Smothered Burritos

We had this last Sunday when Steve's oldest (by length of time known, not by his age) friend was visiting from NC.  It was easy to throw together, and I pretty much knew we would like it.  I have another recipe (Garlic Beef Enchiladas) kind of like this that is fabulous, but it takes a long time because you make the sauce from scratch.  So this seemed like it would be a quick easy thing to throw together.  We had this with Cilantro Lime Corn, which I will post separately.  This one is from Simple & Delicious.

Smothered Burritos
4 10-inch flour tortillas (I had 6 8-inch ones instead)
1 lb ground beef
1 can (10 oz) green enchilada sauce
3/4 cup salsa verde (I couldn't find this this time at Walmart so I used regular salsa-my fave is Pace)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used shredded Mexican cheese, and I used more than this, probably closer to 2 cups)

Combine enchilada sauce and salsa in a bowl.  Cook beef over  medium heat in a large skillet until no longer pink; drain.  Stir in 1/2 cup sauce mixture.

Spoon beef mixture evenly onto tortillas; sprinkle each with about 3 tbsp cheese.  Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up.  Transfer to a greased 11x7 baking dish.  Pour remaining sauce over burritos; sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I don't know the difference between enchiladas and burritos.  These seem more like enchiladas because they have a sauce over them.  But I'm no Mexican expert.  Whatever you call them, these were very yummy.  Everyone liked them, except Nathan.  It's already in the keeper book...

Bannann Peze

I have had plantains a few times in Haiti, and I haven't really liked them.  The texture, I think.  But it seemed like an authentic Haitian meal would not be complete without them.  So I bought 3 of them for $1.50 at Hannaford (a cheap experiment).  These things are really hard to peel.  Steve and I struggled but we did it (2 adults vs 3 plantains should not have been so hard).  This is from A Taste of Haiti.

Bannann Peze
1 plaintain
1 cup oil (I used canola oil)

Peel the plantains.  (It sounds so simple.  Cut 1 inch off each end.  Stick knife into skin and make one long cut from end to end, making sure you are not cutting into the plantain.  Remove skin by placing knife into the incision and dislodging skin from one end to the other, one inch at a time, until you have removed the entire skin.  Scrape the threads from the plantain with a knife.)

Cut plantain into 1 inch chunks.  Heat oil over medium high heat and fry plantains until they are lightly browned on each side.  Remove from oil and place on cutting board.  Using a broad solid spatula (if you don't have a Haitian plantain press, which I do not), press down on each piece (cut sides up) so they spread out.  Put back into oil and fry for 1-2 more minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve with sos ti-malis (or with salt and ketchup, if you are Americans in Haiti).

Yeah, so I still don't like them.  But Gessie and her son ate them all up.  Steve ate them, too, and told me they tasted just like the ones in Haiti.  So I was happy that I made them, because they were a hit.  The hardest part was peeling the darn things, once that was done the rest was easy.  And I was so happy with how they looked, exactly like the ones I have eaten there.  So if I am doing a Haitian meal again, I will include these, even though I won't eat them again myself.

Griyo

Several months ago, I showed my A Taste of Haiti cookbook to our Kreyol teacher, Gessie.  She said I had to make something for her out of it.  I agreed, and then I forgot all about it.  But she didn't!  A few weeks ago, she asked when I was having her over for Kreyol food.  So it was this past Thursday.  I wanted to make yummy authentic Haitian food for her.  We had Diri ak Pwa (posted in September under Beans & Rice), Griyo (which is "pork bits"...I like Griyo better), Bannann Peze (Pressed Plaintain, which I will post separately), and Sos Ti-Malis to cover it all.  A delicious 4-course meal.  I wanted to make dessert, but I ran out of steam.

Griyo
4-6 lb pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 limes, cut in half
4 tbsp pikliz (posted a few months ago)
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cloves
1 onion, sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 thyme sprig
1/2 green pepper, sliced thin
2 shallots, sliced thin
2 cups sos ti-malis

Wash meat in cold water.  Clean meat with lime halves and rinse with water again.  In a large bowl, marinate meat with pikliz, salt, pepper, cloves, onion, garlic, thyme, green pepper, and shallots.  Marinate at least 1 hour.

Transfer all contents of bowl to a large skillet and simmer on medium heat for 40 minutes.

Transfer to a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Cover and cook at 375 for 1 hour.  Uncover and cook for another 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with rice, bannann peze, sos ti-malis, and pikliz.

So so good.  Easier than the Haitian poultry recipes I've tried, since most of the cooking time is in the oven and you don't have to worry about turning it over or if the sauce is getting too thick.  This was fabulous, 5 adults, 3 kids, no leftovers.  Gessie assured me it tasted authentic.  I think she was serious.

