Steve's Kitchen: September 2013

So, I was at work the other day, having a conversation with a fellow foodie Eddie Kicklighter. I was telling him how I was so tired of making the same things over and over, and how I needed a good curve ball meal to expand my family's tastes. It just so happened that Eddie had made this recipe the night before. Boom, there it was. I knew immediately I had to put this on the table.

Simple Pico De Gallo is what it says. very simple. 4 diced tomatoes, 1 Large White Onion, I diced Yellow Bell Pepper, 1 Bunch of chopped Cilantro, and the Juice of Two Limes. That's it. The longer in advance that you can make it, the better it actually becomes. The day after when we were having leftovers, it was even more flavorful than before.

Now for the Cilantro Lime Slaw. At first mention, I admit that I thought it sounded weird. However, after thinking about it, it does make perfect sense. When you order a standard Fish and Chips, it is commonplace to squeeze lemon juice over your fish. Also, in most cases, fish and chips is served with slaw. So it started to make sense to me. Citrus, slaw, cilantro as a salute to the flavors of mexican style foods. Hmm, this could work.

I started out with a bag of pre-shredded slaw. Of course you could shred your own, but with all the things on the menu this evening, this was a shortcut worth taking.

Next I added 2 good spoons of regular mayo. Definitely less than the normal amount of mayo you would use in a plain cole slaw. Just enough to bind up all the ingredients.

Next, I seasoned it with salt and pepper. Don't forget this part!

After giving it a good stir, I added the juice of 2 limes.

Next, I finely chopped a bunch of Cilantro.

Then added it to the bowl and gave it a good stir.

In virtually all of the fish tacos that I have ever had, the fish is never over done with too many flavors. This is intentional, to let the flavors of the toppings just combine with the fish. I sprinkled on some salt and pepper, and a little Adobo Seasoning. Next, I melted some butter in a pan, and lightly browned the fish on both sides, being extremely careful not to overcook it. Rubbery Fish makes horrible tacos!

There we have it. After you take them out of the pan, let them rest (and cool a bit)

Take each piece and dice it up, leaving some size. If you dice it too small, it will loose it's fishy consistency.

Hey Dad, watcha gonna do with that fish?

Well son, I'm making it into tacos.

Say WHAAAAAAT??

Next, I lightly oiled my tortilla pan. (You can use a saute pan, I just found my "tortilla pan" at a garage sale.)

Load up a few chunks of fish,

top with some slaw,

add a bit of Pico De Gallo,

And there you have it. The flavors explode in your mouth!

This could be a very good way to incorporate more fish into your family's diet! It can be relatively cheap, and is also packed with acids that you can't get in another protein!

Be sure to share with Facebook/Pinterest!

For the bulk of my life, my Sister Terri is responsible for one of my top ten absolute favorite dishes. My earliest memories of this particular dish take me back to the Warrendale area of Detroit Michigan, on good old Grandmont avenue by Warren.
I can remember Terri boiling chicken and then picking it off the bone, in preparation for this dish. (Which is funny because thinking back, I used to get grossed out by the stretchy skin of the chicken.) How could something that gross be turned into something good? I also remember my sister used to mess with me and make me think I was going home before dinner, haha. (still not funny.)

This dish for me is the essence of comfort food. Simple, easy, and ridiculously good. But also something one would not want to make too often. That is, unless you want to freak out your doctor at your next checkup. But again, to me, that is really what makes great comfort food.

According to Ninjawords.com, enchiladas are defined as "A Mexican dish made by wrapping a filling in a tortilla, then baking it in a sauce." Most would argue that to really be an enchilada it would have to be a red sauce, but to you I say, shut up and try these. They are tortillas wrapped in happiness and smothered in splendor. LOL

Since making this recipe the original way for many years, I have altered and changed a few things in my personal recipe, but here I will give you the original recipe, as it started and came to be loved. I'll identify my few changes in the pictures portion.

TERRI'S CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

16 Small Tortillas
4 TBSP Butter
2 TSP Chili Powder
3 Cans of White Chunk Chicken (OR boiled chicken breast, or pick a cooked chicken)
1 Medium Diced Onion
3 Cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
16 OZ Sour Cream
3 Cups Shredded Cheddar

Melt butter in good size saute/skillet. Add diced onion, and cook over medium heat until transparent. Add Chicken to the pan. Continue over medium heat until it is well incorporated into the onion.
In a bowl, add soup and sour cream and mix together well. Use a small amount of soup mixture to coat the bottom of a glass baking dish.
Preheat oven to 350
Add chili powder to the chicken/onion mixture.
Add about 1/2 of the soup mixture into the chicken mixture. Mix and incorporate well.
Add 2 Cups of Cheese to the skillet. Mix in well.
Take off heat and set aside.
Spoon mixture into tortillas, roll them up, and place them in the glass baking dish side by side.
After all tortillas are full and placed in pan, cover the top with remaining soup mixture.
Sprinkle remainder of cheese on top.
Place in oven for 20-25 minutes.
Cook until bubbly and cheese is melted. (Ovens vary)

Alright, so first off, let me say that you may notice in the pictures that firstly, I am cooking a far larger quantity than outlined in the recipe. One, we have five kids and two adults in our household. Two, I was also making an extra pan for some friends of ours. LOL, actually I ate all these myself. I have been on a treadmill for 48 hours straight now.

Ok, Butter in the pan, and onions diced.

Onions: One of the main ingredients of awesome.

Here you can see the transparency I am talking about. Sweated down a bit.

Mixing the sour cream and soup.

Cover the bottom of the pan. This way they will not stick. Also, if you are taking these to someone you know or a potluck, you can use one of those tin foil pans. No need for returns or finding your pan after it's all over.

Next, add your chunky chicken to the pan. (I primarily just boil boneless skinless breasts, however, if you don't have that kind of time, canned does work, and tastes fine.)

Make sure it is well incorporated.

Add roughly half of the soup mixture.

Stir it well.

Add a pinch of cheese. Ok, add 2 cups if following the recipe, if not ADD CHEESE LIKE A BOSS!

Stir in well.

Here is yet another area where I break apart from the original recipe. I use Taco Seasoning instead of just chili powder. My kids like me to kick it up a notch. But trust me, it is still awesome with just the chili powder. From experience, Chili seasoning works also, and tastes fine. Especially if you tend to struggle with moments of short term memory loss, like leaving the bag with the taco seasoning on top of the vehicle at the store.