I made some delicious Cuban pork last night for a Mexican buffet and decided to put together a casserole for tonight. I decided to try to make an enchilada sauce and I love how it turned out. So easy to make! Below is a double batch which makes 4 cups. I figure I will always need at least 4 cups.
homemade enchilada sauce (Cookie and Kate)
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons flour (I used whole wheat)
2 tablespoons ground chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
This sauce comes together quickly once you get started so measure the dry ingredients into a small bowl and place it near the stove. Place the tomato paste and broth near the stove as well.
In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, warm the oil until it's hot. Pour in the flour and spice mixture. While whisking constantly, cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute. Whisk the tomato paste into the mixture, then slowly pour in the broth while whisking constantly to remove any lumps.
Raise heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, whisking often, for about 5-7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit.
Remove from heat then whisk in the vinegar and season to taste with a generous amount of ground black pepper. Add more salt if necessary.
I LOVE this recipe. The pork turned out so flavorful and delicious. My favorite toppings only made it that much more fresh, flavorful and delicious. HUGE hit with my entire family. I even added a little hummus to my sandwich.
Note to self: I thought the pitas were too fluffy. That may sound strange but it's true.
slow cooker tender greek pork (Mel's Kitchen Cafe)
3-4 pounds pork roast, cut into 2-3" chunks
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Put pork in slow cooker. Whisk together the other ingredients and pour over the top. Cook on low 8-9 hours or on high 4-5 hours.
Serve with pitas and all the toppings.
I thought doughnut making would be a fun after school activity and it was! The kids and I made some very traditional looking and tasting donuts. My husband grabbed all sorts of interesting things from the pantry to make voo-doo type doughnuts. These baked doughnuts aren't the same as fried but they're totally fun to make and a lot healthier.
Note: I made a double batch so that's the recipe you'll find below. It made 3 dozen doughnuts in Wilton donut pans.
Update 1/24/18: My daughter and I made these for the treat bucket for Activity Days. We omitted the nutmeg and used 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract instead. We added 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips to the batter. For the vanilla glaze we added some lemon extract and everyone agrees they were much better!
homemade baked doughnuts (King Arthur Flour.com)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I may put use lemon extract instead next time)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease doughnut pans. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth. Add the eggs, beating to combine. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. Stir the flour into the batter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Spoon the batter into the lightly greased doughnut pans, filling the wells to about 1/4" shy of the rim.
Bake for 9 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and wait 5-7 minutes before turning them out of the pans and onto a rack. Dip into a glaze and decorate with toppings of your choice.
easy vanilla glaze
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons milk or water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix until nice and smooth.
chocolate glaze
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt in a small sauce pan on low heat until nice and smooth.
This bruschetta chicken was just as delicious as I thought it would be when I found it in my sister in law's recipe book when we visited over Christmas.
bruschetta chicken (La Canada ward's "favorites" cookbook)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
12 chicken tenderloin pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs (Winco carries whole wheat breadcrumbs which I used!)
1 tablespoon butter
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons fresh basil (I had to use 1 teaspoon dried basil and threw in some chopped spinach for color)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour then in eggs. Place in greased 9x13 pan. Combine Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and butter. Sprinkle over chicken. Loosely cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the rest of the ingredients. Spoon over chicken. Bake 3-5 minutes to warm topping.
My mom used to make a similar casserole when I was a child and I always really liked it. I don't think I'd ever made it for my family so when it came time to take a meal to my son's teacher who recently had surgery I gave it a try- I never know what to make for other people! My kids loved it. Simple casserole. Simple flavors.
broccoli chicken casserole (adapted from Jen P's recipe in the Hershey ward cookbook)
1 cup brown jasmine rice, cooked as directed
1 rotisserie chicken (I love Costco's!), chicken pulled off the bone and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 heads broccoli, florets cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup, Campbell's healthy request
1 can cream of chicken soup, Campbell's healthy request
1 empty can filled with milk
handful of shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine soup, milk, rice, chicken and broccoli. Pour into a greased 9x13 or two 8x8 dishes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Note: Next time I will add half an onion, shredded to the mixture before pouring it into the pans.
This recipe is a snap to make and I have good memories of this recipe because when we lived in Hershey several women made freezer meals for each other, a dinner club kind of thing, and my friend Suzette made this freezer meal for everyone in the group.
I signed up to provide dinner for my son's teacher who just had a knee replacement so I made two batches which required chicken and the ingredients you see above, that's all!
cranberry chicken (my friend Suzette)
(for a double batch)
5 big chicken breasts, filetted
1 bottle French dressing
1 box onion soup mix (contains 2 envelopes- use both)
2 cups cranberry sauce
Lay chicken breasts in bottom of a 13x9 pan. In a medium bowl mix dressing, soup mix and cranberry sauce with a fork and whisk. Pour over the top of the chicken and cover pan with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 20 minutes. Serve over rice.
Note: For a single batch, use 2-3 chicken breasts, 1 cup French dressing, 1 cup cranberry sauce and 1 envelope onion soup mix.
I took my husband to a Middle-Eastern restaurant that he'd been wanting to go to for quite a while. We enjoyed our meal immensely then walked into the little store attached to it. We bought the above shwarma seasoning so we could make something delicious at home. As we paid for it I asked exactly how to prepare it so I could get it right. We enjoyed it TWO nights in a row because it was sooooo good. I am going to go back and get more seasonings to try out at home!
chicken shwarma (the gentleman at Al-Jebal told me the recipe)
2 pounds chicken, thinly sliced
1 ounce schwarma seasoning (I had to weigh it to be sure how much an ounce was- the bottle contains 5 ounces)
oil
Combine chicken with oil and seasoning and let marinate a few hours.
When ready to cook, heat a little bit of oil in a pan and pan fry until done.
We like it one of two ways:
1. Serve in a pita with tahini sauce, a hot garlic pepper sauce, cucumbers and lettuce.
2. Serve over a fragrant rice with tahini sauce and a hot garlic pepper sauce.
