Roasted Potatoes & Artichokes

8 small red potatoes, quatered
1/2 cup halved water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp salt
Dash coursley ground pepper

Place potatoes and artichokes in a shallow baking pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper: stir to coat. Bake, uncovered at 425 for 35-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring every 15 minutes.

Pretty decent recipe..very easy.

It’s Anthony Bourdain time again! This, as best as we can translate, is Basque Chicken, commonly known as delicious. The recipe is one of the easier ones in the Les Halles Cookbook, and one that’s perfect for a winter night.

If you’re cooking for four, the original recipe in Bourdain’s cookbook is what you want to go for. If it’s just two of you, you’ll want to scroll down to the bottom of the recipe page for a 2frugalfoodies variation.

Pretty much of any of our recipes, by the way, can and should be adjusted to fit the needs of your gathering. Unless we mention otherwise, most of our recipes are for two (hence the title of the blog), but you’ll see, we do mention a lot of exceptions for fun gatherings.

Recipe: Poulet Basquaise

Stuck for what to make as a starter?  These awesome ideas will tickle your tastebuds and add that WOW factor to your dinner party!

First up we have the old time favourite:

Salmon Mousse

1 envelope (15 ml) gelatine
4 T (60 ml) cold water
½ cup (125 ml) boiling water
1 x 220g tin pink salmon, skin and big bones removed but retaining juices
½ packet (100 ml) Tomato and Chilli Sauce (use the remaining sauce as a garnish)
½ cup (125 ml) grated cucumber, peeled
1 T (15 ml) lemon juice
1 T (15 ml) fish paste
1 cup (250 ml) fresh cream
2 t (10 ml) Lemon & Black Pepper seasoning to taste

GARNISH
Olive oil
Remaining Tomato and Chilli Ready to Serve Sauce
100g Salmon trout ribbons
Onion sprouts
Dill or fennel

To Make:

Sprinkle the dry gelatine powder over the cold water. Leave to sponge. Then add the gelatine sponge to the boiling water and stir gently until dissolved. Mix all the ingredients except the cream and Lemon & Black Pepper seasoning in a food processor or liquidizer until smooth. Stir and chill over ice water until beginning to set. Whip the cream and fold lightly into the mousse. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Using a brush, oil the mould lightly with Olive Oil or Canola Oil. Pour the mousse mixture into the mould/s. Allow to set in the refrigerator overnight.  When ready to serve, turn out onto your plate garnish and voila!  Another great tip I love to do is simply set the mousse in a normal bowl, then serve on savoury biscuits with cucumber, dill and a dash of squeezed lemon!

This next starter is a little different but if you love good cheese and good venison then its an absolute must try!

Halloumi and Smoked Venison

What you need:

1 pack Halloumi cheese
100g Rannoch Smokery Cold Smoked Venison
1 ripe pear
basil leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

• Cut the cheese into 12 slices and place a slice of pear as well as a basil leaf on each slice and wrap in a slice of smoked venison.  Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, some shredded basil and a good grind of black pepper in a bowl.  Brush the wrapped halloumi slices with the dressing and cook under a hot grill, turning at least once and basting as they cook.  Cook until golden and serve with lemon wedges and basil garnish.

Another winning starter is crostini elegantly placed on the table so that guests may nibble as they like.  Not to mention the flavour toppings you are able to come up with!

What you need is the following

• 1 loaf of ciabatta bread, cut into 1cm/½ inch slices
• 1 large clove of
garlic, peeled and cut in half
• good-quality extra virgin olive oil

Then for the topping you can literally go buck wild!  Have fun with colours, flavours, herbs – just talking about it gets me all excited!

A few examples I have tried are the following:

From Jamie Oliver – Absolutely d’vine!

Prosciutto, Figs, and Mint

Get yourself six large ripe figs, 12 slices of prosciutto, and a small bunch of fresh mint. Tear the figs in half, then drape a piece of prosciutto over each of your hot crostini and squash a piece of fig on top.  Finish with mint leaves and serve drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil, a drop of balsamic vinegar, and some freshly ground black pepper.

Cream Cheese, Capers, Smoked Salmon and Dill (one of my fav!)

Roasted Peppers, aubergines, whole garlic drizzled with olive oil.

A good cream cheese with homemade pesto (another fav)

You really can have fun with these and just see what you enjoy and what goes well together.

Well on that note I’m officially starving!  Bon appetit!

