Chicken Chili Verde

This is another from Home Chef. I've stopped delivery for the month of April for now. I may add some weeks back, but for now I want to focus on recipes from Mom's recipe book.

This particular recipe was just meh. I usually like "verde" anything. And this may have been better without the beans, but overall it was just meh. I do realize it says "chili" and without beans it would just be Chicken Verde and that would be ok.

Chicken Chili Verde
Recipe from Home Chef
Serves 2

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 T cilantro chopped
1 can cannellini beans (15 oz)
14 fl oz Green Enchilada Sauce
1 oz sour cream

I'm a big fan of preparing your ingredients first. Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts. Chop your onions, mince your garlic, zest your lime, juice your lime and chop your cilantro.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tsp olive oil and chicken to hot pot. Cook undisturbed until browned, 3-4 minutes. Flip and reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook until chicken reaches a minimum internal temp of 165F, 4-5 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

In the same pot, heat to medium heat. Add 1 T olive oil and onion to hot pot. Cook until softened and lightly browned, 4-6 minutes. Add garlic and cook until aromatic, 1 minute.

Add 1/2 c water and beans with their liquid. Bring to a boil and boil for 5-8 minutes. while soup cooks, shred chicken. Add shredded chicken and green enchilada sauce. Return to a boil and immediately remove from the burner. Stir in 1/2 of the cilantro (reserve the rest for garnish).

In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, 1 tsp lime zest and 2 tsp lime juice.

To plate, ladle chili verde into a bowl. Top with dollop of lime crema and remaining cilantro.

Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos

Home Chef came through again. I've found that I'm enjoying cooking shrimp more now. Not sure why all of a sudden it's on a rotation for me, but I'm sure loving it.

This recipe was easy and delicious...though the bang bang sauce didn't have a huge "bang" in my opinion.

And you all know how I love to change up recipes, right? Well, in this case, I mixed the bang bang sauce, the slaw and the tomatoes all together. It just made sense to me.

Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos
Recipe from Home Chef

Serves 2

1 lime
1 roma tomato, chopped
16 shrimp (medium size shrimp)
1 oz mayonnaise
2 tsp Sriracha sauce
2 eggs, whites only
3/4 c flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
6 small flour tortilla (corn would work well too)
4 oz slaw mix


Zest the lime, and set aside. Juice the lime and set aside. Core the roma tomato and dice.

Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the mayonnaise and Srircha in a small bowl. [JW note: I added some lime juice to this and it really made a difference.]

Place egg whites and flour in separate small mixing bowls. Working with a few shrimp at the time, dredge the shrimp in the egg whites and then dip in flour. Toss to coat completely and transfer to a plate.

Combine slaw mix with 1 T lime juice. [JW note: I put the mayo Sriracha sauce with the slaw mix as well.]. Salt and pepper slaw mix to taste.

Heat 1 T olive oil in a medium non stick pan over medium high heat. Add breaded shrimp and cook until shrimp is golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a towel-lined plate and season with salt.

Heat your tortillas. Fill tortilla with dressed slaw and top with shrimp. Drizzle with bang bang sauce if you didn't mix it with the slaw.  Squeeze a lime over the top and devour.

Irish Nachos

These were made for last years Irish Sunday Dinner...and I forgot. This year I thought I was sooo clever to make these.

I made a few modifications to this recipe out of pure laziness.

These are fantastic with my modification and sadly, too easy. I highly recommend making these for any occasion.

My modification consisted of buying Waffle fries instead of slicing potatoes. The rest I did follow.

Irish Nachos
Recipe from KitchMe.com

1⁄2 lb potatoes,

2 tbsp olive oil,

1⁄2 tsp paprika,

1 tsp sea salt,

1 tsp ground black pepper,

5 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tbsp pickled jalapeno pepper, chopped

5 slice bacon, cooked and chopped

3 tbsp Greek yogurt or sour cream,

1 tbsp tomatoes, diced

1⁄2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

2 tbsp green onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Slice potatoes into 1/4 inch thick rounds and place in a bowl. Add olive oil, paprika, sea salt, and black pepper and toss until the potatoes are well coated. Arrange slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, turn over, and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes or until the potatoes are browned and crisp. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Arrange potato slices in a cast iron skillet, slightly overlapping the edges. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese, jalapeno pepper, and bacon.

Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove the skillet from the oven and top with Greek yogurt or sour cream, tomatoes, cilantro, and green onion.

Guinness Stew

Yesterday was March's Sunday Dinner. Last year I did corned beef and cabbage. This year I decided to do Guinness Stew.

First let me just say I forgot how much I love Guinness. I think I drank more than I should have while cooking. But, I mean, I bought a six pack so I had to test it, right?

FoodNetwork had a recipe that seemed easy and I've not been let down by their recipes before, so we gave it a go. And let me just tell you...it was fantastic. I don't think it had enough of the Guinness flavor so I'd add more of that next time. AND adding tomato paste to a beef stew was magical. I never have done that before and now it's going to be in every stew I ever make.

Guinness Stew
Recipe from FoodNetwork
Serves 6

2 pounds stewing beef
3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons tomato puree, dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cups Guinness
2 cups largely diced carrots
Sprig of fresh thyme
Chopped parsley, for garnish

Trim the meat of any fat or gristle, and cut into 2-inch cubes. Toss beef with 1 tablespoon of the oil. In a small bowl, season the flour with salt, pepper and cayenne. 

Toss meat with seasoned flour. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Brown the meat on all sides. 

Reduce the heat, add the onions, crushed garlic and tomato puree to the skillet, cover, and cook gently for 5 minutes. 

Transfer the contents of the skillet to a casserole and pour half of the Guinness into the skillet. 

Bring Guinness to a boil and stir to dissolve the caramelized meat juices on the pan. Pour over the meat, along with the remaining Guinness. 

Add the carrots and thyme. Stir and adjust seasonings. 

Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat, or in a 300 degree F oven until the meat is tender, 2 to 3 hours. Garnish the beef with parsley and serve. 

Ginger Steak Salad

If you know me at all, you know I'm a huge Pioneer Woman fan. She got a bit "over sold" for me for a while and I had to walk away. I've since welcomed her and her wonderful recipes back into my life.

This weekend while cleaning out my own recipe pile I stumbled on to this Ginger Steak Salad. I decided that I'd make it for the book club ladies.

It was not only perfect in that it wasn't heavy and yet was fulfilling, but it was PERFECT in every way.

I love Asian flavor salad dressings that include ginger and garlic, and this one does not disappoint. The recipe is easy and delicious. It will see another rotation in this house again.

Ginger Steak Salad
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

MARINADE INGREDIENTS:
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sherry
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
1 whole Rib-eye, Strip, Or Sirloin Steak
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

FOR SALAD DRESSING:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons White Sugar
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
2 cloves Garlic, Finely Diced
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger, Minced
1/2 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Diced

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
2 whole Green Onions
8 ounces, weight Salad Greens (baby Lettuce, Endive, Radiccio, Etc.)

JW Note: I added cucumber and tomato to the salad as well.

Combine steak marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Mix and place steak into bag. Marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Combine salad dressing ingredients and slice green onion.

When steak is finished marinating, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a hot skillet. Cook steak about 1 1/2 minutes per side, or until medium rare. Remove from skillet and keep on a plate, allowing to cool slightly.

Toss salad greens in 3/4 of the salad dressing. Place steak on cutting board and slice thinly, then pour juices from the plate over the top. Mound tossed salad on a platter, then place sliced steak on top of salad. Pour remaining salad dressing over the top. Sprinkle green onions over the salad, and add cherry tomatoes if that makes your skirt fly up.