Easy Spanish Rice

There are not enough adjectives in my vocabulary to describe the fabulousness of my mom's Spanish rice recipe.  It is BEYOND delicious.  The first time I made this for my boyfriend, I think he passed out for a little while from sheer pleasure.  The recipe is derived from the San Antonio Cookbook II, published the year I was born, 1976!  This is a classic that has been slightly updated.  Mostly the technique, with just a little tweak to the ingredients.

Bacon of course is what makes this dish.  It doesn't hurt that it only has eight total ingredients, either.  So not only is it a party for your taste buds, it's simple to boot!  Oh yeah... I forgot to mention that it's a one pot dish too!!!!

For my dear veg friends, of course you can leave the bacon out of this (and use veg stock instead of beef), but I can't vouch for its fabulosity.  You're on your own.  :o/

Spanish Rice
5 slices bacon, diced OR 3 T bacon grease
2 large carrots, diced
1/2 large onion, diced (I usually use yellow, but white is fine)
1 cup long grain rice
1 can Mexican style diced tomatoes, OR 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 small can diced chiles
2 cups beef broth/stock
1.5 t cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

In a pot or deep sided sauté pan (one that has a lid) fry your bacon over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Try not to char the bacon.  Just cook it to a caramel brown color.  Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside.  At this point you have a decision to make.  You can 1) discard the bacon completely (blasphemous!!), 2) put it back into the rice at the end, 3) use it for some other recipe, 4) save it for a snack or 5) some combination of 2, 3 and 4.  :o)

(If using previously harvested bacon grease, skip this step and just melt bacon fat over medium high heat.)

Increase the heat to medium high and add the carrots to the bacon fat.  Sauté the carrots for a few minutes until they soften a little.  Add the onion to the pot and sauté a few more minutes until onions start to become translucent.

Add the rice to the pot and stir to incorporate into the vegetables and coat with bacon fat.  Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice gets a little color to it and/or starts to give off a nutty aroma.

Add the tomatoes (and chiles if using), broth, cumin and garlic to the pot.

 




Give the mixture a stir, and let the broth come to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook until all the liquid is absorbed, approximately15-20 minutes.  All of the vegetables will float to the top, so make sure to stir the rice once about halfway through cooking.  Season your dish at this time with salt and pepper.  If you're going to be adding the bacon as a garnish, under salt.

Garnish with reserved bacon and serve!

Get the Shrimp Tampico Quesadilla recipe here!

Delicioso!!

Shrimp Tampico: Taco Cabana Style

I'd say about a year ago, maybe two, Taco Cabana started advertising for their Shrimp Tampico Quesadilla.  Shrimp marinated in ancho and chipotle spices, and grilled with garlic, lime and cilantro.  Of course this was a seasonal item, so I HAD to try it before it was gone!!  I'm not gonna lie.  It's delicious!  I'm a huge fan of Taco C. and this was no exception.  The shrimp is tangy and spicy and frankly, I'll eat pretty much anything if it's mixed with cheese and put inside a tortilla.  :o)

The next obvious step was creating this on my own.  I get such a high when I can recreate something I've eaten at a restaurant at home.  I successfully created it my frist go-round, but did not have this blog at that time.  I'd completely forgotten about it until I recently saw the commercials for it again.  Thanks for the reminder, Taco C.!

Since I was making a Tex Mex meal, I decided to cook beans and rice as well.  I don't have any secrets for refried beans (Open can, mix with olive oil, and lots of chili powder and cumin.  Heat and serve.) but I have adopted my mom's Spanish rice recipe.  It's ridiculous.  Everyone loves it.  Of course the "secret" ingredient is bacon.  I will post that separately as it's delicious enough to warrant its own post.

Shrimp Tampico (makes 2-4 servings)
1 dried (or fresh) ancho chile
1 7oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
2T extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 8oz pkg shredded cheese of choice (I used the Mexican Four Cheese blend)
4 tortillas of choice

Place dried ancho chile in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  It will float, so approximate (1.5-2 cups).  Flip every minute or so as you complete the following steps.  If using fresh, skip this step.

Leaving the chiles whole, empty the can of chipotle peppers and adobo sauce into a gallon ziplock bag.  Add garlic, lime juice, cilantro and EVOO.

Chop shrimp into small bite-sized pieces and place inside ziplock.

Remove the ancho chile from the water, remove the stem (if there is one) and empty of seeds (these should spill right out).  Cut chile into long thick strips and put them in the ziplock.  Seal the bag and give it a good toss/massage just to incorporate all the ingredients.  Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Before cooking, remove the chile strips from the ziplock and discard.  Put the remaining mixture into a sauté pan and cook on medium high heat until the shrimp is cooked and no longer translucent.  3-5 minutes, tops.  Drain the shrimp into a colander.  Place shrimp into a bowl and toss with a good handful of the cheese.

