May 6, 2009
Who’s in da damn house? BigSis and LilSis are in da damn house, dat’s who! We have the awesome opportunity to guest blog over at our friends’ house today, so come over and check us out at Where’s My Damn Answer! See you back here tomorrow!
~LilSisMay 5, 2009
With all of this eating, we don’t really need a dessert but we wanted one to finish out the meal, so it needed to be light and easy. How about Mexican Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats! To call these Mexican Chocolate is a BIT of a stretch, but it comes from the addition of cinnamon to the chocolate treats. Whatever you call them, they’re muy bueno! I’m not usually a huge fan of Rice Krispie Treats, but I have to say the chocolate/cinnamon/vanilla aroma from these enticed me and I tried one. They were so darn good! Make these!
This is all you need! Oops, I forgot to show the chocolate chips!
Mexican Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats
(adapted from Cooks.com)
1/4 cup butter
Dash of salt
1 10-oz pkg regular marshmallows
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp Mexican vanilla
5 1/2 cups Cocoa Krispies cereal
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Butter a 9 x 13 pan, or line with non-stick foil.
Melt butter in a large pan over low heat. Add marshmallows, and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in a dash of salt, the cinnamon and vanilla. Add cereal and pecans. Stir well and quickly.
Firmly press mixture into prepared pan. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the surface. Cool and cut into squares.
Delicioso!
~BigSisMay 5, 2009
My Classic Tortilla Soup
I’m calling this recipe Classic Tortilla Soup, but I probably should have come up with something more original. I’ve been testing, tweaking, tasting, changing, experimenting, adapting this recipe for many years. I was originally trying to duplicate the awesome Tortilla Soup from Mi Cocina in Dallas.
When I go back home to Texas for a visit, one of my very favorite places to stop in and have Mexican food is Anamia’s in Southlake. They have an excellent Taco Salad and a perfect Tortilla Soup. I love their soup and haven’t yet been able to duplicate it exactly, but I’m happy with my version of Classic Tortilla Soup.
Tortilla Soup is a little like pizza, spaghetti sauce, or chili because you know exactly how you like it. If you’re from Chicago, like SirHoney, you’re very particular about your pizza and spaghetti, and, of course the Italian sausage. For cryin’ out loud, there is no Italian Sausage that they think comes close to what they get in Chicago. And, if you’re from Texas, like we are, you’re probably pretty picky about your chili. I’ve shared my prize winning recipe for chili here.
So, I make my Tortilla Soup the same way that I make my Chili. I make it EXACTLY the way I like it. Before I get to the recipe, here are a few things that I LOVE about Tortilla Soup and a few things that I DO NOT like in Tortilla Soup.
Now that is a perfect bite!
Classic Tortilla Soup
1 1/2 T. Olive Oil
1 large sweet onion, cut into large slices
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 c. carrots, cut into medium size pieces
8 c. low sodium chicken broth
1 large orange bell pepper, cut into large slices
1 c. frozen corn kernels
28 oz. can stewed tomatoes
6 chicken breasts, cooked, and shredded or diced (I like shredded)
2 or 3 T. Emeril’s Seasoning (see recipe below)
10 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 tsp. chili powder
salt
Toppings:
cilantro
grated co-jack cheese
chopped avocado
Saute onion, garlic, and carrots in olive oil until onion and carrots soften a little. Pour broth into pot, bring to simmer over medium heat. Add corn, stewed tomatoes and bell pepper. Simmer until pepper starts to soften. Add chicken and Emeril’s Seasoning. Keep soup on low simmer until ready to serve.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread just a little olive oil on a baking sheet. Arrange tortilla strips on baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little chili powder and salt. Bake until crisp and golden (15 -20 minutes). Toss halfway through baking.
Ladle soup into a nice large bowl, top with cheese, avocado, cilantro, and tortilla strips. Perfecto!
Emeril’s Seasoning
2 1/2 T. Paprika
2 T. Salt
2 T. Garlic Powder
1 T. Black Pepper
1 T. Onion Powder
1 T. Cayenne Pepper
1 T. dried Oregano
1 T. dried Thyme
Mix all ingredients together in a small container and you’ve got BAM!
And not to worry! We didn’t forget about the dessert. To finish off our Cinco de Mayo Menu, BigSis has a festive Mexican Chocolate Rice Krispie Treat recipe. So, be sure to check back here later today!
Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
~LilSisMay 4, 2009
Bobby Flay’s Goat Cheese Enchiladas are on my Cooking Bucket List, and I thought about making them for Cinco de Mayo but didn’t really want to go the high-fat route right now, since I ate more than usual on vacation and I’m trying to get back to my more disciplined way of eating. So I compromised. I made my version of Bobby’s enchilada sauce, but instead of cheese enchiladas, I made spinach mushroom enchiladas with whole grain tortillas. They aren’t totally guilt-free since I’m still using a moderate amount of cheese (what would enchiladas BE without cheese?), but it’s all about balance, right? If you want to go totally vegan and healthy, use agave nectar instead of the honey and eliminate the cheese altogether or use a non-dairy cheese. If you have a non-dairy cheese that you love, please let me know about it!
I made the sauce a day in advance, and would recommend that since it takes a little while. Plus, the flavor has a chance to develop overnight, and just makes it even better. This sauce takes some doing, but I think it’s worth it. It’s really delicious and has great depth to it. Make sure that you use the Mexican oregano, not the usual Turkish oregano that you might have for Italian cooking. The Mexican variety is not as sweet, and works great with the smoky cumin. You can get a small jar of it at Penzeys for $1.49, so try to find it if you can. You might be able to get it at the Latin foods market, which is where I found my dried ancho chiles.
Ingredients for the sauce
Enchilada Sauce
(adapted from Bobby Flay’s Red Chile-Tomato Sauce)
3 ancho chiles
3 Tblsp vegetable oil
1/2 large red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tblsp ground cumin
1 Tblsp Mexican oregano
1 28-oz can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
4 cups vegetable stock
1 to 2 Tblsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste
Microwave 2 cups of water to boiling point, and carefully pour over ancho chiles in small bowl. Let soften for 30 minutes. Remove stems and seeds from chiles and puree in food processor or blender.
In a large saucepan or dutch oven, saute the onion in vegetable oil over medium heat until soft. Add crushed garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add cumin and oregano and cook for 1 minute. Add ancho puree and cook for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and honey to taste. Leave chunky or use an immersion blender for a smoother consistency. This recipe makes a large quantity, so you may want to freeze what you don’t use in this batch of enchiladas. Just don’t let it go to waste!
The whole steaming pan
Spinach Mushroom Enchiladas
1 Tblsp butter
1/2 large red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1-1/2 lb mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped
8 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach
Salt, pepper and Frank’s Red Hot sauce to taste
1-1/2 cups shredded cheese of your choice (I used a mixture of monterrey jack and mexican blend cheeses)
8 multi-grain tortillas
2 cups Enchilada Sauce
Cotija cheese for garnish, optional
Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook until they are soft and liquid has evaporated. Add the spinach and cook until spinach is wilted and liquid has evaporated again. Add salt, pepper and Frank’s Red Hot to taste. Mix in one cup of the shredded cheese.
Place 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for a few seconds until softened enough to roll. Place a generous 1/4 cup of the spinach mushroom filling into the center of a tortilla and roll up. Place in the pan, and repeat until all tortillas are filled, snuggling them in tightly. Cover with remaining 1-1/2 cups of enchilada sauce, and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly throughout and cheese is melted, about 30-35 minutes. Serve with a sprinkle of cotija cheese if desired.
One tasty serving
~BigSisMay 3, 2009
BigSis and I had hoped that BigT could make his Jalapeno Poppers for our Cinco de Mayo appetizer. He would have loved to make these for us, but he moved out of our hacienda on May 1st (again; fingers crossed) so he was very busy getting situated this weekend.
Recently, BigT and I went to one of our favorite Mexican Food dives for lunch. I ordered my favorite ground beef crispy quesadilla. It’s really more like a humongous nacho because all the amazing cheese and meat are on top of one crispy tortilla and broiled until bubbly and golden brown. (I obviously wasn’t being too disciplined.)
But BigT was being very disciplined, so he ordered the ceviche. I NEVER would have ordered ceviche from that particular restaurant, but I tried a few bites of his and it was really good. In their particular recipe, they used a white fish. We’re going to use Ahi tuna for ours.
I have made a gazillion appetizers over the years but I have to admit, I was always a little afraid of ceviche. Luckily, since living here in CA, we’ve ventured outside our little box. We’ve actually been eating Sashimi Tartare and Carpaccio!
This ceviche recipe is a pretty traditional version, except that the fish in Mexico would likely be mackerel or kingfish, it would typically be marinated long enough to cook through and it would be served in a glass bowl or on a tostada. I really like serving this on the bed of butter lettuce.
