Plain & Simple: Guacamole

I like smooth guacamole. I don't like chunky guacamole (now, don't get me wrong, I will eat it if necessary), I don't like brown guacamole (please, put some lemon in it) and mostly, I like it with chips. The big tortilla chips with extra salt on them. YUM.

Here's my go to recipe:

2 avacados
1/2 small red onion
Salt & pepper
3 - 4 tbsp lemon juice
1 jalepeno
Cilantro - a good handful

Throw everything into a food processor and process until smooth (or chunky if you like it chunky, whatever). Sprinkle some extra salt on top, two or three extra drops of lemon juice and you're good to go!

Chicken Cacciatore

This comes from one of my favorite blogs/websites to find recipes: Simply Recipes. Except for the dog. I couldn't resist showing pictures of Decker because he was being so good while I was in the kitchen.

Simmering away...

On low for 40 minutes...

Oh, it smelled SO GOOD.

Served with salad and homemade beer bread.

Chicken Cacciatore (Hunter Style Chicken) Recipe

Print Options

• Print (no photos)
• Print (with photos)

Ingredients

• One 3 1/2 pound chicken, cut into pieces
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 2 cups peeled and chopped, firm ripe tomatoes (or canned plum tomatoes in their juice)

Method

1 Rinse chicken and pat dry. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat, add the onions and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally. Push the onions to the side. Add the garlic and chicken pieces, skin-side down. Cook until the chicken skin is golden brown, then turn pieces over and brown on the other side.
2 Season chicken with salt and pepper, on both sides. Add wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, lower the heat and cover the skillet with the lid slightly ajar.
3 Cook the chicken in the simmering liquid, turning and basting from time to time. Cook until the thighs are very tender and the meat is almost falling off the bones, about 40 minutes. If the stew ever starts to dry out, add a couple tablespoons of water.
Serves 4-6.

Steak Sauce

Nope, sorry, no picture of the very large T-bone steak that was demolished by Bimmer Man and me yesterday. We ran out of steak sauce though. Oops, so I share with you the recipe that I made - I have to say that I will now always make my own because it tastes so much better than store bought!

Also, if you're in Minneapolis and you buy meat from a farm, could you let me know where you buy it from? I'd like to keep our meat local and organic, but mostly humanely raised. 

Simple Steak Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  ketchup
• 2 1/2  to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1  tablespoon  brown sugar
• 4  drops hot pepper sauce
• 1  tablespoon  prepared mustard
• 1  tablespoon  cider vinegar
• Pinch salt
• Pinch pepper

Preparation

In a bowl, whisk together the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, hot pepper sauce, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Tara Bench, Real Simple, SEPTEMBER 2006

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Enchiladas are one of my favorites, whether I make them myself or not.

Seriously.

I'm going to pull a Rachael Ray here and say Yum-O!! (Have you seen this website? HILARIOUS!!!)

Back to Enchiladas

8 tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce, or make your own, whatevs...
1 block softened cream cheese
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp cumin
1tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp honey (Yes, really, HONEY!!)
Salt & pepper to taste
Dash of hot sauce
1 can black beans
Shredded cheese for topping
2 chicken breasts, shredded or chopped into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine chicken, black beans, cream cheese, cumin, chili powder, diced tomatoes, honey, salt and pepper in a medium sauce pan. Stir to combine until cream cheese is melted and creamy - add in hot sauce to taste. You can add in jalepenos or whatever for heat too, doesn't matter much.

Stuff the tortillas with the creamy sauce and put in baking dish.

Top with can of enchilada sauce (or extra creamy chicken sauce and leave out the enchilada sauce, but I love enchilada sauce so I really couldn't leave it out) and cheese. Lots of cheese.

Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Makes EXCELLENT leftover lunches.

Chicken, Tomato & Bean Something-or-Other With Cous Cous

From Blog Stuff - Food

So I needed something to make with all the leftovers and cans of food in the cupboards.

Turns out, a random modge podge of food tastes pretty good!