 

(The next step varies from the pictures a little.  Lessons learned!)
Spray a sauté pan or comal with cooking spray and place on the oven over medium heat.  Place one tortilla on the pan and let it heat up for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  You just want to get it a little hot.  Flip the tortilla and layer a generous pinch of cheese over the entire surface.  (You know... make The Claw with your hand.  Now generously pinch the cheese.  There.  That's the perfect amount.)  Just as the cheese starts to melt, spread 1/4 of the shrimp cheese mixture over half of the tortilla and then fold the empty half on top to make a half circle.  Continue to cook the quesadilla until the cheese is melted.  Don't be afraid to give it a little press with your spatula to help the binding process.

Remove to a plate and cut in half perpendicular to the fold.  I like to eat mine with sour cream and guacamole.  I usually like a little salsa as well, but the chiles in the marinade give this shrimp dish enough heat so it's not really necessary.

We didn't like it at all!!!

Beyond Boring Chicken Salad

I was never really a fan of chicken salad.  It's not that I disliked it, it was more indifference.  It was bland.  Just... meh.  Then some years back I experienced chicken salad unlike I'd ever had.  Curried chicken salad.  The curry powder added to the mix completely blew my mind.  I was hooked!  Now whenever I see curried chicken salad on a menu, I have to have it.  Especially if it has grapes.  The sweet element that the grapes provide is really accentuated by the spiciness of the curry.  Plus, even though it has a creamy sauce, it still feels like a light, springy/summery meal.  To aid in that I sub some of the mayo with plain Greek yogurt.

Curried Chicken Salad (makes 2 servings)
1 boneless, skinless, chicken breast (or meat from one thigh and leg)
1 large stalk celery
1T plain Greek yogurt
1T mayonnaise (light or regular, your choice)
10-15 grapes, quartered
Curry powder, salt and pepper to taste

Fine dice chicken and place in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Clean and de-rib your celery.  De-ribbing can be accomplished by peeling the back of the stalk with a vegetable peeler or snapping your celery into sections and yanking out the exposed ribs.  This prevents those long stringy bits from cramming themselves between your teeth!  Fine dice the celery and add it to the chicken.

Add the yogurt and the mayonnaise to the bowl.  If you like your chicken salad with more/less dressing, you can add/subtract from this amount but 1T each is a good starting point if you've never made this before.  I like to have equal parts of both, because the yogurt lightens it up some but the mayo does have a fantastic tangy flavor that I would miss if I used yogurt solely.  Feel free to adjust or eliminate one or the other as you see fit.

Add grapes to the bowl.

Sprinkle mixture with a pinch of salt and pepper and start with just a couple dashes of curry powder.  I like a lot of curry, so I tend to do more than a couple of dashes but it's a strong flavor so start light and you can always add later.

Mix all ingredients until incorporated.  Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

For the lightest option, chicken salad can be mounded on a lightly dressed bed of lettuce or in individual lettuce cups.  Then there's the sandwich route.  I purchased some wonderful seed bread that was just dying to become a sandwich.  Chicken salad is also perfect with croissants.  Oh, light, buttery, flaky croissants (...drool).

Yummy, yummy lunch!

If you require some additional crunch/nutritional punch, you can also had a palm full of chopped nuts of choice.  Enjoy!

Not My Mama's Pot Roast. My Sister's!

My sister, Debbie, makes the best pot roast, EVER. It is always fork tender and it has really intense meaty flavor.  This is one of those recipes where I don't change the ingredients, but I do change the procedure.  Debbie makes her pot roast on the stove.  For ease of use, I'm going to use my crock-pot.  I also like to get a little color on my ingredients before putting them in the crock-pot.  Keep reading.  You'll see.

Debbie's Pot Roast
2-3 pound chuck roast
1 yellow onion, chopped into hearty bite-sized chunks
4-5 carrots, chopped into hearty bite-sized pieces
Approximately 3 cups beef broth or stock
2 packages dry onion soup mix
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), a couple turns of the pan, 1-2 T

In a large skillet heat EVOO on high 'till screaming hot.  Season one side of your chuck roast liberally with salt and pepper and place roast season side down into skillet.  Season the other side of the roast.  Sear meat for 1-2 minutes, and then flip the roast and sear for another 1-2 minutes.  Both sides of the meat should now have a nice brown char.  Remove from heat and put roast in the bottom of your crock-pot.

