Enchiladas (3 Star), Refried Beans, and Cilantro Lime Slaw

This dinner was to die for. Everything was so good, but especially in this combination. The boys only liked the enchiladas, so that is what the rating refers to. (Crazy punks! How could they not like the refried beans? They were awesome!) All the recipes are courtesy of Prudence Pennywise, original recipes found at the following links: enchiladas, refried beans, and slaw.

I did change up the enchiladas to make them lower fat and more nutritionally packed, so here is the recipe:

Beef and Veggie Enchiladas

For Enchiladas:
2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
15 corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheese, for top (I used a mozzarella, provolone, cheddar blend from Costco)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, or sliced green onions, for garnish

For Sauce:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoon flour
5-6 tablespoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon dried cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
2 cups/cans tomato sauce (if you can find it, try El Pato spicy tomato sauce in the yellow can)

For Filling:
1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chilies
1/3 cup finely minced onion or scallions
1 cup finely chopped broccoli
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
juice of 1 lime

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add corn tortillas, one at a time, and lightly fry just until softened, adding more oil as needed. Stack tortillas atop one another on a paper towel

When finished, in same skillet heat oil for sauce. Whisk in flour; cook for one minute. Add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and paprika. Stir for one minute. Whisk in chicken broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While sauce simmers, put a large skillet on medium to medium-high heat. Fry the ground beef, onion, broccoli, and carrot together until the beef is cooked through. Add the green chilies, salt, cumin, and lime juice and stir until heated through and remove from heat to assemble enchiladas.

Preheat oven to 425 if you are baking the enchiladas now. Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan and an 8 inch square baking dish. Pour enough of the enchilada sauce into both pans to just cover the bottom. Dip the tortillas into the sauce in the skillet, on both sides. Add about 1/4 cup filling and roll up and arrange tortillas between the two pans. Pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle lightly with cheese. (Can be prepared up to this point. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for up to two days.) Place tortillas in 425 degree preheated oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until just bubbly and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with cilantro and let cool for five minutes before serving. (If baking refrigerated enchiladas, increase baking time to 20-25 minutes. Keep covered with foil for first ten minutes of baking, to prevent drying.)


I am also including the refried bean recipe because I want to remember what seasonings I used this time, and I also made a larger batch. These beans were so good and so easy.

So Easy "Un" Refried Beans in the Crock Pot

3 cups dried pinto beans-no need to presoak
12 cups water
1 onion, diced

Put beans, onion, and water in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low overnight, or about 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. (Every crock pot is different, so give yourself plenty of time.) When the beans are very soft, remove all of the liquid that you can with a small ladle or measuring cup. You don't need to strain the beans, just get out as much of the cooking water as possible. Mash the beans with a potato masher or immersion blender, getting them as creamy as you like, or leave them whole, if that floats your boat. Add seasonings and stir.

I (Becky) added:

4 tsp. chicken base
2-3 tsp. salt
2 dashes liquid smoke
3 dashes Tabasco
2 pinches chipotle powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Prudy's other add-in ideas:

start with 1/4 teaspoon salt (or use granulated chicken bouillon)
1/2-3/4 cup flavorful liquid: taco sauce, red or green salsa, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce (my favorite is El Pato spicy tomato sauce), or even a 14 ounce can of undrained Mexican style petite diced tomatoes
Optional Add ins: sauteed garlic-onions-jalapenos, bacon grease, chopped cooked bacon, roasted red peppers, diced green chilies, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped cilantro


Well, I guess I'm going to put the slaw recipe in here, too, since it is hidden inside her post and I did make one change by adding tomatoes.

Cilantro Lime Slaw

1 10 ounce package coleslaw mix or 1 small head of green cabbage, shredded
1 bunch cilantro
2-3 tomatoes, diced
juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine coleslaw mix, cilantro, tomato, lime juice, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cajun Meatloaf (3 Star)

If you like meatloaf, you will love this. If you don't like meatloaf, this is worth trying anyway because it's awesome and you'll probably love it and discover you've been missing out, thinking that you didn't like meat loaf. And if you think you don't like meatloaf, I can empathize because there was a time that I didn't either. Any food with the word "loaf" in it that is not bread has always worried me a little.