I also just added a "Haitian food" label, so all the Haitian recipes will be in one place and easy to find.  Right now there are only 9 recipes.  But as you can see, when you make a Haitian meal, you need like 5 of them between the sos and the pikliz.  It will definitely make it easier for me in the future  =o)  I'm not sure if any of you will make any of these...but tell me if you do!

Pacific Rim Wraps

We had this last week for supper on a night that I was very tired due to working.  I used precooked chicken strips that I had a coupon for, so the prep was very easy.  This is from Back of the Box, and the thing they want you to buy is the evaporated milk for the homemade dressing that goes in these wraps.  I did buy evaporated milk, but not the brand they wanted me to.

Pacific Rim Wraps with Creamy Citrus Ginger Dressing
Dressing:
5 oz can evaporated milk
5 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Salad:
4 cups washed salad greens (or 6.5 oz pkg)
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup matchstick carrots
1 cup fresh sugar snap peas, cut in half (I left these out)(are you surprised?)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
6 8-inch flour tortillas

Combine all dressing ingredients into a jar or cup with tight fitting lid (I used one of the kids' Tupperware sippy cups...only by sheer coincidence did my tired self not hand it to Emma to drink...) and shake well until blended.

Combine all salad ingredients except tortillas in a large bowl.  Add 2/3 cup dressing; toss until evenly coated.  Place 1 cup salad mixture onto each tortilla.  Roll up tightly.  Cut in half and serve alongside remaining dressing.

These were so so good.  Nathan only had the chicken.  Emma was skeptical but did eat it the way it was given to her, once all the ingredients were spelled out.  Steve and I thought they were fabulous.  And they were very easy to throw together.  Definitely keeping it.  Oh, and if you make these, you can't really save the leftover dressing, which wasn't too much anyway.  It says it's only good for a day after you make it.

Cherry Cordial Cookies

As any of you who have been reading for a while know, I love chocolate and fruit together.  So I had to make these cookies.  I made them on Friday for home fellowship.  My friend Barbie (formerly mentioned in a previous blog post) was here for the afternoon and she helped me make these.  From Simple & Delicious Oct/Nov 2012.

Cherry Cordial Cookies
1 pkg (17 1/2 oz) sugar cookie mix (you could use your own sugar cookie recipe, too)
3/4 cup chopped dried cherries
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
3/4 cup cherry preserves (I used Polaner All Fruit)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup white baking chips

Place cookie mix, cherries, butter, and egg in a large bowl, beat until well mixed.  Shape into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until edges are browned.  Meanwhile, place cherry preserves in a small microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 1 minute.  Stir in chocolate chips until melted.  If necessary, microwave in 10 to 20 second intervals until chips are melted; stir until blended.

When cookies are done, make an indentation in the center of each warm cookie using the back of a tablespoon (this didn't work for us; too much cookie stuck to the spoon.  We used a small Tupperware tool [okay, it was a little pill holder I got from a grab bag at a party][and it was Barbie's idea] to make the indentation).  Fill indentations with cherry mixture.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Microwave white baking chips until melted.  Drizzle over cookies.  Let stand until set.

Barbie and I made the executive decision not to add the white chocolate drizzle.  The cookies didn't need it; they tasted great without it.  The reason we know this is because one "broke" and we had to try it.  And we were already speculating about how we would transport these cookies, because we knew if we stacked them, some of the filling from the bottom cookies would get on the ones above them.  But to transport them in a single layer would have required like 6 plates.  So we decided to skip the white drizzle and stack them a little, figuring that people probably wouldn't mind if some of the filling mingled.

Additionally, we had about 1/3 to 1/2 of the filling left after all the indentations were filled.  We made the cookies the recommended size, and they say the yield for this recipe is 3 1/2 dozen.  We got 31 cookies, counting the one that broke.  So I think you could easily use 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of cherry preserves and be fine.  For the extra filling, I have plans to remelt it some night and dip pretzels in it.  Mmmmm.

Now, how did people like them?  Some of the kids at HF didn't.  But the grown ups did.  Even Nick, who doesn't like fruit, liked them.  Today I brought the leftovers to my mom's house, and all the adults there except my sister liked them.  I don't know why she didn't.  Her tastebuds are off right now because she is cutting waaaay back on her diet pepsi intake.  She is just starting to know what food tastes like, so it will take some time.  I will definitely make these again, I was very happy with how they turned out.

