Smokehouse Chili Relleno

 

Say Cheese!

This recipe for chili relleno is so simple you really will be smiling. Technically relleno means “stuffed” with cheese but in this case our chilies are layered with it – to make things simple for you – hence all the smiling.

Prep time: 5 minutes; Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

·         12 oz. Smokehouse Organic Creamy Jack Cheese by Sierra Nevada Cheese Company

·         Four large Anaheim peppers

·         Fresh Red Salsa

I love to shop at our regional market, Haggen because of their diverse selection of original ingredients so I’d recommend their smokehouse jack and their fresh red salsa for this recipe– the smokehouse jack adds just a hint of smoky flavor and the cold salsa’s fresh and crispy jalapeños and onions make for the perfect complement to the hot, smoky taste of the melty relleno.

 

 

 

Directions

Cut off the tops of the Anaheim peppers and slice them down the middle. Remove seeds and set aside. Cut your smokehouse jack into thin strips. Coat a square or round glass pan with non-stick spray and line the bottom of the pan with half of your cheese. Place sliced Anaheim peppers on the top and then layer the remaining cheese on the peppers. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake an additional 15 minutes until cheese browns and bubbles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serve with a healthy spoonful of fresh red salsa and smile, this time because it’s so so so delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hashbrown Casserole (For Easter Brunch!)

Whether you're having Easter brunch or dinner, this hashbrown casserole will work for either one. And it makes a TON. I served it as a side dish for my St. Paddy's potluck and had half a pan left to take to a small potluck the next night too. I love this stuff! I love the panko crust versus the cornflakes version. And the bonus is you can fry it up the next morning to make hashbrown patties for breakfast....

Hashbrown Casserole
Thank you, JustAPinch.com

2 lb frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/2 c  plus 1 tbsp. (1 stick) butter, melted
1 can (10.5 oz.) cream of chicken or cream of celery soup
1 pt (16 oz.) sour cream
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 c panko bread crumbs

1. Chop onion, green pepper and garlic

2. Melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions, pepper and garlic in butter until the onions are transparent.

3. In a large bowl, combine the sauteed vegetables with the thawed hash browns. Add 6 Tbsp. of the remaining butter, soup, sour cream, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper.

4. Place mixture into a greased 11x14-inch casserole dish. Mix the remaining 1 Tbsp. melted butter with panko bread crumbs and sprinkle over the casserole.

5. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes, or until casserole is bubbly and the panko crumbs are golden brown.

Blue Cheese & Rosemary Scalloped Potatoes

THESE ARE THE BEST POTATOES I HAVE EVER HAD. Period. Done. No more explanation needed.

I would end there but I need to give a big shout out to my sister-in-law, Kari, who brought these to Christmas dinner a few years back and introduced me to THE BEST POTATOES I HAVE EVER HAD. Do everyone a service this Christmas and bring this side dish to dinner. Like Rudolph, you'll go down in history...

Blue Cheese & Rosemary Scalloped Potatoes

5 lbs. russet potatoes
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 cups cream (this is not a time to go light, use the heavy cream!)
1 tsp. salt

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 9x13 glass baking dish.
Peel and slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Toss them in a large bowl with the salt, pepper, and rosemary.
In a small bowl, toss together cheeses.
Layer half the potatoes in the buttered dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese mixture and top with the remaining potatoes.
In a bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients (sour cream, cream, salt) and pour over potatoes.
Tap the baking dish on the counter to spread out the sauce and help release any air bubbles.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture.
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until browned and completely tender all the way through when poked with a knife.
Take out of oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

You can also make these in advance and store, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.
Bring to room temperature and reheat in a 350 degree oven until hot.
Missy's note: I use more blue cheese and Parmesan than called for because why wouldn't you?

