Category: Recipes

Crushed Potatoes

Posted By under Main Ingredient, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetable

We recently came across a side dish called “Crash-Hot Potatoes,” and we were intrigued enough by the name to try them.  This recipe is so simple — small red potatoes boiled until fork-tender, then “crashed” and coated in a bit of olive oil for roasting in a hot oven until crispy and delicious.  We love the flavors of garlic and basil with olive oil, so we switched up this recipe by using a garlic-infused olive oil and dried basil (instead of thyme or rosemary) which added a very subtle Italian flair that was fantastic.  These may be the current number one potato dish in our rotation.  Try them — we promise that you will not be disappointed!

Update: We followed friend and commenter Carrie’s tip to crush the potatoes using the bottom of a dry measuring cup wrapped in plastic, and it worked like a charm.  We also boiled the potatoes a little longer before crushing them.

Continue reading “Crushed Potatoes”

Homemade Noodles with Two Sauces

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

We are always looking for interesting new cookbooks.  I saw a reference to a book called “The Frankies Spuntino:  Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual,” and knew Dan would like it.  The authors have a couple of restaurants in Brooklyn, and their book includes all kinds of useful cooking tips.  We were particularly inspired by their suggestion that making fresh pasta if you have a stand mixer “is practically painless and almost entirely automatic.”  So, on a recent weekend when we had family in town, we decided to try homemade pasta using the mixer.  To go along with the pasta, we cooked two different quick pan sauces — one with pancetta, white wine and tomato sauce, and the other with pecorino cheese and pepper.  Everything was amazing. Continue reading “Homemade Noodles with Two Sauces”

Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato and Feta

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

This Orzo with Shrimp dish is one of our comfort foods.  We use a single pot to boil the orzo pasta, saute the shrimp, then cook a quick spicy garlic and tomato sauce.  Combine all of these great ingredients in a baking dish with some feta and parmesan cheese, then heat it all in the oven for about 10 minutes for a delicious meal.  Continue reading “Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato and Feta”

Chicken Nachos (with leftover chicken)

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

When Dan is out of town and I’m forced to fend for myself for dinner, I often plan ahead to turn our leftovers from earlier in the week into something different for my solo meal.  For some reason, I find the need to transmogrify leftovers, otherwise I won’t eat them.  Maybe it’s my way of pretending that I cook.  So, here are the Chicken Nachos that I “cooked” while Dan was away. Continue reading “Chicken Nachos (with leftover chicken)”

Beer Can Chicken

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

Is there a more fun way to grill a whole chicken than sitting it on a can of beer?  We don’t think so either.  We had some loved ones over for dinner this weekend and grilled a pair of chickens.  Grilling the chickens on cans of beer allows them to cook evenly, and the steaming beer keeps the chicken nice and juicy.  Beer Can Chicken is pretty easy to do, especially with Dan’s perfected technique for removing the can from the chicken when it’s done.  Continue reading “Beer Can Chicken”

Chicken Guadalajara

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

How about a recipe from West Texas?  El Paso is an important place in my life — my parents met when they were students at UTEP, and I was born there.  The Junior League of El Paso publishes an incredible cookbook titled Seasoned With Sun, which is full of delicious southwest recipes.  My mom cooks from this book and gave my Chef Dan a copy way back when we were dating.  The first dish we ever tried from this cookbook is Chicken Guadalajara — a mixture of chicken, green chiles and onion in a creamy sauce.  It takes about 40 minutes to prepare and uses only a single skillet — perfect for a busy weeknight. Continue reading “Chicken Guadalajara”

Chili

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

We’re going to be participating in a chili cook-off at the beginning of October, so we decided to fine tune our chili recipe.  We’re fans of Texas-style chili, which means no beans, but plenty of beef.  We made our own chili powder from dried red chiles, added onion, jalapenos and a dark beer, then simmered.  The end result was outstanding.  We’re ready for October! Continue reading “Chili”

Green Chile Cheeseburgers and Sweet Potato Fries

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

Green chiles make everything just a little better.  We watched a program on the Food Network last week featuring green chile cheeseburgers and were inspired to try these on our own grill.  So amazing.  We decided to pair our southwest cheeseburgers with a healthier version of french fries — sweet potatoes pan roasted on the grill.  A delicious late summer meal! Continue reading “Green Chile Cheeseburgers and Sweet Potato Fries”

Green Chile Turkey Enchiladas

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

This week, we used the leftover turkey from our August Turkey Dinner to make Green Chile Turkey Enchiladas.  You can also use leftover chicken or pork in these enchiladas, which are a great way to turn leftovers into a completely different dish.  They are really simple to make and we love them as a Tex-Mex version of comfort food. Continue reading “Green Chile Turkey Enchiladas”