Black Bean Chili w/Home made Cornbread

Home made Cornbread

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh ground corn chips (use a food processor, and use your favorite chip; I used regular yellow corn tortilla  chips)

1 1/2 cup of white flour

1 Tblsp sugar

2 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

10 oz cream corn

Method:

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees; spay 10" pie dish with Pam cooking spray; in a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix until blended well; Add milk and egg, mix on low speed with hand mixer until blended well; Add cream corn and canola oil, continue to mix with hand mixer on low until well blended. pour mixture into greased pie dish; place into pre heated oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until top of corn bread is turning light brown.( you can also check the inside with a long toothpick, if nothing sticks then it is done.)

Tip:

Using the ground corn chips adds a texture to the corn bread that you will not get if you use regular corn meal. Slightly crunchy, but not overly so. It make a perfect pair with the Black Bean Chili.

Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb. bag of black beans

1/3 cup of standard chili powder

4 Tblsp Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Blend

1 whole medium white onion, sliced into 1/4" wedges

4 roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/2" wedges

3 Jalepeno peppers, chopped and seeded

1 Habanero pepper, chopped and seeded

1 tsp Cumin powder

4 Tbsp of fresh Garlic, minced

1 cube(tbsp) chicken bouillon

1 tsp sea salt

1 Tblsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup fresh Feta cheese

Tip:

The most important part is to get the beans ready. Black beans need to be soaked. Place beans in a large deep bowl and cover with warm water(after cleaning out non-bean material). let soak for 1 hour, then drain. cover with warm water again, let soak for one hour. continue this process until color of water is almost clear, should be about 4 hours. cover with warm water one last time and place in 'fridge over night.

Method:

In a 5qt. Crock Pot, place beans and water from last soaking. Place all of seasoning ingredients next, then cover with all of vegetable ingredients.  Add water to cover all ingredients. Turn on Crock Pot to low for 7-8 hours.

Serving suggestion:

On a deep salad plate, crumble about 1 cup of Homemade Cornbread; Ladle out 1 cup of Black Bean Chili with juice included, then sprinkle about 2 Tblsp of Feta cheese on top.

This dish has some heat due to the Jalapeno's and the Habanero, but not too much . Very enjoyable in any type of weather.

Pulled Pork via Crock Pot

With this recipe I need to give a great big thank you to my friend Big Mike for providing the baby back ribs that I slow cooked in the crock pot to further soften the meat. This recipe will go great on any style of bread, open, closed or toasted, as well as over rice or egg noodles if you don't have any bread available. On the day I pulled this one from my head, I used it to cover a bed of white rice.

Ingredients:


1 slab slow smoked baby back ribs
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 cup spicy BBQ sauce (see previous recipe)

Method:


Place rib sections in bottom of 5 qt. crock pot. Add onions, then BBQ sauce. Turn on crock pot to low heat, and cover for 6-7 hours. Bones will be easily removed at this stage.  Use two forks to 'pull' meat apart from itself.

The slab that Big Mike gave me yielded about 1 1/2 lbs of meat, with each serving being around 3-4 ounces, this will make about 6 servings.

Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. can Tomato Sauce

2 Tblsp Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp chili powder

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp favorite hot pepper paste 

(you can create this by simply seeding and chopping and your favorite hot peppers, or a mixture of them and then slowly reducing them with 1 tsp of oil per 5 peppers, if you make more than you need for your sauce, you can freeze it)

1 tsp Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime blend

1 Tbsp extra virgin Olive oil

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil while constantly stirring. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is smooth and thick, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and use immediately. 

Makes about 1 1/2 cups of a nice sweet, dark and tangy Sauce.

Tip:

If you don't like hot, leave out the pepper paste.

Uses;

Limitless, really. use on brisket, or on grilling steaks, or on pulled pork, or on grilled chicken. This Sauce is so good,

I would almost eat it by itself.

Brisket Tacos

Brisket Tacos:

So I had my sister-in-law ask me, in that classic '80's commercial flashback, "where's the beef?" Sirloin steak, or something…please.

So I have a couple of recipes coming over the next couple of days which use beef, yes, just for you Cristina. I hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Now I don't eat much beef, for health reasons of my own, so I want you to know this was a real sacrifice on my part, slurp..oh, uhm..to create and test these recipes, mmm…, before I post them.  

Also, the main reason I am not posting one recipe per day, is so that everyone can see the picture of what the latest recipe posted looks like. Until I can get my photo-bucket account to link properly to this blog, or get my official website up and running, this will have to suffice. and without further ado, I present brisket tacos:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. cooked, chopped brisket meat( you can substitute any left over beef, or pork or chicken here.)

