Sausage-Corn Scramble with Home Fries

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

This past weekend we had some of the best April weather I can remember. Matt and I took advantage of the sunny, 70 degree temperatures by spending what seemed like the entire weekend outside. We reseeded our lawn (Bailey’s sliding tennis ball grabs and tight turns take their toll on the grass!) and I planted moonflowers, morning glory, mint, marjoram, chives, marigolds, zinnias and dahlias. We also enjoyed a 4 ½ mile hike in the Woodlawn Trustees Wildlife Refuge in Northern Delaware (I’ll post more about that later) and still managed to find some time to sit back and enjoy the wonderful fragrance of our blooming viburnum bushes, crab apple trees, and cherry trees.

Of course all of that outside time made us hungry so we also spent a good portion of the weekend cooking delicious meals. Saturday night we made decadent Bucatini with Homemade Meatballs and Tomato Sauce, Sunday morning we feasted on a Sausage-Corn Scramble and crispy, browned Home Fries, and Sunday evening we had Matt’s parents and his brother over to share our Adobo-Lime Chicken with Corn and Black Bean Salad and Spanish Rice. Yum! Throughout the week I will post recipes for all of these meals but for now I’ll start with our Sunday morning scramble with home fries.

For the scramble, we chose to go with a Mexican flavor since we had some leftover “corn con salsa” (sautéed corn with some black bean salsa and cilantro) that we wanted to use up. We just had normal pork sausage, but this recipe would be GREAT with chorizo instead. (Maybe next Sunday!) I also threw in some baby spinach from my garden since my spinach plants are just getting to the point where they need to be thinned. These spinach shoots gave the scramble a nice bit of color and flavor.

Baby Spinach, freshly thinned from our garden

For our home fries we followed the recipe from our Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipe book. The potatoes were buttery, crisp, and salty… the perfect combination!

Sausage-Corn Scramble with Home Fries

Ingredients:

For the Home Fries
2 Russet Potatoes, cut into ½” cubes
2 ½ tablespoons Peanut Oil
1 Medium Red Onion, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 tablespoons butter

For the Scramble
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 large Shallot, thinly sliced
¼ pound Ground Pork Sausage (or Chorizo)
¾ cup Leftover Corn Con Salsa (sautéed corn with salsa and cilantro); or any similar type of black bean or corn salad or salsa that you enjoy)
½ cup Baby Spinach (I used “infant” spinach shoots freshly thinned from the garden)
5 Eggs, whisked together in a large bowl
1/3 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper to taste
Garnish of Salsa and Cilantro

Directions:

Place the cubed potatoes in a small pot, cover with ½” of water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Heat the pot on the stove over high heat just until the water starts to boil, then remove from heat and drain the potatoes in a colander.

Heat the peanut oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the red onion and sauté until browned. Remove the onion from the pan and place in a small bowl with the salt, pepper, and paprika.

Add the butter to the heavy-bottomed pan that you sautéed the onion in and allow it to melt. Add the potatoes and shake the pan so that the potatoes lay evenly on the bottom of the pan in one layer. Allow the potatoes to cook for 4 to 5 minutes without stirring; this will ensure that they get nice and crispy on that side. After 4 to 5 minutes, stir the potatoes to flip them over and allow them to cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat this process a few times until the potatoes are evenly browned on all sides.

Add the onion mixture to your potatoes and mix thoroughly. Taste a potato (yum!) and add extra salt and pepper if needed. Leave the potatoes in the pan to keep them nice and hot until you are ready to serve them.

For the scramble, heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the shallots. Saute the shallots for a few minutes, then add the sausage. Use a spatula to flatten the sausage in one layer across the bottom of the pan and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes without stirring. (As was the case with the potatoes, this will allow the sausage to brown and get a little crispy.) Flip the sausage over and allow the other side to brown as well.

After sausage is evenly browned and slightly crispy, break up the sausage with your spatula. Mix in the corn mixture and baby spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Corn 'con salsa' and baby spinach for the scramble

Stir the Monterey Jack cheese, salt and pepper into the egg bowl and then add to your sausage mixture in the frying pan. Stir and flip the mixture regularly for 4-5 minutes until eggs reach your desired level of doneness.

Garnish the scramble with a dollop of salsa and a sprig of cilantro and serve with your crispy home fries and a cup of coffee.

