Chef's Original: Mixed up Breakfast

As some of you may know, I like to have my lunch and or breakfast for work cooked up the day before. This is generally done because I hate actually cooking right after I wake up since I know I'll probably burn and or cut myself. So I do it the night before. Tomorrow I needed a breakfast and this is the delicious result.

Ingredients:
1 lb White Button Mushrooms
7 XL Eggs
2 Green Bell Peppers
3 Anaheim Peppers
1 cup diced Scallions
Couscous (2 cups Couscous, 3 cups Water)
1.5 cup Pearl Barley
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
1/4 stick Butter
Lime Juice
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Olive Oil
Archer Farms Asian-Inspired Sweet Chile "wing sauce"
Italian Herb Mix
Shredded Asiago Cheese
Shredded Gruyere Cheese

Alright, I did do this kind of in stages. I began with starting my Couscous in my Rice Cooker. If you do not have one of these, I highly suggest picking one up! Once I got the Couscous going, I put the Pearl Barley in a small sauce pot with 4 cups of Water. I turned the heat to MEDIUM. I also diced up the Peppers and Mushrooms.

In a large saucepan I put in about 2/3 cup of Archer Farms Asian-Inspired Sweet Chile "wing sauce". To this I added 2 decent squeezes of the Lime Juice bottle, a good 1/4 cup or so worth of the Soy and Teriyaki Sauces. Turn the heat to MEDIUM.

Once this begins to boil, I threw in the diced Mushrooms. I moved them around to get some of the mixture on each one.

Now about 3 minutes later, I added in a dusting of Black Pepper and Sea Salt. Mix some more.

After about 2 more minutes, the Mushrooms should be done. Check by taste testing and make sure it's cooled when tasting. When done, place in a mixing bowl and put to the side.

I cleaned out the large saucepan and put it back on the stovetop where I left the burner at MEDIUM. It will sizzle with the water on the bottom. I threw in the diced Peppers and a good dollop of Olive Oil. Mix.

I then added some Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper to the mix. I want to say a good dusting, maybe a dash less. Mix.

Once that's done, which should be about 3 minutes total, put in a mixing bowl.

Eggs time. I whisked the 7 Eggs together first. Using the same saucepan, cleaned out again, I put in the Butter. Once that was mostly melted, I added in the whisked Eggs.

Right away I added in the Scallions. I put in about a 1/4 cup's worth. I also added a good amount of both Cheeses listed above.

You should know how to cook eggs, so follow that plan. Look, they're done!

Now just plate how you want. I plated them differently. One way was with the Mushrooms and served on a Tortilla with a dash of Italian Herb Mix. The second way was on the Couscous.

Chef's Breakfast

I have had this recipe in my mind for a few days now and finally got around to cooking it after work today. Yes, after work means not at the allotted breakfast time period but more towards late lunch or early dinner. Does that make it BRINNER? I think so, but am not putting all my eggs in one basket on this one.

Ingredients:
2 Green Bell Peppers
1 Anaheim Pepper
1 lb White Button Mushrooms
10 Large Eggs
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
1/2 cup Ditalini Pasta
1/2 stick Butter
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Shredded Cheese
Italian Herb Mix
Tortilla's

I began this recipe by gathering my ingredients.

I put the Frozen Peas in some water and set them to cook while I sliced and diced. Pay attention to this since it should be boiling and done around the time you put the Eggs in the saucepan.

I then diced up the Peppers and slicing up the Mushrooms.

Now that all of that is done, I decided to cook all of this in 2 different ways. I did this because I am not the hugest fan of Mushrooms, I generally just cook them for other people or put them into mushroom soup.

First dish of them involves the Mushrooms and no Pasta. I put the Butter in the saucepan and set the heat to MEDIUM for it to melt. I also whisked 4 Eggs together in a mixing bowl.

Once melted, I added the 4 Eggs to the saucepan. I then added the spices, which was a quick dash of Ground Black Pepper, pinch of Sea Salt, dash of Paprika, and dash of Garlic Powder.

Then a good handful of the sliced Mushrooms went in.

On top of that I added the diced Peppers.

I then mixed it all together and threw in 2 spoonfuls of Peas. Mix.

Keep mixing it all around so it doesn't adhere too much to the saucepan. Once the mixture is no longer liquid and has some solidity to it, turn the heat off and serve.

This FIRST DISH was served on a Tortilla with a sprinkle of Italian Herb Mix topped with a pinch of Shredded Asiago Cheese.

The Second dish was very similar and I will spare you the long version of it. I had some Ditalini Pasta left over from the other day, so I spooned a good handful of it into the pot where I had the Peas. The water was still hot so it warmed the Pasta up quick. Throw some Olive Oil in the saucepan instead of Butter this time around.

After that, the same process was used without the Mushrooms. I also used 6 Eggs instead of 4. When the Peas go in, the Pasta goes as well.

I served this up on it's own plate. Really, I did that at first. But I sat down and thought this could be better. I remembered the Tortillas and decided that some Breakfast style Taco's were in order. So that is just what I did, complete with some Hot Sauce. Enjoy.

Saucy Stuffed Mushrooms

As many of you who read my blog know, I like to cook mushrooms. They are so easy and versatile that who wouldn't enjoy cooking them?

Well this time, I upped the recipe I used for Stuffed Mushrooms. Yes, it could be done and was so.

