Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce

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I’ve always been a firm believer in pork cuts in a tomato sauce. It adds an unbelievable richness and depth of flavor that cannot be attained with simply beef. But, to make a proper “gravy”, it’s an all day process. Browning the sausage, beef, and pork. Sauteing the onions and tomato paste, reducing down the sauce for-ever. Delicious, but time consuming.

My mom always made spaghetti sauce to use up leftover ham. Apparently, her mother opted to use ham in her sauce as well. It’s delicious, easy, and a change of pace from your run-of-the-mill spaghetti sauce using ground beef. Since I’ve got a house full of boys, I opt to add ham as well as ground beef. But, feel free to make the recipe using exclusively ham. Great way to use up those Easter leftovers!

Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked ham, diced
1 lb ground sirloin
1/2 medium onion, diced
4-6 mushrooms, sliced and chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 large jar marinara sauce (3 cups)
1/3 cup white wine
olive oil
kosher salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the diced ham, and saute for several minutes, until starting to brown. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, brown the ground beef until nice and dark brown. Drain grease and remove ground beef, setting aside with the ham. Add more olive oil to the saucepan, and saute the pepper, onion, and mushrooms until starting to soften. Add the jar of marinara, the white wine, as well as the ham and ground beef; stir to combine.

Reduce heat to low, and simmer for an hour, stirring several times. Serve with a crisp green salad, and crusty garlic bread (recipe to follow tomorrow!).

Spicy Turkey Panini

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turkeypanini

I came across these panini sandwiches while I was expecting our son Andrew. It was an instant hit with both myself, and the husband. I couldn’t believe how flavorful this sandwich was, or how easy it was to throw together. In fact, in the last week before Andrew was born, Jon took over all cooking duties for me. It might sound simple enough, but it’s actually quite a feat for him.

He cooked the usual things that men (well, most of them!) are capable of cooking…spaghetti, hot dogs, tacos. In other words, processed/ground meat central. But, he also decided to go out on a limb for himself and made these paninis. I did assist him a little in the chopping of the jalapenos. I would have been waiting all night for him to chop up 2 of them – bless his heart. My point is they are wonderfully easy. Takes 20 minutes to throw together…tops!

Spicy Southwest Turkey Paninis

1 sourdough boule or loaf, sliced in pieces 1/2″ thick

3/4 lb oven roasted deli turkey, sliced thin

2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into 1/4″ thick slices

1/2 lb Pepper Jack cheese, sliced (sandwich size is ideal)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp hot sauce

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

kosher salt and ground black pepper

Whisk mayonnaise, hot sauce, jalapeno, and cilantro in a small bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, toss red peppers with the olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Heat large non-stick grill pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange peppers in a single layer in the pan, place a square of aluminum foil on top (that way you don’t kave to wash the pan you weigh down with!), then place a dutch oven, or any other heavy bottomed pan on top of the peppers to weigh them down. Cook, stirring peppers occasionally, until peppers are browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and wipe out pan.

To assemble the paninis, spread mayonnaise mixture evenly on each slice of bread. Lay 2 slices of cheese onto one side of the bread. Top with turkey, red peppers, and remaining cheese. Arrange remaining bread, mayonnaise-side down, over cheese.

Heat grill pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Place 2 sandwiches in pan and weight down with Dutch oven (you can use the aluminum foil trick here as well). Cook sandwiches until golden brown and cheese is melted, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to wire rack and repeat with remaining sandwiches.

Source: Cook’s Country

Beef Tacos

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tacos

I have a confession. Up until recently, I was a taco spice packet user. I tried to make my own spice mixture, but it was just never as pungent as the kind from the yellow packet. After taking a gander at the nutritional information, and the whopping amount of sodium (I’m a salt lover folks, but come on. How do they pack that much sodium into that tiny little package? The world may never know) I decided it was time to ditch the packet for good!

As far as taco shell selection goes, we like to fry our own corn tortillas in this house. Every once in a while I get a hankering for a boxed shell that you just warm up in the oven.  But, there is definitely something to be said for the pan-fried corn tortillas. They aren’t soft, yet they aren’t completely crispy either. I find that the outer portion of the shell gets nice and crispy, while the center stays soft and pliable.

I’m sure this recipe would be just as wonderful with ground turkey or chicken as well.

Beef Tacos

1 lb ground beef (at least 80/20)
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp hot sauce (I like Frank’s)
1/2 cup jarred salsa
12 6-inch corn tortillas
4 tbsp vegetable oil
kosher salt, for seasoning taco shells
iceberg lettuce, shredded
3 roma tomatoes, diced
shredded cheddar cheese

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef to hot skillet, breaking up with your hands as you add to the pan. Cook until beef begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove most of the grease from pan (leave a little bit for flavors sake!) and add chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute to bring out the flavor in the spices.  Add in the hot sauce and the salsa. Cook for another minute to warm through, then place the beef into a bowl, cover, and set aside.

In a clean skillet warm 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Fry tortillas in pan for about 1 minute on each side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and season with a pinch of salt. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

I like to serve with shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, diced tomato, red onion, hot sauce, and sour cream. Or, whatever floats your boat!

Leftover taco meat is good for stuffed peppers, taco salad, or quesadillas.

Chicken Enchiladas

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chickenenchiladas

I think if my husband had to choose his favorite dish, aside from a big honking steak, it would be enchiladas. I had never had them before meeting him. My mom was a great cook, but ethnic dishes were few and far between in our house. The first time I had them, my father-in-law made them for a football game.  I took one bite of that saucey-gooeyness and realized what I had been missing my whole life. He was a fan of using pork, which, I really would like to try.  But, we always have large quantities of chicken in the freezer here…

This recipe originated from America’s Test Kitchen, but I’ve changed quite a few things over the years. It is certainly a favorite in our house, and I’m sure it will be one in yours as well. Don’t be afraid to play around with the ingredients. Sometimes I add diced green chiles, sometimes chopped black olives. Or, this time of year, when I have jalapenos overtaking the garden, I’ll throw in a couple of those that have been diced. The only limit with these is your imagination!

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

1 medium onion , chopped fine
1 tsp. vegetable oil
3 medium cloves garlic , minced
3 tbsp. chili powder
3 tsp. ground cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 tbsp. pickled jalapenos, chopped
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
Vegetable cooking spray
Salt
Ground black pepper

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine the onion, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions have softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

2. Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the thickest part registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate; set aside to cool. Strain the sauce through a medium-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing on the onions to extract as much liquid as possible. Place onion mixture in a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Add to the bowl along with the onion mixture. Add in 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheddar cheese, the chopped jalapeños, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.

4. Stack the tortillas on a microwave-safe plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40 to 60 seconds. Spread the warm tortillas out over a clean work surface. Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla. Tightly roll each tortilla around the filling and lay them seam-side down in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.

5. Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with vegetable oil spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes until the tortillas are starting to slightly brown on the top. (If you dont’ like a bit of crunch in your enchiladas, just skip this step completely)

6. Reduce oven temperature to 400. Remove enchiladas from oven and pour remaining sauce over to coat them thoroughly. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheddar down the center of the enchiladas. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.

7. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese browns, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.