Cuban Steak with Chimichurri, black eyed pea and pumpkin stew, and Grilled corn with queso fresco and lime tarragon butter

Cuban steak with chimichurri: The chimichurri was supposed to go with a different steak, but I like the marinade on this one better. It comes out so tender because of the vinegar. Because I made this a month ago, (I'm super behind on the posts) I can't remember if I did anything differently besides add jalapenos, which is a given. I do know that we got a thicker steak than it called for, but my husband, who was manning the grill, cooked it a little longer on each side and it came out perfect, pink and juicy. That sounds naughty. hehe. Anyway, it's amazing with the 4 herb chimichurri on top. Both recipes below.

Black Eyed Pea and spicy pumpkin stew: We copied this recipe from a cookbook, and part of it got cut off. I will try to fill in the parts that are missing. Also, I didn't have palm oil. I think I just used olive. I also added jalapenos and pretty much doubled all the spice measurements because I thought it needed more flavor. Oh, and I used 2 cans of black eyed peas instead of dry so I skipped the soaking and boiling beans steps-- cuts the time way down. 

Here's what's missing/ hard to read

1 1/4 cups dried black eyed peas

1 onion

1 green or red bell pepper

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 bouillon cube

1 thyme sprig or 1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp paprika (I used smoked)

1/2 tsp apple pie spice (I used pumpkin pie spice)

2 carrots, sliced

1-2 TBS palm oil

salt and hot pepper spice

For the spicy pumpkin:

1 1/2 lb pumpkin

1 onion

2 TBS butter

2 garlic cloves

3 tomatoes

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp curry powder

pinch of nutmeg

salt, hot pepper sauce, ground black pepper

missing directions:

5.) Melt the butter or margarine in large pan and add the pumpkin, onion, garlic, tomatoes, spices and water. Stir well to combine and simmer until pumpkin is soft.

6.) Season to taste with salt, hot pepper salt and black pepper, serve with black eyed peas.

Grilled Corn with Queso Fresco and Lime Tarragon butter: This is one of my all time favorite recipes. It's amazing. The lime/tarragon goes perfectly with the cinnamon/chile powder mixture on top, the cheese and the sweetness of the corn. It's like a multiple food orgasm. Don't change anything about this recipe. It's perfection as is. Oh, and be sure to grill the corn in the husks.

You can skip the black eyed peas, and the steak tacos still make a wonderful meal with the corn, but all of this shit was delicious.

Stuff your faces, piggies.

Beef Tagine with Okra and Butternut Squash Gratin

Beef Tagine with Okra and Tomatoes: I got this recipe from a Moroccan cook book and it's fabulous. The flavor of the spices with the beef is just mouth watering. However, don't make the mistake I did: (I read the recipe as 2.5 inch cubes of beef, rather than 2.5 cms of beef, so it took four hours instead of 2 for the beef to break down and become tender. oops!) Anyway, when it finally finished cooking, it was delicious... if a little watery for some reason. Also, I added some jalapenos and an extra cinnamon stick for spice and flavor. Here's the recipe:

Butternut Squash Gratin: I've been making this recipe for years now, and it's amazing every time. It's delicious for fall. The only part I do differently, is add a bit of garlic to the butternut squash before roasting, and then I add few dashes of nutmeg and cayenne to the cream sauce for the spinach mixture. Oh, and there are a few typos in this recipe: obviously, "pond" is supposed to be "pound".

Beef! It's what's for dinner!

Salmon Chowder with Artichoke Heart and Asparagus Salad

Salmon Chowder: I love this this soup. It's a variation on the traditional clam chowder, and it makes a wonderful change. So so so good with some crispy sourdough bread. I pretty much followed this recipe except that I used 1 6.5 oz can of red salmon, and 4oz smoked salmon. Fresh salmon is obviously good as well, but this is cheaper, and the taste of the smoked salmon makes it incrediballs!  I swear, you won't regret this shit like you did that questionable one night stand with the lazy eyed dude who asked you to 'be quiet so you don't wake his hamster.'