Mandarin Orange Blue Cheese Salad

It’s pretty typical that all six of us don’t get together unless Megan is in town. She’s sort of like the Movie Star amongst us, flitting here and there on yachts, dining at places like Italy, Greece, and Aspen, and experiencing the beauty of a world the five of us could only imagine. Yes, she does have to work hard, clean up and prepare food for rich people, but to the rest of us being a stewardess on a yacht seems like a pretty glamorous life. So when she does make time in her schedule to come home to Washington State we can’t help ourselves but plan a big get-together complete with lots of laughter, trashy magazines, spa time, and what else…. Hmmm… it feels like I’m missing something here. Oh yeah! FOOD!

This year we decided to spend an evening preparing a Christmas Feast, to, um, do our followers a favor and help them with some recipe ideas. I know, we are so selfless. We do this ALL for you. I was in charge of the salad. Can you believe it? Just the salad! So since I felt like I’d gotten off a little easy this time around I knew it couldn’t be any old salad. Which is why I chose my most favorite salad of all time, originally posted by my cousin Beth Sobel. Mandarin Orange Blue Cheese Salad. It was perfect for a Christmas Feast. Light, citrusy, a bit creamy and a little crunchy and sweet. It was just what we needed.

 

Because we were waiting for our honorary Beauty, Kirsten (Megan’s childhood friend and fellow foodie), to arrive at the cabin on the shuttle, we thought we’d start the evening off with the salad. Here’s my simplified recipe of the original below. (And for the original recipe, complete with instructions on making your very own caramelized pecans, click here.)



Here's the final product, paired with Apple Cider Honey Bourbon. Recipe coming soon...

 

Mandarin Orange Blue Cheese Salad serves 8

2 large heads Lettuce, chopped small
2 cans Mandarin Oranges
½ cup Scallions, sliced
1 cup (or more) Blue Cheese crumbles
1 bag Emerald Glazed Pecans
½ cup Poppy Seed Dressing
½ cup to 1 cup orange juice

Directions
Add all salad ingredients into a big bowl. Combine Orange Juice and Poppy Seed Dressing together and mix well. Toss.

Rachel and me. Obviously very proud of the salad.

 

 

 

"I hate when you are doing something and you think 'isn't there someone you can pay to do this?'  And you realize you are the person being paid to do this. My glamorous life!" - Megan Crosby

 

 

Roasted Cauliflower with Date Syrup

We were called out this month by Girl Has Thyme. Yes we've been slackers and yes you may get an influx of "ethnic" recipes before September wraps up!

This is a recipe from the Calilee Cooking School in Israel that was in Bon Appetit. And I need to state right off the bat, I didn't find date syrup, nor did I spend much time looking for it, but molasses worked as a great substitute. I told my mom I needed an "ethnic" recipe for this month and as she was browsing through her cooking magazines she suggested this one. I'm a big fan because I'm always looking for new exciting vegetable dishes (sometimes the same ol' salad every night just gets old) and this is a cool recipe because it can be served as an appetizer or side dish. It would go really well with Missy's piroshky recipe!

Roasted Cauliflower with Date Syrup

From Bon Appetit 

Ingredients: 

1 head of cauliflower (about 2 lb.), cored and broken into florets (I just bought a bag from Costco) 

2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling (I used coconut oil)  

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

2 tablespoons (or more) date syrup or dark honey (I used molasses) 

2 teaspoons (or more) fresh lemon juice

Sea salt

 

  Directions

• Preheat oven to 500°. Place cauliflower on a baking sheet and toss with 2 Tbsp. olive oil or coconut oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until browned in spots and tender, about 20 minutes.
• Transfer cauliflower to a serving platter. Drizzle tahini and date syrup over. Sprinkle 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice over. Season to taste with sea salt. Drizzle with more olive oil and lemon juice, if desired.

Crispy Chicken Mexican Salad

I know what you're saying to yourself right now: I had you at Crispy Chicken. There’s something about that warm, crunchy crispy goodness on a nice cold salad. Stop thinking this isn't good for you; it isn't. But if you must make yourself feel better about it, think about all the beautiful greens you're consuming accidentally as you poke your fork around hunting for the fried bites of chicken.

