Chipotle and Apple Turkey Burgers

My friend, Gabrielle, bought us the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook for our wedding, and I decided that it was time to put it to work.

This recipe was delicious.

Like....SO DELICIOUS.

1 Tbls olive oil
1 celery stalk
3 green onions, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 green apple, grated
1 lb turkey
1 chipotle chille in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbls fresh thyme, chopped

Heat oil in a saute pan. Add the celery, green onions, and garlic and saute until just browned, about 5 mins. Turn off heat and seat aside to cool.

Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the apple. Combine the grated apple, turkey, chipotle, salt, pepper, thyme, and cooked veggies in a large mixing bowl and stir everything together. Form the mixture into four patties, each about 1.5 inches thick, and let them rest at room temp for about 15 mins, or keep them covered in the fridge until ready to grill.

Heat the grill (I just used a pan) to medium-high. Cook the burgers about 5 mins on each side. Put a slice of cheese (the disc in the picture is provolone) on top of each patty in the last minute of cooking time to melt. Transfer the patties to a plate and cover loosely with foil.

Grill or toast the buns. I spread some aoli that I mixed together on the buns and put lettuce and caramlized onions (to die for) on top.

The glorious end.

Black Butte Porter Meatloaf With Gruyere

From Deschutes Brewery. 

So, my friend, Gabrielle, sent me this recipe. 

Just by looking at it, I knew it would be MUST MAKE. 

And geeeez, I was right. This was phenomenal. 

I couldnt find the right porter, so I actually made mine with chocolate stout, because that's what I had on hand. Weird, I know. But it worked. Promise. And, also? Gruyere is freaking EXPENSIVE. Cripes. But, the pockets of cheese in the meatloaf were the best part. So, I suppose I should shut my yap. 

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 C carrots, diced
1/2 C celery, diced
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 C Black Butte Porter
4 ounces bread, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 2-1/2 cups)
1 C whole milk
2 lbs ground beef
2 large eggs
1/2 C gruyere cut into small cubes
1/4 C fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs BBQ sauce for a glaze

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic, stirring frequently, until softened and just beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the beer, and simmer briskly, until almost dry, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool until warm.

In a shallow dish that holds it in a single layer, soak the bread in the milk, flipping once, until soggy but not falling apart, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the coarseness and freshness of the bread. Lightly squeeze a handful of bread at a time to remove some of the milk (it should be wet but not drenched). Finely chop and add to the bowl with the vegetable mixture.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.

Add the beef and eggs to the onion mixture. Scatter the cheese and parsley over the meat, and then sprinkle with the Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to gently mix all the ingredients until just combined; try not to compact the mixture as you do this.

Transfer the meatloaf mixture to a 9x13-inch baking pan and form into a 10x4-inch rectangular block (it becomes loaf-shaped as it cooks). Finish the meatloaf by spreading the glaze over the top and lightly down the sides of the meatloaf. Bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F in the center of the meatloaf, 40 to 55 minutes.

Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting. 

The Best Lasagna Ever

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

We were trying to figure out what to make for dinner today when I stumbled across a bottle of local made marinara sauce that LeGreg had brought down from his hometown. I knew what to do. Lasagna. Naturally, I totally ended up NOT using that sauce. But, whatever. It got the ball rolling. When I found the Pioneer Woman's recipe, it looked easy enough that I didn't think it was even worth using the bottled sauce that we had.

I was right.

This lasagna was DELICIOUS and pretty simple to make.

A crowd pleaser.

The original recipe uses regular cooked lasagna noodles, but I used no cook noodles. Because, YOU DON'T HAVE TO COOK THEM! Win.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pound Ground Beef
• 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
• 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1/2 cup Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 pound mozzerella cheese
• 1 package (10 Ounce) No Cook Lasagna Noodles

In a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).

To assemble:
Arrange 6 lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, or however many it takes to cover the bottom, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.

Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.

If eating immediately, let it sit for 20-30 mins to allow the noodles to soak up some of the moisture.

Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 30-40 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

Ropa Vieja

After hosting a whole slew of family for a couple weeks, LeGreg and I thought my parents might like to have dinner cooked for them.

We were right! Imagine that!

I thought ropa vieja was a stew, based on exactly nothing, but it turned out to be more of a shredded, delicious, soupy meat.

Served with firecracker corn and black beans.

This is out of my favorite cookbook, Isabel's Cantina.

For the meat:
1 flank steak (about 1.5 lbs), cut across the grain into 4 pieces
1 med yellow onion, halved
4 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp cumin

For the sauce:
2 Tbl olive oil
1/2 med yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 Tbl tomato paste
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
1/2 tsp salt
3 green onions, green parts only, sliced
1/2 cup sliced green olives (optional)(gross. nope)

To cook the meat, combine the steak, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and cumin in a large pot and add enough water to cover completely. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat so the water simmers gently. Cook until the meat is very tender (it will shrink A LOT) and falling apart, 2 to 2.5 hrs.

Remove the meat from the liquid. Strain the liquid, serving the broth but discarding the solids. Place the meat in a bowl to cool. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat into small pieces.

For the sauce, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Saute until the bell pepper is tender and onion is soft and translucent, about 4 mins. Add the white wine and tomato paste. Stir well and cook for about 5 mins.

Add the reserved broth, the chipotle, and salt. Continue simmering for another 5 mins. Add the beef, stir, and cook until the beef is heated through. The ropa vieja can be stored, covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. Reheat over medium heat before proceeding. Stir in the green onions and garnish with sliced green olives, if desired, before serving.

Cranberry BBQ Meatballs

I stumbled across this little gem on Becky Bakes. Most of her recipes are for baking delicious looking/sounding things that I'll probably never actually get around to baking. Because I have less than zero self control and will eat  ALL of what I bake.

Anyway, so she posted this and it looked great and LeGreg and I were on to make dinner for his parents. Done and done.

• 2 lbs. hamburger (we used lean turkey meat)
• 1 1/2 cups quick oats
• 2 eggs (or egg replacer)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. onion salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking pans with foil. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs and place on foil-lined pans. Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Place meatballs in serving bowl and pour cranberry barbecue sauce over them.  Stir to coat. These are delicious with mashed potatoes!

Cranberry Barbecue Sauce ~ In a medium saucepan heat together 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce and 1 bottle (16oz) of your favorite barbecue sauce, stirring occasionally.

 

Easy! Now, I just grabbed a bottle of bbq sauce and chucked the whole thing in. Only after doing a taste test and it tasting REALLY bbq-y and NOT very cranberry-y, I actually checked the size of it. 28 oz. Oops. Aaaaand that's what puts the crappy in Crappy Cook, y'all. It was still super good, though. The meatballs were easy and really really moist. The sauce doesn't get any easier, and we served it over brown rice. Will most definitely pull this one out again!

If you want to find yourself licking your computer screen on a regular basis, I suggest checking out Becky Bakes on your own.

Baked Lemon Chicken

I love lemon things!! So lemon chicken sounded pretty legit. And easy. LIKE ME!!! Just kidding.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used panko bread crumbs which, after tonight, I realize are probably actually huge bread crumbs. It would probably be better with a more finely ground bread crumb)
  
• 4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Directions

1. In a shallow dish, combine the butter, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Place bread crumbs in another dish. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then coat with crumbs.
2. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Drizzle with remaining butter mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear.(I went 30-35 mins, which was a bit too much)

Omg SO lemony!! Besides the bread crumbs being a bit too big, it was reeeeeally good. I ate it with cooked broccoli, asparagus (both from the frozen foods section of Trader Joe's), and cous cous. The advantage to cous cous is that, compared to the 30+ mins it takes to make rice or quinoa, it only takes like 5 mins to make. Win.

Lemon for life.

No pics. It just looked like breaded chicken. Pale breaded chicken, thanks to the huge white bread crumbs.

