In-House Cook: Facil Pollo Chilaquiles Easy Chicken Fajitas

In-House Cook: Facil Pollo Chilaquiles Easy Chicken Fajitas:   Facil Pollo Chilaquiles  Easy Chicken Fajitas Hello friends! You know, I love to cook from scratch as much as possible, but sometimes you ...

Facil Pollo Chilaquiles Easy Chicken Fajitas

 

Facil Pollo Chilaquiles 

Easy Chicken Fajitas

Hello friends! You know, I love to cook from scratch as much as possible, but sometimes you just do not have the energy or the time. These are tough times, I know.  We are quaran-teaching (both parents, grandparents and teachers), we are stressed over loss of income, and our energy levels are drained at every turn.  I have been creating and writing recipes, such as this one and the pork roast I wrote about in the previous recipe blog post, to help alleviate some of that quaran-stress as possible. This one takes a trip to the grocery store but the meal prep is easy (facil, easy, in Spanish) and won't quaran-drain you or your bank account. I will also talk about how to make two meals out of the same ingredients. Let's get to it, shall we?

Ingredients

3-4 chicken breasts

2 packages pre-sliced bell peppers of three colors

1 yellow onion, sliced into crescents

3 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped

1/2 cup coarsely torn or chopped cilantro

salt and pepper

1 rounded tablespoon smoke paprika

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon oregano

1/2 tablepsoon Chile Pasilla or Molido powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

1 bag blue corn tortilla chips and, for meal two, small flour taco tortillas

shredded Oaxaca or mozzarella cheese

1 small can El Pato sauce (4 tablespoons)

vegetable oil, three tablespoons + 3 more

2 limes, zest and juice of both

non-stick spray

Slice the onions into crescents.

These pre-sliced, packaged items, even onions, can be found in the chilled greens and lettuce section. 

I like using blue corn chips when making intensely flavorful and colorful dishes like this. 

Using a sharp chef's knife, make shallow angular slices on the top and bottom of the chicken.  In a large bowl, add the spices, 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the juice and zest of two limes, salt and pepper and whisk thoroughly.  Add the shallow sliced chicken and make sure the marinade gets into every nook and cranny.  This could also be completed in a gallon-sized zip-lock baggie.  Let sit and marinate for at least thirty minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.  

Ten minutes before the chicken has marinated for thirty minutes......

In a skillet over medium-high heat, add three tablespoons of vegetable oil.  When the oil ripples, add the onions with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Sautee for about two minutes only.  Add the washed pre-sliced bell peppers and add them to the skillet.  Again, add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir to incorporate and sautee about four minutes. 

Sautee in vegetable oil for a few minutes after marinating.  

Sautee the veg, seasoning with salt and pepper, in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Don't forget the cilantro at this point!

Once the chicken has finished cooking, slice the breasts into the angular pieces you see above based on the shallow slices you make earlier to marinate. Now add the chicken to the rest of the sautee! Drizzle in three more tablespoons of El Pato sauce.  (El Pato sauce is a tomato and chile based product, which is truly deliciious). 

Now, plan one: Spray the bottom and sides of a baking pan. Add a layer of blue corn chips, a layer of shredded cheese, a generous layer of the sautee, more cheese, more chips more sautee, more chips and more cheese. 

Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove, let cool a few minutes, then serve. 

Plan two:  Follow Every procedure until the baking pan.  Instead of a baking dish, to a cast iron skillet, add the sautee and bake at 450-degrees for ten minutes once the oven is fully heated.  Warm up flour taco-sized tortillas, and eat as tacos with cilantro and finely chopped onion, whatever your preferred condiments are.  

Either way, you cannot go wrong with this.  

As always, Thank You for your visit, and thank you for staying with me, whether you are an old friend or a new friend.  I am grateful for your visit, regardless. 

Now, Please go Cook Something For Someone You Love!!!!

~Martin

In-House Cook

In-House Cook: In-House Cook: Pesto Chicken Tenders with Baby Tom...

In-House Cook: In-House Cook: Pesto Chicken Tenders with Baby Tom...: In-House Cook: Pesto Chicken Tenders with Baby Tomatoes and Fettu... : Pesto Marinated Chicken Tenders with Baby Tomatoes and Fettuccine I k...

Pork Roast Beast for Any Occasion

 

Roast Beast for Any Occasion

Hi Friends! This is a large pork butt shoulder roast. I prepped it to go with several different meals, from shredded roast or pork steaks with onions and potatoes, tacos, soup and more.  You could also use a cross rib beef roast.  This meal prep is easy and again, the product can be used for varied dishes.  

Let's get to it, shall we?

