Arroz Griego

Tip:  Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bacon

2 cups rice

1 cup beef broth

1 cup onion soup

1 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup green bell pepper, julienned

1 cup cabbage, chopped

1 garlic glove, finely minced

1/2 stick butter

1 1/2 cups water

Directions:

In a deep heavy bottomed skillet, fry the bacon, then drain the rendered fat, remove bacon and set aside.

 

To the same skillet, over medium high heat, add butter, garlic, bell pepper and onion and sauté for 4 minutes, until onion is lightly browned. 

Add water, beef broth, onion soup, rice, bacon, and cabbage.

Bring to boil, cover, lower heat to low and cook for 25 minutes.

After the first 10 minutes, uncover, turn rice, recover and finish cooking the other 15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Mexican Picadillo

Tip: Read directions carefully before preparing.

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef

2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2inch cubes

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced fine (1/4 inchor less)

1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced fine (1/4 inch or less)

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced fine

2 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground coarse ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh ground comino (cumin)

1 cup beef stock

1/2 cup cilantro

2 large tomatoes, cored, peeled, and cut into 1/2inch pieces

Directions:

Heat a large skillet and, when hot, add the canola oil. Add the ground beef, crumbling as you put it in the skillet.

When lightly browned, add the onions, red bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, and all the spices. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, and then add the diced potatoes, and then the cilantro.

Add beef stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, put into a bowl and serve over Spanish rice or with hot flour tortillas.

Tip: If you would like to spice it up, add a chopped jalapeno. Picadillo, Mexican style ground beef, is a popular lunch meal particularly in Northern Mexico.  Picadillo is an easy dish to prepare that’s in every home cook’s repertoire.

Authentic Homemade Flour Tortillas

Authentic Homemade Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup lard
1 cup hot water

Directions:
Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the hot water a little at a time, about 1/4 cup each time, and mix, until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth, soft and supple. It may be sticky at first but after kneading continuously it will not be sticky.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, about the size of a golf ball, roll each piece into a ball and then into a shape of a sausage patty. Cover and let dough balls rest for about 10 minutes. See image below. 

Tip: keep a bit of flour on your surface and lightly flour your rolling pin and keep your surface very lightly floured. Also keep your hands lightly floured.

Preheat a comal or heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot comal or skillet, and cook until bubbly and cooked through. Flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; or place in a kitchen towel. Continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough. Tip: Do NOT worry if the tortillas don't come out perfectly round, practice makes perfect. In time your tortillas will come out round and perfect. My first tortillas looked like the map of Italy!

Tip: A comal is a griddle that has been traditionally used in Mexican cooking. The term comal is believed to come from the Aztec word comalli, which was also used to describe the cooking tool. It is a very versatile cooking tool that can be used to prepare a number of dishes. It can be used to sear meat, cook tortillas, and even cure spices. It can also be used to toast raw coffee and cacao beans so that they are ready for culinary use. It is a great tool in the kitchen!

Irish Shepherd's Beef Pie

Tip:  Read directions completely before preparing.

3 cups mashed potatoes

1 pound lean ground beef (93/7)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons Kerrygold Softer Butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons browning and seasoning sauce

1 teaspoon fresh minced thyme

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup carrots, finely diced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Crumble the ground beef into a large skillet over medium heat, cook meat until no longer pink.

Add onion, garlic, thyme, peas and carrots and cook another 3 minutes, then set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

Over medium heat, melt the Kerrygold butter in a skillet.  Stir in the flour and cook and until light brown in color, about 5 minutes.

Let cool off a bit then gradually stir in the broth, ketchup and browning sauce until smooth.  Set over medium heat and simmer until thick.

Stir the sauce into the ground beef and transfer to a casserole dish.

Top with mashed potatoes.

Sprinkle the cheese over the potatoes.

Place dish in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are toasted and cheese is melted.  Enjoy!

Tip:  Truly traditional Irish Sheppard's Pie uses ground lamb instead of ground beef.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Do you like Stir Fried Beef and Broccoli? Here’s the secret to soft tender beef. Marinate/rest meat for 15 minutes in the following ingredients. It the secret to tenderizing beef. I used very thin sliced Beef Bottom Round Steak. Do not use more than 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda per pound of beef or it will leave a bad taste. Add onions and stir for about 1 minute. Add meat and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add sauce mix and stir until thickened. Add Broccoli 0and stir until coated with sauce! Blanch your Broccoli before adding. Serve immediately!

