Red Enchilada Sauce

Whenever I make my chicken enchiladas I don't usually put much of a sauce over them apart from possibly salsa and grated cheese, but the other day while watching an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (a huge source of cooking inspiration for me, and who doesn't love Guy Fieri :o), there was a chef making what looked like a fabulous enchilada sauce to ladle over his burritos.  There were a few ingredients (spices mostly) that I didn't want to put into my sauce - mainly because I didn't have them and apart from this one sauce would probably never use them again, so didn't want the expense of buying them.  I also didn't want my sauce to be too overly spicy especially when I knew that I was going to be making some beef and bean burritos tonight using some of my recent taco seasoning which has a decided 'kick' to it - didn't want to be blowing off the top of our heads with a double dose!!!

Red Enchilada Sauce
approx 3 cups

3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs flour
2 Tbs chili powder
1 cup vegetable stock
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt

• heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium to high heat.
• stir in the flour and heat for 1 minute.
• add the chili powder and mix to incorporate.
• pour in the vegetable stock and tomato sauce and mix until everything is blended.
• add the oregano, cumin and salt:  reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until sauce has thickened up.
• If you want thinner sauce add a little more vegetable stock until you have the consistency that you desire.

 Red Enchilada Sauce ingredients

heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan and whisk in the flour.

add the chili powder.

pour in the vegetable stock and can of tomato sauce.

add the oregano, cumin and salt and whisk in well.

reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until....

...the sauce has thickened to your personal preference - we like it a little thicker, but if you prefer a thinner consistency just add a little more vegetable stock.

Veggie Pasta Salad

I came across this recipe on a wonderful food website that I'm constantly perusing called Tasty Kitchen and just knew that a variation of it would be wonderful alongside some beautiful salmon fillets that we bought.  I know it's the middle of winter and believe me we will be having the rib-sticking, like-momma-used-to-make, warm, winter casseroles and stews also this week, but when you've got deep red pacific salmon on your plate you want something light and simple beside it.  This is perfect - and believe me, it will also be coming back out in the middle of summer next to those barbecue ribs and steaks that my hubby (the BBQ master :o) rustles up outside.

Veggie Pasta Salad
6-8 servings
(adapted from this 'Summer Pasta Salad')

dressing
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs dried parsley
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs black pepper
3/4 Tbs salt

salad
2 cups dried elbow or penne pasta (to give you approx 4 cups)
1 large tomato
1 green bell pepper
1/2 cup baby carrots
4-5 green onions

• place all the dressing ingredients into a lidded jar and.....shake, shake, shake :o) - store in the refrigerator until you're ready to use.
• cook the pasta in boiling, salted water as per package instructions.
• meanwhile, chop the tomato, pepper, carrots and green onions to uniform size (I wanted mine fairly small) - these were just the veggies that I had on hand, but use your own favourites.
• when the pasta is cooked, drain and run under cold water to cool and stop it cooking any further.
• in a large bowl, mix together the cooled cooked pasta and veggies until well blended.
• pour about half of the dressing over the pasta and toss well - add more dressing if you want.
• keep covered in the refrigerator.

Veggie Pasta Salad ingredients.

dressing ingredients.

place all the dressing ingredients into a lidded jar.

pop on the lid and give it a good shake; put in the refrigerator until you want to use it.

cook the dried pasta in boiling water.

run the cooked pasta under cold water to stop it cooking further and cool it down.

chop all the veggies.

mix all the veggies and cold pasta together.

pour some dressing over the pasta and mix well - I couldn't resist spooning out a small bowl of it to eat straight away - I promise the rest went into the refrigerator ready for dinner and left-overs :o)

Bacon Pinwheels

Quite frankly is there anything better on a lazy Sunday morning than bacon?  Being originally from England there's a very fond place in my heart for the simple 'bacon buttie' - that thick cut back bacon nestled between two slices of thick, crusty, buttered white bread, with maybe a smear of tomato ketchup or, as my brother would always have, HP brown sauce :o)

This morning though I thought I would make something with at least a little veggie appearance so that we don't feel so bad about eating the bacon!!  The original recipe from Pillsbury actually classes it as an appetizer but honestly you could eat these little guys any time of the day....all day. 

