Taco Hotdish

I got this general recipe from a show I 'discovered' on the Food Network/Discovery Plus -- Girl Meets Farm.  Molly Yeh.  

I debated on whether to include it as it seems pretty intuitive.  If you were in the mood for a taco hotdish, this is pretty much what you would put together.  But, here we are.  I'm including it.   

(For those of you *not* from Minnesota, a hotdish is a casserole don'tcha know...a full meal all in one serving vessel.)

But I digress.  Why am I including it, you ask?  Because it's a solid comfort food to begin with, but what really sold me was the next day.  Those that know me know I love an opportunity to reinvent a leftover.  

Warm up a couple scoops of this leftover and add it to scrambled eggs for breakfast the next day.  Sure, the corn chips are a bit soggy by then, but not in a bad way.  They have the texture of corn tortillas by morning.  Want to amp up the presentation?  Top with some avocado and cilantro.  Muy Bueno. 

The morning after

Taco Hotdish

2 T. vegetable oil

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 large jalapeno, seeded and most ribs removed 

1/2 onion

salt

3 or 4 T. taco seasoning (or 1 oz. packet of store bought)

1 1/3 lb. ground beef

1 14-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 c. frozen corn

24 oz. medium salsa

5 oz. queso fresco cheese, crumbled

chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 or so of a regular bag of corn chips

Head oil and sauté the peppers and onion with a pinch of salt until softened.  Add the taco seasoning and cook another minute.  

Add the ground beef, breaking it up and cooking until it is browned, about 8-10 minutes.  

Stir in the beans, corn, cheese, and salsa.  

Transfer it to a casserole dish and cover with corn chips that are slightly broken up.  (I used a skillet that is oven friendly, so no need to transfer.)

Bake at 375 degrees until heated through and the corn chips are a bit toasty, about 20 minutes. 

Top with the cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

 

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oz = ounce

c = cup

T = tablespoon

Grilled Halloumi Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce

When I was working in London a couple years ago, there was a lunch food event every Wednesday where vendors would gather in a courtyard amid some office buildings.  Think of a bunch of food trucks, but set up at booths instead.  I had Souvlaki --halloumi in a pita.  Up to then, I had never heard of this cheese.  It's just not 'a thing' here.  Well, let me tell you, it should be.  Seriously.  

Lunch market

The source of all that goodness

The original inspiration

After two years, I finally found this cheese sitting next to the feta tubs at Mariano's.  Thank you.

I did my best to duplicate this.  Who knows at this point if it is really like what I had back then (and it was only once, since I was only there for 4 weeks), but this is my version and it's fresh and so delish.

Seems strange that you can actually grill cheese and it can hold its shape, but you can with halloumi!  I didn't ask but I'm pretty sure halloumi prefers it that way.

I like to use a soft, thinner pita, slightly warm, so it wraps itself around the filling.  Lately, I've been using 'Atoria's Traditional Pitas'.  But, I'm going to try to make my own one of these days, too.

This recipe makes about 4 servings.

Grilled Halloumi with Tzatziki Sauce

Thinly sliced cooked chicken breast

8 oz. halloumi sliced in abut 3/4-inch sticks

Tomato sliced in thin wedges

Thinly sliced red onion

Arugula (or Rocket, as the Brits call it)

Tzatziki Sauce

5 oz. English cucumber

3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt

1 T. olive oil

1 T. lemon juice

1 clove garlic, grated

1/4 t. salt

1/2 T. chopped dill (I didn't have fresh, so used about 3/4 t. dried)

1/2 T. fresh mint, chopped

For the sauce: grate the cucumber on a box grater with the large hole side.  Put the cucumber in cheesecloth and squeeze out the moisture (this is important!  It will be really watery otherwise.)  Mix all the ingredients together and set aside so the flavors meld.

To grill the halloumi, put a tiny amount of oil in a cast iron skillet just to prevent any sticking not a lot!  Grill it until it is browned, about 2 minutes or so on each side.

Assemble by layering the arugula, cheese, tomato and onion on the pita and then top with generous dollops of Tzatziki sauce.

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oz = ounce

T = tablespoon

t = teaspoon

Pork Egg Rolls

 I'm going to try to do more posts about what I have done with leftovers.  Do not throw food away! Transform them into something totally new!

One night, I made a Smithfield Mesquite flavored pork loin.  Since there are only 2 of us, and after the hubby took some for lunch, I had about 3/4 lb. left.

This is what I did with it and it was awesome!

