Almost Instant Trader Joe's White Chicken Chile Enchilada Casserole

[I'm still out of commission, but, with a touch of Advil, I'm finally posting a whole mess of entries that have been in "draft" status...]

Michelle, another roommate, has mentioned on occasion her mom's white chicken enchilada casserole that is made of a shredded rotisserie chicken, cheese, tortillas, and condensed cream of mushroom soup. Not only are the ingredients simple, it's prepared in a lasagna-like fashion and baked 'till bubbly.

When a coworker told me she'd be in the neighborhood to shop at the Trader Joe's I had no need to shop, but I thought I'd use the occasion to try to create my own white enchilada casserole.

From Exploding taste buds lead to exploding waistlines

I found all but one of my main ingredients at TJ's: the mushroom soup. Trader Joe's tries to carry holiday seasonal items (box stuffing, fried onion, etc), they do not carry anything close to cream of condensed anything. I took it upon myself to create a bechamel sauce with green chiles instead. Since the chiles at TJ's are extremely mild, I used garlic salt as my instant flavor booster.

Layering Ingredients

1 pack fresh corn tortillas
1 pack grilled chicken strips
1/2 bag fancy shredded Mexican (cheese) blend

White Chile Sauce Ingredients [Substitution: Can of condensed soup (mushroom or cheese) & 1-2 cans milk]

2/3 stick of butter
4 T of flour
3 cups of milk (I go for whole milk for bechamel - add 1 more cup of milk and another can of chiles if you want a lot of gravy in the casserole)
garlic salt
ground black/white pepper
1 can fire roasted diced green chile

How-To

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F

1. Sauce: Melt butter, slowly whisk in flour on med-low heat until everything is incorporated, whisk in milk slowly to maintain a lump-free consistency, add in chiles, and season with garlic salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Shred or pulse the cooked chicken in a food processor (yields two cups of chicken in a processor)

3. Assemble sauce, tortilla, cheese, and chicken casserole layers in a 9" x 9" or 9" x 13" baking dish. I recommend a smaller dish and going for more layers - the bigger dish really stretches the recipe.

4. Layering tips: Start with a little sauce in the bottom of the pan. The final, top layer should consist of sauce and shredded cheese. The rest of the order is just up to you.

4. Bake in 350-degree F oven for at least 30 minutes or when the dish is heated through.

From Exploding taste buds lead to exploding waistlines

From Exploding taste buds lead to exploding waistlines

Boy Bawang: Better than CornNuts

I totally have a wicked migraine, but I came across an unposted picture that made me smile, so I had to write up my thoughts quickly.

From Exploding tastebuds lead to exploding waistlines

I'd say Corn Nuts have always been a well-loved snack in my family. However, it wasn't until earlier this year that I discovered Boy Bawang, a Filipino product that's much tastier, crispier, and easier to eat. Easier to eat? Am I crazy? Corn Nuts can feel like work because the over-sized kernels are so dense. Boy Bawang (or literally, "garlic boy") kernels are made of smaller corn kernels, that when fried, create a thin-shelled, hollow mini kernel. My love of the garlic flavor is just a tad bit extreme. As a garlic lover, it's a fantastic to actually buy a garlic-flavored treat that also contains real deep-fried garlic chips (or bits) in the bag.

It was especially disappointing when I realized that I've had access to this snack almost my whole life (you can find them in pan-Asian or Filipino grocery stores and online), but it took my secret blogging obsession (Filipino wedding videographers and photographers) to finally inspire me to try a bag. I found mine in Quincy at Sure Pinoy Food Mart.

Spicy Slow-Cooker Sloppy Joes

A few years ago, I was really into making spicy Sloppy Joes with turkey. I liked to play up a "Southwestern" twist on my Sloppy Joe dinners by serving them with jalapeno cheddar or hot sauce/Tabasco. I even have the mint green cafeteria-style serving trays that I used for my dinner parties to prove it. After recently remaking the recipe I discovered how delightful eating a Sloppy Joe becomes after the filling starts to melt away the integrity of the bun.

From Boston

I adapted my recipe from the PBS Everyday Food series.

Tools to keep your prep to a minimum:

Food processor
Crock-pot

The stuff for a group of four:

1 medium onion, finely chopped/pulsed
½ green bell pepper, finely chopped/pulsed
1 jalapeno or serrano chili pepper, finely chopped/pulsed
1 stalk celery, finely chopped/pulsed
2 garlic cloves, minced/pulsed
1/2 teaspoon red chili flake
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more)
1/2 teaspoon, cumin
1 pound ground turkey
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
Coarse salt and black ground pepper to taste
8 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Steps to make:

1. pulse the veggies in smaller batches
2. add veggies, meat, seasoning, tomato sauce and ketchup to crock-pot
3. run the crock-pot High a minimum of 3 hours or run it on low for 5 hours to overnight. The longer the crock-pot runs, the more the veggies seem to disappear and cook into the sauce.
4. add salt and pepper to taste
5. Serve on buns for a delicious experience.


Variations: This makes an equally nice taco filling or nacho topper. Or add beans for a chili con carne dinner. Replace the meat completely since the magic is in the tomato sauce/ketchup/onion/garlic/pepper base anyway.

For a crowd: To feed a group of 20, I increased this recipe six times over. I saved some cash by using 80/20 ground beef and eliminated the spices. The batch fit into two large Crock-Pots.

Foul Moudammas

My roomie, Bursha, made a big pot of foul (pronounced 'fool') moudammas (fava beans) tonight. She explained some finer points of preparing her dish... while foul moudammas can be served hot or cold, stew-like or hummus-like, Busha took the warmed, stewed pita filling route. Bushra says she likes this dish because it's one of her home comfort foods, and it's a dish that's eaten by the rich and the poor alike.

