Southwest Taco Salad with Creamy Guacamole Dressing

Southwest Taco Salad with Creamy Guacamole Dressing

Ahhh, where oh where did the summer go? School starts this week in my neck of the woods and temperatures have gone from sizzling hot to almost frosty. But that shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying this zesty and crunchy salad filled with summer bounty topped with a smooth avocado dressing.

We’ve just returned this weekend from nine glorious days camping and fishing at the beautiful Oregon coast. What a wonderful way to end the summer!

Southwest Taco Salad with Creamy Guacamole Dressing
Adapted from Southwest Salad with Creamy Avocado Salsa Dressing at Carlsbad Cravings

Creamy Guacamole Dressing

1 small avocado, peeled and roughly diced
1 small jalapeño, seeded, deveined, and roughly chopped
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 salsa, homemade or store-bought (I used my Hatch chile salsa)
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Southwest Taco Salad

Grilled chicken breast, sliced (or deli rotisserie)
Corn kernels from 1 ear of sweet white corn
Chopped/shredded lettuce of choice
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup roasted pepitas
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese
Creamy Guacamole Dressing
Tortilla chips, for serving

Creamy Guacamole Dressing

Add all of the Creamy Guacamole Dressing ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. You will have to scrape down the sides a few times. Add additional milk, if needed, to thin to desired consistency. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Next, grill the chicken breast, if it isn’t already cooked.

Grilled Chicken

Remove the kernels from the ear of corn, using a Bundt-pan to catch the kernels, if you have one. (That’s a pretty cool tip I picked up from Pinterest.)

Cutting the Corn off the Cob

Add all the salad ingredients except dressing and chips to a large bowl. Toss to combine.

Southwest Taco Salad Ingredients

Add tossed salad to individual bowls, then top with guacamole dressing and serve with tortilla chips.

Download and Print this  Yummy Recipe!

 

 

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Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Chicken Enchilada Skillet

I’ve been keen on making one-pot meals these days. I had a hankering for enchiladas, but I sure mess up a lot of dishes in that process. I’ve done the enchilada casserole before, which does use a few less dishes, but that is still too many when you just want to throw everything into ONE dish and cook it. Yes, a slow cooker works like that, but it was 6 pm and no time for that. A few interwebz searches yielded the brainchild for the following recipe. I’ve decided to call it Chicken Enchilada Skillet, because that is exactly what it is. And you could make it with ground burger, steak, or pork too! A cheesy, filling dish that tastes like enchiladas, but made in only a skillet! Win-win.

Chicken Enchilada Skillet

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (white or dark)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 10-ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles (off-brands are now available)
1 10-ounce can red enchilada sauce (freeze the rest if larger)
1 cup frozen corn
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed.
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2.25 ounce can sliced black olives
Cilantro, diced green onions, for garnish
Sour cream and warmed tortillas, for serving

Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces, then season with the pepper, cumin, and chile powder.

Seasoned Chicken and Onions

Add the oil to a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken and onion until browned, about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Browning the Chicken and Onions

Add the rice to the skillet and cook about 3 to 4 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sauteing the Rice with Chicken

Next add the chicken broth, canned tomatoes with green chiles, enchilada sauce, and corn. Heat up to a low boil, then turn down to a simmer.

Simmering the Enchilada Mixture

Cover the skillet and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until the rice is cooked through and absorbed most of the liquid.

Enchilada Skillet Ready for Garnishes

Remove from the heat, then add the black beans. Top with the grated cheese and black olives. Put under a broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is melted. Garnish with the green onions and cilantro, and serve with sour cream and tortillas.

Chicken Enchilada Skillet

You can add the mixture to a tortilla and roll into a burrito, or just use it to dip into the enchilada skillet surprise!

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Corned Beef Fritters

Corned Beef Fritters Appetizer

You must be thinking anotherfoodieblogger has lost her mind. Corned Beef Fritters??? Please let me explain. I am taking part in an online competition called “Diced!” at this blog here: Rantings of an Amateur Chef. You are given three specific ingredients that must be featured in the recipe, and for the first round it had to be an appetizer, soup or salad. The ingredients were corned beef, canned corn, and corn flakes cereal.

