Beef Enchiladas

If you're new - welcome!  Thank you for visiting my little corner of the internet.

If you're a regular visitor to this blog, then you know all about my love for Tex-Mex and Mexican food. 

Now - stay with me because this recipe is a little.....  long.  But beyond worth it.

Gather up all the makings and lay 'em out.  Take their picture if it pleases you.    

You're going to make your OWN enchilada seasoning.  None of this "store bought" business.  I believe we've discussed this before.  However - there are some instances where I use it - so I hold no judgement. 

But in this case - it makes all the difference.  So do it.

Then, you're going to sear and cook the beef steak on both sides.  Make sure you season with salt too.

Once the beef is browned, remove it and toss in the onions and cook them until they are golden and browned.

Then add in the seasoning you made.  Stir it around and get the onions all coated in the seasoning mix.

Next, you're going to add the tomato sauce and water.  Bring to a boil.

Return the beef to the pot, make sure you add in any of the juices that have seeped off the beef.

Simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 hours until the steak shreds easily.  Pour the liquid through a strainer and remove the solids to a separate bowl and shred the beef.  Do not dispose of the liquid!

Add the jalapenos to the beef.

Add the cilantro.

And half the shredded cheese and stir everything together.

Pour some of the reserved liquid into the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.|

Microwave the tortillas wrapped in damp paper towel to soften them.  Spread 1/3 cup of beef in the soft tortilla, roll up, and place seam side down in the baking dish.

And continue until all the beef is gone.

Like so.

And cover with the remaining sauce.

And sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Bake.

These enchiladas were SO good that we could barely wait to break into them.

I topped them with lettuce and sour cream.  The heat in the enchiladas was just so that this was an important topping!  It truly just jacked up the flavor points.

I loved that these felt and tasted like authentic Mexican food!  They weren't heavy at all and were totally filling.  Normally, I made a red Mexican Rice when I do Tex-Mex, but for these, I wanted something lighter and fresher, so I chose a cilantro lime rice.  And it was perfect.

I would have also been happy to add refried beans to the plate too.

They also make incredible leftovers.  Because I think the flavor melds even more.

Michelle, from the Brown Eyed Baker, notes that this can be made ahead of time - so if you want to plan it for company, but want to save your energy to focus on your friends, you totally can.

Michelle's note says to cook the beef as described and then separate the liquid and the beef and store them separately for up to 2 days.  I would totally do this!

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!!

Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing

Finally!  A new post! 

It's been a while since I posted as literally every single piece of technology I owned died at about the same time.  I only wish I was kidding.  So I had to kind of pick and choose about what I needed first.

The last thing I was able to replace was my desktop PC.

And at literally the exact same time - we arrived at one of my favorite times of the year - for cooking.  We've talked about this before, but literally the MOMENT we have one cold Fall day - which happened this week, all I can think about is lasagna and garlic bread, roast and mashed potatoes, and every casserole that is rich and stick-to-your-ribs.  Comfort food.  Building up that fat layer like a bear hibernating for winter.

Except for not really like a bear.

I thought that with the hustle and bustle of returning to school and the chill in the air (and snow in some places), we should do a SUPER easy crockpot chicken dish. 

I've come across this recipe a number of times and a number of ways... 

In the oven with cheese, in the crockpot, on and on.  I've actually tried the oven method, but found that the stuffing came out dry.  However - that recipe used white wine and I thought it was a wonderful addition. 

You're going to need 4 chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and Stove Top (I used the cornbread one, but you can use whatever your heart desires).  And water.  Or possibly sub in the white wine here - I haven't tried it that way yet.

Start filling the crockpot.  First with the chicken.

And cover with the stuffing - not prepared.

Then, combine the water (or white wine!),

add the cream of chicken soup,

then the sour cream.

Whisk until well combined and pour over the stuffing mix in the crockpot. 

Cover and cook on low for four hours.

Serve with roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, garlic bread, salad, or whatever floats your boat.

This recipe is perfect for a busy day when your time is short.  It's exactly the kind of thing that you need on a cool, blustery Fall day.  The chicken and stuffing together is like having the easiest Sunday chicken roast you can whip up!

You could also change up the type of soup (but I wouldn't stray too far from the 'cream of' types) to change the flavours.

I think it took me 15 minutes to throw everything into the slow cooker and that was it!

Enjoy!

Voodoo Shrimp

I gotta tell you - there have been very few recipes that I have done over and over.  But this is one of them. 

 

Originally, one of the things that attracted me to the recipe itself was the name - Voodoo Shrimp...  If that doesn't make your tastebuds anticipate something exciting - I don't know what would!

 

But then.  Then it became about the overall flavor of the dish.  It's dark, and smoky, and complex.  It's quite beautiful actually.

 

Buuuuuut - there were a few things that needed changing.  For myself.  The original recipe is blazing, stupid hot.  Like - you won't be able to taste anything or feel your tongue for a couple days hot.

