Chicken Fra Diavolo... Something Spicy this Way Comes

It’s hot out. Summer is definitely on its way, and with that, a lot of light, cool dishes are flooding the Internet.

This is not one of those dishes. While light, chicken fra diavolo has a kick that leaves your brow beaded in the best way. Don’t think this needs that much heat? Cut the amount of pepper flakes of by half. This is a fun, fast and easy way to spice up dinner tonight. 

I took this recipe and modified it for chicken broth and used dry spices. As nice as fresh herbs are, I don’t have a green thumb, and cannot always keep them on hand. Dry spices are easier to work with at times. Of course, if you have the fresh stuff, by all means, triple the amount of herbs this recipe calls for and enjoy.

Chicken fra Diavolo

8 ounces pasta of your choice (I used farfalle)
½ medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons cooking oil of your choice, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons
 3 garlic cloves, minced (I opted to leave my garlic whole) 
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (this can be reduced or increased by halves, depending on your preference)
1 lb boneless chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed
1 cup chicken broth
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
¼ teaspoon dried Italian parsley
¼ teaspoon dried basil

Instructions

• Begin with your pasta. Cook pasta in salted water until al dente.
• As your pasta cooks, sauté the onions in two tablespoons of olive oil for approximately 3-4 minutes. Do so in a large skillet, over medium-high heat, as this will be your main cooking platter for use. 

• Stir in your garlic and pepper flakes. Allow the mixture to cook for another 2-3 minutes until the onions become translucent. Make sure your kitchen is well circulated; it will become spicy!  Once the mix has cooked, set it aside, leaving as much oil as possible in the skillet.

• Add the chicken pieces to the pan, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Allow the chicken to sauté until it is no longer pink. This should take about 4-5 minutes.

• Add the chicken broth to the skillet and make sure to scrape the bottom of your skillet.
• Add the onion mixture back to the skillet, and add the tomatoes with their juices.  Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

• Add your dried herbs. Season with more salt, if necessary.
• Finally, combine the drained pasta to the tomato mixture. Stir well and cook for another minute or two to bring the pasta up to temperature and serve.

Weekend Recipes: Red Curry Pork with Peppers

I’ve always had a secret love affair with curry dishes. I don't eat it all the time, but when I do, oh my. There’s something special about a rich, milky broth with a hint of spice, blended with a bowl of fluffy white rice. I’d never made it at home before, and with our budget being a bit tighter, I needed some curry in my mouth. Immediately.

I had some boneless pork chops, some curry, and some veggies in my fridge, and determined tonight was a good night to be brave and try to make pork with red curry and bell peppers. I found this recipe online, and was happy because it was loaded with veggies.

With the broth, hearty vegetables, and savory flavors, you’ll want to eat bowl after bowl. Enjoy!

Red Curry Pork with Peppers

- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 lb pork tenderloin
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 6 ounces zucchini, diced
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 14 ounces coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon bouillon 
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped
- handful fresh cilantro, chopped

• Cut your pork into large cubes, and season lightly with salt and pepper.

• Heat oil in a large skillet. Sauté both the onions and garlic for 2 minutes. They should be soft, but not browned.
• Add your pork, letting it brown for a few minutes.
• Add bell pepper and zucchini, allowing them to soften. 

I left the bell pepper seeds in for additional heat

• Finally, add your coconut milk,  curry paste, bouillon powder, and soy sauce. Allow it to boil, then reduce heat. Cover the meal, and let it simmer until some of the sauce reduces and thickens.

• Add tomatoes and cilantro, and allow the tomatoes and cilantro to gently soften. Stir gently, then serve with white rice.

Three-meat, two cheese lasagna

There’s something comforting about a delicious lasagna that makes me happy on all levels. It’s saucy, cheesy, and just a little spicy. It hits all culinary levels of satisfaction, and leaves me perfectly sated.

Don't you just want to eat all the cheese?

Lasagna also happens to be a favorite of my husband, who is the most meat-and-cheese focused man you’ll ever meet. If I am ever in trouble, you can bet that this will be the dish that I make him so that he forgives and forgets (Mostly he’d forget because he’s so busy eating).

I’ve adapted this recipe from my mother’s own, removing the ricotta for preference. Of COURSE you can add ricotta mixed with eggs. Of COURSE you can add spinach, fresh mushrooms, or other veggies of choice. However, for sake of beauty and simplicity, I present to you my most basic three-meat, two cheese lasagna.

