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 It's really a chicken and potato hot pocket. Total time: 1 hour for prep, plus 1 hour per 10 Mexi-pockets.
For lack of a better term, that’s what I call these little crosses between hot pockets and empanadas. Make them with or without meat, with or without flavor. I do not recommend putting cheese inside of them, as the dough tends to soak it all up.
Keep in mind, all ingredients are optional; I use what I have available.
2 chicken breasts
3 medium russet potatoes, cut into 1/4″ cubes
1-2 poblano peppers, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic
2 habanero or serrano peppers
That’s where I always start. My preference is to put the meat, onions, seasonings and poblano peppers in my crock-pot on low, overnight with two cups of water.
Tonight, I boiled my chicken breasts with a tablespoon of lime juice, then separated and shredded the meat with two forks.
Boil your diced potatoes until they’re tender, but not soft, about 5 minutes. In a skillet, fry your onions and garlic until your onions start to turn clear, about 3 minutes on med-high. You can add any other vegetables or peppers at this time and fry them in the skillet – if you are not using a crock-pot, then I’d definitely fry all of your vegetables before putting them in your mixing bowl.
Place shredded meat and fried vegetables in a large mixing bowl. For potato pockets, we normally do the following for flavor:
1 tablespoon California chili powder (for color!)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
juice of one lime
 It's the Empanadalamo! Add to your vegetable mixture, mix well… or add nothing and use it as is!
I like to scoop my mix into empanada shaped pastries, but you could also just make burritos or lettuce wraps.
Typical accompaniments:
salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, green onions, lime
Try it with:
shredded beef, pork or tofu; black beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans; corn, carrots, peas, cabbage, spinach – frozen, canned or fresh (but not all at once!)
You can place your uncooked hot pockets or empanadas on a cookie sheet and freeze separately, then pile them all up in a freezer bag for later use. Or cook them all at once; they keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer, and they reheat amazingly well (must be the shortening in the dough?).
 Spaghetti and Meatballs Total time: 1 hour, plus pasta cook time.
1 pound hamburger
1 pound pork sausage (I like to use a roll of Jimmy Dean Premium Pork Regular Sausage)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 large eggs
1/2 roll of Ritz crackers (approx. 17-20 crackers)
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of parsley
1 tablespoon dried onion or 1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Place meat into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle seasonings on top of meat. Crush crackers into fine pieces across meat and seasonings. Add eggs and mix by hand for 3-5 minutes.
Shape into meatballs and place in an oven safe baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Lift the edge of the aluminum foil to allow steam to escape. Bake 15 more minutes.
Seen here with spaghetti, Classico’s tomato and basil sauce, and asiago cheese.
 Kefta with extra onions and couscous. Total time: 1 hour.
Adapted from the Kraft Food & Family recipe for Moroccan Meatballs.
2 lb. ground beef
1 cup coffee, cooled
3 Tbsp. honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
COMBINE coffee, honey and cornstarch; set aside. In a large bowl, mix meat and seasonings until well blended. Shape into 24 meatballs.
COOK in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 10 min. or until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high.
ADD onions to skillet and cook 1 minute. Add coffee mixture to skillet; stir until meatballs and onions are evenly coated. Bring just to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 10 min. or until meatballs are cooked through (160°F) and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.
I’ve made these a couple of times now, and this is the combination I like best. The original recipe just didn’t have enough flavor for me – my coffee overwhelmed everything. (Strong coffee will do that.)
Kraft drops the brand names for coffee, but I use whatever was brewed that day. I wouldn’t drink bad coffee, so why would I want to cook with it? 😛
Last time, served these with couscous.
 Bread Bible "popovers" that turned into dutch babies. Total time: 45 minutes, plus time to make everything room temperature before beginning (about 1 hour at my house)
I normally leave the breads and baking to JB, but one day, I was making beef stew, and I decided to make bread to go with it. I had no idea that bread took so long… so I revised my search for “something faster”. I found this super awesome looking recipe for popovers in JB’s copy of The Bread Bible, and I thought: HAH! I can do that! I followed her detailed instructions to a T, because I wanted so desperately to show off. The result is shown to the right.
Completely disheartened, I turned to Alton Brown for help.
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus 1 teaspoon room temperature for pan
* 4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup
* 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (we used normal table salt)
* 2 large eggs, room temperature
* 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Grease a 6-cup popover or 8-cup cupcake pan with the 1 teaspoon of butter. ( I used a 6-cup cupcake pan, and I had to do 2 popovers by themselves in a second round… not smart. I now own a 12 cup cupcake pan, and I fill the 4 extra cups with water.)
 Alton Brown's Popovers at the 30 minute mark. Place all of the ingredients into a food processor or blender and process for 30 seconds. (I whisked it for 3 minutes.)
Divide the batter evenly between the cups of the popover pan, each should be about 1/3 to 1/2 full. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the popovers to a cooling rack and pierce each in the top with a knife to allow steam to escape. Serve warm.
The biggest key to this recipe is to make ALL of your ingredients be ROOM TEMPERATURE!! I cannot stress that enough! Cold eggs and milk will yield cute little dutch babies, which were dense little yummy treats, but not at all what I wanted. 😉
The second thing to remember is – as much as your heart desires to open the oven door to check on your popovers, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. Just put them in there, set the timer, and walk away.
