King Ranch Casserole

Apr 16, 2012 by Lindsey

It is a good thing that jalapeno peppers are vegetables. Sometimes it seems like the only green item that shows up on my plate. It counts though, right?

Tonight’s dinner was one of my favorite traditional Texas recipes that involved plenty of jalapeno peppers: King Ranch Casserole. This casserole is like a giant flat enchilada. The pulled chicken, spicy peppers, and melty cheese are so good you’ll think you’ve died and gone to Tex Mex heaven. I have modified the recipe from one of my most coveted cookbooks, Homesick Texan, by the talented Lisa Fain. She showcases the most traditional Texas cuisine with a fresh, modern approach. I have made a few changes to her recipe, but the credit should go to her. Here is how you make a real finger-lickin’, boot-stompin’ King Ranch Casserole. It is one of the best casserole recipes in the world, if you ask me.

Ingredients

• 1 lb shredded cooked chicken breast
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 jalapenos, chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, chopped
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 10-oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 small can of diced green hatch chili peppers
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

The hardest part of this recipe is preparing all of the ingredients. I started by boiling my chicken breasts — the best way to prepare them for shredding– while chopping all of my veggies. I put the veggies all in one big bowl to keep things neat and organized. Once everything is prepared, melt the butter over medium heat and add the veggies. Cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.

When the vegetables are tender and fragrant, add the chili, cayanne, cumin, chicken broth, tomatoes, and hatch chilis. Let this cook for about 5 more minutes until the broth begins to thicken and steam. Eventually this mixture will be the “sauce” of your casserole.

When you are ready, add 1 cup of half and half and let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes. The half and half balances out the spices of the peppers and gives the casserole a creamy, smooth finish. It especially accents the sweet poblano pepper. While this is cooking, now is a great time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Next, ladle a spoonful of this sauce onto the bottom of your casserole dish to keep the tortillas from sticking. Next, place a layer of tortillas around the casserole dish, covering every part. You can tear tortillas into pieces to ensure even coverage.

Layer the ingredients in the following order: tortillas, chicken, sauce, cheese. Do this twice until the casserole is topped with cheese and ready to be put in the oven.

Cook at 350 for 30 minutes. I used this opportunity to do about 5,000 chores around the house and 30 minutes flew by in no time!

Let it cool for about 10 minutes and serve.

We loved this casserole and enjoyed it with a side of slow cooker pinto beans.. The casserole is full of colorful peppers, tender corn tortillas, and savory chicken and cheese. The cumin and spices add that extra “wow!” to the dish that differentiates this casserole from other run-of-the-mill chicken casseroles. I think you are going to love this recipe!

Even if you are living in an apartment in New York, you can enjoy the best Texas recipes right in your kitchen. This is an amazing casserole that lasts all week and provides just the right amount of comfort at dinner during these busy Spring months.

Have a great week, y’all! See you next Monday!

Lindsey

 

 

 

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Pasta Primavera

Mar 19, 2012 by Lindsey

The warm afternoons that we have been enjoying in North Texas mean that spring has finally arrived. My herb garden is planted, my tank tops and sundresses are unpacked from storage, and the Mayflies are taking over our house. This week I celebrated the changing seasons with a dinner of colorful, healthy Pasta Primavera. This is a very simple recipe and makes a plenty of leftovers to be enjoyed later. Pasta Primavera is a traditional italian dish that incorporates a small-spiraled pasta with lots of fresh, springtime vegetables in a light cream sauce. The hardest part is chopping all of the vegetables! It is as colorful as a spring garden and bursts with zesty lemon pepper flavor. You won’t regret making this light, veggie-packed dinner tonight.

Here is how to do it:

INGREDIENTS (makes approximately 6 servings)

1 tbsp butter

2 chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch cubes (** TIP: if dicing your own chicken makes you squirm, borrow some latex gloves from the butcher to use so you don’t have to touch it with your hands!)

salt and freshly-ground pepper

1 box bowtie pasta

1/3 cup of lowfat milk

1 cup of freshly grated parmesean cheese

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

2 tsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 sliced yellow squash

1 head chopped broccolini

1/2 cup chopped portobello mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped asparagus

1/2 cup frozen sweet corn

1/2 cup chopped carrots

Instructions

Start by cooking the pasta according to instructions. The thickness of bowtie pasta means that it takes longer to cook and must be started early. While the pasta is underway, sautee the chicken breast cubes in 1 tbsp melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Cook thoroughly (10 minutes over medium-high heat) and set aside to incorporate later.

Set the chicken pieces aside on a paper towel to drain off any excess grease. In the remaining butter,  sweat the garlic until translucent and fragrant.