Ceviche Salad with Avocado, Cilantro and Green Chile
(adapted from Rick Bayless Mexican Everyday)
1 cup fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro
Fresh green chiles to taste, stemmed and roughly chopped
(I only used one Serrano and roasted it before peeling and chopping)
Salt, to taste
1 1/4 pound sashimi-grade boneless, skinless fish (I used Ahi)
1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 diced tomato
1 large head butter lettuce
In a blender or food processor, combine the lime juice, garlic, cilantro, chiles and 1 tsp salt. Process until smooth.
Put the diced fish into a large bowl. Pour the lime marinade over it and let it “cook” in the lime juice to suit your own taste: you can eat it right away (Peruvian-style) if you like raw fish, or let it “cook” for an hour or two if you like it more well-done. It takes about four hours to “cook” fish well-done in lime juice; if that is your desire, add the cilantro, chopped, just before serving to preserve its fresh color.
Pour off half the marinating liquid and set aside. Toss the avocado and the tomato with the fish, then taste and season with additional salt if you think necessary.
Divide the lettuce among four dinner plates. Scoop a portion of the ceviche into the center of each arrangement. Sprinkle with a little chopped cilantro, drizzle some of the reserved lime marinade over the salad and you’re ready to serve.
I marinated mine for exactly two hours and the fish was perfect! If you really do not like the idea of semi-rare fish, marinate for the full four hours OR you can substitute 1 pound of cooked shrimp. In that case, you would only marinate the shrimp for a few minutes to soak up the flavors.
If you’ve never made ceviche, maybe this has inspired you to give it a try this Cinco de Mayo!
~LilSisMay 3, 2009
You can’t have a Cinco de Mayo meal without guacamole, or any mexican meal, for that matter. LilSis and I make our guacamole pretty much the same way, and it’s super simple. We don’t like onion in our guac since it dominates the flavor, and we don’t like tomato since it gets yukky and watery if there’s any left over. We do like lots of lemon and garlic! The extra lemon will help keep the guac from getting too brown, besides giving it a great bright flavor Here’s how we do it.
Ole!
Super Simple Guacamole
3 avocados
Juice of 1 to 1-1/2 lemons (at least 4 tablespoons of juice)
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp shallot pepper (or plain pepper if that’s what you have)
1/2 tsp minced dried garlic or garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
Mash avocados with all other ingredients. Adjust seasonings to your taste. Refrigerate any leftovers, with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the guacamole to keep air out and reduce browning. Enjoy!
~BigSisMay 3, 2009
Hola! Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner, so oh darn, LilSis and I have an excuse to make Mexican food. Our favorite! With one sister in California and one in Texas, you KNOW we love our Mexican food! The swine flu has postponed or cancelled the Cinco de Mayo festivities here in Texas, so it’s a good thing that we have our own throwdown fiesta planned!
Here’s our menu for this year:
We’re busy in our cocinas, so check back later for our first recipe. Ole!
~BigSisMay 2, 2009
May 1st was going to be Day One in my 30 Day Shred.
Yes, I was mentally prepared to jump on the Jillian bandwagon and start shredding some pounds. I was so ready to kick it up a notch! Notice, I said ‘was.’
Instead of kicking it up a notch, it seems I have to take it down to first gear! Yesterday, I was informed that I have a stress fracture and I got this lovely thing put on my foot.
Very fashionable, wouldn’t you say?
How does that saying go?
The best laid plans, blabbedy, blabbedy, blah…
I’m really, really bummed! But, the good news is that I went to the podiatrist early enough before the stress fracture got worse. The Dr. informed me that if I had waited, I would have ended up in a big boot or cast for 6 to 8 weeks. So, I guess I should be grateful that it’s only for two weeks.
Oh, I almost forgot…The icing on the cake is that when I see him next week, he wants to go over the x-rays and discuss bunion removal surgery for sometime in the near future! LOL!
~LilSisMay 1, 2009
LilSis Disclaimer: This is a first here; but I would like to make it known that I am not responsible nor did I contribute in any way to this post. (I think BigSis is trying to get back at me because she thought the YouTube video was crude that I posted once with the 80s workout queen farting throughout her entire workout.) I have a weak stomach and never would have been able to take these photos. So, with that said, continue reading this post at your own risk…
You read that right. I didn’t say “Hammer Time”. I said “Hairball Time”. If you have cats you know exactly what I mean. The weather is warming up and that means only one thing…shedding and lots of it! And shedding means hairballs, no matter how much I brush these guys. This time of the year, it’s commonplace for me to come home from work and find a little “present” on the carpet waiting for me.
When this happens, I could start looking for a company offering carpet cleaning services near me. Sometimes, if the stain is particularly large or dark, this is the best course of action. But if it is only small, or light in colour, I can usually deal with it myself. That being said, occasional visits from a carpet cleaning company will do your carpets the world of good.
