Christmas food

I will be putting up the recipe to everything I made this year for Christmas soon (this includes the Buffalo chicken bites that I made for my works carry-in).  In the mean time, I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and I wish you great happiness in the coming year!

Marissa

Pulled Pork Enchiladas

My Mom made a huge pork roast a few weeks ago and sent some of the left overs home with me.  I decided it was a Mexican kind of night, found a recipe, changed some things up, and came up with pulled pork enchiladas. They are awesome!  I found the original recipe on Lifes Ambrosia but did change some things up, and loved the results!  Sorry no pictures as of right now (my phone decided to crash that week).  All I can say is, make this as soon a humanly possible...and never look back!

Also included is the recipe I used for the enchilada sauce which really makes these bad boys pop!

Enchilada Sauce

2 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 Cup minced onions (I just used half an onion here and the other half for the filling)
2 Tablespoons flour
1 5 oz can of tomato paste
2 Cups chicken broth or stock (stock is richer, broth is more economical)
2 Teaspoons chili powder
1 Teaspoon cumin
1/2 Teaspoon garlic (or garlic salt depending on your preference)
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper (if desired)
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro (if desired)

Heat oil in a small pot.  Add onions and cook until softened (about 5 minutes).  Sprinkle onion/oil mixture with flour and cook for one minute more.  Stir in the tomato paste and chicken broth or stock and spices (except cilantro).  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and allow to simmer while assembling the remaining ingredients. Add salt and pepper as necessary.  Right before spooning into baking dish, add the cilantro if you want to use it.

Enchilada Filling
Canola Oil
1/2 Cup minced onion
3 Cups left over pulled pork
1 Can (or 1 1/2 cups) of beans (whatever kind you want.  I used red kidney beans that I had cooked a few days prior)
1 Can diced green chilies (or go all the way and do diced jalapenos like me)
Spices (no idea how much I used, just use your best judgment) garlic, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, cilantro, Cayenne pepper, whatever else pops in your head that might taste good here

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook until softened, about five minutes.  Stir in pulled pork, beans, green chilies (or jalapenos) and spices.  Cook until warmed through.  Turn heat down to low while preparing the tortillas.

Enchilada Assembly
10-12 corn tortillas
Canola oil for frying
1 cup of shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, or any other good cheese that goes well with Mexican food)
1 Can of olives (if you want)

Preheat over to 350 F.
Use enough canola oil to coat the bottom of a small pan (about 2 tablespoons).  Heat over medium high heat. Cook tortillas one at a time until soft (about 30 seconds per side).  Once you finish cooking each tortillas place it on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Spoon some of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a baking dish.
Place each tortillas on a flat surface.  Spoon about 1/4 cup of the filling mixture into the center of the tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and throw in a few olives.  Roll to close and place in baking dish.  Repeat with the rest of the tortillas until your dish is full.  Pour (or if you prefer to be neat about it spoon) the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of tortillas.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese (or grate some more if you ran out while filling your tortillas).  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese melts.  Turn on broiler and back for an additional 2-4 minutes or until the cheese browns a bit.  Let cool slightly and serve with your favorite sour ream and guacamole and anything else you want.

I hope you enjoy this a much as Aaron and I did.  The results were fantastic!  They are really great leftover as well.  It sounds really complicated I know, but trust me, they are really not that hard and the results will taste quite delicious!  

My Lasagna

This is my version of The Pioneer Woman's lasagna.  I change it up a bit, add mushrooms, and use thyme instead of parsley.  It is yummy, cheesy, and just delicious.  So roll up your sleeves, get your bread and butter ready, and make this lasagna!

Here is what you need

And these...

Put in your two lbs of ground beef (or 1 lb of ground beef and one lb of Italian sausage, or whatever ratio you wish), garlic, onion, and a few spices (garlic powder, thyme, Italian seasoning, and basil (all dry)), like so...

Cook all of that down until the beef is cooked through.  Spoon off most of the excess fat leaving some to cook down with the tomatoes we add next.  

Dump in all of the tomatoes, tomato paste (well scoop out), and mushrooms (if you are using them), and some additional spices.  Mix to combine and allow to mix and mingle together for 30-45 minutes.  

While that mixes, bring a pot of salted, oiled water to boil.

Add your noodles 2-3 at a time, allowing the water to come back to a boil in between additions.  

Let the noodles boil for a few minutes, but they still need to be pretty crunchy...just beginning to become soft. I think mine cooked for 5 minutes total.  Drain these and allow them to cool a bit before handling.  

Meanwhile, beat two eggs, and add 15 oz (one container) of ricotta cheese to the eggs, add 1/4-1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (the Kraft kind), and 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese together, along with a little bit of thyme.  

