No Bake Cookies and flashbacks to Elementary School

The boys' year round school tracks are starting up again.  Which means waking up at 5:30 to make sure all of us get out the door in time.  And it also means that mom gets a little more free time during the day.  So pluses and minuses all around.

Since Sawyer's now in school all day, it reminded me on when I was in the elementary school. Way back in the olden days, when I was in first grade, the school decided they'd create a cookbook as a fundraiser.  They asked all of the kids to bring in one of their favorite recipes.  Looking back, I would have expected a few families to participate, but the return rate was great.  The Twin Peaks cookbook they distributed had over 200 recipes with every type of recipe imaginable   Desserts, side dishes, appetizers, salads, main courses, ice cream, they were all in there.

My family adopted two for our own, a All Fools Chocolate Cake recipe and a basic no bake cookies recipe that mom would make with us all the time.  They were all sugar, chocolate and fat, so they're absolutely awesome.  I would have made them all the time, but the old cookbook disappeared a few years ago.  So now, I've had to reverse engineer the recipe to something I remember from 20+ years ago.

I think I've come pretty close to what they were, but even if they aren't identical, I can tell you these are absolutely delicious.  Once again, hard to go wrong with fat, sugar and chocolate.  But the entire cooking process takes about 10 minutes and the kids can do almost every step, as long as you watch them while they stir the pot.

I put oats and coconut in my version.  You could also add nuts if you'd like, or just use chunky peanut butter instead of creamy to add a little bit of crunch.

No Bake Cookies

1 stick butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut
3 cups quick oats

In a large saucepan over medium heat, pour the milk and add the butter.  Allow the butter to completely melt.  Add the sugar and cocoa and stir until combined.  Allow it to cook until it boils.

Remove from the heat and add the peanut butter, vanilla and salt.  Mix it until all of the peanut butter melts.  Toss in the coconut and oats and stir until everything is coated with the chocolate mixture.

Lay out a couple of sheets of wax or parchment paper directly on your countertop.  Scoop out large spoonfuls onto the wax paper and flatten slightly.  Allow them to cool for 45 minutes to an hour so they solidify.

Easy Teriyaki ... with or without veggies

As I worked my way through college, I worked in the mall in a little souvenir shop.  Not the most glamorous of jobs, but they actually paid commission on all the sales, so I could make an extra hundred or two every month.  Back then, it was half of the rent at the student apartments, so it was definitely worth it.

Working in the mall means eating dinner at the food court over and over again.  And while I really love it, there's only so many times a week you can eat Chick-Fia-A.  The chinese restaurant was always a little sketchy, the non-chain sandwich place was closed down twice for health violations, and the taco hut was heavy on the lettuce, light on the "meat".  I personally saw how many hours the Sbarro pizza sat on the counter, and I try to stay to stay away from McDonald's because my heart gets one of those bad hugs after eating the oversalted fries. 

So my other good option was Edo, the "Benihana of the Mall" (agreed, nowhere close to Benihana in quality, but pretty good). They'd cook up a little Teriyaki Chicken in front of my eyes, douse it in the teriyaki glaze and I'd cover it with the superhot sriachi sauce.  Yes, it'd clear out my sinuses, but it was really yummy.  Now that I have more of a real job, I don't have Edo just outside my door.  So I have to make my own when I get the urge.

I like to have the chicken marinade in the sauces before I cook it.  Now there are a lot of teriyaki sauces that could be used for this recipe.  I have to admit I'm partial to the Yoshida's, which you can buy in bulk at Costco.  I also like the Seal Sama sauce.  It was made by the former head chef of Ichiban Sushi, so you know it's going to be good.  And they even make a low sodium version of it as well. 

And there are really two ways to make this recipe; the long marinade method or the short marinade.  If you forget to make it the night before, you can marinade it for 30 minutes and it will turn out just fine.  A longer marinade will just have more of the sauce seep into the meat, which you'll notice when you slice into the chicken after in cooks.


