Superbowl recipe roundup

So you're going to plant your tail in front of the TV for 4 hours Sunday night? Might I suggest some stuff to dip other stuff in?Spicy Hummus

Guacamole

Rather have finger food?Piglets in a Blanket

Deviled Eggs

Want something more substantial?Jalapeno Bacon Corn Muffins

Pot of Black Beans

Or you could always take the lazy route like we probably will and order some pizza. Let someone else do all the work! Pop's Backdoor in Durham has great pizza.
Whatever you end up choosing, make sure to enjoy the eating and the commercials because that's really what Sunday is about. GO CARDINALS!!!!

Chicken milanese and pickled onion pistachio salad

Ever since I saw this post over at Smitten Kitchen last week, I've kept it in the back of my mind. If you've never checked out Deb's site, you're missing out. I just love her saturated photography and adventurous cooking. Last night I had chicken thighs thawed and decided it was time to give this recipe a whirl. I made several modifications due to what I had on hand.

I used thighs, not breasts
I used parmesan, not romano
I used romaine, not escarole
I used pistachios, not hazelnuts
I followed all other parts of the recipes exactly. This was a big hit with my hubby, though I felt the onions and dressing a little salty. Again, I think my tastebuds have been a little sensitive to salt lately though. The chicken was excellent, moist, crispy and not greasy. And despite taking several detours with the salad, the sweetness of the pistachios was wonderful with the earthy parmesan, pickled onions and slightly bitter romaine. The combination of textures between the chicken and salad were great! I also loved that a lot of this can be made ahead of time. I'll definitely make this again.

Chicken and bean enchiritos - future cooking

These were excellent and this combination of meat and beans is certainly not set in stone. Please modify as you like, but this was how I made these the other night and the meat had PERFECT flavor. I think taco hell was onto something with using flour tortillas instead of corn. Yum! I'm excited to have made 2 meals with this. My freezer is slowly filling!Chicken and Bean Enchiritos
Makes 8 enchiritos(4 servings)
Ingredients:
1 tb oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb ground chicken (turkey would be just as good)
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1 can refried beans (or black beans)
1 4 oz can whole green chiles
8 flour (light whole wheat) tortillas (soft taco/fajita size)
1 14 oz can enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheese (I used a mexican blend)
2 green onions, sliced

Directions:
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and chicken until cooked through (about 5-7 minutes). Break chicken into small pieces with a spoon or spatula as it's cooking. Combine all spices in a small bowl then stir into cooked chicken and onions. Add water to skillet. Stir well to coat evenly. Simmer over medium-low heat for 9 minutes or until no longer watery. Turn off heat and mix beans into the skillet.

Preheat oven to 350. Slice green chiles into 16 strips. Lay a tortilla flat on a plate and scoop about 1/2 cup of meat/bean filling into the middle. Use spoon to spread in a line to the edges. Cover with two slices of green chile and roll up.
Place into a 9x13 (I used 2 8x8s) casserole dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. When the pan(s) is full, cover with enchilada sauce. Top with shredded cheese and green onions.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and broil until cheese is bubbly.
These are so much easier to make with flour then with corn tortillas. They roll up really nice without crumbling or needing to coat in fatty oil first. Enjoy!

White bean and kale soup - future cooking

Last night I made a white bean and kale soup to freeze. I've had good experiences with freezing and reheating soups so I figured I would try a new one. I think soup is underrated in its potential to be a perfectly rounded meal alone.

I actually had enough of this for both of us to bring for lunch today too. I modified it quite a bit from the Better Homes and Gardens Big Book of Italian Recipes, but their recipe was a good base for mine. This is easily made vegetarian by substituting veggie bouillion for the chicken.White Bean and Kale Soup
Makes 6 entree servings
Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
pinch of crushed red pepper
6 cubes chicken bouillion
4 cups water
2 cans cannellini beans (aka great northern beans), rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
4 cups raw kale, chopped

Directions:
In a 4 qt or larger pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent. Add garlic, dried herbs and pepper, and saute one minute more. Add bouillion, water, and tomatoes and bring to a boil over high heat. Add beans and reduce to low. Simmer 5 minutes. Add kale and simmer 5 minutes more. You can salt to taste, but honestly, I didn't add any. The bouillion provided plenty.
I had a burst of energy last night so I also made enchilada style burritos for dinner and to freeze. That recipe follows tomorrow!

Weekend eats and cooking for the future

I'm feeling a lot less like cooking these days, despite all my cooking last week. By the end of the day, I just want to get off my feet. So we ate out a good amount this weekend. For date night on Friday, we ate dinner at Pop's. I ordered the housemade gnocchi. This was a slightly crispy on the outside, delightfully light potato inside gnocchi served with venison meatballs, spinach, mushrooms, pomodoro and romano cheese. This was a great dish. I wasn't completely into the sauce, but I think my palate has been a little off lately due to pregnancy so you should definitely judge it for yourself.

My hubby ordered the angel hair with smoked chicken, pickled banana peppers and a bacon cream sauce. This dish was creative and very tasty. If you like pickled banana peppers, I urge you to try it. They shone in this dish. Speaking of banana peppers, have you ever tried the deep fried ones at Bull McCabes? Or the Wooden Nickel in Hillsborough? Soooooo good. I'm off topic here, sorry.

Saturday night we ate at Shiki Sushi. As always the sushi was fantastic, the service was okay and the place was loud as hell. I don't know why they blast the music in there so loudly. All it does is force everyone to shout over it. I ordered the bagel roll and the shrimp tempura roll. The bagel roll is such a treat. It's salmon, cream cheese and avocado, battered and deep fried and garnished with eel sauce. Battered and deep friend sushi, it just doesn't get more delicious then this...

We also ate again at the Silver Spoon on Saturday morning. Having gotten enormous dishes the first time, we both ordered what we felt would be smaller portions and still were unable to consume it all. I had the egg croissant sandwich with home fries. Hubby had an omelet with homefries. We both loved our dishes. The only thing I felt could be improved upon are the homefries. I like mine a little crispy and these are monster potato slices, amply seasoned, but I think they're most likely baked and not crispy. Still the service was phenomenal, the portions huge and the food was served hot and exactly as I ordered it.

I did manage to prepare a good Italian Sunday dinner. I made egg parpadelle tossed with spinach, mushrooms, shallots, chicken and pesto. I served it with a big side salad. I was just too tired to photograph and write down the process, so I can't really share much beyond the description. I am going to work on making a lot of casseroles and food that freezes and reheats well over the next couple of weeks so stay tuned! I plan on stocking up the freezer prior to baby arrival :) Any suggestions for dishes are welcome!