In This Menu:

• Spinach and Watermelon Salad
• Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
• Peach Bread Pudding

It is true. I like Mexican food. A lot. I just spent the weekend in St. Louis celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday. Happy Birthday Virginia, you’re the best! I was able to cook with my sister-in-law, Gloria, who is not too shabby when it comes to Mexican cooking (growing up there helps). Gloria is passionate about food, family, and entertaining and because of that, cooking with her is truly a joy! This is the long explanation as to why I did enchiladas this week.

I wanted to give you a recipe for enchiladas that is fairly quick and easy. The ground Smart Chicken is an amazing product and you should be able to get this dish in the oven in less than 45 minutes. It freezes well and if you are looking for a dish to take to a friend, this does very well in a foil pan. Salud!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Dash of salt
• 4 cups torn spinach
• 4 cups thinly sliced romaine
  lettuce

• 2 cups (1 inch) watermelon
  balls

• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• ½ cup sliced cucumber
• ¼ cup thinly sliced onion, separated into rings

PREPARATION

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl; stir well with a whisk. Set aside.
Combine spinach and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad, and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small white onions, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ears Olathe corn cut from cob
• 1 lb. ground Smart Chicken
• Salt and pepper
• 1, 12 oz. can black beans
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 lb. soft, Mexican cheese grated
• 12, 8 inch corn tortillas
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 can green enchilada sauce
• 8 oz. sour cream
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 bunch cilantro, rough chop

PREPARATION

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, corn, and chicken and sauté, tossing frequently until chicken is cooked through. Drain meat, then place in bowl. Add black beans, ½ of the chopped cilantro, ½ of the cheese, and lime juice to chicken and stir to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat vegetable oil on low heat. Dip tortillas one at a time in hot oil and set aside on paper towels to drain. Fill each tortilla with about ¼ cup of the filling, roll and place in a greased ovenproof pan, like a Pyrex.

Make sauce by mixing enchilada sauce with sour cream and salt. Pour sauce over enchiladas and bake for 45 minutes at 375°.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 fresh peaches, peeled and
  sliced thin

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 6 cage free eggs
• ½ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• Pinch of salt
• Several slices of dense, white
  bread, crusts removed

PREPARATION

Slice peaches, place in bowl with brown sugar and set aside.

Beat eggs with next 5 ingredients and set aside. Butter a 8″x8″ Pyrex. Line bottom of Pyrex with peach slices, slightly overlapping. Top peach layer with a layer of bread to completely cover peaches. Repeat until pan is full. Pour custard over all and let the custard soak into the bread. Bake in water bath for about 90 minutes at 275° or until a toothpick comes out clean.

In This Menu:

• Pork Quesadillas
• Arugula Salad with Peaches and Pecans
• Strawberry Cream Tart

We love quesadillas at my house. What’s not to like about crispy tortillas filled with some type of goodness swimming in melted white cheese topped with a tangy sauce and velvety sour cream? I have a flat top griddle on my range which makes it very easy to cook two quesadillas at a time. The quesadilla recipe below uses components from two other Mexican recipes: Cochinita Pibil and Corn and Black Bean Salsa.

For Pork:

• 1½ lbs of country style pork ribs
• 2 tablespoons chile powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small white onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Diced green chiles, one can
• Juice of two oranges
• Juice of one lemon
• Juice of two limes

Sprinkle spices all over pork to coat evenly. Get a large skillet very hot over high heat. Add oil, then pork. Allow pork to sear until golden brown then turn and sear other side. Add onions and garlic to pan, reduce heat, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until onions begin to soften. Add the green chiles and the three fruit juices, recover pan and simmer on low heat for at least one and one half hours. Remove pork from pan, leaving sauce in pan on stove for another 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce thickens to consistency of salsa. When sauce is thick, remove from heat and set aside. When pork is cool, tear the meat into shreds with your hands. After meat is shredded, place back in sauce and toss until the sauce and meat are thoroughly mixed.

