Chicken Quesadillas

Quesadillas are quite prevalent here in Texas as a staple of everyones food diet. Well, I have not had any in quite a long while and decided to cook some up. Probably a little different flavor than most quesadillas but I like it a little different.

Ingredients:
1 lb Chicken Breasts, frozen
Flour Tortillas
Garlic Salt
Mesquite Seasoning
Paprika
Ground Cumin
Celery Salt
Perfect Pinch - Cajun
Ground Allspice
Italian Seasoning
Ground Cloves
Shredded Italian Style Cheese
Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar
Fiesta Blend Cheese
Mozzarella & Parmesan Finely Shredded Cheese
Vegetable Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Water
Tequila
Olive Oil

I began by gathering the spices.

I also made sure to have all my cheeses too.

So I mixed my spices together. No real amount, just remember to go light on the Allspice and Cloves. They tend to overpower everything else. I also went light on the Cumin as well. I love, yes love, Garlic Salt so I added a LOT of that.

I have used pre-made marinades before and they always call for vinegar, vegetable oil, and water. So that is what I added to the spice mix. About 1/4 cup Water, 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, and 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil. Mix together well.

Now I did not take a picture of me freezing and then dicing up the Chicken. It's pretty simple and allows you to cut into smaller pieces due to the Chicken being frozen. Try not to cut yourself. Please. Then add to marinade and mix together.

Hey look! I found a bottle of Tequila! Let's use this in cooking tonight.

I put about 2 shots worth of Tequila into a skillet and turned the heat to MEDIUM. Once the Tequila began to burn off, I added in the marinade and Chicken.

It looks so pretty when it's cooking. This part should only take a minute or two due to the Chicken being diced up so finely.

Strain the Chicken out and put it in a bowl.

Grab a small skillet. Using a small Tortilla, add some Cheese. Then some Chicken. Then some more Cheese. Fold it over and put it in the skillet with some Olive Oil(not too much).

Flip over after about a minute or minute and a half. Take off about a minute later.

Looks tasty I know...let's cut it up. Enjoy.

Simple Burritos

So I wanted something quick and easy to eat this weekend and I came up with Burritos. In the area I live there is a large influence of TexMex/Mexican/Latino cooking, which makes me very happy. So much good food around here that I have to try my hand at it quite often.

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Beef
1 can Black Beans
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeno Pepper
Lime Juice
Tortillas
Garlic Salt
Shredded Cheese

I began by gathering my ingredients. This is a pretty cheap dinner to make, so keep that in mind for during the week when you want something tasty, cheap, and quick.

I then diced up the Peppers.

Now I opened the can of black beans and put them in sauce pot and turned the heat to MEDIUM so they are nice and hot.

Time to cook up the Ground Beef. Very simple process, make sure to dice it up finely while cooking if you can. I added Garlic Salt to the meat, along with a healthy dash of Lime Juice. Makes the meat tasty and unique!

Alright, now get your Tortillas. I put some Gruyere cheese down first. I know an odd cheese choice for this, however I like the twist on flavor that it does in a Mexican themed dish.

Now I have everything ready to go.

I put it together quite simply, all lined up next to each other. Topped off with a Monterey Colby Jack Cheese mix. The second one I made was not so pretty looking, and did not last long enough to take a picture. Enjoy.

Cast Iron Frittata

So I've made Frittata and posted on here about it before, however that was always done with just a skillet/saucepan. Now I used a cast iron skillet I've had around and I think it improved the flavor at least 10 fold.

Ingredients:
9 Eggs
1 Green Bell Pepper, finely diced
1 Poblano Pepper, finely diced
1 Yellow Onion, finely diced
1/3 stick Butter
1/4 cup Olive Oil
Paprika
Garlic Salt
Sea Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Gruyere Cheese
Monterey & Colby Jack Cheese

Alright, so first things first. Get your cast iron skillet ready. This took me quite awhile since I had not used it in a long time and it may have gotten a little rusty. So to clean this don't use soap. It causes headaches. I used Olive Oil and a paper towel to wipe it down until it was fixed. This takes awhile.

Once you have that done, cut up a stick of Butter to where 1/3 of it is in the cast iron skillet, along with some Olive Oil. At this point empty out your oven and turn it to 400 BAKE.

Now gather the rest of your ingredients.

First, dice your Onion up very finely. You can leave it chunky if you prefer that, but I like it finely diced so that's just what I did!

Second, dice up your Green Bell Pepper. I also diced up my Poblano Pepper after this but no picture since it looks pretty much the same just darker.

Turn on the burner your cast iron skillet is on, I set it at MEDIUM. Once it melts most of the Butter into the Olive Oil, dump your diced Onions in and move them around.

At this point I cracked the eggs into a mixing bowl and mixed them up together with a dash of Ground Black Pepper and Sea Salt.

Your Onions should be caramelized quite nicely by now.

Add in your diced Peppers.

Mix together and add a light dusting of Garlic Salt and Paprika.

Once the Peppers start to soften, turn off your burner. Add the Egg mixture to the skillet. Top it with however much cheese you want on top. I went crazy with it.

Into the oven it goes. Make sure to use an oven mitt or something similar since the cast iron skillet will burn you.

