January 12, 2012 · 7:40 am

Border Chicken Stew

Tall, dark and handsome right here.

Smells good, neat and tidy, has dinner ready when you get home…

…need I go on?

You need one of these.  It dispenses delicious food like it’s nothing.  Today it gave me this thing I decided to call Border Chicken Stew.

This meal is simple, quick to throw together in the morning, versatile, flavorful, feeds a million for cheapsies, passes the man test and makes the house smell ridiculously delicious.

All my favorite things!!  We should celebrate!!

I propose a canning party.

You’re gonna need all of those.

((All I can think of when I see this photo is Bowling for Soup.  Cue high school flashback))

So first thing first….open them.  All of them.  Maybe you have an electric can opener in your kitchen.  Or maybe you’re me.

Thanks, $10-Target -pots/pans/kitchen-utensil-set.

You have served me well.

Now dump.

It may not be pretty, but crock pot meals are the perfect thing for when the day looks like this:

Gross. It’s ok though…I put some flowers in the way of the rainy cold.

Also I’ve got some comfort food a-cookin’. Nice try, rain.  I made this a good day anyway.

So uh….that’s it.  Now you turn it on low and walk away.

Live your life.

Take it all in.

Enjoy it, for real.

Check the “make dinner” box off your to-do list early.

Dinner is taken care of and you win.

Later, when you’re done with all that life living, give it a stir, shred the chicken, add some hot sauce, clean your single pot and call it a day.

A really great day.

Take that, rain.

Enjoy!
❤ Ellen

Border Chicken Stew

Recipe adapted from a family friend’s recipe…thanks, Dennin fam!

I used:

1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans
2 (15 oz) cans corn
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
1 jar salsa (I used Newman’s Own, Medium heat)
about 1 1/5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cleaned and trimmed of extra fat
salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste

Add ins: cheese for topping, hot sauce for sure, sour cream, chips or tortillas…etc.

1. Put beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa and chicken in a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3 hours ((low is better..just saying))

2. Shred the chicken, sprinkle some cheese over it so that it gets all melty and serve!

Serve over rice, or treat it like chili with some chips to dip, you might even put it in a tortilla (never tried it…it might be too juicy).

Note: None of those cans of things are set in stone.  It could easily involve less beans and more corn or more beans and less corn, or no corn at all and carrots instead or frozen veg or no chicken or ground beef or really anything you want. Go crazy.

6 Comments

Filed under Main Dish, Slow Cooker, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , ,

January 8, 2012 · 9:00 am

Beany Burgers

Oh, hello 65 degree day in January.

What a tease!!!!

So fine…whatever. I see you, warmth, and I’m going with it.

Burger night!

**Just to warn you: bean burgers aren’t pretty and also it was nighttime.  Apologies for the questionable photography

Not just any burger though…this is a burger made for January.

You know….January…that month when you have sworn up and down, backwards and forwards after the gluttony of December to stop eating cookies and fried things and candy and sugarfatcarbsaltwhatever trend you’re going for but all you really want is a burger?

Oh and wouldn’t some fries be awesome too?

I’ve got you covered.

All of the flavor…less of the artery-clogging nonsense.

BRING ON THE BEANS!

(black and pinto…rinsed and drained)

This is a photo of panko and olive oil.  It looks like yellow snow.

In this case, you should definitely 100% eat the yellow snow.

(Not right out of the bowl though…we’re gonna do a lot of stuff to it first)

((So I guess actually the same rule applies…don’t eat the yellow snow)

It goes in a pan to get toasty, then set aside to cool.

Some veg.

Some veg…diced.

Beans…and mash.  (Not the British kind. Literal mashed beans)

Eggs, oil, spices. Some things to make it stick together and some things to make it tasty!

Now get everybody together for a massage….feta decides last minute to join the party….feta is always more than welcome

Once you’ve got everybody hangin out getting to know each other pretty well (in patty shape, of course), into the pan they go!

Settle that sucker on a bed of baby spinach on a Dakota bun (from the best bakery ever!).

Avocado is a must.

Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce usually makes an appearance.

Side o’ sweet tater fries.

Lovin’ how I’m livin’

Your turn!

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

P.S. know what’s awesome?

You can make them the day before (on a day you have time) then just throw them in the skillet the next day.

Even awesome-er: make a bunch, freeze them, instant burger day/pretty healthy last minute meal.

Win.

