Make-your-own Mexican Dinner

D and I were both very excited at the thought of turkey burgers, but you can't make turkey burgers when the grocery store is out of turkey. hmm.

After a few moments' hesitation about what to make my very hungry and over-studied cohabiter, I settled on mexican. Now, before you get too excited, this isn't Diana Kennedy, from-under-the-adobe-flap Mexican (though I love Kennedy's cookbooks, especially this one, and need to make some of her recipes soon!). This is Americanized Mexican food with just a few twists to make it more authentic. And you know what? It's pretty damn good. Because we're kosher, we do either the meat inside or the cheese on top. But please, don't hold back. A little cotija cheese and sour cream never hurt anyone.

Whether you're cooking for an army of hungry people or just a few grumbling stomachs, make a mexican buffet, and you'll be sure to please the folks around your table.

**I'm sorry that my pictures only show some of the featured items (no chicken or guac); I wasn't much in a chicken mood (especially since they were boneless breasts, which I don't so love), and didn't want to make D wait to eat while I photographed. I like to think I'm at least considerate enough to not stand between D and food.

Here's my spread -- and feel more than free to vary these dishes according to your eaters' picky habits.

Flour tortillas (I like spinach flavor) Hot, Tangy Chicken Spanish Rice Smoky Refried Beans Guacamole Salsa Salsa Verde

Hot, Tangy Chicken

• 4 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• salt and pepper
• or 1 tsp. coriander (dried)
• 1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. hot sauce

1. marinate all ingredients for at least 45 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
3. Put 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and turn the heat on medium-high.
4. Scoop marinated chicken into pan, reserving liquid.
5. Saute for 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through and browned.
6. Add liquid to the pan and cook until reduced to 1/3, about 5 minutes.
7. Transfer to an oven-safe pan and leave, covered, in the oven, to keep warm.

Spanish Rice

2 cups basmati rice (can be brown)
• 2 3/4 cups water
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (be careful!)
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 4 Tbsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1 tsp. salt

Put 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
1. Add diced onions, jalapeno, and garlic, and sweat (until translucent), about 2 minutes.
2. Add spices and bell pepper, and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add 2 1/2 cups water, turn the heat to high, cover pan, and bring to a boil.
4. When water is boiling, add rice, and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
5. If after 15 minutes most of the liquid has evaporated, add an extra 1/4 cup and cook, stirring constantly.
6. After most of the liquid has evaporated, cover pot, turn off the heat, and allow to steam for 5 minutes. Then fluff rice with a fork.

Refried Beans

Smoky Refried Beans

• 2 cans black beans
• 1/8 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. pimenton, or smoked spanish paprika
• 1 tsp. salt
• cotija cheese, optional
1. Drain beans and rinse through a few times.
2. Blend beans and 1/8 cup water in food processor or blender until mostly smooth (though some little bits won't hurt).
3. Add oil, pimenton, and salt; pulse a few more seconds til blended.
4. Add more water if needed; you're looking for a smooth consistency that's not overly thick, but not runny either.
5. Put bean mixture in an oven- or microwave-safe dish and cover.
6. Bake in the oven at 350 until warmed through (about 15-20 minutes), or nuke in the microwave for ten-ish minutes until hot.
7. Top with crumbled or grated cotija cheese and a bit of hot sauce, if you wish.

Guacamole

• 4 avocados, halved and scooped into a bowl.
• 1 lime
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed or chopped
• 2 Tbsp. onion, chopped or mashed
• 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 a jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (more or less to taste)
• salt
1. Are there really instructions to this "recipe?"
2. Mash avocados, garlic, and onions in a big bowl (best to mash with a mortar and pestle, but I don't have one...).
3. add tomatoes.
4. add salt to taste.
5. add lime to taste.
6. add jalapeno....you get the drift.
7. Mix it all up and EAT!