Teryaki Chicken
Serves 4-6, depending on the amount of vegetables

Marinade
1 cup favorite teriyaki sauce
1 1/2 pounds of chicken or steak
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine or smashed flat
2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 cup green onions
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
(Spicy version, add 1-2 teaspoons of sambal oolek red garlic pepper sauce or sriachi)


Combine all of the marinade ingredients into a gallon ziploc back and slosh it around until throughly mixed.  Insert the chicken breasts or steak and move around until they are coated.  Close the ziploc and insert that bag into another ziploc bag and close (insurance against nasty spills in the fridge).  Let sit in the fridge anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours.  There are three recommended ways to cook the breasts.  If you can use the barbecue grill, grill over medium heat until the meat is thoroughly cooked.  You can also place them in a baking dish and cook them in a 350 degree oven until cooked to the proper doneness (about 20-25 minutes).  You could also cook them in the a skillet on the stovetop until cooked thoroughly.  Once they are done, slice the breasts into small sections and lay over a bed of rice.  Add a little more teriyaki sauce over it as you wish.

Now you can also add a few veggies.  You can steam some cabbage, broccoli and carrots and then add them as a side dish.  I personally like a few mushrooms and some squash and there are a couple ways to do it. 

Pan method - Place a large deep saute pan over medium high heat.  Slice the mushrooms as you would to cover a pizza.  Cut the zucchini and squash into small thin medallions.  Add the oil or butter to the pan, then place them into the pan.  Constantly stir for 3 minutes.  Drop the heat to medium and after 1 minute, add the teriyaki sauce and stir for 1 more minute.  Remove from the pan and add to the rest of the meal. 

Grilling method - Heat the BBQ to medium heat.  Place the mushrooms on skewers.  Slice the squashes lengthwise into either spears or long thin sections.  Baste all of the veggies with the teriyai sauce.  Lay the veggies on the grill grates and make sure to turn them every minute or so to prevent burning.  After 4-5 minutes, remove the veggies.  Slice the mushrooms and squashes into smaller bite-size pieces, or leave whole, your choice, then add to the rest of the meal.

Once again, if you like the spice, you can add sriachi sauce.  Another way to add some heat is to take a little teriyaki sauce, pour it into a cup, stir in a little sambal oolek asian hot sauce, heat in the microwave and pour that over the dish at the end.  This meal also turns into great leftovers for lunches the following day.  So make a little extra, nuke it in the microwave and have people ask you, "what are YOU having for lunch?"

Homemade pizza sauce for Mini-Pizza night!

So here's the truth behind the kitchen equipment posts....

I've been away from my kitchen for 5 weeks. Yes, five weeks. I got a great new job, but to be trained properly, I was sent to Stamford, CT for a full five weeks. They did bring me home for Easter, so I got to spend time with the family. And having a laptop on the road makes it easier to communicate, thanks to Google's video call feature. If you are ever on the road, try it out. It has very little lag time, it lets you see your loved ones instead of just hearing them on the phone... and it's FREE!!!!

The bad news; during that five weeks, I had no real access to my, or any, kitchen. For someone who likes to cook, that's a lifetime. Five weeks of eating out, five weeks of everything from fast food to "high dining", five weeks of continuous continental breakfasts. While some of it was really good, there are problems with eating out every day. First, you're eating many more calories than you normally do, which means you have to work out every day, just to maintain your current weight. I walked 24 miles in 9 days and GAINED a pound. It's just not fair. Second, you eat MUCH more salt than you're used to. I drank three quarts of water a day, just to flush the extra sodium out of my system and to combat the bloated feeling. Third, you are limited to what you can eat. There was a small food section at the local Target, but there wasn't a real grocery store within a two mile radius. So if you were craving something, you needed to plan out a trip to that real grocery store and find a way to keep the food fresh. We were lucky in the second stretch of the trip to have a fridge in the room, but you have no way to prepare what you really want to eat. So being home with a full kitchen at my disposal is a godsend. I appreciate it more than ever.