Artichoke Heart and Asparagus Salad: Got this recipe from a Tapas book, and while sometimes simpler is better, I found it slightly lacking in flavor so added some fresh Thyme and some chopped candied walnuts. Much better.

Meg's Chicken Enchiladas with Meg's Refried Beans and Corn and Roasted Poblano Salad

Chicken Enchiladas: Anyone who knows me, knows I've been making these for years and has most likely had them at some point in time. If you haven't, well now you can make them yourself. I started doing it in college and have since elaborated on and hopefully perfected the recipe. This is the first time I've actually written it down. It may not be exactly accurate to what I always do, but my best advice is to just taste as you go along. This makes about 20 enchiladas, so if you want less, half it, but they reheat well to eat all week if you can't be assed to cook again. 

Here's the recipe:

3 lbs chicken breast (you can mix some thighs in as well-- the dark meat helps keep it moist) 

apprx 32 oz of salsa verde

2-3 jalapenos

1 cup fresh cilantro

1/3 cup ranch dressing

1/3 cup sour cream

1 onion (thinly sliced)

2-3 garlic cloves

20 tortillas

1 TBS Chipotle chile powder

1 TBS cumin

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp all spice

3-4  TBS tomato paste

1 TBS honey

1 TBS hot sauce (we used this crazy ghost pepper hot sauce this time-- which was delicious-- and very spicy) 

4-6 cups grated cheddar

Salt and pepper to taste.

1.) Put chicken in pot of water with a dash of salt, a few garlic cloves, and a couple slices of the onion. Bring to a slow boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is just barely cooked. Don't cook too long or it will get dried out. Remove chicken to cool on plate. Reserve the water with the garlic and onions for later.

2.) In a blender or food processor, blend salsa verde, jalapenos, cilantro, ranch and sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3.) Shred chicken with your fingers or a fork, if it's too hot.

4.) Heat oil in a skillet and add the rest of the onion. Cook until soft. 2-4 minutes

5.) Add chicken, tomato paste, honey, and all of the spices, along with all the garlic and some of the water (1/2 cup?) reserved from the pot (this is to keep the chicken from drying out-- add more water if needed-- the chicken should not be too saucy either.) Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for only a few minutes. turn off heat.

6.) Put a little bit of olive oil in large skillet. Heat to medium high and cook corn tortillas (get the oil on both sides-- just enough to coat lightly-- you should not be frying them in oil), until they are slightly golden. This will keep the tortillas from breaking when you dip them in the sauce and roll them. 

7.) Dip cooked tortillas in green sauce to coat. Roll with chicken and a little cheese (they should be fairly full), and place in a large baking dish (You will probably need at least two of these for all the enchiladas.)

8.) Top with any remaining sauce and cheese. 

9.) Cook in preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until cheese starts to brown on top.

Megan's Beans: I make several versions of my special beans and each of them is slightly different (black beans, baked beans, refried beans), but they are all spicy and have similar flavor profiles. This is my recipe for refried beans. 

Ingredients:

2  40oz cans + 1 16oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (you can start with dried beans if you want-- I can just never see the point when beans come in cans already cooked. Who wants have those extra hours of preparation? Not I.)

4-6 oz pancetta, chopped

2 jalapenos, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp cumin seeds

3/4 cup milk or broth (you can always use some of the broth leftover from cooking the chicken, if you're doing these along with the enchiladas)

1-2 tsp pumpkin spice (to taste)

1/3 cup sour cream

1 TBS liquid smoke

1 TBS hot sauce

1/4 cup BBQ sauce (optional)

Directions:

1.) Heat oil in large deep skillet or wok. Add pancetta. Cook for about 2 minutes until it starts to darken but does not get crispy.

2.) Add jalapeno, garlic, cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Cook until seeds begin to pop: 1-2 minutes

3.) Add beans, milk or broth (or water), pumkin spice, hot sauce, BBQ sauce and liquid smoke. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes, while smashing beans with potato masher (I like to leave them fairly lumpy-- so they're half mashed, half not). Add more water or milk if needed when the beans get too thick or dry. 