Ingredients:
Large White Button Mushrooms
Green Onions(Scallions)
Lemongrass
Anaheim Peppers
Garlic Cloves
Ground Black Pepper
Sake
Soy Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Asian Hot Sauce

For the Mushrooms:
You will start with your saucepan on medium high, about 1/2 inch deep filled with Sake, Soy Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, and Ground Black Pepper.
In this you will place the mushroom caps face down, flipping every few minutes until cooked to your preference.

For the Stuffing:
I used a food processor for this part, seemed the easiest thing to do. You grab the stalks from your mushrooms and dice them up before putting in the food processor. On top of that you grab your Lemongrass, which is just like chives for appearances. Dice up a good sized handful and throw it in. On top of this, add 2 diced up cloves of Garlic. Throw in a dash or two (or three if you don't work the next day) of Sake. Puree it until it's almost soupy, but has a bit of texture left to it.

(Green Onions will be cut into small portions as evidenced by the pictures, do not need to put them in anything)

Once the Mushroom Caps are done, arrange on plate. Use a spoon to scoop some of the stuffing out and place in the caps. Top them with some Green Onions and use some Asian Hot Sauce to complete out the meal.

Salsa Spectacular!

Had a relaxing weekend and today I decided to make some salsa. Two different kinds really. I didn't think one kind would do it, however the second is almost half salsa - half arriabata sauce.



Verde Salsa

Ingredients:
4 Roma Tomatoes
2 Med. Yellow Onions
2 Poblano Peppers
3 Anaheim Peppers
2 Jalapeno Peppers
2 spoonfuls of Spice Mix

Spice Mix:
McCormick's Steak Seasoning
Garlic Salt
Tumeric Powder
Curry Powder
Marjoram
Oregano
Basil
Ground Black Pepper
Ground Cumin
Ground Allspice
Ground Nutmeg

The Spice Mix is pre-mixed together and was mixed in once everything else was mixed together. The Ingredients were added in the order listed, top to bottom. The Roma's, Onions, and Peppers were all diced up/almost pureed in a food processor first.

Mix together and serve with tortilla chips. I used Tostito's Scoops since they are the best for salsa if you ask me.

Roja Salsa

Ingredients:
6 Roma Tomatoes
1 Lg. White Onion
1 Orange Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
3 Hungarian Wax Peppers
2 Jalapeno Peppers
3 spoonfuls of Spice Mix*

*Spice Mix is same as listed above. I keep it in a jar since I tend to use it a lot.

The Roma's were pureed in my food processor, along with the onion, wax peppers, and jalapeno's. The bell peppers were just diced up by hand. What makes this one very different is that once the tomatoes and onion were ready, they went into a saucepan. I turned on the heat to medium and added in the bell peppers, then the wax peppers, finally the jalapeno's. On top of all that, the spice mix. I stirred it all together, as well as every few minutes for about 10 minutes. Then turned heat off and it was ready for serving, also with Tostito's Scoops.

Chef's Choice Chili

So as many of my friends around here know, I absolutely LOVE to make chili. I love it. I make it a lot during the colder months, however after making the Tomato Sauce yesterday, I decided that I have gone too long without chili.



Homemade Tomato Sauce:
-Get your soup pot or large saucepan depending on how much you are making. Mine filled a large saucepan since I did not make my normal amount(about 1/2 of normal).
-Mix all your spices together in a bowl to your liking, or straight in the pot like The Chef does. I went heavy on the basic ingredients as well as the Tumeric and Cajun Perfect Pinch. The rest I went light on since they are just there to smooth out all the flavors.

-Now that your spice mix is making your kitchen smell amazing, onto the food processing happy times! Basically I like my chili smooth with not a LOT of huge chunks in it. The order I processed was Roma's, Greenhouse Tomatoes, Onion, Carrots, Poblano Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers. Add to pot as you go, turn the heat on med-high when you add the Roma's and stir them in with the spices. A little olive oil will smooth it out if necessary.

-Grab your grouping of green onions and dice them up almost to the white part. You can put the green onion's roots into water and they will grow back! Add to pot.

-Stir everything together evenly and turn to medium heat. Once it starts boiling, change the temperature to low or simmer.

-Let simmer for about an hour, then it should be tasty enough to eat!

Homemade Tomato Sauce:
6 Roma Tomatoes
2 Greenhouse Tomatoes
1 White Onion (Large)
2 Jalapeno Peppers
2 Poblano Peppers
4 Carrots
1 cup diced Green Onions

Spices for Tomato Sauce:
Cayenne Pepper*
Chili Powder*
Garlic Salt*
Ground Cumin*
Ground Allspice
Ground Cloves
Paprika*
Celery Salt
Ground Black Pepper*
Ancho Chili Powder*
Ground Tumeric Powder
Curry Powder
Mesquite Seasoning*
Perfect Pinch Seasoning - Cajun

*are the basics, the rest are choice ingredients.

For Chef's Choice Chili:
-First get a pot the size you think you need for the chili, or maybe a little bigger.

-Get your pound of ground beef and brown it in the pan with Lowry's Seasoning, maybe some butter too if you love calories as much as I do!

-Once the beef is all browned and tasty smelling (yes take a sample to make sure, you know you want to!), you get your tomato sauce and add it directly into the pot. Stir.

-Use food processor for white onion, then add it in. Stir. Let it cook on low to medium-low for about 30 minutes.

-That time frame is just a rough estimate of time needed, so whenever your frequent tastings of it say it is done just dish it out.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 White Onion
Lowry's Seasoning
Shredded Cheese