Chile Rellenos

Sauce:
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped white onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chiles:
1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese
1 tablespoon dried oregano
6 poblano chiles, charred, seeded, and deveined *see Cook's Note
2 egg whites, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions
Sauce: Put the tomatoes, garlic and onion in a blender. Blend until smooth. In a medium saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes or till done with other steps. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Chile rellenos: Mix the cheese and oregano in a small bowl. Cut a slit through 1 side of the charred chiles and fill each chile with 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture. Close with toothpicks to hold the filling in place. In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the egg yolk and continue to beat for about 1 minute.

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour in enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.) Dredge the filled chiles in flour until fully covered. Shake off any excess flour, then dip the chiles into the egg mixture, until well coated. Fry until golden brown and drain on paper towels.

Arrange the chiles on a serving platter, spoon the sauce on top and serve.

Notes
To char the chiles (or any fresh chile): Put the chiles over a gas flame or underneath the broiler and cook until they are blackened on all sides. Enclose them in a plastic bag and let stand for 10 minutes to steam, which will make them easier to peel. Peel, stem, and seed the chiles (use plastic gloves!) Once peeled, the chiles may be chopped, sliced or stuffed.

Falafel

Chickpeas:
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, peeled
1 rib celery
1/2 onion
Kosher salt

Falafel:
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
2 to 3 grates lemon zest
1/2 Spanish onion, small diced
Flour, for dusting
Kosher salt

Garnish:
Pita bread
Chopped lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Peeled, grated cucumbers
yogurt Sauce, recipe follows
Directions

Peanut or other neutrally flavored oil, for frying

To cook the chickpeas: Drain the chickpeas from the soaking water and place in a medium saucepan. Toss in the garlic, bay leaf, carrot, celery, and onion. Add water to the pan until it covers the chickpeas by about 2 inches of water.

Put the pan on a high heat and bring the water to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer until the chickpeas are very soft and tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Turn the heat off.

Season the water generously with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain the chickpeas from the cooking liquid and remove the veggies, and bay leaf and discard.

To make the falafel: In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas until they look coarse and grainy but are NOT a puree.

Transfer the pulsed chickpeas to a mixing bowl and add the cilantro, parsley, breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon zest, onions and spices. Gently stir to combine. Taste the mixture to see if the mix needs seasoning, season with salt if needed.

Form the mixture into balls the size of walnuts and gently press to make patties. Lightly dust with flour on both sides and pat off excess. Place the patties on a sheet tray and let hang out in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or over night.

Add oil to a large straight-sided saute pan until the oil is about 1/2-inch deep. Bring the oil to a medium-high heat. Add the falafel to the pan and fry them on both sides until they are brown and crispy.

Remove the falafel from the pan and dry on paper towels.

Serve the falafel in pitas with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and yogurt Sauce.

Yogurt Dipping Sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste

Asian Lettuce Wraps

2 tsp canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 lb ground chicken or finely diced chicken
3 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped (about 8 small mushrooms)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 C bagged coleslaw mix or thinly shredded cabbage
1 8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained, rinsed, and finely minced
1/2 C thinly sliced green onions
4 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 3-4 Tbs juice)
1/3 C roughly chopped cilantro
1-2 heads iceberg lettuce

Dipping/Drizzling Sauce
4 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs rice vinegar
3 Tbs water
2 tsp honey
1-2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp sriracha (or put a small amount in individual portions of the sauce to adjust the spice)

Heat a very large skillet to medium-high heat on the stove top. When hot, add vegetable oil and then garlic and ginger. Saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, and then add ground chicken, chopped mushrooms, and kosher salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through. (*At this point, sometimes I have some extra liquid in the pan from the chicken. If it’s quite a bit, I tilt the pan and spoon it out so the chicken can cook and not boil.) Add cabbage/coleslaw, water chestnuts, and green onions. Cook for about 2 minutes, until cabbage starts to wilt. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, the zest from the lemon and the lemon juice, and hot sauce to taste. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

To prepare dipping sauce, combine all ingredients and whisk to combine.