Place onions and carrots in the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.  Cook just long enough to get a little color on the veg.  Place veggies on top of roast in the crock pot.*

Look how pretty!

Pour approximately one cup of broth in your skillet and deglaze the pan (scrape all the good meat and veg bits off the bottom!).  Stir in both packets of onion soup mix in the broth until incorporated.

Pour the broth from your pan into your crock-pot.  Add additional broth until liquid is level with the top of the roast.

Set your crock-pot on low and cook for 8 hours.  After 8 hours, using a slotted spoon and/or tongs, remove meat and veg to a plate.  The meat will literally be falling apart, so be gentle.

At this point you can serve your meat with a litte jus (meat juice!) from the crock pot or you can make your own gravy.  A lot of crock pot enthusiasts would recommend turning your crock pot up to high, sprinkling in some flour and then bringing the liquid to a boil.  I have never gotten liquid to boil in a crock-pot.  It's probably because I have no patience (After 8 hours, I'm ready to eat!) and have never been able to wait long enough to see if it will boil.  Instead I like to transfer the jus to a sauce pot, sprinkle in some flour (whisking constantly) and bring it to a boil to thicken it.  SO much faster!

Serve with a side of mashed potatoes.  I mean, what goes better with meat and gravy than mashed potatoes?!?

*Adding the vegetables in at the beginning of cooking means they will be VERY tender after 8 hours. If you like your veg a little less done, skip this step and throw the veggies in the last 3 or so hours of cooking.  Don't forget to spoon some of the meat juice on top of them so they get some of that flavor.

Hali-but...

I am a fish person.  I've rarely eaten a fish that I didn't like, and I like it in all manner of ways.  Fried, grilled, poached, etc.  Halibut, however, has always been a little... meh for me.  I mean, it is adaptable and light but it has almost no discernable flavor.  On one hand, that makes it the most versatile fish ever!!  On the other hand it can be a fairly labor intensive fish to impart flavor upon.

My father loves to fish and makes at least one trip to Alaska every summer to do so.  Since I'm living with my parents for a stint, I have a lot of halibut and salmon at my disposal.  I made my go-to salmon recipe on Tuesday and a desire to utilize some wasabi powder that I recently purchased made me consider halibut for tonight's dinner.  I initially considered wasabi-crusting the fish, but this being my first time using wasabi powder, I didn't want to accidentally kill myself with a severe horseradish hit to my sinuses!  A quick browse through Pinterest brought me a cilantro-wasabi mayo that sounded SUPER delicious.  And may I just say, it is FAN-TASTIC.  Like, I want to dip my arms in it up to my elbows and lick it off.  (I would say I'd like to bathe in it, but I'm afraid of wasabi getting in my lady-parts.  Ye-ouch!!)  For texture, I decided to nut-crust the fish.  I used pecans because... well, that's what my mom had in her freezer.  :o/  They ended up giving a really nice flavor to the fish and I added a little Panko for a wonderful texture contrast.

The roasted cabbage recipe I found sounded superb but the execution was... lacking.  I need to tweak this one some more before blogging it.  I mention it only because there's a picture of it.  :o)

Cilantro-Wasabi Mayo
(Copied almost directly from BrokeAss Gourmet)
2/3 c mayonnaise (can also substitute 1/3 cup with plain greek yogurt)
1 clove garlic, smashed (or one heaping teaspoon minced jarred garlic)
1 bunch cilantro*, stems removed
2 t wasabi paste**
1 T soy sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a food processor or blender and whir away!  When the mixture is pretty well blended, taste for seasoning and heat and adjust if necessary.  Scrape down the sides of your preferred apparatus and give it another spin.  Refrigerate covered until ready to use (up to four hours).

*You could substitute flat leaf parsley or basil if you're not a huge cilantro fan.  Although honestly, I would give the cilantro a try.  I know cilantro is usually a very strong flavor, but for some reason it is not overpowering in this sauce.  With all those other flavors, it's barely noticeable.  And if you don't like it, you're out maybe $2?  You can make another batch with other herbs just as inexpensively.

**The amount of wasabi I used in this recipe provided NO heat.  Wasabi flavor, yes, but I repeat, NO heat.  The next time I make this, I will at least double the wasabi.  But I like'a tha spice!!  (And apparently, I'm occasionally Italian?!?)

Comments:
I fed some of this sauce to my friend Nerissa, who hates cilantro and cannot handle heat AT ALL, and she was a huge fan.  She was able to taste a little cilantro flavor in a couple of her bites but it wasn't so strong that it ruined the flavor.