8 white corn tortillas

2 cups lettuce of choice, shredded

1 cup cheese of choice, shredded

1 Tbsp dark chili powder (get it in the hispanic section of your market)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 Tbsps unsalted butter

Plenty of your favorite Salsa

dash of Cumin (cumin is so powerful, to give a measurement to how much is actually used is not possible, maybe a 1/16th of a tsp. or less)

Method:

Pre-Heat 10" skillet on medium heat, then add butter to skillet. Add meat to melted butter, and begin to saute. Add all seasonings and mix thoroughly. The meat is already cooked, so you are looking to only heat it up not re-cook it.  Place Tortillas in a tortilla warmer, and heat in Microwave for 30 seconds on high.   Using a Tablespoon, place 2 heaping spoons onto each tortilla. Cover meat with lettuce, then sprinkle cheese on top. Add a generous portion of your favorite salsa.

Makes 8 Tacos.

Tip:

If you are not using a smoked meat, during the saute process add a couple of DROPS of artificial smoke. Artificial smoke is very concentrated, so be careful not to use too much.

Sauteing is a quick way to cook food if you use high heat, and a very quick way to heat up already cooked food: continually stirring the food while maintaining the medium heat will have this portion of meat heated in about 3-4 minutes.

Texas Style Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 cup seasoned Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 oz smoked Gouda cheese, sliced into 1" squares about 1/8" thick

20 strips of hickory smoked bacon

1 egg, beaten

salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder (these items will just be a dusting)

4 slices deli style sliced smoked turkey breast

Pam cooking spray

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Clean and trim chicken breasts of all excess fat. Wash, then pat dry breasts. Place breasts on flat surface and using a sharp knife, cut into the breast parallel to the flat surface, making a pocket in the breast. Make the pocket large enough to hold the Gouda and turkey.  Lightly season breasts on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Take 3 slices of smoked Gouda and wrap them in one slice of smoked turkey breast. Place the gouda and turkey wrap into the pocket in the chicken breast. Lay out 5 strips of bacon side by side, then lay stuffed breast on one end of bacon strips and roll up the breast in the bacon. Repeat this process with each breast. Baste breast/bacon with beaten egg.

In a large mixing bowl, blend Panko and Parmesan cheese.  Coat the breasts with Panko by rolling and covering with breadcrumbs.  Place coated breasts into a baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Place in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until no pink juice comes from breast.

Makes 8 servings when each breast is cut in half cross ways.

Tips:

I cut into the breast on the large side, and keep my other hand on top of the breast. You can feel where the knife is inside of the breast, and if the knife is sharp enough, guide it where it needs to go. You don't really need to worry, with this recipe, about going to far with the pocket because the bacon and breading will hold it together.  This will be good practice for filleting those fish you catch over the summer.

I use so much pepper, garlic and opinion powder that I have a special home made blend of equal parts salt, garlic powder, pepper and onion powder that I use religiously. Keep the empty containers from your store bought seasonings and start blending your own spices.  Make sure you label them though, I have had too many sneezing fits smelling the unlabeled containers. LOL.

Healthier variations of this recipe can be made: use regular breadcrumbs to cut down on sodium; use low fat cheese in place of the gouda; use turkey bacon in place of the regular to cut down on fat.

Super Soup

Creamy Vegetable soup

This recipe makes about 10 servings of about 3/4 cup.  It is a perfect winter storm~stay at home~in front of the fire or T.V. soup. I took a Baguette loaf of bread and cut some slices about 1/2" thick, sprinkled them with olive oil and some Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Blend, then broiled them for about 2 minutes on high(until lightly toasted), and used them for my dipping crackers with the soup. 

Ingredients:

2 10.5 oz cans Cream of Mushroom soup

1 cup sour creamy mashed potatoes(recipe follows)

1/2 Cup chopped zucchini

1/3 cup copped carrots

1 tsp Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb blend

1/4 cup chopped Green Onions 

3 strips Bacon fried and crumbled

8 cups water

Method:

In a 5 qt sauce pan, mix mushroom soup with water.  Make sure the soup and water are thoroughly mixed(no lumps). Add carrots, green onions, Mrs. Dash and bacon. Heat on medium heat until soup begins to boil. Add mashed potatoes, and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes to allow all flavors to blend properly.  Easily served in over sized mugs for that nostalgic or romantic evening in front of the fire.

