Chili Con Carne

MM this was good. I severely burnt my mouth however because I was super excited and it was really really hot. So be careful. This is basically just chili... but with a little bit of mexican influence and on a whole other level.

Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic
2-3 medium carrots
2-3 stick of celery
2 red peppers
olive oil
1 heaped tsp chili powder
1 heaped tsp ground cumin
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
salt & pepper
1 can of chickpeas
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of tomatoes
1 lb ground beef
1 small bunch fresh coriander
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Serve with basmati rice, yogurt, guacamole & lime wedge

Directions:
1. Peel and chop onions, garlic, carrots and celery into very small pieces. The original instructions said "finely chop", but that seemed like a lot of work so I just cut them all very small. No need to be exact, just chop away.
2. Halve red peppers, remove seeds and stock. Roughly chop into bite site pieces.
3. Heat a pot (or deep dish pan) on medium-high heat. Add in about 1 tbs of olive oil and all the chopped veggies. Stir occasionally. When the vegetable begin to soften (5 or so minutes), add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, a good pinch of salt and pepper. Stir every 30 seconds or so for a few more minutes.
4. Once the vegetables have softened and gained a little bit of color, add the drained chickpeas, drained kidney beans and tomatoes and mix. (At this point I was ready to eat it because it looked and smelled delicious).
5. Add in the raw ground beef and break any larger chunks up with a wooden spoon. Mix around. Fill the empty can of tomatoes half full of water. Add to pot. Mix. Add finely chopped coriander stocks, and put leaves aside.
6. Add balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer with a lid slightly askew for an hour. Stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
7. Serve a top Basmati rice, with a dollop of plain greek yogurt, guacamole and coriander leaves.

Guacamole
Don't know how to make guacamole? SUPER easy. I find guacamole is different (but the same) almost anywhere you try it. It is almost always the same ingredients, but they change up the amount they use. Some places it super lime-y, some places it spicy, some places its garlicy. It is really all about taste. What you'll need:

ripe avocado
lime juice
salt & pepper
purple onion, chopped
hot sauce (Valentina, tabasco, sriracha - whatever you like... but preferably mexican) -
garlic powder (or real garlic chopped... but I was lazy)

Halve avocado, carefully remove the pit from one side. Scoop out the insides of both halves into a bowl. Begin to mush with a fork (or masher). If the avocado is ripe enough, a fork should be just fine. Add lime juice. Continue to mash or stir. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix. Tada!

As I mentioned, it is completely what you prefer which determines how much to put in. I like mine lime-y and garlic-y with a liiiiittle bit of a kick. Tonight I used 1/2 lime, 1/4 purple onion, 1/4 tsp Valentina hot sauce, 1/8th tsp garlic powder. Pinch of salt and pepper.

Tex-Mex Lasagna

I've only ever had a few "Italian" lasagna's that I really liked, but I was oddly in the mood to make one tonight. When I started to google recipes, I came across Rachael Ray's Mexican Lasagna and decided tonight would be Mexican night, not Italian.

This can legit be ready in 30 minutes and is very delicious.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons EEVO
2 lb ground chicken breast
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tbs chili powder (I mixed chipotle and regular)
2 tbs cumin (her recipe calls for 2 tsp... I did tbs by accident and I'm not mad about it)
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can beans (black beans, kidney beans, whatever you've got!)
1 cup medium or hot taco sauce
1 cup frozen corn kernels
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas, halved or quartered for easier placement (we used a mix of spinach flavour and tomato basil, because why not?)
2 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar

sour cream and green onions for topping

Preheat oven to 425. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the ground chicken. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the chicken is almost completely cooked. Add chili powder, cumin and red onion. Continue cooking for a minute or 2. Add taco sauce. Add beans and corn. Season with salt. Cook for another two minutes or until mixture is heated through (especially the beans and corn). 