My mum LOVES sweet chilli sauce.  I honestly think she’d have it on everything if she could.  So I found this recipe for sweet chilli jam and knew I had to make it for her for Christmas.  It’s got a bit of a kick to it but if you’re not keen on spicy then just don’t use so many chillies.  I used a really big deep saute pan much wider than it is tall, which is a really useful pan to have around but any really large pan will do.  If the pan is deep rather than wide the jam will take longer to reach setting point. 

Makes about 4 small (~250ml) jars. 

8 red peppers, chopped (I used 4 long sweet ones and 4 bell as the supermarket didn’t have < would you look at that, didn’t know I could do that I meant 8 then)!
6 large red chillies, sliced
about 2 1/2″ root ginger, peeled and chopped
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
400g tin cherry or plain chopped tomatoes
750g granulated sugar
250ml red wine vinegar

- Put the peppers, chillies, ginger and garlic in a food processor and whizz until finely chopped and pulpy.  You may have to do this in two batches. 
- Put this into your pan and add the tomatoes, sugar and vinegar. 
- Bring to the boil and then simmer at a rapid pace for about 45 minutes.  Keep stirring to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 
- When there is a texture change and it goes very thick and sticky give it 5 minutes more while stirring. 
- Put into sterilised jars while still hot and screw the lids on immediately.

As if I don’t have enough to do already before Christmas, with time rapidly running out, now I have yet something else to distract me! I didn’t realize that it was already that time of year – my bad.  That’s right, the first one of them arrived today…..my seed catalogs!!!    

For those of you who don’t know this lovely little tidbit of information….I am an AVID Heirloom Gardener, and have been forever. And just to be clear – that DOES NOT mean that I am a 100-year-old gardener!  What is an “Heirloom Gardener” then? It is someone who abhors genetically altered seeds or foods (in fact we call them “Frankenfoods”) and only grows the varieties that your grandma, or great-grandma grew. The exception to this is the seed/food varieties from other countries that they have been growing for decades, but have NEVER genetically altered or treated with chemicals to increase their production. 

I grow (from seed) approximately 25 varieties of peppers, the hotter the better – I am from Texas after all!    However, my main passion is my tomatoes. I grow somewhere between 20 to 30 varieties every year (have to try out a few new “imports” just to mix it up). These are not your average tomatoes either, think 2 lbs apiece and up!! A 4 and 1/2 lb monster has been my largest so far, although every year I do try to beat that. No, I do not enter contests – I grow them for my enjoyment and eating pleasure (mainly for my eating pleasure), and I tend to keep my friends and relatives in fresh produce as well. Most of them do not have the ability, time or space in order to have gardens of their own, so I help them out a bit!

I use NO CHEMICALS on my plants, only cow and worm poop, with some coffee grounds, ground corn/molasses/chicken poop fertilizer (certified organic that I purchase from Indiana) and lots of bird feeders and birds! Okay, I know you’re scratching your head over the last one so I’ll explain…..I was taught at a very young age by the best gardener ever (my Mamaw) that if you kept the wild birds around, with LOTS of bird feeders so they didn’t eat your seeds in the ground (corn, sunflowers, beans, peas, etc), they would take care of all of your wasps, moths, tomato hornworms and corn earworms!! The reason being that while they were sitting around in your plants waiting their turn at the feeder, they would clean the bugs out of your plants for you. I can tell you – IT WORKS!! I generally have over 100 tomato plants in the ground at any given time, and the only tomato worms I ever find are the ones on the tomato plants I grow in pots on the pool deck!! Figure that one out!! I have no bird feeders by the swimming pool, since I don’t like birdseed in my filter. 

Because of this Spring/Summer Obsession of mine, I can sit for HOURS and browse the seed catalogs, and draw up my next garden plans and designs. NOT a good idea when you are pressed for time just before Christmas!! To not look at them when they arrive in the mail is torture I tell you – TORTURE!!    AAAGGHHHH!!!

So, I’ll have to hide the new “eye candy” seed catalogs from myself for a few more days….Then watch out!!! The drooling shall begin!!

Until next time…

Shady

P.S. I’ll put up links for you to my supply companies if your interested, but in the mean time here’s all you’ll ever need to know:

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds  www.rareseeds.com

Totally Tomatoes  www.totallytomato.com

Gardens Alive!!  www.GardensAlive.com

Enjoy!!

to multiply…

Stir-fry with tempeh with mixed wild mushrooms, garlic, r/y/g peppers, shallots, and carrots over brown rice.  Chef Toni

Well one of my all-time fav’s is Shepard’s pie.  I know some people make it with a can of tomato soup, or some other additives, but I like to take it Back to Basic’s- kinda. 

