m'egg'xican pizza

again, i'm quite slack and i realize that i've been talking about this creation of mine from chicago... well, here it is. i call it the m'egg'exican pizza. i was visiting my sister in chicago and trying to be a good guest and make her breakfast. i poured a bit too much egg mixture into a 7" pan and what happened next is sheer brilliance. i think i'm gonna find a way to patent this and sell it to taco bell, ha ha.

enjoy... this one really is worth a try. if you add/change anything, i'd be curious how you m'egg'xified this dish.

Ingredients: 3 eggs or egg-substitute tostadas refried beans guacamole black pepper chili powder	1/2 white onion, chopped green pepper 1/2 ham steak, cubed tomatoes shredded cheddar cheese light sour cream green onions

Preparation:
- crack eggs or pour equal portion egg substitute in bowl
- add black pepper, chili powder, green pepper, white onion and ham steak; mix
- grease 7" pan, add mixture and cook on medium-high heat
- in separate pot, add beans, 2 spoons of sour cream and handful of cheese; mix until warm
- when egg mixture turns light brown underneath, flip over and cook
- cover tostada with layer of beans and egg "pancake"; if pancake is too large for tostada, cut off the edges
- add layer of guacamole on top of egg
- put cheddar cheese on top of second tostada and heat in microwave for 15-20 seconds (or till you want), then put on top of guacamole
- add tomatoes and green onions

you can eat this with a fork, slice into pieces or eat the whole slab. whatever you wish.

turkey enchiladas with tomato sauce

happy décimo de mayo! i planned to post this earlier this week to celebrate what most people in the US think is mexican independance day, but in fact a day that only holds significance as a victory for the mexican army over the french in 1862.

but i digress... i was so inspired that i didn't make one round of enchiladas, i made two! the first one used tomato sauce and i decided to change things up as well and try using ground turkey instead of chicken or beef and from the few reviews by others, it was an appropriate choice. here are the results for round 1 (as you can tell, i was too hungry to wait for the photo to get taken).

Ingredients: canola oil pinch, mustard seed pinch, peppercorns 1/2 medium white onion, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 lb. taco-seasoned ground turkey ginger, minced chili powder lemon juice salt	3 cans, tomato sauce 2 cans, diced green chilis worcestershire sauce sriracha sauce 6 large wheat tortillas 3 green onions 1 lb. cheddar cheese, shredded sour cream salsa

Preparation:
- pour canola oil in pan and put mustard seed and peppercorns in on medium heat
- add white onion, garlic and ginger and saute on medium heat
- add turkey and cook till lightly browned
- preheat oven to 350°
- on medium-low heat, add in green chilis, chili powder, worcestershire, sriracha, lemon juice and salt
- add 1 1/2 cans of tomato sauce to pan, stir thoroughly then put on low heat
- spoon mixture into large tortilla, add spoonful of salsa; sprinkle cheese on top, roll flour tortilla up and place in a large, greased casserole pan; repeat process 5 more times
- put sour cream on top of enchiladas to your desire, pour rest of the tomato sauce and remainder of cheddar cheese; add chopped green onions on top
- cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes in oven

green turkey enchiladas with chili beans

this is the second one that i made cause i felt inspired to trying using green sauce instead of tomato. again, i used turkey as the meat of choice to be able to do an appropriate comparison between the 2 enchilada choices. i added a few extra ingredients into this to kick up the flavor and from initial comments of two unnamed people, they seemed to prefer this one. here are the results for round 2.

Ingredients: canola oil pinch, mustard seed pinch, peppercorns 1/2 medium white onion, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced ginger, minced 1 lb. ground turkey chili powder lemon juice salt slice olives	2 cans, diced green chilis worcestershire sauce sriracha sauce green enchilada sauce, divided chili beans 6 large wheat tortillas 3 green onions taco seasoning 1 lb. cheddar cheese, shredded sour cream salsa

Preparation:
- pour canola oil in pan and put mustard seed and peppercorns in on medium heat
- add white onion, garlic and ginger and saute on medium heat
- add turkey and cook till lightly browned
- preheat oven to 350°
- on medium-low heat, add in taco seasoning, green chilis, chili powder, olives, chili beans, worcestershire, sriracha, lemon juice and salt
- add half of green enchilada sauce to pan, stir thoroughly then put on low heat
- spoon mixture into large tortilla, add spoonful of salsa; sprinkle cheese on top, roll flour tortilla up and place in a large, greased casserole pan; repeat process 5 more times
- put sour cream on top of enchiladas to your desire, pour rest of the enchilada sauce and remainder of cheddar cheese; add chopped green onions on top
- cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes in oven

beef and pork stuffed peppers

i was away on vacation, visiting my sister and together, we made something up and i coined a new term. this recipe will appear here soon after i finish perfecting what to put in it. until then, i'm going through my backcatalogue and hoping to improve on some things that i made in the past. the is one of the first dishes i ever tried to make. that time, i was just throwing random things that i could find around the house. this time, everything is a bit more calculated, but feel free to substitute or add anything you want.

