Cheese Enchiladas with Deluxe Tomatillos Sauce

When I woke up yesterday morning, it was 40 degrees and foggy. In my mind, it should be 85 until Thanksgiving, at the least. The good news about cold and cloudy weather is that it’s the perfect setting for some Mexican food! My very favorite Tex-Mex restaurant in the whole wide world is Chuy's. I call it down and dirty Mexican food. I always get a number 7, one cheese chile relleno with ranchero sauce and a cheese enchilada with deluxe tomatillo sauce. Since I had no way to satisfy this craving without driving 7 and a half hours to Dallas, I started googling some of their recipes.

Last night I attempted to make the whole platter, but my chile rellenos needed some TLC, so I will share them once I have mastered it. I was, however, able to successfully find and copy their cheese enchiladas. The sauce makes a ton so I kept half of it as Verde sauce and the other half as the deluxe tomatillo sauce. I am going to use the deluxe tomatillo sauce on breakfast tacos later this week, but it would be great over fajitas or dipped in with quesadillas.

CHUY’S DELUXE TOMATILLO SAUCE

Adapted from Austin 360: Chuy's Recipe

This is a two-step recipe. You must first cook Chuy’s Tomatillo Sauce and then add ingredients for the Deluxe Tomatillo.

Step One: Tomatillo Sauce
2 Tbsp. margarine
1/8 cup. cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/8 cup jalapeno slices, with juice
1 tsp. fresh lime juice
2 lb. (about 25) green tomatillos, cleaned, roughly chopped
5 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp. chicken base (concentrated vegetable bouillon)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch garlic
1 pinch sugar

Heat margarine in a large stock pan.

Put cilantro, green onions, jalapenos, lime juice and 1 pound of roughly chopped tomatillos (about 12) in a food processor. Blend at low speed. Add the rest of the tomatillos and blend until pureed.

Add tomatillo mixture to margarine. Saute 10 minutes until it stops foaming. In separate pan, mix cornstarch completely in water. Stir in chicken base, salt, garlic and sugar into cornstarch mixture.

Add chicken stock mixture to tomatillo puree. Bring to a boil, then continue to simmer (low boil) for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Season to taste.

Step Two: Deluxe Tomatillo Sauce
½ Tomatillo Sauce recipe, hot (from recipe above)
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
½ cup sour cream
pinch salt
pinch garlic salt
pinch black pepper

Add cilantro to hot Tomatillo Sauce and blend with handheld blender until mixed. Add sour cream and spices. Blend at high speed until thoroughly mixed. Heat on stovetop on low heat setting if needed.

For the Enchiladas:

5 flour tortillas

Canola oil, to lightly fry the tortillas

½ Onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. Cilantro, chopped

1 cup Jalapeno Jack Cheese, shredded

1 cup Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded

Deluxe Tomatillo Sauce (See recipe above)   

 Heat oven to 375°. Warm the oil in a deep sauté pan. When the oil starts to glisten, put each tortilla in separately for 10 seconds on each side. Drain on a paper towel. Mix the onion and cilantro together. Combine the cheeses together in a bowl.

Place 1/3 cup cheese in the center of the tortilla. Spoon some of the onion mixture on top of the cheese. Roll the tortilla and place in an 8” x 8” glass pan. Repeat with the other tortillas. Top with Deluxe Tomatillo Sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Place pan in oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Baked Apples with Caramelized Onion, Thyme, and Bacon

In homage to the start of apple season, I decided to give this recipe a whirl. R.B. and I visited his grandparents a few weeks ago and his grandmother gave me this recipe. She thought it was the strangest idea to put apples, onions and bacon together and wanted me to try to it and see if it was good. I have to admit I was a little skeptical, but since it came from the Springfield newspaper, I figured they might know what they are talking about, not to mention I love putting salty and sweet together (chocolate covered pretzels anyone?).

Despite the fact that a baby goat walked out of the vet’s office as Lilly and I were walking in last week (seriously), I have had a hard time finding some good, fresh goat cheese around here. I substituted Blue Cheese for it, which is R.B.’s favorite anyway.  This dish really puts savory and sweet together in a delectable and innovative way.