So while I was away from home and I have a multitude of time on my hands, I start brainstorming some food ideas. I literally came up with another 30 posts ideas for the blog, which will appear over the next year. But the one thing I wanted to do more than ever is to spend some quality time with the family.  It's amazing how much the little ones change in a month.  Sawyer's bigger and is playing soccer on the weekends.  Wyatt's speaking much more and has learned a number of new words.  So to spend some quality time with the kids, we did a little activity in the kitchen, Mini-pizza night.

This tradition began with my mom.  When dad would go out of town during hunting season, we'd normally go out to eat for dinner.  But once a hunting season, we'd create our own mini-pizzas.  Mom would pound out little pizza crusts and let us fill them with whatever toppings we wanted.  They could be just cheese, or they could be massively overflowing with whatever toppings we wished.  She'd pop them in the over and we'd snack on them as we'd watch a VHS tape on the front room TV.  It was great!

We've done this a few times at family gatherings as well, filling up over 4 dozen crusts and taking turns waiting for them to cook.  Now when there's 20+ people around, the whole process can take a while.  But when there's only 4 of us, we can cook them up in about 20 minutes.  The kids have a great time making them and they love to see their handiwork when they emerge from the oven. 

It's extremely easy to do, and you REALLY want the kids to be involved.  We use frozen roll dough to make the crust for convenience's sake, but if you want to use actual pizza dough, you can.  The pizza sauce can be just canned spaghetti sauce, you can make your own, or use my recipe for Pizza Sauce.  And as for toppings, anything goes.  Be creative.  Add anything you'd like.  Just prepare the topping ahead of time, place them in a bowl and let the kids dump on as much as you want. 

Pizza Sauce
Makes enough for 1 14" pizza, 12 mini pizzas or 4 calzones (with extra for dipping)

1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 6 oz can tomato paste

2 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Combine all of the items in a small saucepan.  Stir, then heat until boiling.  Back off the heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every so often some some of the liquid cooks out.  Remove from heat and spread onto pizza whenever you're ready.

Mini-Pizzas
Serves 4-6

12 frozen thaw and serve rolls
Your favorinte Spaghetti sauce or Pizza Sauce
Toppings of your choice (Pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, green peppers, onions, etc)
2 lbs grated mozzerella cheese

Thaw the rolls according to the instructions on the package.  Once raised take a roll, smash it flat and place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-sick spray.  Spread a layer of pizza sauce onto the crust, followed by a small sprinkling of cheese.  Add all the toppings you desire, followed by more cheese.  If you want to turn them int calzones, fold it over on itself and pinch the edges shut.  Fill the cookie sheet, allowing an inch of space between each pizza.  Place them in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the crust becomes golden brown. Serve while still warm.

This is a great activity to get your kids to enjoying cooking.  You can let them do every step of the process.  If they want to throw the crust in the air and spin it, let them... just make sure you thaw out a few extra rolls.  There's no right or wrong to it, just let them have a good time.

So try this out this week and have a great time with the family, especially if you haven't seen them for a long, long time.

Non "Taco Seasoning" Tacos... or how to lower your blood pressure.

As some of you know, I have low level high blood pressure.  It's partially geneitc, since a good deal of my mom's side of the family have some sort of the heart condition.  But it's probably because I like food too much and don't have a lot of willpower.  I take meds to keep it under control, but the doctor says to stay away from excess salt.  Too much of it and my heart gets the nice, tight, warm hug of excess water retention.  You'll notice in most of my recipes that I don't add excessive amounts of salt, and if I do call for salt, it's just enough to bring out the other flavors.  It's why I use garlic powder and not garlic salt, onion powder and not onion salt.  In most cases, it's extra salt that's just not necessary.

