Tag Archives: healthy

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Our little 3 1/2 year old niece calls this “sauce sauce”.  We all think it’s crazy good.

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And, it’s simple to make.  Just come with me.

Take a large roasting pan and line it with heavy duty foil.  Into this, place the following:

1 1/2 lbs. tomatillos, papery skins removed, then washed

4-5 poblano peppers, whole, washed

4-5 Anaheim peppers, whole, washed

1-2 jalapeno peppers, whole, washed

1 sweet bell pepper (any color – but, you know me!  RED rules) yeah, yeah – whole, washed

1 red onion, quartered

1 head garlic,  outer papery skin removed, then cut in half, longitudinally

1 lime, washed and halved

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Turn on your broiler and slide this crazy, Mexican deliciousness into the oven on a low rack.  The skin from the peppers is going to blister and blacken.  That’s cool!  Every 5 minutes or so, take your tongs and turn the peppers to expose other sides of the peppers.  You can flip the tomatillos but just leave the garlic, onion and lime alone – they’ll be fine.  photo 3

Once the peppers are softened and have released their juicy love (about 30 minutes oventime) use your tongs to remove the peppers and place them into an airtight container.  Slap the lid on and wait while the pepper skins steam loose.  At this point I just turn off the oven and let the tomatillos, garlic, lime and onion continue to break down slowly.  After about 10 minutes, remove the lid on the pepper container and peel off the blackened skins.  Remove and discard stems and large sections of seeds.  Place the flesh of the peppers into a large bowl.  Don’t worry about some seeds going in but, I do like to take out the biggest masses of them.  And, I should mention here, not all the skin is going to come off.  Just remove the black and easy-to-peel-off parts.  Some skin, some seeds, just go with however it seems to feel right.  You can’t mess this up.  Squeeze the garlic out of the head, squeeze the lime pulp out into the bowl with the pepper flesh.  Add the tomatillos, onion and all the liquid from the roasting pan and pour it all into the large bowl.  You now want to transfer this to a food processor.  A blender or immersion blender will probably work, as well.  Work in batches to keep from overloading.  I add about 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. smoked cumin.  That’s it!  Taste it – add anything that’s missing.  My notes say “Good on everything.”  You can use this sauce on eggs, enchiladas, tostados, beans — OH!  make huevos rancheros with this – you will thank me later!

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Roasted Veggies

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How can you make almost any vegetable sweeter and more delicious?  Through the magic of oven roasting!!  There is nothing easier.  I put these quartered sweet potatoes and broccoli on time bake and had hot, fresh sides walking in the door last night.  Broil some salmon and in 10 minutes, you have a fabulous meal.  All you do is wash and cut your vegetables into desired sizes.  I line the baking pan with aluminum foil to make cleanup a snap.   Drizzle on olive oil (butter or coconut oil work great, too), sprinkle with sea salt and Voila!  You can do this process with almost any vegetable, varying the cooking times.  For potatoes and starchy or very firm veggies, roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.  For squash and zucchini shorten the cooking time to 30 minutes or so.  The broccoli gets a little dark in places but we ♥ it that way.   Try Brussels sprouts!  We love ’em!

 

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Green Beef Enchilada Casserole with SUPERVEGGIE Sauce

So, last night we were supposed to have a little mid-week family meal.  I made this to die for enchilada casserole and ended up splitting the meal into 2 batches… more on that later.  Anyway, they were so fur-reaking good I just had to share!  Just as fair warning… my final pic turned out really dark so it does NOT show how lovely this turned out. 

Start with the sauce.  Not any ole canned crap sauce either!  For SUPERVEGGIE Sauce you’ll need:

all this:  ench1

1 stick celery

4 large white mushrooms

2 Anaheim peppers (great color, low heat)

1 Poblano pepper (rich, fruity pepper, some heat)

1 bunch green onions

2 cloves garlic (not pictured)

Finely chop all above ingredients until they look like this:ench2Put it all into your largest skillet and cook over low-medium heat in 2 Tbsp. butter (organic, preferred).  It will sweat and release out the liquid and your kitchen is going to start attracting people in wanting to know “when do we eat?”  You’ll know you’ve got it going on, then!  Add salt (1.5 tsp.), black pepper (1 tsp), 2 pinches Turmeric and, if you have it, 1-2 tsp. New Mexico green chili powder.  It’s not a deal breaker but it adds a nice *something*.  

Do not use red chili powder – it will turn it into *something else* all together. 

Let this go for 15-20 minutes, stirring often.  You are not looking for browning here, just reduce the mass by about two-thirds.  If your skillet will hold it all, scooch the veggie-deliciousness to one side and add 1lb. ground beef (yes, you can use ground turkey, chicken or even venison!)  ench3 

Brown the meat. 

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Now, to turn this into a sauce, you will need flour. 

Add about 2 Tbsp.  ench6 

Incorporate this fully, cooking about 5 more minutes before proceeding.  Then, you will add liquid.  AND, you have CHOICES!  I used chicken stock.  You can use milk, chicken broth, beef broth, water or a combo of any of these liquids equaling about 1.5 cups.  Start by adding a cup of liquid.  If it’s right, stop there.  If it’s too thick , add some more liquid.  Remember, it’s going into a casserole so it’s OK if it’s a little loose here.  Let it come up to a bubble. 