For Salsa:

• One 12 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup of fine diced, white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ears of Olathe corn
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a medium skillet and add onions and garlic. Remove husk from corn and cut kernels from cob. Add corn to skillet. Sauté, tossing frequently until onions are soft and corn is cooked. Remove from heat, add black beans, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

For Quesadillas:

• Eight, 10 inch flour tortillas
• One pound of white, Mexican cheese grated
• Vegetable oil
• Sour Cream
• Salsa

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until 350°. Place one tortilla on a plate and cover moderately with cheese (about 2 oz). Top cheese with about ½ cup of the black bean salsa and about ½ cup of the meat mixture. Top meat with more cheese, then another tortilla. Place in microwave for one minute to start melting the cheeses to help hold the quesadillas together. Brush griddle or skillet with a light coating of vegetable oil with a pastry brush or just add 2 teaspoons or so of oil and swirl around. Place quesadilla on griddle. Brush top of quesadilla with more oil. Cook until golden brown then turn and cook other side. Remove from heat and cut into 6 triangle pieces. Serve with sour cream and salsa if desired.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 container organic, baby
  arugula

• 2 fresh, Missouri peaches,
  peeled and sliced

• One, 6 oz. bag chopped
  pecans

For Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon or so of honey

PREPARATION

In a small bowl, with a wire whip, mix balsamic with oil, salt, and honey until dressing is one color. Place arugula in a bowl and add just enough dressing to coat and toss to coat evenly. Divide arugula evenly on 4 plates. Put peaches and pecans in the bowl with a little more of the dressing. Toss to coat peaches. Top arugula with peaches and pecans.

INGREDIENTS

For Crust:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1¼ cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons milk
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

For Filling:

• 3 oz. package cream cheese,
  softened

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup sour cream

For Topping:

• 1 pint fresh, organic strawberries hulled and cut in half
• 2-6 tablespoons strawberry jelly, melted

PREPARATION

Heat oven to 400°. In small mixer bowl beat butter and sugar at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add flour, milk and ½ teaspoon almond extract. Reduce speed to low; continue beating, scraping bowl often, until mixture leaves sides of bowl and forms a ball. Press dough on bottom and up sides of greased 10″ tart pan or 12″ pizza pan; prick with fork. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool.

In small mixer bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon almond extract. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sour cream; continue beating until mixture is thick and fluffy (2 to 3 minutes). Spread over top of cooled crust. Refrigerate at least 1 hour just before serving. Arrange fruit on filling. Brush or drizzle melted jelly over fruit.

In This Menu:

• Warm Spinach Salad
• T-Bone Steaks with Chimichurri
• Blueberry Crumble

To continue our culinary journey this week, I thought we would visit the Pampas of Argentina. Argentina is a place that produces some of the best beef cattle in the world and is renowned for their steaks. The Chimichurri sauce for the steaks is a very common and popular condiment for meat. The sauce really gets its flavor from the parsley. To that end, it is important to use the flat leaf or Italian parsley as it has a much better and more pronounced flavor than the curly parsley. Since I have personally been trying to eat healthier and avoid processed foods, I will try to give those of you also trying to eat better some healthful hints within these blog posts. Fortunately, we have just hired a registered nutritionist to be part of our team and she is assisting me in my effort to eat better as well as passing along good information to you, our customers.

In looking at this menu I realized that the salad, corn, and steak go right along with my plan. No changes. Instead of frying the fries, you could bake them, remove the skin, and mash them with some salt, pepper, and creamy goat cheese; these are wonderful and the goat cheese is very good for you as are the potatoes. As far as the dessert goes, try using unbleached flour instead of all purpose and substituting Stevia (a natural sweetener) and/or honey for the white sugar since fat is not the enemy, processed foods are (at least in my program). Use regular sour cream, not the “light brand”.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. baby spinach
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1 small red onion
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper

PREPARATION

Cut Romas in half vertically and run your paring knife round the seeds inside the tomato. Now remove the seeds and run under cold water to remove any seeds that remain. Peel the onion, cut in quarters, then into thin slices. Cut mozzarella into ¼” cubes.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and spinach. Stir spinach constantly until it just begins to wilt. Remove spinach from pan, season with salt and pepper, and place in a large salad bowl. Put pan back on stove, turn heat to high and add other tablespoon of oil. When pan is hot, add the tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms to the pan along with a light dusting of salt and pepper. Sauté quickly, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. You don’t want the vegetables to overcook. Pour vegetables over spinach and top with mozzarella. Drizzle vinegar over salad and toss to combine.

