MooMoo (Taken with instagram)
Ultimate Mac n cheese @ the monon food company
Spanish style Paella. It was very good, but oily. It was my first time making it, and I can’t wait to try different recipes. I used Michael Chiarello’s recipe this time (click on the picture for the link). I halved the recipe and we are Still going to have leftovers for days!
Supereasy Calzones
These were made using Pillsbury’s pizza dough in a can. Yum!
It’s SO easy. Just take the Pillsbury pizza dough, cut it in half. Put whatever toppings you like on your pizza in the middle of the dough + lots of cheese + some pizza sauce. Wrap up the toppings inside the dough and bake according to the directions on the can. We cut slits in the top to allow the steam to escape so it doesn’t burst. Serve with more pizza sauce. Enjoy!
My Valentines Day Dinner:
My Husband is the BEST COOK EVER!
Sour dough crustini with Pink lady apples, Raw Milk Gouda
Romaine wedge, balsamic reduction of bacon, shallots, garlic, button mushrooms, topped with gorgonzola
Herbs de Provence lamb shoulder with roasted French fingerling potatoes
Molten chocolate cake with raspberry compote
Egg Fried Rice for lunch today.
Husband Chef has informed me of the best way to get perfect rice every-time. I like to use Jasmine rice because of the flavor and consistency. The ratio (no matter what it says on the bag) should always be 2 - 1 (water to rice). 1/2 a cup of rice makes one large serving. First, bring your water to a rolling boil. As soon as the water is boiling add the rice and stir frequently until all of the water is absorbed. When the water is absorbed into the rice, turn off the heat and cover immediately.
This is the most important part: DO NOT LIFT THE COVER OFF THE RICE FOR 1 HOUR! Not even to check. This is very hard for me, I’m really curious. It may sound like an hour is a long time but this will make the rice perfectly fluffy and not sticky.
Before frying the rice let it cool in the refrigerator after the absorption time. Melt some butter in a non stick skillet (or veggie oil). You can add whatever veggies you want, I like my fried rice with carrots and green onions. Dice the veggies. For this fried rice I sauteed the carrots with one small clove of diced garlic in the butter that was melted on high heat. Then I scrambled the egg and added in the rice and diced green onions and a little soy sauce. Cook this mix on a medium temp and serve. That’s It! Enjoy!
We don’t have to drive to drive 45 minutes for delicious tacos anymore. The Monon food company’s (5 minutes from our house) are delicious! I have tried the chipotle fish tacos (pictured) and the Moroccan pork tacos (my FAV)! Great Service, great decor and lighting. Locals are starting to refer to this fairly new restaurant as the MoFoCo. They boast local ingredients and everything has great flavor!
Spaghetti Squash two ways
This delicious squash is in my belly as I type. I have avoided spaghetti squash for so long because of my long time distaste of anything mushy. Spaghetti squash is SO NOT mushy and now I LOVE IT!
Take the squash and cut it down the center longways. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground peppercorns. Turn both sides flesh side down on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake at 450 for 45 minutes or until it is soft to the touch.
Way #1
Take the squash out and scrap the angle hair like strands out with a spoon into a warmed store bought marinara sauce. This satisfying squash is deliciously mild and tastes just like angel hair pasta in a marinara sauce
Way #2
Just leave the squash on the baking sheet (or transfer to a dish if you wanna be fancy). Scrape up the strands with a spoon until most are sitting in the shell of the squash. sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground peppercorns. Eat with a fork. Great appetizer. I bet I could serve this with some kind of chips and present it as a dip. I’m thinking some kind of cheesy tortilla chips. Suggestions?
YATS!
Anyone who has been to Broadripple in Indianapolis knows (or should know) about YATS Cajun Creole. It is a wonderfully delicious lunch spot with it’s roots here in the neighborhood and with new locations opening up almost every year. The one in Broadripple only takes cash. For what you see above, I paid $6.25. Jambalaya is on the right and Maque Choux is on the left, a 1/2 and 1/2 order. You can get a full order for $5.25 and a 1/2 order for less. The bread is to die for and I seriously crave the Jambalaya every week. Next time you’re in the city, YOU MUST EAT HERE!
Chicken Tortilla Soup!
Our Friends throw great potlucks! This Sunday’s was an outstanding example of how all of our friends make amazing food. Unlike past potlucks, which are generally a mix of different recipes (never planned always amazing), this sunday’s potluck was a Soup Potluck. Everyone was asked to bring a crock pot of soup, and NO ONE dissapointed. Here is a picture of just half of the selection of amazing soups:
The Husband and I decided to make Chicken Tortilla soup. Rather, he presented me with a list of soups and I picked that soup immediately. After perusing the different recipes we got when google-ing Chicken Tortilla soup we came up with our own. Here is the recipe for your enjoyement. It was a BIG hit!
Take three large boneless skinless chicken breasts and boil them in some seasoned water. We just used a generic taco seasoning creole seasoning for the boiling water. You might say this is unnecessary, I think not. It is important to seasoning at every layer so you get that layered flavor at the end. Boil the chicken until it is cooked (duh) and then shred. I like the fork technique, The husband uses his hands.
Take 1 large onion, 2 poblano peppers, 2 yellow chili peppers, 2 Jalapeños, two cans of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies, and 1 big green bell pepper. Dice all (except the canned stuff) and sautee in some olive oil over medium heat. This is also where you add seasoning to the veggies. We added (in no specific measurements) Cumin, onion powder, oregano, chili powder, and little bit of coco powder, salt and pepper.
Cook that until the veggies are soft. Then add three boxes of chicken stock, some tomato paste, adobo sauce, and the chicken to the pot. I honestly know that I am forgetting some ingredients. I had this all typed out and saved as a draft and tumblr deleted it. We let this cook for about two hours and then added about a 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1 cup of half and half in order to make it a little more creamy. Right at the end we added the juice of one lime to bring the spice down slightly.
The Toppings:
Every good chicken tortilla soup needs great toppings. Many of the recipes we read online recommended making your own tortilla strips. Totally unnecessary in my opinion, unless you want to be really authentic, because Tostitos sells these:
We also diced some cilantro (did not add it to the soup because not everyone likes cilantro), green onions, and avacado. Then we made this Chipotle creme from 1/2 a cup of sour cream and some adobo sauce (strained from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo).
Hope some people make this, I know we will again… especially because I only got one bowl of it!
