Chicken Mole Enchiladas

Mole, a classic Mexican sauce with many variations of dried chilies, nuts, and sometimes chocolate is so complicated and time consuming that I opt for the readily available store bought sauce.  (I also like to save the containers to use as rustic wine glasses). I have had an abundance of sweet and hot peppers in my weekly CSA box and I just purchased three whole chickens from a local producer. This is a great Sunday endeavor as it takes a few steps. But the dish is a great Sunday dinner and Monday leftover lunch.

What you need:

1 whole chicken cooked, meat removed from the bone (I boil it and reserve the stock)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

2-3 sweet bell peppers chopped

1 jalapeño pepper chopped, with the seeds

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

3-4 Tbsp mole

6 large tortillas

1 12 oz can tomatoes

1 tbsp sugar

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Chopped cilantro and sour cream for garnish

Cook the chicken, cool and remove all the meat and skin from the bones.

Add mole to the oil in a pan on medium heat, add a bit of stock and allow to simmer until the mole melts into a sauce. Add the onions, garlic and peppers and simmer for a few minutes. Add the chicken, a bit more stock and simmer for another few minutes.

Put the canned tomatoes and sugar in a saucepan to heat.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400; spray a rectangular cooking dish with oil. Place one tortilla at a time in the pan and fill with the chicken-mole-pepper filling. Roll the filling into the tortilla leaving the seam at the bottom.

Pour tomato sauce over the enchiladas and top with the cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes. Top individual servings with cilantro and sour cream.

Spaghetti Caprese Salad

Caprese salad is my favorite way to cook and eat tomatoes.
I am a big fan of tomato, mozzarella, and basil.
Here, I decided to add few more ingredients to the simplest salad and
made it an excellent summer lunch, or side dish.
This would go really well with chicken dish, or chilled white wine.

[A]
1.5 lb diced fresh tomatoes
1 and 1/2 tea spoon salt
1 chopped green onion
Few leaves chopped basil
1 finely sliced small shallot
2 table spoon caper
1 table spoon olive oil
1 table spoon balsamic vinegar
6.5 oz store bought quartered and marinated artichokes
8 oz chopped fresh mozzarella cheese
[B]
1/2 lb thin spaghetti
1table spoon olive oil

Sprinkle salt on tomatoes and let it sit for at least 1 hour and drain water.
Add drained artichokes and rest of [A] to tomatoes. Mix it well.
You could serve this as regular caprese salad.
Cook spaghetti for 2mins less than what the box says.
When spaghetti is cooked, drain and add olive oil.
Toss and allow it to cool down for about 10mins.
Add this to the caprese salad and mix it well.

Rockin Meatloaf

[A]
Onion    1
Celery   1 stick
Carrot   1
Garlic    1 clove

[B]
Ground beef    2.5lb
Breadcrumb    1/2 cup
Red wine   2 tablespoons
Your favorite BBQ or Steak souse    4 tablespoons
Salt   1/2 teaspoon
Pepper   1/4 teaspoon
Dry Oregano   1/2 teaspoon
Dry Thyme   1/2 teaspoon

[C]
Boiled eggs   3
Thin Bacon   4 strips

Chop all of [A] into small pieces. Fry them all with 1 tablespoon of olive oil on pan.
When onion becomes translucent, stop the heat and let it cool down.
Put it into a big bowl and add all of [B]. Mix it really well.
On baking plate, roll meat into 3-4″ wide loaf and put boiled eggs inside the meat.
Put bacon on top of the loaf and bake it with 325 degree set oven for 50mins.
When meatloaf is done, let it set in room temp for at least 10mins before you cut and serve.

Chicken Curry Soup

I had a craving for chicken curry and made up this soup using things I had in my house.  I even used up left over cooked rice from the night before. It was so good, easy, and quick to make I plan to make it a weeknight staple. This recipe makes about 4 servings. It goes very well with beer.

All you need is:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 stick of celery, chopped
• 2 Tbsp good quality curry powder
• 1 Tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 8 oz can coconut milk
• 2-3 cups of chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp golden raisins
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped into bite size pieces
• 1-2 cups cooked rice (optional)
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil and add the onions, garlic, jalapeño, carrot, celery, mustard seeds and curry powder. Sauté until fragrant. Add the cut up chicken and stir, adding a bit of stock if it starts to stick. When the chicken is all white, add the rest of the chicken stock.  Add the left over rice if you are using it. Simmer for another few minutes then turn the heat down and add the raisins and coconut milk. Simmer just to warm the coconut milk, add the cilantro just before serving.

Carrot Cake w/ Orange Frosting

It is funny to think I once thought carrot cake could be a “healthy” dessert option. Yes, I grated three cups of carrots into this cake, but I also added two cups of sugar and topped it with a cream cheese frosting. But tasty? Yes indeed. I sleuthed a bit on the history of carrot cake and found that carrots, due to their sweetness, have been used to make desserts since the middle ages. In Britain during WWII they were popular due to sugar rationing. In the 1970’s it became something of a hippie health food fad. They remain an easy favorite with a moist crumb and popular frosting.

Below is my adaptation of the popular recipe:

* 4 eggs
* 3 Tsp vanilla extract
* 3/4 cups vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup applesauce
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 3 cups grated carrots
* 2 cups unbleached white flour
* 1 Tsp baking powder
* 1 Tsp baking soda
* 1/2 Tsp salt
* 1 Tsp cinnamon
* 1 Tsp nutmeg
* 1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
* 1 stick butter
* 1 Tbsp maple syrup

1-2 Tbsp honey
* zest of one orange and one lemon

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, applesauce, sugar, and carrots. Fold in flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pour into a greased pan. If you want to make a layered cake, use two round pans of equal size. Put cake in the oven to cook for about 45 minutes. Test with a toothpick. When it comes out clean they are done. Take them out to cool. Be careful as you take them from the pan, as they are prone to stick. Cool completely before icing.

