For the Love of Food

I thought I was done with my pre-Thanksgiving Day preparations when I posted about the Bacon Balsamic Turkey recipe a few weeks ago. I was planning on leaving out green bean casserole this year (until my brother requested it) because it’s just so gooey, heavy, and boring.

Then, I had a breakthrough. Continue Reading »

Well, maybe not to all noodles. But, definitely to lasagna noodles! From now on, I’m only making lasagna with tortillas!

This was just another one of my “crazy ideas”. Well, I guess not so crazy, but I sure was surprised how delectable it came out! I used some going-stale tortillas that I had in my fridge. Oh man, I’ve never had such fluffy, smooth, lusciously soft lasagna before – ever. And, it wasn’t runny – I hate runny lasagna!
For my sauce I used my homemade enchilada sauce and layered in some ground meat* and sour cream and topped it off with some Gouda. You can use any sauce recipe you want – just make sure you use tortillas instead of noodles. It doesn’t matter if they’re torn or crumbling apart. They will soak in the delicious sauce et voi là – lasagna!

*Leave out the meat, and make it vegetarian!

I really love making Tex-Mex layered salads. This is one of those dishes that I used to get so excited about as a child. I remember the first time I ever tasted one was at my friend Daren’s birthday party (I was somewhere between the age of 6-8). Man, his mom could make the yummiest party food! Sweet BBQ meatballs, chicken wings, hamburgers, oh and that layered salad that you had to ever-so-carefully scoop up with a tortilla chip.

Eventually, after enough pestering, my mom got the recipe and made it. If I remember correctly, she only made them for parties as well…because why would you want chips and dip for dinner?? And I just think – heck, I’d even have it for breakfast! Continue Reading »

This is my favorite summer time pizza. It’s so light and refreshing, but filling at the same time. It’s a take on Betty Crocker’s Pesto-Chicken Sandwiches. This recipe also has a Unexpectedly Caesar taste (tastes like Caesar salad, but does not have a traditional Caesar salad dressing)!

Ingredients:
1 Pizza Dough recipe
500 grams of chicken breast
salt
pepper
the hearts of 2 Boston Bibb Lettuce
1/3 Cup of Basil Pesto
2 Tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
12 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Directions:
the pizza dough recipe makes 2 pizza pies, but in this case instead of separating the dough into 2 balls, keep it as one large ball and roll it out to fit a large casserole dish. Oil the casserole dish with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then lay in the dough. With a fork, prick many little holes on the dough bottom so that it does not bubble while baking. Bake the dough for about 20 minutes at 200°C (400°F). Remove from the oven and let sit while the chicken cooks.
In another casserole dish, lay in the chicken breasts and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at the same temperature as the pizza dough for about 15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and once it has cooled enough to handle, cut into small cubes.
In a small pan heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the chicken breast cubes in it with the pesto until the chicken is well coasted int he pesto. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile, wash, shred, and dry the lettuce. Place the lettuce in the pizza dough and sprinkle on all the Parmesan cheese and toss to evenly spread the cheese. Top with the pesto chicken and it’s ready to serve!

Makes 6 servings for a light or small mean or 3 servings as an entire meal all rolled in one!

My mom and I came up with this recipe when she was visiting me. It came out so deliciously juicy and tasty; I was sad to see it disappear so quickly! My mom accidentally added Allspice thinking it was Pepper (Piment in German is close to the word Pimienta in Spanish which is Pepper). I don’t know if the Allspice really makes a difference – I couldn’t actually taste it, but it didn’t hurt!

Ingredients:
1kg ground Beef
4 slices of raw Bacon, chopped
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1/2 of a large Onion, diced
1/4 Cup Bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons of Tomato paste
a dash of Salt and Pepper
a dash of Allspice
a dash of Tone’s Garlic & Herb seasoning

Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients – except the bread crumbs – into the meat. Add the egg and then mix in the bread crumbs. For a “meat mountain” in a small casserole dish and bake at 200°C (400°F) for about 1 hour. Once done, remove the juices and thicken with a sauce thickener or flour to make gravy.

This is a delicious recipe that my mom gave me. She usually makes it for Easter brunch, but I find that it hits the spot any time of the year. I think she got the original recipe from Pillsbury.

Ingredients:
1 Pie Crust (see recipe here)
8 slices of Bacon
2 ½ Cups of shredded Swiss cheese (Emmentaler)
2 Tablespoons of Flour
4 Eggs
¾ Cup of Whipping Cream
¾ Cup of Half & Half (or half cream and half milk)
½ teaspoon of Salt
dash of Pepper
¼ Cup of chopped Onions
1 Cups of sliced Mushrooms

Directions:
Preheat oven to 177°C (350°F). Place pie crust in a 9” pie pan. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon and place on paper towels to drain. Once the bacon has cooled, crumble it. Sauté the onions until soft in the bacon drippings remaining in the pan, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the cheese and flour; mix well. In a large bowl, beat the eggs slightly. Add cream and half & half to the eggs. Continue by adding the onions, salt, pepper, mushrooms, bacon, and cheese mixture. Mix well. Spoon into crust-lined pie dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Ingredients:
2 Cups of uncooked Spiral Noodles
2 Cups of shredded Gouda cheese
1 Enchilada Sauce recipe (see below)
Lettuce, Tomato, Olives, Sour Cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F). Cook noodles according to package directions. In a large casserole dish, add noodles and enchilada sauce and mix. Add the cheese and mix in. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Serve and add any toppings you would add to a taco.

Serves 4-6

Enchilada Sauce (recipe from Donna Matthews on Recipezaar):
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Chili powder
3 tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
½ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Oregano
3 Cups Water
500 grams Tomato sauce

Directions:
Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl. Stirring constantly, slowly add enough of the water to make a thin paste. Pour into pan and add rest of water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 20 minutes (if you get impatient, add some sauce thickener). Stir in tomato sauce.

This was really simple to make..I always thought it would be more complicated. The rice didn’t come out as yellow as I had hoped, I may have accidentally used a packet of seasoning without azafran.

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
3/4 Cup diced Onion

1 Tablespoon of crushed Garlic cloves
1.5 Cups of uncooked Rice
3 Cups hot water
1 teaspoon of Chicken Bouillon
1 packet “Goya Sazón con Azafran”*
1 bay leaf
2 lbs. medium Shrimp
2 cups of frozen mixed Vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn, etc.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). In an ovenable skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Cook onion until soft. Stir in garlic and rice and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in water, bouillon, and “Goya Sazón con Azafran” and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Place in oven, uncovered, for 25 minutes, until all liquid id absorbed, and rice is tender. Discard bay leaf.

Serves 6-8

*you can replace this with about 1 teaspoon of salt and a few strands of safron.