Total time: 2 minutes, plus marinate and cook time.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons spicy vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced ginger or 2 teaspoons ginger powder
juice of one lime
Mix them up, marinate for 20 minutes to 24 hours.
This is my favorite for “I don’t know what I want to do for dinner” flavor. I can easily add something else to give it a different accent (turmeric and cumin for Indian, cumin and ancho or chipotle for Mexican, etc)… but this is the very basic.
Something to keep in mind when you make any marinade: You need an acid and an oil. You can use any type of oil (peanut for Asian dishes is a neat touch), and any kind of breakdown compound (vinegar, lemon, lime, wine, etc). The purpose is to take a tough meat and make it tender. If it’s chuck roast you want to soften up, you should probably slice against the grain into small pieces and marinade for several hours. If it’s chicken, 20 minutes to 2 hours normally does the trick.
 Beef Stew before stewing Total time: 5.5 to 10 hours.
It all depends on the size of your crock-pot. I use the larger amounts now because I have a 5 quart Rival crock-pot!
1-2 pounds of beef, any style cut, chopped into 1″ to 2″ cubes
3-4 potatoes, quartered
2-3 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1-2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Sambal Oelek
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seed
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste
Place into crock-pot in this order:
garlic
Sambal Oelek
celery
onions
beef
remaining seasonings except salt
potatoes
carrots
Fill crock-pot with water until just below the vegetables – or to the tops of the vegetables. Cook on high for 1 hour, then simmer for 4 to 6 hours. Alternatively, just let it simmer 8 to 10 hours. Salt to taste just before serving.
Caution! Sambal Oelek is HOT HOT HOT!
I normally use a normal spoon to dish out my Sambal Oelek, and I use one heaping and a half scoop, which is about the equivalent of 1 tablespoon. That’s about as warm as I like it. Some chili isn’t that hot. Just use caution.
I start my crock-pot at 9:30am, and it simmers until 6pm. I don’t use any thickeners, but if you like your stew thick, definitely add some potato or cornstarch just before serving.
 Spicy green peas and onions with saffron rice and spiced chicken. Total time: Approximately 30 minutes.
Adapted from 1,000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra.
16 oz. package of frozen peas, thawed
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced or 1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 serranos, minced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional!)
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon of mango powder (or just add another teaspoon of lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
salt and pepper to taste
Caution! Turn on your overhead fan if you have one, or open the windows before you begin!
1. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron or nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat and add the ginger, green chile peppers, and cumin seeds; they should sizzle upon contact with the hot oil. Quickly add the onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the coriander, ground cumin, cayenne, turmeric and salt, then mix in the peas and cook, stirring until all the juices evaporate and the spices cling to the peas (10 to 12 minutes). Mix in the mango powder and/or lemon juice. Sprinkle with garam masala just before serving.
We never use mango powder, and I don’t think we’re missing anything by skipping that ingredient. When we made these the first time, we used 2 serrano peppers and the full cayenne portions. We really had no idea how spicy it was going to be. I may be part Thai, but I’m not a fan of hot foods. I can eat them like the best of them, but I’m not a fan. With two peppers and the cayenne, these were so spicy hot, they turned me off. JB loved them, though. The second time we made them, we emitted the serranos completely, and they were mild enough that our 1 year old ate them (and LOVED them).
Pictured with Taste of India chicken rub and saffron rice.
 Basic Raita Total time: Approximately 10 minutes.
3 cups plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
2 tablespoons minced ginger or 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
5-6 scallions, white and light green parts, minced
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1-2 serranos with seeds, minced
1 teaspoon of sugar
salt and pepper to taste (optional!)
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika (optional!)
Mix it all up. We often serve it in the yogurt container.
Goes well with crackers, chips, pretzels, vegies, and all things Indian.
 Chicken alfredo with penne pasta, topped with asiago cheese. Total time: 15 minutes, plus pasta cook time.
This is one of those that I normally guess and approximate, depending on my mood. These measurements are purely guesses, as I never measure, just dump. We only eat sharp cheddar in our house, too. You can substitute it for whatever cheese you want.
1 tablespoon of minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
1-2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup extra sharp white cheddar cheese
4 ounces of cream cheese (about half the box)
black pepper to taste
Serves two.
In a medium saucepan on medium-low heat, melt butter completely. Add garlic, milk, and cream, stirring constantly until incorporated. Add cheeses and stir constantly until melted completely.
Above with penne pasta, chicken, and asiago cheese.
Below with gnocchi and no sharp cheddar.
 Gnocchi with alfredo sauce.
 Chicken with asparagus, couscous and homemade raita. Total time: 2 minutes for the rub, plus cooking time.
I like to use this one on chicken, but it can be used on tofu or pork, as well.
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
optional:
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
 Chicken with saffron rice, spicy peas, and naan. Use the top five ingredients to make a rub, pan fry in oil of your choice.
Or add the remaining ingredients for a marinade, and let set in the refrigerator 20 minutes to 24 hours.
Above served with asparagus, couscous, and homemade raita.
Below served with homemade saffron rice, spicy peas, and naan.
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