Beany Burgers

Recipe adapted from Black Bean Burgers

Makes about 7 burgers

¾ cup panko
3 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. olive oil, divided
1(15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 large eggs
1 HEAPING tsp. ground cumin (I always go heavy on the cumin..)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely diced
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

  1. Combine the panko with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil then place in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently (do NOT walk away!) until light golden brown.  Set aside to cool.
  2. Meanwhile, dice your onion and pepper and mash most of the beans in a large bowl until they are smooth.  Leave about 1/2 cup unmashed
  3. In a small bowl, combine the beaten eggs, 1 tablespoon of oil, cumin, salt and cayenne
  4. Add the egg mixture, the toasted panko, the rest of the beans,the feta cheese, the bell pepper and onion to the bowl of mashed beans.  Mix everything together really well.   I find it’s best to just dig in with your hands and massage everything together.
  5. Create 1-inch patties, (about 1/2 cup of bean mash each) and heat some oil in a skillet over medium heat. ((MAKE AHEAD: you could get this far the day before then refrigerate the patties for the next day))
  6. Place patties in the heated oil and cook until well browned on both sides

Some tips:

  • I don’t know if you noticed but hese are made of beans.  Which means they’re softer than beef burgers.  ((I wonder if I could add some oats for some chew??)) This means you’re gonna want a firmer bun (Dakota was PERFECT). I’ve tried them with those big soft potato buns and it’s just a pile of mush.  Make sure you get some texture! Or at least toast your buns
  • Avocado.  Seriously. Do it.
  • Treat them like regular burgers….lettuce/tomato/ketchup/mustard….it all works just fine.
  • Freeze them very very well wrapped and if possible…individually.  Pop them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 2o minutes and you’re good to go!

6 Comments

Filed under Main Dish, Uncategorized

Tagged as ,

December 31, 2011 · 4:05 pm

Cheesy Spicy Corn Muffins

ENOUGH with the cookies and sweets!!

We’re going the opposite direction now….

We’re going spicy.

Also cheesy.

Yes, salt is involved.

Sugar plays a minor role.

Make mini muffins for an awesome appetizer tonight!

They’re spicy and fun.

Don’t worry, though, you can control the heat level-from none at all to “help my face is on fire”.

I made pleasantly sneakily spicy!

We’re talking thin crunchy outer layer, moist, cheesy inside, just the right amount of heat to finish it off…

You want these. Let’s do this thing.

The requisite bowl o’ flour

Oil, sugar, eggs in a different bowl.  Then cornmeal comes to play! Man I love cornbread.

Now…let’s talk about peppers.  Peppers can be tricky.

I used serrano because that’s all they had at the store and let me tell you what…I was nervous.

I was nervous because I’m used to jalapeno peppers. I know how spicy they are, I know how much seed-age to include so my muffins are nicely spicy instead of flaming little balls of lava.

I looovveee spicy food. But you know…there’s a limit.  At some point it’s just not enjoyable.

Luckily, we have this thing called the internet.  You’re on it right now in fact.

So I did a little research and kind of took a guess..

and it was a winner!

Spicy levels are tricky because something that is flaming out of control spicy to one person could be barely anything to the next person.

I found a site that uses a little chili pepper rating system.  I like it because I can compare spicy levels of peppers I’m familiar with.

Jalapenos got 3 little peppers.  Serrano got 4. Habanero (the crazy ones) got 5.

Got it.

Peppers get their heat from their seeds.  If you take the seeds out you take the heat out.  I needed 4 serrano peppers to make 1/2 cup but including 4 peppers worth of seeds would have been straight up batty.  I included only 1/2 of 1 pepper’s seeds in the batter.  That gave the muffins a hint of heat that kind of sneaks up on you.  Totally manageable.

Honestly…I like things spicier…I would have liked a whole pepper’s worth of seeds.

Half a pepper is a good crown pleaser, though.  Choose your own adventure.

(Side note: I hate those choose your own adventure books.  I used to get so overwhelmed because I wanted to read every possible version of the story and I would lose track of what decisions I had already made.  Terrible. Also not at all relevant.)

Now that you’re finished agonizing over your pepper seeds (sorry to do that to you)…throw them in your batter with some cheese.

This is another choose your own adventure situation.

The specific amount of cheese I added comes to about “2 big handfuls”

I should have measured but…I didn’t. Sorry.  1/2 cup is skimpy I’ll tell you that.  You need at least a cup.

Also, I used sharp cheddar.  You can use whatever you want! Or none at all! Or green onions instead of peppers! Or herbs! Or just cheese! Or shoot…throw some honey in there instead of savory! Add in some bacon! Chop up a hot dog and make them corn dog muffins!

Whoa…things just got weird.

Anyway…fill some well greased muffin tins about 3/4 full, bake and voila!

Mine aren’t mini but yours could be!

Savory muffins tonight then sweet muffins tomorrow morning?

I think yes.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May all your resolutions come true.

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

Cheesy Spicy Corn Muffins

Recipe slightly adapted from here

1½ cups King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole or 2% milk
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup diced serrano pepper, including 1/2 of 1 pepper’s seeds
1- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

**Oven 400 degrees F

  1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and set aside
  2. In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs and milk.
  3. Add  cornmeal and flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.  The batter will still be lumpy, that’s ok.
  4. Fold in the pepper and cheese (or whatever you’re adding if anything)
  5. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full and bake at 400 degrees F for 17-20 minutes until cooked through and lightly brown on top

Enjoy as an appetizer or with a hot cup of chilli or soup! Makes 1 dozen regular sized muffins

14 Comments

Filed under Appetizer, Sides, Snacks, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,