Tortillas an Anniversary and a GIVEAWAY!

Amazingly, a year has flown by!! Antoinette and I have written 82 recipe posts, we've made foods we've known and loved for years, and we've tried things we've never had before. Our friendship has grown, our palates have grown and people have viewed our blog 13,461 times! My baby turned 1 year old and Nette has a bun in the oven!! It's been an amazing year and we want to thank you for reading our posts, emailing us with ideas and comments, following us on Pinterest, connecting with us on Facebook and coming back again and again. So... we'd like to thank you with the gift of a homemade tortillas recipe and a GIVEAWAY! First, the tortillas.

I grew up in a town with amazing Mexican food. I have taken good tortillas for granted for many years. Good tortillas, in my opinion are toasted in spots, a bit chewy, not too thick, and that charred flour flavor is just as amazing on tortillas as it is on fresh bread! I'd been intimidated by making my own, but went for it to soak up the last bits of carnitas I made over the weekend and it's easier than I ever imagined. I found this recipe on a blog called Mexico in my Kitchen - you'll definitely be seeing more of that recipe inspiration on this blog coming from me!

Homemade Flour Tortillas - recipe from Mexico in my Kitchen
Makes 10, 10-inch tortillas

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup shortening or lard (I used Crisco vegetable shortening)
1 cup hot water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and shortening. Using your fingers, stir together all ingredients and blend the shortening into the flour until it looks like course meal.

Next add in the water all at once and continue to stir with your hands. Knead the dough first in the bowl and then on a floured surface until it is smooth and not too sticky. My dough sucked up another 1/4 cup of flour.

Divide the dough into 10 balls and roll them in your hands until shaped properly. Cover them with a dampened paper towel and let them rest for 30 minutes. 

Once the dough has had a chance to rest, heat a cast iron skillet or griddle to just under high heat and roll a few balls until they are about 10 inches in diameter (I made ZERO round tortillas, but my egg-shapped-horned-oddly-triangular tortillas were amazing!!) The skillet or griddle should be really nice and hot.

Place a tortilla in the hot, dry pan and let it cook for about 30 seconds. Using tongs, or a spatula, flip the tortilla. If it takes much longer than 30 seconds to get some nice charred spots on the tortilla, crank up the heat under the pan a bit.

The tortillas are done when both sides have charred spots and when you press them with the tongs or spatula, they don't change to a damp-looking color.

A few things about this recipe...

After half way through the tortilla balls, I had to cranked up the heat from medium-high to high. I ended up cooking these on high heat. They went faster and worked better.
I rolled 3 tortillas in the beginning. After that, I rolled the next tortilla as the last one cooked. 

Sometimes I got big steam bubbles, but that turned out OK, just pop them and keep cooking.  
You may see my pan with a greasy sheen... I re-seasoned this pan the day before due to some lazy washing. You won't need any grease.

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!!! 

Antoinette and I want to thank you all for visiting our blog. This has been such a great adventure for both of us and we are both are so grateful for the support our friends and families have given us. Neither of us have a zillion cooking tools, or any professional gear, but we have some faves that we would like to share with you. 

We have put together a collection of our fave items - please leave a comment on this post. We'll randomly select a winner and we'll mail you our package of goodies. Here's a quick peak at what the awesome package will be...

A digital thermometer, a hand-held mandolin slicer, silicone tipped tongs, and a wooden cutting board! 

Thank you and GOOD LUCK!
Written this time last year: Carnitas-ish Tacos, Cilantro Lime Cole Slaw and Grapefruit Pound Cake

Strawberry Mint Lemonade

Memorial Day was perfect in NYC.  It was 73 and sunny – a great day for grilling and sitting outside.  I decided it would be great to grill up a bunch of meat, and serve macaroni & cheese, bbq baked beans, and cole slaw on the side.  To top it all off, I had to find a refreshing drink that would bring about thoughts of summer, cookouts, and good ol’ fashioned fun with friends.  And since I’ve got a bun in the oven, it has to be virgin :)

There is a fantastic restaurant in Harlem called Evelyn’s Kitchen.  The place is blowing up!  It has definitely become one of our favorite spots to grab brunch or dinner.  You are assured great food but also great drinks!  The owner makes an amazing rosemary mint lemonade and that inspired my strawberry mint lemonade I made for Memorial Day.  Not only was it delicious – it was GORGEOUS!

