Egg Drop Soup

 This soup is easy to make and very comforting when one is feeling ill, plus, a great first course for a Chinese meal (and a way to use left over egg white or egg yolk)

Per serving:

Bring to slow, boil:

2 c. broth or prepared chicken boullion
1 t. minced onion or 1/8 t. onion powder

If using fresh onion, cook until onion begins to become clear

Add, and stir with a fork:
1 egg, swiftly whipped with a fork, or equivalent egg white and or yolk

Cook until egg white is no longer clear

Mix and add:

1/4 c. water
2 T. cornstarch

Add to slow boiling soup and stir until cornstarch is no longer cloudy.

Add soy sauce to taste
Serve

Kung Po Chicken

 2 chicken breasts, boned, skinned & cut into bite size pieces

Combine in medium bowl:

1 egg white
1 t. cornstarch
pinch of salt

Add chicken to egg mixture and stir to coat

1 medium bell pepper, chunked
1 scallion or green onion, cut into short sections
1 T. thinly sliced ginger root or 1/4 t ginger powder (more if desired)
4 - 5 small dried red chiles, sliced into thin strips, discard seeds if you don't want the heat

For sauce, combine in small pitcher or cup:

2 T. bean sauce
1 t. rice wine or dry sherry
1 c. roasted cashew nuts

sesame oil

cooked white rice

Stir fry chicken until it is cooked through; remove and drain on towels. Add scallion, fresh ginger and peppers, stir fry about 1 minute. Return chicken to skillet or wok. Add sauce and blend well. Add cashews, stir well. Sprinkle with sesame oil and serve over rice.

(use the egg yolk in Egg Drop Soup)

Szechuan Chile Chicken

 1 lb chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite size pieces.

In medium bowl combine:

1/4 t. pepper
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice wine or dry sherry
2 t. cornstarch

Add chicken and marinate 25 - 30 minutes.

Cook white rice to serve 4.

Meanwhile:

1 clove garlic, crushed
2 scallions or green onions, cut into short sections with green and white pieces separated
4 - 6 small, dried red chiles, soaked and seeded (if you want the extra heat, leave the seeds)

Prepare:

1 cup chicken bouillon or broth

Heat oil in wok or skillet. Stir fry chicken 1 - 2 minutes until lightly brown. Add garlic, scallions (reserving green pieces for garnish) and chiles stir fry another 1 - 2 minutes. Add broth. Bring to boil and cover, cooking 5 - 6 minutes. Garnish with green pieces of scallion. Serve over rice.

Crispy Shredded Beef

12 oz. beef steak, such as sirloin
cut across the grain into thin strips
 

For the batter, combine:

2 eggs
1/4 t. salt
5 T. flour

Add a little water if it's too thick, batter should be the consistency of heavy cream.
Add beef and stir until meat is well coated.

For the skillet (keep in separate piles):

2 carrots, cut into thin strips
2 scallions (or green onion), cut into thin strips
1 garlic clove, finely chopped (or 1/4 t. powdered garlic)
2 - 3 small, fresh chiles (choose your heat), seeded and thinly sliced (or equivalent dried)

For the sauce combine in small pitcher or cup:

4 T. sugar
3 T. rice vinegar
1 t. soy sauce
3 T. water
1 t. cornstarch

Cooked white rice

Heat vegetable oil in skillet or wok until hot. Add beef strips and fry 4 - 5 minutes, stirring to separate the shreds and cook all sides until brown. Remove with slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Add carrots to oil and fry 1 - 1 1/2 minutes, remove with slotted spoon to join beef in separate pile. Pour off excess oil. Add scallions, garlic, chiles and return carrots to skillet/wok and stir fry 1 minute. Add the sauce, cook and stir until sauce is no longer cloudy. Add beef, stir to coat. Serve with rice with soy sauce available for garnish.

Flan (from Savoring the Southwest, 1983)

1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 can 14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 can 14 oz. evaporated milk
2 c. whole milk
1 T. vanilla

In heavy skillet, melt sugar until caramelized, stirring consistently. Pour into 2-quart baking mold.
In large mixing bowl, beat eggs until lemon colored. Combine milks and vanilla with egg. Pour into baking mold.
Add water to a large baking dish. Place mold to stand in the water. Bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Huevos Rancheros

eggs
bacon
Green Chile Sauce
corn tortillas
cheddar cheese, grated
refried beans or cooked pinto beans, drained

Each serving consists of:
1 piece of bacon broken in half
1 egg
about 1/4 c. Green Chile Sauce
handful of cheese
about 1/4 c. beans
1 corn tortilla

In preparation of this meal: collect your supplies and prepare Green Chile Sauce based on the amount of servings you intend to cook

Fry bacon in large skillet until reaches desired level of doneness. Place on oven safe plate in low oven to keep warm. Reheat Green Chile Sauce and beans.
Cook tortillas, however many will fit in the skillet until soft. Pat away fat with paper towel and place on plates, however many per servings your diners desire. Spread beans on each tortilla. Fry eggs according to order, however many will fit in the skillet. Set an egg on each bean decked tortilla. Top with Green Chile Sauce, bacon and cheddar. Serve.

Picadillo

 Easy, fast, two pot meal

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or 1/4 t. garlic powder
1 can 14 oz. diced tomatoes, with juice
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c. raisins
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/2 c. slivered almonds
1/4 c. sliced, pimento-stuffed olives
salt to taste
hot, cooked, white rice

Fry almonds over medium heat until golden, about 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside. Drain skillet.