There are many ways to season the beans as well, but she recreated her mom's familiar Sudanese seasoning (which I think mimics the Egyptian canned version).

I can sorta guess her recipe...

1/2 t cumin (the apparent Egyptian or Sudanese twist?)
1 medium onion
1 T minced garlic
1 T olive oil
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 can of fava beans/foul moudammas from the Middle Eastern grocer near you
4 oz of feta cheese
salt to taste
Serve with pita and plain egg omelette.
Feeds 2-3 as a meal. Or makes a nice party nosh recipe for 8-12.

Toast the ground cumin in a dry pot/pan... brown onions and garlic in the cumin and olive oil. Add in fava beans, tomatoes, and feta. Heat high then simmer for 20 min. Mash up the beans and feta chunks in the pot with a jam jar or potato masher till chunky, not smooth. Serve in a wide-mouthed bowl to dip with Arabic bread (we used a little pita but I'd even satisfy my love of rice with this one). We used a little egg omelette to lighten the bean stew and fill us up for a late night power snack. But Bushra promises that reheated, day-old foul moudammas is even tastier!

 

 

p.s. i did cheat and repost this from my personal blog.

out in the burbs

After church, a carload of some of us young ladies headed out to dinner and dessert...

The first stop was Big Fresh Cafe in Framingham. It's an organic place that focuses on local products - for eating organic and fresh, the menu is priced pretty reasonably. I had the Stir Fry Big Fresh Special, "Organic tofu in a delicious satay sauce, served on brown rice with teriyaki vegetables & collard greens." The presentation was pretty and I added a bit of Bragg Liquid Aminos as a seemingly lower-sodium soy sauce alternative. (I don't know the specs for sure, yet.)



But apparently I didn't get the memo that dinner was really supposed to be a snack, since everyone was saving room for ice cream at North End Treats.

We were surprised to find out that the store had much more than ice cream. Frozen yogurt with mix-ins, Richardson's ice cream, and gelati made up the frozen treat section. Sandwiches, pizzas, and pastries using recipes from Bova's 24-hour Bakery in the North End are sold here, too. Lois had an amazing hazelnut gelato, Evelyn had her first cannoli with chocolate chip-dipped ends, and Pam and I shared an amazing peanut butter cup bar.

Jo-Jo Tai Pei

Do four Taiwanese eateries within a half-mile radius make a neighborhood a Taiwan-town?

The original two Taiwanese store fronts in Allston Village were Infusions Tea Spa (tapioca pearl tea and tea-time snack haven) and its next door neighbor - Yi Soon Bakery. Then Super 88 welcomed a Wisteria in the food court after the Newbury Street location split into two (the Super 88 in Allston and the East Cambridge sit-down). More recently Jo-Jo Tai Pei moved across the street from the bakery.

I've been there twice and both times have been quite tasty. The first time Sandra and Jack brought me there for the "special pork chop over rice" ($6.99), Taiwanese stir-fried noodles ($6.99), "famous spicy beef noodle soup" ($8.99), and "bow bin" shaved ice (small $4.99).

The pork chop plate really felt like a good value. The chop was season, fried, and enormous. Sides included a tea egg, Chinese broccoli, and some pickled turnip (?) - I never touch it, so I'm never sure. I love the "garnish" of stewed fatty pork belly pieces.





The stir fried noodles were simple, not overly oily, and perfectly seasoned with just enough garlic and onion flavor.



The beef noodles, while pricier than I'd like to pay for, were delicious. The spiciness level was decent and the texture of the noodles was dense enough to give a little chew.



The shaved ice was tasty. Of all the sweet toppings I love the tapioca pearls and boiled peanuts the best. While I do enjoy the sweet beans, my brain never gets used to eating sweetened boiled mung beans.



I followed Jerry and Scott there a second time for the "crispy smelly bean curd" ($5.99), oyster pancake ($5.99), cold dan-dan peanut noodles ($6.99), and large bow bin ($6.99).

It was my first stinky tofu experience. The whole restaurant could smell something was up once our order was fired up. A few Asian and non-Asian patrons asked each other "What is that smell?" For all it's pungency, the flavor and texture were pretty mellow. The pieces of tofu are bite-sized, so it's easy to throw a few down the gullet and act like a season stinky-tofu eater. The oyster pancake was good, but not as amazing as Myers+Chang's version. The dan-dan noodles were tasty - and easy enough to take out for a picnic dish. I enjoy them more than Thai Peanut noodle salad because they use a thicker (almost Soba-like) noodle.

I look forward to going back to search for one of my holy grail, childhood food memory dishes - the Jo-Jo Special Mini Steamed Bun. It's a thicker dough version of a soup-on-the-inside dumpling that's been pan seared. The ones I remember from my elementary school days in a South Bay Taiwanese noodle shop were pan fried on both sides, but the Jo-Jo version online appears to be close enough. I'll find out one of these days.

Summer Bounty

I just borrowed Lois's camera battery charger and rescued a few pictures that were trapped on my camera since June.

This picture was the first Stone Soup Farm delivery that included the flower share. L-R: cucumber, kale, Japanese eggplant, fennel, wild flowers, cilantro, onions, and sugar snap peas.



I also really enjoyed the few weeks we had fresh heirloom tomatoes and edamame pods. The tomatoes were so lovely and flavorful, and the edamame was nice after quickly boiling them and eating them with sea salt and fresh squeezed lime juice. Too bad I didn't have battery life to take those pics!