First up, I used 93% Ground Beef (actually thought it was turkey because I portion and freeze from a bulk, oops!) and browned it with one onion.  While that was cooking I took a large pot and poured a 1/4 inch of chicken broth (what I had, for added flavor-you can use water if you want) in the bottom of the pan, bringing it to a boil.  Once boiling I dumped in a 16 oz. bag of frozen cauliflower, covered it, and “fake-steamed” it.  I let the cauliflower soften, and all the liquid evaporate out of the cauliflower, getting it as dry as possible before it changed the color of the cauliflower-don’t want any burned cauliflower!

When they were done, I used my food processor and dumped those all in with a nice handful of shredded cheddar.  Mind you my 6 year old son has hands bigger than mine, so I would call it about a quarter cup. Here’s what it looked like:

About to become Cheesy mashed fauxtatoes

 I then layered the layers-browned beef and onions, diced yellow peppers, then smoothed the cauliflower on top.

Again, I like some crunch.  My mom used to make these with bread crumbs on top.  I had already put the cheese inside, so I topped with some parm and something in my cupboard I had called Soy Crunchies.  You know I will freely admit, I don’t even know what they are exactly- I don’t know if they’re dried, freeze dried, or what, but they are some concoction of a whole soybean. They are crunchy but not exactly flavorful, so I smashed em up and used ‘em as bread crumbs atop, and baked at 350 for about 15 minutes. 

Guys, for real- TRY THIS.  It was so absolutely incredible, the cheese in the fauxtatoes gave it a decadence and creaminess, and it was absolutely wonderful.  The peppers were GREAT in place of the corn, too. 

Heres the finished product:

Shepard's Pie, right out of the oven

And last but not least, I could barely get a picture without snagging a bite.  YUM!!!

Shepard's Pie- Supportive and Delicious!

My leanKitchen “test kitchen” loves this recipe, and it was quick and easy. 

Now guys, who says comfort food can’t also help you achieve your fat loss goals?? 

Now when you look outside and see your kids building a snowman, hopefully you get the urge to try this, instead of making a big, starchy casserole.  Just one of the 12 ways leanKitchen helps you get through the Holidays!!

Ingredients

2-3 pieces of boneless chicken ( cut up into bit-sized pieces )
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1/2 cup mozzorella

Sour cream
guacamole
salsa
( no measures, just use what is desired )
tortillas – large size

Prepare

I found myself with a night of me me me, so what do I do?  Cook.  It was cold, wet, damp and miserable enough out that I was desperate for comfort food that would not infringe on my upcoming Christmas binging.  The result was another soup – one that was sooooo good it only lasted a day (no freezing possibilities were even a glimmer in anyone’s eye).  The best thing about this soup is its versatility.  Add or remove whatever you want or have or feel like – maybe double the batch so at least there’s a chance it may last for more than a day.

.

INGREDIENTS:

1 TBSP olive or canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp coarse salt

2 cups mushrooms, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 pepper, chopped (red, yellow, orange will do)

1/2 can of sweet corn

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced)

4 cups good quality broth

1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz )

1 can mixed beans (19 oz)

2 TBSP tomato paste

2 tsps each of dried basil and dried parsley

1 tsp dried thyme

fresh pepper to taste

3-4 cups water

1 cup dried macaroni or shells

.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a large stove-top pot at med-high, add chopped onion and sauté until translucent.

2. Add all remaining vegetables to the pot and sauté until well cooked and softened (about 10 min).

3. Gradually add stock, tomatoes, mixed beans, tomato paste, spices, and water (add as much as you like until you get your desired consistency – I used 3 cups).

4. Cover with lid and simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes – stirring occasionally.

5. Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil for macaroni or shells then add pasta to boiling water, and cook until al dente (just under the recommended time)

6. Add al dente pasta to soup and simmer for another 5 minutes.

7. Remove soup from heat, and serve sprinkled with fresh Parmesan and crusty bread.

Red Pepper Flakes- Image taken from Cookthink.com

Red pepper is a generic term that usually refers to red-colored Cayenne pepper, which is made from dried, ground hot chile peppers named after the capital of French Guiana where they originate.
Red pepper flakes are the dried seeds and flesh of the Cayenne pepper.