Bacon Pinwheels
(adapted from this Pillsbury recipe)
makes 18 pinwheels

1 tube of Pillsbury Grand Crescent Rolls
2 Tbs Ranch dressing
5 rashers of bacon
5 green onions
1-2 tomatoes
1/2 cup cheese, grated (I had some nacho mix left over)

• preheat the oven to 350 F.
• cut the bacon into small bite size pieces and in a small frying pan or saucepan, saute until beginning to crisp; drain on a plate covered in kitchen towel and set aside.
• meanwhile, chop the green onions and de-seed and chop the tomatoes.
• open the tube of crescent rolls carefully and lay out the dough cutting it to make two rectangles approximately 5" x 9"; pinch the perforated seams together so they don't tear while rolling up.
• spread each piece dough with a tablespoon of ranch dressing.
• sprinkle the bacon, onions, tomato and cheese evenly over each rectangle.
• starting from a short side, roll the dough to make a 'sausage'; repeat with the other piece.
• using a sharp knife, cut each 'sausage' into nine pinwheels and place onto ungreased cookie sheets, an inch or so apart.
• bake for 12-14 minutes until puffed and golden brown.
• remove from the cookie sheets immediately and serve warm.

 Bacon Pinwheel ingredients.

saute the bacon until just beginning to crisp.

chop the onions and de-seed and chop the tomato.

unroll the dough and cut into two rectangles.

spread with the ranch dressing.

sprinkle the bacon, onion, tomato and cheese evenly over the dough.

starting at a short side roll up to make 'sausages'.

cut into pinwheels using a sharp knife and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

isn't that just a little puffed piece of perfection!!! :o)

sorry about the pink plate - we were so hungry, but I wouldn't let hubby have any until I'd finished photographing and it was the first plate I grabbed :o)

Pork Chops in Red Sauce

I can't believe that I'm going back on my comment from the last post already!!
Here I was thinking that I wouldn't have time this week to feed my hubby anything but cookies, treats and take-out, and what do I do?  I cook him pork chops!!!  He's soooo spoilt (only joking honey ;o)

It's not as if I slaved over a hot stove all afternoon to get these chops on the plate - it's a simple yet very delicious way to serve pork chops.  They come out so unbelievably tender you almost don't need a knife to cut them.

Pork Chops in Red Sauce
serves 2

2 large pork chops (or 4 small)
1 onion, sliced
1 cube beef bouillon
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mesquite seasoning
1 can condensed tomato soup
pinch salt & pepper

• preheat the oven to 375 F.
• in a medium bowl dissolve the beef bouillon cube in the hot water.
• once the cube has dissolved completely, add the garlic powder, mesquite seasoning, soup, salt and pepper; mix well and set aside.
• place the pork chops in a baking / casserole dish and cover with the sliced onion.
• pour the tomato mix over the chops to cover them completely.
• cover the baking dish with either a lid (if you have one) or aluminum foil, and bake for 1 hour.
• these are great served with practically anything, rice, noodles, potatoes - whatever you have a hankering for.

 Pork Chops in Red Sauce ingredients.

dissolve the beef bouillon cube in the hot water.

mix in all the other sauce ingredients.

cover the pork chops with the sliced onion.

pour the sauce over to completely cover the chops.

after an hour of cooking it almost falls from the bone.

tonight I served them with these potatoes.

Simple Marinara Sauce

There are so many wonderful pasta sauces out there on the market, that sometimes it's so much easier to just grab a jar off the grocery store shelf and go with that along with your favourite pasta.  I do it that way most of the time to be honest, but today I decided to make my own marinara sauce - it's a lot cheaper to begin with, especially because if you make quite a large quantity, as this recipe is, it freezes beautifully so there's another couple of meals right there.  Also, you can get the taste exactly to your own personal preference. This is what went into mine today, only because I had everything on hand - another time, it might change slightly with subtractions and additions, but that's what I like about it.  It's a very versatile, simple sauce.

