Mojo de Ajo

This stuff is so good... I first saw it on Rick Bayless' show on PBS, but I've adapted it a bit. I always have some in the fridge, in fact I have a batch cooling right now! It takes a bit of time to peel the garlic, but I do it in front of the TV so it doesn't feel so bad, and then it adds a whole new level of flavor to even the quickest meal. Give it a try and you'll always want some around...

Ingredients:
6 heads of garlic
enough olive oil to cover the garlic
2-3 limes
a small can of chipotle peppers
salt & pepper

Tools/equipment
big knife
cutting board
pyrex pan
masher (mine is an "avocado" masher, but a potato masher will work just fine)

Directions:
0. preheat the oven to 350*F
1. you need to peel all the garlic... it's really easy to peel garlic if you smash each clove with the broad side of the knife. I like to get a head worth cloves in a pile then smash each one, then peel them.
2. put the garlic in a pyrex. I use a square one, or even my glass pie pan. You want the garlic to make one layer all the way across the bottom.
3. pour the olive oil over the garlic until they're all just barely under oil.
4. cook in the oven for 45 minutes
5. take it out of the oven and add about 2 chipotles chopped up. You might try to remove the seeds because they can be really REALLY spicey. Also add the juice of the 2-3 limes. Mash the whole thing as much as you can, add some salt and pepper.
6. cook for 15 more minutes then leave it out until it's cool. Put it in a tupperware in the fridge.

So far I can use this for a few weeks and I always finish it off so I don't know how long it takes to go bad. Garlic is good at killing bad organisms so this should stay good longer than the average food.

What to do with Mojo de Ajo...
1. Spread it to make the perfect garlic bread.
2. use the oil part in place of olive oil in any recipe.
3. use the garlic part in place of garlic in a lot of recipes.
4. Add it by the scoop to any pasta dish
5. put in a pan then add a whole can of black beans. cook it up and smash it with your smasher and you get delicious garlic-y refried beans

I think there are an infinite number of uses... so delicious!!!

Get your rub on for valentines day...

You've picked up the steaks for valentines day, but you want it to be perfect... steak is great, but add a little flavor by creating your own dry spice rub. I made this today and it was DELICIOUS...

Ingredients for your steak rub* (this worked today for about 6 very small steaks)

• 1 tbs coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tbs large salt crystals (kosher salt or freshly ground sea salt)
• 1 tbs dried parsley flakes
• 1 tbs paprika
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 1 tsp red pepper (you can use crushed or ground)
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

All you need to do is

1. mix the spices together
2. pour the spice mix onto a plate and spread it out (reserve some for later if you're only cooking for 2)
   
3. pat the steaks dry with a paper towel
4. roll the steaks around in the rub until the whole thing is covered in the delicious goodness
   
5. grill to perfection!

we also added a little bit of gorgonzola cheese to the top of the steak... don't over do it because Gorgonzola is strong, but a perfect flavor boost to any steak.

We had Brussels sprouts as a side... just rinse and quarter them then saute them up! If you cook some bacon or prosciutto in advance you can use some of their leftover grease to saute the Brussels sprouts then crumble the bacon or prosciutto on top! YUMMMMM

*** If you don't have one of the ingredients just substitute something similar or leave it out! The two most important ingredients for a steak rub are the salt and pepper, but otherwise just mix together what sounds good! This isn't too spicy, but you can always use less of the red pepper, paprika and cayenne if you're worried about spice.

White wine tilapia on a bed of pasta... delish

Costco had Tilapia and I decided to buy some with no plan as to what I would do with it. So I went home, searched the cupboards and fridge, and ended up with a darn fantastic meal. Try it! So good...

You need:

• 2 pieces of Tilapia
• half bottle of white wine
• 4 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• Basil and Red Pepper herbs in the tube that you can get at the grocery store (check them out at http://www.gourmetgarden.com/) you can obviously use fresh herbs instead.
  
• Half stick of butter
• 1 red bell pepper
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Half a container of wheat spaghetti

To Do:

• Chop up the garlic and saute in a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add quite a few twists of salt and pepper (I like to saute my spices up a bit)
• Add about two cups of white wine and the butter. Allow to reduce for 4 or 5 minutes.
• Start the water to boil for your spaghetti
• Add a tablespoon or so of each of the herbs in a tube... or you can add fresh chopped herbs
• Season with herbs, salt and pepper to taste
• In a small bowl or cup, mix 1/2 Tbs of each herb together with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Brush this mixture on to the fish.
• About the time you add the spaghetti to the water, put the fish in your white wine sauce pan.
  
