Big Dish O' Nachos

 

Total Time: 40 min
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 15 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

 

Ingredients

2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 8-to-10-ounce bag multicolored tortilla chips
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups cheese sauce, warmed (see recipe below)
1 1/2 cups prepared chili, warmed
1/2 cup guacamole (see recipe below)
Sour cream, pico de gallo, sliced pickled jalapenos and sliced scallions, for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the cheddar and pepper jack in a bowl. Spread half of the tortilla chips in the bottom of a deep 12-inch cast-iron skillet or cake pan. Sprinkle with half of the cheese mixture and bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Top with the remaining chips and sprinkle with the remaining cheese mixture and the black beans. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese melts, about 5 more minutes.

Remove the nachos from the oven and drizzle with the cheese sauce, then top with the chili and guacamole. Top with sour cream, pico de gallo, pickled jalapenos and scallions.

Cheese Sauce

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon each minced garlic and shallot; cook 5 minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup milk; whisk until thick. Add 1 cup cheddar, season with pepper and stir until smooth.

Guacamole

Mash 2 avocados with a fork. Add 1/4 cup diced white onion, 1/3 cup diced tomato, 4 teaspoons chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 2 teaspoons minced jalapeno, and salt and pepper. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until ready to use.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/big-dish-o-nachos-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Holy Garlicky Guacamole!

Total Time: 10 min
Prep: 10 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

 

Ingredients

2 ripe small Hass avocados
1 lemon, juiced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 small plum tomato, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 small yellow skinned onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Blue corn tortilla chips, for dipping

Directions

Cut avocados in half around the pit. Separate the halves. Pop out pit with spoon, then scoop flesh of avocados into a bowl. Squeeze the juice of a lemon over the avocados. Squeeze the juice with the lemon halves facing cut-side up, allowing the juice to spill down over the sides of the lemon into the bowl. This method keeps the seeds in the lemon and out of the guacamole. Add garlic, jalapeno, tomato, onion and salt to the bowl. Mash and mix the ingredients into a chunky dip using a fork. Serve with blue corn tortilla chips.

(foodnetwork.com)

Summer Burrito

Ingredients

• Two 8-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 limes, juiced
• 2 red bell peppers, halved and cored
• 2 green bell peppers, halved and cored
• 1 medium-size onion, peeled
• 4 large flour tortillas
• 1 Anaheim chile, seeded and minced
• 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 ounces farmer or hoop cheese
• 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
• 2 very ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place in a shallow dish and spoon two-thirds of the lime juice over. Let sit 15 minutes. Meanwhile, julienne peppers and onion.
   
2. Prepare a stove top griddle or an outdoor grill. Remove chicken from lime juice; discard the juice. Grill chicken 5 minutes per side, or until juices run clear when pricked at the thickest point. Remove to a cutting board to cool. Meanwhile, warm tortillas on the grill, turning frequently until they begin to puff slightly, about 1 minute. Tear chicken into thin strips.
   
3. Lay tortillas on a clean surface. Beginning about a quarter of the way up the middle of the tortilla, layer equal amounts of each ingredient, ending with a drizzle of the remaining lime juice. Fold up the bottom quarter of each tortilla and roll away from you, tucking in the sides as you go. Serve seam side down.
   
   (Wholeliving.com)
   

Hearty Garlic Greens

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds autumn hearty greens, well washed, stems removed, and sliced into 3-inch strips
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, sliced paper-thin
• 1 pound spinach
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop hearty greens into water and blanch for 4 minutes. Immediately plunge blanched greens into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking. Drain, squeeze dry, and set aside.
   
2. Heat oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until the garlic is golden around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove garlic from skillet; set aside.
   
3. Raise heat to high. Add hearty greens and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add spinach; season with salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Cook until spinach wilts, stirring frequently (about a minute). Return garlic to pan and stir. The greens can be served immediately or at room temperature.
   

Cook's Note

Blanching does not actually cook the greens but softens their texture, while shocking them in cold water keeps their color strong and vibrant.

(Wholeliving.com)

Roasted Cabbage.

