マミー

 This is a kids' yogurt drink I liked to buy when I was in Japan. I tried to recreate it based on memory of how it tasted.

• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 14.5 oz can of sliced pears in heavy syrup (dump the syrup in as well as the pears)
• 3 oz lime jello powder
• 3 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup milk

blend until homogenous

drink cold

Chicken Enchiladas (Cosby family recipe) (post made by Levi)

 Ingredients

*Note: almost all measurements here are not exact, whatever is available/cheap/on hand will probably work fine*

1-2 lbs chicken or equivalent size rotisserie, diced 

1 or 1/2 onion (type and amount depend on your preference), diced

1 block cream cheese, softened

1/2 pound pepper jack cheese, shredded

12 tortillas, cooked if not precooked (2 per person in our family, if you have fewer people you can scale the recipe to fit or just have more leftovers)

1 8 oz bag Frontera green chili enchilada sauce (or 10 oz can of Great Value enchilada sauce or whatever similar amount of green chile enchilada sauce you can find)

1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin (or until chicken is well seasoned in step 3)

1/2 teaspoon Chili powder (or until chicken is lightly seasoned in step 3)

Cream if desired

*make sure the ratio of cumin to chili powder is 3:1*

Recipe:

1. Sautee onions (use a large pan here if using raw chicken)

2. Add chicken, cook (unless using precooked chicken, in which case just add to onions and turn off heat)

3. Add seasonings, stir well, turn off heat. 

4. Add cream cheese. If not soft enough, microwave in 10 second increments until a thumb easily dents it

5. Add about 1/4 C of the sauce

6. Add a little of the pepper jack cheese

8. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray

9. If desired, drizzle bottom of pan with cream and some sauce

10. Fill each tortilla with ~3/4 C filling and roll up, place in bottom of pan side by side

11. Drizzle with rest of sauce, top with rest of pepper jack cheese

White Chicken Chili

 

Ingredients

4 servings

3

Tbsp. unsalted butter

2

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1

medium onion, finely chopped

4

garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1

lb. ground chicken, preferably dark meat

1½

tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more

1

tsp. chili powder

1

tsp. ground cumin

½

tsp. ground coriander

Freshly ground pepper

2

4-oz. cans diced green chiles

2

15.5-oz. cans white beans, rinsed

3

cups low-sodium chicken broth

Sliced avocado, sour cream, cilantro leaves, sliced jalapeños, corn chips, and lime wedges (for serving)

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Heat 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter and 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high until butter is melted. Cook 1 medium onion, finely chopped, and 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 4–6 minutes. Add 1 lb. ground chicken, preferably dark meat, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. ground cumin, and ½ tsp. ground coriander; season with freshly ground pepper. Cook, stirring often and breaking up chicken with a wooden spoon, until combined and chicken is no longer pink, 3–4 minutes. Add two 4-oz. cans diced green chiles and cook, stirring often and continuing to break up chicken, until chicken is cooked through, 2–3 minutes. 

   Step 2

   Add two 15.5-oz. cans white beans, rinsed, and 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally and mashing some of the beans with spoon, until flavors are melded and chili is slightly thickened, 8–10 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

   Step 3

   Divide chili among bowls and top with sliced avocado, sour cream, cilantro leaves, sliced jalapeños, and corn chips. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.

Balsamic Vinegar Zucchini

 This is my favorite way to eat zucchini.  I've been eating 2-3 zucchini a week lately, all from our one plant.  This even works when you miss one of those zucchini and it turns into a baseball bat.

• 1 medium zucchini
• 2 Tbsp. onion/garlic infused olive oil 
• Alternatively used 1-2 cloves chopped garlic and sauté in olive oil
• 3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

None of the measurements are particularly important and all can be adjusted for taste.

Chop the zucchini into 2-3 mm thick slices, saute in olive oil until they are starting to brown.  Add vinegar and allow it to boil off until it has been absorbed or thickened into a syrup ( depending on how much you have added).  Salt and pepper to taste.

This is great on its own, really good cold as a topping on a sandwich, and fantastic as a toping on a pizza.

Rice Pudding

 

This is a recipe for using it up when you have too much cooked rice.

Ingredients: 

• two bowls of cooked rice
• two cups of whole milk
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• a few handfuls of raisins or craisins
• about a teaspoon of vanilla extract I guess
• 1/3 tsp salt
• some cinnamon to taste

Cook the cooked rice, and most of the milk in a saucepan on medium for about 10 minutes, uncovered. It's okay if the rice has gotten a little dried out, because it will soak up the milk. You don't want high or you'll burn the milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 5 more minutes.

Vegetarian Thai Coconut Curry

This is not the prettiest picture, but it was yummy food! I saw a recipe for a sweet potato lentil curry that looked OK, but I thought I could make it better. Here's my version.

2 sweet potatoes

olive oil

salt

curry powder

chili powder

1 C dry lentils

2 C water or broth (I used chicken broth)

1 yellow or red onion

2 cloves garlic

1-2 inch knob of ginger

2 bell peppers

1 can coconut milk

1 1/2 TBSP Thai red curry paste

fresh basil or cilantro

2 1/2 C uncooked rice

1. Preheat the oven to 400.* Get your rice cooking.

2. Cut the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes and spread on two half-sheet pans. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt, curry powder, and chili powder (about half as much as the amount of curry powder). Toss till they're fully coated and spread them out evenly on the pan.

3. Bake for 20 min, turn them over, and bake for 10 more min. 

4. While the potatoes are roasting, pour the lentils in a small pot. Cover with the two cups of liquid and bring to a boil. Then turn it to low and let it simmer. 

5. Meanwhile, dice the onion and saute in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat till soft, about five minutes. While it's cooking, mince the garlic, grate the ginger, and cut your bell peppers into 1/2" squares.

6. Toss the garlic and ginger in with the onions and stir for about a minute, until fragrant. Add the bell peppers and cook for 2 more minutes or until slightly softened.

7. Pour the lentils and any remaining liquid into the onion/pepper mixture and stir to combine.

8. Open the can of coconut milk and add it to the sauce pan. Stir in red curry paste. Let it simmer until the sweet potatoes are done cooking.

9. Once the sweet potatoes are out of the oven, check the lentils for tenderness. They may need up to 5 more minutes to soften to your desired texture. Mince your fresh herbs.

10. Once the lentils are done cooking, add the sweet potatoes and herbs to the pan and heat through for 1-2 more min. 

11. Serve over rice, with a side of garlic naan to entice any skeptical children to the table.

 

Fruit slush

 1 1/2 C sugar

2 C boiling water

2 small cans orange juice (reconstituted)

2 small cans undrained crushed pineapple

6 bananas, mashed

1 small jar maraschino cherries

1 large box frozen strawberries

Dissolve sugar into boiling water. Add other ingredients and mix well. Put into freezable containers (paper cups). Set out 30 minutes before serving.