Swiss Chard and Potato Skillet Cake

This isn't really a "cake" so to speak. It sure is yummy, though. I got some swiss chard in my produce box this week, so I made this for dinner tonight. Potatoes layered with swiss chard, provelone cheese, onions and garlic and baked in a skillet...what could be better than that?

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. butter
1tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4-6 small/medium russet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 lg bunch of swiss chard, cleaned and cut into large, leafy chunks
2 cloves garlic
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
8-10 slices of provelone cheese
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until translucent. Add white wine and let evaporate. Turn off burner and remove onion/garlic mixture from pan. In the same pan, put down a layer of the potatoes. Salt and pepper the potatoes. Add a layer of the sauteed onion/garlic mixture. Add a layer of swiss chard. Add a layer of cheese. Repeat layering process. Place in 350 degree oven and let bake for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is golden brown and potatoes are cooked.

Enjoy!

Homemade flour tortillas

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup shortening or lard
3/4 cup very hot water
1 tsp. salt

Mix flour, salt and shortening together with a fork until it turns into large crumbs. Add hot water and mix until it all forms a ball. IMPORTANT: Do not over mix or knead. It should be a smooth ball of dough that is completely formed together, but that is as far as you want to take it. If you over mix it, the gluten in the flour will make your tortillas shrink when you put them on the griddle.

Set a large skillet over medium heat. Seperate dough into 6 even-sized balls. Lay a towel over the ones you're not working with so they don't dry out. With a rolling pin, roll the balls until you have about a 10-inch diameter circle. Pick up and lay it in the hot skillet. Let cook for a minute or two. Flip. Let cook an additional 1 or 2 minutes until golden brown spots form.

Add butter. Or beans. Or cheese. Or eggs. Eat. Repeat. :)

Enchiladas in a sour cream garlic sauce

Corn tortillas
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tbls. margarine, butter or oil
3 tbls. flour
8 oz. sour cream
2 cups chicken broth
1 small can diced green chilies
1 cup jack cheese shredded
2 cups chicken( diced and cooked)
1 jalapeno diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a saute pan, combine onion, garlic, coriander, jalapeno and butter or oil. Cook on medium to med-high till tender. Add pepper. In a small bowl, add flour to sour cream and stir till blended. Add sour cream mixture to onion mixture, stir in chicken broth and green chilies at once. Cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese. Once completely melted, take 1/2 cup of the sauce and add it to the cooked chicken in a small bowl. Vegetable spray and put a thin layer of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and place in casserole dish. Top with remaining sauce and remaining cheese. Cook for 35 minutes and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Tip for tortillas:
Take a frying pan and fill it half way with vegetable oil. Put on stove on lowest heat. Put one tortilla in oil and flip halfway though with a pair of tongs. Cook till tender. Then take out of oil and put on plate, fill with chicken mix. Roll and place in dish. Get your assembley line ready to make a smooth transition from beginning to end.

Chicken Chile Verde

2 1/2 lbs chicken
4 cups chicken stock
2 tbls vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 tbls garlic, chopped
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup canned tomatillos
1 large bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 7 oz. can diced green chilies
2 fresh jalapeno peppers seeded and finely chopped
2 tbls fresh lime juice
salt to taste

Combine chicken and stock into a medium pan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers gently. Cook partially covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and let stand until cool enough to handle. If there are bones or skin to remove, remove them now. Then shred the meat. Set meat aside. Heat vegetable oil, chopped onions, chopped celery and garlic in a large heavy duty pan over medium heat until shimmery. Cook stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt. Cook stirring until fragrant. About 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat. Add tomatillos. Add cilantro. Add 2 cups chicken stock, green chilies and jalapenos. Return and cook on medium heat. Gently simmer the sauce uncovered for 10 minutes. Add the reserved chicken, and lime juice. Simmer for 5 to 15 minutes depending on how tender you prefer your chicken.

Chile Verde

This recipe makes some pretty bomb-diggity chile verde. Seriously, there are few things that are better than a big bowl of chile verde with some flour tortillas on the side. I really think I would be a happy camper if that were to be my very last meal. Try this sometime soon. You'll love it. You'll crave it. Promise.

You may feel free to use either fresh or canned tomatillos for this recipe. It tastes the same either way. I'm just keeping it real, yo. No snobbery here. I've done it both ways and honestly, the canned are way easier. If you do want to go the fresh route, just pop them under the oven broiler for 5-10 minutes. Heck, throw your garlic in there too, while you're at it. Roast until soft. Remove peel.

Oh, and I know that some people might freak when they read "2 jalapenos", but don't be scared! When you take out all the seeds, they are very mild and flavorful! Go for it. I'm actually thinking about keeping some seeds in the next time I make this, but I like it slightly spicy. When working with jalapenos, it's important to cover your hands. I usually take two sandwich size ziplock baggies and put my hands in them for protection. Trust me, you WILL regret not covering your hands in some way.

Okay, I'm going to shut up now and just give you the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos or 1 lg. can (28 oz.)

