Happy Valentine's Day!

Week 2, Day 4: Green Chili Chicken Posole

Here's what I was supposed to make Thursday, it's Melissa's recipe. (Weird, I just looked at her picture, and hers looks green, while mine looks red . . . .)

Green Chili Chicken Posole

1 cup finely diced red onion
1 29 oz. can posole (hominy), drained
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/4 lbs.), cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I only used two, and still had tons)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
diced avocado, sour cream, grated Monterey jack cheese and fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish.

Place onion, posole and chicken in slow cooker. Add garlic, water and chicken broth. Add oregano, chili powder, salt, green chilies, black beans and cumin; stir. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Serves 8-10.

The Verdict: 5 thumbs up! This was way yummier than Adam and the kids expected. I served it with corn muffins, and it was a great dinner all around (and perfect for Sunday--read: easy).

Now for a recipe I was also supposed to make Thursday, but made Friday instead, to go with our Cafe Rio salad. Also Melissa's. She always has such yummy stuff . . . (unfortunately, I missed taking a picture before it took on some "unsightly oxidation").

Melissa's Muy Bueno Guacamole

3 or 4 ripe avocados
1/4 cup diced tomato
2-3 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine in medium bowl and mash with fork, potato masher, or pastry blender to desired consistency. Serve with tortilla chips. Refrigerate leftovers and place plastic wrap directly on the top of the guacamole to prevent unsightly oxidation.

We didn't take an official vote on this one, but I have to say it was absolutely fabulous!! I was so proud of myself for having perfectly ripe avocados. I bought them when they were mostly hard on Monday and left them in a paper bag on the counter until Friday, and they were gorgeous when I went to make the guacamole. It was easily the yummiest I've ever had.

Week 2, Day 5: Cafe Rio Pork Salad

The recipes that comprise tonight's dinner come from my sister-in-law, Shelli Campbell (since I can't link to her private blog, you can find the original recipes here--they are adapted a bit, though). I don't think I can say enough good about Shelli. She is Adam's sister, Katie's preschool teacher, an amazing leader, and talented in many ways, especially creative. But most of all, for the last few years she has been my best friend. She motivates me to do what I should when I'm grouchy and rebellious, she walks with me in the mornings even though I slow her down, and she is the authority I go to when I have questions about all things motherhood, education, and gospel. I love spending time with her and I love that our kids also love each other.

Shelli's one of my tougher critics when I make food, so it was nice to have her help tonight as I cooked one of her favorites. (It's always nice to have extra hands in the kitchen, but with this dinner especially.) I hope she doesn't mind that I'm writing the recipe as we made it, and not exactly as she gave it to me.

Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Tortillas (we used about 6 uncooked tortillas and fried them ourselves)
Cheese
Cafe Rio Rice (below)
Refried Black Beans (the recipe I made earlier this week, also on Melissa's blog)
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork (below)
Lettuce (NOT iceberg, use leafy green or Romaine)
Pico de gallo (below)
Guacamole (Melissa's recipe, which I was going to make last night, but will save to have this weekend, too. I'll post it then.)
Sour cream (whoops! I forgot this)
Tortilla Strips (can be found by the produce section at Smith's)
Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch (below)

Using the deep-dish aluminum pans (you can buy them at the grocery store--they look just like Cafe Rio pans; I just used regular disposable cake pans that I had already), place a tortilla in each pan, sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and add rice, pork, beans, lettuce, Pico De Gallo, sour cream, guacamole, tortilla strips and top with cilantro dressing (garnish with a few cilantro leaves if desired).

Sweet Pork

2 pounds pork
1 can Coke (NOT diet-I used one of those little 8 oz cans and it was perfect)
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can RED enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)
1 c. brown sugar

Put pork into crock pot and cook for 3-4 hours on high. I had never done this with no liquids or seasonings and I was a little nervous, so I added 1 cup water (it worked perfectly and absorbed as I shredded the pork). Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2-2/3 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and 1 cup brown sugar (I actually did a little less, but add to your own taste). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours.

Cilantro Ranch

1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (if you like it SPICY so keep the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)
(Shelli told me that in place of a jalapeno, you can also use green Tabasco sauce.)

Mix all ingredients together in the blender.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 c. uncooked rice
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Pico De Gallo (Rachel's recipe, concocted tonight)
1 tomato, seeded and diced
about 2 tbsp diced onion
about 1-2 tbsp chopped cilantro
about 1 tsp lime juice

The Verdict: 4 thumbs up, 2 thumbs down. (Yeah, I know it looks like I can't count . . . I'm weighting the voting for fairness.) Oh, it was sooooo good. Yummy. The only reason I won't make this every week is because I think I spent about 4 or 5 hours in the kitchen today. There are just so many components that make this what it is, and going halfway just wouldn't do it justice. There is no part of the meal I could leave out without affecting the whole meal.