Lomo Saltado

Along with pisco sours, an almost daily staple during our time in Peru was lomo saltado. It's like THE dish down there. Uh...steak AND french fries?! ALL ROLLED INTO ONE?! Count my fat ass in! (not my pic. too lazy to take one)

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen French fries
• vegetable oil as needed
• 1 pound beef tri tip, sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large onion, sliced into strips
• 3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and sliced into strips (I didn't seed mine. Should have. They got kinda mushy)
  
• 1 yellow chili pepper (preferably Peruvian aji amarillo)(have yet to see one of THOSE stateside. I bought a 'yellow chili pepper'. Close enough, right? It was super mild, though. My Peruvian sister in law bought the closest thing she could find when she made it for us, being unfamiliar with gringo peppers, and picked up a habenero. DO NOT DO THIS. You will cry fire.)
  
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 dash soy sauce to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Prepare the bag of French fries according to package directions.
2. While the French fries are cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Season the sliced meat with salt and pepper to taste. Fry the meat until just cooked, and the juices begin to release. Remove the meat from the frying pan, then cook the onions, with additional oil if needed, until they are transparent. Stir in the tomato and aji amarillo; cook until the tomato softens. Pour in the vinegar and soy sauce, add the French fries, cover, and cook until the beef is done, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

TADA!!!!! Total success. Wasn't as good as is was in Peru (duh), but totally tasty.

Meat is Tasty Murder

I did it!!! I MADE STEAK!!! So, I'm suuuuuper good at eating meat, but I have yet to fully hone my skills at actually cooking it. With my workouts leaving me bruise riddled lately, I'm wondering if I need to up the iron intake, so steak plopped itself on my menu. The BEST source of iron is red meat. Veggies and supplements don't even come close to comparing. Sorry, vegetarians.

So I hit up the meat aisle and grabbed a pack of steaks. I can't remember which cut I got. They all look the same to me. It's pretty much "eeny meeny miny THAT ONE!". Now. My dad makes a killer tri-tip. It's like bloody heaven. His trick? Fagundes meat seasoning. Apparently Santa is a fan as well, as bottles of this stuff found it's way into our stockings one year.

I got home, sprinkled the seasoning on each side of the meat and let it sit for a half hour or so. Not sure if seasoning needs to "sink in", but it sounded good, right? I fired up my electric skillet to see if I could find another use for it. I had it on med-high, and cooked the meat on each side basically until I couldn't see any red from the outside anymore (5-ish mins on each side, maybe?). Not quite sure what the protocol is for that. I served it with some quinoa and fire roasted veggies (frozen isle at Trader Joe's. Comes with a 'balsamic glaze' that tastes like it's own heaven).

Verdict: SUCCESS!!! It was perfectly pink on the inside and, as usual, the seasoning made it taste like granted wishes.

Sausage Risotto with Spring Greens

I got this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine. My attention was caught when it mentioned swiss chard, which I've dabbled with before. I'd never made risotto and was a smidge scared to try it. All I can think of is Top Chef when they're all "omg it's SO hard to make a perfect risotto". I might be making that up. But it sounds about right. This recipe looked doable, though, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch dandelion greens, Swiss chard, or mustard greens (12 ounces), tough bottom stems removed, leaves cut into 3/4-inch pieces (I didn't see any of those other greens at the farmer's market, so I stuck with the chard)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, divided
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 6 ounces mild Italian sausage (about 1 1/2 links), casings removed
• 2 cups arborio rice (13 to 14 ounces)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 3/4 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

Preparation

• Cook greens in boiling salted water just until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain; cool.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add sausage; sauté until brown, breaking up with spoon, about 3 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until wine is almost absorbed. Add 1 cup broth. Stir until broth is almost absorbed. Add remaining 4 cups broth by 1/2 cupfuls, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more. Mix in greens after 10 minutes. Cook until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, 25 minutes total. Mix in cheese and remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve risotto, passing additional cheese.