So here's what I mixed together:

Leftover shredded lemon pepper chicken
1 can artichoke hearts
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can Cannelloni beans
1/2 cup Tuscan house dressing
1 cup chicken broth
1 small onion, finely diced
2 turkey sausages, browned & casings removed
Salt & pepper

I just simmered it all for about 20 minutes, then poured it over a mound of cous cous.

I was impressed because normally when I throw stuff together, it doesn't really turn out that great.

So, be bold, throw everything but the kitchen sink into a pan and pour it all over rice, cous cous or pasta. You never know what you're going to get!

Chicken with Olives & Tomatoes

We need to eat healthier. Mostly because it's winter in Minne-snow-ta and it's not like you can run in 8 inches of snow.

So, my fallback is always chicken, mostly grilled with veggies (mostly steamed) and cous cous or rice. This is new because Bimmer Man suddenly likes tomatoes. But they have to be a certain kind otherwise he won't eat them. I don't blame him, I mean I don't like mayo and I don't eat it if I don't have to. It's ended up on a few sandwiches, and I can't say that I didn't like them, but I definitely didn't like the texture. Something about a glob of mayo just doesn't sit right with me!
So, for this it's chicken and olives and tomatoes. Favorites for Bimmer, so score for me!

2 - 4 chicken breasts
Handful of Bushel Boy Baby tomatoes
Good 3/4 cup of green olives (you can use black olives too, but these are tangier)
1 small onion, finely chopped (again, not one of Bimmer's favorites but the sweet onions have the least amount of "onion" taste when cooked)
3/4 cup Italian dressing
Dash of hot sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup water or chicken broth or white wine, whatever
Salt (very little) and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil

So, here goes:

1. In a large pan over medium high heat, cook the chicken breasts *almost* all the way through with a 1/2 cup of Italian dressing and 3 tbsp of olive oil. They should only have about 1 minute left, so the juices should be pretty clear.

2. Take the chicken out of the pan and let it rest while you make the sauce.

3. To the pan add the onions and cook until clear. Add the olives, cook for about 3 minutes, then add the Italian dressing, tomatoes, hot sauce, water and brown sugar. The brown sugar is so the tomatoes won't be too acidic - just like tomato sauce for pasta, always add a spoonful of sugar!

4. Cook for about 2 minutes and then add the chicken back to the pan until heated through again, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Then, serve over cous cous and with a side of veggies if you want. It's really that easy!

Spaghetti With Turkey Meat Sauce

I love spaghetti and pasta and sauce and garlic bread and salad. And so does Bimmer Man. He used to not like spaghetti. At all. Now, if I give him a choice of spaghetti or penne, he'll take the spaghetti hands down (but if gnocchi is thrown into the mix, he'll take gnocchi).

And so, I've memorized an easy way to get rid of your leftovers and single cans of tomato sauce, diced tomatoes or whatever else you have. Seriously. Mostly I just throw stuff in the pan and hope that it turns out. I think that's what a lot of people do, so you'll notice that most what I cook for pasta sauce is similar but I like to change up the seasoning. This is my throwback meal when I need to clean out the pantry and take stock of what I need to buy at the grocery store.

So here it is:

1/2 to 1 lb ground turkey (or pork or beef or chicken, whatever)
1 - 2 cans tomato sauce
1 - 2 cans diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes or whatever
1 onion, chopped
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, mashed through a garlic press or chopped (do you really want to smell like Rachael Ray tomorrow???)
Couple dashes of hot sauce OR cayenne pepper OR red pepper flakes

And optional:
1 medium eggplant cut into 1 inch pieces
1 summer squash, spaghetti squash or any squash, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 bell pepper, diced fairly finely
Any other vegetable that would hold up to simmer for 15 - 20 minutes without being too mushy

And then spaghetti, cooked 2 minutes AFTER al dente so it swirls around your fork correctly but it still has a bite.

Now:

Brown the meat, add the onions and garlic. Then the spices and the hot sauce or whatever you're using to give it a kick. And then the veggies if you're adding those, let brown a bit, maybe 3 minutes or so. Add all the cans of tomatoes.

Simmer 15 minutes or until the flavors have melted together and it tastes like spaghetti sauce.

And then eat over a plate full of spaghetti noodles.

