Dinner – garyskitchen.net

November 5, 2023

New and Improved! Sour Cream Chicken Enchillada Casserole

Updated 11.05.13

The Boss: “I’ll make the sauce.”

Me: “Why?”

The Boss: “Because your sauce is too thin and the casserole gets too runny.”

Recipes change with time and repeated preparations. But sometimes the changes you’ve made were not necessarily an improvement to the dish. Lesson learned. Time to update this family classic. You don’t want the original recipe. Don’t use One Rotisserire Chicken, 50 Meals – #3 Sour Cream Chicken Enchillada Casserole. Make this one.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole

8 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
4 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 C butter
2 T. flour
3/4 C. sour cream
1 3/4 C. chicken broth
1 small can mild green chiles
1 medium onion, chopped
Two rotisserie chickens, meat taken off the bones, cubed (yes two chickens)
18 yellow corn tortillas

Saute onions in butter, add flour then broth. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Add chiles and sour cream and heat. Be careful to not let the sauce boil. Set aside.
Butter a 9 x 12 casserole dish.
Layer three corn tortillas. Cover generously with chicken. Add jack cheese. Sauce. Repeat.
The final layer of corn tortillas is covered with sauce only, no cheese yet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes covered until bubbly. Remove cover, add cheddar cheese to the top. Return to the oven for 10 minutes to allow cheese to melt.
After cheese has melted, remove from the oven and allow to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.

This recipe started with a version from Delicioso! Cooking South Texas Style. The original recipe from the cookbook has sour cream sauce quantities similar to the updated version and not the too thin, too runny, bad quantities I had been using. The original also called for a full pound of Monterrey Jack cheese, no cheddar. Uh, no. Also included were jalapenos which would be wicked good but by subbing mild green chilies you get a child friendly dish if you know what I mean and I think you do.

Tips – Cut up the chicken first and snack on those tiny tidbits of meat that you have to pick off the bones with your fingers. Do not use pre-shredded cheese. Period. Trust your significant other when she says your sauce is too thin and it makes the casserole too runny. Make some fresh Guacamole – Asian Inspired and Updated and serve with chips. Beans and rice for sides obviously. Don’t forget the beer.

The Two Chicken Change to the Recipe –

Two birds because all of the ones you find in the grocery stores (not Costco) are really small. We used to call them Cornish Hens. Seriously, pigeons are bigger than the rotisserie chickens nowadays.

May 29, 2022

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Honey-Lime Cabbage Slaw

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I used to make Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw – Bon Appétit. Tonight was a good night to have black bean tacos so I pulled up my original post from nearly eight years ago Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw – (NOT) Bon Appétit

No surprises this time. I make these tacos differently now. Time for another revision.

The Beans

1 15-ounce can organic low sodium black beans, drained, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (maybe more)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/2 medium size lime juiced
1 large clove garlic minced
pinch oregano, dash celery salt (trust me on this one)

The Slaw

1 14 ounce bag cabbage slaw mix
1 tsp dried cilantro
onion and garlic powders, a dash apiece
salt and pepper
juice of 1.5 limes
2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
2-3 T honey

Taco Things

4 white or yellow corn tortilla shells, crispy
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (cheddar is OK too)
Your favorite hot sauce or salsa

Drain and rinse the black beans, set aside.
In a small saucepan, saute the onion on medium flame until soft and slightly browned. Add oregano, cumin, and garlic. Saute until the spices are fragrant, about a minute or two.
Add the well drained black beans. Add juice of half a lime. Heat until warmed through. Mash the beans with a spoon but leave some beans whole and chunky. Season with celery salt. Set aside.

The Slaw

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the olive oil and juice of 1.5 limes. Mix in honey. Add olive oil to create a smooth dressing. Season to taste with onion/garlic powders, salt and pepper.
Add the cabbage slaw mix. Mix well, adjust for seasoning, and set aside.

This recipe will make enough for 4-6 tacos. If you need more servings, double the bean recipe and buy more taco shells. You will not need to double the cabbage slaw portion. You’ll have plenty.

Construct your tacos.

TIPS –

We recently discovered La Tiara authentic Mexican taco shells from Gladstone Missouri. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing as you until I tried these shells. Use bagged sliced slaw for pure convenience. Fresh cabbage? Only if you have the time and eschew convenience. Fresh avocado would be nice. Beer is also a perfect side dish for these tacos.

Veganistas – use vegan cheese.

