Tag: Entrees

Pozolé (Mexican Pork Stew)

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Ingredients:

  • 2 large cans of Las Palmas Enchiladas Sauce
  • 2 large cans of Juanita’s Hominy
  • 3 cans of water (enchilada sauce size)
  • 1 pork butt shoulder
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 4 bay leaves
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon

Raw Toppings:

  • Sliced jalapeños
  • Shredded green cabbage
  • Cilantro
  • Queso Fresco
  • Sliced radish
  • Lime wedges
  • Diced red onion
  • Sliced green onion
  • Salsa
  • Tortilla Chips (optional)
  1. Place pork butt in large stew pot. Add enchilada sauce, hominy, water, onion, garlic, bay leaf, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to boil. Simmer for 5 hours, or until tender. Stir occasionally, flip pork but as needed. Shred pork.
  2. Serve hot, add toppings of your liking.

Eggplant Parmigiana

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Ingredients:

  • 1 lb of eggplant, sliced thin
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 of a cup of flour, seasoned with S&P.
  • 3/4 of a cup of unflavored breadcrumbs
  • 3/4 of a cup of grated parmesan or romano cheese
  • 1/4 of a cup of fresh garlic, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • salt, and black pepper, to taste
  • 1 lb of mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • additional mozzarella for topping
  • Oil for frying (Olive oil preferred)
  • basic marinara sauce

Directions:

Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. First dip eggplant into flour, then egg, and then the breadcrumb mixture. Fry* in heated oil, until a light golden brown. While cooking the eggplant, line an oven save pan with marinara, then stack eggplant, mozzarella, and sauce, one layer at a time. Once complete, bake at 400º for approximately 25 minutes. Topp with additional cheese (grated, and or mozzarella), if desired. Serve hot with your favorite pasta dish.

*Can also bake at 400, instead of frying

Pan Seared Ginger Chuck Roast

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Ingredients:

  • 2 pound Beef Chuck Roast
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, smashed, or chopped
  • 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of Hoisin Sauce
  • 1/8 of a cup of Honey Barbecue Sauce
  • 3 cups of stock (Chicken, or Beef)
  • Ghee for frying
  • Salt, and pepper

Pat dry the chuck roast, season each side with salt and pepper, then dredge in seasoned flour. Using the Ghee, pan sear the chuck roast in a medium sized sauce pan.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Allow roast to brown on all sides, then put in deep baking dish. In the same pan, sauté the onions until slightly translucent, then add in ginger, cook for about another minute. Add equal parts ghee, and flour to make a roux. Once brown, add in stock, garlic, soy, hoisin, and bbq sauces. Once combined, take mixture and pour over the roast in the baking dish. Liquid should cover about half the roast. If not, add more stock. Set pan aside, you’ll use it again. Cover with oven safe lid, or foil. Bake for 65 minutes, flipping roast, and turning pan once.

Pull roast from baking dish, and place on cutting board. While allowing meat to rest, pour juices into the sauté pan used earlier. Over medium to medium high heat, allow to drippings to reduce. Cook for about 10 minutes, allowing mixture to thicken. Slice beef thin, against the grain. Serve hot. Basting juices over meat slices.

Pairs well over ginger rice, and steamed vegetables, or coconut rice with green beans.

Farfalle (Bowtie pasta) Vegetable Alfredo Sauce

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Ingredients:

  • 1/2 an onion, chopped
  • 1 cup of half and half
  • 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
  • 1/8 cup of sweet white wine sweet
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1 tablespoon of flour
  • 1 16 ounce package of mixed veg, cooked
  • Parmigiano Reggiano (grated cheese)
  • Olive oil for frying
  • Salt, and white pepper

Directions:

In a medium sided pan, sauté onion in oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once caramelized, add butter, and flour to create a roux. Allow flour mixture to cook for about 30-45 seconds. Add in wine, allow alcohol to burn off. Then add in stock, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and half and half. Reduce heat, allow sauce to reduce, stirring occasionally. Be sure to not burn the sauce. Once thick, season to taste. Remember the cheese will contains salt. Once thick, toss in al dente pasta, mixed veg, and grated cheese. Serve hot. Top with shaved cheese.

Serves 8

Ginger Rice

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of medium grain white rice
  • 2 cups of chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, chopped (sub 1 teaspoon of dry ginger)
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of parsley
  • Oil, or butter for frying
  • Salt, and Pepper

In a medium sauce pan, sauté onion until caramelized, add rice, ginger, and parsley. Season with salt, and pepper, then add stock. Simmer on low, covered for 10 minutes, or until the liquid has cooked off. Serve hot.

Chicken Francese

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb. chicken cutlets
  • 1/4 cup of flour, seasoned
  • 3 eggs, seasoned, and beaten
  • 1 cup of chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup of semi sweet wine (I used a Pinot Grigio from Aldi)
  • 1 stick of butter
  • Fresh lemons (about 1/2 a lemon for every three cutlets)
  • Salt, black pepper, and white pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium sided bowl beat eggs, and buttermilk together. Season with salt, and black pepper. Set aside. Place flour in a separate bowl. Season with salt, and black pepper.