Why are red pepper flakes used in so many recipes?
It is used as a flavor highlighter. In addition to the fives tastes — sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami — our tongues detect capsaicin, the main ingredient found in any hot chile. The heat of capsaicin in red pepper flakes “points up” the taste of ingredients they season. So, no matter what tastes and flavors you have going on in a dish, a pinch of red pepper flakes will help clarify and those tastes and flavors without necessarily adding heat (though you can add plenty of heat by adding red pepper flakes).

Experiment with red pepper flakes by starting out with a pinch in a dish like this Fusilli with Broccoli Raab and Parmesan. Increase (or decrease) the amount you use to get a sense of how much you like to add.

Information taken from Cookthink.com, to know more about red pepper flakes, click here.

Wilbur Scoville- Image taken from NNDB

The Scoville scale is a measurement for chili pepper spiciness. These fruits of the Capsicum genus contain capsaicin, a chemical that stimulates the receptor heat in the skin, especially mucous membranes. The number of Scoville Heat Units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Many hot sauces use the Scoville scale as advertisement.

This scale was named by Wilbur Scoville, who developed the Scoville Organoleptic Test in 1912. This consists of a pepper extract solution which is diluted a number of times in sugar and water until the spiciness can no longer be detected, the number of times the extract is diluted it gives a grade in the scale. Then a sweet pepper, containing no capsaicin, has zero Scoville scale. However, among the spiciest peppers such as habaneros, have a rating of 300,000 or more. This indicates that the extract was diluted 300,000 times before the capsaicin was undetectable. The major weakness of this method lies in its imprecision, because the test is subject to human subjectivity.

The degree of spiciness of any pepper, as shown in the scale in “Scoville units,” is imprecise, because the own species have variations, which may change by a factor of 10 or even more, depending on the crop, the weather or even the breeding ground (this is especially true of habaneros).

Image taken from Ceyennepepper.info

For more information about the Scoville Scale click here.

It’s a very happy holiday season when jalapeno peppers are here! They look like a string of Christmas lights! Started from seed and residing in a container, my jalapeno pepper plant has lasted for about a year now, though it may have to be transplanted into its own container since its roommate, the mother of pearl or ghost plant is looking to take over!

serves 10

Enchiladas Verdes is one of my personal favorite mexican dishes.

Image taken from Univision.com

2 (9 oz.) pkg. frozen cooked chicken breast strips, thawed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup questo blanco (white Mexican cheese) or Monterey Jack cheese
2 (10 oz.) cans tomatilloes, drained
12 oz. bottle green chili sauce
4 oz. can chopped green chilies or jalapeno peppers
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup heavy cream
12 corn tortillas
1-1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

prep: 30 minutes
total: 45 minutes

large nonstick sauté pan

Shred chicken and set aside. Heat oil in heavy skillet and saute onions and garlic until softened.
Beat cream cheese until smooth and add heavy cream. Mix well. Stir in chicken, onions, and garlic. Add crumbled cheese and set aside.

In food processor bowl or blender, place tomatillos and chili sauce. Puree or blend until smooth. Add green chilies, chopped cilantro, and 1 cup heavy cream. [p[]Soften tortillas in microwave on high heat for 1-2 minutes. Fill tortillas with cream cheese/chicken mixture, roll up, and place in 9×13″ glass baking dish. Pour tomatillo/chili sauce over filled enchiladas and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until bubbly and heated through. Serves 10

Recipe taken from About.com, for more recipes or information click here.

The Habanero chili pepper is known as the hottest chili available in U.S. groceries. The Scoville Heat Index ranges from 150,000 to 350, 000 units in heat. It is native to South America, although it is widely known in southeastern Mexico, especially in Yucatan, which is the largest producer in Mexico, and has been part of the renowned cuisine of the state.

The Habanero is usually bright yellow or orange. Do not let the size of the Habanero fool you, they are one of the most intense chili peppers and are meant only for those with a strong stomach and tolerance for spiciness.

Quick Facts
Common Name: Habanero
Species: Capsicum chinense
Size: 2 inches long, 1 1/2 inches wide
Shape: Lantern or flattened-bell shaped
Color: Dark green when immature, maturing to orange, red, yellow, or white
Grown In: Caribbean, Yucatan
Commonly Used In: Habanero hot sauces, salsas, chutneys, marinades

Habanero Pepper

Hello friends, how has your day been?!?!

I’ve had quite the busy day but it’s been so nice & productive <3 !