AND then loosen the top button of your pants and sigh with relief that you'll have leftovers for the next few days so you don't have to cook if you don't want to.

UPCOMING RECIPE:

Challah Bread & something with pumpkin, I haven't decided yet.

Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

So, it's your basic salad with pears and vinaigrette. Seriously. But on a warm day or even as a lunch, it's the best thing ever. If you bring your lunch to work with you, I'd store the vinaigrette in a separate small container to shake just before pouring on your salad.
My favorite part about salad is making your own salad dressing. Generally the ratio is 3:1 but since oils are different (like sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, etc...), your ratio may be a tad off depending on how you like it. Make sure to taste.
So for the vinaigrette: olive oil, red wine vinegar, kosher salt, pepper, garlic (I used a garlic press on one SMALL clove). And that's it. You could add in some oregano, basil or lemon but I decided not to. I was lazy. Maybe not next time?
Then drizzle over your salad. I'd plate the salad first, then drizzle the vinaigrette.

The Easiest Skewers Ever

Yes. It's grilling season already. We've grilled Friday, Saturday and yesterday. Today, well, we have hot dogs left but I'm in a cous cous or pasta mood (Ok, we have ground turkey for burgers and brats in the freezer, but don't tell Bimmer Man, otherwise we might grill again).

McTatty's Grill tips:

1. Buy the good charcoal. Kingston Matchstick works incredibly well - lights easily AND only takes about 10 minutes until the charcoal is ready. Seriously. Buy it. No more newspaper or that charcoal lighter thingy. Woo hoo!

2. Use the cover of the grill. It keeps the food warmer and cooks the already cooked faster.

3. If you want great sear marks, start hot dogs in the middle of the grill for two mintes, flip for another minute and then move to the outside edges to warm all the way through.

4. Skewers should always be more in the middle but only for about 3 minutes per side - then move off to the edges until ready to serve. Skewers get cold fast!

5. The more I grill, the more tips I'll have - but these are just a start.
Two kinds of Chicken Skewer Marinades:

"Italian" Marinade:

1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 tsp grainy mustard (we had Grey Poupon sitting on the counter)
Splash of red wine viniagrette
2 Tbsp olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper

Combine all in one bowl - marinate chicken for 30 - 45 minutes in fridge. You can baste the whole skewer on the grill if you want to, but I'm lazy and we don't exactly have an outdoor kitchen so I didn't do that. Maybe in the future.
"Buffalo" Marinade

1/2 cup buffalo sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
Dash of hot sauce (as if it couldn't be any hotter)
Juice of one lemon

Combine all in a bowl. Let chicken marinade in HALF of this mixture for 30 - 45 minutes. Then, you need to baste the chicken with it on the grill so it has a kick. Otherwise, it just drips off into the coals and creates flames. Oops.

Enjoy!

Do You Remember the Bread Dipping???

Oh, yes - we dip the bread!

But as I was perusing Amazon (one of my daily doses of sanity in my disorganized world), I noticed something that I had never seen before. Ok, I have at Italian restaurants and places like Willams-Sonoma, but never before on Amazon.

Instant gratification.

Dipping Seasoning Spices

For $18.51 it's a variety pack of 3 different mixes.

This is way too good to pass up! A glass of wine, sitting outside with some bread and olive oil... that's the summer life!

Gnocchi with Tomatoes & Feta

Gnocchi. I haven't quite mustered the strength to make it by hand yet. So Sam's Club it is... They have packages with LOTS of gnocchi and for some odd reason, a box always gets thrown into my cart. I'm not sure how it happens... Reminds me of Target!
So, I also use leftover chicken, but this is optional (because I wanted to make it a vegetarian meal, but then I also needed to use up chicken, so whatever... leftovers...).
To make a quick and easy tomato sauce, chop a medium onion into small pieces. Bimmer Man isn't much of an onion person...
Then mince 3 cloves of garlic. Use less if you want to, but I LOVE garlic!
Chop the leftover chicken into 1 inch pieces and save for later - you'll eventually just nuke 'em. Don't toss it into the tomato sauce, you want leftover sauce for pasta for lunch tomorrow.
Sweat the onions. And then after they're clear and soft, add the garlic and one can of diced tomatoes.
I also added one can of tomato sauce because I wanted leftover tomato sauce for pasta for lunch. Cook once, eat twice. Right?
Let simmer for anywhere in between 12 - 15 minutes. You can let it simmer for longer if you like - sometimes I wash dishes while sauces simmer. I try and multi-task but sometimes I end up burning something or letting boiling water run over. Oops.
Gently cook the gnocchi. It's done as soon as they float to the top - they're just starting to in this picture. About 1 more minute and then they're done.
Drain and add half the gnocchi to a deep bowl.
Put your nuked chicken on top (or leave it out or add another leftover meat instead of chicken).
Then the pasta sauce.
Top with a good handful of feta.
Repeat the layers and top with fresh basil.

