Sunday, December 23, 2007

Cardinals game


This is our day at the park. We were at the entrance. Go Cardinals!!! Baby Dude's first game and Lil G's second.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Mexican Fish

  • 1 pound catfish or other fish fillets
  • 1 scant teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1 onion, peeled and sliced thin
  • Juice of 3 limes1 bunch fresh cilantro
  • 2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
Sprinkle fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Put half the onion in a baking dish just big enough to hold the fish in a single layer. Lay fillets on top and sprinkle remaining onion over them. Set aside for 10 or 20 minutes, or refrigerate for an hour if you have time.Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour lime juice over fish, cover the dish with foil and bake for 10 minutes.

Coarsely chop cilantro and sprinkle over fish. Season with hot sauce, then drizzle with olive oil. Bake 20 minutes, or until fish is opaque.For an entree, serve with rice, black beans and mango or tomato salsa. Pass hot sauce.For taco filling, serve the fish with tortillas and condiments such as pickled jalapeÒo peppers, salsa, sour cream, shredded vegetables (lettuce, cabbage, radishes), etc.Makes 4 entree servings, more as a taco filling.For mango salsa: Cut the flesh of two mangoes into small cubes. Add 1/4 cup minced onion, a minced, seeded jalapeÒo pepper and a chopped red bell pepper. Add a little lime juice if you like. Season with a dash of salt.

Guatemalan Enchiladas

2 cans of sliced beets, diced
2 lbs of Ground beef browned and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 bag of Shredded Carrots (or you can buy and shred yourself), browned in a little oil to soften
1 Red onion, sliced
1 Queso casero circle, crumbled
1 bunch of Parsley, chopped
3 big Tomatoes, boiled
3 boiled Eggs, sliced
Small tortillas fried tostada style in oil

Caldo de Camaron

2 lbs of shrimp
Red pepper
Lemons
Cup of minute rice
Bottle of V-8
Celery
Onion
Consommé seasoning

Sauté red pepper, celery, onion in pan while boiling hot water seasoned with consommé. Once softened put veggies in broth and cook for 5 minutes. Put shrimp to cooked and cup of minute rice. Serve with lemons.

Cream Cheese/Cauliflower Smashed potatoes

  • 2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half or whole milk
  • Bag of cauliflower florets (or get a cauliflower and cut it up and wash)
  • 8 ounces plain cream cheese or veggie cream cheese, cut into pieces
  • 10 chives chopped or snipped with kitchen scissors
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes and cauliflower until tender, 15 minutes. While the water boils and when the potatoes are cooking, you can be working on the meatloaf recipe.
When the potatoes are tender, drain them and return them to the hot pot to let them dry out a bit. Mash potatoes with half-and-half or milk using a potato masher. Add in the cream cheese and smash until the cheese melts into the potatoes. Then add chives and scallions and season with salt and pepper, to your taste.

Apple Cider Chicken

  • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
  • 2 whole chicken breasts,
  • 4 halves, bone-in and skin on
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 large yellow onions,
  • thinly sliced2 tablespoons thyme leaves,
  • 7-8 sprigs, leaves stripped and chopped
  • 3 tablespoons honey (eyeball it)
  • 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 cup plus apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cups chicken stock

Preheat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and add to the hot oil, skin side down. Brown chicken, about 5 minutes per side. Remove and reserve.
Add another 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, the onions, thyme, honey and the garlic. Season the onions with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently for about 20-30 minutes or until the onions are really brown.
Add cider vinegar, scraping up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken stock and bring up to a bubble. Once at a simmer, return the chicken to the pot with the liquid and onions. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat down to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes, flipping the chicken over in the sauce about halfway through. Remove lid, check to make sure the chicken is cooked through by cutting a small slit in the thickest part of the breast with a paring knife to have a look inside. If it is cooked through -- no pink meat -- remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Turn the heat up to high and simmer until the sauce thickens up slightly, about 4-5 minutes.You can serve the chicken right away topped with a big spoon full of sauce and the onions or you can return the chicken to the pot, turn the heat off and cover with the lid until you're ready to serve it. Once you are ready, add 1/2-3/4 cup additional chicken stock and turn the heat back on to heat everything back up.

Jambalaya over Rice

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • r1/2 pound andouille sausage,
  • diced 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 pound frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed
  • 2 cups cooked rice (or use minute rice)

In a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme. Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. Stir in the thawed shrimp, cover and cook until the shrimp is heated through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.