Cabbie’s Cooking

This is another recipe from my sister, Debi.  She and her husband Gregg, make this often for family get-togethers.  It’s fabulous! Here’s a warning from Debi: “I highly suggest that you wear gloves while chopping the fresh jalapenos. For milder salsa, use less jalapeno. This keeps for only 3-4 days.”

EASY HOMEMADE SALSA

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup lime juice
1 medium onion, chopped
1 or 2 chopped jalapeno peppers
1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chilies
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine ingredients. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!

My brother-in-law, Gilbert, sent me this recipe. I haven’t tried it yet, but Gilbert swears this is delicious! He tells me that one of ladies who is a good cook in his department makes this for their monthly birthday celebrations.  I wondered where the “Mexican” part of the recipe comes from, and he explained that the blending of cinnamon and chocolate - along with the pecans is a distinctly Mexican combination.  If you give the recipe a try, let me know how it turns out.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE PECAN RICHES

3 squares (1oz each) unsweetened baking chocolate
1/3 c. butter or margarine
4 eggs
1½ c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1 ½ t. vanilla
Dash cinnamon
1 1/3 c. pecan halves (can add more)

In top of double boiler or in heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter; set aside to cool. In large bowl beat eggs to blend, then beat in sugar, corn syrup, chocolate mixture, vanilla & cinnamon. Stir in pecans. Pour into greased 2 qt, 2 inch deep baking dish. Place in pan with ½ inch hot water. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until just set.  Remove from water, cool thoroughly on rack.  Spoon into dessert dishes.  Makes 8 generous servings.

One day last fall I wasn’t feeling well, and so I took the day off work.  Maybe it was the time of year or maybe it was because I was looking out the window and seeing all the autumn colors in the leaves, but I wanted some chili.  It took less than fifteen minutes to put it together.  Then I let it simmer on the stove. The chili smelled so good simmering on the stove that I didn’t wait for lunch. I went ahead and had a bowl of it around ten o’clock that morning. It was absolutely wonderful! The navy beans (instead of kidney beans) make it easy on the digestive system. What a great recipe - even if I do say so myself! So here is how I made it:

Home-made Chili

1 lb. ground beef

2 medium onions, diced

bell peppers (green, red, yellow), diced - about 1 cup altogether

3 stalks celery - including leaves, diced finely

2 tablespoons olive oil (needed only if the ground beef is very lean)

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce (or 1 small can tomato paste)

2 cans navy beans (or whatever kind of beans you like in chili.  I just prefer the mildness of the navy beans)

chili powder (to taste - probably a couple tablespoons)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large pot.  Add the ground beef, onions, peppers and celery.  Saute until the ground beef is browned and the veggies are tender.  Add the diced tomatoes (juice and all), tomato sauce/paste, the navy beans, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Add enough water to cover everything - make it a good consistency for chili.  Stir well and simmer for a couple hours.  It’ll be ready after about thirty minutes, but it tastes much better if the flavors simmer together for a long time.  And it’ll be even better the second day.

Serve with crackers or corn bread.  RT likes to sprinkle diced onions, a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese on top before serving.

Okay, I have a new recipe for you.  I made this for dinner last night, and it was delicious!  It made two pans worth - one for last night (with enough extra for lunch today), and a pan for another evening soon.  I love having frozen meals that I can pop from the freezer to the oven for a good dinner on a busy evening.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

2 cups chicken (cooked, deboned, diced.  I just bought a package of chicken - already cooked and diced)

1 can black beans (drain and rinse)

1 can whole kernel corn (drain)

1 can mild tomatoes and jalopenos  (Rotel)

2 cans enchilada sauce

several cups shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)

8 flour tortillas

Prepare a baking pan by spraying it with Pam.  Preheat the over to 350. 

Mix the chicken, beans, corn, Rotel and 2 cups shredded cheese together in a bowl.  Take a tortillas and spoon some of the mixture in the middle and fold in the sides.  Place the enchilada folded-side down in the pan.  Prepare all the tortillas the same way.

Pour the enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas.  Then sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.  Take the foil off the top for the last few minutes.

You can add sour cream or whatever topping you like.  We ate them with nothing extra and a tossed salad on the side, and it was an absolutely scrumptious meal.

Besides being delicious, the best thing about this meal is how easy it is.  I got home around 5:15 - and by 6:00 we were eating dinner.  Just dump the ingredients in the bowl, mix, fill the tortillas and bake for awhile.  Couldn’t be easier.

I’ve been on a recipe kick recently. I just made a pot of taco soup to take to church tomorrow. A group from another church will be there, and so we’re having a pot luck dinner for them (and us) after the church service.

This a recipe I got from one of my nieces about five years ago. I’ve made it many times since then - for family and for company. It is delicious, and it’s ridiculously easy. Here it is:

TANTALIZING TACO SOUP
1-pound ground beef
1 chopped onion
2 cans diced tomatoes (not crushed)
1 can corn
1 can tomato soup
Up to 2 tomato soup cans of water (as desired)
1 can kidney beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning (hot or mild, depending on your taste)Brown the ground beef and onion together. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer. Serve with toppings like corn chips, sour cream, salsa, grated cheese. You can also substitute salsa for one can of diced tomatoes.

Don’t get too hung up on exact quantities of everything. Tonight I “kinda” doubled it - I doubled some ingredients and added just a little extra of others, depending on what I had on hand - and it still tasted wonderful. It’s nice to serve with little bowls of grated cheese, salsa, sour cream and corn chips beside it. That way everyone can “doctor it” the way they like it.

A quickie meal - easy, only three main ingredients.

Easy Chicken Quesadillas

1 package grilled/diced chicken breast (or you can season, grill and dice your own)

6 large flour tortillas (more or less, depending on how hungry you are)

Grated or thinly sliced Mexican cheese (mixture of white and yellow cheeses)

Spray Pam in the bottom of a large frying pan and place a tortilla in the pan, fllat.  On one half, place some of the cheese and chicken.  Fold the tortilla in half.  Lightly brown each side.  I usually keep a pan in the oven to place the quesadillas when I’m finished with them.  It helps to finish melting the cheese and keeps them hot until I have enough prepared for everyone.  To serve, use a pizza cutter to slice each quesadilla into wedges.  Serve with sour cream and salsa.  Yummy!