Great Marinade

Here's a delicious marinade for meats, especially steak.

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons dried basil
1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic (optional)

1. Place soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, basil, parsley, and white pepper in a blender. Add hot pepper sauce and garlic, if desired. Blend on high speed for 30 seconds until thoroughly mixed.

2. Pour marinade over desired type of meat. Cover, and refrigerate for up to 8 hours. Cook meat as desired.

Little tip

It's frustrating to buy a bundle of thyme for a recipe, use three sprigs, and watch the rest molder away in the crisper drawer. Avoid trips to the store and less-than-stellar substitutes by keeping fresh ingredients in your freezer. Here's how:

Ginger: Slice the ginger root (skin on) into 1 inch pieces. Place the sections onto a cookie sheet and freeze. Once the slices are frozen, put them into a labeled freezer bag. When you need fresh ginger, simply thaw the desired amount, and mince or slice according to your recipe's directions.

Lemon juice
Squeeze the lemons, and pour the juice into an ice cube tray. Place the tray into the freezer until cubes are solid, and transfer to a labeled container. Return to freezer. If a recipe calls for fresh lemon juice and you don't have a lemon on hand, pull out a cube and voila (each one equals two tablespoons).

Fresh Herbs
Chop or mince any leftover fresh herbs--parsley, cilantro, and basil work very well. Cut a square of tin foil, and place a couple of tablespoons of one type of minced herb into the center. Fold one side of the foil square over the herbs at a time, so you create a small packet. Label and freeze the packets (house them in a small container in the freezer door for easy access). When thawed, the frozen herbs will be a bit soggy, but they're very flavorful and are perfect for soups and sauces.

Good ingredients make the best dishes. So when you can't have garden-picked, settle for fresh-frozen. Bon Appétit.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce

My good friends Christy and Heather shared this recipe with me and it is FABULOUS. They got it from "Cooks Illustrated".

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce

Makes 10 Enchiladas, serving 4 or 5 as a main dish

(Monterey Jack can be used instead of cheddar.)

Sauce and Filling

1 1/2 Tbs vegetable of corn oil

1 med onion, chopped fine(about 1 cup)

3 med garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press(about 1 tbs)

3 Tbs chili powder

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

12 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 thighs - I have used chicken breasts for this, or I have even tried this recipe with canned chicken), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips

2 cans (8oz each) tomato sauce

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 can/jar (4oz) pickled jalapenos, drained and chopped (about 1/4 cup)

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups)

Tortillas and Toppings

10 six-inch corn tortillas (I use flour)

3 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese (3/4 cup)

3/4 cup sour cream

1 avocado, diced med

5 romaine lettuce leaves, washed, dried, and shredded

2 limes, quartered

1. For the sauce and Filling: Heat oil in med saucepan over med-high heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt ,and sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly until coated with spices, about 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce and ¾ cup water; stir to separate chicken pieces. Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and flavors have melded, about 8 minutes. Pour mixture through medium-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on chicken and onions to extract as much sauce as possible; set sauce aside. Transfer chicken mixture to large plate; freeze for 10 minutes to cool, then combine with cilantro, jalapenos, and cheese in medium bowl and set aside.

2. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 300 degrees.

3. to assemble: 1. Smear entire bottom of 13 by 9 inch baking dish with ¾ cup chili sauce. 2. Place tortillas on two baking sheets. Spray both sides lightly with cooking spray. Bake until tortillas are soft and pliable, about 4 mins. 3. Place warm tortillas on counter top. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place 1/3 cup filling down center of each tortilla. 4. Roll each tortilla tightly by hand and place in baking dish, side by side, seam-side down. 5. Pour remaining chili sauce over top of enchiladas. Use back of spoon to spread sauce so it coats top of each tortilla. 6. Sprinkle ¾ cup grated cheese down center of enchiladas.

4. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake enchilads on lower-middle rack until heated through and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and serve immediately, passing sour cream, avocado, lettuce and lime wedges separately.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

YIELD: 3-4 dozen cookies

2 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (be sure to use a high-quality chocolate with more than 60% cacao)

1 cup dried cherries (about 6 ounces), coarsely chopped

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together into a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a bowl using a handmixer), beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture. With a wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate, cherries and pecans (if you’re using them).

Scoop by the heaping tablespoonful onto two nonstick or greased cookie sheets. Bake until golden and chewy, about 12 minutes, rotating the sheets after six minutes. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool and repeat the process with the remaining dough.

Healthy Wholeweat Pancakes...that taste good!

1 cup wholewheat
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 Tbl oil

Combine and beat until well-mixed. Cook on hot griddle and serve with fresh fruit, sugar, or syrup

Southwest Chicken Pockets and Black Bean Salsa

2 cups diced cooked chicken (I used the canned chicken for this recipe, makes it SO easy)
6 ounces cream cheese softened
1/2 cup (or a little less) butter, softened
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cumin
____________________________
2 (8 oz) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
3 Tablespoons butter melted
1 cup dry season stuffing, coarsely crushed
1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds (optional)

In a large bowl cream together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, green chilies, green onions, chili powder and cumin. Mix in the chicken and set aside.

Separate the rolls to form 8 rectangles, pressing seems together. Put 1/2 cup chicken mixture in each pocket and roll up end to cover filling and make a pocket. Be sure to seal the edges so the filling doesn't come out. Mix bread crumbs and sunflower seeds (is using) with the 3 tbsp of butter ( or water to cut down on the fat) and put on top of pockets.

Place on baking sheet and bake for 20 min. at 400 degrees. Top with black bean salsa



Black Bean Salsa:

Combine in a large bowl:
1 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
8 ounces frozen corn
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped red onions
1/4 fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and freshly ground pepper

Cover and chill for at least 2 hours (or overnight) Just before serving stir in 1/4 cup chopped ripe tomatoes

Italian Chicken

In a crock Pot place the following:
2-4 chicken breasts
1 can cream of Chicken
1 block of cream cheese
1 packet of dry Italian seasoning (found in the salad dressing aisle)

THAT"S IT! So easy.

Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4.

Serve over noodles or rice

My Mom's Tarragon Chicken

Tarragon Chicken

4 each chicken drumsticks and thighs (about 2 pounds) skinned
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly slices
2 plum tomatoes, diced (I usually don't have these so I use the canned diced tomatoes and drain the juice out of them)
1/4 c. tarragon vinegar (I have not been able to find this in NM so I substitute 1/4 cup white vinegar)
1 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh tarragon or 2 tsp dried
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (I always forget this)
1/2 cup heavy cream (I have used milk when I did not have cream)
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour

1. Mix all ingredients except heavy cream and flour in large slow-cooker.
2. Cover and cook on high 4 hours of low for 7 hours until chicken is cooked through and onions are soft.
3 Whisk heavy cream and flour in small bowl until smooth. Stir in some hot liquid from cooker; stir into liquid in cooker. Turn setting to high; cook 25 minutes until liquid thickens.

4. Serve over rice.