Now, to explain the weird voting. The only reason we have thumbs down is not because my children didn't like it, but because they felt like they had a choice . . . so they didn't give it a fair chance. See, their cousins were eating spaghetti in the same room, so they weren't about to let that go. We'll try it again under normal circumstances and see. I'm 99% positive we would have had one thumb medium and one thumb up instead of those thumbs down, so I counted Kaden's vote (our 8-year-old nephew). I would have counted Shelli's vote, but that seemed like a conflict of interest.

Public Service Announcement

Due to unforseen (and even fun) conditions, Thursday's dinner has been rescheduled. Stay tuned for Cafe Rio Pork tomorrow, and Chicken Posole over the weekend.

Week 2, Day 3: Chi-Chi's Baked Chicken Chimichangas

This recipe comes from America's Most Wanted Recipes: Delicious Recipes From Your Family's Favorite Restaurants, the recipe book Katie gave me for my birthday.


Chi-Chi's Baked Chicken Chimichangas

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup chili powder
1 16oz jar Chi-Chi's salsa (I used Pace)
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 lb cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded
salt
6 10in flour tortillas, warmed
1 cup Chi-Chi's refried beans
olive oil
sour cream
guacamole

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a rimmed 15x10 inch baking pan.
2. In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in the oil until tender. Stir in the chili powder, 2/3 jar salsa, water, cumin, and cinnamon. Pour the mixture into a blender or a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until smooth. Pour back into the saucepan; stir in the chicken. Add salt to taste.
3. Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon a heaping tablespoon of the refried beans down the center of each tortilla. Top with about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture.
4. Place the chimichangas in the greased baking pan, seam-side down. Brush all the sides with oil.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, turning every 5 minutes.
6. Serve with the remaining salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

The Verdict: 4 thumbs medium, 1 thumb up. Flavor was okay, had an okay texture, good with the condiments. I may make it again. But as Adam said, I wouldn't go out of my way to make it.

Week 2, Day 2: Cafe Rio Pork Burritos, Spanish Rice, and Frijoles Negros Refritos

Special disclaimer for tonight's dinner: I wasn't going for recreating the Cafe Rio experience tonight. I will do that on Friday when we make the Cafe Rio Pork Salad, but even then, remember that it's probably been over a year (or even two!) since I've been to Cafe Rio, so it's just not going to be the same since I can't even remember exactly what it's like.

Another recipe from Melissa Yoder tonight. (I'm trying to link to the original recipe on her blog, but I'm having trouble because Blogger is very slow and temperamental tonight. I just keep reminding myself that Blogger is free, so I shouldn't complain.)

Cafe Rio Pork

5-6 lb pork roast (I did a 3 lb roast)

1 tbsp cumin

1 cup brown sugar

20 oz bottle Coke or Sprite (I used a generic Sprite)

12 oz bottle red taco sauce

Place roast in crock pot. Combine taco sauce, soda, brown sugar, and cumin. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 18 hours. Take out roast and shred; add back to liquid. Serve on tortillas. (This makes a LOT. Freeze the extra.)

I had all kinds of trouble with this recipe. I halved everything to start, but after about 9 hours, the liquid was quickly disappearing, so I added more. And then at 18 hours, the meat was so dry. I added more again. So in the end, I halved the size of the roast, but nothing else.

Spanish Rice

canola oil

1 cup rice

1/4 of an onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I would mince next time)

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1-2 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

Put about 3 tablespoons of oil in a hot skillet. Add onions, garlic and rice. Stir until most of the rice is browned. Lower the heat and add tomato sauce and 1 1/2 cups broth. Bring to a simmer. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let simmer on low until water is gone. If rice appears dry before it is fully cooked, add a little broth at a time until rice is done--about 20 minutes. (High altitude needs to cook for 30-40 minutes. Unless you like crunchy rice.)

Frijoles Negros Refritos (Refried Black Beans)

1 15oz can black beans (undrained)

1 clove minced garlic

1 tbsp canola oil

Heat skillet on med-high heat. Add canola oil and garlic--let garlic cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add entire can of beans, including liquid. Mash to desired consistency while in the pan with a potato masher. Serve while hot.

*These thicken up as they cool and gradually turn rather gloppy and unappetizing, so eat them while they're fresh and hot. You can add a little water back into them if you do need to reheat the leftovers.

The Verdict: 3 thumbs up, 2 thumbs medium. The big hit was the Spanish rice since I've been trying to make a good version of that for years, and had given up to Rice-a-Roni. The pork . . . not a huge favorite. But the rice and beans redeemed the dinner. Here's our most satisfied diner:

Photog Practice

The photography class I took last week was phenomenal. You can go here and here to check out the instructors' work. I've taken a class before, but I learned more in one hour with Stacia and Kellie than I did in my whole 4-week community ed course.

Today was a beautiful day, so I knew I had to get out and practice using what I learned before I forgot it. Here are my favorite shots from the afternoon.

ISO 1600, f/5, 1/2500 second

ISO 200, f/4.2, 1/800 second

ISO 1250, f/20, 1/250 second

Look at that gorgeous sky! And the beautiful mountain . . . I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

P.S. For some seriously awesome photography inspiration, check out my friend, Cynthia's blog. I look forward to each new post!