Couple things:
1-I would swear on my LIFE that I had parm in my fridge. I didn't. Just smelling this dish cooking, I knew it would be effing fantastic with the cheese. Damn it. I think I left it at a friends house...? boo.
2-My risotto came out a tad undercooked, but not too much. Totally delish and creamy!
3-I halved the recipe, but kept the full amount of greens. Can't have too many veggies.
4-Definitely use the low sodium broth. It's super salty and I have no idea why. Maybe from the sausage?
5-SUCCESS!! Super good! And totally easy!
6-Don't have my camera cord, so pics to come.

Basil Chicken over Angel Hair

I made this tonight! I love and adore angel hair pasta. No clue why. I think it's the light dreamy texture of it. Since I haven't actually cooked anything at my new place and my personal training client canceled on me tonight, I decided it was a good night to kick back, open a bottle of Downhill Wine, and whip up some food!

1-8oz package of angel hair pasta
2teas olive oil
1/2c finely chopped (I did sliced) onion (I assumed yellow?)
1 clove chopped garlic (one glove? For 4 servings? Yerrite. I did 2. The Ashtons raised me better than that)
2 1/2c chopped tomatoes (I used Roma)
2c cubed cooked chicken breast (oops)
1/4c chopped fresh basil
1/2 teas salt
1/8 teas hot pepper sauce (I used a couple shakes of ground red pepper)
1/4c Parmesan cheese

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook angel hair pasta until it is al dente, about 8-10 mins (the one I used only took 3 mins!! Keep an eye on it). Drain, and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken, basil, salt, and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to med, and cover skillet. Simmer for about 5 mins, stirring frequently, until mixture is hot and tomatoes are soft.

Toss sauce with hot cooked angel hair pasta to coat. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Other than throwing raw chicken in with everything because I didn't READ THE DIRECTIONS (every teacher I've ever had hates me), which I don't think really negatively impacted it at all, this was a totally easy and freakin tasty dish!! It's a very light sauce, mostly just the juices from the tomatoes, which I liked. The basil and garlic took over the flavor, which suits me juuuuust fine. I'll just go ahead and file this one under success ;)

ps-holy crap my food pics totally suck...I'll have to work on that...

Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry

I was super craving something teriyaki-y today and, since I bought some veggies at the farmer's market on Sunday, thought a stir-fry type thing would be good. I snagged some sauce from Target and some beef fajita strip things from Whole Foods and the rest is history...




1 packaged (1-ish lb's) of fajita cut beef
1/2 bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki baste and glaze
1 med yellow onion
4 large chard leaves
3 weird orange radish/beet type things (no clue. I bought them at the farmer's market because they're pretty! I'm eating it right now and still have no idea what they are)
1 med green bell pepper
rice



Put 2T of olive oil in a frying pan. Over med heat, cook the beef, flipping once when half done. After you flip it, pour in the teriyaki sauce and simmer until cooked. Maybe 5 mins total. Ish. Take the meat out and set aside on a dish, keeping the sauce in the pan. Add the mystery veggie, bell peppers, onion, and the chopped stem of the chard and cook until slightly soft. When it's almost done, add in the chard leaves. Add the meat back in and serve with rice.

Success!! My meat was a little overcooked (as usual. damn it!), and I put a little too much sauce in mine, but overall it was pretty good. I managed to get the veggies just right. Cooked but still a little crispy.

Quinoa. Again.

This is kind of a cop-out, since I've pretty much made this before but, since I haven't cooked anything in approximately forever, I'm writing about it anyways. Deal. It is, however, the first time that I've used ground meat with quinoa, so it's sorta newish! It's my 'crap I wanna make dinner but don't want to put ANY effort into figuring out what to make or actually making it' meal.

Quinoa:
1 part quinoa to 2 parts chicken stock (it's been a little squishy lately, so maybe a smidge less than 2 parts). I used almost 2 cups of dry quinoa, which might have been a little too much for the amount of meat and veggies that I had.

While that's simmering, covered, I started the meat and veggies.