Now I'm not perfect.  There are times I just need something salty like pretzels or one of those giant kosher dill pickles.  But I try to counteract it by drinking a quart or two of water to flush out the salt.  And I'll do my best to avoid excess salt when I can. You really want to scare yourself, read a few of the labels of the instant noodle dinners in the asian aisle.  Almost an entire day's worth of salt in one small lunch portion.  Does it really need that much salt just to taste good?  And don't look at most of the pre-prepared items in the frozen food section.  Sodium as far as the eye can see.

Another group of perpetrators are the seasoning packets in the spices aisle at the store.  While the seasonings are perfectly porportions, take a look at the nutrition labels next time.  The basic taco seasoning in most stores has at least 450mg of salt in there, 1/4 of your recommended daily intake.  You're bound to find salt as the first, second or third  item on the list.  Some even throw sugar in there as well.  Now 450mg does sound like much for a taco, but add the salt in the cheese, the salsa, the tortilla, and any other condiments (olives, canned chiles or jalepeno, etc) and a single taco is way over half your salt intake for the entire day.  Oh, and that doesn't include the salt in the chips and salsa or the rice and beans you may serve as well.

I love tacos.  I could eat tacos all day.  But with the extra salt form the seasoning packets, I'd swell up to the point where people would tie strings to my arms and legs and enter me in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! So in an effort to still eat a lot of mexican food and not gain 2 pounds of water weight, I reversed engineered a few taco seasonings down to what I like.  Someone asked me if that was more expensive to make your own than to buy the packets.  If you're buying the big bottles of regular spices in the grocery stores, then yes, it may be in the short term.  But I've found that there are few groceries stores (Winco, Sunflower Market and others depending on where you live) that sell spices per pound.  For example, 4 ounces of chili powder in a bottle can be as much as $5.00.  If you buy it in bulk at Winco, it's 75 cents.  So buy your spices in bulk and use them to refill your old bottles.

This recipe works well with beef or chicken and should only dirty one pan in the process.   

Tacos

Serves 4

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef or cubed chicken breast
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce (Cholulu, Tapatia, or whatever you like)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup water

Brown the ground beef or completely cook all of the chicken in a large pan over medium to medium high heat.  In a small glass or container, add all of the spices to the water and stir until well blended.  Pour the
spice mixture over the meat and fild in until it has covered all the meet evenly.  Continue to cook, allowing the liquid to evaporate.  When the majority of the liquid is gone, remove the meat from the heat and serve immediately. Garnish with whatever you like; lettuce, cheese, onions, tomatoes, jalepenos, olives, taco sauce, salsa, and for the weird ones, ketchup (ewwww).

As I've stated in the other Mexican recipes, if you can get fresh tortillas from a Latin market, they'll taste great.  If not, go for the uncooked variety and cook them yourself.  It's worth the work. And add a side dish or two, like the Spanish Rice I have posted previously.

So try to create your own spice mixture and avoid the salt-ridden spice packets.  Your heart will thank you for it.

Quick Curry Chicken for people who don't like Curry

Everyone's palette is different.  Some people think that a filet mignon smothered in sauteed mushrooms is a godsend.  Others think an anchovy pizza is manna from Heaven  Some people love Indian food, some people don't.  The combinations of the Asian spices with the occasional heat is one of my favorite things.  I could eat Indian or Thai food every day.  But the taste can be very foreign, scary or intimidating.  Some people are downright scared to try it.

And when you're trying to convince someone to try, and possibly like, a new style of food, the last thing you want is a bad experience.  I took a few of my Seattle coworkers to the wonderful world of Indian food.  Everything tasted great, but the problem was the heat sensitivity of that day's cook.  I think he could have eaten a habenero pepper raw because the curry he served could have stripped paint off a ship's hull.  Needless to say, the coworkers decided that Indian was not for them and I didn't have any willing lunch partners for a while.