Butterfly, and pound cutlets to achieve an even constancy. Dredge cutlets in the seasoned flour mixture, and then egg. Sauté cutlets in large pan starting with a teaspoon of butter, on low/medium heat. Lightly brown on each side. Add butter as needed to cook all cutlets. Once all cutlets are browned, add more butter, and two table spoons of butter. Raise heat, and mix it well. Don’t burn it. Allow roux to thicken, and add white wine. Once the wine cooks off, add stock, and then the chicken back to pan. Add lemon. Simmer for about five minutes, rotating cutlets, until chicken is softened. Season to taste with salt, and white pepper. Serve immediately.

Osso Buco (Braised Veal Shanks)

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Ingredients:

  • 8-10 large 1 1/2″ thick veal shanks, rinsed, and patted dry
  • All purpose flour (for dredging)
  • 7 tablespoons of butter
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped onions
  • 3/4 of a cup of finely chopped carrots
  • 3/4 of a cup of finely chopped celery
  • 1 teaspoon of minced garlic (fresh, not jarred)
  • 3 1/2 cups of broth (beef, or chicken)
  • 1 1/2 cups of peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato (alt 1 1/2 cups of canned plum tomatoes, drained, chopped)
  • Cheesecloth bag with 6 fresh parsley sprigs, 4 fresh thyme sprigs, and 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt

For the Gremolata

  • 1/2 cup of minced fresh flat leafed parsley leaves
  • 2 tablespoons of freshly grated lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

Season the shanks with salt, and pepper. Dredge them in seasoned flour, be sure to shake off any excess flour. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the butter, and 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium/medium high heat. Brown shanks in small batches. Add in additional butter, and oil, as needed. Place the browned shanks (one layer) in a large, deep, ovenproof casserole/banking pan.

Preheat over to 325º F.

In the same skillet, cook the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter on low heat. Stir occasionally, until the veggies are soft. Create a roux with equal parts fat, and flour. Cook for approx 30 seconds, or until brown while scraping the bottom, and sides of the pan. Add wine, allow to boil, and cook off the alcohol. Continue to scrape, and stir to prevent burning, combine with some of the broth. Pour mixture over browned shanks. Add additional broth which should almost cover the shanks. Spread tomato over shanks, add in the cheesecloth bag. Cover shanks, and place in oven for about 2 hours, or until the veal is tender. Basting, flipping, and rotating as needed.

Remove the shanks from the broth. Keep warm. Discard the cheese cloth bag.

Skim any fat, then put the broth back into sauté pan, make sure you have all the pan drippings. That is where all the flavor is. Bring mixture to boil, allowing to reduce for about 15 minutes. Season with salt, and pepper, as needed.

Baste shanks with reduction. Place back in the over, continue to baste. Bake them for another 10 minutes, or until the shanks are glazed.

Serve with veg, and a starch. See sides page for some great pairing ideas.

Chilian Empanada Dough

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  • 2 cups of flour
  • 3/4 cup of milk
  • 2 tablespoons of shortening
  • 1 teaspoons of salt
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons of vinegar

Bring milk to boil, add vinegar. Let cool, combine remaining ingredients. Kneed dough. Once combined, place dough in fridge, covered in plastic wrap for 30-45 minutes. Once cool the dough is very easy to work with. Cut off small amount, and roll. Then stuff with anything you’d like. Use water, or an egg wash to seal in all the yummy goodness. A pastry brush works well, to keep the hands fresh from glue that is dough.

See below for creative ideas. Empanada are fun. They can be a small bite sized appetizer, an entree, a side, or even a dessert! Filling ideas:

  • seasoned ground beef
  • ground pork
  • pulled pork
  • pulled chicken
  • potatoes/vegetable mix (seasoned potatoes, and peas work well)
  • Thanksgiving leftover mix: turkey, cranberry, yams, splash of gravy (one of my favs)
  • fruit cream cheese mixture

Once stuffed, you can freeze for later, or cook right away. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or fry until golden brown.

Easy Crockpot Pulled Chicken

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  • 1 pound of chicken (breast meat is preferred)
  • 1 packet of Taco seasoning (or mix up your own)
  • 1 jar of your favorite salsa (can certainly use fresh)
  • Salt & pepper

Clean chicken, season with salt, and pepper. Place seasoned chicken, salsa, and taco seasoning into crockpot. Set on high for four hours, or low for six. Chicken should pull easily with two forks. Stir, and add additional seasoning, as needed. Often times I’ll add sriracha for a bit more heat.

I made it, now how do I eat it/what do I pair it with?

  • Serve warm, as an entree with sides like macaroni salad, or potato salad.
  • Toss the chicken into soft, or hard taco shells. Top with your favorite taco seasonings.
  • This chicken also works well served on Kings Hawaiian buns, topped with cheese.
  • Want something healthier? Top a salad with this as the protein!
  • Make pulled chicken EMPANADAS!