Brown beef with onion and garlic in skillet. Add remaining ingredients, except almonds, olives, salt and rice. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes until the pepper begins to get tender. Add almonds and olives stir. Season with salt to taste. Stir. Serve over rice.

Green Chile Stew

1 beef chuck pot roast
potatoes
carrots
green beans
green chile (13 oz frozen Bueno, with liquid) or Green Chile Sauce
beef bullion
onion (not needed if using Green Chile Sauce)
diced tomatoes (not needed if using Green Chile Sauce)
garlic
salt & pepper
other spices

Day 1: Beef Roast Dinner!

Season both sides of a large roast with Nature's Seasons and cook in a crock pot on high until it falls apart. At my house this usually takes 4 1/2 hours, at least. If you are planning to cook it all day, don't cook it on high!

Serve with:

potatoes seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley flakes and butter
green beans seasoned with salt and butter
carrots seasoned with parsley, marjoram, salt and butter

Fix enough for leftovers!

Place the left over roast in large shallow bowl along with broth and scrapings from the bottom of the crockpot. Set in the refrigerator.

Prepare Green Chile Sauce (optional) see recipe in earlier post. Refrigerate.

Day 2: Green Chile Stew day!

Pick off solidified fat from the top of the beef broth in the shallow bowl containing roast and discard.
Cut away fat and other undesirable tissue, such as fascia (give it to the dog). Cut beef roast into bite size chunks (I usually do this over the stew pot)

Start 3 cups water in a stew pot on medium heat. Add 4 cubes beef bullion or 4 teaspoons instant beef bullion. If you are NOT using Green Chile Sauce, add 1/2 cup finely chopped onion or dried equivalent. Add beef and beef broth. Add 1 can diced tomatoes with juice--if you are NOT using the Green Chile Sauce. If you are NOT using the Green Chile Sauce, add 13 oz Bueno green chile (I usually use half hot & half mild). Add left over potatoes, green beans and carrots. Add 1/4 t. garlic powder. Heat until mixture begins to boil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Water amount is a guess. You may need more if your roast did not produce much broth. The idea is 1 bullion cube per cup of liquid that is not broth.

The trick to a good left-over stew is that each ingredient has been individually seasoned.

Guacamole

Combine in serving bowl:

2 ripe, medium avocados, mashed
2 T. finely chopped onion or equivalent onion powder
1/2 t. ground coriander
salt and lemon juice to taste

Serve with diced tomatoes and corn chips

Beef Fajitas

 For the filling:

4 lbs. flank steak
2 T. cayenne powder
2 cloves garlic, crushed, or 1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. white pepper
1 hefty splash A-1 Steak Sauce
2 T. olive oil

Slice the steak against the grain into thin strips and place in large bowl or pan. Mix remaining ingredients in a small pitcher, add to meat and toss to coat. Marinate, refrigerated overnight (if possible; I often only marinate for a half-an-hour).

1 bell pepper, sliced in strips
1 large onion, sliced in strips
1 can, 14 oz. diced tomatoes

Pour the marinade with steak into large skillet and cook over medium heat until the meat begins to get tender. Add bell pepper, onion and diced tomatoes with juice. Cook until the meat is tender and the vegetables begin to soften.

Serve with one or more of the following:

flour tortillas
guacomole
pico de gallo
refried or pinto beans
grated cheddar cheese

For chicken fajitas substitute 4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts and reduce garlic by half

Green Chile Sauce

 This is the sauce I use for making Huevos Rancheros; Green Chile Stew; burritos or topping for scrambled eggs etc.

Green Chile Sauce

13 oz. tub Bueno hot green chile (or similar)
13 oz. tub Bueno mild green chile (or similar)
1 can 14 oz. diced tomatoes, liquid included
1 onion chopped fine or equivalent powdered onion
water to make total of 4 cups--you may have this much liquid once the chile melts & you add the diced tomatoes
4 beef bullion cubes or 4 t. instant beef bullion

Combine all ingredients in pan and begin to simmer

Add:

1 clove garlic, chopped fine or crushed or 1/4 t. garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
white pepper if you want more heat

When pot reaches low boil, combine:

2 T. cornstarch + 1/4 c. water

Pour into pot and stir until clear and no longer cloudy

The sauce is ready to serve when it is thick and no longer cloudy and onion is transparent.
You can separate into smaller containers and freeze serving sizes or plan your menu to use it up over the course of a week

Cheese Enchilada Casserole for a Crowd

For sauce:

13 oz. mild green chile (such as Bueno, from the freezer chest)
13 oz. hot green chile (such as Bueno, from the freezer chest)
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 - 1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4 - 1/2 t. garlic powder
14 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
15 oz. can tomato sauce

bring to a simmer while you roll the enchiladas

For filling, combine in large bowl:

32 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
32 oz. medium or sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 - 2 green bell peppers, chunked
1 onion, diced
16 oz. sour cream (regular or fat free)
42 - 44 white corn tortillas, slightly frozen (preferably slightly frozen, but not necessary. If the tortillas are slightly frozen, they won't crack.)

Place about 1/4 c. enchilada filling in a tortilla and roll, place in a large baking dish. Roll until you run out of filling. Pack the enchiladas in.

Topping:

16 oz. cheddar (medium or sharp), grated.

Top the enchiladas with the sauce, then with the cheese topping. Bake @ 350 degrees until bubbly and beginning to brown, at least 30 minutes, cooking time varies depending on your oven.

Serves about 10 - 18

Can be made ahead and frozen before baking.

Adjust proportions for smaller groups. Or use the part of the filling and sauce you need and freeze the rest.