Strawberry Mint Lemonade

2c sugar

2c + 2.5qt water

15-20 mint leaves plus more for garnish

1c fresh squeezed lemon juice

lemon slices (for garnish)

strawberry slices (for garnish)

lemon-lime soda (optional)

Combine 2c water and 2c sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add mint leaves and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to medium-low once sugar is dissolved.  Heat until it thickens and turns into a syrup (about 10 minutes).  Pour into a separate bowl and discard mint leaves.  Allow simple syrup to cool.

Technique: When making lemonade or iced tea or any sweet drink that is served cold and requires you to dissolve sugar in water, it’s best to make a simple syrup.  Typically it’s made with a 1:1 water to sugar ratio (which I find to be plenty sweet) but you could also use double the amount of sugar to water if you need something potent.  Using simple syrup as a sweetener allows you to steep flavor additions into the sweetener (like mint) and prevents sugar granules from collecting at the bottom of your pitcher. 

Combine lemon juice, mint simple syrup, and 2.5qt water.  Stir to combine.  Add lemon slices, mint, and strawberries to lemonade about 6 hours before you’re ready to serve.

Optional:  Fill glasses with ice, a little lemon-lime soda, and lemonade (and even a little vodka) for serving.

Adding soda to the lemonade really puts the icing on the cake and gives it a “sparkle”.  For adults (and non-preggers) you can add a shot of vodka to the glass.  Our guests had it all three ways and all three were a knockout!

Mango Guacamole and Homemade Salsa

"Dip dip dip dip dip!!" That's the chant our tiny gentleman shouts at each meal. The kid is obsessed with dip. He will eat anything with dip on it. And the dip doesn't really matter - ketchup, ranch dressing, tzatziki, you name it, if it's dip-able, he's into it. The grown-ups in the house are also really into dip! Chips and veggies are generally just dip-delivery-devices. Two of our faves are guac and salsa. A dear friend made us these amazing versions years ago and they've been in our regular rotation ever since. These are actually recipes my husband usually makes, but he doesn't write the blog, so there.

Mango Guacamole - recipe from the lovely Susanna
Makes about 4 cups of guac

2 large avocados - about 2 cups
1 small mango - about 1 cup
1/2 a bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (about 1/2 a cup of packed leafs)
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1 Roma tomato
1 teaspoon salt
2 limes juiced
1/2 a serrano or jalapeno chili

Mince the chili and onion. Chop the bell pepper, mango and tomato into small dice. Shred the cilantro. Cube the avocado and juice the two limes. Mix all ingredients with the salt. Stir to combine well, but don't mash up too much.

Homemade Salsa - recipe from the lovely Susanna
Makes about 2 cups of salsa

4 Roma tomatoes
2 serrano or jalapeno chilies 
1/4 cup of red onion
1/2 cup packed cilantro leafs
2 garlic cloves
Salt to taste - about 1/2 teaspoon

In a cast iron skillet, or on a griddle, roast the tomatoes and chilies until blackened and the skins are bursting, turning to blacken all sides, about 10 minutes total.

Set the tomatoes and chilies aside until they are cool enough to handle easily. Remove the skins of the tomatoes and chilies - if you like milder salsa, remove the seeds from the chilies (we are into spice and leave them in.)

Add the tomatoes, chilies, garlic, cilantro, onion and salt to a blender. Pulse until well blended and dip-able. We like to be able to see the different ingredients.

These are just delicious dips. And healthy! (We won't talk about the chips.)

Enjoy!

Ginger Soy Chicken Breasts with Scallion Rice

I needed a healthy meal.  I was looking for a lean protein, a good-for-you carb, and some green veggies.  So where did I turn???  My stash of Cooking Light recipes.  Cooking Light never seems to disappoint!  Even if the recipe isn’t perfect at first, it can be slightly modified to make it great.  Today, I made Ginger Soy Chicken Breasts.