So now I use this recipe to introduce people to curry.  It's a little tamer than most, but it still has a large amount of flavor.  The only heat comes from the curry spice and the creaminess can make any level of natural heat tamer.  And it has enough liquid leftover that when you pour it over rice, it will soak into the grains... yum...  Now if you want to heat this up a bit, you can do it a couple different ways.  Basic red pepper flakes added with the other spices will add just heat.  If you want a better taste, add either sambal oolek or srirachi.  Sambal oolek is the chunkier crushed pepper paste that come in the clear containers with the green twist-on lids in the asian section of your grocery store. It's a combination of peppers, garlic, ginger, lime, and a little lemongrass.  I prefer this option myself.  Srirachi is that tall squeezable bottle of asian red hot sauce.  The most popular brand has a rooster on the front. It's mostly pureed peppers, garlic, and vinegar and I'll occasionally drizzle this over Teriyaki Chicken (recipe coming soon).  One other note, you really want to use a high quality chicken broth for the base.  I have used generic before and the flavor just flattens out.

If you're serving rice with this, get the rice to a boil and then start the Curry.  The 20 minutes it'll take the rice to cook will be just long enough to prepare the curry.  And everything cooks in one pan, so there's not many dishes to do.

Creamy Curry Chicken

Serves 4

14 oz chicken broth

8 ounces whipping cream

6 ounces plain greek style yogurt

2 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon tumeric

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups julienned carrots

1/2 onion, sliced into moon shapes
Any other veggie you would like, like red or green peppers, asparagus, small bits of potatoes, etc.

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized chunks
Red pepper flakes, srirachi or sambal oolek to taste (if you want some heat)

In a large saute pan, combine the chicken broth, whipping cream, yogurt and spices and cook over medium high heat until almost boiling.  Add the sliced carrots, onions, and any other hearty veggies you want and cook for 6-7 minutes, allowing it to get to a light boil.  Add the chicken and any tender vegetables you want and cook for another 6-7 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve over rice.

What I like best is the smell left in the kitchen when everything is done.  That sweet spicy aroma will linger for a couple hours.  And when you're done, hopefully you have a few more converts to Indian food. 

Sunday Pot Roast stewing in it's own gravy.... Yuuuuuuuuummm

Sunday... Ahhhhhh

The day to sleep in.  The day to sit on the couch and watch football.  The day to do fun things with the kiddlings, like play on the swing set, go on a hike, have a picnic in the park... and usually a day that I try to spend at least an hour in the kitchen.  I'll experiment with a few recipes or just make a few snacks or lunches for the week.

Now Sunday's also the customary day to have a BIG meal.  It's the day my Mom always made a huge spread and we'd all eat until we were stuffed.  But she always had time to do a number of other things that day too.   I found out her secret, the crock pot.  By tossing everything in there the night before or early in the morning, the food would be ready whenever she was.  So we could have a big, satisfying pot roast and she could spend all of 30 minutes prepping it and the sides.

This recipe is similar to what she used, but is also influenced by some family members who own a ranch in Montana.  It's extremely easy.  When you're done, you'll have a roast that literally falls apart  and enough gravy to coat everything on the plate. Where possible, try to use low sodium items, because this can get a little salty.

Sunday Pot Roast

Serves 6 - Time to cook = 4 hours or overnight

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cans French Onion Soup
1 can Beef Broth or Beef Consumme
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 cup white wine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 teaspoons thyme
3 to 4 pound beef roast, your choice of cut

Pour the soups/broths, onion soup mix, wine, garlic, and thyme into the crock pot and mix until blended together.  Gently place the roast into the crock pot.  If it isn't completely submerged, scoop a little of the sauce over the roast.  Place the lid on the crock pot.  There are two ways to cook the roast

4-6 hour method
Turn the crock pot to high.  If the roast is not completely submerged, two hours into the process, use a fork to flip the roast.  It will still cook completely if this step is not done, but the exposed area may not be as moist

Overnight Method
Turn the crock pot to low. If the roast is not completely submerged, when you wake up in the morning, use a fork to flip the roast.  It will still cook completely if this step is not done, but the exposed area may not be as moist.