Simple Marinara Sauce

1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp italian seasoning
3 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes in juices
2 (14oz) cans crushed tomatoes
1 Tbs dried parsley
1 Tbs dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

• saute, over medium heat, the onions in the olive oil until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
• add the garlic and italian seasoning and saute for another 1 minute.
• add all the cans of tomatoes and mix well.
• add parsley, basil, garlic powder and onion powder; mix well and heat until bubbling.
• include the parmesan cheese and stir until melted.
• turn heat down and simmer for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
• taste and adjust seasoning if required.
• when it's finished simmering, if desired, puree the sauce with an immersion blender until smooth.

 Marinara Sauce ingredients (most of them anyway - the rest is just off camera - I'm a bit of a 'space cadet' today!!! :)

mince the garlic and chop the onions fairly small.

saute the onions until soft.

add the garlic and italian seasoning for just a minute until fragrant.

add in the other herbs and powders.

after an hour or more of simmering the sauce thickens into rich awesomeness.

tonight we had the sauce with some pre-bought ravioli.

delicious - and lots more in the freezer for future meals.

Zucchini-Sausage Casserole

I love the concept of 'one-dish' cooking (that's probably why I have not one, but two slow cookers in my cupboard!), so when I saw a magazine by Better Homes and Gardens entitled 'One-Pan Recipes' at the grocery store the other day, you can bet I was leaning over my trolley to grab it from that shelf they put deliberately alongside the till, just for that impulse buyer (ie: me :o)

I do have one small criticism about this first recipe that I tried from the magazine, although maybe that's my own pre-conceived notions about what 'one-pan' really means.  For me, like most of my slow cooker recipes, I just want to throw everything into the dish, pop on the lid, turn it on, and leave it - and ultimately (apart from the plates/dishes I serve it in), I only have the one dish to wash up.  With this zucchini dish, aside from the dish I baked it in, I also had another two bowls and a skillet - that's just me though!! :o)

I altered the quantities of ingredients just a little and added garlic (only because I use garlic in as many dishes as I can), just for my own personal taste.

Zucchini-Sausage Casserole
serves 4

500g sausage meat (I used italian sausage, and just took the meat out of the skins)
1 tsp dried garlic (or 1 large clove, chopped)
1 medium zucchini
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed chicken soup
3 Tbs sour cream
salt and pepper
1 package Stove-Top stuffing mix
1 Tbs butter, melted

• preheat oven to 350 F.
• lightly grease a 13" x 8" deep dish and set aside.
• in a bowl, empty the stuffing mix and mix with the melted butter until well combined; set aside.
• in a large skillet, cook the sausage and garlic over medium heat until the meat is browned; drain off any fat.
• meanwhile, half the zucchini lengthwise and slice crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces.
• add the zucchini to the sausage in the skillet, and fry slightly until beginning to colour.
• in a small bowl combine the chicken soup and sour cream; stir into the sausage mixture.
• spoon half of the stuffing mixture into the prepared baking dish.
• spread sausage mixture over the stuffing in the dish, and spoon the remaining stuffing mix evenly over the top.
• cover with foil and bake until heated through - about 30 minutes.

 Zucchini-Sausage Casserole ingredients

 greased baking dish, stuffing topping and chicken soup mix.

I didn't have any bulk sausage meat, but just take the skins off of your favourite sausage and that works great.

don't slice the zucchini too thinly - you want them to still have a little 'bite' to them once they're cooked.

I didn't saute the zucchinis for very long, just enough to get a little colour.

add the chicken soup/sour cream mixture

spread half of the stuffing mix on the bottom, then the sausage and then remainder of the stuffing to make a crispy topping.

I popped a quick dish of roasted tomatoes in the oven alongside.

(just half some cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and italian seasoning - roast at the same temperature and same time as the zucchini-sausage casserole.)

 simple and tasty.