Add the vegetables (yes, all of them) to the pan and drizzle with olive oil. The olive oil keeps plenty of moisture in the pan and prevents the vegetables from smoking or drying out. Season generously with salt and freshly-cracked pepper. This is one of the few opportunities you have to add seasonings to this low-fat dish. Lower the heat to medium and let the vegetables cook through for approximately 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly.

When the vegetables are cooked to the point that they are hot and firm, but not mushy, you may begin adding the ingredients for the sauce. Add the chicken back to the vegetable skillet. Pour in 1/3 cup of lowfat milk, lemon zest, and parmesean to the vegetables. Simmer for 2 minutes while the pasta finishes cooking.

When the pasta is cooked and drained, add all of the ingredients to one pot (veggies, chicken & pasta). I used my my pasta pot to finish the dish because I knew it had the largest capacity. Squeeze 1/2 lemon over the pasta and add any additional seasonings to taste.

Let cool for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken and absorb into the first layer of the pasta. If you wish, you can add a bit of heavy cream or some flour to thicken the sauce, but you can trust me that this tastes great without these added calories!

Top with a little bit of extra freshly shredded parmesean and serve. We were both famished and ate ours in no time.

You are going to be so pleased with yourself after making this easy-peasy pasta primavera. It is a great way to sneak some vegetables into your diet — even some vegetables you have never tried before! Broccolini and squash are certainly not regulars in my kitchen, but we are loving them this week.

Happy Monday and see y’all next week!

Lindsey

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Honey Sesame Chicken

Mar 5, 2012 by Lindsey

Welcome back, readers! I am back from the cold, gray world of defeasible fees and presentment warranties. The kitchen is re-stocked with ingredients and my cookbooks are tabbed and ready. There are so many plans for Overcooked in the works right now - please continue to visit often for more great recipes and projects from my kitchen. Is there something you’d like to see featured on the site? Comment and tell me what you want to read!

Dinner last night was easy as 1-2-3.

Have you ever felt lazy about what to do for dinner? Despite my “lofty” plans for Overcooked after taking the bar exam, the rigor of last week continued to take a toll on me by Sunday night. My brain was still mush and dinner was the farthest thing from my mind! There was only one solution for what to cook in this situation: I pulled out my slow cooker, grabbed some chicken and veggies, and created this recipe for honey sesame chicken. This recipe for  will be right up your alley on days where you need to cook, but don’t feel like cooking.

Here is the recipe for slow-cooker Honey Sesame Chicken. The sauce is a nice, easy combination to remember for future stir-fry dishes. I forgot to take step-by-step photos because the slow cooker takes all of the drama out of cooking! You will be fine to follow the recipe as written.

INGREDIENTS (makes 4 servings)

1 package boneless, skinless chicken thighs

salt and pepper

1 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

for serving:

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

2 cups of broccoli florets

1 cup cooked white rice

Instructions

Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place in a slow cooker with honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Mix well and cook on high for two hours.

When the chicken is finished, uncover and cut into bite-sized pieces. You can remove the chicken from the sauce to cut it, or simply use a knife and fork to pull it apart as it sits in the slow cooker. Add the cornstarch and sesame seeds to the sauce and stir well. Let everything sit uncovered to cool and thicken while you prepare the remaining two ingredients.

Prepare the rice according to directions.  While the rice is simmering, stir-fry the broccoli with a little vegetable oil. The broccoli is done when it is a bright green hue and crispy on the tips.

Serve the chicken and broccoli on top of rice.

We loved this recipe. The sauce has perfect balance of bold and sweet flavors, which cooks into every molecule of the tender chicken thighs. The cornstarch took it up a notch by making the sauce less runny and the perfect partner to white rice. Even diners who do not love asian food will find that the flavors of this dish are more like barbeque: sweet, spicy, bold, and thick. This is a delicious supper that will add some ”wow” to your weekly recipe rut, and it barely took 2 brain cells to throw together.

What are you doing in the kitchen this week? The seasons are changing and all new produce is popping up in the grocery store – reminding me that it is time to plant my spring garden!

See you next week!

Lindsey

 

 

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Coq au Vin

Feb 15, 2012 by Lindsey

Three years ago, I cooked dinner for a boy. It was our sixth date.

It was a great sixth date. I prepared a chicken recipe from my favorite cookbook, Molly Stevens’ The Art of Braising. We watched “Lost” on my apartment sofa. He asked me to be his Valentine’s date (I pretended to be cool and acted like I needed to cancel other plans). He also brought me flowers – totally a keeper.

He told me later that he could not forget me after that night because his jacket smelled like braised chicken and red wine. I had won him over.

For three years, that same boy has been asking me to prepare that dish again.

It was my Valentine’s Day gift to him this year to recreate that special memory. Here it is… the dinner that found me true love, Coq au Vin.

