Minnesota Wild Rice

I havent been keeping up my blog lately, things have gotten hectic with school, work and the kids. I am in my last 5 months of training (YAY!). Then we'll see what happens, may move if I cant find a job around here in my career choice. The weather here has been weird this year; one day were in the mid 70's the next the 50's. So I got into a soup-y kind of mood with all this crazy weather. When I think of Minnesota, I think wild rice. Now, I love some wild rice in any form really, but in soup its something special. Although the soup is very time consuming with all the chopping, its totally worth it! So I have decided to post my:
Minnesota Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients Needed:



2 cups uncooked wild rice
4 tablespoons butter
1 large leeks, diced (about 2-1/2 cups)
2-3 carrots, diced (1 cup)
3 celery stalks, diced (1 cup)
8 ounces mushrooms, diced (2 cups)
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons chives
1/2 cup flour
8 cups chicken broth
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup cream
1/2 cup half-n-half
1/3 cup dry sherry
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Cook the wild rice according to the directions on the package. Wild rice generally takes 55-60 minutes to cook.


(this is what it should look like when its done)

2. While thats cooking in a large soup pot, melt the butter and sauté the leeks, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic and thyme on medium high heat. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened, stirring occasionally.


(sauting)

3. Add the flour and stir until blended into the vegetables. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Add the wild rice, chives and chicken. Stir in the cream, half-n-half and sherry. Cook until thoroughly heated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When done:


If you've never tried this before, you dont know what your missing! Enjoy.

Bacon Chipotle Gratin~ And the end of the Holiday!

Havent been able to blog much lately. Been busy with the holidays and our vacation to California. Which I must say was not what I expected! The drivers in California were far from what i'd call nice, and the traffic was terrible. The drive through the mountains was beautiful though. But overall the trip went well, although next time we'll fly. So lets talk about Au'Gratin Potatoes. We all love them right? Well, my family loves them, but I wanted something a little different with them. I sat and thought well bacon would be nice, and a little bit of chipotle to spice things up!


Mountains in Wyoming

So here's what I came up with:

Bacon Chipotle Gratin



Butter (for greasing baking dish)
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 tbsp. pureed chipotle in adobo sauce
8 red potatoes
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped into small peices
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter large, shallow baking dish or gratin pan. In medium bowl, whisk together cream and chipotle. Peel potatoes and slice very thinly, using mandolin if possible. Arrange one layer of overlapping potatoes in bottom of dish. Top with half of onion slices and cover evenly with one-third of cream mixture and one-third of cheese; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Repeat procedure for second layer, add half of bacon to second layer. For top layer, arrange potatoes and top with remaining cream and cheese, sprinkle reamining bacon on top; season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 25 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown and potatoes are tender. Let cool before serving.

Mexican Roasted Chicken

Well, it sure has been busy with school and work lately. I almost forgot I even started a blog. My fridge crapped out on Saturday and ive been living out of coolers for almost a week now. Hopefully the landlord will get it up and running early next week, he had to order some parts for it. So to get back into the swing of thing I thought roasted chicken, and not just any roasted chicken but one that is a great started for any mexican chicken recipe. It adds great flavors to the chicken and can be used for enchiladas, soup, tacos, taquitos...etc. I will post my tortilla soup next. So heres the recipe:

Mexican Roasted Chicken




4 to 5 lb Chicken
1 Teaspoon Ground Chile Ancho Powder
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
1 Teaspoon Mexican Oregano
1 Teaspoon Coriander
1 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Teaspoon Paprika
3/4 Teaspoon Ground Chile de Arbol Powder
3/4 Teaspoon White Pepper
3/4 Teaspoon Cumin


1.In a small bowl,mix together spices. Remove and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with paper towel. Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours.


spice mix

2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3.Place chickens in a roasting pan, cover with foil. Bake for 3-4 hours until internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do. I will put the tortilla soup recipe up shortly.

Enchilada Verdes

An enchilada is a popular Mexican dish. It is one of the most popular dishes that could be bought from a street vendor in Mexico. Hence, it is popularly known as "simple street food". Enchilada is pronounced as "ehn-chee-lah-thahs". The term "enchilada" simply means " dipped in chili". Mexican restaurants worldwide cater enchiladas with different kinds of filling.
Originally, an enchilada is made from a tortilla dipped in chili sauce and stuffed with cheese and beans or chicken and beef, sometimes with spinach. Today, there are different versions of enchiladas served in the Mexican restaurants around the world.
The enchiladas you eat from a street vendor in Mexico are quite different from the ones you must have eaten in a Mexican restaurant outside Mexico. The enchiladas you get outside Mexico are tortillas stuffed with fillings of your choice swimming in red sauce and molten cheese. These enchiladas are limp and are not crunchy.
Enchiladas Suizas was first introduced in a restaurant called Sanborn’s in Mexico City. "Suizas" means Swiss. This is so called because the dish uses a lot of cheese and cream. It is a tribute to the Swiss cuisine.
I guess you could say my recipe is a combination of a each of these.