I couldn’t make up my mind between two concoctions for the contest, so decided to make both of them and send in the one that I liked best. This is the one that didn’t make the cut. Now wait a minute there! It is not bad tasting or anything, but I liked the other one better, and truth be told, my daughter said she liked this one better. However she just ate hers plain, and mine had sauerkraut and mustard with it. I thought the sauteing the sauerkraut mixed with the red cabbage would add a nice bit of color to the presentation, but it really did overpower the taste of the corned beef fritters, which was the main ingredient. By the way, I bought deli-sliced corned beef, but you could also use leftover corned beef if you have cooked some yourself.  I also think I could have added more corned beef. Since I still had another recipe to make, I didn’t bother trying to make them again with the changes.

Corned Beef Fritters Ingredients

If adding corned beef to fritters freaks you out, simply omit it and then you’ll have your basic Texas-style fritters! You might want to add a little salt or other seasoning, too, as the corned beef adds the salty flavoring.

When my other recipe is featured on the competition blog, I’ll share the post here with you. And then I want you to go over there and vote for it! Stay tuned — the competition deadline is November 28, so it will likely be early December before you see it.

Corned Beef Fritters Ingredients

Corned Beef Fritters

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup crushed corn flakes
1 teaspoon baking powder
Ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup canned yellow corn
1/4 cup corned beef, minced in a food processor
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1 small egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Corned Beef Fritters

Add the dry ingredients to a bowl, and mix well. Then add the rest of the ingredients except the oil and stir to combine well. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Measure out 1/4 cup of the mixture then dump upside down into the hot oil. Repeat until gone. I ended up with three. I had added a fourth smaller one to the pan, but I tried to flip that one over too soon and it made a mess, so I scooped it out and just finished cooking the three. Fry the fritters for several minutes until browned on the bottom and fairly set. Flip over, then cook for several minutes more until browned and cooked through. Turn down the heat if necessary. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Serve with a sauce of your choice.

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Creamy Fish Chowder with Corn and Potatoes

Creamy Fish Chowder with Corn and Potatoes

My husband made this delightful (and decadent) creamy fish chowder over the weekend from some of the sea bass we caught off the central coast of Oregon a few weeks ago. He accomplished this after helping me can all those tomatoes I wrote about last post. Super Dad!  I played a minor role in the making of this, helping with a few measurements and prepping the potatoes, but I mainly taste-tested it along the way and of course ate a heaping bowl of it for dinner. Now we have several bags of it frozen for future quick and easy meals.

p.s. The tripod holder insert-thingy on the bottom of my camera broke just as I was setting up to take photos. Because I did not have my thinking cap on, I ended up using a flash for some of the shots, instead of rubberbanding it to the tripod or some other method of securing it (DOH!). Time for a new camera? Yes, I think so.

Fish Chowder Ingredients

Creamy Fish Chowder with Corn and Potatoes

4 sea bass filets, or other white fish (about 1 pound)
Milk for soaking the fish
6 strips of bacon (optional)
1/3 cup real butter
1 cup onion, diced
1/3 cup flour
8 cups lowfat milk
4 medium potatoes, peeled and 1/2-inch diced
1 cup sweet white corn (fresh or frozen)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Paprika, to taste
Mrs. Dash Table Blend, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Soak the fish in a bowl of milk mixed half and half with water for at least an hour, or longer in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, cook up a mess of bacon. My husband cooked an entire pound and the leftovers were used for garnish and a BLT for his lunch the next day.  He said he was tempted to use some of the bacon drippings to prepare the roux, but decided his heart would thank him for not doing that. Besides, adding the bacon to the soup gave it plenty of flavor.

Big Pot of Fish Chowder

In a large soup pot, melt the butter and cook the onions until just starting to soften. Add the flour, whisking until a paste forms. Very slowly add about half the milk, whisking constantly. Bring up to a simmer until it starts to thicken, then add the rest of the milk, the potatoes, corn, and seasonings. Also add the bacon, which should be chopped at this point.

Bring the soup back up to a low simmer. You need to monitor the heat and stir often, as the milk could scald and stick to the bottom of the pot if you’re not careful.  After about 15 minutes of simmering, cut the fish into bite size pieces and add to the pot, once again bringing up to a simmer until the potatoes and fish are done. Ladle into bowls and garnish with additional chopped bacon. I cheated and ate my garnish first instead.

Creamy Fish Chowder with Corn and Potatoes

Cilantro Lime Rice and Roasted Corn (with Plank-Grilled Salmon)

Cilantro Lime Rice, Roasted Corn, and Grilled Salmon

Here’s a quick dinner idea that is not only a snap to prepare, but is full of flavor and good for you too! We planked-grilled half of the last salmon fillet we had left in our freezer last night, and the hubs plans on making smoked salmon with the other half today. That will be an awesome Mother’s Day appetizer later on today!

