Beef Birria

 

Ingredients

3 (8 ounce) short ribs

1 (2 1/2 pound) beef chick

4 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

7 dried guajillo chilies

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

6 cloves garlic, peeled

1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced

3 large tomatoes, cored and chopped

2 cups water

3 bay leaves

1 Tbsp. honey

1/4 C. white vinegar

4 C. chicken broth

2 Tbsp. finely diced white onion (for garnish)

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish)

1 medium lime, sliced (for garnish)

 

Directions

1. Cut each short rib through the middle, all the way down to the bone. Cut beef chuck in half; cut each half into 3- to 4-inch pieces.

2. Place beef chuck and short ribs into a soup pot and season with salt, black pepper, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves. Toss very thoroughly until the meat is evenly coated with the spices, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Cover and transfer into the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

4. Prep guajillo chilies by snipping stems with scissors; slice open and scrape or shake out the seeds onto a plate to discard.

5. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add dried guajillo chilies and toss in the hot oil, about 30 seconds. Add the 1 chopped onion, garlic, and ginger; toss to combine. Add tomatoes and water, raise heat to high, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 30 minutes.

6. Turn off heat and use an immersion blender to blend the mixture as smooth as possible, or transfer to a regular blender, working in batches as needed.

7. Remove the soup pot with meat from the refrigerator. Strain the reserved chili mixture into the pot using a large mesh strainer. Add bay leaves, honey, vinegar, and chicken broth.

8. Bring to boil over high heat, and then lower to medium-low. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the meat is falling-apart tender, 3-4 hours. Skim fat off of the top and reserve for future birria queso tacos.

9. Place some chunks of beef into a soup bowl and ladle some of the cooking liquid over top. Top with white onion and chopped cilantro and squeeze lime juice over top.

Notes: Another tasty recipe that John made. Plan for a lot of time to make this recipe. It seems that ours turned out much less liquidy than the source photos seems to show, but I don't remember feeling like it needed to have more liquid. The source has a note that water or broth can be added as needed to Keep the stew brothy as it simmers, but that it can also be allowed to reduce and thicken as it cooks. We shredded our meat. We also reserved the fat and made delicious tacos the next day by placing meat and cheese in a corn tortilla, folding it in half and frying it in the reserved fat. It was delicious!

Source: AllRecipes.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

 

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. uncooked rice

3 c. chicken broth

14-16 oz. smoked sausage, sliced

1/2 lb. chicken breast, diced

1-2 Tbsp. oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. creole seasoning

14 oz. can diced tomatoes (undrained)

 

Directions

1.Bring 3 cups chicken broth to boil in a medium sauce pan. Add rice. Reduce heat to low, place lid on pan, and gently simmer for about 20 minutes, until rice is done. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes before removing lid and fluffing rice with a fork.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil. Add sausage and chicken and cook until sausage is browned and chicken is no longer pink. Remove from skillet and set aside.

3. If needed, add more oil to the skillet. Put onion, garlic, red and green bell peppers, celery, and seasonings. Saute until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes and their liquid. Simmer for a couple minutes to heat through.

4. Once rice is finished cooking, add to skillet and stir until mixed in thoroughly with chicken, sausage, and vegetables. Ready to serve!

Notes: I was in the mood to try some jambalaya, so I went on the hunt for a good-looking recipe. We are not huge shrimp fans, so I opted for a combination of chicken and sausage. When looking for a recipe that called for both, what I found seemed a bit plain. So, I gathered ideas from several other recipes and made this up on the spot. It turned out really tasty! You could certainly make this with the traditional shrimp if you want. As I am posting this 5 months later, I think it's time to make it again.

Lemon Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
½ cup sugar (see notes below - I used less)
½ cup lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons curry powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, stir together paprika, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle seasoning over chicken pieces. Dip pieces in egg, then dredge in bread crumbs. Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer in an aluminum foil-lined 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, turning once.
4. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together sugar, lemon juice, and curry powder, stirring until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
5. Drizzle lemon sauce over chicken, return to oven, and bake 5 minutes more.

Notes: I had a 4-year old assisting me with this recipe and so mistakes were made. Also 1/2 cup of sugar seemed excessive, so I tried 2 tablespoons. With the smaller amount it wasn't too sweet, but I also didn't get the consistency of a glaze. So I was mostly "drizzling" a mix of lemon juice and curry powder and overdid it a bit: the tenders turned out very lemony. Still edible, but not something I'd want again without modifications. I'd maybe use slightly more sugar to get a glaze or just use less of the lower sugar mixture. Or maybe use something like honey instead of sugar?