Coat a shallow baking dish with the remain olive oil (approximately 1 tbs). Build lasagna in layers of meat mixture, cheese, tortilla and repeat. End with a layer of cheese on top of the last tortilla layer. Back for 12-15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. 

Sherry Chicken with Olives

This is an unbelievably easy and very delicious chicken (if you like olives that is... which I have not always). Can be ready in less than 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure this is another thing of my childhood that I didn't entirely appreciate when it was made at home, but I now crave it.

The recipe below is based on five chicken breasts as I was doing the whole pack, but in doesn't really need to be adjusted if you're doing less (unless you're only doing one) You'd just have more delicious sauce to chicken breast ratio.

Ingredients: 
5 chicken breasts
ground black pepper
~ 1/2 cup flour (this is for coating the chicken)
1-2 tbs olive oil
3/4 cup mixed green and Kalamata olives, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tbs fresh thyme, chopped
1 cup dry sherry wine

1. Sprinkle pepper on chicken. Lightly coat each chicken breast in flour. This can be done by filling a bowl with flour and one at a time dredging the chicken in the flour.
2. Heat a large pan on medium to high heat with 1-2 tbs of olive oil. When the pan is hot, sear the chicken browning it on all sides. You will probably need 3-5 minutes a side. The chicken should be mostly cooked. Remove chicken and set aside.
3. Reduce the heat of the stove to medium-low. In the same pan, add a little more olive oil (if there is none left), add in the olives, garlic and thyme. Mix around for about one to two minutes. Add the chicken back in and give it at least one flip so the chicken is slightly covered in the olives/garlic/thyme.
4. Add the sherry wine. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the sherry has reduced and has begun to become a little thicker (this is due to it mixing with the flour that was previously on the chicken). Flip the chicken at least once so that it becomes nicely coated in the sauce while it is cooking.

Double check the chicken is fully cooked through and you're done! If it is not after this time, just continue to cook it for a few more minutes in the sauce.

Mediterranean Baked Sweet Potato

This was pretty delicious. Definitely very different than anything I've made before. The chickpeas were on point. I would just snack on them by themselves.

The original recipe had this a vegan recipe, but feta is clearly a wonderful addition.

Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes
1 15oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each cumin, coriander, cinnamon, smoke paprika
optional: squeeze of lemon juice
1/4 cup hummus
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon dried dill
3 cloves of garlic, minced
unsweetened almond milk to thin
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup parsley, minced
2 tablespoon lemon juice
Feta for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking tray (or two depending on the size) with aluminium foil

Rince and scrub potatoes. Cut in half length wise and rub with olive oil. Place face down on the baking tray. Toss rinsed and drained chickpeas with olive oil, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika and a small squeeze of lemon juice. Put the chickpeas on the baking sheet as well (or on another one if you don't have the room). Bake for 20-25 minutes. Chickpeas will be nice a crispy and you should be able to poke the sweet potatoes easily with a fork.

While the sweet potatoes and chickpeas are roasting, make the garlic sauce. In a bowl mix hummus, lemon juice, dill, and garlic. Add enough almond milk to thin so you can pour it. In a separate bowl, mix chopped tomatoes, parsley and lemon juice.

Top sweet potatoes with garlic sauce, chickpeas, tomato-parsley garnish and feta.

Cucumber, Radish and Feta Salad

I've never been one for radishes. My mom can eat them like apples. Even after falling in love with this salad, I still don't think I could just take a bite out of one like she does, but it has certainly lifted some of my previous thoughts about radishes like "I hate radishes". I first had this salad at my friend Steph's house. She had made it for our dinner and I'll admit I was a little skeptical about the radishes in it, but everything else sounded good so I thought I might as well give it a shot. It was amazing.

I'm currently visiting my parents in Mexico and was raving about the salad when I saw radishes in the house, so I made it for dinner last night. A hit both with my radish-loving mom and my "not too sure about radishes" dad. He went back for seconds and even took some for lunch today! My mom things the key to this is the dressing, which I agree is delicious, but I also think it is how everything comes together. 