The entire dinner came together in a half hour, not including the soaking time for the wood plank. You can find the recipe for the salmon here: Plank-Grilled Salmon. If you don’t have a plank of wood or grill, you can cook the salmon in the oven instead.

These recipes feed two, but feel free to double or triple as needed.

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup homemade or low sodium chicken broth
Juice of 1 lime wedge
Dash of garlic powder
1/2 cup rice
Handful of chopped cilantro
Juice of 2 lime wedges

Cook the rice in the chicken broth, the squeeze of lime wedge and garlic powder. When done, stir in the chopped cilantro and the other lime juice. That’s it! This packs a lot of flavor and wish I made more.

Prepping the Cilantro for Rice

Roasted Corn

1 cup frozen or fresh corn niblets
Spray olive oil
Black pepper, to taste
Butter, to taste

Spray a baking sheet with oil, spread the corn in one layer, spray the corn lightly with oil, grind a bunch of black pepper over it, and broil in oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and add a small amount of butter, to taste. I can’t wait until it’s fresh corn season! I had to use frozen but it still came out yummy.

Last, a great big shout out to all the mothers out there for Mother’s Day, whether you are a mother of children, fur-kids, or nature.  XO

Roasted Corn, Cilantro Lime Rice, and Grilled Salmon

Creamy Poblano Tortilla Soup with Chicken and Hominy

Creamy Poblano Tortilla Soup with Chicken and Hominy

Well I preempted a post about my husband’s amazing spicy beans and rice dish for this crazy good soup I made. As you may already know, I’m on a soup kick lately, which I do in spurts. This soup has such amazing textures and flavors that I felt compelled to share it next instead. Somehow I ended up finding a creamy Poblano soup recipe while surfing the net well over a week ago for who knows what, I don’t even remember now. So on my next grocery trip, I bought a Poblano (also known as a Pasilla) pepper for it, then threw in a Serrano pepper into the bag for good measure that day. Then the week dragged on, we ate a variety of meals, then I discovered the peppers hidden under the lettuce in the veggie drawer almost a week later. GASP! I was so worried they were expired. But the foodie spirits were with me and they were still nice and crisp and fresh and ready to use. I had to go back in my browser history to find the dang recipe, as all the keywords I used in my search to find it again didn’t bring it up. Whew, I found it! The recipe came from a defunct restaurant on a website that hasn’t been updated in several years, but I ended up finding several variations of the recipe on other sites. So now I present you my take on this.

What makes this soup so interesting is the method to achieve the creaminess. You grind up corn tortillas in a food processor or blender with some spices and flour, then use that to make a roux. This roux then makes the creamy base for the soup along with chicken broth, with a tad of sour cream thrown in at the end. So you get an incredibly creamy soup but with the corn tortilla taste instead of the blander all-flour taste. One of the recipes called for adding corn “cobettes,” but I added yellow hominy instead. It’s all corn. I made this twice as difficult to make because I cooked the chicken for the soup from scratch, which then made the chicken broth for the soup. As always, feel free to substitute canned or boxed low-sodium chicken broth and some leftover or rotisserie chicken to save yourself the time in the kitchen. But I really enjoy making chicken broth from scratch (even though I have still have about 6 quarts of turkey and chicken broth in the freezer!).

Poblano, Serrano, Onion, Avocado, and Ground Tortilla Mix

As a side note, when I was de-seeding and chopping up the Serrano pepper (with latex gloves, yes!), my eyes started watering and I literally started choking. Yowza! That was one hot pepper, I could tell! So I only used 1/4 of the pepper instead of the whole one I was planning on. Good call, me-thinks. You can omit the Serrano altogether, too, if your family doesn’t like too spicy. In the end, my daughter inhaled the soup (but no it wasn’t a seconds or thirds soup for her) and my hubby said he really liked the flavors, but got confused by the textures. He asked if there were dumplings in it. (That was the hominy.) Sigh. But MY rating is  four-star plus!

