Rain Rain Go Away: Baked Pulled Chicken Taquitos

It started raining last Thursday.  I checked my phone before my run and it looked like it was going to be okay during the day on Thursday, but would continue through the weekend.

So we weren't surprised when we woke up to showers on Saturday morning.  In discussing our options for the day, I suggested an indoor play area to let Thatbaby run off some of his crazies.   Thatboy liked the sound of Java Mama, so that he could get some coffee while Thatbaby played.  As we left he realized he'd left his book at home he wanted to bring and read.  I looked at him and laughed.

There is no sitting and reading at playspaces.  There is only keeping an eye on your child to make sure he doesn't dive off the upper balcony, or grab toys out of another children's hand, or try to consume a clearly nonconsumable plastic apple.

Thatbaby loves Java Mama and as predicted, fell asleep within minutes of getting back in the car. 

Of course he woke up once we got home and had to be put back to bed, but there was enough left of his nap for Thatboy and I to cuddle up and begin watching The Bourne Ultimatum. 

It was nice to have the cuddling time, since I didn't have to worry about preparing dinner.  I got really lucky last week.  I already had pulled chicken on the menu when this recipe popped up on Apple A Day. Kelsey used the recipe as a way to use up leftover pulled pork, but it works equally well with pulled chicken.  These taquitos were fabulous!  I was excited there were leftovers because it meant I got to enjoy them for lunch on Sunday too.

Baked Pulled Chicken Taquitos (from Pink Parsleyas seen on Apple A Day)

3 oz cream cheese

1/3 cup barbeque sauce

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp chile powder

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

pinch red pepper flakes

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup diced onion

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1-2 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp cilantro, minced cilantro

2 cups pulled chicken

1 cup shredded cheddar

10-12 corn tortillas

cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Line a cookie sheet with foil or a silicone mat.  Combine the cream cheese, barbeque sauce, paprika, chile powder, ground mustard, liquid smoke, red pepper, onions, garlic, and cilantro in a large bowl.
2. Stir in the pork and cheese.  Season with salt and pepper as needed.
3. Warm tortillas using your favorite method (y'all know I like to use my gas stovetop for this.)
4. Spoon the filling in the center of a tortilla and roll tightly.  Place on the baking sheet, seam side down.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.
5. Spray taquitos with the cooking spray and sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 15-2 minutes until the insides are heated through and the outsides are crispy and golden.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Many of you will remember that I have recently discovered the world's easiest way to make chicken mole.

The problem with this, is that now chicken mole has become an almost weekly menu item in Thathouse.

The problem with this, is that I always have extra mole sauce leftover. 

So I am always on the lookout for ways to use up the extra mole.  Luckily, doing a search through my Google reader for recipes that require a mole sauce has turned up some really good solutions to my Mo' Mole, Mo' Problems.


This recipe is one of those "couldn't be easier" weeknight meals.  Especially if you have the mole sauce ready to go.  Because then you're just combining tomatoes, beans, rice, and cheese and baking it.  There's no finicky meats to flip, or pasta to drain.  It's even better if you have leftover rice to use up.  And rice and beans are such fantastic partners.  Dressed with a rich sauce it's a new twist on South of the Border cuisine.

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 Cheesy Rice and Bean Strata (From Branny Boils Over)

2.5 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground cumin
5 oz fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup mole sauce
2 scallions, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.  In a bowl, mix beans with diced tomatoes.
2.  Saute minced onion and garlic for 3 minutes.
3. Add cumin and spinach and cook until the spinach wilts.
4. Place 1 1/2 cups of rice in the baking dish.  
5. Top with 1/2 of the bean/tomato mixture.
6. Top the beans and tomatoes with the spinach.
7. Add another layer of rice and the remaining bean/tomatoes.
8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove foil, add the cheese, and bake 5-7 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
10. While cheese is melting, heat the mole stovetop.  Pour over the finished strata, top with sliced scallions, and serve.

Repurposing Thanksgiving leftovers

The only difficulty with having Thanksgiving at Thatmom's house is the lack of leftovers to play with. Usually there's enough for "second Thanksgiving" the next night, but that's pretty much it. And leftovers are never fun when you're eating them the exact way as the night before.

Luckily a lack of leftovers on my part doesn't stop me from sharing some great ideas with you. Because while I don't have leftovers from Thanksgiving, I do have the raw ingredients that many of you may have used in your own Thanksgiving feasts - namely, sweet potatoes and cranberries.