This works great for leftovers too. It's very versatile - you can use a sage butter sauce with parmesan cheese. Or just plain butter. Gnocchi is fabulous!

Gnocchi with Tomatoes & Feta

1 package gnocchi
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped finely
5 - 6 fresh basil leaves, julienned
1 cup feta
Leftover chicken (optional)

Sweat the onions in a large pan. After clear and soft, add in garlic, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer sauce for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil water for gnocchi and microwave the leftover chicken.

When the water comes to a boil, drop the gnocchi in. As soon as they start to rise, let boil for one more minute and drain (but don't over drain).

Layer the gnocchi, leftover chicken, tomato sauce and feta in a deep bowl. Top with basil.

Serve with a salad and crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

Giada's Steak & Black Olive Viniagrette

So, this might be a very long post. I preapologize for any time this takes away from your work.

But, whatever. It's steak. And black olives and Bimmer Man's Birthday.

I let him pick out his absolute favorite meal - steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus with a black olive vinaigrette for the steak.

My pee smelled like an old person's home for 3 days.

But black olives are absolutely lovely. You'll start this meal by making the vinaigrette first - that way you won't get distracted while searing the steak or mashing the potatoes and realizing that you left out one of the most important parts of the meal.

Red wine vinegar, grainy mustard (Excuse me sir, but do you have any Grey Poupon? I miss those commercials!), black pepper, coarse salt, oil (both olive AND vegetable oil).

Go ahead and put all the necessary ingredients in the food processor.

But I thought I read 2 tablespoons of mustard, really it's 2 TEASPOONS of mustard. Oops.

Go figure. So I'm a little disorganized.

Mix together the oils in a large bowl that you'll be able to pour it out of.

Mix it in a large bowl that you'll be able to pour it out of. I obviously didn't do that.

So I put it in a plastic Bacardi cup instead so I could pour it through the small hole in the food processor. Whoops.

And then let 'er rip!

Yum... this is really good over pasta too!

Red meat. I don't really eat too much of it, so the stark redness kinda gives me the shivers.

Olive oil, salt, black pepper and Herbes de Provence. Rub it all over.

Then go ahead, sear the wonderful juices of cow into the meat.

6 - 8 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, boil your potatoes and let them drain.

Notice all the dirty dishes in my sink? Some of the potato water got on the floor.

And the perfectly MEDIUM steak. Crusty on the outside, all nice and juicy on the inside.

After you've taken the steak out of the pan, immediately throw the asparagus on. It needs to cook ONLY 2 - 3 minutes per side. You still want it to have a BITE.

Mmm... all put together on the plate...

Look at that steak juice... And gravy and asparagus...

Oh man...

Rib-Eye Steak with Black Olive Vinaigrette

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

Rib-eye Steak:

• 1 2-inch rib-eye steak, boneless
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Black Olive Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup black olives, pitted
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

For the Rib-eye: Preheat your grill pan on medium high heat. Coat the beef with olive oil and sprinkle with the Herbs de Provence, salt, and pepper. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes a side until the meat is medium-rare, remove from heat, and allow to rest.

For the Black Olive Vinaigrette: Combine the olives, red wine vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender and blend until mixed. In a small pitcher combine the olive oil and vegetable oil. Drizzle the oil into the blender with the machine running. Transfer the vinaigrette to a serving dish. Stir in the parsley and serve with the rib-eye.

Enjoy!