Using Up Those Pot Roast Leftovers: Enchilada Casserole

Did you all take my advice and make the garlic studded pot roast? And do you have leftovers? In my house, leftovers are looked down upon. Not by me, but by that... other person who lives here (Dave!) I really struggle with throwing out leftovers, because it goes against my cheap-ass nature, so I try to come up with ways in which to utilze leftovers that don't give my boyfriend "yuck face" when he sits down to the dinner table... and last night was a success. I have the perfect easy-peasy relaxed recipe to use up all those leftovers.

Shredded Beef Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:

Leftover shredded pot roast (I had about a cup and a half of leftovers)
1 can enchilada sauce
16 corn tortillas, sliced in half
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1.5 - 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Queso Quesadilla, but you could use jack, colby jack, etc.)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 1.5 quart round baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a nonstick saute pan over medium heat, saute the onion until soft. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the beef, black beans and 1/4 of the can on enchilada sauce. Stir until beef is evenly coated with sauce.

Begin assembling casserole by layering tortillas in the baking dish, overlapping them so that they form a continuous layer (5 halves per layer). Spoon enchilada sauce onto the tortillas (I used two large serving spoonfuls), sprinkle with cheese (according to your taste/diet), add a spoonful of the beef mixture (spread it around a bit). Repeat. On the final layer of tortillas, add sauce and cheese only.

(I happened to have a wedge of queso anejo in the fridge, and grated some of that onto the top as well.)

Once the casserole is assembled, bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Cool slightly, then slice into wedges (1/4 wedges if you're hungry, 1/6 wedges if you need to stretch this meal). Careful - you may want to use a big spoon when serving to catch all the saucy and cheesy goodness.

Serve with chopped romaine, sliced scallions, salsa, and if desired, sour cream. Chop lots of lettuce. Trust me. You'll want it to cut the richness of the casserole.

The best pot roast I have ever had

Yum. Am in food coma. Made excellent pot roast for dinner, used an Emeril recipe but made some changes. Here it is: Garlic Studded Pot Roast. Hot whores on a platter, recipe is dynamite. Use all of the garlic, maybe more. Mine popped out during braising (do try braising instead of the oven bake method) and formed a delicious caramelized garlicky goo at the bottom of dutch oven. Amazing.

The recipe is well suited to mashed potatoes... add a little extra water during braising and make a killer garlic gravy out of the pan drippings.

Go! Make it now! You won't regret it!

Ingredients

1 (3 to 3 1/2-pound) boneless beef chuck roast
10 to 12 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut in 1/2 lengthwise
fresh ground black pepper and salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (do NOT use olive oil as it may smoke... mine did)
1 cup water, plus more if necessary

Directions

Using the tip of a sharp paring knife, make 20 to 24 evenly spaced small slits about 1 -2" deep all over the pot roast. Using your fingers, insert the garlic cloves as deep into the meat as possible. Season the roast evenly on all sides with the salt and pepper.

Heat a Dutch oven over high heat. Add the oil and, when very hot, add the roast (watch your fingers). Sear on all sides until very well browned, about 4 to 6 minutes per side. Don't be afraid to let the roast get very brown -this is where a lot of the flavor comes from. When the roast is evenly browned on all sides, deglaze the Dutch oven by adding the water and stirring to loosen the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Cover the Dutch oven, reduce the heat to low (I have gas and used the very lowest setting on my cooktop) and braise the roast until it is very tender, about 3 hours, turning two or three times during the cooking time. If necessary, add more water. You should have at least 1.5" of water in the pan at all times.

When the roast is very tender, transfer to a serving platter and slice or pull meat apart into serving pieces. Reduce the pan juices slightly, if desired, and serve drizzled over the top of the roast. Garnish with fresh thyme and parsley.

Penne with fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella

Last weekend I went bonkers at the farmer's market and bought about 5 lbs of tomatoes. Now a girl can eat only so many BLTs, and I have been in a pico de gallo funk lately, so I was in a pickle. 5 lbs of tomatoes - big fat brandywines, no less - and I had to do something with them, stat. Tomato lovers like me live for the end of the season tomatoes - we need to gobble them all up so that we can remember the gloriousness of a garden grown tomato come February.

So, here is what I made: Penne with fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella. The flavor was SO good, due to the garden tomatoes. The sauce was a tad runny, but the flavor made up for it.

I'm not going to be too technical as I run down the recipe step by step. Instead, pictures! With sketchy instructions! Because, hello! There is already a link!