4.) Add sour cream. Mix in well. Turn off heat. Serve. 

Again, if you're pussies and can't handle spice, then leave out some of the jalapenos and definitely don't go putting ghost pepper sauce into anything. Taste everything and add more salt or spices as you go. I tend to do these recipes slightly different every time, so I can't say that these measurements are perfect. Also, neither of these recipes are particularly low in fat, with all the sour cream and cheese in them-- I say: Who the fuck cares! As long as you're eating natural home cooked food, it's good in my book.

Corn and Tomato Salad with Thyme and Roasted Poblanos:

The only things I changed in this recipe were that I used 3 pasillas instead of 2 poblanos-- (they are very similar and in my opinion, interchangeable). I also added a juice from one lime and a tsp of cumin for flavor (otherwise there's basically no dressing on the salad, which I found bland). Also, there's obviously two other recipes on this page. I haven't tried either, but have found that pretty much everything from this book is delicious. If you try them, let me know. 

Eat up my cheesy, corny, farty fatsos!

Chinese Boneless Pork Ribs with Strawberry BBQ Sauce, Indian Spiced Winter Squash, Gingery Creamed Kale and Cabbage

Okay, so the ribs were actually supposed be baby back ribs, and the BBQ sauce was supposed to be Guava not Strawberry, but the boneless ribs were on sale and I couldn't find any guava paste. If you plan ahead, you can order it online..... but surprise surprise, I did not plan ahead and instead I got all experimental and substituted about 4 TBS of seedless strawberry jam for the guava paste. I didn't expect it to turn out as well as it did. Who would've thought strawberries can make good BBQ sauce-- but it was f-ing delicious. Also, because these were boneless ribs, I didn't follow the cooking directions on the recipe below. Instead, I put the ribs in a crock pot with a chopped onion, the spices and the sherry. I cooked them on low for about 5-6 hours. Then I followed the directions for the BBQ sauce: substituting the 4 TBS strawberry jam for the guava paste, and also adding 1 TBS molasses and 1 tsp spicy tamarind dipping sauce. I drained most of the liquid from the crock pot, added the BBQ sauce, and cooked the meat for another hour. So you can follow my recipe or the one below-- which I'm sure is good as well.

Next up: Gingery Creamed Kale and Cabbage. I love this recipe. No adjustments needed. Unless you want to add a few small red chiles for spice like I did. ;-)

Mashed Winter Squash with Indian Spices. This is my new favorite recipe for butternut squash. It's so fucking good I wanted to put my whole face in it and eat like "momma's little piggy piggy." And it's easy to boot! The only thing I changed was I added 3/4 tsp of Garam Masala to pump up the Indian spices. Seriously so good. Better than mashed potatoes. 

Eat up little piggies!

Tomato Buttermilk Soup with Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwiches

Tomato Buttermilk Soup: The soup is super refreshing served cold and does not require cooking-- though I ended up cooking mine for a bit because I opted not to put the tomato puree through a sieve and discard the liquid. It just seemed like way too much waste. As a result, it doubled the amount of tomato puree but made it a lot thinner. So I also doubled the buttermilk, and cooked it with some tomato paste and corn starch to thicken it up. I ended up adding another half cup of buttermilk afterward to make it creamier. I also added two roasted serranos for spice (I dry roasted them on the stove), and about eight cloves of roasted garlic (because I fucking love roasted garlic). I pureed them all together with the tomatoes. Finally, I added about a teaspoon of smoked paprika to the soup, to give it a smoky flavor, complementing the roasted garlic and serranos. All my tomatoes and herbs were fresh and organic from the farmers' market. The end result was delicious. Here's the original recipe:

Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwiches: This is my own invention. I used to make Chicken Cordon Bleu all the time, but this is easier, without having to roll the damn things up, which always proves tricky. Here's my recipe, but keep in mind I didn't measure so these are all guesstimates (also, this made sandwiches for all week, so if you want less, half it):

