Rick's Chili con Carne

I have a long and storied history with Chili con Carne. As a kid I remember eating Denison’s and Nalley’s (as a kid this was a Pacific Northwestern brand). When I was in college, a cousin made Texas style chili with London broil using Carroll Shelby’s Chili con Carne kit. Texas style is all meat and sauce no beans. I had not experienced this.

I started to make it myself with said Carroll Shelby’s Chili kit. One problem I did not read the directions for using other cuts than ground beef. In order to make it work I used steaks, sirloins, T-Bones, and Rib Eyes mostly. At the time my family was raising our own meat (beef, pork, lamb, mutton, chicken, turkey goose, and duck). When my parents found out, I was banned from steaks other than chuck and round. I learned to use those cuts and stew meat. I learned I had not been simmering the chili long enough. During that time I changed my canned chili brand of choice to Stagg as well. During my time with my ex, I changed to eating solely the bean-less variety. She had an aversion to beans.

Rick's Chili con Carne

Chili con Carne is not as some Americans think a Mexican dish. According to what I have gathered it was a dish made popular in Texas, after it was a state. In the 1850’s it was a brick of dried meat, suet (fat), dried chiles, and salt. This was then boiled in a pot to make chili. Canned chilis replaced the bricks with the new techniques in canning. By the early twentieth century, there were chili parlors all over Texas which had started in San Antonio. The confusion to the origins of the dish is, because the dish was made by people of Mexican descent. However they were U.S. citizens and their home was part of the U.S. when the dish was popularized. There are countless variations: Cincinnati Chili (over spaghetti), Texas Style (beef and typically bean-less), Chile Verde (green using tomatillos and pork/ this is considered a Mexican dish), and White Chili (poultry with white beans).

A Pot of Rick's Chili con Carne

When I came back to cooking, I reintroduced myself to the Carroll Shelby’s chili kits. I used these kits in May 2015, July 2015, and September 2015. In July 2015 and September 2015, I added corn, mild green chiles, diced tomatoes, and various beans. Starting in September 2015, I was using ground turkey. In October 2015, I decided that I needed to make my own spice blend. I found a Carroll Shelby’s knockoff recipe that I used as my foundation. I finally made my version on November 25, 2015. My version included chipotle powder, ancho, powder, and Hungarian hot paprika. I removed the beer from the recipe. I do my best to avoid alcohol, no reason than I do not care for it. I made this close to Thanksgiving, because I wanted some familiar dishes. This and the Chile Relleno Casserole are definitely my comfort dishes.

I made it again in January of 2016. I wanted to be sure of my new recipe. I was more than pleased. I was gifted some gourmet hot dogs from Omaha Steaks. I made chili cheese dog burritos with them. I typically use two of the following beans in my chili: black beans, red beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans. I have added shredded zucchini, celery, shredded carrots, guajillo powder, California chili powder, New Mexican hot chili powder, and sweet peppers. I have thought of adding calabacitas (Mexican zucchini), chayotes, guajillo paste, mushrooms, and fresh Poblano chiles. Typical garnishes are corn chips (like Fritos), tortillas chips, sour cream, Mexican Crema (regular or sour), guacamole, avocados, and cheese.

Carroll Shelby's Chili Copy Recipe

Chile Relleno Casserole

Here is a dish that I kept during the cooking hiatus. There are a handful of these. My Seven (or more) Layer Salad, Honey Mustard Chicken, and this were the top of the dishes I made in my old life. It was introduced by my mom in the early 1990’s. I made it in May 2015, September 2015, and in December 2015.

I am very particular about my Chiles Rellenos. Why? After moving to Oregon, I discovered the Oregon Chile Relleno abomination. What is this? Some Mexican restaurants in Oregon make a dish that is a chile stuffed with cheese that has an egg omelet flipped over it that they cover in ranchero sauce and cheese. In Yamhill County there are very few places that make the Chile Relleno I grew up on. Traditionally it is a stuffed Chile pepper (traditionally a poblano, but Anaheims, Hatch chiles, pasillas, and jalapeños are used) that is then battered with an egg or corn flour batter. The chile is then fried. The stuffing can be cheese or meat. That cheese depends if you are going traditional or more American. Typical cheeses are queso Chihuahua, queso Oaxaca, asadero, Asiago, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Colby, or a blend. The reason I do not get irritated with the Chile Relleno Casserole, is the name says it. It is a casserole using the same flavor profiles as a Chile Relleno.

Chile Relleno Casserole

This casserole is simple and it consists of cheese, mild green chiles, eggs, Bisquick, evaporated milk, and salsa. I also usually add sliced black olives. It is what a chile relleno is in casserole form. I can easily see someone roast their own Poblanos or Anaheim chiles, peel them, and use them instead of the canned variety. One could also substitute various Mexican cheeses as well. Salsa choices are also up to the cook, but jarred salsas are the typical desired consistency, like picante sauce, or restaurant style salsas. Other than that you could use red, green, fruit, black bean, or tomato base with roasted corn. Another Idea is to use an enchilada sauce.

