Tag: Food

Mole Sauce/Wet Beef Burritos with Mole

~ Spence's Girl ~ 4 Comments

I have loved Mole Sauce since I was first introduced to it at age eighteen.  My co-worker Loretta,  was of Mexican descent and one evening after work made us homemade cheese enchiladas with Mole sauce from scratch.  I was hooked.  Over the years, I’ve experienced everything from average mole sauce to spectacular mole sauce when dining at Mexican restaurants around the world. What I’ve never done is attempt to make this complex and richly nuanced sauce myself. That is until yesterday….

Cobbling together multiple recipes and then pulling ingredients from my pantry, fridge and freezer, I went to work.  It turned out incredibly well (Spence rated it A+ and 5 star). Of course, I neglected to write it down precisely while making it. That said, I’m going to share the steps I followed and what I used.  I’d encourage you to try it and play with these flavors until it tastes perfect to you. Was it alot of work? Yes.  Was the effort worthy of the outcome?  Oh yeah.

Mole Sauce

  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • olive oil
  • 2 T chili powder
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1 t cumin
  • salt & coarse ground pepper

Place the garlic, olive oil and dry ingredients (above) in a sauce pan set at a medium-low heat, warming and softening the garlic – not browning it – for 7-10 minutes. Into the same sauce pan, add the following:

  • 1/2 c chopped fresh tomatoes
  • 1 – 2 T Chipolte in Adobo
  • 1 16 oz can of chicken broth
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 T grated or finely chopped sweet onion

After adding these items, bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 8-10 minutes. Pour through a strainer, place liquids back into sauce pan, discard solids.  Increase heat (not to boiling), adding these next ingredients:

  • 2 T tomato paste
  • 2 T smooth peanut butter
  • semisweet chocolate chips – between 1/4 to 1/2 cup (start with less, add more to taste)
  • 1-2 T sesame seeds – lightly toasted in a dry skillet

Stir together until smooth and allow to simmer at a low temp for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  The sauce will reduce and if it becomes too thick, add a bit more chicken stock.

Wet Beef Burritos with Mole

  • 1 recipe Mole Sauce – heated
  • Taco Meat – Ground Beef seasoned with garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt, pepper & Mexican seasoning blend
  • Finely Shredded Mexican Four Cheese Blend
  • Flour Tortilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat each tortilla, one at a time, on the burner of your stove until soft and pliable (20-30 seconds).  Assemble by spooning in meat, then cheese – rolling up like a burrito. Place in baking dish. Continue assembling the remaining burritos. Spoon a generous amount of mole sauce over each burrito covering top and sides, top with more cheese.

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Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted on top.  IMG_7576

My Mission – Find these Products

~ Spence's Girl ~ 1 Comment

For those who’ve visited my blog, it’s obvious that I’m food obsessed.  I admit it freely. I love to cook and (pat on the back) am really skilled at it. Since retiring, Spence has benefited more than ever from my endeavors. I frequently cook from scratch, often make up recipes and even before I started the blog, photograph my culinary creations. My Pinterest page is a testament to my obsession as are the countless cookbooks and voluminous recipes I’ve clipped or have on cards in my old-school recipe box.

It is rare that I need to buy food staples at the grocery store as my pantry and freezer hold a myriad of items.  Recently I started a list of things that I needed to replace. To my shock, several mainstays and comfort foods were missing when I visited my local Kroger store.

  • Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp Soup 
  • Stouffer’s Spinach Souffle
  • Stouffer’s Welsh Rarebit

Out of a shopping list of ten items, this seemed a dismal failure but I chalked it up to the condition of the store which has been undergoing an endless “renovation” and is in a state of turmoil.

“Perhaps they are so disorganized that they don’t even know what they need to order” I surmised.  I went online and let them know of my concern.

A few days later, we traveled north to Traverse City for a few days with family. Since Spence had to make a beer run I asked him to look for these items at their local IGA store. Struck out – not one of the missing items to be found.  My concern was escalating. Gloria, their next door neighbor, stopped by and heard my tale of woe.  She’d be at the Traverse City Meijer store that day and offered to do reconnaissance for me. If she was successful, she’d buy every can of the elusive shrimp soup and report back on the frozen items. It’s a huge store but that evening we learned the sad truth.  NO LUCK – not one of the items to be found. I felt a rising sense of panic but not to be deterred, committed to searching all grocery stores in our county upon returning home.