-splash of water
-1lb (I think. 1 package, anyways) of ground pork (because it was the cheapest and well, ground meat is ground meat to me. My palette is sophisticated like that)
-a sprinkle of Fagundes (sp?)meat seasoning (that stuff is the SHIZ! Especially rubbed on a steak. Drool...I'll put it on pretty much anything)

Saute the meat up over med-ish heat until it's not pink and transfer it onto a plate/bowl with a slatted spoon to drain the liquid. Try not to continuously pick at it and end up eating half of it off the plate because ground meat with seasoning tastes like a dream come true. Oops.

Leaving a little of the liquid behind, toss in your veggies and cook those suckers up over med-high heat until soft-ish. This time I had green beans, mixed potatoes (which I bought at the farmer's market. I love the purple ones. Because they're pretty.), and yellow squash. Oh-I put the potatoes in first for a few minutes because they take longer to cook than the other veggies. I'm a dumbass and sprinkled more seasoning on the veggies, because I'm obsessed with it. Let me tell you something- chicken stock (or any stock)+salty seasoning on meat AND veggies=OMG I NEED WATER. Way too much salty. Oops. It was still super tasty though, and made enough for probably about 4-6 people. (read: I'll be eating leftovers every meal for a week)

Side note: I go to the farmer's market every Sunday to load up on produce, but didn't have any veggies other than the potatoes on hand because I went all apple and orange crazy at the market last week. I went to Whole Foods, the only place with decent organic veggies, prepared to get raped by their outrageous prices (I've paid $4 there on accident for ONE red pepper before. Wtf.). For once, they weren't bad though! I try to stick to the farmer's market because I like knowing that it's fresh and local, but Whole Foods is a decent fall-back. Sometimes.

Chicken and Rice Soup

From Isabel's Cantina (link to the right)

It's been a bit on the chilly side and, judging by my last post date on here, I was due to make something. Soup sounded like a good choice, so I had my parents over for dinner at my new place. Since my social circle now consists of...well...them. I picked this recipe because it seemed like the most simple and I wasn't trying to blow up my new kitchen, ya know?

2Tb olive oil
1 lg yellow onion
4 garlic cloves minced
2 md diced carrots
2 diced celery stalks
6c chicken broth
2 bay leaves (mom failed and brought me basil! oh well ;) )
pinch of saffron
3-8oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1in pieces (oops I used 3 whole halves)
8oz asparagus, cut into 2in pieces
salt
pepper
6c cooked rice
1 jarred roasted red pepper, cut into strips (bought this and totally forgot to use it)

Dad's tip: hold the asparagus on each end and bend it. Wherever it breaks is where you should cut it to cut off the ends.

heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed (HA! like me!!) pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3 mins. Add the carrots and celery. Continue cooking for a few mins more, stirring to coat the veggies with the oil. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, and saffron. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat so the broth simmers. Cook for 20mins, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.

Add the chicken and asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the chicken is just cooked through and the asparagus is tender, about 5 mins. Discard the bay leaves.

To serve, ladle the soup into the bowls and add a scoop of rice to the center of each bowl (I used that frozen rice from Trader Joes, so I just threw it in with the soup to thaw out). Top the rice with strips of bell pepper and serve hot.

It was pretty good. Not great, but good. It tasted like chicken noodle. But with rice. It definitely needed more salt and pepper than what I put in it and some other seasonings. Perhaps the missing bay leaves? I think my mom suggested oregano, too. I bought a par-baked loaf of crusty bread at Trader Joe's and stuck in the oven for a few and served it nice and warm. That bread was awesome. So good! Super crunchy on the outside and really soft on the inside. The soup was pretty quick and easy to make and really good the next day when the rice soaks up a bunch of the broth.

My roommate came home just before dinner so I invited her to join us, as my parents hadn't met her yet and I know she works a lot and is pretty beat when she gets home. She was excited for food and some fresh ears to talk off. I definitely learned a lot more about her and my dad kept asking her the questions that he and I were talking about that I hadn't asked her yet. Good job, dad!

