May 7: Enchiladas

Since I have leftover carnitas, this is a Mexican-style version of corned beef hash (aka enchiladas, aka aka fun with leftovers...)

After a couple days of rice and beans, I was craving potatoes. The idea of the potatoes cooking in the flavorful broth sounded appealing, plus having different veggies other than beans.

The Fixins'
2 Potatoes, peeled and diced (about 2 C)
3/4 C Broth
1/2 C Water (to dilute the extra strength broth from the carnitas)
1 Green Onion, chopped
1 T Cilantro, chopped
1/2 C Peas
1/4 C Carrots, coarse chop
1/2 C Carnitas, chopped (Didn't want too much meat, but can add more as desired)
1/2 C Frozen Chopped Spinach, defrosted

Simmer potatoes in the broth, add green onions and cilantro, cook until soft, about 20 minutes.
Add peas, carrots and carnitas during last 5 minutes.
Remove the potatoe mixture and reserve the liquid.

In lieu of an enchilada sauce, I used the broth to wet and soften the tortillas. Add more as needed.

The rolling:
about 1 T of spinach followed with about 2 T Potato mixture.
Roll and Repeat


With the leftover broth, mix in 1/4 C of salsa.
Pour over top of rolled enchiladas and top with cheese.


Bake in oven: 350F for 10 minutes to melt cheese.


The Final Dish
Enchilada served with the rice and beans and a dab of guacamole.


Even though the enchilada looks on the dry side, the tortilla absorbed some of the broth which made them quite moist. The flavor was good with the potatoes picking up the flavors of the broth, green onions and cilantro.

May 5: Happy Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican-American celebration commemorating the first Mexican army's victory over the French... back in the olden days.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I'm making carnitas. Based upon my dining experiences with carnitas, carnitas is a pork dish that is either 1) braised and served in the cooking liquid, 2) twice cooked where the carnitas is first braised and finally cooked in a little oil to crisp up the meat, 3) the carnitas is simply grilled pork and 4) pork that is deep fried. Carnitas is not a spicy dish nor a tomato based dish.

My version is the twice-cooked carnitas.

The Fixin's
The night before the pork is seasoned:
4 lb pork should roast bone-in
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 to 2 T Susie-Q seasoning
1/2 t Garlic Powder
1/2 t Onion Powder
1/2 t Dried Basil, crumbled
1/2 t Dried Oregano, crumbled
2T Vermouth - the pork was looking a little dry so I added the vermouth to help marinade the pork.
Black Pepper - a few grinds

Dumped everything into a zip-loc to marinade overnight.

The cooking:
The next morning - dumped everything into a Dutch oven.
Added 2 C broth
Brought to a boil and simmered 5 minutes.
The rest of the cooking was in a pre-heated oven about 175F for about 10 hours, while I was a work.
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The results after the long, slow cooking. The house wafted with the pleasant aroma of garlic and onions.
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I couldn't resist taking a small bite. The meat is flavorful with onion and garlic, juicy and melted in my mouth. :)
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While the meat was cooling, I made guacamole.
Guacamole
1 avocado
2 T minced fresh onions
1 big clove of garlic, mashed through a garlic press
1 T Cilantro, hand shredded
2 T Salsa
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash onion powder
1/2 lemon juice
1/2 lime juice

Mash and blend
Cover and refrigerate so the flavors can meld.
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The carnitas was shredded and defatted. The long slow braising made for easy shredding. The fat and mystery bits separates easily from the meat.
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Shredded Carnitas... What to do next?
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Traditionally, the carnitas is crisped in a skillet with lard. I didn't have any lard, but I did have the drippings skimmed from the cooking broth. Some people may see this as a bowl of fat to be discarded. I see this a bowl of golden, elixir of flavor.
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With drippings, I added a tablespoon to a can of refried beans and another tablespoon was used to fry the pork.

With the braising liquid, I made my version of Mexican rice.

Mexican Rice (pictures were blurry, from hunger?)
2 C Long Grain Rice, uncooked
2T oil
2.5 C braising liquid (didn't need any broth or other seasoning since there was a lot of flavor)
1/4 C Salsa

Cooked the rice in oil to a light brown.
Added the liquid and the salsa and cooked for 25 minutes. (Bring to a boil and lower to medium-low heat.)