I've been using fresh cranberries a lot this year - ever since they showed up at the market. Mainly because last year I started getting cranberry antsy about a month or so after they had disappeared and so I've been storing up some good ideas since then. I made my own cranberry relish a few days before Thanksgiving. Between that and the cranberry butter, I had some leftovers in the bag which I felt would make an excellent topping for chicken. Reduced down to a thick and chunky chutney, this would work equally well over pork or turkey.

Cranberry Chutney
3/4 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups fresh cranberries

1. Combine the water, brown sugar, vinegar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and salt in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved
2. Add in cranberries and cook slowly about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the cranberry skins pop and the mixture thickens.
3. Serve over chicken, pork, turkey, or use in a sandwich!

This year the sweet potatoes at our table were replaced with delicious butternut squash. But that might not be the case at your house. In years past there has been a bowl filled with baked potatoes - both of the regular and sweet variety. And there are always some leftover. Mashed potatoes are a great way to use up leftover baked potatoes, but these are so great and seasonal you may not want to wait until you have leftovers. Growing up, Thatdad would make squash with brown sugar and cinnamon, so the use of sweet additions to the mashed potatoes isn't too much of a shock. The maple and brown sugar make the sweet potatoes even sweeter, and there's something so perfect about maple syrup this time of year.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 lb baked sweet potatoes OR
1 lb raw sweet potatoes cut into chunks, 1 cup apple cider, and 1 cup water
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp brown sugar

1. If using baked sweet potatoes, scoop out the insides and place in a saucepan.
2. If using raw sweet potatoes, combine the chunks, cider, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Drain and return to saucepan. Use the back of a fork to mash the potatoes.
3. Reheat potatoes over a low heat and add the butter, maple syrup, and brown sugar.
   

Erin Go Bragh!

I know I astounded you with my knowledge of French during Mardi Gras. I cannot claim the same aptitude with Gaelic. Reading a lot of Irish authors, I have picked up some pronunciations, but not actual words.

So I have no idea what Erin Go Bragh means. I know Erin refers to Ireland, and even if you didn't know that you could assume it had some Irish connotation because I guarantee you'll be hearing a lot of it on St. Patrick's Day.

Some other phrase you might hear on St. Patrick's Day include:
Would you like another beer?
Kiss me I'm Irish
Where's your green?
and of course -
Are you having corned beef and cabbage?

I think I read somewhere that corned beef and cabbage isn't a traditionally Irish dish, that it's actually an Irish-American concoction. Which makes sense. When the Irish came over to America they had nothing. And they weren't looked upon as the favored children. It was rough times.

Know who else had rough times coming over to America? The Jews. Yup, poor, disliked, turned away from everywhere. The Jews and the Irish were siblings from another mother. So it should be no surprise that they developed similar recipes using cheap cuts of meat. The Jews have their brisket, and the Irish had the corned beef and cabbage.

Growing up, we had neither. Well, of course there were corned beef sandwiches, but you got those from the deli, you didn't make your own corned beef! When Thatboy and I married and moved in together, he mentioned how much he missed corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day. And so a new tradition was born. Since most of our married years have been spent with me getting home much later than Thatboy, we cook the corned beef together - I sit on the phone with him giving him directions as he does the physical labor. So far it's turned out alright.

One corned beef feeds far more than the two of us, but that's okay because leftovers can always be turned into corned beef hash! We add some beets to our corned beef and cabbage, and then use the leftover beets, leftover potatoes and the leftover corned beef to create a "Red Flannel Hash."

Corned Beef and Cabbage
4-5 lbs corned beef
4 onions, peeled
6 potatoes, peeled
8 beets
6 carrots, peeled
6 turnips
1 green cabbage, quartered and cored

1. Rinse the corned beef under running water to remove the brine. Place in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
2. Add the onions and potatoes, cook for 15 more minutes.
   
3. While they're cooking, in another saucepan, boil the beets in water for 35 minutes, drain.
4. Add the carrots and turnips to the corned beef pot, and cook for another 30 minutes.
   
5. Take out the beef and veggies and bring the remaining broth to a boil. Add the cabbage and boil for 3 minutes.
6. Serve the corned beef with the onions, potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets and cabbage.

Red Flannel Hash(From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
2 cups cooked corned beef
2 cups chopped boiled potatoes
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 cup diced cooked beets
salt and pepper
4 Tbsp butter
5 Tbsp heavy cream

1. Mix the beef, potatoes, onions, beets, pepper and salt to taste.
2. Melt the butter in a skillet. Spread the beef mixture on the bottom of the skillet and press down with spatula.
3. Fry over medium low heat for 15-20 minutes. Once it is nicely browned, turn the hash over (slide it onto a dinner plate and invert the dinner plate over the skillet)
4. Pour the cream evenly over the meat and cook another 15-20 minutes, until the second side is nicely browned.