Then try your sauce...at least once...probably at least 3-4 times...maybe more...and add some extra water, to ensure your noodles will cook well ( I think I added about 1/4 a cup.  Your sauce should not be runny, but it should a little thinner than it was once water is added.)

Then watch Vincent try and scope out some new living space while you put away a few dishes.

Now it is time to assemble!  Put some sauce on the bottom then put 3-4 noodles on top.  Top these with some of your ricotta cheese mixture, then top with some mozzarella cheese.   Top with some more sauce, the noodles, and the cheeses.  Repeat one more time, ending with some mozzarella to top.   Add some Parmesan cheese on top if that is your thing.  

Put the lasagna in your preheated oven for about 30 minutes with a foil tent.  After your 30 minutes is up, take off the foil, and allow it cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until your cheese is nice and bubbly.   Or you can do like I did, and after 10 minutes, turn on the broiler, and cook for 2-3 minutes until kind of crunchy.  Allow it to cook for a few minutes, grab your bread, you butter, and your appetite.  I hope you enjoy this recipe! 

Lasagna

2 pound Ground Beef
2 cloves Garlic, Minced

1 Onion chopped
2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Diced Tomato
2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
2 tablespoons Dried Thyme
2 tablespoons Dried Basil

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 can Mushrooms
1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon pepper
15 oz Ricotta Cheese
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1/2 cup Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons Dried Thyme
1 teaspoon Salt
4 Cups Mozzarella Cheese 
1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
(add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

Bring a large pot of salted, oiled water to boil. 

Meanwhile, brown up your ground beef with your onion, garlic and 1/2 of your spices.  Once this has browned, drain off most of the fat (leaving a little for moisture) and add your two cans of diced tomatoes, your 2 cans of tomato paste, your can of mushrooms (optional), the rest of your spices.  Mix everything together and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes.  

Meanwhile, to your pot of water, add your noodles 2-3 at a time, returning the water to a boil between each addition.  Once all noodles are added, allow to cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are just starting to soften up, but still fairly crunchy (mine were able to bend mostly, but still had a lot of crunch to them).  Drain these and allow them to cool until you are able to handle them.  

While your noodles are cooling, combine your eggs and beat them together.  Add your ricotta cheese, your Parmesan cheese, the mozzarella cheese, the thyme, salt and pepper.  Mix to combine.  Set aside. 

It's assembly time!  Place about 1/4 cup of water into your simmered sauce and mix to combine.  Then spoon a little of the sauce onto the bottom of your lasagna pan.  Add 3-4 noodles, overlapping as necessary, top with some of the ricotta mixture, and about 1 cup of shredded cheese.  Top this with sauce, 3-4 more noodles, and the cheeses.  Repeat one more time, ending with the mozzarella cheese.  Place this in a 350 oven with a tent over it for 30 minutes.  Remove the tent after 30 minutes, and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes longer, or until cheese on top has melted.  For a crispier topping, turn on the broiler for about a few minutes after the tent as been off for 10 minutes.  Serve with some crusty bread, and a salad!  

Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken yumminess!

I made this a while back, and although I used too much ranch, it was still really really good.  I guess you could call it a buffalo chicken ring, although mine was less ringish and more trapazoidal, it was still good!  This recipe is courtesy of  Jayesel.  She has so many yummy things on her blog, feel free to check them all out!  The only problem I had with this recipe is that I cooked it according to the directions, and it still came out with the dough fairly raw on the bottom and in the middle.  I wasn't really sure how to fix this, but if you can figure it out, these will be even better!

I hope you enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Ring


8 oz cream cheese
1/2 packet of ranch dressing mix (don't use a full packet, learn from my mistakes!)
Diced celery to taste (I used 1.5 stalks of celery...try to make it healthier)
Buffalo wing sauce to taste (using a new bottle of Franks, I used about 3/8's of the bottle...could have gone heavier)
Diced/shredded chicken (2-3 chicken breasts or 1-2 cans of chicken (my way personally...nice and easy with minimal clean-up)
2 tubes of crescent rolls
Ranch dressing/wing sauce for dipping.

Preheat oven to 375 F.  On a cooking sheet (or a pizza stone) spread the unrolled crescents out leaving a small circle in the middle (Pull apart 2 crescents rolls together to make a rectangle).  Mix chicken and buffalo sauce to taste and add celery. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese and 1/2 ranch dressing packet together (if you are pulling your cream cheese directly from the refrigerator microwave for about 30 seconds to soften.)  Mix cream cheese mixture with chicken mixture.

Place spoonfulls of chicken cream cheese mixture on crescent rolls and fold rolls over to form a ring shape.  Bake for 15 minutes or until rolls are nicely browned.  Serve with ranch dressing and extra hot sauce for dipping.

As you can see, I kind of failed at keeping a small hole in the middle of my dough...but it was still ok...though it might explain why it was so undercooked.