Slice mozzarella and tomatoes and alternate on plate. Depending on how much you enjoy the taste of basil, place basil between slices OR chiffonade basil and sprinkle on top. Salt and pepper according to taste. Drizzle olive oil and vinegar over just before serving. Best eaten fresh and on the same day!
My mother in law is an amazing cook! Part of what makes her a great cook is that her skills aren't just limited to the company worthy recipes either. Now don't get me wrong, she can crank out handmade raviolis or a roast and gravy without blinking an eye! But she also can do what in my opinion makes the BEST type of cook. She can improvise! I guess years of impromptu dinner guests will do that to a woman!
Here's one of her recipes that she likes to make on grocery shopping day. You know, the day where you get home, unload the groceries, and realize it's 4:30? It comes together quickly and with minimal mess and once assembled, cooks itself!
INGREDIENTS: 2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green) 1 package kielbasa (We like Boar's Head) 2 packages Zataran's Jambalaya Mix 2 tbsp. olive oil (plus more for rice mix)
DIRECTIONS:
Over medium heat, saute diced bell peppers in 1 tbsp. of oil. Once soft remove from pan. Add additional tbsp. of oil and saute slices of kielbasa until brown on both sides. Add peppers and rice mixture and continue preparing according to the package directions. Serves 4-6.
As close to Golden Pride's Carne Adovada as can be! A new favorite in our house!
INGREDIENTS: 3 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 1/2 lbs. pork loin, butt or chops, cut in 3/4-inch cubes 1 c. diced onion 1 T. minced garlic 3 c. chicken broth or water 1 t. ground coriander seed or cumin 1 t. dried Mexican oregano 1 t. chile flakes 1 16 oz. container Bueno Chimayo red chile, mild or medium 1 T. honey 1 T. Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar salt to taste
DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350°.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown pork. Set the pork aside. Add the onion to skillet and sauté until golden. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Deglaze the skillet with 1 c. of the chicken broth, loosening the browned bits with a spoon.
Place the coriander, oregano, chile flakes, red chile, honey, vinegar and salt in the workbowl of a food processor. Add the cooked onions, garlic and broth from the skillet and 1 more c. of chicken broth. Process until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
Place the browned pork, the chile marinade and the remaining 1 c. chicken broth in an ovenproof pot or dish, stir to combine well, and cook for 1 hour or until the pork is tender. Serve with warm tortillas.
Everyone has their favorite "go-to" enchilada recipe. This just happens to be our family's favorite! It used to be on the back of the Bueno Green Chile container and for some reason, they removed it. For fear of losing it, I figured I better immortalize it by putting it on the web!
INGREDIENTS: 3-5 chicken breasts, boneless
1 medium onion, chopped
3 Tbsp. margarine
1 10 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1 10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 ¾ cups frozen BUENO® Chopped Green Chile, drained
½ cup broth saved from chicken
1 12 ct. pkg. BUENO® Corn Tortillas
1 lb. cheese, grated (Cheddar, Jack or mixture)
DIRECTIONS:
Boil chicken, cool and shred (save broth). Preheat oven to 325º F. Saute onion in margarine until slightly soft. Combine onion with soups, chile,broth and stir. Tear 6 tortillas into small pieces and cover the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan.Spread ½ the chicken over the tortilla pieces, then ½ the sauce, and ½the cheese. Repeat layers.Bake 30-40 minutes, until very hot, bubbly and slightly browned.Makes eight to ten 8 oz. servings.
I usually double this recipe and freeze one pan of enchiladas for a crazy day! Just assemble and freeze without baking. Cooking instructions are the same for frozen enchiladas, however, you may have to adjust the baking time slightly to make sure they're warmed through.
WAY back in elementary school, there was a little $.25 treat that ALL the kids would go bonkers over. It was the Gold Bar. And at my school, it was only sold on Wednesdays. Now if you don't remember the Gold Bar, or you've never had a Gold Bar, let me explain. It's very much like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup but in bar form. Peanut butter mixture on the bottom and a thin layer of chocolate on top. And it was served cold and individually wrapped, which only added to how good it was. (Isn't it strange the things you remember?!) So awhile back, I had the thought to ask my dad if he could run down the recipe from a school cafeteria lady before he retired. AND HE DID! However, the entire recipe is in grams and calls for ingredients like chocolate emulsifier (??) which has made it nearly impossible to replicate the APS Goldbar. So I did what any other desperate Gold Bar fan would do and I Googled the ingredient list, which led me to this recipe. Although a tad different (it calls for graham crackers instead of rice crispies) the overall taste is there. And I don't have to use math conversions that I can't remember for the life of me :) So here you go Sue! Gold Bar away! And Dani, if you're reading and your's is different-hit us up with your recipe.
INGREDIENTS: 1 cup butter or margarine, melted 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 2 cups confectioners' sugar 1 cup peanut butter 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 4 tablespoons peanut butter
DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.
Strawberry-Rhubarb is Jer's favorite pie. I'm not the pie lady though. This wonderfully sweet, amazing lady at our church is. Potlucks, holidays, family get-togethers? Grandma Lori brings the pies. End of story. As for me? I make cookies. And I dabble in other baking things. But pie? No way! Too hard! Too scary! To...crust-y. That is until Thanksgiving. Fixed on having a Gluten Free pie for my sister to eat, I dared to make my own. And GASP! It actually turned out! And it was kinda easy! I've figured since then that if I can make a GF pie crust, I can make a regular one. So I spent some time searching for a Strawberry-Rhubarb recipe and came across Smitten Kitchen's. Her recipe, paired with few tips from the Internet, yielded an incredible finished result. But then again it is strawberries and rhubarb. And really how can you go wrong with that?
DIRECTIONS: For crust: 3 cups all purpose flour 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces 10 tablespoons (about) ice water
For filling: 3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed) 1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups) 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup cornstarch 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons milk (for glaze)
Make crust: Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor (or using pastry cutter). Using on/off turns, cut in shortening and butter until coarse meal forms. Blend in enough ice water 2 tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; cut in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Make filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend. Allow filling to sit for 3o minutes. Once juices have started to accumulate in bowl transfer to sauce pan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. This will allow for the filling to thicken before baking.
Assemble Pie: Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish [er, I used a metal one and it was just fine]. Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.
Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.
Brush glaze over crust. Sprinkle with course sugar. Transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about another 40 minutes.