Pork Egg Rolls

3/4 lb. leftover Mesquite seasoned pork loin, diced in chunks

1 bag coleslaw with red cabbage and carrot mix (I got mine from Trader Joe's) 

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 c. peas

2 T. vegetable oil

sesame oil

Sauce

1 t. rice wine vinegar

1 clove minced garlic

3 T. hoisin sauce

3 T. soy sauce

1 t. chili garlic paste

Eggroll wrappers

oil for frying

Whisk the the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Pulse the pork loin in a food processor until it is smaller pieces.

Saute the coleslaw mix in the vegetable oil for several minutes until it is softened.  Add the garlic, peas, green onion, and pork.

Then toss in the sauce and cook until the liquid is absorbed.  (You don't want a soggy roll!)

Wet the edges of an eggroll wrapper.  Put 1/3 c. or so the wrapper diagonally.  Fold over one corner, then the ends, and roll to seal.   Repeat to finish all of the egg rolls.  I got about 10 total.

You could spray these with oil and bake them, but I preferred to splurge and added an inch or so of oil to a cast iron skillet and heated it to about 350 degrees.  I fried mine about 2 minutes on each side and they were delightful.

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lb = pound

t = teaspoon

T = tablespoon

Egg Salad

 I've been doing some research on how to make a good egg salad and have come with a good one.  I'll probably edit it in the future, but this is it for now.

Egg Salad

8 hard boiled eggs

2 T. plain yogurt + mayo to equal 1/2 c. total

1 1/2 T. Dijon mustard

1 large green onion, chopped

1 large celery rib, diced

1 t. dried dill.  If using fresh be a lot more generous

1/2 t. salt

several cracks of pepper

splash of pickle juice if you have it?

Separate the hard boiled yolks from the whites.   Dice the whites and set aside.

Mash the yolks in a bowl and mix in the yogurt/mayo, dill, salt and pepper, and optional pickle juice

Mix in the diced egg whites, celery, and onion.

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t = teaspoon

T = tablespoon

c = cup

Tomato and Mozzarella Galette

This is a combination of a few recipes I found on line, so its hard to source any recipe creator as inspiration.  

Tomato and Mozzarella Galette

1 pie dough, about 12 inches in diameter (use the Pie Dough recipe on my blog or use store bought)

3-4 tomatoes, depending on size, sliced 1/2 inch thick ( A variety of colors would make this look lovely)

olive oil

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

6 oz. mozzarella (for extra fancy-ness, some sliced fresh mozzarella, too!)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 fresh basil, chopped a bit

1 egg beaten with a splash of water 

salt and fresh cracked pepper

Lay the tomatoes on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt to draw some of the moisture.

Put the crust on parchment paper and roll it out to about 12 inches in diameter, 1/4 inch thick.

Brush the edges with the egg wash, about 1 or 1 1/2 inches in.

Brush the middle of the crust with olive oil and sprinkle the garlic around.

Then sprinkle on the parmesan and mozzarella.

Distribute the basil on top and lay the tomato slices all over.

Fold the edges and pleat.

Brush the outside edges with the egg wash and season the galette with a few cracks of pepper all over and a sprinkling of course sea salt.

Transfer the parchment and galette to a baking sheet or baking stone that has been preheated in the oven.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 35-40 minutes until the edges are a nice golden brown.  Garnish with more basil.

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oz = ounce

c = cup

Pie Dough

I found this pie dough on food52.com as 'All Buttah Pie Dough'.  I have a tendency to change something in pretty much every recipe I find.  Not this one.  It is perfect as it is.  I used it for my tomato and mozzarella galette and I know it would be flaky and buttery awesomeness with sweet desserts, too.

Some of the variations they suggest are:

Chocolate Crust: Replace 1/4 c (30 g) of the flour with 1/3 c (28 g) unsweetened cocoa powder (it will have a dry, matte appearance all over -- do not overbake)

Spiced Crust:  Add up to 1 1/2 T. ground spices or a combo of a few, like 1 1/4 t. ground ginger, 1 t. ground cinnamon, 1/2 t. ground allspice, 1/2 t. ground cloves

Pie Dough

1 1/4 c. (160 g) all purpose flour, sifted

pinch of salt

8 T. (1 stick) butter, cut in 1/2 inch cubes

1/4 c. water, more if needed

Put the flour and salt in a bowl.  Toss the butter to coat it with the flour.  

Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until it is in the size of a half walnuts for a super flaky crust or pea sized for a more mealy one.

Make a well in the center and add a few tablespoons of water at a time until the dough just comes together.  

Form the dough in a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. 

When ready to use, lightly dust a work surface with flour and lightly dust a rolling pin.  Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick, rotating as you work. 

You can make this a day or two ahead of time if you want to. 

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c = cup

T = tablespoon

t = teaspoon

g = gram