I bought both salsa and salsa verde, but each is made relatively easily when you have the time: try this recipe from Simply Recipes, this one from Good Eats, or this salsa verde recipe, also from the much-abhored but also-very-useful Food Network.

A couple tips on serving this feast:

• Tortillas can be heated inside tin foil so that they stay soft and warm, then used as wraps to make burritos.
• Alternatively, cut each into quarters, and toast them in a dry frying pan until they crisp up a bit, then use them as you would nan with indian food, to scoop up some rice, beans, chicken and sauce.
• One last possibility is to fill them in advance, roll them, line them side by side in a pan, top with salsa and cheese, and bake, enchilada style. The possibilities are endless!

  

Baked Oatmeal

By now you all know that Sunday morning breakfast is practically an institution in this house of mine. Usually, it involves some form of yeasty, delicious bread, from apricot couronne to challah french toast to the fall-favorite, spiced pumpkin bread. This morning, D and I and our house guest Eric somehow managed to sleep past the crack of dawn, and when we rolled out of bed at 10, making bread for breakfast was totally, like totally, out of the question.

Sprawled horizontally on the couch, I started thinking about recipes that take little-to-no effort. Baked rice pudding instantly came to mind: I remember marvelling at how fantastically easy it was to make such a flavorful and luscious (and not all too unhealthy!) dessert. Inspired by the laziness of my rice pudding adventure, I decided to try the same technique with oatmeal. Granted, oatmeal doesn't require the stirring and monitoring that rice pudding does -- just zap it in the microwave and voila! you're good to go. But nuked oatmeal lacks the crust that I was so craving this morning (being without my bread and all.) Baking oatmeal would likely create a crisp exterior, which, when cracked, would yield soft, plump oats. And all it would involve was mixing everything together, transfering to a pan, and tossing in the oven. The whole thing sounded really promising. The result? Delicious, though I will say that I'd change a couple things the next time. And yes, dear readers, you will be privy to the lessons learned from my mistakes, so that you may make baked oatmeal perfectly the first go-round. Lucky you. :)

Lesson 1: a pinch of salt makes all the difference. Fortunately, I discovered this before serving, so I added a dash to each bowl and gave them a good mix before giving them to my eager taste-testers. It really is true that salt intensifies other flavors. Just a pinch helps balance the sugar and the creamy texture of the milk.

Lesson 2: A brulee-like top adds a dimension of luxury to an otherwise-rustic dish. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, not the least of which is sprinkling the finished product with sugar and crisping it with a torch. If you have a less-equipped kitchen, simply sprinkle sugar on top with three minutes remaining, turn the oven up to 400 degrees, and bake it off until the sugar has browned. This whole step, of course, is optional.

Lesson 3: Tart fruit are a key contrast to the sweet creaminess of the oatmeal. I used apples, but not enough; assume at least 2/3 cup of chopped tart fruit (peaches, plums, apples, and raisins are all excellent choices) for 1 cup of oats.

Now, without further ado....

Baked Oatmeal serves two, but easily doubled

• 1 cup oats
• 1 1/3 cups milk (I used 2%, but any sort will do)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• a dash nutmeg
• 2/3 cup (at least) chopped tart fruit, such as apples, raisins, cherries, nectarines, plums, peaches, etc.
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup
• pinch of salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. Stir to combine. Make sure that sugar begins to dissolve.
4. Lightly spray a shallow baking dish (I used an 8" casserole, but any old dish will do.)
5. Pour mixture into dish, and transfer to oven.
6. Bake 40 minutes, or until all most liquid has evaporated.
7. If desired, sprinkle with sugar when oatmeal is nearly finished, crank the oven to 400, and bake off until sugar has browned.
8. Add more milk to serve, if desired.
9. 

Easy, Healthy Butter Bean Stew

Bet you never thought you'd see "healthy" and "butter" next to each other in the same sentence!