For the sauce, mix the following ingredients in a bowl:

1 tbsp, Soy Sauce

1 tbsp, Oyster Sauce (Lee Kum Kee’s Premium I find the the best)

1 tbsp, Hoisin Sauce

4 tbsp, water

1 1/2 tsp, corn starch

1 tbsp, Minced Garlic

1/4 tsp, black pepper

Creamy Green Chile Turkey Enchiladas

Tip:  Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

The Turkey Stuffing:

1 ¼ pounds, ground turkey

1 (4 oz.) can of mild Hatch’s green chilies,  drained

1/2 cup chopped onion (about ½ medium onion)

1/2 teaspoon, salt

1 teaspoon, comino (cumin)

The Green Chile Cream Sauce

½ cup chopped onion (about ½ medium onion)

1 can (15 ounce) Hatch’s Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

½ cup milk

½ cup heavy cream

8 oz. sour cream

2 teaspoons Knorr Chicken Bouillon

Assembly:

8 – 6” corn tortillas

1/3 cup canola oil

8 ounces (about 2 cups) cheddar jack cheese, shredded

¼ cup chopped green onions

Directions:

The Turkey Stuffing:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large nonstick skillet, over medium high heat, add about 1 teaspoon canola oil.  Add the ground turkey and sauté until cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Add onions and chopped green chilies and mix with turkey.  Continue cooking about 3 minutes until onion is translucent.

Add minced garlic, mix and sauté another minute.

Remove from pan and set aside.

The Green Chile Cream Sauce:

In the same skillet, over medium heat, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes.

Add Hatch’s Green Chile Enchilada Sauce.  Add the Knorr Chicken bouillon and stir thoroughly.

Slowly whisk in the milk, heavy cream and sour cream.  Let continue cooking until the mixture is lightly bubbling and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes.  Remove from skillet and set aside.

Assembly:

Softening the Corn Tortillas for Assembly:

In the same skillet, but cleaned, soften the corn tortillas by adding the canola oil and heating over medium high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add one corn tortilla at a time, using a pair tongs.  Turning tortilla over in about 10 seconds.  Once softened bout 5 seconds, remove from pan and set aside.  Continue same process until all 8 tortillas have been softened.

Set up all the ingredients to prepare for rolling the enchiladas.  In an approximately 9” x 11” baking dish place one tortilla and add ¼ cup of turkey, 2 tablespoons of cooked Green Chile Cream Sauce, 1 tablespoon chopped onions, and 1 tablespoon shredded cheese.  Roll up and place at one end of dish.  Continue process until all 8 tortillas have been filled, rolled and placed as shown below.

Top with some of the remaining, if any, turkey, and onions.  Pour the Green Chile Cream Sauce over the top of the enchiladas.  Top with all the remaining cheese as shown below.

Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Serve and Enjoy!!!!

Serves:  8

Indian Flatbread

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:
1 cup, Full Fat Natural Plain Yogurt
1 cup, Bread Flour, I use King Arthur*
2 teaspoons, Baking Powder

1/2 cup butter
3 Cloves garlic finely minced
parsley roughly chopped
1 pinch salt to taste

Directions:
In a large bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Add in the yogurt and mix with a spatula until the yogurt has absorbed the flour. Use your hands to really bring the dough together.

Once the dough is formed into a smooth ball, place it on a floured surface. Using a knife divide the dough into six balls.

Working with one ball of dough at a time, roll each one out to an 8 x 8 circle. Try to roll the dough as thin as possible as this will ensure the bread cooks evenly on both sides with a nice air bubbles in between.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. While the skillet is heating melt together the butter, minced garlic, parsley and salt in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Using a pastry brush, brush one side of the rolled dough with the garlic butter before placing it with the garlic side down into hot skillet. Allow the bread to toast and bubble up cooking for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Once the bread is nice and toasty on each side remove from the heat.

Repeat this process until all 6 flatbreads are cooked. Stack up on a plate or in a covered basket to keep warm.

Tip: You can store at room temperature for 3 days and reheat on a pan.