Be patient and then taste for seasoning correction.   Turn off the burner. 

Now, you need to cream it up a bit.  I used Greek yogurt (full fat) but you may use sour cream as well. 

About 1/2 cup.   ench7

Stir it all together and you have *MAGIC*!  ench8 

NOTE:  If you need to cook the meat in a separate pan, no worries, mon!  Just layer it all together at the end.   I just happen to prefer washing one pan 😉 

Now, you will make the casserole.  Into a casserole dish — or 2 in my case– it goes!  I used a 12 inch round and an 8 inch round with 2 layers each.  I suggest a 12 inch round with 3 layers, but any shape will do.  Cut or tear corn tortillas into quarters and layer into the bottom.  Don’t worry about spraying the bottom, the sauce will keep it from sticking. ench9

 If your sauce is on the drier side, use fewer corn tortillas, maybe 6.  Mine was a little wetter so I used a little more here, about 8 total.  This is the best part of creative cooking – you get to feel your way!  Over this you will ladle the meat sauce.  ench10 Now top with grated cheddar cheese (or a Mexican blend).  Real cheese, please – none of that processed junk or cheese-product-in-a-jar!  Continue layers in this order until you run out of room or supplies.  Top with a nice layer of cheese (about 1/2 cup per layer) and a little extra on top.  And, into the oven it goes. 

350 degrees until bubbly. 

That’s it! enchend 

So, I have to apologize for the darkness in this pic.  That AND the fact that I didn’t get one after oven time.  Our family dinner for 6 morphed into a dinner for 4 and a takeout option for 2.  But, trust me, the casserole was divine! 

 

 

 

 

 

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Daily Soup?

Soup?  Why soup?soup4  Well, it’s completely delicious.  And comforting.  Not to mention the ginormous bonus that you can sneak in a really big portion of vegetables.  You can get fiber, phyto-nutrients (fancy talk for plant nutrients) and flexibility with unlimited versions depending on what you have in your fridge, and what’s in season.  We eat soup every day at our house.  I think it’s one of the best ways to begin a meal.  My friends ask the question “You eat soup in the summer?  It’s so hot, already.”  Uh huh.  But we just don’t heat it up to scorching.  If it’s a hot day, just take the chill off it and you get a different flavor experience than when it’s steaming.  There are so many different ways to go but the start is the same.

Start by choosing your fat.  So many choices!!  My preference is chicken fat.  Don’t freak out.  Fat is good as long as it’s a natural fat (=unadulterated).  So, butter or a mix of butter and olive oil will work, too.

Into a large soup pot, add 2 Tbsp of fat.  Heat to medium and add in 1/4- 1/2 medium chopped onion, 2-3 chopped carrots and 3-4 sticks of celery, chopped.  Add salt 1tsp., 1/2 tsp. black pepper and 1/4 tsp. turmeric (you’ll never know it’s there and it will add beautiful golden color to your soup)

Put the lid on and cook the veggies til tender, about 15 mins.  To this I add an entire head of cauliflower, cut into chunks.  Not huge pieces, just cut the core out and slice into about 10-12 approximately equal sized chunks.  This way it will all be tender about the same time.

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Now, you need to add a liquid.  I use chicken broth.  Homemade or store bought, either will work.  I try to use at least some homemade because you cannot beat the flavor.  You can use vegetable broth if you want to keep this vegetarian friendly.  Add liquid to almost the top of the cauliflower, (approx. 4-6 cups, depending on the size of your cauliflower) leaving maybe an inch or so protruding out the top.  This is because we like a thicker soup.  Hey, if you like yours thin and runny, go on and add more liquid.  Bring the whole thing to a boil and reduce to simmer with the lid on.  Let it go for at least 30 minutes.  Stir and see if the cauliflower is tender.  Not reduced to mush, but tender.

When it’s nice and tender (yields to spoon without disintegrating), turn off heat and put the lid back on.  Let it sit for at least 30 minutes until it’s not going to burn you because here comes the fun part.   Whip out your immersion blender and blend until there are no chunks or bits.  Start slow and then turn it on high and let your soup become creamy and smooth.   No immersion blender?  No problem.  Use your grandma’s hand-me-down blender or food processor, working in batches so you don’t overload it. soup2soup3

Got the basics?  Great!  This is where it gets interesting.  Do you love garlic?  Have some extra shallots on hand?  Has your neighbor left a bag of squash on your porch?  Awesome!  Now you can make local and sustainable soup!!  Need to use up some broccoli or cabbage?  Perfect.  We can use it.  Got a cold?  How about increasing the carrots (or use butternut squash) and add 1 Tbps. grated ginger make a lovely carrot ginger soup?  Basically, the sky is the limit.  This summer I have been rich in zucchini and yellow squash.  I haven’t bought cauliflower for my soup in months because I have been using the summer squash, thanks to my generous friends. soup4

Try this soup.  It will fill you up and it is ridiculously rich in nutrients yet costs very little to create.  As an extra bonus, you might find you can skip the fiber pills once you incorporate this into your regular diet!

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