To serve, carefully remove the individual leaves from the head of lettuce. (The closer you get to the center, the easier it becomes!) Place chicken mixture in the leaves and serve with sauce.

Yield: about 5 C chicken mixture. Makes 14-16 lettuce wraps.

Recipe from Our Best Bites
The only thing I changed was to put the hot sauce in the dipping sauce instead of the wraps so that some of us could have it spicy and some could have it mild. And I did dice the chicken because it didn't seem like it was worth the mess of grinding it. I liked the chicken diced and will probably always do it like that.

Jambalaya

2 teaspoons oil
1 chicken breast (sometimes I just leave this out)

1 cup diced ham
1.2 lb smoked sausage


1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups bell peppers (mixture of red, green, yellow, and/or orange), seeded & finely chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 can (14.5 oz) diced, undrained tomatoes,
3 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
Tony's creole seasoning to taste

1 pound medium shrimp, shelled (optional)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Season chicken with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Add chicken to pan and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and cook until golden brown on second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add diced ham and sausage; cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer ham and sausage to paper towel–lined plate and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low, add vegetables and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon, until vegetables have softened, about 4 minutes. Add rice, salt, thyme, and chili powder; cook, stirring frequently, until rice is coated with fat, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaves, and browned ham and sausage to pot; stir to combine. Place chicken on rice. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir once, keeping chicken on top, skinned-side down. Replace cover and continue to simmer until the internal temperature of the chicken is 160 degrees, about 10 minutes more; transfer chicken to clean plate and set aside for ten minutes (this keeps the chicken from drying out). Scatter shrimp over rice, cover, and continue to cook until rice is fully tender and shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Add Creole seasoning to taste.

Shred chicken. When shrimp are cooked, discard bay leaves; off heat, stir in parsley and shredded chicken, and serve immediately.


Adapted from Joelen

Layered Mexican Chicken Rice Bake

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium white onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced

1 bell pepper (any color)

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

4 Cups cooked/steamed rice

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

Chili Powder to taste

2 12.5 oz cans chicken (for shredded chicken use 3 cups)

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Salt

1 teaspoon dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning

1 Cup prepared Salsa

1 can great northern beans (or any bean of choice), drained

1/2 Cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and peppers for about 5 minutes or until softened; season with salt. Stir in garlic and cook for an additional minute. Stir in cooked rice, season with cumin and chili powder and reduce heat to low. Transfer mixed rice to a 9×13 inch baking dish.

2. Place chicken breast into a medium skillet over medium heat. Season with garlic salt, ranch seasoning and salsa; mix and reduce heat to low. Layer the beans, cilantro, chicken and top with cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Taco Soup

1-1 ½ lb. Ground beef, browned with onions
Brown with a medium size onion-diced
2 small cans corn (drained)
1 can red kidney beans (drain)
1 can black beans (drain)
1 other can of beans (or 2 of one of the above beans)
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1-2 envelopes ranch dressing mix (to taste)
1 large can whole tomatoes (can chop or puree)

Put all ingredients in a crock pot for about 2 hours. Top with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips

Rustic Lemon-Onion Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or tenders
1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine, optional
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 lemons, juiced (4 tablespoons)
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
Spinach "bed", recipe follows

Season chicken with dried thyme and salt and pepper (can pound chicken first). Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in flour, add to the hot oil and saute until cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest on plate tented with foil.

In same saute pan, over low heat, add onions and fresh thyme and cook until aromatic.

In a measuring cup, measure out wine, if using, and broth, and add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan with the broth mixture until starting to reduce.

Remove the pan from the heat and finish the sauce by whisking in butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place a bed of cooked spinach on a serving platter, top with the chicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Spinach "bed":

1 bag pre-washed fresh spinach
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon butter (optional-or spray butter)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Microwave spinach in a covered microwave-proof dish with a few tablespoons of water on high for 4 minutes, or until hot. Drain, and toss with butter, and salt and pepper, to taste.