The Final Dish
Carnitas served with guacamole, rice, tortillas, beans and a twist of lime.
The meal had a lot of flavor from the pork and the braising liquid used in the rice. I actually surprised myself at how well the dish turned out. lol... Main flavors were garlic, onions and a light hint of the herbs.
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PS... Shawn, You need to get here soon. My freezer is almost full with the blog food I'm saving for you. :-D

May 01: Ode to the George Foreman

A week ago I mentioned baby-proofing the house due to the dogs. Looks like I slacked off and D.D.D just had to get the spotlight this time.

Imagine to my surprise when I returned home from work. (Sound familiar? lol)
When I walk in the door and see my much prized George Foreman grill in the middle of the living room floor. Prized for way the grill can cook most foods in 7 to 10 minutes. The easy cleaning non-stick surface and the efficient use of energy.



I used it the night before to "grill" some pork for a burrito. My mistake was forgetting to wash and put it away.

This time it was the Dang Dirty Dog. He's the only one that's able to jump up onto the counter. Looks like he jumped on the counter and pushed the grill to the floor... dragged it to the living room and proceeded to clean the grill for me. lol!

The half of the handle to the upper cooking plate broke off from the drop. No noticeable teeth marks on the little bits. I'm glad that most of the little bits could account for. I wouldn't want a piece to be stuck in the dog... unless I jammed it into him myself. lol.


The grill probably still works. I should just plug it in to see if it still works, but right now I'm just po'd.

Apr 28: Noodles with Pork and Mushrooms

I was looking in the refrigerator and found some mushrooms I had purchased a week ago. I don't remember why I bought the mushrooms so I improvised. Also, I was craving fresh noodles.

The Fixins'

3 or 4 C of mushrooms, cut into quarters
1/2 onion, 1/2" dice
1/2 C carrots, sliced thin
1 C cabbage, shredded
9 oz fresh noodles
8 oz thinly sliced pork, marinaded with a little soy, garlic, green onions and a little corn starch


The mushrooms were washed and quartered. There was about 3 cups. I purposely left them chunky so they would add some texture.



The cabbage, carrots and onion.



The noodles were cooked in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Drained and rinsed.

Before pan-frying, I gave the noodles a coating of soy sauce (about 1 tablespoon), some green onions (2 small, chopped), about 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, a dash of garlic powder and 1/2 Tablespoon of oyster sauce. The noodles were mixed and tossed in a hot pan with oil.



I like pan-frying the noodles. The noodles crispy up slightly which adds a little extra flavor.



The noodles were set aside.

On medium-high heat, the pork was sauteed about 5 minutes before the mushrooms were added. Afterwards the rest of the veggies were added and cooked about 3 to 5 minutes.

Finally the noodles were added back to the mixture and incorporated.



The Final Dish

The stir fried noodles were plated and topped with a spoonful of chili paste.




The dish was flavorful and the noodles were dry and flavorful. Just the way I like it. If you like your noodles and stir fry a little saucy, you can add some chicken broth and a little corn starch to form a sauce.

Apr 27: Biscuits and Gravy in a Box

I grew up on the West Coast where biscuits and gravy was not a common breakfast item. Biscuits and gravy is typical of the South and Midwest. In fact, I didn't know such heavenly goodness existed until my senior year in college. At least, I don't remember having biscuits and gravy before hand.

In my senior year, I was part of a group that went to Cleveland to present our aircraft designs in a student conference.

Why Cleveland? The city with the river that caught on fire? The city that's known as the "mistake by the lake"?

The funding for the project was provided by NASA. Each year a different NASA facility would host the student conference. That year NASA Lewis* (in Cleveland) was the host site**.

What does this have to do with biscuits and gravy?

Well, we were in Cleveland for about a week so we ate out daily.

One restaurant near the hotel was a Bob Evans. Bob Evans serves classic American food.
That's were I experienced my first order of biscuits and gravy. The sausage gravy was creamy, savory and peppered with little bits of tasty sausage. Gravy was served over crunchy on the outside, yet tender and fluffy on the inside biscuits. That entire week I ordered biscuits and gravy every time we went to the Bob Evans.

