The Pre-Party Meal

My friends and family got together before we went to a Halloween costume party on Saturday night, which I decided to start the party at my house with little time to prepare.  I found a recipe for a posole, and decided to make it my own by making it a little easier to prepare.

Spinach and Green Chili Posole

There are 2 ways to work this recipe, buy 1 ½ lb of poblano chilies, char them in the oven for about 20 min, cover them in a bowl with plastic wrap until cooled, then peel and seed them, or you can buy 3 cans of roasted mixed green chilies. 

1 ½ lb poblano chilies, or 3 7 oz cans of roasted chilies.

1 Large white onion finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoon ground coriander

5 cloves of chopped garlic cloves

1 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach

1 15 oz can white hominy drained

1 quart low sodium chicken broth

1 bottle of a Mexican beer

Meatballs

1 pound ground turkey

1 pound ground pork

1 clove chopped garlic

½ cup of plain bread crumbs

¼ cup of milk

2 teaspoons ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Add enough oil, or bacon grease, to coat the bottom of your pot and heat up the pot.  Add your onions until translucent, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and sauté for about 2 minutes.  Put your chilies in a blender, leaving out about ¼ cup.  Blend until smooth.  Add all of the chilies to the pot, stiring until the mixture thickens.  About 5 minutes.  Defrost the frozen spinach, and squeeze out all the extra liquid, then add to the pot.  Add your broth and ½ the bottle of beer and let your broth simmer.

While that simmers, start making your meatballs.

To a bowl, add all of the meatball ingredients and gently mix everything until combined.  I use a fork to mix up the meat, so I don’t crush the mixture with my hands.  If you over mix your meatballs, they will become dense. 

Turn up the heat up to medium-high for your broth until you see a slight boil.  Roll the meat mixture into 1 tablespoon round balls and drop into your pot.  Or you can do what I did, and used a small ice cream scooper to make the balls so I didn’t have to touch the meat.  Add the hominy.  Lower the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes until the meatballs are cooked.

Serve with some tortilla chips and you are top with a little chopped green onion and sour cream.  Enjoy!

We had a Manjaman night!

My sister and her family were getting ready to go home to Oregon, my youngest sister was visiting, my son and his friends came home, so again I had a full house and needed something quick to cook.   BBQ chicken, white rice and edamame salad.  It was quick, easy and not a lot of clean up.

Sweet BBQ Chicken

I first learned about this recipe in Oregon and it is amazing.  I just adjusted the recipe to add in a little Manjaman.  I know most don’t like chicken thighs, and try to be healthy with chicken breasts, but the chicken breast does not work with this recipe.  You will love the sweet/ginger marinade on the chicken.  Who knew this combination could be so good.

4 lbs Boneless/Skinless Chicken Thighs

3 Cups 7 Up

1 Cup Soy Sauce

1 Bundle Green Onion Roughly Chopped

1 ½ Inch Ginger Sliced

2 Teaspoons Manjaman 5 Garlic Spice

To make the marinade, add all of the ingredients above into a bowl.  You just have to make sure the chicken is covered with the marinade.  Let it sit for at least 20 min, or longer for more flavor.  Barbeque the chicken about 5 minutes each side.  When I first place the chicken on the barbeque, I take some of the green onion and ginger and add it on top of the chicken while it cooks to add some more of the flavor into the chicken.  Just remember to take it off before you serve it.  You don’t want anyone eating the big chunks of ginger.

Edemame Salad

This is a simple salad, and you do not need to be exact with the measurements.  Add more of what you like and less of what you don’t.  It is a strange combination, but it is great for parties.  The colors are beautiful and the taste is amazing.

2 Bags Frozen Shelled Edamame

½ Cup Chopped Basil

½ Cup Dried Cranberries

½ Cup Crumbled Feta

½ Cup Candied Walnuts (Optional)

1 Teaspoon Pepper

1 Teaspoon Manjaman 5 Garlic Spice

¼ Cup Good Olive Oil

Salt to Taste

Add of the ingredients into a bowl and mix.  You can add more olive oil if you feel your salad is dry, then add salt and pepper to taste. 