1 tsp olive oil (5g)
2 tbsp real bacon bits (14g)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper (more or less to taste)
1 Medium Head of Cabbage
Preheat the oven (or the grill,) to 425 degrees.

Mix the olive oil, bacon bits, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to make the marinade.



Prepare the cabbage. Rinse it under water and remove any yucky loose leaves.

Cut the head in half on the core..



Then cut the halves in half again…



…to make quarters.



Lay each wedge on a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to wrap it up in. Spoon about 2 tbsp of the marinade on top making sure to get it in all the nooks and crannies.



Wrap each wedge and bake for 20-30 minutes.



I say 20-30 becuase they will continue to cook once you pull them out and I like mine still crunchy. So I let them sit for a little while pull them out around the 20 minute mark. However, some like to cook them up to an hour for softer cabbage.



The wedges reheat wonderfull in the oven or the microwave!

Umami Review

I decided to have a tourist day and go down to Hollywood/Los Angeles area and just look around. I ended up in Los Felis and found a burger place there called Umami. It is a small place with a small bar area and a fairly decent sized dining area.

It is for sure a hole in the wall place that if you walked by you wouldn't know that the place was there unless you were really looking for it. Which makes it nice when you have been walking around and just want to relax and enjoy your food with out wanting to punch someone in the face. The seating is interesting. Went during the lunch "rush" and there were only three other tables occupied and about 4 seats taken in the bar. Walked into the place and one of the employees said to sit anywhere in the place and that someone would be there to help.

Ordered The Hatchet burger. I am a lover of spicy food so this was right my alley. Four types of green chiles and house cheese. It was like eating a piece of Heaven it was so amazing. Service was rather slow at times. By the time that we were finally ready to leave was when they finally came around to refill my glass of water.

Over all 4/5 stars for this place. Gave the food four stars and only knocked off a star because they were kinda slow in service. 

Odd and interesting facts.

• Celery has negative calories.  It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.

• Honey is believed to be the only food that does not spoil.  Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found to still be edible.

• Cheese closes the stomach and should always be served at the end of a meal.

• Peanuts are salted in the shell by boiling them in a heavily salted solution, then allowing them to dry.

• The canning process for herring was developed in Sardinia, which is why canned herrings are better known as sardines.

• A quarter of raw potato placed in each shoe at night will keep the leather soft and the shoes smelling fresh and clean.

• Pineapples are classified as berries.

• Milk is actually considered to be a food and not a beverage.

• The table fork was introduced into England in 1601. Until then people would eat with their knives, spoons or fingers. When Queen Elizabeth first used a fork, the clergy went ballistic. They felt it was an insult to God not to touch meat with one’s fingers.

• The Mai Tai cocktail was created in 1945 by Victor Bergeron, the genius of rum, also known as Trader Vic. The drink got its name when he served it to two friends from Tahiti, who exclaimed “Maitai roa ae!,” which in Tahitian means “Out of this world – the best!”

• Before Columbus, Europe had never tasted cord, potatoes, tomatoes, red peppers, sweet potatoes, tapioca, chocolate, pumpkins, squash, coconuts, pineapples, strawberries, and much more.  Why?  All these food items are native to America.

• The cashew nut in its natural state contains poisonous oil.  Roasting removes the oil and makes the nuts safe to eat.

• Although explorers brought potatoes back from the New World in the early 1500s, Europeans were afraid to eat them for fear that the spuds would give them leprosy.  It wasn’t until Louis XVI, who was looking for a cheap food source for his starving subjects, served them at the royal table that people were convinced potatoes were safe to eat.

• In the Middle Ages, chicken soup was believed to be an aphrodisiac.

• There is no alcohol left in food that’s cooked with wine.  The alcohol evaporates at 172 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Cabbage is 91% water.

• The strawberry is the only agricultural product that bears its seeds on the outside.

• It takes, on average, 345 squirts from a cow’s udder to yield one gallon of milk.

• Ever wonder how Swiss cheese is made? As the cheese ferments, a bacterial action generates gas. As the gas is liberated, it bubbles through the cheese, leaving all those holes.

• Cheese is the oldest of all man-made foods.

• The white part of an egg is called the glair