September 3, 2021

Grocery Store Bargains

With food inflation absolutely skyrocketing I decided to write a post about finding bargains. Yes, bargains in the grocery store. A little while ago I boasted about finding a dozen eggs for $0.89 and wrote Egg Salad (because you will be eating more eggs). Well eggs in my part of the world are no longer this cheap but you’ll never guess what I found at the store yesterday.

Even though The Boss is not a dark meat chicken person at this price she will be eating dark meat chicken for dinner. Besides, The Boss really likes Chicken Thighs with Spinach which I’ve made several times since discovering the how to video online. I just need to figure out some decent recipes for preparing drums.

The increasing domestic demand for thighs is incentivizing producers to keep chicken legs, which have historically been heavily exported overseas, in the US market. But since every bird has one drumstick for every thigh, it leaves more drumsticks in the market, often at bargain-basement prices.
Big Chicken’s Drumstick Dilemma — https://tastecooking.com/chicken-drumstick-dilemma-dark-meat-thigh/

My big old roasting pan came in handy. Cover the bottom with foil for easier clean up. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Artfully place the drums in the pan, coat with some olive oil, and add some herbs and spices. I used salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and thyme. Bake for 45-50 minutes flipping over once about halfway through. After removing from the oven let the drums sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

The picture represents about half of the drums. The other half got served with squash and rice on the side. There’s plenty of leftover chicken to top a green salad, make chicken salad, quesadillas, tacos, Ampaipitakwong Fried Rice (aka Pete’s) or just about any other dish that has cooked chicken in it. Like my One Rotisserie Chicken series except you get to cook the chicken.

One Rotisserie Chicken, 50 Meals – #1 Salad

One Rotisserie Chicken , 50 Meals – #2 Spinach Salad

One Rotisserire Chicken, 50 Meals – #3 Sour Cream Chicken Enchillada Casserole

I picked up two packages of drums. Not bad for two bucks.

June 17, 2021

Chicken Thighs with Spinach

For all the complainers who complain about my lack of food photos.

I tend to waste a lot of time watching other people cook on YouTube. But every now and then I actually make a dish I’ve watched someone else make and say to myself, this is a keeper.

“I make simpler things in a simpler way, now—as you get older your metabolism changes and you want something simpler, without embellishment.”
Jacques Pépin
Chef Jacques Pépin got through the pandemic with kitchen utensils, a video camera, and a great wardrobe — https://thecounter.org/rewrites-covid-19-chef-jacques-pepin-facebook-recipe-cookbook/

Salt, pepper, garlic, chicken thighs, and fresh spinach. That’s it. No added fats. Some rice or potatoes on the side and you have dinner on the table in 45 minutes or less. Check out the video.

I learned a lot by watching Jacques Pépin make chicken thigh. Incredible technique.

August 19, 2020August 27, 2020

“Up Your Game” – Pandemic Meals in Pictures

The moment you realize your kid has leapfrogged you in the world of everyday cooking.

Is it possible to feel proud and depressed simultaneously?

I’ll revise this post when I’m less depressed. Just in case you want to know what these dishes are.

Revision 08.26.20

Peach pie! The Colorado Kids are killing it.

July 17, 2020August 19, 2020

Sloppy Turkey Joes

It’s been four months since Covid-19 changed our lives. For most of us fortunate enough to stay healthy we have adjusted to spending more time at home. More time at home for me has meant more cooking. Breakfast is typically a simple no cook meal. Sometimes I’ll cook lunch. Most nights we’ll sit down to a home cooked meal. But after four months you try not to repeat too many dishes and vow to find/make something different. I’ve bought more cookbooks than I care to admit. I’ve spent a lot of time on food blogs looking for something tasty to try. But despite the plethora of recipes on the planet sometimes you just can’t decide what to make.

“Why don’t you make Sloppy Joes?”

Why do I make life so hard on myself sometimes?

The sheer beauty of a dish like Sloppy Joes is its simplicity. This was one of the first recipes our sons learned how to cook when they were kids. Ground meat, ketchup, mustard, done. The kid recipe came from a cookbook for kids that has long since disappeared from my collection. Any Sloppy Joe recipe is simple, easy to fix, and tasty. It’s the perfect recipe to get your kids on a cooking path.

I haven’t written much on the Pandemic Pantry lately. The stores around me are well stocked and my pantry is well stocked. The trick is to pick up a few things at the store every time you shop as potential pantry items. If you use them during the week great but if not, just toss them in the pantry or freezer for later use. I always pick up a package of ground turkey when shopping. There was an entire package of onion buns in the freezer (if you don’t freeze your bread you should). I like to have bell peppers in the vegetable drawer and I always have onions.

