I have made my own vegetable broth numerous times and after my first few attempts at making it and doing some research, I found out one of the secrets to making the stock is that when you first fry the vegetables briefly you can then add the water and it extracts the goodness from the vegetables much better. This may be a simple thing and makes sense but I still see recipes that just call for simmering without first frying the veggies.
Ingredients
1 onion sliced
2 to 3 stalks celery sliced crosswise
2 to 3 carrots sliced
1 tomato sliced
5 mushrooms sliced
2 cloves garlic sliced
2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tap pepper fresh ground
1.5 qt water
Directions
Fry vegetables and salt in olive oil for about 10 mins. Then add water and pepper and heat almost to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for about 30 mins to 1 hour. Stain Vegetables from broth and use or freeze.
Recipe From: gastronomy.ddns.net
I like buffalo wing sauce, but I tried the jalapeno wing sauce at Native Grill and I like it as much or better. You can’t buy this in the store and I had a fairly good idea of what the ingredients were from the flavor so I set out to make it myself. Here is what I came up with.
Ingredients
1/4 cup of finely minced onion
2 tbsp pickled jalapeno slices finely minced
2/3 stick of butter
1 whole raw jalapeno, stem removed, finely minced.
4 cloves of garlic finely minced
5 tbsp of the liquid from the jalapeno slices jar
Directions
Put the onion, garlic, and jalapeno into a food processor and chop until finely minced. On medium heat melt the butter and gently fry the jalapenos, the onoin, and the garlic cloves for 10 minutes in butter, then add jalapeno pickling water. Use this as a wing dipping sauce or toss wings in it. You can also use it as a dipping sauce for anything else you like also.
I used to eat in Efes Restaurant when it was in Tempe, AZ. I loved the Donner Kebab and a number of other menu items, but unfortunately it closed. I missed it for some time, but then when in Shanghai, China, there it was. I found it again. It has the same great food I remember. The Donner kebab with it’s bits of toasted pita, sour cream and tomato sauce mixed with the rich seared lamb and beef. The perfectly cooked lamb kebab with the pleasant blend of spices. The humus appetizer starting it all off, everything was great, just like I remembered and it brought me back home again to meals with my loved ones. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although it was a little pricey, with the exchange rate of about 6 yuan to the dollar. The bill for 2 people eating well was about $45, or more if you ordered alcohol depending on what you order. It was within walking distance from the Marriott Courtyard hotel (Marriot Courtyard Website) I stayed at in Pudong. It was about a 20-30 minute walk though which I used to walk off the large meal. Here is the google map link (Efes Google Maps) I look forward to my next trip to Shanghai.
I always cook this when we go camping, usually on the campfire but I have started cooking this at home too since it is such a big hit. Very simple, but really good. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or 4 thighs cut into about 1/2 inch cubes
4 small to medium size potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes
juice from 1 medium size lemon or 2 limes
6 cloves of garlic
2 large jalapenos sliced
5 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp course ground pepper
1 tsp salt (Can add more later if needed)
1 medium size onion chopped into 1/2 squares
Directions
Pour olive oil in 9×13 pan. Then add all ingredients and toss in oil to cover. Cover with aluminum foil and cook at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove foil cook for another 20-30 minutes till chicken is done and the top is browned. Serve and enjoy.
This is a very popular dish. I tend to make it a little spicy since I am from the Southwest, however you can tone it down by adding less of the green chilis. It does depend on the tub of chilis though, some are hotter than others.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken boiled for 2-3 hours meat removed/shreded
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 tub of Frozen Baca green Chili. (If you want it hotter add 1 4 oz can of diced jalapenos additionally)
2 cups of onion chopped
1 cup of sour cream
1 tbsp chili powder
16 oz of shredded chedar cheese
50 corn totillas
Directions
Add cream of chicken soup, sour cream, thawed green Chili, chili powder, onion into a bowl and mix to make the sauce. Taste the sauce to see if you want to add the can of jalapenos. Take about 1/3 of this and add it to the meat. Spray each tortilla with a little bit of cooking oil and lightly fry till it just starts to brown. Coat the bottom of the baking pan with a little of the sauce mixture. Take 1 large tablespoon of the meat and roll inside of the tortilla and add to the baking pan. Repeat until all the meat is gone and the pans are full. Then take the remaining sauce mixture and pour over the rolled tortillas. Top with cheese. You can make a layered enchilada to save time. Just take a little of the meat about 1/4 and spread on the bottom across all the pans. Spread some sauce over this. Sprinkle some of the cheese over it and add a layer of tortilla. Repeat this one or two times more. Then spread some sauce over the top and sprinkle some cheese. Bake at 350 degrees covered with foil for the first 15 minutes and then remove foil and finish baking till the cheese is melted in the center. If you want to garnish chop some green onions and sprinkle over the top. Serve and enjoy.