Even though my carpet is new and light in color, I don’t freak out. If I’m gifted with hairball barf, I let it sit and get dry and crunchy. Sorry to be graphic, but that’s the best way to clean it up in my experience, and if there’s one thing I have massive experience with, it’s the gross things that come out of cats!! I’ve seen two very elderly cats through kidney failure to the end, so there isn’t much that turns my stomach when it comes to cats. I’ve learned to breathe through my mouth and to go to the happy place in my head. Nuff said. 😉
I talked before about how to clear up cat urine odor and also my magic potion for barfage and poopage. I really wanted to share some before and after photos from this week’s Hairball Fest, just so you could see that my potion works and there is hope for your carpet if you’re in the mist of Hairball Time!
But when LilSis heard I was doing this post, she said: “NO!! SAY IT AINT SO!!” She isn’t down with this topic, so out of respect for her and her sensitive stomach, let me add a warning. If you’re easily offended or grossed out, or if you’ve never experienced the joys of these little kitty issues, then come back to BigSisLilSis tomorrow. If you’re brave and want to see the evidence, read on, friends!
So these are my darling furkids:
Gaby Baby
Ashy Poo
And these are the presents they left me recently:
From Gaby...actually a hairball and not poop
And from Ashy
After the evidence had dried and was removed, here was the damage left on the carpet:
Gaby's stain...
And Ashy's stain
Now, after applying my magic potion just once, here are the results! And with no chemicals!
Gaby's mess all gone...
and Ashy's mess all clean!
Voila! Sorry LilSis, but if this post could help just one person, it was all worth it! 😉
~BigSisApril 30, 2009
One of my favorite spots for Sunday Brunch used to be Charlie’s by the Sea. It was one of the most beautiful spots right on the sandy beach in Cardiff. We used to go there quite often. We would let HayHay surf right out in front where we could watch him while we leisurely enjoyed our brunch on the patio. And, we always took our out of town guests there. Unfortunately, they closed their doors last year. I haven’t found another spot like it since.
One of my favorite things to order from their Brunch menu was their Garden Omelet. I was really craving one this past Sunday, so I decided to make one for myself. Since the guys were golfing, I actually got to make something for just me, myself, and I!
I must admit that it turned out pretty darn good. It was very similar to the one that they used to serve at Charlie’s by the Sea, except I think I used more veggies!
Since I used three eggs, I cut the omelet in half and hid the other half in the fridge for my breakfast the next day. (At my house, if you want to guarantee that your leftovers are still around the next day, you have to hide them.)
Here’s what the yummy inside looked like as I dug into it.
The quantities of the ingredients in this omelet are approximate. You could add more or less of any of these ingredients or substitute any one of them for your own favorite veggie! (That’s why I’m better at cooking than I am at baking. I really do NOT enjoy having to measure every ingredient and I have no clue when you can and can’t substitute in baking.)
Garden Omelet
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 c. asparagus, cut into pieces
1/2 c. baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. fresh spinach, torn into pieces
1/4 c. petite diced tomatoes
3 large eggs, beaten (I put a dash of Frank’s Red Hot in the eggs)
1/4 c. shredded cheese (I used Sargentos 4 Cheese Mexican)
salt and pepper, to taste
a few snips of chives
Frank’s Red Hot, to taste
I start off my omelet like a frittata because I like my veggies all mixed into the eggs, not just tucked inside the omelet. Begin by sauteing the asparagus tips and the mushrooms in the olive oil for about 5 minutes or until the asparagus softens a little. Then toss in the spinach until it wilts. Next, add the tomatoes and stir just until blended in with other veggies. Now, pour the eggs over all the veggies. Cook until the egg sets well enough to flip the omelet. Once flipped, I sprinkle on the cheese and fold over. Sometimes, I might flip it again, if I want to brown both sides a little. Slide onto a plate, add a dash of salt, pepper, a few snips of chives and top off with some Frank’s Red Hot, to taste.
I hope you enjoy this omelet recipe or your own version of it. I change mine up almost every time I make one. I think I enjoy making them so much because they are quick, easy, and can be pretty healthy as long as you don’t load them up with massive quantities of bacon and cheese. (which I also love, by the way.)
I’m also entering this recipe in the BlOg yOur Omelete event.
You can read more about this fun blog event here on Spanish Recipes. Nuria from Spanish Recipes will be accepting omelet recipes until May 15th so it’s not too late to get your recipe entered! The full roundup will be published on May 18th.
~LilSis