So, what you're gonna do is get yourself about 3 lbs of tomatoes. I used heirloom brandywines like this, which are nice and meaty and don't require much de-seeding:



Chop 'em up. You'll need 3 cups.


Ooh! Garlic. My favorite. Mince about 1.5 tablespoons (I obviously used more).


Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium to med-high heat. (If you shop at SuperTarget, try the olive oil pictured. It is amazing.)


Add the minced garlic and stir for about one minute.


Add the tomatoes.


Time to get the water started. Fill a stock pot 3/4 full with cold water. Put on burner. Heat to high. Turn a burner into high heat and stare at the pot until it boils.


I had some leftover focaccia bread that I sliced up to bake.


I drizzled them with olive oil and baked at 350 degrees until I don't know when. Maybe ten minutes?


Hey! Your water is boiling! Time to add the pasta. (Also a shameless plug for my favorite line of pasta: Barilla Plus.)


Congratulations. Your pasta is now boiling and your sauce is now simmering.


WINE BREAK!

Go get a glass...


Pour in some wine...


Voila! Screw top wine that doesn't taste like sweaty feet!


Time to get back to work. Get yourself some basil:


And some mozzarella:


Chiffonade the basil and cube the cheese.


Everyone say hi to Dave as he grates the Parm!


Once I pulled the toasts out of the oven, I rubbed them with a cut clove of garlic.


Hey! Stop eating garlic toast! The pasta is done, and it needs draining!


Scoop some pasta onto a plate, spoon sauce on top, sprinkle with basil, mozzarella, and parmigiano-reggiano and a little fresh black pepper.


Mmmm. It tasted exactly like how a good pizza margherita tastes, but better.

Story of My Summer: No Time for the Kitchen

Apparently, when you buy a foreclosed house that needs a full remodel (yes, full remodel) and you also work 40 hours per week and are a full-time student, there isn't much time left over for cooking. Remodeling from May to September = Kate & Dave finish working on the house at 10 PM each night and eat out too often.

The good news is that once we're all done (and we're darn close), THIS will be my new kitchen! (Sort of like like looking at a cook's professional test kitchen. Except I'm not a cook. Nor am I a professional anything.) (Maybe a procrastinator. But that doesn't count.)

BEFORE:




AFTER:




Hopefully I can utilize the ovens and cook top SOON, and post some yummy fall recipes!

Four Cheese Stuffed Shells

Spicy Tomato Sauce
1 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
28 oz. crushed tomatoes with basil (I used Muir Glen and based my sauce on their recipe)
1 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. basil*
1/8 t. rosemary*
2 T. crushed red pepper

In a 3 qt saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add agrlic, stir constantly for one minute. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 15 minutes (or more).

*If you have Herbes de Provence, you can substitute 1/2 t. for the basil and rosemary.

Stuffed Shells
1 pound jumbo shell pasta (40 shells)
Cooking spray
1 (12-ounce) carton 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1 (15-ounce) carton ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup shredded 2% milk mozzarella
2 eggs
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 t. salt
2 t. dried parsley (probably better with 1 or 2 T. fresh)

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°. Coat 2 (13 x 9-inch) baking dishes with cooking spray; set aside. Place cottage cheese and ricotta cheese in a food processor; process until smooth (if you don't have a food processor, this is no big whoop). Combine cottage cheese mixture, Parm-Regg, and next 5 ingredients. Spoon (or pipe) 1 tablespoon cheese mixture into each shell. Arrange half of stuffed shells, seam sides up, in one prepared dish. Pour sauce over stuffed shells. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella if desired. Repeat procedure with remaining stuffed shells, sauce, and mozzarella in remaining prepared dish*. (You're going to need more sauce, as I discovered and used a jar from the pantry.)

Cover with foil. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

*You can freeze your second dish (I did) by covering the shells closely with plastic wrap followed by foil. To bake from the freezer, preheat an oven to 375°, and bake (covered, plastic wrap removed) for 1.25 hours.

Tacos al Carbon

Tacos al Carbón
1 ½ lbs flank steak (or a comparable thicker cut)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
corn tortillas

Prepare the grill (med-high heat). In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together with a fork. Rub onto both sides of steak and let rest for 10-20 minutes. Grill meat 8 minutes per side, or until desired. (DLL grilled over a lower heat for a longer time, I think.) Prepare tortillas per package instructions – personally, I like preparing them in a skillet so they get a little crusty at the edges. After the meat is removed from the grill, let it rest for 5 minutes so the juices are retained. Cut the meat against the grain, and cut into smaller taco-sized bites. Add meat to tortillas and garnish.

