Month: May 2011

King Ranch Casserole (with leftover turkey)

Posted By under Main Courses, Main Ingredient, Poultry, Recipes

As with most casserole dishes, there are many variations of King Ranch.  No matter the recipe, the key components seem to be poultry, tortillas, cheese and a creamy sauce.  All good things in our book.  Looking at several different recipes, we put together this King Ranch with the following ingredients:  leftover cooked turkey (most recipes use chicken, but we had previously grilled a turkey breast and had tons leftover), onion, red bell pepper, garlic, tortillas, chicken broth, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, Rotel, green chiles, jalapeno and cheddar cheese seasoned with chili powder. Continue reading “King Ranch Casserole (with leftover turkey)”

Tuscan-Style Steak with Arugula and Parmesan

Posted By under Main Courses, Main Ingredient, Recipes, Red Meat

On a busy weeknight, we love a dish that incorporates both the protein and the vegetable in the same recipe — as seen here and here.  Such meals are usually really easy to prepare, but still have fresh and complex flavors.  We found this recipe in an old cookbook by Cook’s Illustrated, “The Quick Recipe,” which we found at a Half Price Books store (used book stores are great places to find good quality cookbooks at inexpensive prices.)  The ingredients for this dish include steak, arugula, a vinaigrette made with olive oil, lemon, garlic, fresh parsley, fresh oregano, salt & pepper, and freshly shaved parmesan for garnish.  We added tomatoes for a little extra flavor and texture.  We’re crazy like that.

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Mi Cocina (Restaurant Review)

Posted By under Reviews

For my birthday lunch this year, Dan took me to one of our favorite Tex-Mex restaurants, Mi Cocina.  They have multiple locations around town, many of which we have been to many times.  We each have our preferred items on their menu, but pretty much everything we’ve ever eaten there has been delicious.  Sometimes as a restaurant expands with numerous locations, the quality suffers.  Not so with Mi Cocina — all the restaurants where we have dined offer high quality, perfectly seasoned Tex-Mex dishes with fresh ingredients.  As often as we eat there, we never get tired of it.  Continue reading “Mi Cocina (Restaurant Review)”

Grilled Pork Chops with Mushroom-Soy Vinaigrette

Posted By under Main Courses, Main Ingredient, Pork, Recipes

Bobby Flay knows his way around a grill.  We have several of his grilling cookbooks and I like to consult them when we’re in the mood for something a little different than the usual grill recipes.  Bobby tends to use a lot of interesting rubs and sauces in his grilling, and this dish is no exception.  We like how the rich and earthy mushroom flavor of the sauce complements the spicy (but not too spicy) rub on the pork.  This mushroom vinaigrette would also be good served on other proteins – like a grilled chicken breast or a nice filet mignon.

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