1 small can green whole green chiles (4 oz.)
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
1 bunch cilantro leaves, cleaned and chopped
3 1/2 to 4 pounds pork roast (the really cheap kind), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 to 2-inch cubes

2 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
Salt & pepper
2 yellow onions, cut into medium-sized chunks.
2 1/2 cups chicken stock

In a blender, blend tomatillos, green chiles, garlic cloves, jalapenos and cilantro together until a smooth, green sauce forms. Set aside.

Salt and pepper pork cubes to taste. Heat oil in a large skillet and add pork. Fry until good and brown on all sides. No pink should be visible. Transfer pork to a large soup or stock pot. Add onions to the same skillet that you just used to brown the pork. Saute onions until translucent. Add onions to pot with pork.

Add the green tomatillo sauce to the pot with the pork. Add chicken stock. Stir. Inhale the aroma and start drooling immediately. Over medium-high heat, bring contents of pot to a gentle boil. Turn heat down to medium-low and continue to simmer until pork is fork-tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Serve in a bowl and garnish with sour cream and flour tortillas.

French Toast Strata

I brought this to a Munro brunch yesterday. It is pretty yummy! It's not very sweet by itself, so don't forget to add syrup and/or fresh berries to the top of your scoop!

Ingredients:
1 loaf (1lb) decent french bread
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
8 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
6 tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Cut the loaf of bread into 1 inch cubes and put half into the dish. Sprinkle with the cinnamon. Cut up the cream cheese into small cubes and sprinkle over bread/cinnamon mixture. Add remaining bread cubes.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk and melted butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix with a wisk until smooth. Pour over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Give it a good mix to make sure all the bread has soaked up some of the egg/milk mixture. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sarah's Ultimate Shrimp Dip

2 - 8oz. packages cream cheese

1 - 16oz. containers sour cream

1 bunch green onion chopped

1 to 2 lbs. of bay shrimp roughly chopped

2 to 6 cloves of garlic minced

black pepper to taste

Let cream cheese soften to room temperature in a large mixing bowl. Then mix with hand mixer on low speed. Add one container of sour cream and mix till incorporated. When mixed to a smooth consistancy add garlic(little or alot depending on taste). Add shrimp and green onion(the amount is up to you, depending on taste). Stir together with large spoon. Add pepper to taste. Stir again, cover and refridgerate for at least 1 hour. Serve with favorite crackers. I always used triscuts and wheat thins.

Chinese Chicken Salad ala Gonsea Restaurant in Eureka, CA.

So, I love how Sarah knows how to take our favorite foods from restaurants and figure out how to make them at home. This is one of our favorite salads from Gonsea restaurant in Eureka, CA. It's very simple and you don't have to be precise at all when it comes to the ingredients. Just mix it all up until it tastes good to you!

Ingredients:
Lettuce
Grilled, broiled or roasted boneless, skinless chicken breast - I use 4 when I make this.
Peanuts, chopped
Rice noodles - these need to be fried first in some hot oil so that they puff up and become crispy.
Peanut oil
Hot mustard
Salt
Sesame seed oil

It really is that simple. Oh, and if anybody from Kodiak is reading this, you can find all of these ingredients at our little 'ol commissary! Great news!

Roasted Red Bell Peppers

Ingredients:
4-6 med/lg red bell peppers
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsalmic vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Salt

Directions:
Set oven to broil and place oven racks at a semi-high level. Arrange peppers on a large piece of tin foil and place in oven under broiler. Let broil until skins begin to blister and turn black. Turn peppers so that a fresh side is facing up. Repeat these steps until all sides of peppers are blistered and black.

Remove from oven and fold foil over peppers to form a packet of sorts. Allow peppers to steam in enclosed foil for 10 minutes. Remove peppers from foil and peel off skins; remove stems and seeds. Place peppers in a medium sized bowl. Add olive oil, vinegar, garlic and salt to taste. Raw garlic is quite potent and more than one clove will make the garlic flavor very over powering. Allow peppers to marinade over night.

Serve with a variety of different things such as cream cheese, hummus, crackers or breads for a lovely appetizer. These are also great on sandwhiches. My grandmothers made these all the time and they were (and are still) a family favorite! Enjoy!

Yummy Crispy Bean Burritos

refried beans
shredded cheddar cheese
flour tortillas
toothpicks
oil for frying

Take beans out of can and put in a bowl big enough to add cheese to and then stir in cheese. Put in as much or as little cheese you want.( I like a lot of cheese) Lay out your tortillas and put a spoonful of mixture onto center of tortilla and smooth out from end to end(left to right) like a log shape of bean. Then roll the the tortilla up around the bean log into a log shaped burrito. Place a few toothpicks to secure rolled burrito. Repeat until beans are gone. Put into fridge for chilling.(Better for cooking later) Then turn on deep fryer of oil and wait till it's up to temperature. Lay 2 burritos at a time in fryer and cook till golden in color. Remove and drain on paper towels. Let cool then enjoy. Use whatever dipping sauces you like. Sour cream, guac, salsa, nacho cheese sauce and even ranch is good. Enjoy!(Trick for fitting burritos in your fryer is to cut a small amount off each side of the tortilla and don't forget to remove toothpicks before consuming)