I love the fluffy, soft dinner rolls they serve at Texas Roadhouse restaurant but didn’t want to spend a lot of time making them. I searched around for a recipe that was easy and tasted a lot like the ones at Texas Roadhouse. I tried this one which uses a bread maker for the dough which allows you to load up the bread maker and come back in a couple of hours, remove the dough and bake it. When served with the cinnamon butter, they taste a lot like the ones they have at the restaurant. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
Rolls
¼ cup lukewarm water
1 cup lukewarm milk (Vegan option, use plain soy milk)
1 large egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons melted butter, room temperature (Vegan option, use margarine)
¼ cup sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 envelope (.25 oz) active dry yeast
¼ cup melted butter for basting rolls
Cinnamon Butter
4 tblsp of Butter (Vegan option, use margarine)
1 tblsp Sugar
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
Directions
Pour all liquid dinner roll ingredients into the bread maker. Add the dry ingredients (except the yeast) to a bowl and mix then add to the bread maker. Now add the yeast on top of the dry ingredients so it is not in the liquid. Start your bread maker on the dough setting (you can also put on delay setting if you are want it to be ready later). When the dough cycle is complete, remove and roll out on a floured cutting board into a sheet and using a pizza cutter cut into 16 even squares. Put these on a baking sheet. You can use parchment paper on it if you’d like. Then put the baking sheets into a oven with a bowl of hot steaming water to rise until doubled or tripled. Then bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes until slightly browned. To make sure the outside stays soft when putting them into the oven throw 1/4 cup of water in the bottom of the hot oven to add moisture. Coat with butter when removed from the oven and serve.
These are very easy and quick to make and taste great. The cheese is melted, the bun is slightly crunchy on the outside, the onion gives a punch, and the tomato gives freshness. I have made two types one with Ham and one with Roast Beef and both were great. You can experiment with adding a little mustard with the ham or other add ins. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
Ham or Roast Beef sliced lunch meat 1 to 4 slices per slices per sandwich depending on thickness.
Sliced Cheddar Cheese, I used sharp.
Thinly sliced onion
Sliced Tomato
Mayonnaise
Hamburger buns (1 per sandwich)
Directions
Spread a layer of mayonnaise on the inside of the top bun, then put the thinly sliced onion then the cheese, followed by the lunch meat and then the tomato and the bottom half of the bun. Now wrap the sandwich in foil and put into a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted in the middle of the sandwich. Serve wrapped in foil to be unwrapped hot and and enjoyed.
Living in the Southwest I have tasted some of the best green corn tamales but I want to have a supply on hand when I get a craving for one, so I make these and devour as many as possible and freeze the rest for the next time I get an urge for these.
Masa
2 cups instant masa harina flour
2 cups corn, fresh roasted and cut off the ear
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Vegetable Shortening & butter(softened butter or vegan substitute)
1/4 cup evap milk
1 3/4 cup of water
1 tablespoon vegetable broth powder
Filling
2 tablespoons of butter
2 roasted/peeled/seeded jalapenos
2 roasted/peeled/seeded publano chili
1.5 – 2 cups of Mixed Chedar & Pepper Jack (Or Vegan cheese substitute)
1 – 1.5 cups of corn
1 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoons black pepper
Directions
Mix Masa ingredients together and make Masa. Roasting corn and Jalapeno and Publano chilles. Seed and peal chili peppers and chop. Mix all filling ingredients together. Coat inside of a corn husk with masa and add a good tablespoon of filling. Roll this up so masa surrounds filling and steam for 30 minutes.
I like to experiment with different hot sauce recipes. I have a few favorite recipes and this one has good balanced flavor and not just heat. You can experiment with the balance of flavor and heat by adding more or less Habanero peppers.
Ingredients
1/2 Red Bell Pepper Seeded
4 whole Habenaro peppers
1 whole Fresno pepper
1/2 Med size onion
1 Carrot pealed, cut into about 6-8 pieces
4 cloves garlic
1 small bunch of celantro (about equiv 1 tablespoon chopped)
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
Directions
Boil onion, peppers, celantro, carrot, garlic for 20 minutes in enough water to cover in a small pan. Remove the ingredients from the boiling water and add to food processor along with salt, vinegar, cumin, and oregano. Grind into a paste. Then add in enough of the boiling water to make to the desired consistency. Bottle and use.
This is really a great tasting soup. I first tasted a soup similar to this at China Town in LA. I fell in love with the rich complex flavor so with help, I was able to figure out the recipe and to put my own spin on it. It really shines when you make your own fresh noodles, cooked in a separate pot of water and add in right when serving.
Ingedients
1.5 quarts of beef stock
1.5 – 3 lbs sirloin steak sliced or chopped into 1/2 – 1″ cubes
Noodles (Can be Chinese egg noodles or make your own fresh)
Add ins: baby bok choy, spinach, green leaf lettuce, fried tofu
Toppings: green onion, cilantro
Directions
Brown the sirloin steak on all sides. Now add all the other ingredients and bring almost to a boil then simmer on med low for 1 -3 hours (depending on how tender the meat is and if the flavors have melded). Remove the orange peal after 20 minutes if it starts to taste a little bitter (if bitter you will need to add some sugar to compensate). If you don’t have any of the white part of the orange peel this won’t happen. Remove from heat and strain broth. Add some of the meat, vegetables, some broth and cooked noodles (fresh are best) along with toppings to each bowl and serve.
Add ins: pieces of Bok Choy or Spinich. Top with chopped green onions and chopped cilantro.
Note: Bok Choy and Spinach need to cook in broth till soft.
