Sunday, October 30, 2011

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!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

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.