Ingredients:
1/2 large cucumber, thinly sliced
4-5 radishes, thinly sliced
1 lemon, zest and juice
1/2 cup of feta
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs finely chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
1/2 tsp sugar
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper
1/4 cup plus 1 tbs olive oil

Put sliced cucumber, radishes, feta and lemon zest into your serving bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice, white wine vinegar, dill, sugar and garlic. (Original recipe says to crush garlic with the back of the knife (while leaving it relatively in tact) and removing it from the dressing before serving. I love garlic and Steph didn't answer my text fast enough so I chopped up the garlic and left it in.) Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is well mixed.

It could have been the timing when Steph made it for me, but the dressing and salad were made ahead of the rest of our meal and we put the salad (without dressing) covered back into the fridge until we were ready to eat. I did the same when I made this last night. Just before we were ready to sit down, I removed the salad from the fridge, added some more fresh dill on top and then the dressing.

The amount of cucumber/radish listed above fed about 3-4 people. I had extra dressing, which I covered up and refrigerated and then used again today with the second half of the cucumber and more radishes. 

Original recipe from Martha Stewart.

Indian Chicken Curry

Two years ago I posted an Indian Chicken Curry recipe, but my blogging back then was quite sloppy. This curry I just made, while similar to the one from two years ago, smells and taste phenomenal so I thought I would do a new post.

Ingredients:
1-2 tsp vegetable oil
half a large white onion, diced
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 clove of garlic
3-4 tbs of Pataks Curry Paste (can add more to taste after)
1/2-1 fresh tomato, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and cut up into rounds
2 small stocks of broccoli, cut into florets
10-15 mini red potatoes (depends on how mini they are!), cut into 1/2 or 1/4
1/2-3/4 can crushed tomatoes
3-4 tbs coconut milk (can add more to taste after)
1/2 cup chicken broth (optional if it seems too thick)
hand full chopped cilantro


In a large pan/pot... okay I used a wok, put in vegetable oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Add diced onions. Cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add chicken (raw). Stir occasionally until chicken begins to brown. Add crushed garlic. Cook for a minute. Add Pataks Curry Paste. Stir and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Add diced tomato, carrot, broccoli and potatoes. Stir around covering everything in the curry paste. Add crushed tomatoes (making sure it covers most if not all of everything in the pot). Add coconut milk and stir. If it seems too thick or not enough sauce, add chicken broth. Add handful of chopped cilantro and stir. Cover and cook for 25-35 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Now taste it and add salt, pepper or spice if desired. I used a little cayenne pepper to add some spice.

Serve with rice! Yum yum yum. The above serves 4 people (or two people plus lunches!!).

Black Bean and Quinoa Enchilada Bake

Oh boy, this was delicious.  Besides the two cups of cheese this is relatively good for you. It will be a new addition to my mexican meal rotation! 

Ingredients (serves 5-6 people)
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water (or chicken stock, or a combination of the two)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed,diced
1 red pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 orange pepper, seeds removed, diced
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (approximately 1 and 1/2 cups) red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese (mexican cheese or cheddar mozzarella combo)
1 yellow pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 cup corn frozen kernels

Topped with avocado slices, chopped tomato and fresh cilantro! 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray (or a little vegetable oil) and set aside.

2. Add quinoa and water/stock to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over.  Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15-25 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Cover quinoa and set aside.

3. In a large skillet, heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in the peppers and corn. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add the lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and cilantro. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

4. In a large bowl, add the cooked quinoa and black beans. Add the sautéed vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Pour in the enchilada sauce and stir. Add 1 cup shredded cheese.

At this point I just wanted to eat it.... but I decided I'd continue to follow the recipe and let it bake. 

5.Pour the black bean and quinoa mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Cover the pan with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil. Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and edges are bubbling. I even tossed it under the broiler for a few minutes. Remove from the oven, and let cool for 10 minutes. Garnish with toppings, if desired. Serve warm.