Last night, after heating up some broth for a very sick D., I moseyed back to the kitchen to figure out dinner for myself. The fridge was pretty cleaned out, save some pretty blood oranges, 6 grape tomatoes, and a bit of leftover fennel. But fear not, dear readers! A few ingredients really do go a long way. I feel a little bit like Rachael Ray when I say this, but a delicious and healthy meal really is only 30 minutes away.

Will you roll your eyes if I say this was not a recipe? Fine, you win. Here's the recipe, but please, pretty please, feel free to adapt this in any way you see fit. If you've got regular white beans, they'll do just fine (though I do love the starchy, buttery texture of butter beans, hence called). If you wish, add some feta cheese and parsley. This can go in any number of different directions, all equally easy and delicious.

Butter Bean Stew

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp. each dried oregano and dried basil
• 1 bay leaf
• piece of a parmagiano reggiano rind, if available (feel free to substitute other cheese such as feta)
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• handful grape or cherry tomatoes

• For this one-pot wonder, I tossed some chopped garlic and shallots in a Tbsp of olive oil, let them sweat for a couple minutes, added salt, pepper, a bay leaf, and a Tbsp. each of dried oregano and dried basil. Then I drained and added a can (yes, a can!) of butter beans, and tossed them around to coat. I added a piece of the rind from parmigiano reggiano cheese. Then I added a bit of leftover canned crushed tomatoes (I'd estimate about 1 cup or so) and the six cherry tomatoes I had. I don't need to tell you to add more if you have more...

  From this point on, you basically just watch the whole thing simmer away until you can't stand it any longer. If desired, add some water to keep a thinner consistency. I lasted about 15 minutes -- plenty of time for all the flavors to come together. Ladel into a bowl atop a nice, crusty crouton or piece of toast, and enjoy just so.

Carrot Soup

It's already December and I still haven't posted a freezable soup recipe? Can't be. My nose is red and my paws are frosty these days. If only it were possible to have the kettle whistling by the time I walked in the door, so that I could instantly hold a piping hot mug of chai after weathering the cold. Until someone invents that kettle, there's frozen soup. There're few things easier than popping a soup-filled ziploc out of the freezer and nuking your dinner on a cold winter night. Start to finish, it only takes 4 minutes, and the results are just as good, if not better, than freshly made soup. The ingredients have had time to mingle with each other a bit more, so frozen soups often taste flavor-saturated than their fresh siblings. Top the soup with some homemade croutons and you're good to go!

Carrot soup is one of the simplest and lowest-maintenance options for wintertime. Once all the ingredients have landed in the pot, simply cover and hang out by the fire for an hour or two. Then throw it all in the food processor, et voila!

Spiced Carrot Soup serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup minced onion or shallot
• 3 Tbsp. minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. salt (if using water; if using chicken stock or broth, no salt is needed)
• 3-4 cups (or more) chicken stock, chicken broth, or water, as needed
• 4 cups sliced peeled carrots (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 cup or so orange juice
• pinch brown sugar or a couple tsp. maple syrup, if needed

1. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion or shallot, ginger, salt, and spices, and sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add carrots, and toss to coat with onion mixture.
3. Add 3 cups liquid, or enough that liquid covers carrots by about 1 inch. Cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. Add orange juice, and cook a few minutes longer. If needed, add sugar or syrup to sweeten.
4. Transfer in batches to the food processor and puree. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
5. Transfer pot to fridge and chill; if desired, when soup is just warm, transfer to ziplocs and freeze in 1-serving portions. Be sure to eliminate all air from the bag before closing.

Homemade Croutons

• leftover bread; I used homemade no-knead bread with whole wheat flour and raisins.
• pam or olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice bread, and cut slices into 1/2-inch cubes.
3. Lay out cubes in a shallow baking sheet, in a single layer.
4. Spray with pam or drizzle with oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
5. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 300 and bake another ten minutes, until crisp.
6. Allow to cool completely before storing in bags or jars.