Enchilada Verdes:



4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups water
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
3 fresh poblano chilies
1 fresh jalapeno pepper
6 tomatillos, husks removed and cleaned
1 white onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon majoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of white pepper
pinch of thyme
5 tablespoons poblano sour cream (you may sub regular if you cannot find this)
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 oz enchilado cheese - sliced
12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1.Place the chicken breasts, garlic, onion, water, and chicken bouillon into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 40 minutes. When finished, remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Measure out 1/2 cup of the chicken broth and discard the rest.
2.Roast tomatillos, onion, garlic in foil bag with oil underneath broiler until softened (about 20 minutes). Place them into blender with oregano, majoram, salt, cloves, white pepper, thyme and set a side. Roast the poblano chiles & jalapeno underneath a broiler until the skin has blackened on all sides. Place the chiles into a plastic bag, or a bowl covered with plastic wrap, and allow to steam as they cool, about 30 minutes. When cool, peel the blackened skin off of the pepper, and remove the seeds and membrane.
3.Add reserved chicken broth into a blender along with the roasted poblanos, jalapenos and sour cream. Puree until smooth and set aside.



4.Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the tortillas one at a time until softened and beginning to crisp. Place onto a plate and set aside. Pour the pureed poblano mixture into the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, slice the cooled chicken breasts into 1/4 inch strips.
5.Using tongs, dip a tortilla into the sauce, coating both sides. Place some of the chicken and enchilado cheese in the center of the tortilla, roll tightly, then place on a serving dish with the seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Spoon any remaining sauce over top of the enchiladas, then sprinkle with the shredded mozzarella cheese.


Enjoy!!

Green Chile Rice

Came up with this quick rice recipe when I was sick of plain old boring rice. I also look for any shortcuts so I used instant rice in this recipe. You could use regular if you'd like.

Green Chili Rice





1 cup instant brown rice
1 cup instant white rice
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon mexican oregano
1/2 white onion - diced
1 - 7oz can roasted green chiles
3 green onions diced
1/3 cup cilantro diced
1 tablespoon oil


1.In pan heat oil, add onion and saute until translucent. Set aside.
2.Bring chicken stock, butter, cumin, mexican oregano to boil. Add cooked onion and diced green chiles. Bring to boil again. Add rice and cover pot. Let stand for 7 minutes.
3.Fluff with fork, stir in cilantro. Garnish with green onions.

Posole Verde

Been a bit busy this week. Started a new semester at school, attending birthday parties and getting the kids ready for halloween. They've all picked there costumes, this year we'll have spider man, minnie mouse and a kitty. The other day we invited the whole family over and made a big pot of posole, which happens to be one of my favorite dishes. I love that you can just let it simmer all day and not have to worry about it. There are many different ways to make posole, it can be red, green, or even a clear soup. This recipe I made was the green (or verde) version.

Posole Verde





7 lbs Pork Shoulder (bone-in)
4 maggi beef bouillon cubes
8 cloves garlic minced
5 bay leaves
1 large can hominy (about 60oz)or 5-15oz small cans
water (about 1-1/2 to 2 gallons)

Verde sauce:
8 tomatillos
4 roasted, peeled and seeded poblano peppers
1 7oz can roasted green chiles
1 large white onion - quartered
1 tablespoon mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon majoram
1/2 teaspoon cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste ( usually start with 1 tablespoon of each and add more as needed.)

Toppings:
Shredded cabbage (or lettuce)
Diced raddishes
sliced avocado
diced onion
limes
hot sauce
tostadas


1.Place pork roast in stock pot, fill with water a little more than 1/2 way up the pot. Add garlic cloves, beef bouillon cubes and bay leaves. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 5 hours. Pork should start to get tender and pull apart.
2.Roast chiles and tomatillos and dice them. Place
3.all ingredients for verde sauce into blender. Blend until smooth.
4.Add verde sauce to pot of posole, let simmer another 2 hours. Add hominy, and simmer 1 hour. Remove from heat. Shred meat, remove bay leaves and bone.


Enjoy and invite the whole family over for a bowl!

Mango Tartlets

After having a bowl of hatch chile verde I had these chilling in the fridge for dessert. I got this recipe for these tartlets from my mother in law, who is from mexico. You may also sub strawberries for the mango. You can find the Maria Cookies at most mexican markets, if you cannot find them you may sub approx 10 whole graham crackers. If you sub strawberries, use about 1-1/2 cups.

Mango Tartlets



1 Mango peeled and diced
1/2 cups white sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
6 ounces Maria Crackers
1/4 cup minced piloncillo (you may sub dark brown sugar)
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 8oz. packages cream cheese at room temp
1/2 cup mexican poblano sour cream

1.Mix the mago and 2 tablespoon sugar in small bowl and set aside.
2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place six tartlet pans with removable bottoms on baking sheet. Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray.
3.Combine crackers and piloncillo in food processor, process to form crumbs. add butter and process until crumbs come together. Press crumbs into the tartlet pans. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove and let cool completely.



4.With electric mixer whip cream cheese and poblano cream in bowl until fluffy. Add remaining 1/2 cup white sugar and whip until combined. Reserve 2 tablespoons mango. Fold remaining mango to cream mixture. Spoon the mango filling into the tartlet shells, dividing equally.



Enjoy!