But with this meatloaf, there is no need to fret, because it is juicy, spicy (I halve the cayenne to protect young taste buds), and so flavorful. I found the recipe here, on Pioneer Woman's site. In the past, I never would have considered serving meatloaf to company, (due to my meatloaf misgivings and reservations) but this is very much company-worthy. I served it to a group at my home the other day and received much praise and glory.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup (2 Star)

I would categorize this soup as a split pea soup (that also has lentils) and I like split pea soup. But this soup goes way beyond split pea soup. It is magnificent. I would never call regular split pea soup magnificent, just really good. This was beyond good. I have never used red lentils or yellow split peas before and the color created by this combination is beautiful. I definitely can't call regular old green split pea soup beautiful. And the other ingredients in this recipe really made it amazing. The recipe for this soup is from 101 Cookbooks, found here.

I followed this recipe exactly, except for the fact that I used a crock pot. I combined the first five ingredients in the crock pot and set it on low for three or four hours. Then I followed the instructions for the other ingredients, added them to the pot, and cooked on low for another hour or two.

Fantastic!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

These are my favorite pancakes. This post might be better suited for fall, but I make these year round. They are a great way to use the pumpkin (and butternut squash works just as well) that I have frozen from my garden. They taste like pumpkin pie in pancake form. They are moist and tender inside and crisp outside from frying. I got the recipe here, from Allrecipes, and have copied it with my changes to whole wheat.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree, canned or fresh, or butternut squash puree can be used
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar

1. In a medium bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.

2.Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with butter and syrup or honey.

Kimchi Jjigae (3 Star)

If you are familiar with kimchi, you know that it is the very spicy, fermented cabbage that Koreans eat with every meal. Brandon loves it, but as for myself, I have not developed a taste for it, though I like to try it every now and then to see if it's better than I remembered from the last time. None of the boys like it, either. However, I really enjoyed this jjigae (soup) that Brandon made from the kimchi, and so did some of the boys. It is a spicy soup, but the spice is tempered by chicken, onions, tofu, and broth.



Kimchi Jjigae

2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 lb kimchi
water enough to cover vegetables and meat
1 Tablespoon honey or sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon red pepper paste
1 package extra firm tofu
1-2 zucchini, sliced

Heat oil in a large soup pot on medium high to high heat. When hot, add chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir occasionally until meat is browned but not cooked through.

Turn the heat down to medium and layer the kimchi on top of the meat (leave the kimchi juice in the jar). Cover and let simmer for five minutes.

Add water until the ingredients are covered. Add remaining kimchi juice, soy sauce, honey or sugar, salt, pepper, and red paste. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for ten minutes.

Add tofu (or rubber chicken, as dubbed by our youngest son) and zucchini and simmer for an additional five minutes. Serve with rice.

Kim bap (1 Star)

Kim bap is the Korean version of sushi rolls. Personally, I'm not too adventurous when it comes to sushi and I like to stay away from raw fish, but I do like Kim bap. It took some time for me to learn to like the seaweed but now I really enjoy these rolls. Amazingly, our first born can't get enough of this stuff. He could probably eat at least half of this batch of Kim bap by himself, given the chance. None of our other boys care for this, though some of them do like to eat the seaweed sheets plain, strangely enough.



Making Kim bap involves a lot of steps, so let's get started.

Kim bap

1. Rice

Cook 2 1/2 cups of sticky (Asian, or short grain) rice. Traditionally, white rice is used, but we use brown so that we have the nutritional benefits and we also enjoy the more nutty flavor (our kids favor white but we don't cater to them on this matter). This should yield about 5 cups cooked. Cook the rice far enough in advance so that it has time to cool enough to handle but is still warm and fresh. Do not use rice that is cold because it is then too hard and dry to shape into the rolls. We usually cook the rice and then cook the Pulgogi and the soup (coming up next!). By then the rice is usually done, and we let it cool while we prepare the other Kim bap ingredients. Then we mix up the rice and assemble the Kim bap.

To the warm rice add:

3-4 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2-3 Tablespoons sugar

Combine until thoroughly blended, tasting and adding vinegar and sugar as needed, to obtain a mildly sweet and sour taste. Set aside.

2. Pickled Vegetable

1/3 daikon radish (can be found at Asian markets, but I've also seen it in some grocery stores--other veggies could also work well such as cucumber, zuchinni, or carrots)
vinegar to cover vegetable
1 Tablespoon sugar

Peel the radish and slice into long, thin strips. If you use cucumber, be sure to remove the seeds and then slice into strips. Place in a small bowl and pour enough vinegar to submerge cucumber. Add sugar and stir to combine. Set aside. (This could be done a day ahead.)