 

And the consistency of the broth..  I wanted it to be more like a gravy instead of a broth.  It might be fine with mashed potatoes, but I really wanted a thick sauce that would coat the shrimp and the rice.

 

So I experimented a couple of times and here's how it's going to look in my recipe book...

 

The line-up for this is loooooooong.  Missing from this lineup is butter and flour.

 

Measure out all the spices and combine them in a bowl.  Then stir them together.

 

Make sure you get raw shrimp with the shells on.  Then you have to pull off the shells.

 

Pour half the spice mix into the bowl with the shrimp and put in the fridge until ready to cook 'em.

 

Then - in a medium saucepan, start heating the oil.

 

Then throw in the onion and the garlic.  Don't worry about cutting that onion too fine.

 

Stir the onions and garlic around for a few minutes and then throw in the shrimp shells.

 

And the remaining half of the spice mixture.

 

Then the bay leaves.

 

And the peeled and quartered lemon.

 

Stir it all together. And add the water.

 

Pour in the beer.  And the Worcestershire.

 

And simmer.

 

Simmer until the juices have been reduced, and strain out the liquid from the shells and other solids.

 

Then the broth is going to be reduced even more.  Straight up - I use a measuring cup to make sure I can tell how much further I have to reduce.

 

Once the broth has been reduced according to the recipe, leave it in the measuring cup and add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour into the pot and cook until golden brown.

 

Then, gradually add in the broth and whisk to combine.  Then add in the half and half.

 

And the brown sugar.  Cook until thickened.

 

and the drained tomatoes.  Can you see how the liquid has thickened and is coating the sides of the pot?  That's what you want to see!

 

Stir in the shrimp and cook a few minutes until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

 

Add in 1 tablespoon butter.

 

And fresh basil.

 

Then serve on rice.

 

For me, this was perfect.  The spices warmed up your mouth, the shrimp was perfectly cooked, the sauce was the perfect gravy-like texture, but retained all the complexity of the flavors of the original dish.

 

I loved this dish!  I served it with homemade hush puppies (and rice of course).  I absolutely recommend finishing this off with some type of cool dessert.  Ice cream, a lemon meringue or key lime pie would be totally perfect.

 

Serve it for your Mardi Gras or Halloween party and wow your guests with (what I think) is a little treat from the South.

 

Enjoy! - Heather

 

White Chocolate Cream Pie

 I think it's time we made a dessert.  It's been, like, forever since we made dessert.  Holy crap you guys.  Since OCTOBER. 

Now normally, I'm not the hugest fan of white chocolate - but I am a fan of cream pies.  And whipped cream.  And shortbread pie crust.  Long story short - I'm a fan of THIS pie.

Start with the base.  Pretty simple shortbread cookie and butter combo.  Just between you and me, this box of cookies is ALMOST the perfect amount.  I'm usually a couple of tablespoons short, but it feels silly to buy two boxes.  I suppose I could freeze them, but I tend to be forgetful and will probably find them in two years looking for a bag of soup.

That happens because I'm busy and tired. 

Crush up the cookies in a food processor until they are fine crumbs.

And then add the melted butter.

Stir together to coat the crumbs with the butter and then bake and cool.

Then, you'll make the filling.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and cream,

And the cornstarch.

Stir that all together until combined and then add the white chocolate chips.

Meanwhile, separate the yolks from the whites.

And lightly beat together.

Then, you're going to SLOWLY add a little of the hot milk mixture while beating the egg yolks.  Don't be afraid of this going too slowly.  Take your time.  If you rush, you'll cook the eggs and then it'll be gross and you'll have to start over.

This is called tempering the eggs.  It basically just means warming up the eggs so the same temperature as the mixture you're adding it to.  So the eggs don't cook on their own and everything tastes like scrambled eggs.  (YUCK)

Once the eggs are tempered, slowly add them to the milk mixture while whisking briskly. 

Then cook until the mixture is thickened.  Now you've made pudding! 

Well - then you're going to add some butter and THEN you've made pudding!

Now just let this cool to room temperature. 

Once the pudding has cooled, and the crust is cool, pour the pudding into the crust.  Cover with saran wrap, allowing the wrap to lightly touch the surface of the pudding - this helps prevent a skin.  Also yuck.

Put the pie into the fridge to set overnight.  I just think this is the best length of time for a cream pie to set properly so it will cut nicely.

When you're ready to serve, top with this beautiful almond-flavored whipped cream.

And serve.

And serve.

Isn't that so pretty!?  This makes me so happy!

I'm pretty sure that chocolate and almond is one of the most ubiquitous pairings in the world, but the almost whipped cream it makes the chocolate in this pie zing to another level of delicious.

Smooth, creamy, perfectly paired.  Whether you like white chocolate or not, this is still a delicious dessert for any occasion!

Xoxo - Heather