This morning, after my usual Saturday stovetop oats, was spent deep cleaning the house **sparkling clean**…even cleaned out/organized the whole fridge + laundry + scrubbed bathrooms + vacuuming!  I decided that since I spent 2 hours doing all that, it was enough exercise for this lady today (you can burn some major cals cleaning fyi!)

After all that “fun” I whipped up a quick lunch for The Man and I:

• Scrambled Eggs with peppers, onions and cheese
• Whole wheat toast, his & hers style
• Unpictured ice cream

First I sauteed up some onion and banana peppers in the Icelandic butter (hey, it’s Saturday )

These peppers that my fave preggo girl  Kristine gave me from her garden late this summer have lasted wonderfully in the freezer, who knew?!

Then added 1 egg + 3 egg whites, shredded cheese, salt and pepper to the mix – voila!

I also toasted up some whole wheat bread, toast was his and hers style!  Cinnamon sugar for The Man, cream cheese + Grandma Hoerner for The Lady

Who is this Grandma Hoerner you ask?  I’m not sure but she makes a mean Cranberry Apple Butter hello yum!  Found this at World Market a while back, go fig

All served up (w/ some Frank’s of course)!

I followed up lunch with some meal planning for the week (lookin’ forward to some fun new recipes!), a Costco trip (temporary moment of insanity) and grocery store shannigans. 

Now we are getting ready to head out to not 1, but 2 Christmas parties most likely so it’s going to be a busy night!  I’ll probably be seeing you guys tomorrow, and you better believer that I have a definite yoga session planned and an awesome new dinner recipe to try (not that I’m trying to lure you in or anything )

Have a wonderful Saturday friends!

What better than a hot bowl of chili and cornbread on a cold wintry evening? How about 7 quarts of chili?

The menfolk were discussing what to do for dinner this morning, and mentioned chili. Being the idiot that I am, I told them I would make chili for them. Instantly lit up faces. So I sent off the roommate with a grocery list on which it stated “3 (15 oz) cans of chili beans, 1 (15 oz) can of chili beans in spicy sauce, 1 large garlic clove,” among other things, and pleaded sickness, staying home to read instead. Big mistake. The time rolls around to start prepping the chili to simmer for a few hours. I chopped up all the pretty and colorful veggies: 

Then I browned the meat, degreased, and threw the veggies in. I start opening the cans of chili beans to toss in, when lo and behold…the chili beans look weird. Where are the beans? I roll the can over only to read “chili con carne” Well I’m sure as heck not going to the store now, so eh, I tossed them in and hoped for the best. Then I start adding the spices and sauces. I prepare to dive into the grocery bag of goodies to get out my garlic to start mincing it up…I don’t find any garlic… I hunt around some more, coming upon a canister. What? There weren’t any spices on that list…

Despite the complications along the way, the chili did end up tasting good. However, I will post the original recipe instead. If you would like to substitute chili beans with chili con carne, be my guest! It doesn’t turn out bad The recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Boilermaker-Tailgate-Chili/Detail.aspx But for the sake of ease, here it is:

Of course I omitted corn chips for corn bread. Not the biggest fan of corn chips myself. Luckily, the cornbread went nice and smoothly.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan and preheat pan in oven.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Add eggs and beat until blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Add the creamy sweet style corn. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the preheated pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

This chili only gets better over time as well. Letting it sit overnight, allowing all the spices to meld, and reheating it the next day makes for a killer leftover meal that’s unusual  in the fact that it’s better than the original!

serves 2-4

Doesn’t this recipe sound good? It is. If you’d like some ideas about what to eat with it, click on the “goes with…” tab to the left. For the lowdown on ingredients, techniques and tools, click on “related tips.”

Image taken from Cookthink.com

3/4 pound pork tenderloin, sliced into thin strips
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon corn starch
4 teaspoons canola oil (2 teaspoons for the pork + 2 teaspoons for the vegetables)
1 medium eggplant, cut into 2-inch strips
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
10 basil leaves, thinly sliced

prep: 25 minutes
total: 45 minutes

small bowl
whisk
large nonstick sauté pan
tongs
large bowl

1. To make the tenderloin easier to slice, put it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, prep the other ingredients. When the pork has firmed up a little, take it out of the freezer and slice it very thin. Lightly season the slices with salt and pepper.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, water, red pepper flakes and corn starch. Set aside.

3. In a large nonstick sauté pan, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat. When it’s barely smoking, add half the pork and stir to separate the pork slices (so that each slice is touching the surface of the pan). Cook, constantly stirring, until the pork browns, 2-4 minutes. Remove the first batch of pork to a large bowl, then repeat with the second batch, adding a little more oil if you need it. Remove the second batch to the bowl.

4. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan. When the oil is barely smoking, add the eggplant, onion and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables turn soft, 3-5 minutes. Return the pork to the pan and stir to combine.

5. Give the sauce a quick whisk and then drizzle it into the stir fry. Cook until the sauce thickens, 1-3 minutes. Stir in the basil and serve.

Recipe taken from Cookthink.com, for more recipes or information click here.

I have been looking for a good shredded beef recipe for some time and my slow cooker is my favorite tool right now so this recipe was right up my alley. Fast and easy and ready when I get home. This was such a good recipe and I just added a little more flavor and heat with jalapeno and my favorite mexican cheese – Cotija. Cotija is a very salty flavored crumbly cheese. You have probably eaten it many times if you eat at mexican food restaurants it’s the white cheese crumbled on top of your beans. I put it on salads too, it’s so good – my daughter likes it as well.

Adapted from Real Simple recipe for Cuban Braised Beef and Peppers

1 -  1 ½ lb flank steak, cut crosswise into thirds
28 oz diced tomatoes
2 red bell peppers, ½ inch thick slices
1 onion (cut into 1/8)
2T. chopped cilantro
2t. oregano
1t. cumin
1t. cayenne
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno (or 1/4 of a small can of jalepeno)
1avocado
Cilantro (for garnish)
Cotija (for garnish)
Tortillas or Rice

COMBINE tomatoes, oregano, cumin, jalapeno, salt and pepper in the slow cooker. Add onions and peppers and stir. Push flank steaks into the vegetables. Cook on low for 8 hours.

PLACE atop rice or on tortillas. Top with cilantro, avocado slices, and cotija cheese.

Have you had these? They’re very popular in Houston, found in most Tex-Mex restaurant menus or at parties. I’ve had them over the years, but I’ve never been able to eat them with careless abandon. For one thing, there’s the heat. Often times they’re simply too hot for me, whether they don’t get all the seeds and veins out or if because it is an especially hot pepper. I just can’t handle too many of them. The other thing is sometimes it tastes like I’m eating a raw green pepper, which isn’t one of my favorite flavors. I managed to correct both these factors.

Nonetheless, I was speaking with a friend about a new popper recipe someone shared with her and about our upcoming holiday luncheon and how anxious we were about enjoying another very popular appetizer, shrimp brochette.  Usually for the shrimp brochette they take shrimp and slit it, add a slice of jalapeño, Monterrey Jack, then its wrapped in bacon and grilled. This is when the muse hit me. Inside out. Stuff the peppers with shrimp and cheese, wrap in bacon. Yeah! And that, my friends, is what I did!

Shrimp Jalapeño Poppers
12 medium jalapeños
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 ozs cream cheese, softened
1/4 cp grated cheese, such as Gouda or Bleu
1/4 tsp Herbs d’Provence
1/4 cp cooked bacon, crumbled
Black pepper, to taste
6 slices thick bacon, halved

Preparing the jalapeños: Let me start by telling you that you should be respectful when handling any type of hot pepper. I don’t think gloves are necessary for jalapeños, but try to avoid touching your face or skin until you’ve washed the oil off your hands. In this case I slit the jalapeños lengthwise, keeping the stems in place. They look cuter that way.  Once you’ve slit them, use a small pairing knife to cut out the seed pod and to scrape out the veins. Rinse them in cool water to wash away any seeds that may be left behind.

Now, here’s something I did to counteract the heat and rawness of the peppers. I blanched them.

Notice the change in color after blanching

Take a medium pot and fill it with water, add a bit of salt and bring it to a boil. Add the cleaned peppers and turn off the heat. Leave the peppers in the water for about 3 minutes, drain and submerge in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set them over a towel to soak any water that may be left behind. Set aside.

For the filling: I used medium-sized shrimp, (14-16 count) this size will be large enough to keep it from overcooking, but you could use smaller ones and not chop them. Chop the shrimp coarsely (I think I ended up with about 4 pieces from each shrimp). Add the cheeses, bacon, pepper, Herbs d’Provence and mix until well incorporated.

Assembly: Preheat oven to 400°. Take the halved bacon slices and stretch them out a bit to make them uniform in thickness. Stuff the bottom of each pepper with about 1 tbsp of the filling, close the top on in, wrap with bacon. Secure the bacon with toothpicks. Place the poppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the bacon is golden brown.

You’re done!