Baked Apples with Caramelized Onion, Thyme, and Bacon                                                                                                                     

Adapted from Springfield News-Leader, August 17, 2011

Serves 3

3-4 Gala Apples, cored and sliced

1 large Onion, cut into large chunks

1 tablespoon Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

5 Slices of Bacon

¼ cup Blue Cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place apples and onions in baking dish. Drizzle them with olive oil. Pull the leaves off the Thyme sprigs and sprinkle over apples and onions  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until desired doneness. While this is cooking, cook the bacon and drain it on a paper towel. Crumble the bacon. When apples and onions are done, sprinkle with bacon and blue chees and serve.

Tomato Mozarella Sandwich

I love a good sandwich. Grilled, toasted, or just packed in a brown paper lunch sack, I will always have a love for sandwiches. Now that I’m older, I have moved on from the standard white bread with the crusts removed or the even better- sandwiches cut into hearts by my mom with a cookie cutter. Lately, I have been inspired to experiment with different kinds of breads. My latest craze has been Ciabatta Bread.  While it might sound intimidating, I made mine from scratch and it was actually really easy. I found a straightforward recipe that did not use poolish on a baking blog, La Petit Brioche. The recipe makes two big loaves, one of which would make a great gift to friends or can be frozen easily. To freeze it, wrap it in saran-wrap, and then wrap it in foil and place in a two gallon Ziploc bag.

If you don’t want to make the bread by hand, you could easily just buy a loaf at the grocery store.  To continue with my tomato theme this week, I made my version of tomato mozzarella sandwiches. These would be really great in a panini press or grilled. I made too many on purpose and refrigerated the rest which I have been eating for lunch all week!

Tomato Mozzarella Sandwiches

For Sandwich:

·         1 loaf Ciabatta Bread

·         1 ball Fresh Mozzarella, sliced

·         1 Yellow Bell Pepper, roasted* and sliced

·         2 tomatoes, sliced

·         ¼ Red Onion, thinly sliced

For Balsamic/Pesto Spread:

·         1 ½  tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

·         3 tablespoons Basil Pesto

Mix all ingredients for the Balsamic/Pesto spread together in a small bowl.

Slice Ciabatta Bread in half horizontally down the loaf. Then cut into desired sandwich sizes. Spread the Balsamic/Pesto spread on the inside of the bottom of the bread. Layer roasted yellow bell pepper slice, tomato slice, the mozzarella slice and red onion slices.

*I often cook with roasted bell peppers. To roast a bell pepper on a grill, heat the grill to high. Place bell pepper on the grill until it starts to get black marks. Rotate pepper until black marks are present on all sides. Immediately remove and put in a Ziploc bag for 20 minutes. When you take it out, the skin should easily peel off and throw away. The bell pepper is now roasted and ready to use. If you don’t have a grill (or don’t want to use one), you can repeat these steps in the oven using the boiler setting.

Tomato Pie

One of my favorite things about summer produce is all of the fresh tomatoes. A homegrown tomato is much tastier than its grocery store counterpart. Much to my dismay, tomato season is winding down so I decided to make a tomato pie for one last hurrah. This popular southern dish would be a great addition to any Labor Day cookout this weekend.

I chose to put the basil in the pie crust instead of the pie. This crust recipe makes two pie crusts, which you can refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for 3 months. While I usually make traditional pie crust by hand, I used a mixer for this one to mix the basil more thoroughly. If you don’t want to take the time to make the crust, a store-bought one should be fine. I also added roasted red peppers for additional flavor. It was a big hit at our house and I know I will be craving it until next summer!

Inspired by Southern Living, August 2011

Pie Crust

·         2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

·         ¾ teaspoon salt

·         2/3 cup shortening

·         ¼ cup chopped basil

·         8-10 tablespoons ice cold water

Place the flour, salt and basil in the mixing bowl and stir together until combined. Add the shortening to the bowl and mix until the shortening is pea sized.  Add the tablespoons of water one at a time until your dough is moistened. Be careful not to over mix. Divide dough in half and form into round discs. Refrigerate at least one disc for this pie recipe.