Last Saturday, I was on a mission. I drove to the nice, newer Meijer store in the neighboring community of Davison.  STRUCK OUT.  Next, I went to the Davison VG’s and while the soup and Welsh Rarebit eluded me, I hit gold with the Spinach Souffle, snagging six of them!

I was encouraged.

Recalling that there is a Kroger in Davison, I trudged on.  And to my delight, snagged the last six Cream of Shrimp soups and five Welsh Rarebits.  As I drove home victorious, I declared “I must blog about my quest“.  Spence was impressed with my coup but said “don’t put this in your blog“. What does he know about blogging?

Proof!
The elusive soup

Please watch in the future for a post of the recipe – my Famous Shrimp Bisque – using the elusive but not discontinued Cream of Shrimp soup as the base! 

Chicken Parmesan topped with Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

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Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

  • Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • sea salt & coarse ground black pepper
  • flour
  • egg – beaten
  • Italian bread crumbs
  • peanut oil
  • fresh mozzarella – sliced
  • Parmesano Regianno – grated

Place chicken breasts into a ziploc bag, use a meat tenderizer to pound into a uniform thickness. Set up a breading station as shown below – one for flour, mixed with salt and pepper, one for beaten egg, one for italian bread crumbs.

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Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shake off excess. Then dip into egg, then into the Italian bread crumbs.

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Heat an electric fry pan, pour in peanut oil – enough to cover the bottom and with a depth of 1/4 inch. When heated to 400 degrees, place the chicken in the oil.  Flip after a few minutes, when the coating is browning.

Remove chicken and place onto a broiler pan, top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Turn your oven to BROIL.

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Place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melting.  Remove and plate with the Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (see recipe below), Parmesano Regianno and fresh flat leaf parsley.

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Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • salt, pepper, garlic seasoning (I use The Melting Pot Garlic & Wine Seasoning)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place cherry tomatoes into a cast iron skillet (or oven safe pan), drizzle olive oil over top, add salt, pepper and garlic seasoning to taste.  Place in oven for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes burst.  Serve hot, spooning over the Chicken Parmesan.  These are also excellent tossed with pasta.

My favorite pantry items

~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

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  • Miracle Blend Seasoning (truly a miracle, made in Michigan)
  • 21 Seasoning Salute (Trader Joes I salute you!)
  • Slap Ya Mama (I use this daily, gives a kick to everything imaginable)
  • Garlic & Wine Seasoning (a Melting Pot product that is not just for fondue)

If I were on a desert island but had the ability to cook I’d hope my tiki-hut kitchen would be stocked with these items!

Recommended by Spence’s Girl

Passionate about Food

~ Spence's Girl ~ 1 Comment
A gift from my life-long BFF that adorns my kitchen!
A gift from my life-long BFF that adorns my kitchen!

I’m a foodie and proud of it.  There are those who live to eat or eat to live. I’m in that first group.  There’s something that nourishes my soul when I’m preparing a meal, the creative process, the aromas.  Then savoring that meal – bliss. There’s a joy that I get from reading cookbooks, food magazines and an obsession for the Food Network that hasn’t diminished over time. I’ve always photographed food that I’ve prepared. I do the same at restaurants and have filled many travel journals with detailed descriptions of what Spence and I’ve eaten as we’ve traversed the globe.  When still working (ironically I worked with foodies) time between customers was filled with talk of food, recipes exchanged, restaurants recommended, what we wanted to have for lunch that day.  It was through a co-worker that I learned of Pinterest which further fuels my passion; I have no less than 10 specific food boards. Since retiring, I’m making more things from scratch as I have that luxury of time.  And though my first from-scratch batch of gnocchi wasn’t perfect (but darn good) with my potato ricer spewing potatoes all over the kitchen, I won’t be deterred.  And I’ll learn to make crepes and tamales within this first year of retirement, my to-do list knows no bounds. Stay tuned for more recipes and stories of my foodie ways…..

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Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

~ Spence's Girl ~ 4 Comments

  • Fresh green beans, trimmed
  • Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
  • Sweet white onion, chopped
  • Olive oil
  • Finely shredded cheese
  • Salt, pepper & seasoning blend ( I like Trader Joes 21 Seasoning Salute or Melting Pot’s Garlic Wine Seasoning)

Trim green beans, place in steamer basket. Steam on high for 4-5 minutes, remove from heat. In a separate pan, drizzle oil and sauté onions until carmelized. Add tomatoes and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and seasoning. Place beans into serving bowl, sprinkle with cheese, add tomatoes and onion, add more cheese and serve.

