Arroz Con Pollo

Arroz Con Pollo
Originally found at Simply Recipes

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, with skin on, rinsed and patted dry
Freshly ground black pepper
Paprika
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup of medium or long-grain white rice
1/2 cup diced peppers
2 cups chicken stock
1 can diced tomatoes, strained and rinsed
1 tsp oregano

Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Place the chicken in the oil and season liberally with pepper and paprika. Cook until browned on each side. Remove from pan and set aside. Add rice to the pan and brown (add more olive oil if necessary). Add onion, garlic, and peppers, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions become softened, about 4 minutes.

Place chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of rice. Top with tomatoes and cover with chicken stock. Add oregano. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover. Allow to cook for 20-25 minutes, until rice and chicken are done.

My Notes:
Made a couple adjustments to this one. First, I removed the salt, but that's my preference. I never add salt to my cooking. I also removed the dredge on the chicken, because I didn't think it'd make much difference if the chicken was soaking for 20 minutes. Then, I added diced peppers. Specifically, yellow and orange peppers I had diced and popped in the freezer when they were on sale. I think I would've preferred this dish without the chicken skin on, only because if I eat chicken skin, it's gotta be nice and crispy, and soaking the chicken in the stock after frying kinda takes away from that crispiness.

It came out really well. Much more flavorful than I anticipated. This is definitely a keeper. Helps that I can basically make it in one pot. Woot!

Curry Rice Salad

Curry Rice Salad
Originally found at Simply Recipes

1 to 1 1/2 cups brown rice
one large yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp curry powder (mild)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
few drops of sesame oil
Bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 cup raisins
1 apple, cored and chopped
1-2 Tbsp honey

Cook brown rice according to package directions.

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add curry powder, chili powder, cumin, and sesame oil. Allow to simmer for a minute. Add onion and cook until translucent.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the hot rice and curry infused oil. Taste and prepare more oil if needed. Add cilantro, raisins, apple, and honey to taste. Chill and serve.

My Notes:
Not bad. My trial did not include the cilantro (I got lazy and decided not to go to the store again prior to making it). I also had to add more curry powder because I could barely taste it. Still, the flavors melded together well, and everyone at the picnic I brought it to enjoyed it. This is definitely a 'mess with it as you go' recipe, where the above proportions are not exact by any stretch of the imagination. So have fun and play around with it until you get what you want.

Green Chile Enchiladas

Green Chile Enchiladas
Originally found at Simply Recipes

Green Chile Sauce*
1 can diced green chiles
6 corn tortillas
Canola or grapeseed oil
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. Set a tortilla in the pan. Allow to bubble up slightly, then turn and repeat. Take out the tortillas and dry on paper towels.

Mix together the cheese and chiles, and place a small amount in a tortilla. Roll up and place in a baking dish. Repeat until all tortillas are used. Pour green chile sauce over the enchiladas and top with extra cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

My Notes:
*The link above has a recipe for green chile sauce with tomatillos and jalepenos, and I made it, but it didn't smell quite right to me (it's currently sitting in my fridge as I try to figure out what to do with it). So I used my typical Verde enchilada sauce.

They weren't bad, but they weren't spectacular either. I think I can probably jazz them up with some effort, but I'll have to work on it a little more. I really want to try them with some Hatch whole green chiles, but sadly, they don't sell them here where I live (at least, not at the grocery store I frequent). Maybe I can steal some away next time I make my way out west. Still, they're a decent replacement for my mom's chicken enchiladas.

Easy Mac and Cheese

Easy Mac and Cheese
Original Recipe (more or less)

1/2 lb elbow macaroni
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup half and half (or milk)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Boil macaroni according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water (to prevent noodles from sticking together). In a saucepan, heat butter until melted. Add flour and whisk constantly until golden brown. Slowly add half and half, stirring constantly to incorporate. Add cayenne pepper (optional). Heat over medium-high heat until thick. Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until completely melted. Slowly stir in noodles. Serve.

My Notes:
I've made a Mac and Cheese recipe before. It was more traditional, where you add the breadcrumbs on top and cook it in the oven after doing everything on the stove. It also took forever.

This recipe used the same basic components for the cheese sauce, but I simplified it. Also, the only thing I actually measured out was the half-and-half (because I didn't want to add too much liquid). And it turned out pretty good. Really thick, cheesy (which is my complaint about most homemade mac and cheese recipes (I was raised on the intense flavor of Velveeta).

At any rate, this whole recipe only takes about 30 minutes to make, so it's quick and easy. If you do it like I did, you can also make it by dirtying only a single pot and a strainer. Plus utensils and whatever you eat it on. Much better than 2 pots and a casserole dish.

Next time, I think I'll experiment with some different cheeses. Just to mix it up a bit.

Creamy Garlic Pasta

Creamy Garlic Pasta
Originally found at The Cheese Pusher

2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable stock
½ lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
¾ cup half and half
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesean cheese

In a pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add stock and raise the heat, bringing the liquid to a boil. Add pasta, stirring frequently until tender. Add half and half and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes to thicken, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Top with parmesean cheese. Serve immediately.

My Notes:
I actually edited the original recipe more than I thought I was going to. The original recipe called for chicken stock, which of course was a no-no, but that was easily fixed. Then I cut the fat by using half and half. I don't add additional salt to my recipes in general, so I left the salt out. I also used fettuccine, because that's what I had on hand over angel hair. I don't recommend that, because it's much harder to keep the noodles from clumping. Stick to angel hair (or spaghetti, if you must).

The original recipe also asked that you add the cheese before the half and half, stirring until it melted completely. Not sure what sort of cheese she was using when she did the recipe, but I ended up with big globs of melted cheese in my noodles. So, I recommend you top the pasta with the cheese at the end. Most alfredo sauces are made with a roux before you add the pasta, which makes it much easier to get the cheese melted and incorporated into the sauce. Adding it to a thickened liquid with the noodles doesn't work quite as well.

So yeah, it turned out pretty yummy. I think next time, I'll cut down on the stock a little bit (maybe 2 1/2 cups), just so that it doesn't take quite as long to cook the liquid off, and maybe toss in some broccoli for color. And maybe add more garlic. I don't think I had the full 4 cloves asked for in the recipe.