Ingredients: 1/2 lb. ground beef 1/2 lb. ground pork 1/2 medium onion 5 garlic cloves, minced ginger, minced 1 cayenne pepper 2 green bell peppers 2 red bell peppers 2 yellow bell peppers 1 can olives, sliced 1 can tomato soup 1 can tomatoes, diced 1 can chili beans 3/4 lb. cheddar cheese, shredded	1 cup brown rice garam masala ground cardamom cumin powder chili powder salt oregano basil worcestershire sauce rice vinegar soy sauce tabasco sauce lemon juice

Preparation
- in a large skillet, brown ground beef and sausage
- once drained, add vinegar, cardamom, cumin, chili powder and garam masala; put into large pot and heat on medium-low
- in same skillet, add onion, garlic, ginger, and cayenne pepper; cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the large pot
- heat large pot on medium and add chili beans, tomatoes, olives and tomato soup; mix
- add tabasco, lemon juice, worcestershire, soy sauce, oregano, basil and salt; mix thoroughly; boil rice and add to mixture
- bring separate pot of water to boil; cut tops of bell peppers off and remove innards; cook peppers for 10 minutes or until slightly tender
- on medium-low heat, add cheddar cheese and allow to simmer
- preheat baking oven to 350°; drain peppers and allow to cool
- on baking sheet, add mixture inside of peppers and cook in oven for 25 minutes
- when oven sounds, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of peppers and place back in oven until cheese melts

shrimp creole jambalaya

i remember trying to make jambalaya many years ago and i screwed it up so badly, i had to turn it into chili. this time, i completed what i started out to make - a dish with spanish and french influence. most jambalaya recipes i've seen include chicken, but i decided to leave it out and substitute with some other things.

one note, if you don't want to make it as spicy as i have, replace the serrano and jalapeno peppers with something not as high on the scoville scale.

Ingredients: canola oil 3 garlic cloves ginger, sliced green pepper medium onion 3 serrano peppers 3 jalapeno peppers 15 oz can, crushed tomatoes ranch style beans pre-cooked shrimp ham steak, cubed 2 andouille sausage, sliced	5 pieces of bacon, 1 in. slices lemon juice worcestershire sauce tabasco sauce sriracha sauce salt paprika ground coriander chili powder cajun seasoning cumin 4 cups, brown rice

Preparation:
- heat canola oil in pan and add garlic and ginger
- add peppers and onion and sautee for a few minutes
- remove mixture with slotted spoon and put in large pot on low heat
- in same pan, add sausage, ham, pre-cooked bacon; add lemon juice, worcestershire and tabasco sauce;
- add paprika, coriander, and chili powder; stir until light brown, then add shrimp for 2-3 minutes
- remove meat mixture and add to large pot
- add in ranch beans and crushed tomatoes and stir on medium heat; add in lemon juice, sriracha, cumin and cajun seasoning
- in separate pot, bring brown rice to bowl
- when rice is ready, drain and then add rice to large pot
- stir mixture on low heat, add salt as necessary

when ready, put it in a bowl and in your belly!

beef stir-fry with water chestnuts

one note... my last post conveyed my intent to create two dishes and to post 2 new dishes. one part was accomplished in that i made two dishes, but the second part did not take place, due in full part to the total crash of my laptop 2 weeks ago. i lost all the pics of the dish which ended up being the best lasagna that i've made to date, so it just means that i'll have to make it again... hmmm...

anyways, here's a new one for y'all to dig into and my first real foray into the world of asian cuisine... specifically, chinese food. i figure if i'm going to order it up or eat at these various locations, i might as well give it a shot. and the attempt turned out quite magnificent.

Ingredients: corn starch lemon juice sriracha sauce ketchup water canola oil curry powder cumin powder ground coriander fennel seed black peppercorns mustard seed salt	1 lb. sirloin steak, cut into thin strips 3 garlic cloves, minced ginger, minced 4 green onions, chopped 6 asparagus stalks 2 tomatoes green pepper water chestnuts baby corn bean sprouts snow peas zucchini soy sauce worcestershire sauce

Preparation:
- create beef marinade by adding 1.5 tbsp corn starch, 1.5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp worcestershire, 2 tbsp of water 1 tbsp canola oil; mix until smooth, add in beef and marinate for 1 hour
- heat oil in large pan on high, add mustard seed, peppercorns, fennel, garlic and ginger
- when garlic is light brown, add in marinated beef and cook on medium heat
- when beef has reached desired color, removing beef with slotted spoon and set aside
- add green onion, green pepper, asparagus, water chesnuts, baby corn, bean sprouts and zucchini to same pan on medium heat and cover for a few minutes.
- add beef back and tomatoes, stir and cover on low heat
- create sauce to put over mixture by adding corn starch, soy sauce, water, ketchup, lemon juice, coriander, curry powder, cumin, sriracha and salt; add to pan, stir thoroughly
- boil brown rice in separate pan (or cheat and use a rice cooker like me)

serve mixture over brown rice with tsingtao in hand.

greek shrimp pasta with spinach and tomatoes

ok, this time i was slacking, but that's only because i was moving. now that i'm settled, i'm making up for my slackness and made two dishes. the first was something new and little bit different than what i've been tackling. the second is an old favorite, which once again, in my humble opinion, has turned out better than expected. here's dish numbero uno.

Ingredients:
canola oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
green onions
fresh spinach
whole black olives
whole wheat penne pasta
shrimp
balsamic vinegar
lemon juice
rice vinegar
1 can, cannellini beans
2 cans, diced tomatoes
basil
salt
pepper
feta cheese


Preparation:
- bring water to a boil with a pinch of salt and add penne pasta
- in a large skillet, heat canola oil and add garlic and green onions on medium heat
- add in tomatoes, cannellini beans and basil and cook through and let simmer
- add spinach and cook until spinach wilts into sauce
- on low heat, add shrimp, black olives, and a dash of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and rice vinegar
- add pepper and salt to taste
- serve over cooked pasta and add feta cheese crumbs

απόλαυσε! (supposedly enjoy in greek)