6 Chicken Breasts, sliced in half to make 12 thin breast filets
A loaf of bread (I used marbled rye from the farmers' market which was fabulous)
2 packages sliced Swiss cheese (or guyere)
Thinly sliced ham (or prosciutto if you don't mind spending a little more money)
10 oz baby spinach
Basil pesto to spread on bread
3 TBS fresh chopped rosemary
2 cups panko bread crumbs (I think)
1 cup flour (I think)
3/4 cup buttermilk (I think)
2 eggs
Oil for frying
Salt
Pepper

1.) Soak thinly sliced breasts in buttermilk, with a pinch of pepper and salt, for about a half hour.
2.) Mix bread crumbs, flour, rosemary, and more salt and pepper in medium bowl.
3.) Beat eggs and stir in to buttermilk and chicken.
4.) Heat oil to moderately high heat in skillet.
5.) Dredge chicken breasts in flour/breadcrumb/rosemary mixture to coat.
6.) Fry chicken in hot oil, 6-8 minutes per side or until deep golden brown.
7.) Remove chicken and dry on paper towel.
8.) Spread pesto on bread (and butter if you want), layer with ham and swiss, then toast in toaster oven or regular oven until cheese is melted and bread is crispy.
9.) Put chicken on top of bread, top with spinach, and second slice of bread (hell, you know how to make a sandwich right?)
tip: dip grilled sandwich in tomato soup. great combo.

Vegetarian Burritos!!

This recipe is easy, cheap and healthy, and great for kids who don't like veggies. My mom used to make this recipe when I was a kid, and I LOVED it. It was the only way she could get broccoli down me.

Some time ago, I actually lost the original recipe, but I've continued to make it, morphing it into my own creation which now includes 3 serranos (and somehow still not spicy enough for us.)

My version makes a ton, so if you don't want to be eating it all week, you can half the recipe. Or you can make it and freeze some for later. Personally, I like to make the whole batch and change it up later in the week-- like put it over tortilla chips to make nachos, or add fried plantains or sausage or BACON! Of course, then it's not quite as healthy, but who cares after you've been a god damn vegetarian for several days. You deserve it.

Vegetarian Burritos (This is the first time I've written it down so if it's confusing, let me know)

Ingredients:

3-4 tablespoons oil (I used canola, but vegetable or olive would be fine)
1 lb Broccoli (large stems removed and chopped into small-ish pieces)
3/4 lb Carrots (shredded)
1 or 2 onions finely chopped
2 jalapeno or serrano chiles if you like it hot (obviously, if you're cooking for kids or like it mild, you can reduce or leave these out) finely chopped
6 Cloves garlic minced
4 tomatoes coarsely chopped (you can also use canned tomatoes if you want)
4  15 oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed (you can use dried beans of course, but I'm just lazy and don't feel like taking all that time to soak and cook them first)
2   15oz cans corn
1 1/2 tsp salt (add more to taste)
1 tsp black pepper
2 TBS Chili powder
2 TBS cumin
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 (6oz?) cans of tomato paste
1-2 TBS tapatio (or any kind of hot sauce)
Large flour tortillas
Cheddar cheese
Cilantro
Sour cream (optional)

Instructions:

1.) Heat Oil in a large skillet or pot. When it reaches moderately high heat, add the chiles and onion. Cook until tender and translucent (about 5 minutes)

2.) Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute.

3.) Add the broccoli, carrots and the rest of the spices: Cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes, or until broccoli is fairly tender.

4.) Add beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato paste and Tapatio. (Depending on how juicy the tomatoes are, you may need to add a bit of water, but not too much because you want it to be fairly thick so it won't fall out of your burritos.)  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about another 10 minutes, or until everything is nice and tender and has lots of flavor. Just taste and add at this point. Add more salt if you want, or more spices. Sometimes I add a few tablespoons to sour cream to the mix, but if you have lactose intolerant people involved, leave it out and let people put it in their burritos individually.

5.) Put mix onto warmed tortillas. Top with cheese, cilantro, and sour cream if you want. Roll and eat!

Enjoy skinnies! (you're all skinny this week, since this shit is healthy!)