How To Make Great Seafood Even When The Catch Of The Day Is Far Away!

~ Spence's Girl ~ Leave a comment

Spence and I adore sea scallops and this post by a blogger I follow was too good not to share. The Tickled Pink Shrimp Salad looks like a perfect light dinner on these hot summer evenings. Check out her blog, it’s great!

Grilled Zucchini & Summer Squash with Goat Cheese

~ Spence's Girl ~ 8 Comments

With the bounty of fresh produce from farmer’s markets and gardens, veggies are plentiful this summer. Recently, using a summer squash, zucchini and some imagination, I came up with this recipe and may I say – it was fabulous. The combination of fresh herbs, grilled squash, sweet sautéed onion, creamy goat cheese and a burst of fresh lemon make this a new favorite for Spence and I.

Grilled Zucchini & Summer Squash with Goat Cheese

Weight Watchers Smart Points 3*

  • Zucchini
  • Summer Squash
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic Seasoning (I love Melting Pot’s Garlic & Wine Seasoning)
  • Coconut Oil

Step One: Slice the squash into 1/2-inch “planks” (on the diagonal). Lay the planks on a paper towel, season with salt, pepper and garlic seasoning on one side. Brush a grill pan generously with coconut oil and bring to a searing heat. Place the planks on the grill pan, flipping only one time after 2-3 minutes (you’ll see grill marks). Allow another 2-3 minutes of grill time, remove and place the planks into a baking dish in a single layer.

  • Diced Sweet Onion
  • Butter

Step Two: Saute the onion in butter on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Top the squash with the onions.

  • Fresh Herbs: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme & Chives – chopped together
  • Goat Cheese
  • Lemon Wedge
  • Red Pepper Flakes
Just before baking.....
Just before baking…..

Step 3: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Top the squash with chopped herbs, followed by crumbled goat cheese. Squeeze fresh lemon over the top. Bake for 10 minutes – just to soften the goat cheese. Top with red pepper flakes and serve.

Note from Spence’s Girl: I purposely left the recipe without quantities as you can adjust based on how many servings you’d like. If you don’t have access to these exact herbs, use what you have – basil, oregano, tarragon – have fun with it. While not vegan, this would be a lovely vegetarian entree.  

* To calculate the Weight Watchers Smart Points, I used 1 oz of goat cheese and 1/2 tablespoon of butter, based on 2 servings.

Lemon Angel Food Dessert

~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

Are you looking for a new summer dessert recipe that’s sure to be a hit when entertaining? I’ve got one that I predict will become a favorite for your family and friends.

First let me say, I LOVE PINTEREST. If you’ve ever looked at my Pinterest profile (@spencesgirlblog) you’ll see that I spend a great deal of time there, at least 80% of my boards are recipes. I subscribe to numerous foodie magazines and own so many cookbooks that when I redid my kitchen a few years ago, I designed it to showcase my collection.

That said, I still keep a recipe box of those great recipes that are from family and friends – old school, right? And this summer, I’ve been craving some retro-type desserts and my recipe box yielded some treasures. This dessert is easy, light and refreshing with similarities to tiramisu’s or trifles. I made it recently for a big family dinner and got rave reviews.

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My Recipe Box

Lemon Angel Food Dessert    serves 12-16

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I love my juicer and microplane….

For the custard:

  • 6 egg yolks – lightly beaten
  • 3/4 c sugar
  • juice from 4 lemons
  • 1 t lemon zest
  • 1 T unflavored gelatin
  • 1/4 c ice water

In a saucepan, blend the eggs yolks, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Cook over medium heat – stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Add the gelatin to the ice water, stir together and set aside. Once the custard starts to thicken, remove from heat and add the gelatin/water mix.  Stir well and set aside to cool.

In a separate bowl:

  • 6 egg whites
  • 3/4 c sugar

Beat the egg whites until thick, begin adding the sugar a bit at a time.

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It will look like this……

In a 9×13 pan, break up a store-bought Angel Food Cake.

Easy right?
Easy right?
Just break it up by hand...
Just break it up by hand…

Fold the lemon custard together gently with the egg white mixture. Pour over the top of the cake, “blanketing” the top.  Refrigerate for several hours and serve chilled.  While this is good for several days, it rarely lasts that long and just a personal note, it’s great for breakfast!

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