I’m dying right now. Not literally of course, but this Minnesota girl can’t handle the sudden heat out there. I need time to acclimate… four weeks ago was a wicked snowstorm and today it’s mid-80’s. With this gorgeous sunshine happening, I planted about half of …
I am SO in the mood for grilled food now that it appears spring has finally sprung up here in the northern states. We’ve been grilling ALL OF THE THINGS from meat, to veggies, to fruit. One of my new favorites is this margarita salmon. …
I admit I’ve been less than motivated these past few weeks. In part, I blame our out of character April weather patterns bringing a ridiculous dumping of snow upon my Minnesota backyard. The rest of my time has been spent preparing my seedlings in their greenhouse in hopes that I can actually plant them at the end of May. We’ll see what mother nature has to say about that! In the meantime, I’ve been using up a lot of my last season’s canned soups that I prepared in the fall so my meal prep has been super simple. It’s been perfect weather for that! This beautiful posole (or pozole if you prefer) is also just right for the weather bringing a little traditional Aztec heat into my world.
Posole is a term that means “hominy” which are simply dried kernels of corn that have been soaked in lime water derived from natural limestone. This ancient Aztecan stew was consumed during special religious rituals to honor the Aztec gods. Corn (or maize) was considered sacred, so hominy is the key ingredient. Soaking the dried corn kernels in lime water results in a plumped up kernel with a pasta like texture making it perfect for comforting slow cooker style meals. This posole dish is a cross between a soup and a stew. There are about as many variations on posole as there are states in Mexico with each region having a distinct flavor profile or method of cooking. My version of a simple posole remains true to the ancient authenticity by combining pork (or chicken), garlic, onion, peppers, and of course, hominy.
A long slow cooking process works very well to encourage the melding of all the flavors for a full-bodied meal so I use a crock pot/slow cooker to accomplish this while I go about my day. It’s an easy set-and-forget type of meal preparation though I assure you, you won’t forget it’s incredible flavor! You can also prepare this in a dutch oven if you prefer. They key is to cook it low and slow so all of the yumminess has an opportunity to mingle and intensify. Rich and delicious, this ritual stew is certainly worthy of the gods!
Eggplant is one of the few vegetables that I remember my dad eating as a kid. That, and parsnips. I’ve never really been fascinated by the taste of eggplant but then again, I never tried it roasted or in a dip. Roasted eggplant is …
Spring break season is in full swing and for the first time in a LOOOONG time, my family actually went somewhere! Usually, our spring break consists of visiting my family farms and then tackling the spring cleaning chores while I have the kids around to …
One of my favorite things to order at Mexican restaurants are the chile rellenos which I always pair with an enchilada. I’m predictable that way. Intimidated by the thought of making these little beauties, I finally bit the bullet to discover my fear of them being difficult to make was unfounded. I assumed it would be a challenge to remove the skins from the peppers but let me assure you, it indeed is not. The skins are removed from the peppers by either roasting them over a gas burner until they char or by broiling them to get the same effect. Then, you let them cool and the skins literally just rub right off.
I also learned something else new about chile rellenos. Chile rellenos are dipped in beaten eggs and not a flour based batter. Who knew?!? This Minnesota girl surely didn’t so I was pleasantly surprised in doing my research to find that there is little to no flour used in chile rellenos. Occasionally, the pepper is dusted lightly in flour of some kind to help the egg whites stick but they don’t have to be. I chose to keep it flour free but if you have difficulty with the eggs sticking to the pepper, you can dust the outside of the pepper in any type of flour to help it stick.
For the sauce, I use a unique enchilada style sauce with a little squash in place of part of the tomatoes to enhance the nutritional value without affecting the flavor. The pureed squash also serves to make the sauce more smooth similar to the effect of using tomato paste. Feel free to use this easy enchilada sauce recipe instead. Stuffing the chile rellenos is not super challenging either. Just slit the top open wide enough to fit your knife or a spoon inside and scrape out the seeds and as much of the pith (the white membrane) as you can. Then stuff the inside with a melty Mexician cheese like queso quesadilla or monterey jack. You can also stuff it with shredded chicken or picadillo if you’d prefer!
I’ve been creating (and eating) a lot of keto diet appropriate meals lately and spiced okra is one of the fun side dishes I’ve come up with to use as a fiber rich, low carb side kick to any protein meal mail dish you wish …
I’ve been working on a ketogenic recipe series for the peeps over at BreakingMuscle.com where I just completed a really fun series on 20 ways to prepare poultry. You’ll have to check it out! I’m really enjoying the new keto challenge as it’s been really …
I retreated downstairs to find a movie on Sunday evening after finishing these amazing stuffed sirloin steak rolls and tuned in to see the Minnesota miracle happen live instead. I’m not an avid football fan so I was merely keeping tabs on the score via internet throughout the day and was just going to check in on the last quarter for the current score. I felt obligated since this home team has been doing so well this year and they were in the playoffs and what a finish! The last three minutes of the game inevitably were the longest and I’m so glad I caught them. I have never seen so much disappointment turned into a jaw dropping, unbelievable win!! I think my mouth is still open in wonder at how the Vikes pulled of a touchdown in those last few seconds. SKOL!!!
Stuffed sirloin steak is also a touchdown worthy of the superbowl in my world of steak playoffs. Savory grassfed black Angus fresh off the farm is pounded thin and topped with spinach, caramelized balsamic onions, provolone and blue cheese crumbles. Wrapping them in kitchen twine will help keep all the goodness right were it belongs to meld together and melt together in delicious steak heaven.
I use a cast iron grill pan to sear the stuffed sirloin steak and then be able to put it right in the oven to finish cooking to the perfect doneness. To do a proper sear, the pan needs to be HOT. Don’t be putting meat in a cold pan or you’ll just end up with ho-hum meat. The hot sear serves to caramelize the outer layer of the steak giving it a deeper flavor than just cooking does. Sear it in a hot pan until you have slightly crusty brown bits on the outside. This only takes a few minutes per side. Once it’s been seared on all sides, pop it in the oven and bake until the desired doneness. I like these stuffed beauties served about medium. They do continue cooking slightly after you pull them out of the oven while they rest so keep that in mind as well. Mine ended up more like medium well after resting so next time I’ll pull them out sooner 🙂 My very favorite part of these is the tangy combination of the blue cheese with the tart balsamic onions that just mingles so perfectly on the tongue… oh, and that crust of melty cheese that tends to ooze out just a little…
I rarely post noodle style meals. I’m just not a huge noodle eater and tend to lean towards rice in most cases. These skinny ramen noodles that I recently discovered, however, have me indulging in EVERYTHING noodle. These are a millet and rice based ramen …