And there you have it. Turkey Joes. Psychologists say it’s important for people to recall and share memories. Recalling and sharing helps us find meaning and connect with others. I believe I’ve found true meaning and can connect with others by remembering and sharing my Sloppy Joe story. If you’re interested in making the original kid version use ground beef, ketchup, and mustard. Leave the rest of the ingredients out. I’m not kidding.

Inspiration: The Chunky Chef (because her SEO consultant is doing a great job).

Turkey Joes

1 pat butter
1 T olive oil
1 lb. ground turkey
1 medium green bell pepper, small dice
1/2 large sweet onion, small dice
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water
1 T brown sugar
1 T yellow mustard
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
several dashes of hot sauce

Instructions

Heat butter and oil in large skillet over high heat.
Add the onion and bell pepper, reduce heat to medium and saute for a few minutes until the vegetables have sweated.
Turn the heat back up to high and add turkey. Break apart into crumbles and saute until the meat is no longer pink. Do not drain the meat/veggie mixture.
Everything else in the pool. Mix well and simmer over low heat for around 15 minutes.
I hope you remembered to defrost some buns.

Makes enough for 4 large or 6 smaller sandwiches if you know what I mean and I think you do.

Update 07.29.20

During a recent conversation with my favorite nephew in the United States I happened to mention the kid cookbook that went missing. The Boss picked up on my error and was rather quick to correct me.

“Is this the book we don’t have anymore?”

As a matter of fact yes it is. Naturally I had to find the Joe recipe.

So there you have it. Proof of the original Joe recipe that I used to start the kids on their own lifelong love of cooking. Next Gen up will make recipes from this cookbook too.

And yet another reason why my wife of way too many years is The Boss.

July 25, 2019July 25, 2019

Roasted Cauliflower Frittata

Sometimes you have odds and ends in the fridge. This was the inspiration for Scraps Frittata which in the end turned out fine. The other night at a bring a dish dinner I was asked to bring some Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan for a side veggie. Our gracious host well known for his blunt honesty said,

“Maybe we shouldn’t have microwaved the cauliflower. The texture was different.”

I agreed. The veggie was kind of mushy. Maybe I shouldn’t have made the cauliflower earlier, covered the dish with aluminum foil, then microwaved it for serving. This veggie is obviously best served immediately from the oven.

Our host who does not like leftovers besides Good Pie didn’t want the rest of the veggie so I took it back home. What do you do with about 3 cups of leftover mushy roasted cauliflower?

2 T EV olive oil
1/2 medium sweet onion diced
2 C red potatoes small dice
6 eggs
3 cups Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan
shredded sharp Cheddar cheese about a cup
shredded Monterrey Jack cheese about a half cup
Parmesan cheese grated, a couple of Tablespoons
Dried thyme, healthy pinch
Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in an 10 inch non-stick pan.
Add the potatoes and cook until nearly cooked through, about 10-15 minutes medium heat.
Add the onion and saute for five minutes.
Add the thyme, salt, and pepper.
Spread the cauliflower over the potato/onion mixture.
Sprinkle the cheeses over the veggies.
Beat the eggs. Pour over the vegetable mixture.
Preheat your broiler.
Allow the frittata to sit over a very low flame until set.
Place the pan under the broiler to brown the top.
Remove from the broiler and place the frittata on a serving plate.
Serve warm or cold. Makes about 6 servings.
Yum.

December 8, 2017December 8, 2017

Scraps Frittata

Sometimes you have odds and ends in the fridge. Half an onion, two halves of red and green peppers, maybe even some leftover fresh spinach sauteed with garlic in the freezer. No one else is home. So it doesn’t really matter if this thing turns out OK or not.

I hate wasting food. There’s just too many people on the planet who would gladly take your odds and ends, the scraps that might get thrown away. So tonight I made a frittata with what I had on hand. And if it turns out OK, then this recipe stays on the blog.

If not, well you’ll never know it was here.