I last made this on November 24, 2015. This was near Thanksgiving. I chose this because I wanted a familiar dish for the holiday. This is a comfort food dish for me. It is also easier than frying the standard egg battered chile relleno. I hope you enjoy this as much as I have over the years.

Chile Relleno Casserole

3/4 lb each of Cheddar and Monterrey Jack (or a 1 & 1/2 lbs of Mexican blend or Cheddar Jack Blend)

4-7oz cans of whole Ortega chiles

12 oz can of evaporated milk

1/2 cup of Bisquick

6 eggs

Salsa

Slice chiles open. Layer chiles and cheese in a rectangular casserole dish usually a 9 x13 works. Combine Eggs, milk and Bisquick. Then pour over the chiles and cheese. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.  Cook for 45 minutes. Remove from oven top with salsa cook for another 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes then serve.

I have been known to put slice black olives on top over the salsa.

Gazpacho Mexicano

This is the second recipe I made from 1000 Mexican Recipes by Marge Poore. I had heard of gazpacho. It is a traditional Spanish dish. It is a cold tomato soup. This had a Mexican twist to it with jalapeños and spicy tomato juice plus cilantro and lime as garnishes.

Having grown up with Mexican cuisine, I have been seriously curious about Spanish cuisine, Caribbean cuisines, and Latin American cuisines other than Mexican. I wanted to see what else was out there. With places like Hilda’s in Eugene and Cocina Del Sol in Tualatin I got some exposure.

Gazpacho Mexicano

This dish includes tomatoes, spicy tomato juice, onion, cucumber, celery, salt, red wine vinegar, jalapeños, garlic, and olive oil. I could not find spicy tomato juice, so I used a teaspoon of Valentina’s hot sauce and a ¼ teaspoon of chipotle powder. This dish is also garnished with lime wedges and cilantro.

I first made this on November 19, 2015. This was a wonderfully refreshing dish. It had the right amount of kick and spice. I tried this without the jalapeños, lime, chipotle, Valentina’s hot sauce, and cilantro. I did put in some cumin and paprika. To be true Spanish style I needed to add bread. I did not want to do that due to my working to reduce wheat intake. I made the Mexican version again in December 2015. I love this dish and I will make this again

Vegetarian Tacos with Spicy Crema

One of my Facebook friends posted this list of Vegetarian Taco options. First thing, I love tacos, especially with tortillas de maiz (corn tortillas). The crunchy and crispy varieties are my favorites. That means I love the hard shells, the crispy deep fried shells, and the puffy tacos too. If there is a crunchiness or crispiness to the tortilla, I am all happy. With tostadas I am not much of a fan, the flat service is likely to spill. I encountered soft tacos with steamed corn tortillas in my twenties. I love those too to a lesser degree. Tacos with tortillas de harina (flour tortillas), I am also not a big advocate of. Flour tortillas, I associate with burritos.

Growing up in Oxnard, California, good authentic tacos were available everywhere. Later, I discovered Tacos al Carbon and Tacos al Pastor. I discovered that Tacos al Pastor if done traditionally are cooked on a large skewer called a trompo. These are made with pork and cooked in a style similar to Doner Kebabs or Gyros. Let’s get back to the Tacos at hand. I was continuing my work to lessen my meat consumption, so this recipe sounded so good.

Vegetarian Tacos with Spicy Crema 

I did change the recipe up. Instead of using Old El Paso taco seasoning, I found a copycat recipe for the spice mix online. I made my own. I used Anaheims chiles instead of bell peppers. When I make this next time I may use calabacitas (Mexican zucchini) and chayotes instead of the zucchini and summer/yellow squash. I also added some chipotle powder to the crema. I may use the sour variety of crema next time.

I made this on November 19, 2015. These were very tasty. Some possible additional garnishes would be pickled peppers, black olives, avocados, esquites (Mexican grilled corn salad), and some variety of salsa. The vegetable medley was flavorful and had a bite, meaning they were not overcooked. I advise to make sure you do not overcook the veggies. I loved this and would definitely make them again.

9 Vegetarian Taco Recipes for Meatless Monday

Vegetarian Tacos with Spicy Crema

Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Boats

I have vegetarian and vegan friends. Seeing what they eat has helped with a few menu selections. One friend posted this dish on their Facebook page. It looked and sounded delicious. In the past I have had spaghetti squash with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan. This I thought was similar but using a Mexican cuisine flavor profile.

You bake the spaghetti squash, hollow out the flesh, mix the flesh with other flavors, and return it to the skin. Then you put cheese on top and bake it again. Surprisingly this dish has spinach in it. You do not taste it over the squash, onion, tomatoes, chiles, and so on.

Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Boats

I made this on November 17, 2015. It was delicious. I loved the flavors in this. I did change the recipe some. I used olive oil instead of coconut oil. I also used regular cheddar cheese instead of the goat variety. I could not afford the goat cheese version of cheddar. I could see the addition of pickled jalapeños, oregano, and chipotle and/or ancho powder.

Now it turns out there is a traditional Mexican dish very similar called chayotes rellenos. It is chayote squash hollowed out with similar ingredients mix with the flesh the returned to the skin with cheese and baked. After eating and making the spaghetti squash dish, I now want to try the traditional version of the dish. I plan of doing both this recipe again and making the traditional version.

Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Boats

Asparagus and Mushroom Salad

This is the fourth recipe I have made from Best-Ever: 500 Simply Delicious Recipes cookbook by Bay Books. I chose this because I was working on decreasing my meat intake seriously. I had to do some translating with this recipe. Rocket equals Arugula. Capsicum equals bell pepper. The ingredients are asparagus, button mushrooms, arugula, red bell pepper, garlic, honey, stone ground mustard, lime zest, lime juice, orange zest, orange juice, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

The honey, juices, zests, and mustard make the dressing. The asparagus is blanched. The mushrooms are sautéed in the dressing. Then all is combined. It is a very simple up front salad.

Asparagus and Mushroom Salad

I made this dish on November 14, 2015. The pepperiness from the arugula contrasted with the fresh flavor of the asparagus and the bright notes from the citrus. The tanginess from the mustard was cut wonderfully by the honey and the earthiness of the mushrooms. I liked it.

Next time I have to be careful not to get white rind when zesting the citrus. Other than that I pretty much nailed this recipe. I am most assuredly going to make this again.

Spinach Pesto Pizza

This dish has also been known as Greek pizza. It consists of pizza crust, olive oil, pesto sauce, fresh spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and parmesan cheese (either grated, or shaved, or both). I used to make it or eat versions of it. I made a version of this for my ex and her family early in that relationship. That was the last time I made it until my reconnecting with cooking. Like said in the Pepperoni Pizza write-up, for the longest time I preferred non-marinara pizzas. This was one of those.

I used Mama Mary’s Thin Crust pizza shells for this dish. First you brush a lite coat of olive oil on the pizza shell. Then you add the pesto, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta and Parmesan in that order. You follow the pizza shell’s directions for cooking.

Spinach Pesto Pizza

I made this dish on the week of November 12, 2015. I had planned to make my own pesto, but the cost of fresh basil made it prohibitive. I decided to buy a pre-made version. A friend who is a trained chef told me that is what he does when basil is out of season.

The first pizza was a little lite in spinach and tomatoes. The crust was a little to dark on the edges. I rectified that in the second pie. I put more of both vegetables on that pie. One could put pre-cooked chicken chunks on the pizza, but I was working to lessen my meat intake at the time.

I forgot I how missed making this on my own. Some places do not put enough sun dried tomato or spinach on the pizza. The other thing is most places put pickled artichoke hearts on the pizza. I do not mind them, but they overpower the flavors I want to taste in the dish.

Hungarian Pork Steaks with Paprika Gravy and Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

This is actually three different elements put together. It is Hungarian pan-fried pork steak, Hungarian paprika gravy, and garlic mashed cauliflower. The pan-fried pork steak and paprika gravy are from the Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors cookbook. The garlic mashed cauliflower I found online. When I started to cook heavily from the Immigrant Ancestors cookbook in the early to mid 1990’s, I came across this dish. I made it, back then with mashed potatoes.

I loved the paprika gravy. It was the first place I was introduced to Anaheim chile peppers. They are a wonderful mild chile pepper. This gravy is the best. This was also where I first learned of the wonders of Hungarian paprika. It is so good. I grew up using paprika a good deal. The Hungarian varieties have a wonderfully sweet earthy flavor. It is sweeter and richer than the standard American version of paprika.

Hungarian Pork Steaks with Paprika Gravy & Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

When I decided to add this to my menu, I was trying to eat lower carbohydrates. In July 2015, I ate too many potato dishes and also ate a cornbread dish. I had eaten a shepherd’s pie with mashed cauliflower and loved it. I started hunting down mashed cauliflower recipes. I found one I liked. It included cream cheese and Parmesan cheese.

I had planned to make it in both July 2015 and August 2015. It got bumped both times. I planned to make it in October 2015, it got bumped a third time. On November 6, 2015, I finally made this meal. I learned that next time to use my food processor before using the Vitamix blender for the mashed cauliflower. The mashed cauliflower went quickly and I still had left over pork steaks and gravy. I used rice instead. By the time I ran out of pork, I still had a considerable amount of gravy. Let’s just say, I had meals that were just rice and gravy till the gravy was gone. This is a rich and bright gravy. The Anaheims lift its flavor. The paprika gives it a sweet and earthy flavor.

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower