Cranberry Salsa

The last dish in Graciasgiving series?  Cranberry SALSA baby.  If this doesn't make you want to shake two turkey legs around like maracas I don't know what else will.

Yummy.  Tart, not too sweet, with a little kick.  Mommy likey.  Mommy want chippy.

The best part of this recipe is it's a one food processor wonder.  Takes about 3 minutes total.

1 Bag of Fresh Cranberries 

1 Bunch of Cilantro, rough chopped

1 Large White Onion, rough chopped

1 Jalapeno, finely chopped 

2 Limes, juiced

1/4 Cup Sugar 

Large Pinch of Salt 

Throw everything into the processor and let it ride until everything is evenly chopped up.  It helps to give everything a rough chop.   Now, if it's too tart, you can easily add more sugar to adjust for your tastes.

Wanna know my favorite way to serve this?   I know you do.  I let a block of cream cheese rest on the counter for 1-2 hours or so or until it gets to room temp and then dump all sorts of the cranberry salsa on top.

 Serve with your favorite crackers and watch it dance right out of your kitchen.

This now concludes Graciasgiving.  It's been real.  Have a safe and happy holiday tomorrow and as always, stay hungry!

Poblano, Corn, and Potato Gratin

Yowza.  These were soooooo good.   

 I've always wanted to make potatoes au gratin, but I didn't have a mandolin.  GUESS WHO HAS ONE NOW BIOTCHES.

I think this is the only time I haven't changed a recipe.  Actually, I doubled the cheese.  Oh and added green onions.  Never mind.  Anyway,  I was looking for a Mexican twist on a Thanksgiving classic, and came across this.  It was exactly what I was thinking of.  It's like you read my mind Bon Appetit.

1 Tbs of Olive Oil 

2 large fresh poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded, chopped

2 large green onions, chopped 

1 1/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 cups coarsely grated Oaxaca cheese or whole-milk mozzarella cheese, divided

1 1/2 cups half and half

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

If you don't have a mandolin, I would invest in one.  The one I bought is cheap.  OXO V-Blade Mandoline - $39.95 from Williams-Sonoma.  Not to shabby.  I used to be scared of mandolins.  I thought I would chop my hand off or something.  When I compared the odds of chopping my hand off with a mandolin to trying to slice 1/8" potato slices with a knife ...I invested in a mandolin.  Money well spent.  

I didn't photograph this step, but saute the chopped peppers and corn in the olive oil for 3-5 minutes over medium heat or until the peppers begin to soften.  Add the chopped green onions and saute for another 2 minutes or so.  Season with a little salt n' peppa.

In a cast iron skillet, or a dish of your choice, add the bottom layer of potatoes, overlapping a bit. If you are using a regular casserole dish and concerned about sticking, either spray the pan with cooking spray or rub with butter.

Next, add a layer of the corn/poblano/green onion mix.

The recipe calls for Oxaca, which is basically like a Mexican mozzarella but with a little more tang.  I couldn't find it in the 3 seconds I dedicated to looking for it, so I grabbed the chihuahua cheese that was in front me.  It's a little more creamy and reminds me of jack cheese.  It's delicious.  I don't really know how you could go wrong with any cheese here.   If you wanted to get all fancy you could use little dollops of goat cheese.

Keep repeating until you run out of layers or until you reach the top.  Whichever happens first.

Next, whisk the cream, flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl and dump over the top.  Cover dish or pan tightly with foil and cook for 30 minutes or so at 400 degrees.  Remove from oven, top with cheese, and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

 TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. 

Drool to the face.  I know it's going to be very difficult, but you MUST let these rest for 10-15 minutes or else they'll be a soupy mess. 

Make these at Graciasgiving or just because you're alive and love good food.  Charlie L-O-V-E-D these.   Pasar Hambre!

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

MmmmMMMmmmm chipotle sweet potaters. Spicy and sweet and a total twist on the traditional sugary sweet marshmallow sweet potatoes.  Perfect for Graciasgiving. 

 Whenever I type potato I have to keep myself from typing "potatoe."  Several years ago my Mom emailed my sister and I, asking us what we wanted on our 4th of July menu.  I wrote back, "potatoe salad."  My sister then responded, that she didn't want any "toes" in her potato salad.  I laughed and then cringed.  How many times had I spelled potato wrong...in public?  Anyway, I've never made that mistake again.

Yummy.



Look at the little flecks of chipotles.  Love it.

2 Large Sweet Potatoes, peeled, chopped

1-2 Canned Chipotles, chopped 

1 Tbs of Unsalted Butter 

1 Tbs of Honey 

Sea or Kosher Salt

Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain, and then gently mash.  Add the chopped chipotle peppers.  Try the potatoes after 1 pepper.  You can always add a little more heat by adding some of the sauce the chipotle peppers are canned in.  Add your butter and honey and a healthy pinch of salt.  Taste and then adjust.  

Stay hungry! 

Chorizo & Andouille Cornbread Stuffing

So I woke up from a nap yesterday and a Mexican inspired Thanksgiving menu popped into my head.  I'm going to call it Graciasgiving.  This first one sort of came out of no where.  I went to Williams-Sonoma to buy a mandolin for another Graciasgiving dish, and I spotted the corn bread stuffing mix.  The wheels started a turnin' and I ended up in the Whole Foods butcher section at 8am sharp Sunday morning ordering chorizo and adouille.  Damn my peoples.  This was so good.  Oh and by the way, if you think this is going to be a skinny recipe - RUN.  RUN FAR FAR AWAY. 

There.  I said it. 

Here is said box of corn bread stuffing mix so you know what to look for. I have seen corn bread stuffing mix at regular grocery stores.  You could always make corn bread, let it get stale, and then toast it...but who ever has leftover cornbread? 

Here is the full list of ingredients: 

1.5 lbs of Williams-Sonoma Corn Bread Stuffing Mix 

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter

 3 Stalks of Celery, diced

1 Small Yellow Onion, diced 

1/2 Lb of Raw Chorizo, casings removed

1 Lb of Andouille Sausage, casing removed 

4-4.5 Cups of Chicken Stock 

Kosher or Sea Salt

Throw both sausages into a skilled and brown.  Why both meats?  Chorizo is spicy and andouille is smokey. You could easily go with one the other.  If you say WHAT, no way, you can always use spicy Italian sausage.  I won't hate.

While the sausages are browning up all nice nice, melt the stick (ahem, cue sneeze noise) of unsalted butter over medium heat.  Add the celery and onion and cook for 5-8 minutes or until veggies are nice and soft but not browned.

Make sure to drain your sausage over paper towels and then add everything in a large mixing bowl.  Slowly add chicken stock until the breading becomes very moist, but there is no liquid standing at the bottom of the bowl.  Note:  Some people like their stuffing on the drier side.  To me, dry stuffing is basically like a pile of croutons.  I like it nice and moist.  I probably added 5 cups of stock, but you might be happy with 4. 

Cover the stuffing with foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and let it finish in the oven for 10 or so more minutes so the top can get nice and golden brown.   I fluffed mine up with a fork so it looks prettier.

Is this your traditional Thanksgiving stuffing?  No.  It's stuffing for Graciasgiving.  If you want a more traditional, and badly photographed recipe, check this out.  Since my Uncle Mike wants to disown me for using Jimmy Dean in that recipe, I would be remiss to not tell you to use spicy Italian sausage instead.  Fine.  I agree with him. 

Graciasgiving wouldn't be complete with just stuffing.  That's why Hardly Housewives has three more awesome dishes to share with you.  Here is a sneak peek of Wednesday's post.  

Think you know what this is?  I bet I'll surprise you.  Even if it's just a little. Stay tuned...and stay hungry! 

Chicken Enchiladas

I've made chicken enchiladas many, many times before but never quite like this.  This was da bomb diggity do da. 

I don't know what it is, but there's something about chicken enchiladas that screams comfort food.  Winter has officially struck Chicago so a little spice and some warm gooey cheese was called to the rescue.

The beautiful thing about this recipe?  It's pretty hard to screw up and you can make a million different variations.  It's also an awesome recipe to use up left over meat.  In my case, it was left over chicken.  Don't like meat?  Try the same recipe with lentils or black beans.  Boom.

I know this is more ingredients than I normally use, but I promise it's not that bad.  And NO, I'm not using all of that butter.  Only part of it.  Jeesh.

Cooked Chicken, Shredded

Mexican Blend Cheese
Butter

Cumin

Taco Seasoning

Enchilada Sauce

Chipotle Peppers 

Onion

Garlic

Tomatoes 

Flour Tortillas 

Melt down some butter in a medium hot skillet.  Chop the onions, garlic, and chipotle peppers and add to the butter.  Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeno peppers canned in this amazing adobo sauce.  Adding a couple of peppers and some of the liquid gives this deep, amazing flavor with a kick of heat.  If you don't like spice you can easily skip this step.  But I'll be bummed.

Once everything is blended well add the cumin and taco seasoning and give it a nice stir.

Turn the heat off and fold in the chopped tomatoes.  You could easily add everything together at once, but I like to see chunks of the tomatoes so adding them at the end helps them keep their shape and bright fresh flavor.

Add our onion/garlic/chipotle/tomato mixture to the chicken and stir.

My chicken was a bit dry and this enchilada sauce was a bit tasty so I just added some to the chicken.  Yum.  Not a lot, just a splash to moisten things up.

Ok so before we start assembly, add some enchilada sauce to the bottom of your casserole dish.  Doesn't need to be exact - just add enough to cover the bottom but you want to save some for the top of the enchiladas as well so keep that in mind.

So...I like cheese.  Like a lot.  So, if you aren't like me and you don't spend your days planning how to incorporate more cheese into your life, you might not want to add so much.  There is also probably something wrong with you.  Check yo' self before you wreck yo' self.

Ok so after putting a layer of the chicken mixture and the cheese, fold up the ends.

Place it seem side down in the enchilada sauce.  Wrap it and hold it tight while you're putting it down because it'll loosen up as soon as you let go.  Don't worry about the flippy ends - we'll fix them in a second.

Keep going until you run out of space.  I made 4 big dawgs and topped it with the rest of the sauce.

With a wooden spoon or a spatula gently spread the enchilada sauce on the top and press the ends so they fold in.  See?  Add then, of course, add more cheese.

I would have actually added more but I ran out.  I GUESS this is enough.

Pop into a 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted on top.

Hells to the YES.

To make it look pretty and less gluttonous, I added some sliced tomatoes and some sour cream.  Obviously cilantro would be a more appropriate garnish here but I only had dill.  The important thing is that it's GREEN and it's PRETTY.  I hope you are writing this down.  This is revolutionary stuff here folks.

What uuuuuuup.

Let's just take a closer look, shall we?  This was incredibly tasty and enthusiastically enjoyed by the hubs.  Stay hungry!

Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

3 Cups Cooked Chicken, shredded

2 Cups Mexican Blend Cheese, shredded 

1 Tsp Cumin

1 Tsp Taco Seasoning

1 10 Oz Can Enchilada Sauce

2 Chipotle Peppers, chopped with sauce

1/2 Onion, chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

2 Tomatoes, chopped

Flour Tortillas 

1 Tbs Butter 

Melt butter in skillet.  Add onion, garlic, and chipotle peppers.  Add about a tablespoon of chipotle pepper (adobo) sauce for additional heat.  Stir over medium heat until well incorporated, about 3 minutes or so.  Add cumin and taco seasoning.  Stir to incorporate.  Turn heat off and add 1 tomato, chopped.  Add mixture to chicken and stir.  You can add a couple tablespoons of the enchilada sauce if chicken mixture seems dry.  In a casserole dish, pour in some enchilada sauce just to cover the bottom.  Add chicken mixture and cheese to tortillas and roll and place into dish seem side down.  You can make these as thin or as thick as you want.  Top enchiladas with enchilada sauce and cheese.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 or so minutes until cheese is melted well.  Top with sliced tomatoes and serve.  Enjoy!