Crispy Chicken Mexican Salad

Salad Ingredients
Lettuce/Salad Greens
Black Olives, Canned black beans, Slices of Avocado, tomato, onion, whatever!
Shredded cheddar or jack cheese
Crispy Chicken, cooked. Use something like Tyson’s Crispy Chicken Strips.
Crumbled up tortilla chips
Hot Sauce

Salad Dressing
1 part sour cream to 2 parts of your favorite salsa

Directions
Cook the chicken pieces according to package directions. While cooking, combine all salad ingredients and dressing, save for the tortilla chips and hot sauce. Serve salad and add crispy chicken to the top on each plate. Sprinkle with crumbled tortilla chips and hot sauce.

 

For another version of this delicious salad, make it Oriental by using lettuce, water chestnuts, mandarin oranges, green onions and crispy noodles. Toss with an Asian Vinaigrette or make your own dressing with soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Add your crispy chicken and - BAM!

Rice, Corn and Bean Salad

 

My fun and fabulous sister Linde came to visit a couple of weeks ago with her cutest little man, Jackson. When Linde and I were both pregnant at the same time back in 2007, we couldn’t wait for our boys to become best friends. We pictured ourselves taking lots of vacations, drinking on porches and snacking on delicious food while watching them play. Fast forward 6 years and well, Ansen and Jackson get along…for the most part. But their fighting doesn’t keep us from drinking and eating. And running!

It was the second year in a row Linde was able to come up to Bellingham to run the Chuckanut Foot Race with me. The first day she was here I decided our motto would be “We do what we want!” so we started the day off eating at the Bagelry and having ice cream at Mallard’s. But then she wasn’t feeling well and I took her to Urgent Care and they diagnosed her with Kidney Failure. After a check in at the ER, lots of crying and me mentally prepping myself to donate a kidney it turned out she was perfectly fine and just needed antibiotics. So then about 15 minutes later we found ourselves at Fred Meyer waiting for a prescription and shopping for cute running outfits. Because, I mean, what would you do if you thought you were dying and then realized you could still run in the race the next day? Ovbi.

We got lots of comments on our socks. I, personally am a fan of the Three's Company pink shorts.

So we ran the race and it was awesome and fun and then we came home and made a delicious Rice, Corn and Bean salad to bring to my friend Kathryn’s house for a Mexican themed BBQ. This dish is a Linde Specialty, altered a bit from my cousin Beth Sobel’s recipe. It is a serious crowd pleaser.

Salad Ingredients
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
12 oz. frozen corn
2 15 oz. cans black beans
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
½ cup Feta Cheese

Salad Dressing
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
½ teaspoon garlic powder (or minced real garlic)
Juice of one large Lemon
2 teaspoons salt
ground pepper to taste
½ teaspoon thyme
a few generous sprinkles of hot sauce

Directions
Cook rice and let cool. Bring frozen corn to room temperature, or heat up in a pan. Combine all salad ingredients. Combine dressing. Toss! This recipe makes enough for a three family BBQ.

Linde. Alive and well, both kidneys in tact, and slicing green bell pepper like a boss.

 

 

Here are some other fun things we did while Linde and Jackson were in town:

Linde and Jackson and my youngest, Asher age 3, at the Pride Parade. Asher kept saying, "This is a crazy parade mama!" and "Look, that guy is only wearing underwear!"

 

We went to visit Uncle James at Alki Beach and we took the water taxi to downtown Seattle to ride the Big Wheel.

 

Ansen, Jackson, me and Uncle James on the Seattle Big Wheel. We got to go three times around and it was a shit ton of money so I don't think I'd recommend it. But now I can say I did it!

Other Linde related recipes on this blog:

 

Sangria
Belinda's Bellini

 

'cause a girl's gotta have her cocktails.