9Apr2012

Baked Tortellini with Peas and Ham in Cream Sauce

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Happy Easter! We spent our holiday weekend eating delicious, rich meals including my mom’s asparagus strata, Matt’s sister’s homemade strawberry shortcakes, and our very own scalloped potatoes with artichoke hearts and fontina cheese. We decided to keep the heavy food trend going today by using some leftover ham to make baked tortellini with peas and ham in a cream sauce. I used this recipe from the Food Network as a guide but made some of my own changes such as lightening the sauce a bit with fat-free half and half, subbing in the Easter ham for prosciutto, and broiling the individual-sized entrees in the oven just before serving.

Baked Tortellini with Peas and Ham in Cream Sauce

You will need…
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of leftover ham (or you can use prosciutto), thinly sliced in 1″ strips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fat-free half and half
Approx. 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Approx. 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup peas
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese (or Parmesan/Romano blend)
12 oz. Tortellini, cooked according to package instructions
1/4 cup reserved pasta liquid

Directions:
Melt the butter in a dutch oven. When butter is melted, add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the ham and saute for an additional 4 minutes or until the ham starts to brown slightly. Add the heavy cream, half and half, salt and pepper and stir. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until cream mixture is reduced by half.

After mixture is reduced, mix in the peas and cheese, then add the tortellini and reserved liquid. Stir well to combine, then transfer tortellini into two small baking dishes. Broil for 4-5 minutes until top begins to brown, then remove from oven and enjoy!

6Apr2012

Southwestern Turkey Burgers

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

After making our delicious Guacamole-Chipotle Burgers on Wednesday, we had a few leftovers, namely chipotle mayonnaise, guacamole, poblano pepper, cheese, and buns (everything but the burger!). We decided to put our toppings to good use and try out the Guacamole-Chipotle Burger recipe using ground turkey instead.

We followed the same basic recipe as the beef burgers with a few exceptions. We were worried that the lower fat content of the turkey would produce dense, dry burgers so we chopped up the pepper jack cheese and mixed it plus a little shredded Monterey Jack directly into the turkey mixture. We also added slightly less pepper (just under 1/2 teaspoon per pound of meat) and Matt grilled the burgers longer — approximately 5 minutes per side over direct high heat — to make sure they were cooked through.

The turkey burgers turned out nice and juicy thanks to all of the cheese and the overall combination of turkey, chipotle mayo, poblano, cilantro, and guacamole was delicious! Next time we make fancy beef burgers we’ll definitely plan to make the healthier turkey equivalent with the leftovers. 🙂

4Apr2012

Homemade Guacamole-Chipotle Burgers

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Every January we go to Las Vegas for a week to exhibit at a big trade show. Although this sounds like a great opportunity to let loose and go wild in Vegas, the reality is that after 9 1/2 hours of standing in a booth on a concrete floor (and with another 9 1/2 hours ahead of us the next day…) we typically find ourselves just looking for a solid meal that doesn’t involve walking through too many casinos. After checking out many of the restaurants in our immediate area, we decided that our favorite place to eat was the Grand Luxe Cafe, conveniently situated right at the bottom of our hotel elevator at the Palazzo.

The Grand Luxe Cafe’s menu is practically a small novel, boasting page after page of offerings from Italian, Asian, Mexican, and American cuisine. Matt’s go-to dinner was the Avocado-Chipotle Burger which, according to the menu, is a “chop house burger topped with fresh avocado, fire-roasted poblano peppers, melted cheese, chipotle mayonnaise and cilantro.” Yum!

With this description in mind, we set out to make our own version of this delicious dinner. Judging by the look on Matt’s face as he bit into his burger tonight, I think we succeeded!

Burgers with Pepper Jack, Chipotle Mayo, Roasted Poblanos, Guacamole and Cilantro

Chipotle Mayo, Cilantro & Guacamole

You will need…
1 Poblano Chile Pepper
1/4 Cup Cilantro Leaves
1/4 Cup Guacamole
4 Slices Pepper Jack Cheese
2 Hamburger Buns, cut in half lengthwise and lightly toasted

For the Chipotle Mayonnaise…
1/3 Cup Mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 Lime
1 Chipotle Pepper plus 1 Teaspoon Adobo Sauce (from a small can of Chipotles en Adobo)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Poblano Peppers

For the burger patties…
3/4 – 1 pound Ground Chuck
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
Olive Oil Spray for the Grill

Directions:

Heat your grill to medium-high heat. Once hot, place the whole poblano pepper on the grill grates and allow it to roast for approximately 12 minutes, turning occasionally. When the poblano skin is charred and starting to peel remove it from heat, place it in a glass bowl, and cover with a kitchen towel. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. (This will loosen up the poblano skin and allow it to cool enough so that you can handle it.)