 

INGREDIENTS

Adapted from Molly Stevens’ The Art of Braising. Please, please go buy her book.

• 1 four pound chicken, cut into eight pieces (ask the butcher nicely and he’ll do it for you)
• 1 diced onion
• 1 carrot, sliced at an angle
• 1/4 lb slab bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 750 ml bottle of red Burgundy wine
• 2 tablespoons cognac (if you have it)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 crushed garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1 cup flour
• salt, pepper, and a pinch of ground thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

This is not a “beginner” recipe. Roll up your sleeves and tie that apron tight. Then preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Use a large stock pot to render the fat of the bacon for approximately 15 minutes. The edges should be crispy, but the middle still soft. Set aside on paper towels, leaving the grease in the pot. Reduce the heat to low while you prepare the chicken.

Using a large bag (I used the one from my butcher), mix the eight chicken pieces, 1 cup of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Shake and coat the chicken very well.

Place one tablespoon of butter in the pot with the bacon grease and increase the heat to high. Place the chicken in the pot in small batches to brown the skin, turning occassionally. When the skin is golden and crispy, remove to a separate plate.

Add the remaining tablespoon or two of butter to the pot and sautee the onions and carrots until the onions are translucent and flecked with brown (4 or 5 minutes). Keep the heat on high and add 2 tablespoons of cognac to deglaze the pan. Stir in the tomato paste. Simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed into the vegetables or evaporated.

When the cognac and tomato paste has reduced, pour in the bottle of Burgundy wine, garlic, bay leaves, tyme, and parsley. Boil until the mixture has reduced to half. (Not shown – it is hard to take a decent picture of a steamy, boiling pot!) Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf before serving. They taste yucky.

After 10 minutes, or until the wine has reduced to half, add the bacon and stir. Place the chicken pieces in the pot in the following order: drumsticks, wings, thighs, then breasts on top. Place the chicken breasts skin side down – you will turn them back over later. Cover the pot with a lid and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

In 15 minutes, remove the pot from the oven and turn the chicken over – skin side up. Place back in the oven for 45 minutes.

I used this time to whip up a lovely appetizer cheese plate, homemade salad with my favorite vinegarette, and mashed potatoes. The wine pictured below is what I used to cook the chicken.

When the chicken is done, remove to a separate platter. In her cookbook, Molly recommends a garnish for the chicken, but I prefer the dish without. Serve the chicken on top of mashed potatoes. Some people also prefer buttered noodles for this dish.

What a successful Valentine’s Day Dinner! The house smelled amazing, and the chicken is a real show-stopper.

I will be cooking this dish for years to come, always remembering the first time I prepared it. What a great way to celebrate the time that he and I have spent together.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think. It is incredible!

Love,

Lindsey

 

 

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Shredded Chicken Burritos

Dec 19, 2011 by Lindsey

This week’s blog post didn’t go as planned. I had envisioned making shredded chicken tacos with all the fixings, but when Jason brought home “grande burrito” tortillas that were bigger than Duckie, I quickly rerouted and made shredded chicken burritos. I never eat burritos, but these were fabulous because I could fill them with lots of healthy things! I was hardly full after mine and had room to snack on gummy bears while we watched Homeland (our newest favorite show).

I realize I’m not exactly showing any cooking skill in this week’s post, but if it’s what we’re eating, that’s what I’m going to share with you! So, enoy this recipe and have a Merry Christmas week!!

Ingredients

3  boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 batch of Tex-Mex Rice (recipe shown here)

Shredded Lettuce

Beans (Kidney, Black, or Pinto)

Queso fresco

Chopped cherry tomatoes

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, and Olive Oil

“Burrito Grande” tortillas

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350. Season the chicken breasts with about 1 tsp of salt, pepper, and garlic salt each. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 1 hour. This hour is a great time to make your Tex-Mex Rice.

When the chicken breasts are done, shred them with two forks and set aside in a large bowl. While the oven is stil warm, wrap some tortillas in tin foil and place them in the oven for about 10 minutes. This removes excess moisture in the tortillas that can make them chewy and crack when you fold them. Prepare your “burrito station” while they are warming up. I chopped my cheese and tomatoes, rinsed the beans, and got some plates ready for us.

Put a little rice in the middle of the tortilla and top it with shredded chicken.

Add some lettuce, beans, cheese, and other things you might want in there, and roll them up in a piece of foil. This keeps the burrito from falling apart. You can thank Chipotle for that piece of advice.

 

There you have it! Healthy burritos for a sunday night supper. Sometimes you have to do the best you can with what you have in the kitchen. Now I have plenty of shredded chicken, lettuce, and salsa to make salads with for the week!

Merry Christmas, y’all!!!

 

 

 

 

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