It takes about 10-20 minutes to cook properly. I like my eggs a little drier when I make Frittata so I left it in the oven for about 18 minutes. You can tell it is done by the edges of the Frittata mixture pulling away from the sides of the skillet.

Due to my large amount of cheese used, there was a large cheese bubble on top of my Frittata! Once it began to cool it went away, but still interesting to see.

I let it cool for about 5 minutes and then cut into pieces and served. Make sure to use a sharp object like a knife to edge around the Frittata, otherwise it might stick to the outside when you are trying to remove it for consumption. Enjoy.

NYE: Stuffed Mushrooms

Alright everybody, I know it's been awhile since I've posted and I'm sorry for that. I have not really been around enough to do proper cooking worthy of a new post. That and I was out of town for Christmas, so I did not get to cook there! Here's some NYE goodness!

Ingredients:
1 lb White Button Mushrooms
Couscous(2 cups Couscous, 3 cups Water)
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1/3 cup Scallions, diced
Teriyaki Sauce
Brandy*
1800 Silver Tequila*
Dry Sherry*
Port*
Ancho Chili Powder
Garlic Salt
Sesame Seeds
Shredded Asiago Cheese

*ALCOHOL

Tonight I'm going to a shindig at a friends place where I get to bring food! Well, I didn't list the Hummus I am bringing on here because it's the same recipe as I have posted about already! This Stuffed Mushrooms recipe is very involved and should be wonderful.

I began by utilizing my Rice Cooker. 2 cups of Couscous and 3 cups of Water. Plug in, hit the tab to COOK, red light comes on. Let it be.

Now to the ingredients. I was going to use tomatoes too, but that did not occur.

Now take the stems out of the Mushrooms. Place stems to the side.

Now get your alcohol.

Using a large skillet, add in your alcohol. I'd list them, but all the alcohol goes in this part! I used about a 1/4 cup of each with maybe a little more of the Brandy.

Turn the heat to MEDIUM. Once it begins to boil, add in a dusting of Ancho Chili Powder. Then in go the Mushroom caps, gill side down. Cover and reduce heat a little bit. Make sure to flip them in about 2 minutes.

Now there are those pesky mushroom stems. Slice them up and put them in a sauce pot. Add in your diced Scallions and diced Bell Pepper. To this, I added a dash of Tequila and Brandy, along with some Teriyaki Sauce.

Make sure to unplug your Rice Cooker when the Couscous is done so it doesn't get dried out. It should be about 2 minutes after you flipped the Mushroom Caps now, so turn off the heat and remove from that burner. Leave covered so they keep the heat while you tend to other things.

Let the Mushroom Stems, Scallions, and Bell Pepper cook for about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and turn to your Food Processor. Take them out and put them in. Add a sprinkling of Sesame Seeds. Puree.

Now comes the plating part. I have them in an oven ready dish in case we need to heat them up later on. I first spooned in some Couscous.

Then I added the puree mixture. Topped it with a sprinkling of Shredded Asiago Cheese. Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Snacktime!

This was just thrown together since I had just gotten back from Minnesota and the Christmastime holiday. It is ridiculously tasty and even opened my eyes to new flavor combinations!

Ingredients:
1 lb Chicken Breast, diced
Soy Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Caesar Salad Dressing
Lime Juice
Sweet Sour Sauce
Garlic Salt
Ground Turmeric Root
Ground Ancho Chili Powder
Asiago Cheese, shredded

First, freeze your Chicken Breasts. This makes cutting it into smaller pieces so much easier. Once frozen, dice them up and put them in a mixing bowl.

Now, get your marinade ingredients.

Alright, good work. Now you mix everything together that is in the picture. I did not use exact amounts. I can say I used a large portion of the Caesar Salad Dressing and then added from there. Then I mixed everything together.

Find your Garlic Salt. Pay no attention to the hand in the picture, it's just my grubby old mitt!

Alright, now put a skillet on the stovetop and turn the heat to MEDIUM. Give it a few seconds and pour in the marinade and Chicken. Give it a healthy dose of Garlic Salt. I love Garlic Salt, so you might want to use a little less.

Now add a dusting of Ancho Chili Powder and Ground Turmeric. Mix them in.

Let it cook for a few minutes, stir a few times somewhere in there. Should be easy to taste when they are done.

I took them out, sans sauce, and sprinkled some shredded Asiago Cheese on top. It was delicious!

Buffalo Chips

Alright, so I am a big fan of the chain food business known as Buffalo Wild Wings. It's a great place to watch some football at. Well, I love their Buffalo Chips appetizer dish. It's very simple and I thought that maybe I could make them at home. So I did.

Ingredients:
4 Potatoes
Vegetable Oil
Garlic Salt
Sea Salt
Shredded Cheese

Alright, so I began by pouring about 2 cups worth of Vegetable Oil into a saucepan. I added a dash of Garlic Salt for flavor. Turn the heat to MEDIUM.

Now slice your Potatoes into thin strips. You decide how thick/thin you want them. Once the Vegetable Oil is boiling, add the Potato slices.

Stir around as they boil/cook so they don't adhere to the bottom of the saucepan.

You can tell they are done as they will be soft and pliant. Take them off, strain the excess oil away, and plate. Add Shredded Cheese on top, microwave for 30 seconds to melt the Cheese quicker. Sprinkle with Sea Salt. Enjoy.