Transfer the poblano to a cutting board and peel off the outer skin with your fingers. Cut the stem off and squeeze the seeds out. Slice the pepper into 1/2″ squares and set aside.

Combine the chipotle mayonnaise ingredients in a small food processor and blend until the pepper is broken down into small pieces. Transfer the chipotle mayonnaise into a bowl and set aside.

To make your burger patties, place the ground chuck in a shallow bowl and spread out slightly. Add the salt and pepper evenly over the surface of the meat, then carefully mix the meat with your hands. The key to a good burger is not to over-mix or over-compress the ground beef so mix gently! 🙂 Split the meat mixture in half and form each section into a very loose ball by transferring the meat back and forth between your hands.

Place both burger “balls” on a plate and press down gently to flatten them ever so slightly… your finished patty should be about 3/4″ thick and 4-5 inches in diameter. Form a small indent (about 1/4″ deep) in the center of each patty.

Place the burgers, indent side up, on a preheated, oiled grill over direct high heat. Close the lid and allow to cook for 2 1/2 minutes, then flip the burgers and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Add the slices of pepper jack cheese to each burger and allow to cook (lid closed) for another minute.

While the burgers are grilling, spread some of the chipotle mayonnaise on the bottom of your hamburger bun and spread some guacamole on the top of the bun. Place the cooked burgers onto the bun and top with roasted poblano peppers and cilantro.

We enjoyed our burgers with a side of Alexia Sweet Potato Chipotle Fries and a Dill-Cucumber Salad. This was a pretty spicy meal so the cucumber had a very nice cooling effect.

Ready to eat!

3Apr2012

Simple Grilled Zucchini

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

We’ve had a busy week! It was Matt’s birthday yesterday so we’ve been going out to dinner a lot and haven’t cooked anything elaborate lately. Despite our lack of exciting culinary exploits, I still wanted to share a recipe so here’s a very simple one for tonight: Grilled Zucchini.

Simple Grilled Zucchini

You will need…
2 small Zucchinis (or 1 large one)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Garlic Powder and/or Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute (optional)

Directions:
Slice the zucchinis in half lengthwise. Pour a small amount of olive oil onto the cut side of the zucchini and season with salt and pepper. You can add extra seasonings like garlic powder or Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute at this point as well.

Place the zucchini halves skin-side down over direct medium-high heat on a preheated grill. Grill for approximately 5 minutes and then flip the zucchinis over so that they are face-down on the grill. Grill for another 5-7 minutes (longer for a thicker zucchini) or until they are tender. Remove from the grill and enjoy!

26Mar2012

Kung Pao Chicken

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Last Fall Matt and I decided that we wanted to learn how to stir fry. We got a great cook book, a brand new 14 inch carbon steel wok, and what seemed like dozens of various sauces, oils and seasonings. Since then we’ve made several recipes and all of them have had a much fresher and more authentic taste than any jarred stir-fry sauce that we had tasted in the past. Our favorite stir fry so far has been the Kung Pao Chicken. It may look like there are a lot of ingredients (because, well, there are!) but it is definitely worth it!

This posting is not really a recipe because I’m not actually listing the exact quantities of each ingredient. If you are interested in making this stir fry I recommend that you purchase the cook book that we use – “Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge” by Grace Young. This book is great because it not only has delicious recipes like Mongolian Lamb, Hoisin Pork, Hot Pepper Beef, and Kung Pao Chicken, it also has detailed information about stir fry food prep and techniques (seasoning a wok, mincing garlic, shredding scallions… all of those skills you never knew you needed until you tried to make a “real” stir fry!). The book is well-written and the recipes are delicious and I highly recommend it.

Kung Pao Chicken

Here are the many, many ingredients that you will need: (I’m not listing quantities here – you should check out the cook book to find them!)
Chicken Breast, cut into cubes
Minced Ginger
Minced Garlic
Cornstarch
Soy Sauce (use wheat-free soy sauce for a g-free recipe)
Dry Sherry (or Shao Hsing Rice Wine)
Sugar
Salt
Chicken Broth
Balsamic Vinegar (or Chinkiang Vinegar)
Dark Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
Peanut Oil
Red Chili Peppers OR Chili-Garlic Sauce (that’s our one addition to this recipe… it tastes good though!)
Sichuan Peppercorns (Update: we mail-ordered these from Spices, Inc. with great results)
Red Bell Pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
Unsalted Roasted Peanuts
Minced Scallions
Cooked White Rice

Just a few of the many ingredients you will need!