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 6 garlic cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1½ tablespoons of salt
• ¾ cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian (sometimes called flat leaf) parsley
• ¼ cup fresh oregano leaves
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

For Sweet Potato Fries and Steaks:

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 2 to 3 cups canola oil

For Steaks:

• 3 T-bone steaks, 1 inch thick or as desired

PREPARATION

For Chimichurri:

Place the vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, jalapeños, and salt in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the parsley and oregano, and pulse until well blended. Keep machine running and slowly drizzle in oil. Remove from food processor, cover tightly and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400° F and prepare the grill (or, alternatively, the steaks can be broiled).

For Fries:

Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, bake in the oven for 20 minutes, and let cool. Neatly cut the potatoes, still with their skins on, into thin sticks. Heat the oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 350° F and fry the potatoes for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and keep warm. This is the traditional Argentina way of cooking these fries, but I prefer the French two step method that we have discussed before.
(http://www.pricecutteronline.com/blog/?p=1666)

For Steaks:

Lay steaks out on baking sheet and rub each side with a generous amount of olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on the hot grill. Grill the steaks for about 5 minutes per side for medium or to the desired doneness. Top with a liberal dose of the Chimichurri sauce and put some sauce in a bowl for dipping.

For Corn:

Remove husks from corn and rinse in cold water to remove any stringy material left on cob. Take out a one foot length of foil and lay cob on top of it. Brush all sides of corn cob with olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roll in foil and seal the ends. Place corn on grill or in oven about 5 minutes before steaks go on. Turn corn frequently to avoid burning any side. Corn takes about 15 minutes to completely cook.

INGREDIENTS

For the Streusel:

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the Cake:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (¾ stick)
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the Streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the Cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar.

In This Menu:

• Greek Salad with Feta Turnover (Spanakopita)
• Souvlaki
• Greek Ice Cream with Peaches

Two weeks ago we journeyed to India in a culinary quest. I had so much fun researching and cooking the Indian food for you that I thought another journey was in order: this time to Greece! For those of you who are intimately familiar with Greek food, you’ll have to excuse me for not being completely authentic. Just so you know, this is not my intention. These recipes are my interpretations and variations of traditional Greek food. The Spanakopita, for instance, is not usually served on a salad but I like it served that way; if you give it a try, I think you might like it too! I think one becomes a better cook by pushing the boundaries of a recipe and coming up with new ways to present a classic dish. I put this version of a Greek salad on my previous restaurant’s menu way back in 2001. In the original recipe, I made the turnover with puff pastry and the filling was different. When considering my options for this week’s meal plan, I wondered why I had never done the turnover with phyllo dough (which is used extensively in Greece). The answer was probably that I didn’t want to do spanakopita, which is the classic Greek hors d’oeuvres made with feta cheese and spinach wrapped in phyllo. My next thought was, “Why not?” So here we are!

Serves 4

For the salad:

• 1 head red leaf lettuce, washed and chopped
• 1 head bib lettuce, washed and chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, halved and sliced into crescent shapes ¼-inch thick
• 4 Roma tomatoes, cut in half. Seeded and sliced into strips ¼-inch thick
• ½ to ¾ cup Kalamata olives, pitted
• ½ cup roasted red peppers, cut into strips
• ½ cup pine nuts, toasted (toast on cookie sheet in oven at 350° for about 6 minutes)

For the dressing:

• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ cup olive oil

Place all ingredients (except oil) in a food processor. Turn machine to high and slowly drizzle in oil to make a vinaigrette.