• Cut up your red bell pepper into bite sized strips, and put them in a separate frying pan with a little olive oil to give them a little cook time. After about 5 minutes you can add them with fish.
  
• Once the fish start looking somewhat white, flip them over to let the other side cook (about 4-5 minutes each side)
  
• If you don't have much sauce left, you can always add a little more wine and butter to increase the amount as this will become your pasta sauce.
• When everything is done, pile up some pasta, set the fish on top, and spoon the white wine butter sauce and red bell peppers over the whole mixture. Enjoy!
  

Chicken Enchiladas

You need:
3 Chicken breasts
2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 block of Pepper Jack Cheese
1 block of Monterey Jack Cheese
15-20 Tortillas (go for wheat tortillas... just don't get the Mission wheat ones, they're not tasty)
1 batch of Salsa Verde (see recipe below)

To do:
In a large frying pan, heat olive oil on medium heat
Chop garlic and add to pan (you can also add some onions and cilantro if you have it handy)
Butterfly chicken breasts (cut them in half to make them thinner)
Put chicken in pan and cook completely (about 5 minutes each side)
Once cooked, allow chicken to cool. Grate the cheese while you wait.
Shred chicken (your hands are the best tool for this... or you can use a couple of forks)
Set up your table with your shredded cheese, salsa, tortillas and chicken ready to use.
Put a little sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish, then start making the enchiladas. Add chicken sauce and cheese to each tortilla, roll it up and put it in your casserole...until it's all filled up!
Pour lots of salsa verde over the top, and cover with cheese (I like to mix up the pepperjack and monterrey cheeses).

At this point you can put the casserole in the fridge or even freeze it until you're ready to cook. Make sure it's defrosted before sticking it in the oven.

Cook for about an hour at 350 degrees! Enjoy.

Salsa Verde

You will need:

• 3lb tomatillos
• 5 chilies de arbol
• 1 yellow onion cut into eighths
• 3-6 cloves of garlic peeled
• 3 jalapeños cut into quarters
• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 1 bunch cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste

To do:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Boil water in a large soup pot. Add the 5 chilies de arbol and boil for 15 minutes to rehydrate.
• Peal and clean the tomatillos.
• Cook onions, jalapeños, garlic and half of the tomatillos in a Pyrex in the oven for 15 minutes.
• Add the other half of the tomatillos to the boiling water with the chiles de arbol for 5 minutes.
• Using your blender or food processor, blend all ingredients together until it is the consistency you like.

This is great for dipping or as a sauce for enchiladas. Increase the chiles de arbol for more spice!

Orange Ginger Roasted Chicken

You will need:

• Whole chicken
• 6 large oranges
• 2 Serrano chilies, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped (or more if you love garlic like me)
• 2-3 inches of ginger, chopped
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 ziplock or other bag big enough to put the whole chicken in
• Salt and pepper to taste

To do:

• Chop your ginger, garlic and Serrano
• Add the olive oil to a sauce pan on medium heat, saute ginger, garlic and serrano for 3-5 minutes.
• Add the zest of one orange to the mixture.
• Add the juice of the 6 oranges. Cook to thicken about 5 minutes. Set aside until cool
• Put chicken and marinade in the marinading bag for 2-3 hours in the refridgerator.

To cook:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• If you want to stuff it you can put in a nice brown rice or your favorite stuffing. If you're not going to stuff it you can put an extra orange cut up inside the cavity of the bird.
• Put chicken in the roasting pan. Cook as listed below and enjoy!
  

Cooking times

• Unstuffed: cook for about an hour. Use your thermometer to make sure it's fully cooked.
• Stuffed: cook for about an hour and 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. milk
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two cookie sheets with nonstick spray.

To do:

• In a large bowl, cream together pumpkin, sugars, butter and egg.
• In a small dish, dissolve baking soda into milk. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
• Add baking soda mixture to flour mixture.
• Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring until just combined. Be careful not to overmix or the batter will get tough.
• Add vanilla extract and chocolate chips.
• Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

I recently picked up a few Scoops and they're great for making your cookies all the same size so they all come out evenly cooked. It made a big difference. I like the little ones because then each cookie is about 2 bites, and you don't feel bad eating more than one. It also makes them easier to share!

Enjoy...