Garnish ideas:
salsa (see below)
guacamole (see below)
grated cheese (I like Cotija)
sour cream (try crema mexicana – it’s so so so yummy)
grilled peppers and onions (see photo above)


Kate’s Guacamole
2 avocados, pitted and scooped out of skins
1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
kosher salt to taste

In a bowl, mash the avocado with a large fork or a potato masher. Add the garlic, cilantro and lime juice and mix. Add the kosher salt to taste.


Salsa Fresca
1 lb ripe tomatoes
2 serrano peppers, stemmed and halved
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 cup cilantro, loosely packed and roughly chopped
1 large green onion, finely sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice
kosher salt to taste

Using a food processor’s pulse setting, add the garlic and peppers one at a time until finely mined. Take half of the tomatoes and set aside. Chop the second half of the tomatoes into quarters, add to the food processor with the cilantro. Spoon into a medium bowl. Chop the remaining tomatoes into a ¼” dice and add, along with the onion, to the processed mixture. Season with lime juice and salt to taste.

You Makin' Chili?

When Dave and I first started dating, he had friends over to his house and I made chili. When I started cooking, he cornered me in the kitchen, gave me a big hug and growled, "you makin' chili?". It's kind of been a joke between us ever since.

I'm a big fan of chili. It's economical, it's easy to make, it can simmer on the stove or in the crock pot, etc. I love making it in the morning and not having to worry about lunch/dinner on a Saturday, just like today.

I change my recipe every time I make it, but this is close to what I made today. Chili is a casual food, and I definitely cook it that way. I never ever ever measure my spices. Usually I eyeball things or rely on my nose to guide me. (Read: my recipe may not be accurate) So tweak this one as you wish:

3 cups diced yellow onion
3 serrano chiles, finely chopped
1 lb chorizo
1 lb ground sirloin
4 T. chili powder (I like to use both regular and chipotle)
1 1/2 t. dry mustard
1 T. cumin
1/2 t. celery salt
3 T. garlic powder
2 t. cayenne pepper
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
14 oz tomato puree
40 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes (with juice) (fire roasted is key: try Muir Glen or Hunt's)
12 oz great northern beans, drained and rinsed
24 oz chili beans (in hot or medium sauce)
12 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can beer (some watery ol' Coors Light went into this pot)
4 T. masa harina

For a (big) slow cooker:

In a large sauté pan, cook the onions and peppers until soft. Transfer the vegetables to a slow cooker. In the sauté pan, brown the chorizo and sirloin. Drain and transfer to slow cooker. Add everything else (skip the masa). Cook on low 8 hours (or so). Easy peasy. This is a big recipe, so you may want to halve the recipe (skip the sirloin and use only the chorizo).

For a stock pot:

In a large stock pot, cook the onions and peppers until soft. Add sirloin and chorizo. Brown, then drain fat. Add the spices to the meat/veggie mixture and stir until fragrant. Add tomatoes, tomato puree. Add beans. Add beer. Simmer on low for a minimum of 30 minutes. Add masa harina for a thicker chili.

I have no idea how many cups this serves. I'd guess maybe 10.

Um... Hi.

It's been a while.

I've been avoiding this blog like the plague because I was embarrassed of how "Cooking 101"-esque it reads. My cooking has evolved in the past two years (hip hip hooray for good tools, more research, etc.), but I feel that my old easy recipes still have a place... mostly because I still use them. My average week night doesn't allow for two hours of cooking time.

So my new goal with this blog is to post recipes from the two extremes - the Sundays when I have all day to putter in the kitchen, and the Wednesday "get it on the table NOW" recipes.

Kicking things off is my new favorite comfort food, Greek Pizza.

* * *



1 Lahvosh cracker bread crust (look for it in the deli section)
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 medium red onion, sliced into thin strips
3/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 1/4 cups shredded roasted chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket)
1 cup feta cheese (use reduced-fat if you'd like)
1 clove finely minced garlic
1 t. dried oregano
freshly cracked pepper

optional:
1/2 cup shredded parmesan, romano, or parmigiano-reggiano
1/2 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup chopped red pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the crust with olive oil. Add remaining ingredients. Crack pepper over top of pizza. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges of crust are golden brown.