My friend Gina, wanted to know if I had any cupcake recipes, and of course I do.  We have a cupcake thing going on right now...  We do a 3 mile Top of the World run in Laguna Beach, then we drag our crew to Susie Cakes and Kean Coffee for the reward.  The hill is pure hell, but the pay off is all worth it.  Cupcakes and coffee are heaven!


If you want to try something a little different for a cupcake, try these recipes.  Growing up I hated coconut, but I love toasted coconut for ice cream, in brownies, and cupcakes.  I also cannot pass up chocolate and peanut butter.  The two are a happy combination.

Toased Coconut and Marshmallow Cupcake

Toasted coconut and marshmallow is so good!  You have to try this recipie.

Ingredients
3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 box of your favorite vanilla cake mix
1 can of coconut milk
2 tablespoons of rum
2 sticks of butter at room temperature
1 jar of marshmallow cream

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spread the shredded coconut on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven, shaking the baking sheet occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Follow the instructions on the box of cake mix, add 1/3 cup of the coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of rum and 1 cup of the toasted coconut.  Fill your lined cupcake tins 3/4 of the way up and back following the instructions on the box of cake mix.

To make the frosting, in a large bowl, beat the room temperature butter until creamy, then add 1 tablespoon of the coconut milk, the confectioners' sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the marshmallow cream and beat until combined.

Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost the top with the frosting, and dip into the rest of the toasted coconut.  They are messy to eat, but so worth it!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake

I love chocolate and peanut butter together.  Putting them into a cupcake only makes it better!

Ingredients

1 box of chocolate cake mix

1/2 of cold coffee

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter - my daughter likes Skippy, but I like Jiff

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Chopped salted peanuts

Follow the instructions for the chocolate cake mix, just replace the water for the 1/2 cold coffee.  Fill the lined cupcake tins with the batter and cook following the instructions on the box.

For the frosting, place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, top the cupcakes with the frosting, then dip into the salted peanuts.

Seared Ahi with Pistachio Pesto Dressing

My sister is coming into town and her youngest daughter is a partial vegetarian, so I wanted to try something new, seared ahi with a pistachio basil dressing.  It turned out great!!

Ingredients
1 6 oz ahi tuna steak
5 cups of basil
5 cloves of the garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
The juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup of toasted pistachios.
1/2 cup of olive oil

For the dressing, add the basil and garlic to a food processor, and pulse 3-4 times.  Then add everything, up to the olive oil.  Pulse a few times and scrape down the sides.  With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil.  Taste and add additional seasoning to your liking.

When you are ready to eat, season the steak with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Spray grill surface or wipe with a thin layer of oil. Add tuna steak to the hot cooking surface and sear tuna 2 minutes on each side. Remove tuna from heat and top with your basil dressing.

On the side I made some pasta.  I heated up some of the basil dressing, added a little bit of cream, and the topped with some tomatoes for color.

My Blog

If anyone knows me they know I love two things, cooking and shoes.  I love coming home from work, or spending Sunday afternoon cooking.  I would not call myself a foodie, but I do love my food.  I see recipes and look how to make them my own.  There is no greater feeling to plate my dish and to see that it worked.  The next step is to share it with my friends and family.  My son is out on his own, and I think he loves to cook as much as I do.  He likes to entertain and I love to hear about the meal that was prepared.  I also think his dad has contributed to his food ideas, now that he has started his own spice and sauce line, Manjaman.  They have a unique fusion twist, which is a fun change to a plain recipe.

My shoes are another passion, or maybe closer to an addiction.  I love walking into my favorite store, seeing the shoes on display, and trying them on.  My daughter has picked up a little bit of my cooking habit, but has developed more of my shoe problem.  We are the same size and I often find my shoes on her feet.  If she can walk like a lady, and not a spider, she can wear the shoes.  My daughter and I run together, when I can keep up, and shop together.  She runs track and cross country and I have my own personal trainer so, when we can fit in our runs on Saturdays, it is an added bonus for both of us.

I am happy to share my recipes with you, but will keep some of my shoe habit on the DL.  My boyfriend of 12 years just would not understand.