Ingredients

1 2-pound pork shoulder butt roast or, beef cross rib roast

1 1 large or 2 medium white onions, sliced into discs

several sprigs fresh rosemary

fresh thyme 

1 entire head garlic, paper removed,smashed

1/2 -1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Your favorite beer or Sauvingon Blanc, two cups

I had several larger Yukon Gold potatoes so I halved them.  In making this dish again, baby potatoes are much easier and faster to cook.  Season the layer of potatoes with fresh rosemary and thyme and hefty pinches of salt and pepper.

Using a boning knife, stab the roast all over the top and bottom.  Roll the whole head of garlic like you are rolling a lime to loosen the juice inside.  Remove the garlic paper and pull off all the cloves and remove their paper.  Stuff the roast entirely, top and bottom. 

Season all sides of the roast with salt and pepper. 

After plugging in the garlic cloves, stuff each with fresh rosemary, too, top and bottom  (Let's see how many of you will notice my blooper in a photo, and yes, I fixed it!).

In a large pot or skillet with 4 tablespoons of evoo over high heat, sear every side of the pork roast.  

**Between the photo above and below, can you spot the error I made?  I did fix it. 

Preheat the oven to 300-degrees.  

Place the seared pork roast over the bed of potatoes and onion.  Add a half bottle of beer or Sauvignon Blanc to add moisture and aromatic flavor and cover. 

Roast low and slow in the oven for 2.5 hours at 300-degrees.  This is not a braise.  This is a roast and for the last thirty minutes, crack the lid to allow the fluids to reduce. What an incredibly amazing aroma that is going to be!  Wow!

Remove and allow to cool.  Afterward, do with it as you will.  We have already talked about the different dishes you could make out of this one roast.  Enjoy!

As always, Thank You for sticking with me, for coming back, or for just joining me.  It means a great deal to me.  ❤

Now, with that, Go Cook Something For Someone You Love!  

~Martin

In-House Cook

In-House Cook: Pesto Chicken Tenders with Baby Tomatoes and Fettu...

In-House Cook: Pesto Chicken Tenders with Baby Tomatoes and Fettu...: Pesto Marinated Chicken Tenders with Baby Tomatoes and Fettuccine I know, I know.  You look at the photo above and it does not appear fantas...

Pesto Chicken Tenders with Baby Tomatoes and Fettuccine

Pesto Marinated Chicken Tenders with Baby Tomatoes and Fettuccine

I know, I know.  You look at the photo above and it does not appear fantastically appetizing.  There are epic fail reasons all my own for that.  One, the lighting was forest fire smokey daylight sky.  Poor people and all that they lost.  My heart and prayers go out to them.  Two, the dish I made was made to serve 4 - 6 people for three plus days and the container it went into was HUGE and it spread out all over.  In hindsight, I should have used another pint or two of tomatoes.  Because the person who asked me to cook does not like onions, there are no onions in the dish you will see today.  However, in the ingredients section, I am including onions. Despite the aesthetic fail, which I ask you to please forgive, and which will be explained later, the flavors were on point.  Let's get to it, shall we?

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken tenders, or, 3-4 chicken breasts

6 - 10 leaves fresh basil

several sprigs of fresh thyme

3 tablespoons + one tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

1 large red or yellow onion, coarsely chopped

6 garlic cloves, sliced into discs

4 pints baby tomatoes, whole

1 box (or part of) your favorite pasta

2 tablespoons tomato paste

zest and juice of half a lemon

3 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

2 jars of pesto or make your own homemade pesto

1/4 cup shaved or coarsely grated Parmigiana Romano

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl place half of the pesto, two tablespoons dried Italian seasoning, pinch salt and pepper, some of the lemon zest and juice, a splash of the vinegar and thoroughly combine with a tablespoon or two of evoo.  Place the chicken tenders in the pesto. I asked for a big bowl because there is a lot of chicken going into this meal to feed a small army.  You can, of course, reduce the amounts of all of the ingredients, or, simply freeze it into separate meals.  Just some helpful ideas. Finish placing the rest of the chicken tenders into the pesto. 

If you are using chicken breasts, slice the chicken breasts into tenders and follow the same procedure.  Place more pesto over the remaining chicken.  Try to save some of the pesto, but if, not, no worries.  

Set the large bowl aside to marinate for about thirty or so minutes.  Longer is better, if possible. 

Set the chicken aside to let the flavors marry and give the chicken a flavor and tenderizing soak. 

When you remove the chicken tenders to sautee, place the tomatoes and *onions and garlic into the bowl with some of the marinade. Give the aromatics and veg a little soak, too!

