) shredded rotisserie chicken breast meat, skin and bones removed
4 cups jarred salsa verde
2 cups frozen green beans, thawed and chopped
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
16 (6-inch) corn tortillas
8 oz shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese

Instructions

1.Mix the chicken, 3 cups salsa verde, green beans and black beans in a large bowl.

2.Shred or thinly slice the tortillas into 1/2-inch wide strips. Sprinkle a third of these strips into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top with half the chicken mixture, spreading it evenly over the baking dish. Sprinkle half the remaining tortilla strips evenly over the chicken, then smooth the rest of the chicken mixture over the top. Sprinkle with the rest of the tortilla strips evenly on top, then smooth the remaining 1 cup salsa verde over the casserole, and finally add the cheese, again evenly across the baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil. The casserole can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days or frozen for up to 4 months.

3.Preheat the oven to 350°F.

4.Bake the casserole, covered, 20 minutes if refrigerated, 30 minutes if frozen. Uncover and continue baking until bubbling and browned, 30 more minutes if refrigerated, 40 more minutes (or a bit longer) if frozen. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then divide into 8 servings.


Serving size: 1 1/3 cups.

from weightwatchers.com Makes 8 servings
POINTS® value
4 per servingIngredients

Gazpacho

Why gazpacho?  i was Looking for something different, not on the usual plate, or bowl. besides Cinco de Mayo is coming up, and yes i love Mexican inspired dishes, i wanted something different. and here it is. this dish is fresh zing, and is usually served cold. so if your fiesta is too warm, or too fried, try this.

Ingredients

1 quart whole tomatoes; 28 oz can

1 cup Salsa; any favorite prepared salsa will do

1/2 cup Green pepper; rough chopped

1/2 cup Cucumber; rough chopped

1/2 cup Croutons

1/4 cup Onion; rough chopped

2 tablespoons Red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Olive oil; or vegetable oil

2 cloves Garlic; rough chop

1 Jalapeno peppers; -fresh- rough chopped- remove seeds and ribs for less heat

1/4 cup Margarita cooler; or juice from 1 to 2 limes

1 1/2 tablespoon Ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper, black; ground

1/2 cup Green pepper; finely chopped- reserve for serving

1/2 cup Cucumber; finely chopped- reserve for serving

1/4 cup Onion; finely chopped- reserve for serving

1/2 cup Croutons; finely chopped- reserve for serving

 Preparation

Place all ingredients not reserved for serving into the blender (tomatoes, salsa, rough chopped peppers, cucumber and onion, croutons, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, jalapeno pepper, Margarita cooler or lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper). Cover and blend on medium until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (longer is better). Serve with remaining ingredients as accompaniments.

- If your blender is not large enough to do in one batch, roughly split the ingredients into 2 batches to blend. Then stir together into one batch.

One pot wonders

Caracoles are great. Ever wonder what to do with left over’s? Why not put it all in one big pot. Of course if you do this you have to watch out not over season. Sometimes mixing ethnic spices is a bad idea.

Herbs de Province and oregano don't really go with the plum sauce or the teriyakis of Japanese cooking.

Other times things are good together, like balsamic, Worcestershire and teriyaki can make a wonderfully bold statement in a hearty stew. You just have to experiment.
One experiment I am interest in trying is called a tomato soup chocolate cake. My assumption is that the condensed soup helps the cake stay moist.

Any way we humans have been doing one pot meals since the days of fire pits and the big cauldron hanging in the middle of it.

The French cassoulet is an example. The pot and the family recipe would be handed down from generation to generation. Generally the cassoulet is lamb, pork, partridge. The meat would also depend on the season, and region of France your family was.

Bean casseroles have been around for ever, over course in the old slow cook method, pot in the fire place it took days to make a good pot of beans. How we figured out how to eat a bean. Legumes when picked are as hard as little pebbles, but after washing and soaking for hours then cooking slowly for days, they can almost become pasty as the starch cooks up.


I love to cook in big pots. This way gives you a meal tonight, and tomorrow, and sometimes... it is even better later, because the spices have a chance to marry.

Today's one pot wonder:

Chili

1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 cup mixed bell peppers, green, red and yellow
1 can of diced tomatoes with green challis added
1 package of frozen corn mixture with onion and peppers added
1 can of refried beans with lime
1 can kidney or pinto beans drained.
Spices:
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Seasoning salt
Ground cumin
Ground chili powder. (I like the Spanish style)
Dash of taco seasoning.
Squeeze of ketchup

Sauté the onion and garlic, then add back the ground beef. Add the corn mixture, the tomatoes, and 1/2 the peppers.
Leave it alone for 30 minutes. Add a little beef broth if it seems too thick, it seems to soupy, take an emulsion blender, and give it a few pulses. Add the rest of the pepper mixture. Cook for another 15 minutes.

This is one of those that are better the next day.

Serve with corn chips, and your favorite beer or soda.

Later Gators

Kimberly
Mistress of the Kitchen
http://dreamingtoday.info