Sour Creamy Mashed potatoes:

Ingredients:

4 Large Russet baking potatoes

2 Tbsp Butter

4 Tbsp Philadelphia Chive & Onion Cream cheese

1/8 tsp sea salt

5 cups water

1/4 cup fat free skim milk

Method:

cut potatoes into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes and place in 5 qt. sauce pan with water and sea salt.

bring potatoes to a boil and continue to boil until potatoes fall off tines of a fork. 

Add butter and milk and mash potatoes completely with potato masher. fold in Cream cheese until

completely incorporated with potatoes.

Panko Crusted Baked(or fried) Ocean Trout

So, one of my friends recently asked me something that I have asked my self, and others in the past: is there a fish, that doesn't taste like fish?

I love shellfish but have a hard time eating regular fish most of the time because of that fishy flavor or a fishy smell, so this was really a question that I needed to answer for my self as well as for my friend.  Now we had talked about different fish at the time and several were thrown onto the table as possible candidates for the non-fishy tasting/smelling fish.  Well, there are friends all over the place today, and one of those gave my wife about ten pounds of Ocean Trout(Sea Trout in some markets).  Regular Rainbow Trout are pretty hardy fish and also have a pretty hardy aroma and flavor that keeps me from enjoying it the way I would a steak.( frankly, why eat something if you can not enjoy it?) But this Ocean Trout was different.  It had the color of Tilapia, white with a rosy tint, in a distinctive trout filet shape, and boy when it cooks up, white and flakey, with no fish taste or aroma in the manner I cooked them.  Now you can try this method with other fish to see if it takes away that fishy smell and taste, but as long as I have 9 pounds of this trout left, I don't need any other fish.

Ingredients:

4 Ocean Trout filets

1 Omega-3 egg

8 Tbsp Panko bread crumbs

(Panko bread crumbs are seasoned bread crumbs made in a specific manner. There are as many different

types and brands of Panko as there are of regular bread crumbs.  I chose Panko because it fries or bakes

up to a beautiful golden color, and because all the cooks on T.V. use it. ;)  )

1/8 cup finely chopped chives

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil(or cooking spray)

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Method:

Beat egg in small container and blend in the lemon juice with a fork. Pat dry the filets with paper towels.  In a separate dish mix the Panko, chives and parmesan cheese together until thoroughly blended.  Brush one side of each filet with egg-lemon juice mixture, then lay filet into Panko bread crumbs with brushed side down.  Brush egg mixture onto exposed side of filet and then flip filet in Panko bread crumbs to make sure filet is completely and evenly coated. The result is a very lightly breaded fish filet.

For Fried:

Pre-heat 8" skillet with olive oil to medium high.  Place filets one at a time in hot pan.  Cook about two minutes per side, or until Panko is golden brown. Remove from skillet and place on paper towels to drain.

I love this option.  It is a tiny bit less healthy, but oh, so worth it.  The fish comes out tasting like a fried pork chop(if it is not over cooked) and that was the goal here, right?  To have fish that did not taste like fish!

For Baked:

Pre-Heat oven to Hi broil. Make sure that you have a rack in the oven at about the middle. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place the filets on baking sheet.  Place in oven on middle rack for 3-5 minutes per side.  You are watching carefully for the Panko to brown, and you don't want to wait to long because the fish will be over cooked and taste like a seasoned bread stick. If it is not over cooked, you get a nice juicy, lemony tasting filet, that does not taste like fish.

As far as the 'health' factor on this dish….one serving of olive oil is 1 Tbsp @ 14 grams of fat, but 12 grams of that is the good fat, the polyunsaturated fat that your doctor always talks about, the fat that your body NEEDS in order to function properly.

I chose the Omega-3 egg because not all fish is high in this stuff and you can always use more of it.  The Panko bread crumbs are the criminal in this dish, coming in with 430 mg of sodium per 2 Tbsp. So, do you have to use Panko? No, absolutely not.  I chose to use it because of the flavor factor.  As far as calories go, about 248 from the fish and the olive oil together. If you choose to bake, then only calories from the fish at 128 per 3 ounces, which is a filet about 2 inches wide by 5-6 inches long by about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. If you are concerned about exact portions, then a food scale is defiantly recommended.

So, the bottom line is:

Fried=248 calories

           14 grams fat

           430mg Sodium

           350 mg Omega-3 from the egg(each filet will be slightly more due to it's own omega-3)

         

Baked=128 calories

              0 fat from oil

              350 mg omega-3

              430 mg sodium (from the Panko)

Side dish recommendation:

The Zucchini and Asparagus dish went perfect with the fish.