Imagine my surprise when I was walking through the supermarket and I spied the Bob Evans name on frozen Biscuits and Gravy. I had to try it out. It was on-sale for $2.50.


There were instructions for the microwave and the oven.
The gravy was heated in the microwave and the biscuit in the oven.

Overall, the gravy was flavorful, but a little salty/msg tasting. Indicative of a processed food. I was worried that the biscuits would be little dense, hockey pucks, but they turned out well. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Also, ample amounts of gravy to coat the biscuits.

Although I know how to make gravy, I just haven't been able to create a decent batch of sausage gravy. I think it has to do with the sausage available at the local market. Even the much advertised, nationally known brand is plain and flavorless to me.

I'm still searching for a good breakfast sausage to make my own country gravy, but in a pinch and for $.250, it's not bad. One thing I'd do differently next time is not microwave the gravy the full 5 minutes. My microwave would get the job done in 4 minutes. I did notice a drop-off in flavor at 5 minutes compared to the stir I gave at 4 minutes.

Food evokes pleasant memories...
Comfort Food: food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal

Comfort Food: Food that is simply prepared and associated with a sense of home or contentment.

*Note: NASA Lewis is now known as NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field or just NASA Glenn.

** Note: The following year, the senior class went to Florida. Although I had a great time in Cleveland, I still would have preferred going to Florida!

Apr 24: Teriyaki Take-Out

When I lived in New Orleans, poor boy sandwich shops were a common sight in neighborhoods. In the Puget Sound, the common corner restaurants are teriyaki places. There's probably just as many teriyaki joints as Starbucks. That's a lot! lol!

Some are Japanese-owned, Chinese-owned, Filipino-owned and Vietnamese-owned. However, a majority are Korean-owned family businesses.

Today, I was feeling tired and lazy. Also, I haven't had a chance to shop for groceries or as they say in New Orleans, "make groceries".

The special of the day - Chicken Teriyaki and Gyoza.
A container of teriyaki sauce (sweet and thick) and gyoza dipping sauce (not as sweet and thinner).


Comes with a simple lettuce salad. The dressing is a simple slightly sweet poppy seed dressing. At least, I hope those little black dots in the dressing are poppy seeds. :-)


I also supersized the meal by ordering a side of stir-fried vegetables. Mainly shredded cabbage with a (one) brocolli spear, sliced zucchini and shredded carrots making a token appearance.


Overall, you can't go wrong with grilled meat and dumplings. The stir-fried veggies were a bit on the oily side and had a weird flavor. However, the meal hit the spot and I'll have enough for lunch and the start for dinner the next day.

Apr 23: Dang Expensive Dog Treats

I have two dang mischievous dogs. The one thing about having dogs, especially dogs with sensitive noses, is you need to put stuff up. Many parents know this as "baby-proofing".

They do have names, but today they're known as D.D. and D.D.D.

The younger dog on the left is called, "D.D." for Dang Dog.
The older dog on the right is called , "D.D.D." for Dang Dirty Dog.


Imagine my surprise when I found some chewed up cash upon returning home from work.

A chewed up $1 - almost half devoured.


A $5 with pieces missing.


Finally, a $20 with a couple corners gone.


Doing the math... A bill weighs about 0.9 grams where 1 gram = 0.0022 lbs
$1/0.9/0.0022 = $505 per pound
$5/0.09/0.0022 = $2,525 per pound
$20/0.9/0.0022 = $10,100 per pound
Total = $13,130 per pound

That's some dang expensive dog treats.

I know D.D. chewed the cash. He's done that in the past.
D.D.D. is more interested in trash cans. Hence, the extra D in his name. :-)
Of course, it was my bad for leaving the bills out, but dang it.

On the upside, at least DD knew to chew up the less expensive bills first. He barely touched the $20. Also, I can probably exchange the cash at the bank for the full value.

Dang dogs! lol :-D

I also have a D.C.

Dang Cat... didn't do anything, but I believe in sharing the dang love.