In a skillet over medium-high heat, add three tablespoons of evoo.  When the oil begins to ripple, add the chicken tenders in batches and place the finished pieces on a plate while the rest finish cooking. The skillet will get crusty on the bottom due to the pesto.  Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the burnt on bits and save it for the the final product!

Meanwhile, bring 4 - 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.  When the water is at a roiling boil, liberally salt the water. It is the......?   Yup....the only chance you get to season the pasta itself. 

Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and set aside. 

Now here is the fun part! Once the pasta is just before done, or al dente, about 8 - 10 minutes, save half a cup of the starchy pasta water and then pour the pasta into a strainer. Add three tablespoons evoo into the pot over medium-low heat, add the remaining dry Italian seasoning, the chicken, the remaining pesto, half of the fresh herbs, the onions, garlic, and baby tomatoes.  Add the hot wet pasta atop that and toss gently until everything is coated and smelling divine.  The pasta will take on a greenish tint but the aroma is on point.  Grate or add the Parmigiano (or, Parmigiana) Romano over the top to melt in and give it a salty bite and you're ready to serve!

Not pictured (because I forgot):  Sprinkle the remaining fresh herbs atop the hot pasta along with the cheese.  

Serve either family style, or buffet style. I suggest freezing the remaining pasta for another day.  

***If you do not want any meat, add extra vegetables, such as broccoli, bell peppers or what you like, and create a vegetarian-ish meal.

As always, Thank You for your time and your patience!  Thanks very much for sticking with me during my absence.  There's more to come!  

~Martin

In-House Cook

 

Sausage or No Sausage? That is the Question for my Andouille Penne and Veg Bowl.

 

Andouille Sausage Pasta and Veg Bowl

I have never met a pasta bowl I have not liked.  They always have surprises in there somewhere. Something you love, or, you might place something in there for a loved one. For me, I love to to add fresh onion, garlic, fresh herbs, Fresno chile and sausage slices.  I love andouille, but also smoked Kielbasa, hot links, apple jalapeno, basil, Dakota brats, salami, soppressata and many others.  As you can tell, there are a bazillion different combinations!  The only limit is your imagination!

For now, it's all about me, heehee, so let's get to my simple, fresh, mostly healthy and flavorful bowl. 

Ingredients

Sausage, two links per person, sliced

1 small red onion, thickly sliced into slivers

1 or 2 pints of mixed baby tomatoes (depends on how much you love tomatoes), whole

fresh basil

fresh thyme

2 - 4 Fresno chiles, sliced into discs

2 cups penne pasta

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning

1 lemon, half zest, half juice

2 - 3 tabs butter

In a skillet, sautee the sausage slices in a little evoo.  Get a good color, even a char on both sides. 

Slice or grate three or four garlic cloves and place them in a bowl. Add the washed tomatoes and the onion crescents. Add the lemon zest and juice to the bowl along with a good drizzle, about three tablespoons, of white balsamic vinegar.  Toss and let marinate for about an hour. 

Marinate the veg for upwards of an hour.  The longer the better.  In a pot with about four quarts of water over high heat, add two cups of penne pasta when the water comes to a roiling boil.  Also, liberally salt the water, as it is the only chance you get to season the pasta itself.  With that in  mind, you now have two choices:  Sausage or Vegan meal?  If you do not want sausage in your bowl, follow the directions without adding the sausage part.  This can be an almost purely vegan bowl (except the butter, which CAN be replaced with 4 tablespoons of evoo).

Boil penne about 8-10 minutes, testing a penne noodle at 8 minutes to see if it is al dente or fully cooked.  In any event, save a half a cup of the starchy pasta water and pour the pasta into a colander or strainer.  Reduce the heat to medium-low.  Add the butter, fresh herbs (basil and thyme) and let the butter begin to melt and then pour in the entire bowl of the veg, marinade and all.  Add the hot penne atop that and the pasta water and using a large spatula, toss several minutes to coat everything and continue the cooking process.  The hot pasta may cause some of the tomatoes to pop and the pasta water will allow the penne to absorb the many delightful flavors in that big old pot. After about five minutes of stirring and tossing, remove from the heat, turn the heat off, and let it sit several minutes more. Again, you can either leave this part vegan or add the sausage if desired and toss it together.  

Serve any way you like.  I like adding a sprig of basil or thyme and a little dusting of fresh hand-grated parmigiano reggiano.  

This is a great dish for either two or many more.  You control the number of sauages (remember, two links per person) and two cups of pasta easily feeds four).  Two pints of tomatoes should be used to feed four hungry mouths.  The onion and garlic remain the same.  

Once again, Thank You all for sticking with me.  I appreciate you all very much!   Please enjoy this recipe and drop me a note here or on my blog's facebook page about your experience.  Thanks!

~Martin

In-House Cook