Source: All Recipes

Xavier Soup

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups flour
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup butter

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

A grating of fresh nutmeg

2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

10 cups chicken stock (I did 8 cups)

Additional chopped parsley for garnishing

Directions:

1. Line a large baking sheet with well-buttered parchment paper. Fit a sturdy piping bag with a large round tip.
2. In a medium saucepan, over low heat, work the flour, cream, butter, and cheese into a soft dough.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and beat in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, eggs, yolks, and tablespoon of chopped parsley.
4. Spoon the dough into the piping bag and squeeze out 1-inch lengths onto the prepared pan. Use a butter knife to separate the dough from the tip once you’ve piped out shapes of the proper length.
5. Let stand for 30 minutes.
6. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In another, smaller saucepan, warm up the chicken stock.
7. Drop one third of the dumplings into the boiling water, and boil until they are tender and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the heated chicken stock.
8. Repeat process with the remaining dumplings.
9. Once all the dumpling are cooked and in the chicken stock, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with additional chopped parsley. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings

Notes: A few thoughts here. First, I only made this recipe because I wanted to make a recipe that started with the letter X, and this one seemed relatively easy. Second, it admittedly doesn't look all that appetizing. Aesthetically this soup is bland. Third: My oldest struggled with the texture of the dumplings. Fourth: I discovered (midway through cooking the dumplings) that after the dough sat for 30 minutes, it had set enough that it could be shaped by hand. Fifth: I loved this soup. The buttery, cheesy dumplings were delicious! This soup exceeded my expectations and after having it this first time it is right up there as one of my favorites.

Source: The Lass in the Apron

Mujadara

Ingredients

4 Tbsps olive oil

2 large onions, thinly sliced

Salt, to taste

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground allspice

Pinch ground cayenne pepper

Large pinch dried thyme, oregano, and/or rosemary

5 cups vegetable broth

1 cup green, brown, or red lentils

3/4 cup rice

1-2 Tbsp lemon juice

Pepper, to taste

Pinch red pepper flakes, for garnish

Chopped fresh herbs, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, then add onions. Add a pinch of salt and sauté until the onions turn golden brown, 15-45 minutes, stirring often so they don't burn. Transfer half of the onions to a plate, leaving remaining half in the skillet.
2. Add garlic to skillet and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add cumin, allspice, and cayenne and sauté a few seconds to toast the spices. Stir in herbs and broth, bring to a simmer, and add salt to taste.
3. Add in lentils, cover and simmer with lid cracked until lentils are almost done (25-30 minutes for green and brown lentils, 15-20 minutes for red). Stir rice into the pot and continue to cook until everything is tender, 15-20 minutes. Close lid completely if it looks too thick while cooking.
4. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Top with reserved onions and garnishes.

Notes: I've been interested in finding some good lentils recipes to add to the rotation, and this one was a keeper. My kids even liked it (except for the 6-year-old).

Source: clipped from Texas Co-op Power Magazine, January 2021 issue

Breakfast Burrito Fried Rice

Ingredients

8 oz. ground chorizo

2 eggs, beaten

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp. cumin

1 cup frozen corn kernels

3 cups cooked rice

1 cup salsa

Salt

Grated cheddar cheese

Shredded lettuce

Directions

1. Brown chorizo in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon. Drain all but 1 tablespoon grease.
2. Add eggs to hot grease in skillet and push around with wooden spoon until barely set. Remove from pan; set aside.
3. Return chorizo to skillet. Add onion and bell pepper; cook until onion is translucent, 5 minutes. Add cumin and corn; cook 1 minute. Add rice and salsa; cook, stirring constantly, until rice breaks up and is heated through, and chorizo reaches a safe internal temperature of 160°F. Stir in reserved scrambled eggs. Season to taste with salt. Top with cheese and lettuce. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Notes: I knew I would enjoy this recipe based on the ingredients. It was also a hit with the rest of the family. We will be having this one again.

Source: clipped from a Kroger magazine we received in the mail. 

Irish Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, diced
2 pounds lean ground lamb (we used ground beef)
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon paprika
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ketchup
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 ½ cups water, or as needed
1 (12 ounce) package frozen peas and carrots, thawed
2 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved
1 tablespoon butter
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
¼ cup cream cheese
¼ pound Irish cheese (such as Dubliner), shredded
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Place olive oil and butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in onion and ground lamb; brown the meat, breaking it up into small crumbles as it cooks, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in flour until incorporated, then mix in salt, black pepper, rosemary, paprika, cinnamon, ketchup, and garlic; cook and stir until garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Stir in water and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring mixture to a simmer; cook and stir until thick, about 5-6 minutes.
5. Remove lamb mixture from heat and stir in peas and carrots until combined.
6. Spread lamb mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
7. Place potatoes into a large pan of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and return potatoes to pan.
8. Mash butter, cayenne pepper, cream cheese, and Irish cheese into the potatoes. Mash until combined and potatoes are smooth. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
9. Whisk together egg yolk and milk in a small bowl; stir into the mashed potato mixture.
10. Top the lamb mixture in the baking dish with the mashed potatoes and spread evenly to cover.
11. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes.