I also fed some to my boyfriend and he said, "That's really good.  I would use that on everything."  I agree.  I can see marinating a pork loin in this, or tossing it with shrimp.  The possibilities are endless.  :o)


Pecan-Crusted Halibut
1 c pecan halves
1 c Panko breadcrumbs
1/2 c flour
1 t each salt and pepper
2 t garlic powder
2 eggs, beaten
3 T extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 T butter
4 halibut fillets, skins removed

Pat fillets dry with paper towels and set aside.

Place pecans and breadcrumbs in a food processor and pulse until pecans are super tiny.  (If you don't have a food processor, put items in a large, sealed plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush everything to bits.  Don't have a rolling pin?  Use a wine bottle!!!  :o))  Remove to a large plate and set aside.

Mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together and place on another plate and set aside.

Beat eggs in a wide shallow bowl.

Look!!  A double yolk!  Ah, twinsies!

Set up your dredging station: flour mixture, egg, and nut/breadcrumb mix.  Dredge all sides of your fish in the flour and shake off any excess.  Next dredge the fish in the beaten egg.  Finally coat your fish in the nut/crumb mixture.

 

Heat the EVOO and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place your fish in the oil and cook 3-4 minutes on each side.  (If your fillets are decidedly square/rectangular make sure you brown those edges!)  Go low and slow on this.  The pecans brown quickly, so don't be alarmed if there's a decent char on the fish.

Easiest Salmon... EVER!

I found this recipe, oh 100 years or so ago, and I have used it often.  I would definitely say it's my go-to salmon recipe.  Partly because it's so well-liked and partly because it's so damn easy!

I will say, if you're not a salmon lover, this recipe probably won't change your mind.  It's very simple and only enhances the salmon flavor.  Not that I'd discourage anybody against trying new foods (or methods) but that's been my experience.  Just sayin'.

Super Easy Salmon
Equal parts Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), soy sauce, and fresh lime juice (approximately 1/4 cup each for four fillets)
4 salmon fillets

Place all ingredients in a large plastic bag.  Toss to coat and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

Preheat oven to 450.  Place fillets on a baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes depending on thickness.

That's it.  Yeah, really.  :o)

Bananarchy!!

I am one of those people who is easily swayed by suggestion.  At least when it comes to food.  Unfortunately, I also LOVE to watch the Food Network.  Constantly.  Especially at night.  Often to the  detriment of my waistline.  Sigh...

Last week I was watching Arrested Development (thanks for the Season One DVD lender, Beth!) and I got a huge craving for a frozen chocolate covered banana (a Bluth Frozen Banana to be exact!).  I spoke my desire out loud.  My boyfriend yelled jokingly from the other room, "Stop being so prone to suggestion!  You're every marketer's wet dream."  Well... when he's right, he's right.

Later that night, browsing Pinterest, I came across a recipe for frozen chocolate covered banana bites.  HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!!  When I followed the link, I was greeted by a picture from the very series that inspired my craving.  I knew I wasn't alone!

Of course I had to change things up a little, but ladies and gentleman, may I present...

Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Bites
(Adapted from (never home)maker)
2 4oz bars chocolate of choice (I used 60% cocoa)
3 bananas
1/2 cup chopped nuts of choice (I used cashews - OM NOM NOM!)

Chop bananas into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

Rough chop the chocolate and melt in a double boiler until smooth.*  If you don't have a double boiler (raises hand) you can create one using a glass bowl on top of a pot of boiling water.  Just make sure the bowl is big enough that it does not touch the water.

Dip/roll** the banana pieces in the chocolate and set on a cookie sheet covered with parchment or wax paper (Hello, easy cleanup!).  Sprinkle the bananas with the chopped nuts and put in the freezer for at least an hour until the chocolate has hardened.  When they are ready you can transfer them to a ziplock bag for compact freezer storage.

These bites are an absolute revelation!!  They're bite-sized so they're easy to eat (no more gnawing on whole bananas on a stick) and they're just the perfect amount of sweet.  You could even argue that they're good for you.  Fruit, dark chocolate (better than milk) and good fat from nuts.  :oD


*The original recipe called for melting chocolate chips in the microwave.  I did that.  It came out like this...

Shortly after this picture was taken, the paste turned to dust.  Chocolate dust sounds cool, but it's not very handy for dipping.  I think this happened because I tried to get "fussy" and added just a small splash of vanilla extract.  I don't know what chemical reaction was responsible for this outcome, but it scared me into using the double boiler technique and using a higher quality chocolate.  The microwave instructions are included in the link above, so use whichever method you prefer.

**In order to avoid having chocolate from fingertips to elbows (not that that's a bad thing) I used toothpicks as my dipping mechanism.  They allow you to stab-n-dip without losing much/any chocolate where your fingertips might have been.