The original recipe calls for chicken thighs but we normally stick to white meat so I chose to use skinless, boneless chicken breasts.  The original recipe also called for bland chicken (in my opinion).  There were no seasonings, which is a serious NO NO!  I chose to add a salt mix, pepper and a little heat with crushed red pepper.  The spice of the ginger and sweetness of the preserves goes great with the heat from the pepper.

Ginger Soy Chicken Breasts

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 tsp salt mix

1 tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp crushed red pepper (adjust to taste)

2 tbsp olive oil

½ c apricot preserves

2 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger

2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

Pound chicken to an even thickness.  Season chicken with salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add chicken; cook 5-7 mins on each side or until meat thermometer reads 165F.  Remove from pan; keep warm.

Technique: If the chicken is still thick after pounding, it may be best to sear quickly on the stovetop and finish in the oven to avoid the exterior from getting tough.

Add preserves, ginger, soy sauce, and garlic to pan; bring to a boil. Cook sauce 2 mins or until reduced to 1/3 c, stirring occasionally.  Return chicken to pan; turn to coat with sauce.

Scallion rice:

Cook 2c brown rice as directed on package instructions (or using rice cooker).  Add salt, pepper, and margarine to taste.  Mix in ¼ c thinly sliced scallions.  This also works with white rice.

Crab and Kale Manicotti

Today was a day of experimenting.  I was having a hard time figuring out what I wanted for dinner so I started scanning through my recipes.  I came across one for cheese manicotti.  For any of you who have had cheese manicotti, it can be a somewhat “one-noted”.  At least…for me it is.  All that cheese can be a little overwhelming so I brainstormed what I wanted to add to the cheese in order to give it a deeper flavor profile and make it exactly what I wanted.  Voila!!!  Crab and kale manicotti.

I love Italian food and I love tomato-based sauces so this dish is right up my alley.  Manicotti is just as versatile as stuffed shells.   You can stuff them with anything that comes to your mind.  Really!  If you don’t like crab, try chicken or sausage.  If you would rather not have kale – try spinach.  The possibilities are endless.  Use whatever is in your refrigerator and it will come out just right.  This is a great dish to use for experimenting with different ingredients.  Let me know what you try out…but first…

Crab and Kale Manicotti

8 large manicotti shells

2 ½ c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1c ricotta cheese

1 ½ c blanched, chopped kale

1 ½ c shredded lump crab meat

¾ c grated parmesan cheese, divided

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp crushed red pepper

½ tsp Italian seasoning

1 jar prepared marinara sauce, divided

Techinque: Blanching is a process in which you immerse food (typically a green veggie) in boiling water for a very short period of time.  Then, you remove it and submerge it in a bowl of ice water.  I used this technique for the kale to tenderize it just a tad and give it a bright green color, while still allowing it to maintain a little crunch.  Also, don't forget to remove the tough stems!

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Cook pasta in salted water until al dente.  Drain; rinse with cold water.  Let pasta dry on paper towels.

For filling: In a medium bowl, stir together 2c mozzarella, ricotta, kale, crab, ½ c parmesan, and spices.   Mix well using a spoon or your hands.  Using a small teaspoon, carefully stuff pasta shells with crab mixture.

Tip: I recommend using your hands for this.  If the ingredients are cold, they will not combine well with a spoon.  Dig in!

Spoon 1c marinara sauce into prepared baking dish.  The bottom of the pan should be covered but no more.  You may need to add more or less depending on what size pan you use.  Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce.  Pour more marinara sauce over top of pasta until all pasta is just covered.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Favorite ingredient: My favorite marinara sauce is Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil Marinara.  You don’t need to add anything and there are no preservatives.  You will know what every ingredient on the list is and that’s pretty rare with packaged foods.  I use it all the time when I need a little sauce on the side or I need a quick dinner option.

Bake manicotti for 15-20 mins.  Sprinkle with remaining parmesan; bake for 5-10 mins longer.  Serve immediately.

I served this with a side salad and multigrain bread (with butter of course).  It made for a great Sunday family dinner and I took leftovers for lunch on Monday.