Notes: Ground lamb is a bit fancy for us so we went with ground beef. Apparently that makes this recipe a Cottage Pie rather than a Shepherd's Pie. But I am posting the recipe as I found it. Maybe some day we'll be willing to pay the extra $ to see if ground lamb is worth it. We also couldn't find a frozen peas and carrots mix, so we used the mixed veggies we had that also included corn and beans. This was a tasty meal (my son loved it) but I didn't put in enough salt in step 3 so it smelled better than it tasted. A little bit of added salt helped but first impression was that it was lacking.

Source: allrecipes

Leche Asada (Baked Milk Custard)

Ingredients
6 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk
Garnish with ground cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Crack 6 eggs into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add sugar and milk and whisk to combine.
4. Pour through strainer (to remove larger egg residues) into individual ramekins or one 1 1/2 quart ramekin. 
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes in the small ramekins or for 1 hour in the large. (Setting them in a water bath will make them creamier).
6. Chill for about an hour.
7. Sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon (if desired) and serve.

Notes: This is a simple but tasty dessert. Brittany has done water baths for custards before but I had never actually made a custard before, so I learned something new making this. (This is how I did it: set ramekin into larger baking dish. Bring some water to a boil and pour into larger baking dish until it is approximately level with the custard in the ramekin.)

Source: Global Table Adventure

Sopa de Mani (Bolivian Peanut Soup)

Ingredients

Sopa de Mani:

olive oil (or peanut oil)
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 lb beef, cubed
1 quart beef stock 
4 medium potatoes (cut as big or as small as you like)
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts (slightly ground up or as small as you like - smaller will result in more peanut flavor)
1/4 cup white rice
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup milk
parsley, to taste
salt
pepper

Llajua (Bolivian Hot Sauce):

3 ripe tomatoes 
1 red locotos chili pepper (we used a jalapeño)
2 garlic cloves
3 basil leaves
2 Tsp cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Sopa de Mani:

1. Add oil to a large pot and heat over medium. Cook onion and garlic with oregano and cumin.
2. When onions are softened, add beef, stock, potato, and peanuts. Simmer gently until potatoes are just tender. I cooked this soup on super low for about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Add rice, milk and peas and serve after about 20 minutes.
4. Serve with Llajua.

Llajua:

1. Quarter the Chili pepper & the garlic.
2. Take out the seeds and stuff from the tomato. Tomato guts are too wet and acidic for this recipe. Remove seeds from chili pepper if you want to make it more mild.
3. Grab some cilantro and basil.
4. Put everything in a blender along with the olive oil and salt.
5. Puree and pour into little serving dishes.

Notes: I was too lazy to try to capture good photos of this recipe, and didn't get any of it after I added the hot sauce. I cubed my potatoes. I think if I make this again I either quarter the potatoes as the source did or I don't cook them quite as long. I enjoyed the tenderness of the beef but I think the potatoes were overdone. Also, my hot sauce didn't have much kick to it so next time I would go for a hotter pepper or leave the seeds in. Still, I like this better than the Argentine beef stew I tried from the Global Table Adventure blog. We've made several recipes from this blog, but this was the first time we also tried the recommended dessert: Leche Asada (Baked Milk Custard). 

Source: 

Sopa de Mani: Global Table Adventure

Llajua: Global Table Adventure

Tater Tot Taco Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen Mexican-style corn
1 (12 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (12 ounce) bag shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (16 ounce) package frozen tater tots
1 (12 fluid ounce) can enchilada sauce

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 375°F (190°C). Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until completely browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, taco seasoning mix, frozen Mexican-style corn, and black beans to the ground beef; cook and stir another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Combine the ground beef mixture in a large bowl with about 3/4 of the Mexican cheese blend and the tater tots; stir to combine.
4. Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish; lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tot layer.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining Mexican cheese over the casserole and return to oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 minutes more.

Notes: I really enjoyed this casserole and ate up nearly all the leftovers by myself over the next few days without complaint. A definite upgrade over our regular Tater Tot Casserole recipe in my opinion - though my kids probably like that one more. We couldn't find Mexican-style corn so just used plain frozen corn.

Source: allrecipes

Raspberry Swirl Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients
Raspberry Sauce:
1 to 1 1/2 cups of raspberries
1/2 to 3/4 sugar

Buttermilk Pancakes:
1 cup flour 
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 cup of buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

1. Combine the berries and the sugar in a medium sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, stirring often and simmer until thick (about 5 minutes).
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients. In another bowl whisk together the milk, egg, vanilla, and butter. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients. Lightly whisk until everything just combines (it will be a bit lumpy).
3. If needed lightly oil/butter your griddle. Heat to 350°F. 
4. Put the raspberry sauce into a pastry bag with a tip (or use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off).
5. Spoon batter onto the heated griddle. Pipe a swirl of raspberry into the middle of each pancake.
6. When the edges begin to cook and the top is bubbled flip and cook the other side until golden brown.
7. Serve with extra sauce, powdered sugar, or maple syrup.

Notes: The buttermilk pancake recipe we typically follow is found here. This is a fun variation, though really it tasted like a regular buttermilk pancake with raspberry sauce on top. The swirls are for presentation and variety I suppose.

Source: Well Floured