3. Meat

We use the cooked Pulgogi. Cut it into long, thin strips and set aside.

4. Carrots

Peel and slice carrots into long, thin strips. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat with a Tablespoon of olive oil. Stir-fry carrot strips until tender-crisp and remove from pan. Set aside.



5. Eggs

4 eggs
1-2 Tablespoons water
a few pinches of sea salt

Whisk above ingredients together and pour into a large, greased skillet (use the same one used for the carrots) that has been heated to medium heat. When eggs have set, flip entire circle to the other side (or flip a half at a time) and cook for another minute or two. Remove onto a cutting board and cut into strips. Set aside.



6. Spinach

10 oz fresh spinach

Boil a small pot of water. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, submerge spinach, a handful or two at a time, in boiling water for 10-30 seconds. Remove and drain on paper towels. Set aside.



7. Assembly

To make the rolls, a bamboo string roller makes things a lot easier. Place it on your work surface with the bamboo sticks running horizontal to you, and place all of the ingredients close by.



Place a sheet of roasted, dried seaweed onto the roller and sprinkle with sea salt.



Spread a layer of rice onto the side of the seaweed closest to you, covering slightly more than half of the sheet.



In the center of the rice layer, place strips of pickled vegetable, meat, carrot, egg, and spinach.



Pick up the edge of the roller that is closest to yourself and carefully fold over until the roller touches the other side of the seaweed. Press down firmly to compact the roll together. Do not allow the edge of the roller to fold under with the seaweed, but keep it on top. Dip your finger into the pickled vegetable juice and moisten the entire edge of the seaweed that is farthest away from yourself.



Continue to firmly roll until the seaweed is closed and the moistened seaweed edge is sticking to the side of the roll. The bamboo roller should make a U shape around the Kim bap and when finished rolling, just unfold the roller so it is flat again.



Remove the Kim bap log to a cutting board and, using a sharp serrated knife, cut into slices. Sample the unruly edge pieces and give the rest of them to the bottomless pit boy who wants nothing more than to eat Kim bap until he bursts asunder.



Place Kim bap slices onto a plate and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.



Then devour! If you don't have a bottomless pit boy who wants nothing more than to eat Kim bap until he bursts asunder, invite over the neighbors to help you out.

Makes around 3-4 dozen, but is quite variable depending on how much you stuff the rolls and how thick or thin that you slice them.

Pulgogi (3 Star)

Since Brandon lived in Korea for two years and developed a love for the food (among other things) he has learned to cook several Korean dishes. Our first-born passionately loves the Korean food that Brandon cooks and recently begged and pleaded until Brandon agreed to make a Korean meal. The next several posts will be about this meal.

First up is Pulgogi or Korean Barbecued Beef. This is probably the most popular of all Korean dishes. As with most foods there are many variations, some more spicy or sweet or salty. The Pulgogi I've eaten in Korean restaurants has been quite sweet. Ours is not so sweet and a little more spicy, adapted from a recipe in a cookbook called "Flavours of Korea" by Marc and Kim Millon.

Pulgogi

2 lbs sirloin steak (I often use a London broil or a roast that is on sale) cut into very thin strips (1/8-1/4 inch thick--either have a butcher do this or cut the meat yourself when partially frozen) across the grain

Marinade

10 Tablespoons soy sauce
6 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed, and finely chopped, or pushed through garlic press
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled, crushed, and finely chopped
4 Tablespoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
1-2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 yellow onion sliced into strips
1 bunch of green onions, sliced
5 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 head of leaf lettuce such as romaine, red leaf, or butter crunch, leaves washed and separated

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and place into a Ziploc bag along with the meat. Knead together and allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour, preferably overnight, turning the bag occasionally.

After marinating, the meat can be grilled, but we always fry it in a large cast iron skillet because our grill is a little crummy and doesn't get hot enough. Heat the pan on medium-high or high heat with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. First stir-fry the yellow onion for one or two minutes. Then add the meat and all of the marinade and fry for 6-8 minutes, turning every now and then to brown the meat but do not overcook! The meat can be a little pink in the middle. The key to tender Pulgogi is to cook on hot heat very fast. Add the green onion during the last minute of cooking and then remove from the heat. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top.

Pulgogi can either be served on top of sticky rice (we use brown) or as lettuce wraps. For lettuce wraps, place some meat and onions in the center of a lettuce leaf along with a bit of rice and a dab of hot pepper paste. Wrap up the leaf and eat.