Charbroiled Carne Asada Tacos

Once again, my pal Isabel pulled through!

Ingredients

-¾ cup canola oil
-1 cup teriyaki sauce
-6 garlic cloves, minced
-2 lbs skirt steak
-12 6-in corn or flour tortillas
-1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
-1.5 cups salsa
-avocado
-chile verde sauce

Directions

Combine the oil, teriyaki sauce, and garlic in a glass baking dish. Add the steak, turn to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Marinate overnight, turning once or twice (I just marinated it for a few hours, but it was plenty).

Remove the steak from the refrigerator 15-30 mins before cooking

Preheat your grill to med-high, or heat a grill pan over med-high heat

Remove the steak from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill the steak for 4-5 mins per side for med-rare. The steak should have grill marks and be pink in the center. Let the steak rest on a cutting board for about 5 mins. Keep the grill on.

Slice the meat thinly, across the grain, then cut into 1-in pieces.

Heat the tortillas on the grill for 1 min, turn, and sprinkle each with some grated cheese. When the cheese has melted, remove the tortillas from the grill and fill each with some steak (the recipe actually calls for you to make some avocado chile verde sauce stuff. nah. I just broke it up and added each separately. Bomb, dude).

Oh man, the meat was SO good!! That may or may not have partially been due to the fact that I went to buy the meat at like 6:30am on a saturday just as the butcher was putting it out. A little bat of the eyelashes and he went back and got me the freshest that he had. Pretty sure it was still pulsing. Awesome. The marinade is so flavorful that I was actually kind of shocked that I made it! And it was super easy. A keeper, for sure. Looked and tasted totally impressive and it was a cinch to make!

Green Chile Posole with Pork

This is out of the best cook book EVAR, Isabel's Cantina. Her restaurant, Cantina, in San Diego is one of my all time favorites. I was super intimidated when I first got the cookbook because her food is amazing and insanely flavorful, two things that I'm not exactly a master of in the kitchen. Surprisingly the recipes aren't that hard and taste effing AWESOME.

Serves 6

Ingredients

-3 Tbl olive oil
-2.5 lbs boneless pork shoulder, fat trimmed, cut into 2 in chunks (I couldn’t find boneless, so I bought bone in. Kind of a pain in the ass, but not a huge deal) (update: apparently 'pork pieces for stew' work just fine too and they're already cut! If you don't mind eating random mystery pork parts which, apparently, I don't)
-kosher salt (whatever, I used regular salt)
-black pepper
-1 med yellow onion, diced
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-4 cups chicken broth
-roasted chile verde sauce (there’s a separate recipe for this, but I just used one bottle of the bottled sauce)
-1 24oz can of hominy, drained

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Dry the cubes of pork with a paper towel and season them with salt and pepper. Working in 3 batches, sear the meat on all sides. Don’t move the meat around until it has browned well on each side-about 3 mins per side. Use tongs to transfer the meat to a platter while you sear the next batch.

When all of the meat has been browned, add the onion and garlic to the pot and stir with a wooden spoon until the onion has softened, about 2 mins. Add the chicken broth, a little at a time, stirring the browned bits off the bottom of the pan (right about now it starts to smell reeeeally good). Return the pork to the pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Lower the heat to maintain the simmer and cook for 1 hr, skimming occasionally (I didn’t really see anything to skim, so I skipped that).

Add the chile verde sauce and the hominy (I also added cubed potatoes because, well, I had them) and continue simmering until the pork is exceptionally tender (umm…ok?) and the soup is thick and richly flavored, about 1 more hr (gets super thick and cooks down quite a bit).

Faryn’s host mom during her semester in inner-city LA used to make this, and she served it on tostada shells with sour cream and avocado. Sounds heavenly! We just ate it plain and it was freakin AWESOME. Nicole proclaimed that she wanted to bathe in it and be buried in it when she dies. Score! It took a good chunk of time to make, but it was totally worth it. Next time I’m gonna make a bunch of it and stick it in the freezer to eat forever and ever.