Sunday, August 21, 2011

Hola, Deliciousness!

Here's a recipe from the archives...


Mexican Mac & Cheese
adapted from Fast, Easy, Fresh


2 c. elbow mac
2 links fresh chorizo, removed from casings and browned/broken up
1/2 c. salsa verde (from a jar)
1 c. (packed) fresh cilantro leaves
3 c. (packed) shredded cheddar, plus 1 c. for sprinkling (4 c. total)
4 tsp. flour
1 c. 1% milk
3/4 c. heavy cream (don't see why you can't use all milk, but cream is tasty)
1/4 tsp. (scant) ground cloves
1 c. corn chips

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cook macaroni until al dente, about 6 minutes and drain.
Meanwhile, blend/process the salsa and cilantro until smooth. Toss 3 c. cheddar with the flour in a bowl to coat.
Bring milk, cream, and cloves to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cheese mixture. Stir until cheese melts, a couple minutes. Mix in macaroni and cooked chorizo. Season with pepper, if you want.
Spread half of mac & cheese in 13x9 dish (spray first). Pour half of salsa mixture over top. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. cheese (more cheese!!!!). Top with remaining mac & cheese, and another layer of salsa. Sprinkle chips over (I used the little ones from the bottom of a bag), then top with remaining 1/2 c. cheese. Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes
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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Chicken Soup with Cheese Ravioli

Here's a super easy, kid-friendly dish!  Yay!

I cooked my chicken in the crock pot with one quart of water for about 6 hours until it started to fall apart, and then shredded it.  You can skip that by starting with a rotisserie chicken.

Chicken Soup with Cheese Ravioli

1 whole cooked chicken, diced or shredded, however you like it
2 boxes chicken broth (or 1 box plus the broth from cooking your own chicken, if that's what you did)
1 onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3-4 cloves garlic or 1-2 tsp. garlic powder (or more!)
pepper to taste
1 tsp. oregano
olive oil or butter
1 package cheese ravioletti (small ravioli), or ravioli/tortellini (I used a 9 oz. package of Buitoni brand ravioletti)

Saute onion, celery, and garlic (if using fresh) in oil or butter about 5-8 minutes, until onion is soft.  Add garlic powder (if using).  Stir in chicken and broth, and bring to a boil.  Add ravioletti, and cook according to package directions (3-5 minutes).  Season with pepper and oregano.  Eat!  If you want something more soupy, you probably want to add more broth.  It was close to being a stew, really, and we were happy with that.

We ate this with some really good garlic bread.  All of my kids LOVED this.