Enchilada Pie

Our family and friends know we love to travel.  Whether trams-Atlantic or the all-American road trip, we have had our share of adventures and misadventures.  On cross country trips to Canada or out west to California, we have broken down in such notable places as Johnson City, TN; Amarillo, TX;  and Grand Junction, CO.  Our first big family road trip was taking our then 3 year old daughter to the Grand Canyon.  On our way back we rode the Combres-Toltec Railroad from NM into CO, stopping for lunch in Osier, CO.  We had this delicious enchilada pie for lunch and it has been a family favorite ever since.  Hope you like it, and Happy Trails!

Prep Time 20 min
Cook Time 15 min
Serves 6-8

Filling
2 lbs ground chuck
1 onion
1 T minced garlic
2 T flour or masa
1 T chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup water

Sauce
2 T vegetable oil
3 T flour
1 can Rotel tomatoes
2 cups beef broth
Chili powder
Cumin
Oregano

8-12 corn tortillas
2 cups grated or shredded cheddar cheese


Heat oven to 375. In Dutch oven brown meat, add onion and garlic and cook until translucent.  Add flour and seasonings.  Then add water to give meat a  cohesive consistency.  Place 4-6 corn tortillas in greased casserole pan, cover with 1/2 of meat, reserve other 1/2 in a bowl.  Using same Dutch oven, add oil and heat over medium heat.  add flour and stir until browned.  Add tomatoes and let stir and thicken.  add broth and spices.  Sauce should be a nice gravy consistency.  Place 1/2 of sauce over meat.  Cover layer with 1 cup shredded cheddar.  repeat all 4 layers, tortillas, meat, sauce and cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Strawberry Bellini

The Bellini is the classic drink of Venice. Made from Prosecco, a slightly sweet sparkling white wine/champagne and pureed white peaches, it was developed at Harry's bar in Venice and named for the great artist. I first had a Bellini in Venice 10 years ago, while there with my daughter. We spent a sunny afternoon on the Piazza San Marco. On this sunny afternoon, my daughter and I shared a lovely strawberry Bellini made with fresh LA strawberries.

Purée a 1/2 pint of cleaned, whole strawberries with 11/2 tablespoons simple syrup.  Place about 1-2 tablespoons of purée in a champagne glass and fill with champagne or prosecco.  You may need to give it a little stir to incorporate the strawberries.  It has a lovely, fresh fruit flavor.  Salute!

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

This is a delicious easy recipe that I got from Cooks Illustrated.  I made a few simple changes to the recipe.  I made it yesterday with some fresh shrimp and it turned out just right.  Enjoy!

1 1/4 pound large shrimp (26 to 30 per pound), peeled and deveined, shells reserved

Salt

1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

4 garlic cloves, minced

 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon anchovy paste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 lb linguine

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Toss shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt and set aside. Pour tomatoes in colander set over large bowl. Pierce tomatoes with edge of rubber spatula and stir briefly to release juice. Transfer drained tomatoes to small bowl and reserve juice. Do not wash out colander.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in 10-inch skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add shrimp shells and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to turn spotty brown and skillet starts to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and carefully add wine. When bubbling subsides, return pan to heat and simmer until wine is reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 1 to 2 minutes. Add reserved tomato juice and simmer to meld flavors, 2 1/2 minutes. Pour contents of skillet into colander set over bowl. Discard shells and reserve liquid. Wipe out skillet with paper towels.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and oregano in now-empty skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is straw-colored and fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Add anchovy and stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Remove from heat. Add drained tomatoes and mash with potato masher until coarsely pureed. Return to heat and stir in reserved tomato juice mixture. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer until mixture has thickened, about 2 1/2 minutes.

4. Add shrimp to skillet and simmer gently, stirring and turning shrimp frequently until they are just cooked through, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Stir in basil, parsley, and pepperoncini and brine and season with salt to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and serve. 

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

This is an easy version but if you have more time, use dark meat, esp. wings as they are said to have medicinal qualities.  It's also nice to make homemade stock by boiling the chicken with a quartered onion, a carrot, celery and peppercorns.

1 large breast boneless skinless chicken cooked and diced

1 T butter or olive oil

1 medium onion minced

1 t minced garlic

2 medium carrots diced

2 stalks celery diced

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups egg noodles

Chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in soup pan. Sauté onion and then garlic until translucent. Add carrots and celery and cook until softened, 5-8 minutes.  Add stock and bring to a boil.  Add noodles and cooked chicken.  Garnish with fresh parsley. 

Thai Salad

This makes a nice crunchy salad similar to one served at Kona Grill.  Chopped Napa cabbage is great instead of cole slaw mix.  This is also great with chicken or fish.  We often serve it with crispy oven baked cod.

1 package cole slaw mix

3-4 chopped green onions

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 package ramen noodles

Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

Ramen chicken sauce mix

A dash of Tabasco

A pinch of sugar

Toss salad ingredients, mix dressing and combine, tossing well.  

Pastalaya for a crowd!

Serves 20

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

2 lb. Richards sausage, cut in 1/2 inch slices

2 tbls. vegetable oil

3 (1-lb.) containers of Guidry’s Seasonings (diced onion, bell pepper and celery)

1 rounded tablespoon minced garlic

2  bay leaf

1 t each thyme and basil dried (1 T fresh)

1 T parsley 

Mr. B's or Tonys to taste

3tbls. Worcestershire sauce

3  tbls. A-1 Steak Sauce or BBq sauce

A dash of Liquid Smoke or Kitchen Bouquet

 2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes and sauce

6 cups chicken stock

4 lbs penne pasta

1. In a Dutch oven, brown chicken, and sausage in vegetable oil. 

2. Add onions, bell pepper and celery and sauté until softened but not browned. Add garlic and all seasonings.

3. Add tomatoes and stock and bring to roiling boil, add pasta.

4.Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes. 

4. Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Nana's Irish Soda Bread

My mother- in- law had an Irish father and and a half Irish mother.  Pat loved St. Patrick's Day, traditions, and most of all, family. She typed her recipe out for me when I was a newly-wed and wanted to cook her son some of his mom's home cooking.  She shared her recipes with love, as she did with all things for her kids.

Prep time 15 min

Cook time 1 hour

Pre-heat oven to 375'

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups seedless raisins

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

2 tablespoons butter, melted 

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

Grease loaf pan, mix dry ingredients, add raisins. In a small bowl mix butter, milk and eggs. Add to dry ingredients, mix well.  Pour into loaf pan and bake at 375' for one hour.