Andrea’s three-meat, two cheese lasagna.

Approximately 12 servings

1 pound hot Italian sausage 

1 ½ pounds lean ground beef

50 slices of pepperoni

½ cup cubed yellow onion

3-4 roma tomatoes

½ cup water

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce

3 teaspoons Italian seasoning

sea salt

ground black pepper

seasoning salt

red pepper flakes to taste

10-12 lasagna noodles

16 ounces mozarella cheese

 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon cooking oil

•  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Cube your tomatoes and onions. In the pot you’re planning to cook your sauce, sauté your onion and tomato at a medium heat, seasoning them with your Italian seasoning. Cook until the onion becomes tender. This lends a great flavor to your sauce.
• Add your water, tomato paste, and tomato sauce to your pot, and set it at low to simmer while your meat cooks.

Leave it boiling as you prep your other ingredients. 

• Cook your ground beef at a medium heat, seasoning it with seasoned salt, salt and pepper to taste. Allow it to cook completely, then drain the grease.
• Remove casing from hot Italian sausage, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it browns. Make sure that the sausage cooks completely.

• Slice pepperoni slices into halves, drizzling them into sauce. 

• Add sausage and ground beef as well, stirring well. At this point, taste your sauce. If it’s too sweet, add some more seasoned salt or salt to your sauce, stirring it and tasting again. I also like to add ½ teaspoon to a full teaspoon of red peppers to the sauce. Leave it on low.

Thick and beefy, the way I like my... sauce.

• Now it’s time for noodles. Bring water to a boil in another pot, and add salt. Place noodles in the water and cook until al dente.

• While the noodles boil, begin shredding your cheese. If you’re cool, you’ll use this activity as a way to work out your forearms.

My arms are SO buff. 

• Once the noodles are ready, begin layering your lasagna. Begin with a thin layer of sauce, followed by lasagna noodles. Make sure to overlap noodles. Cover noodles with a heavy layer of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layering process until you have reached the top of your pan. Sprinkle the top liberally with mozzarella.
  

Sauce to die over. 

Noodles.

The more cheese you add, the more flavor. 

• Cover your lasagna with foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes. At the end of the 20 minutes, remove the foil and leave in the oven for another 10 to allow for the cheese to brown.
  

• Serve after ten minutes, allowing for the lasagna to set. If you don’t mind soupy lasagna, dig in!

We may have gotten over-excited and over-eaten.

Really Good (and Real) Spanish Rice

Is there anyone who doesn't love side dishes? Sometimes I wonder why people don't immediately serve huge portions of sides. I firmly believe that a good side could easily be made into a main dish. 

That's how I feel about my Spanish rice. It's got a lot of flavor packed into a small grain. 

Doesn't this enchilada plate look so much better with rice?

That said, it's also pretty easy to make. If you end up with leftovers, do what I do: put some cheddar on the rice, add sour cream, salsa and go to town.

Really Good (and real) Spanish Rice

1 cup long grain rice

1/8 cup chopped white onion

1 roma tomato, diced

2 1/4 cup water **chicken stock may be substituted for up to 1 1/2 cups of water 

3-4 tablespoons chicken bouillon, to taste

2 tablespoons cooking oil

• In a pot, begin browning your onion and your oil to cook on medium high heat. 

• Once your onion becomes aromatic (approximately 4-5 minutes), mix in the rice. Stir your rice every 3-4 minutes, allowing your rice to be coated in oil. Your rice should become toasted and begin browning.

Your rice should be a beautiful color, and  your kitchen will smell like heaven.

• Once your rice has reached a light brown color, carefully pour in water or stock. **Be careful not to burn yourself with the steam that comes up the moment the water makes contact with the pot.
• Stir in the tomato, and add chicken bouillon a tablespoon at a time, stirring with each addition. Once the broth has reached the right level of flavor, cover the mixture.

• Once the water comes to a boil, lower the heat to the lowest setting. Allow the rice to continue cooking for approximately 12-15 minutes. The rice should be soft, with no water left in the pot.

Do not lower  your heat until the rice bubbles, like so.

• Immediately remove from heat and serve.  Enjoy!

Don't you just want to grab a spoon and go to town?

Andrea's Almost-all-the-way Authentic Green Chicken Enchiladas

I grew up around great cooks. It all started with my grandma, who loved making us feel at home by stuffing us to the brim with some of the best Mexican food known to humanity. No one could make Mexican food like my grandma, which made it hard to ever go to Mexican restaurants. My mom and aunt followed suit, and are amazing cooks in their own right. Growing up in Southern California, both of them were exposed to different styles of cooking, like Italian, Asian and American. Because of this, I am used to gobbling up home-style cuisine from all over. Now, I'm going to share some secrets of that amazing cooking with you.

Now, before we start, it's important to mention the following about Mexican cooking: no two women will EVER make it the same. Aside from the different region styles of cooking, each family has a "secret" recipe trick that they guard carefully, sharing only with the other women of their family. Heck, even some daughters-in-law miss out on the awesome flavors.

Second, most of these recipes are learned by watching; exact numbers are almost never written down. You have to do it "por ojo," or to taste. This leads to highly individualized flavors. With that been said, this will be highly reflected in most of my original cooking recipes.

With that all said... on to the enchilada!

Ay, que enchilada!

A good enchilada will always be followed by one thing: seconds. They're gooey. They're spicy. They're hearty. I combine mine with Spanish rice, sour cream, and an empty stomach. There are far more complex ways to make enchiladas, and you can make your own tomatillo sauce, but this is a recipe that my mom taught me to make when I'm dying for good Mexican food but don't have hours to sit and stew tomatillos, garlic, and peppers.

Andrea's Almost-Authentic Green Chicken Enchiladas

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves **I prefer dark meat, so I swapped out the breast for 8 thighs
18 (6 inch) corn tortillas, torn in half
1 (28 ounce) can green chile enchilada sauce
1 (7 ounce) can salsa verde
1 (16 ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 small onion

1/2 cup chicken broth
Season salt to taste
Salt to taste
Garlic salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Cajun seasoning to taste

6-8 tablespoons canola oil

1 small container of sour cream for topping

You should be able to see flecks of pepper. Taste the chicken, love it.

1. Set your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Boil your chicken in a pot, completely covered. This will take approximately 25 minutes. You want your chicken to fall apart easily, as you'll be shredding it. Pull your chicken out of the pot, and set aside the chicken's broth for the enchilada sauce.
3. Pull apart your chicken into large chunks, and once they have cooled, season your chicken with garlic salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. This allows for flavor throughout your enchilada.

You can choose spicier sauces, if you dare.

4. Once your chicken has been seasoned, take your two green sauces and the 1/3 cup of chicken broth and put them in a large sauce pan, putting them to simmer down. Stir occasionally. 

**Remember, these sauces, while fine the way they are out of the can, are very basic. If you want more of an authentic flavor, throw in a dry habanero pepper, as well as salt, garlic salt and season salt to get rid of the canned taste. Allow your sauce to simmer on low. It will stay on low for the remainder of your enchilada prep time.

So saucy.

5. As your sauce simmers, shred your cheese and cut your onions. These will be part of your stuffing, along with the chicken. To make enchilada assembly easier, I strongly suggest having all of your stuffing nearby, with the casserole dish that you will place your enchiladas on nearby. You'll be moving quickly, and you need to make sure that you aren't wasting time scrambling for parts of your enchiladas.

6. Pour canola oil into a frying pan, leaving it at medium high. This should be right next to your green enchilada sauce, which should still be simmering. 

Be careful when working with hot oil.

7. Once the oil is hot enough to fry, place one tortilla in the oil, flipping it to cover both sides in oil for approximately 5-8 seconds. 

8. Immediately move the tortilla to the green sauce, coating both sides heavily with sauce. Be careful to use a wide spoon or spatula, as you don't want to have the tortilla tear. **Make sure that you use a different cooking utensil for flipping your tortilla in the oil and coating the sauce. Otherwise, the oil will splatter. 

Pick up the tortilla from the middle.
It allows for less tears.

9. Place tortilla onto a plate for enchilada assembly. Sprinkle onion, cheese and chicken onto the tortilla, then roll it onto a casserole dish. This will be a little messy, so be prepared to catch drippings from the sauce.

I won't judge you if you lick your fingers while assembling.

10. Once you have all of your enchiladas rolled, place more cheese and sauce onto the enchiladas. 

Though tempting, don't eat these before putting them in the oven!

11. Place enchiladas into the oven for 20 minutes. The cheese on top should be completely melted. and the sauce on top of the enchiladas should be thickened.

12. Serve immediately, with a dollop of sour cream on top of the enchiladas. Add to the flavor with some Spanish rice, and watch just how quickly these enchiladas disappear!

You know it's good when you're dying for seconds while still eating the first serving.