For the spanakopita:

First, let me say that working with phyllo dough can be a bit challenging. If you are not up to it, there are some good frozen spanakopitas on the market. If you want to learn how, then here we go!

For the dough:

• 6 sheets phyllo dough, thawed and covered with a towel
• ½ cup of olive oil in a small bowl and a pastry brush

For the filling:

• ½ cup chopped spinach frozen or fresh, drained off as much water as you can remove
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 oz. feta cheese broken into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Making the dough:

Place one sheet of the phyllo on a large cutting board and being careful not to tear it. Lightly brush with olive oil. Place another sheet on top of the first and brush the second sheet with oil. Repeat process until all 6 sheets are stacked on top of each other with a layer of olive oil on each one. Make sure and brush the last sheet with the oil as well. Mix all of the ingredients for the filling in a small bowl and set aside. Cut the dough in half horizontally, then cut each piece in half again. You should now have 4 long strips of oil treated dough. Place a tablespoon on the bottom of the first phyllo strip. Grab the left bottom corner of the strip and fold over filling to make a triangle. Now fold upwards. Continue folding in triangles until you have used all of the dough. Remember making those paper footballs as a kid? This is the same idea! Repeat with other dough pieces and filling. Bake the spanakopita at 375° until light brown. Remove from oven. Serve warm on top of salad.

Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with dressing. Divide onto four plates and top each salad with the warm spanakopita.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lemon, grated and juiced
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh or 2 teaspoons dry oregano
• 4 to 6 fresh basil leaves
• 4 to 6 sprigs parsley
• 1 large or 2 small shallots
• 6 cloves
• 1½ teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound strip sirloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 pound lamb (chops or leg), boned cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 Roma tomatoes, quartered
• 2 red onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound Smart Chicken thighs, boned cut into 1-inch cubes skewers

PREPARATION

Place first 12 ingredients (everything down to the meat) in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Place the sirloin, lamb, tomatoes, onions, and peppers into a large bowl. Pour all of the marinade (except ½ cup) over the meats and vegetables. Place the chicken in a small bowl and pour half of the remaining marinade (¼ cup) over it. Reserve the remaining marinade for basting. Toss the contents of both bowls to coat evenly. Cover and let marinate for at least 3 hours; overnight is better.

Preheat grill for medium-high heat (400°). Remove chicken from bowl and grill for 3 minutes, turn over and grill for another 3 minutes. The reason the chicken is marinated and cooked separately is that chicken MUST be cooked through to avoid food borne illness. The beef and lamb, on the other hand, are much better cooked medium rare to medium. If you intend to cook all of the meat well done, you can just add the chicken to the other ingredients when marinating.

Remember, eating undercooked chicken can lead to serious illness! Always wash utensils, hands, counters, etc. when handling raw chicken and do not let other foods that will be eaten raw (salads, etc.) touch any area that has been contaminated by raw chicken.

Thread skewers in this order: lamb, tomato, chicken, pepper, beef, onion. Lightly oil grate. Grill over hot coals, basting with the remaining marinade every couple of minutes. Cook 4 to 8 minutes per side depending on desired doneness. Turn skewers frequently for even cooking. Serve on a bed of Greek rice pilaf.

I found this ice cream recipe on the internet and I have to say, it is AWESOME! I came up with the peaches in caramel cream. You are going to like this one!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of 2% milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1¼ cup of whipping cream

PREPARATION
In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and fully blended. In a saucepan, heat the milk (do not boil). When hot (steaming), add the egg mixture slowly, whisking continuously. Reduce heat to low, and cook until it becomes a smooth custard, stirring to keep from boiling.

Note: Alternatively, use a double boiler.

Remove custard from the heat and set aside to cool. When completely cooled, whip the cream to soft peaks and gently fold into the custard mixture with a spatula. Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to directions. Serve with warm peaches in sauce.

For the peaches:

• 3 large, fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¾ cup heavy cream

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and add peaches, sugar, and cloves. Cook stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Add cream, bring to a boil and reduce for 4 minutes until thick, but pourable.

Yield: approximately 1 quart