Creamy Poblano Tortilla Soup with Chicken and Hominy

3 white or yellow corn tortillas (6-inch)
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon Ancho (aka Dried Pasilla) chili powder or regular
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Lots of ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 Poblano (or Pasilla) pepper, chopped
1/4 to 1 Serrano pepper, finely diced (or omit)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons butter or substitute
4 cups homemade chicken or turkey broth, or low sodium subbed
1 cup yellow or white canned hominy, rinsed and drained (freeze the rest)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2  to 2 cups cooked chicken, cut bite-sized
Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
Fresh diced avocado

Start out by slicing up the tortillas into manageable chunks for your food processor or blender. Add those to your device then add in the chili powder, cumin and ground pepper. I only have a blender, so it was a bit trickier. I used the “pulse” mode, and pulsed all that a few times, then had to scrape it down, then kept pulsing and repeating the scraping until it was the texture of a coarse cornmeal, as shown in photo below.

Spicy Ground Tortillas and Flour Mixture

In a deep-dish cast iron skillet (or sturdy dutch oven or soup pot) heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the chopped onion, Poblano, and Serrano peppers. Cook for just a few minutes then turn down to medium heat, add the minced garlic, and stir for a total of about another 8 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Now add the  butter, let it melt, then add that cormeal-ish flour mixture to the pan and stir and mix and smoosh down like crazy for the next 5 minutes or so, to form the “roux.” The main thing is to keep stirring constantly and mixing around so nothing burns in there.

Making Corn Tortilla Roux

At this point, verra slowly, and I mean slowly, start drizzling in the chicken broth while you whisk and stir. Just keep adding it slowly until about half of it has been added and totally mixed in smoothly. Once that is done, you can now add the rest of the broth then crank up the heat to bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, turn down to a simmer then add the hominy and cook for about 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Last, mix in the sour cream, bring up to a simmer again, then cook for another 10 minutes but don’t let it come to a boil again. Well, that’s it! Ladle into bowls and serve with chopped avocado and shredded cheese. Yowza that was good! I can say Yowza twice in my post, right? OK make that three times. I hope you enjoy this!

p.s. This is my first post using my new camera skills! No flash, no ucky yellow tone from overhead lightbulb. I’m enjoying my camera again!

Calabacitas (Pork and Zucchini Stew with Tomatillos)

Calabacitas

My cousin and her son are coming for dinner tonight, and armed with the fact that they like Mexican food I began scouring my recipe books for something to serve other than my stand-by chicken enchiladas. While they are most delicious, I was thinking of something with pork and tomatillos. I adapted this recipe from Lisa Fain’s Homesick Texan Cookbook. It had pork and tomatillos, AND it looked like a good candidate to be cooked in a crock pot instead of over the stove, since I had to prepare it during my lunch break. Calabacitas means zucchini (or little squash) in Spanish, and the traditional stew is cooked with red tomatoes and zucchini. This version uses tomatillos, which are a small green tomato-like fruit. It also has yellow squash along with the zucchini, which coincidentally I had bought last week to take on our trip to the coast but forgot them. I checked them over and they still looked fresh enough to use so my mind was set. The only thing I didn’t have readily on hand were the tomatillos, but the grocery up the street has a huge Mexican section with bins of tomatillos, and was able to quickly pick them up at lunch. Oh, and I also used some white hominy instead of corn as called for, as I think hominy gives a more complex depth to stew or chili over corn. My initial taste test after it’s been simmering a few hours confirms I made a good choice. I’ll be serving this  in bowls over rice with black beans and warmed corn tortillas on the side.

Calabacitas

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized chunks
Black pepper
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 Serrano chiles
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 pound tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, and quartered
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1/2 pound zucchini, sliced and halved
1/2 pound yellow squash, sliced and halved
1 15 ounce can hominy (white or gold)
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons lime juice
Corn tortillas for serving
Cooked rice for serving

Browning the Pork

Season the pork with black pepper. In a heavy pot or cast iron skillet, heat the oil on medium and brown the pork on all sides until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. I had to do this in batches, as you don’t want to overcrowd the skillet or the pieces won’t brown up properly. Remove the pork and place into a crock pot. Add the onions to the pot and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for about one more minute. Pour this into the crock pot with the pork. Now take about a cup of the chicken broth and deglaze the hot pan, scraping up the crispy bits from the bottom. Pour this into the crock pot along with the rest of the chicken broth and ingredients except the lime juice, tortillas and rice. Mix well, and cook on high for about three hours, then turn to low or warm until ready to serve. Just before serving, stir in the lime juice. Ladle into bowls over rice, and serve with corn tortillas.