2 Tbl EVOO
1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced thinly
1/4 red pepper, sliced thinly
1/4 green pepper, sliced thinly
2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, organic, small dice
1 cup sauteed fresh spinach with garlic, drained
5 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
Parmesan cheese
Dried basil, healthy pinch
Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in an 8 inch non-stick pan.
Saute the onions and peppers for 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes and continue cooking until nearly cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add more olive oil if needed to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pan.
Add the basil, salt, and pepper. Add oil if needed.
Spread the spinach evenly over the potato/pepper mixture.
Sprinkle Parmesan over the spinach. Be as generous as you like.
Beat the eggs and half and half. Pour over the vegetable mixture.
Preheat your broiler.
Allow the frittata to sit over a very low flame until set.
Place the pan under the broiler to brown the top.
Remove from the broiler and place the frittata on a serving plate.
Serve warm or cold. Makes about 4 servings.
Yum.

Update

The recipe stays.

August 5, 2017August 5, 2017

Iki Marinade 2.0

Iki Marinade 2.0

1/8 C. olive oil

1/8 C. canola oil

1/4 C. light thin Thai soy sauce

2 1/2 T. light brown sugar

2 T. apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 T. ketchup

1/2 T. granulated garlic powder

1/2 T. onion powder

Dash red pepper flakes

The Story Behind Iki 2.0

For the story behind Iki 1.0 the original click here.

Ever wonder how two cooks can make the same recipe and they come out different? One cook makes the dish and it tastes good. The original cook makes the same dish and for some reason no one wants to explain, it doesn’t just taste good it tastes great. Wonder no more! The secret is simple. The original cook uses certain brands of ingredients and also changes the recipe. A digital cookbook is the perfect place to document such changes. As always I leave the original alone and highlight what changes I’ve made.

What Changed

I moved away from all olive oil to a mixture of olive and canola oils. The soy sauce I use comes from Thailand and is the Happy Boy Thin variety. While I prefer this brand you may not be able to find it in your local Asian grocery. Also be aware that MSG is listed as an ingredient so avoid if you have any sensitivity to this substance. Both of these changes lighten the marinade. Kikkoman which is found almost everywhere is an example of a dark soy sauce. The amounts of brown sugar and ketchup are a little higher than in the original. Thus, this version is a slight bit sweeter. Finally, garlic powder subs for fresh garlic and I’ve added onion powder to the marinade.

Why Change?

Why not?

March 12, 2017October 25, 2018

Turkey Ragu 2

This recipe is Tiny Taste Tester Approved.

One of the more interesting aspects of capturing your recipes online is seeing how your recipes change over time.

“I made your sauce. I followed the recipe but it doesn’t taste the same.”

So I look at my original Turkey Ragu recipe. Sure enough, I made it differently today. Too many episodes of Food Network in your head changes your recipes. Just my opinion but I’m sticking with it.

So I look at The Boss and say, “How about a fresh batch of meat sauce?”

And this is how I made it today with the changes from Ragu One in bold.

Turkey Ragu 2

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced plus 1/2 to 1 T garlic granules

1/2 cup sweet onion, diced

1 medium carrot, fine dice

1 celery stalk, fine dice

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 fresh green pepper, finely diced

1 pound ground turkey (use 93/7)

2 T dried basil

1 T dried oregano

Pinch of Thyme

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup white wine

1 28 oz can tomatoes diced San Marzano style with juice

1 28 oz can tomatoes, crushed

1 6 oz can tomato paste

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Brown sugar

1. Heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over high heat in a large saucepot. I prefer the taste of Spanish olive oils and Borges is my favorite. If you can’t find Borges look for the Star brand which is made by the same company. Substitute your favorite regular olive oil if desired.

2. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, onion, carrot, celery and green pepper. Saute for a few minutes until limp.

3. Add more olive oil to prevent sticking and add the ground turkey. Break up the meat and brown. Add basil, oregano, and thyme and continue browning until the herbs become aromatic. With the heat still on high, add the wine and cook until the wine is almost completely evaporated.

4. Add the can of diced tomatoes with juice. Toss in the bay leaves, mushrooms, and green pepper. Stir until well mixed and lower heat to medium. The sauce ingredients should be bubbling mildly. Leave uncovered until the tomatoes release their juices and the liquid in the pot is mostly evaporated. This step concentrates the flavors and will take 15 to 20 minutes.

5. When the sauce becomes thickened, add the can of crushed tomatoes and the can of tomato paste. Stir to incorporate well. Partially cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer for a minimum of one hour.

6. Taste for seasonings and add more basil or oregano if desired. Salt and pepper if you must but there is plenty of salt in the canned tomatoes. If the tomatoes are highly acidic, add brown sugar a half teaspoonful at a time until the acidity is reduced to your liking. A little bit of sugar will cut the acidity and add smoothness to the ragu.

7. Find some cooked pasta and plenty of grated cheese. Eat!