Tomato Pie Recipe

·         4 Medium Tomatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch thick slices

·         Salt, for sprinkling

·         ½ cup Mayonnaise (I use the Olive Oil-based kind)

·         3 Green Onions, chopped

·         ½ Yellow Onion, diced

·         2 Roasted Red Peppers,  chopped

·         1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place tomatoes on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Let stand 30 minutes.

Roll pie crust into pie dish. Prick the sides and bottom of the crust with a fork to keep the dough from puffing up. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown.

Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise, green onions, yellow onions, and ¾ cup cheese.

Remove pie crust from oven. Sprinkle bottom of crust with remaining ¼ cup cheese. Layer the chopped red peppers, then arrange the tomato slices evenly. Spread cheese mixture over tomatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 34 minutes or until brown. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Tomato Pie

Sausage Stuffed Peppers

One of my favorite dinners this summer has been stuffed peppers. It's really quick and easy to throw together. I do mine on the grill but you could easily do it in the oven. I sometimes have a hard time finding recipes that are easy to adapt for two people. This one really let's you tweak it and can easily be made for one or two people or even a whole crowd; I actually served it to R.B.'s family the first night we were in our new home. This recipe made 3 peppers and some leftover stuffing which is perfect for us (one for me and two for R.B.).

Sausage Stuffed Peppers is a really versatile recipe and completely open to interpretation. I used Spicy Sausage and Jalapeno Jack Cheese for a Southwestern flavor. You could spice it up by adding a chopped jalapeno and a dash of hot sauce, or if you wanted to use more veggies, just add diced mushrooms, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, etc. I just used what I had on hand that day so I kept it simple. While most recipes that you google for "stuffed peppers" will have some form of rice or breadcrumbs, I created this recipe without them to be lower in carbs.

The extra sausage stuffing can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months. I mixed the leftover sausage this week with eggs and made breakfast tacos for dinner one night. If you do have any leftover stuffed peppers, they reheat well in the microwave and are a great lunch the next day.

Sausage Stuffed Peppers

• 3 Bell Peppers, assorted colors
• 1 pound Hot Sausage
• 1/2 Yellow Onion, diced
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 3/4 Cup Pepper Jack Cheese, grated
• 1/8 Cup Red Wine
• Olive Oil, for brushing

Preheat Grill to Medium Heat.

Slice the top 1/3 of the peppers off, keeping the lids. Finely dice the remaining pepper around the stems and put to the side. Scoop out any remaining seeds and lightly brush the olive oil on the tops and bottoms of the peppers. Place the peppers on the grill bottoms down for 6-8 minutes until lightly browned and then flip over and lightly brown the tops as well for about 6 minutes. The pepper should be somewhat tender but not falling apart or losing it's shape.

While the peppers are on the grill, in a large skillet, brown the sausage. Add the onions and stir until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and diced peppers and cook for about 3-5 minutes, until tender. Pour in the red wine and cook until it is reduced. Remove the skillet from the stove and stir in the cheese.

Pour the stuffing into the warm peppers.

Hello!

I am a born and raised Texan and always thought my heels would dig in the soil there. That all changed when I met the love of my life, a Missourian, and I now hang my hat in his hometown of West Plains, Missouri. We live outside of town (population 10,866!) in my version of the country. I was raised in Dallas and moved here from Austin where I went to the University of Texas (Hook 'Em!) and worked for six years.

My husband is my official food guinea pig. We have been married one year and currently have a 5 month old puppy named Lilly. While she is not a food tester, she definitely runs our household!

Living here has been quite the adventure! With no way to get fresh veggies year round (I miss you, Whole Foods!), and no "fine dining" restaurants within a 90 mile radius, I have learned to adapt and only cook with what's in season. On the plus side, when a vegetable is in season, the place to get it is either your own garden or a food stand on the side of the road. We definitely "buy local"!

While I do try to cook semi-healthy, I have a weakness for all things sugar and a guilty pleasure for anything fried and dipped in ranch dressing (I will always be a sorority girl at heart). I hope you enjoy my recipes while I try to navigate through the intricacies of living in a small town!