Directions:
Combine the chicken, ginger, garlic, cornstarch, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, salt and cold water. In another smaller bowl or measuring cup combine the chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, and the rest of the rice wine. In yet another small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and salt and add the scallions and peanuts. Now you are ready to start stir frying!

Now you’re ready to start stir frying!

Heat your wok on high heat and swirl in half of the peanut oil. Add the chilis (or chili garlic sauce, in our case) and Sichuan peppercorns and stir fry for approximately 1 minute until chilis begin to smoke. Push the chili mixture aside and add the chicken. Spread the chicken in one layer on the bottom of the wok and cook for 1 minute undisturbed, then stir-fry for an additional minute.

Swirl the remaining peanut oil into the wok and add the red bell peppers. Stir fry for 1 minute, then swirl the broth mixture into the wok and stir fry for another minute. Add the peanut-scallion mixture and stir fry for a final 30 seconds. Remove from heat and serve over white rice.

24Mar2012

Cuban-Style Black Beans

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Someday I will make “real” beans. I mean the kind where you soak dried beans overnight, pick through them for stones (stones, really?!?), and then cook them for hours with seasonings. But for today I had my hands full with pork carnitas and jicama slaw so I just decided to use a recipe where I can doctor up a basic can of black beans and make them taste like they have been soaking all night and simmering on the stove. This recipe from SkinnyTaste.com was exactly what I needed. The beans turned out flavorful and slightly saucy (a good attribute in my opinion!) and complemented the rest of the meal very well.

Cuban-Style Black Beans (view the original recipe here)

You will need…
1/2 Onion
2 cloves Garlic
2 Scallions
1/4 Red Pepper
3 tablespoons Cilantro
Olive Oil
1 15oz. can Black Beans, undrained
1/3 cup Water
1 Bay Leaf
few pinches of Cumin (I love how there’s no exact measurement in the original recipe… this is exactly how I cook!)
one pinch Oregano
1 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Chop the onion, garlic, scallions, red pepper, and cilantro in a food processor. Add a small amount of Olive Oil to a pan and sauté the onion mixture for approximately 3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for approx. 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

24Mar2012

Jicama Slaw

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Tonight for dinner we are making pork carnitas with jicama slaw, cuban-style beans, and cilantro-lime rice. The pork, which has been simmering the crock pot all day, will not have a huge amount of seasoning which is OK because the real flavors will come from the combination of the slow-cooked pork and this delicious jicama slaw in our green chile corn tortillas. I’ll post the pork recipe and photos of the finished dinner later.

We made the slaw this afternoon so that the veggies will have time to soak up the dressing before dinner. The original recipe came from the Food Network’s Guy Fieri. You can view Guy’s recipe here.

Jicama Slaw

You will need…
3 tablespoons Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon Red Chile Flakes (we used Crushed Red Pepper since we didn’t have Chile Flakes)
1/2 teaspoon Chile Powder
6 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon Sugar
6 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 cups Jicama, peeled and julienned
1 cup Carrots, peeled and julienned
1 cup English Cucumber, julienned
1/2 cup Red Pepper, julienned
1/2 cup Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 cup Shredded Cabbage (use bagged cole slaw mix if you don’t feel like buying a whole head of cabbage; for tonight’s dinner we used a bag of “broccoli cole slaw”)
2 tablespoons Cilantro, chopped

I was able to fit nearly all of the ingredients onto this cutting board... there are a lot of them!

Directions:
In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the first eight ingredients (lime juice through pepper) and stir together.

If you have a mandoline, use it to julienne and slice your veggies. We made this slaw one time before we owned our mandoline and it took about 40 minutes longer because I am not very quick with a knife!

In a much larger bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients (jicama through cilantro) and toss. Pour the dressing over the veggies and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.

19Mar2012

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Over the holidays I discovered a blog called Natural Noshing while searching for a gluten-free meatball recipe to serve to our extended family. Although I didn’t end up making the specific turkey meatball recipe that I found on Nora’s blog, I was enthralled by her beautiful photographs and delicious, clearly-laid out recipes. I began to daydream about creating my own blog and, although I don’t have very much cooking experience and my photography has primarily been limited to dogs flying through the air, I eventually got up the nerve to start this blog!

