lentil stew

we have recently started eating alot more lentils. i love these little beans. the kids love this stew also.

1 bag of dried lentils
2 cans of Rotell
2 cans of vegetable broth
1 can of mexican corn
lg. onion, cut into eighths
2 cans of black beans (drained)
a few fresh basil leaves chopped
2-3 cloves of chopped garlic

In crock pot stir together all ingredients and cook on
low for 10 to 12 hours (4 to 6 hours on high) vegetables should be tender.

shepherd’s pie

i LOVE shepherd’s pie. i had the real deal in Ireland when i visited last year. any food in an Irish pub is fantastic, but this is definitely the cream of the crop. grab a good dark ale and enjoy with this…

unsalted butter
1.5 pounds ground turkey breast
1 small chopped yellow onions
2 carrots, chopped
salt
ground black pepper
half carton of sliced button mushrooms
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs chili powder
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
4-5 idaho potatoes
1 cup milk
grated white cheddar

in an all-metal skillet (so that you can put it in the oven later), cook the turkey meat until almost done (slightly pink).

add the onions, carrots, salt, and good bit of ground black pepper, and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. add the mushrooms and cook while stirring until mushrooms reduce in size and soften. add the tomato paste and stir and cook a few minutes longer. slowly add the flour while stirring. slowly add the stock and Worcestershire sauce along with chili powder and garlic powder then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain and return to the pot. mash the potatoes until very smooth, then add butter, salt, pepper, and continue mashing. add the milk and mix well.

in the skillet, top the meat mixture with the mashed potatoes, while smoothing the top. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Broil for 5 minutes until cheese turns slightly brown.

beautiful.

enchiladas for your face

i had some friends over recently and i decided to make some homemade enchiladas.  i really love having friends over.  creating a meal and sharing it with people in my home is one of the ways i express love and friendship.  inviting people into your home is such a great form of community… do it!

so, onto the food.  Texas has better enchiladas than Mexico in my opinion, so they have a little Texas flair (of course).

Ingredients:  olive oil, 1 large white or yellow onion , 3 tbs flour, 29 ounce can tom sauce, 2 tbs chili powder, 2.5 tbs cumin, salt, cayenne pepper, 1 lb white cheddar cheese, 1 can black beans, 1 small can chopped green chilis, whole wheat tortillas, fresh cilantro (chopped)

1.  preheat oven 400.  in large bowl mix black beans, 2/3 cheese, green chilis, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste

2.  heat oil.  add 1/2 onion and cook until translucent (maybe 5 min).  stir in flour slowly and cook 2 min.  add 1.5 cups water, tom sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, pinch of cayenne pepper.  bring to boil.  simmer 5 min.

3.  spread 1 cup sauce in bottom of a baking dish.  dip tortillas in remaining sauce mixture then fill with stuffing.  don’t overfill these badboys… maybe 2 tbs of stuffing in each one.  roll them and place them in the baking dish side by side really close to each other

4.  top the pan with remaining sauce, cheese, and onion.

5.  bake for about 30 minutes.  (until cheese is bubbling on the sides of the enchiladas)

6.  turn the oven to broil.  broil for 5 minutes until the cheese on top browns a little.. soooo good.

oh my gosh, i’m hungry all over again…

it’s good to make some fresh pico to place on the top of the enchiladas when you serve them…

baby got back ribs

so i made baby back ribs tonight. i’m from texas, so you gotta have some good ribs every once in a while. since i live in TN, i dont get Texas ribs often…the only place near here is about 25 minutes away at Mickey Roo’s in Franklin. (amazing, by the way). my favorite ribs are cooked “dry” (with a good dry rub), then basted with good b-b-que sauce the last few minutes. this is really easy, and holy crap it’s so good.

get a rack of baby back ribs (whatever size suits your meal). you’ll need a good dry rub. i really dont think it matter what kind you get, but something good for ribs. you can pick this up at any grocery store. sprinkle the rub all over both sides, then sort of pat it so that the rub sticks. wrap in aluminum foil and keep in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

preheat oven to 250 degrees.

take the ribs out of the foil and wrap them into a new foil. make a pouch so that the ribs fit nicely with enough room for excess liquids. close the foil pouch, but do not wrap it tight around the meat. you may want to put a pan on the bottom rack of your oven to catch any drippage.
cook for 1 hour.

pour a cup of basting liquid into the pouch. to make your basting liquid mix 1/3 cup of water, 2 tbs of wichestor sauce, and 1 tsp of garlic powder. re-close the pouch and cook for another hour.

pour another cup of basting liquid in the pouch. cook another hour.

pour another cup of basting liquid in the pouch. cook 30 minutes.

remove the ribs/pouch from the oven. turn the broiler on. open the pouch completely, exposing the ribs. grab your favorite Bar-B-Que sauce (mine is Jack Daniels Honey Smoked) and generously spread over top of ribs. put the ribs back into the oven and broil for 10 minutes (watch your ribs, don’t let them burn!). this will carmelize the bar-b-que sauce creating a sort of crust…soooo goooood.

remove your ribs and serve with a side of warmed up bar-b-que sauce. i also served these ribs with baked potatoes and some green beans…and a chilled Dos Perros.

now everyone, remove your hat in honor of Texas…and consume your ribs.