To make the icing: mix together softened cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, honey, and orange and lemon zest. Wisk until smooth and refrigerate. Ice the fist cake, top with the second and ice it evenly and top with your preferred garnish.

Pizza Party

It is possible to make pizza from scratch on a weeknight without a lot of time or fuss. Plus, it is a great way to use up all the fresh veggies in season like tomatoes, fresh basil, and eggplant. The secret is to make a batch of dough ahead of time that you store in the fridge for the week and pull out, roll, top and bake in less than 20 minutes. I must say that, as in all things, quality fresh ingredients make the meal. In this case, I splurged on fresh mozzarella pulled the same day from my local co-op. I made a second version of this pizza recipe using freshly made pesto (recipe below) and quality pepperoni and it made D roll his eyes back in his head and give me a thumbs up.

Note: I bought a pizza wheel at Target for under $10 and it is well worth the investment.

To make the olive dough ahead of time, which will make about 4, 12-inch pizzas:
* 2 3/4 cups lukewarm water
* 1 1/2 Tbsp granulated yeast (11/2 packets)
* 1 1/2 Tbsp salt
* 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* 6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Mix in the flour without kneading, using a spoon, a food processor with the dough attachment, or a stand mixer with the dough hook.

3. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses, about 2 hours. Store in the fridge.

On the night you want to make the pizza:

1. Preheat oven to 500 and put pizza stone in oven to heat, and then prep all the ingredients below:

* 1-2 medium fresh tomatoes chopped
* 1 small eggplant, sliced into thin rounds and brushed with olive oil
* 1 can or jar of anchovy fillets, chopped
* 1/4 pound sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, preferably buffalo-milk variety
* 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

2. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a grapefruit size piece. It will be sticky, so use flour and persistence to wrangle it on to a flour dusted wooden board. Roll the dough out to your desired thickness.

3. Pull hot pizza stone out of the oven and sprinkle with cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully fold over the rolled out dough and transfer to the pizza stone.

4. Quickly top the pizza with your desired ingredients and put back in the oven. It should be done in about 10-15 minutes.

To make fresh Pesto:

Take a huge bunch of basil- as much as you can use; pack it into your food processor or blender with about a 1/2 cup of olive oil and two cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of salt. Blend until it reaches a unified consistency. Store bought pesto calls for pine nuts and Parmesan cheese to be blended in as well and this is great if you are making it to eat the night of. I make huge batches at a time and store them in ice cube trays in the freezer so I can pop out a cube to toss in soup or pasta or to thaw for pizza. Omitting the pine nuts and cheese helps the pesto to keep for longer, and makes it more multi-purpose.

Fancy Pants Egg In A Hole

Many parents over the years have served up this classic quick breakfast on the fly. My Dad makes them to order for any kid that comes by the house. Other names for Egg In A hole are  Egg-in-a-Basket, Toad-in-a-Hole, Egg Basket, Bird’s Nest Egg, Pop Eyes, Egg Toast, Private Eyes…a local Minneapolis restaurant has a dish called The Rock Star that is two Eggs In A Hole cut into star shapes. I like to doctor mine up. Just because you don’t have the energy to use more than one pan for breakfast does not mean you can’t get creative.

What you need:

• oil or a pad of butter for the pan
• 4 eggs
• 2 pieces of good quality sliced whole wheat bread
• 2 thick slices of ripe tomato
• A dollop of hot sauce (recipe to follow)
• Two tablespoons parmesan cheese

What to do:

Oil pan and get it hot (medium heat)

Cut out the middle section of each slice of toast and reserve the circle (some people use a cup, I just tear the bread out from the inside.)

Place both slices of bread in the pan and crack two eggs into each “hole”

Cook two minutes and flip it over

Place tomato slice, a smear of hot sauce, and cheese on top of each, cook another minute or so (depending on how runny you want your eggs)

Serve with fresh fruit. (Serves two.)

Hot Sauce Recipe:

In a Dutch oven or deep sauce pan cook 6-8 tomatillos, one habanero pepper and one Jalapeño pepper along with a small onion, two carrots, a splash of white wine vinegar, a little water, and a clove of garlic. Add 1 tsp salt. Puree in a blender or food processor.

Bobbie’s Family Pot Sticker Recipe

I used to make Pot stickers with my mom and my sister at least once a month.
It was our all time favorite dish. In Japan, each family has their own recipe for Pot Stickers,
Here is my family’s. We kept it simple, but you could always add more ingredients or try with different kind of meat.

Ingredients
* Ground pork    1lb
* Cabbage          3-4 leaves
* Green Onion   3-4
* Garlic             1 clove
* Minced Ginger 1 teaspoon
* Sesame Oil      1 teaspoon
* Soy Sauce     1 teaspoon
* Vegetable Oil    1 teaspoon
* Salt n Pepper
* Store bought Pot sticker wrap

Mince all these vegetable and put them all together in a bowl.
Add Minced Ginger, Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, dash of salt and pepper.
Add Ground pork and mix it really well.
Use teaspoon to scoop and wrap with pot sticker wrap.
Put Vegetable Oil in non-stick pan. Set stove at medium heat.
Put pot stickers on pan. Make sure they are not close to each other.
Add 2-3 tablespoon of water and put lid on. Let it steam for at least 10 mins.
When water gets dehydrated, pot stickers are ready:)

Bobbie and Emily’s new food blog

This is a new food blog shared by two sisters-in-law living in Seattle and Saint Paul. Bobbie and Emily share a love of cooking healthy food that the loved ones in their lives will eat! Enjoy.