I had originally planned to make Kung Pao Chicken in our wok tonight since this is one of our favorite meals and it hasn’t yet appeared on TheLittleGSP. I had, in addition to the many sauces and oils needed for Kung Pao, some chicken breast and red bell pepper, and, as of 8:32am that’s what was for dinner. That all changed at 8:33 when I got my automated WordPress notification that a new recipe was up on Natural Noshing. The recipe? BBQ Chicken Quesadillas with (you guessed it!) chicken and red pepper. Perfect!

Before you read any further, you should definitely check out the original recipe and beautiful photos on Natural Noshing. I am pretty stubborn about never quite following recipes exactly (I always tend to add extra onions, extra garlic and a shake or two of crushed red pepper for good measure…) so when in doubt follow Nora’s recipe, not mine! 🙂

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas serves 2-3

You will need…
2 Chicken Breasts
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 Red Onion, diced
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup Chopped Cilantro (apparently I like to be heavy-handed with Cilantro as well!)
Approx. 1/2 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded (I didn’t have the sharp cheddar that the original recipe called for)
6 Corn Tortillas (ours were Green Chile Corn Tortillas)
Approx. 3 Tablespoons of BBQ Sauce (we are using Homestyle Black Cherry Smokehouse BBQ Sauce from Whole Foods)
Sour Cream and Guacamole (optional but highly recommended!)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the uncooked chicken breasts. Boil the chicken breasts for 10-15 minutes or until they are fully cooked through. (I actually lost track of time as my chicken was boiling. This is usually Matt’s job but he was at lacrosse practice so I did it myself. He tells me that you cook them “until they are done” so just do that and you’ll be fine…). Alternatively, you can avoid this chicken-boiling step by just using pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.

Remove the chicken from the water and shred it with two forks until it looks something like this:

Sauté the pepper and onion in a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium heat until tender. Salt and pepper to taste and then transfer the pepper and onion mixture to a bowl.

To assemble your quesadillas, place a corn tortilla in the pan that you just sautéed the peppers and onions in. You’ll want the tortilla to sizzle in the oil without burning (this is a very fine line on our not-so-sensitive electric range). Top the tortilla with cheese and pour a few drops of BBQ sauce evenly around the tortilla. When the cheese starts to melt place a few pieces of shredded chicken and a thin layer of the pepper/onion mix on one half of the tortilla. Sprinkle with cilantro and fold the “empty” side of the tortilla over onto the full side.

Allow the quesadilla to continue sizzling until the tortilla reaches your desired level of crispiness.

Serve with guacamole and sour cream!

18Mar2012

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner: Bangers and Mash

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Last night for our St. Patty’s Day dinner we tried out a traditional Irish dish, Bangers and Mash. Although I usually stereotype Irish food as being bland and low on flavor, this combination of pork sausage, gravy and mashed potatoes was incredible! We’ll definitely be making this dish again!! We adapted the recipe slightly from one that I found on AllRecipes.com.

Bangers and Mash (serves 2-3)

You will need…
2 Large Baking Potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/4-1/2 stick Butter, divided
2 tablespoons Heavy Cream
Salt and Pepper, to taste
3 “Banger” Pork Sausages (some stores like The Fresh Market and Whole Foods actually sell bangers; if your store doesn’t have bangers specifically then normal pork sausage will be fine)
1/2 Small Yellow Onion, roughly diced
1/2 Packet of Dry Brown Gravy Mix

Directions:

Place the quartered potatoes in a pot and fill with water until they are just covered. Boil for approx. 20 minutes, then strain the potatoes and return to the pot. Mash the potatoes, add 2-3 tablespoons of the butter along with the heavy cream, salt, and pepper, and then continue to mash until creamy and smooth.

In a large pan (we used our wok), sauté the bangers in the remaining butter until they are cooked through. When cooked, remove the bangers from the pan and allow to cool. In the same pan, add the diced onions and fry until tender. Add the 1/2 packet of gravy mix and water as per the gravy mix instructions to the onion mixture and allow the mixture to thicken.

Meanwhile, slice the bangers into small, bite-sized pieces. Add the bangers to the thickened onion/gravy mixture and mix thoroughly.

Assemble your bangers and mash in a small casserole dish. We used three individual-sized dishes but you could probably use one large, shallow dish as well. Fill the bottom half of the dish with the sausage/onion mixture. Spoon the mashed potatoes over top of the sausage until the casserole dish is full. Bake the casseroles in a preheated 350° oven for 20 minutes, then move the oven rack to the top position and broil for approx. 5 minutes until top of potatoes is browned.

Enjoy your bangers and mash with a side vegetable and a tall glass of your favorite beer!