Layered Potato Beef Casserole

This is the recipe you make with the beef stew leftovers.  It's kind of like scalloped potatoes, which my husband loves because he says his grandmother used to make them a lot.  We had them sometimes, too, and sometimes mom would throw leftover ham in with them.  I tried making them from scratch once, but the sauce was too thin (I thought) and not cheesy enough.  Beef stew and scalloped potatoes is a weird combination I would definitely not have thought up on my own.  But I guess that is why I do not write cookbooks.  We had a lot of beef stew leftover, I could have made like 3 of these, but I stuck with the original amount.  My friend Barbie and her girls were over and were going to eat dinner with us, too.  So making this with her and then eating it with them was great fun, no matter how the dish turned out.

Layered Potato Beef Casserole
3 tbsp butter, divided
2 tbsp flour
3/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 cups leftover beef stew
4 medium yukon potaotes, thinly sliced (I peeled mine first because my kids don't like potato peels)
1/3 cup crushed ritz crackers
1 tbsp dried parsley flakes (omitted by me...why add unnecessary green?  First impressions are important)
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Melt 2 tbsp butter in large saucepan.  Stir in the flour, rosemary, pepper, and salt until blended; gradually add milk.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted.

Spoon 2 cups beef stew into greased 2 1/2 qt baking dish (I think mine was only 2 qt...as it turns out, that matters).  Layer with half of the potatoes and half of the cheese sauce.  Layer with remaining stew, potatoes, and sauce (mine was filled to the very brim of the dish).

Cover (my cover did fit on...) and bake at 400 for 45-50 minutes (Barbie: you should put a cookie sheet under that because it's going to overflow and get all over the bottom of your oven.  Me: Nah.  I don't care) or until potatoes are tender (22 minutes in...I hear a weird simmer-y noise.  Ah, it's overflowing.  Barbie was right.  She makes sure I know this as I slide a cookie sheet onto the rack under the one the dish is on).  Melt remaining butter.  Stir in crushed crackers, parsley, and garlic powder.  Sprinkle over casserole.  Bake, uncovered, 5-10 more minutes longer (it is dripping and overflowing this whole time) or until topping is golden brown.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

So smoke was wafting out of my oven, because even after I put the cookie sheet in there, cheese was dripping on to that, and burning, and making smoke.  I turned on the fan and opened a window, so the smoke detector did not go off (PHEW!  This was Barbie's first meal at our house, and that would NOT have been a good first impression..."Come eat at my house and I'll almost burn it down, or I'll definitely at least burn dinner.")  When all was said and done, and we were sitting down and eating, everybody except Nathan liked this.  We didn't let it sit for 10 minutes because we were in a rush to get to home fellowship, so the sauce was very runny, but also very tasty.  The beef stew components seemed out of place, but tasted fine.  Barbie liked it well enough to take home the leftovers, which you do not do if you are just trying to be polite. So I would call it a success.  And since I used my new no-stick Wilton cookie sheet, the char just literally washed right off. 

Chilly Night Beef Stew

You can't just say "beef stew," apparently.  We did have this on a fall night, but it wasn't that chilly.  But that's okay because I do what I want.  I like when recipes give you another recipe right after to try with the leftovers, because with beef stew there are always leftovers, and it's fun to try something new.  So this one had the stew, and then a second one using stew leftovers which is kind of like scalloped potatoes, which I will post separately.  This is from Simple & Delicious.  It's written to go into the crock pot, but I didn't get myself in gear enough to get it in there in time on Monday morning, so at about 2ish I started it and it simmered on the stove all afternoon. That would have been good for a chilly night, too.

Chilly Night Beef Stew
6 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp pepper, divided
2 lbs beef stew meat
1/4 cup olive oil
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium onions, diced
4 celery ribs, sliced
2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) beef broth (I used 4 cups homemade stock)
2 cans (11 1/2 oz each) V8 juice (I had plain tomato juice leftover from something else so I used that)
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp paprika
6 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water

Combine flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in large ziploc bag.  Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat.  Brown beef in oil in batches in a large skillet.

Transfer meat and drippings to a 6-qt slow cooker.  Add potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery.  Combine broth, juice, worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, basil, paprika, and remaining salt and pepper; pour over top.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat and veggies are tender.  Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into stew.  Cover and cook 30 minutes longer or until thickened.  Discard bay leaves and serve.

To make on the stovetop:  Brown meat in smallish sized stockpot (I started in a Dutch oven and had to switch over because it wasn't big enough), then add all other ingredients through cornstarch.  Cover and simmer until your husband gets home, and then eat it (making it this way, I didn't add the cornstarch to thicken it, it was thick enough already).

This came out yummy.  I am going to have to compare it to my other beef stew recipe(s) to see if it will replace it or not.  I liked the spices and I liked the tomato juice in this one.