The longer it cooks, the more tender the meat will be.  I try to use the overnight method whenever I can.  After you remove the roast from the crock pot, ladle all of the leftover juices into a container.  It's turned itself in a great gravy to pour over the meat or a side of potatoes.

Also, for those of you worried about the alcohol in the wine...  Alcohol vaporizes into steam at 178 degrees.  No matter which method you choose, the soups will reach at least the boiling point as you cook it, 212 degrees.  That means that all of the alcohol should cook out during the process, leaving you with the yummy taste in your gravy.  You can use cooking wine if you want, but I prefer to use the real stuff.  A Reisling from Chateau Ste. Michele or Chateau Ste. Chapelle are my choices and after you add the required amounts, you should still have a few glasses worth in the bottle to consume after you prepare the roast.

So use this recipe to have a nice Sunday dinner, but still have most of your Sunday free to enjoy yourself and your family.

Fettuccini Alfredo for an unusually cold day

Back on March 7^th, it was snowing…  March FREAKIN’ 7^th and there were flakes the size of quarters falling from the sky.  And the other morning, there was a layer of ice over everything.  My car was frozen shut.

It’s just wrong.  Everyone around here says, “well, you know…  it can snow all the way to May and there’s even a few times it’s snowed in the mountains in June.  It’s just something you have to live wi…”

NO!!  No, I don’t have to just live with it!  I will create my own weather machine and correct nature’s errors!  I shall confine the snow to November,  December, and maybe early January.  Want a white Christmas?  DONE!  Need a little moisture for your garden or to get you out of going to an outdoor party for that annoying uncle that’s just a little too creepy for your taste?  Done and DONE!  You don’t want rain on your wedding day because it’d be too ironic?  Well it’s really not ironic, just unfortunate…come to think of it, most of that song isn’t really ironic…  anyway… NO Problem! 

OK, maybe the technology isn’t available (yet), but it should not snow after President’s Day, plain and simple.  The only good thing about snowy days like this is that I get in the mood for some really warm, thick, and creamy food.

So it’s the perfect day for some Fettuccini Alfredo.  This recipe tastes great and it only takes 15-20 minutes start to finish!  You boil the noodles, make the sauce while the noodles cook and combine them at the end.  Done!  Clap your hands, show them to the players at the table and walk away like a Las Vegas blackjack dealer.

Fettuccini Alfredo

Serves 4

1 pound fettuccini noodles

6 tablespoons butter

1 cup whipping or heavy cream

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large stock pot, bring 4-6 quarts of water to a boil.  Add the fettuccini noodles and let them cook for 10-12 minutes until they are al dente.

During that time, you can make the alfredo sauce.  Cut the butter in small pieces so it melts faster and toss it into a skillet or saucepan over medium heat.  Once the butter melts and starts to bubble, toss the chopped garlic into the butter and let it sauté for about a minute.   Next, add the cream and bring the whole concoction to a simmer, just below boiling.  Add the pepper so it can simmer in for the last few minutes.  One minute before the noodles are done, add the cheese and stir until it’s melted into the sauce.  Strain the noodles and shake out any excess moisture.  Portion the noodles onto separate plates and pour the sauce over the top.  Serve with garlic bread and/or salad and top with more parmesan cheese.

It’ll comfortably sit like a large, warm lump in the middle of your stomach and make you want to take a long winter’s nap, even if it’s FREAKIN’ MARCH!!!

Spanish rice - as easy as the rice in the box, without the rice in the box taste

OK, so I really like Spanish rice. I'm like a long distance runner, I love to carb load... except that I don't believe in running unless I'm being chased by a grizzly bear, land shark or Godzilla, so I guess I'm not like a runner at all...

Anyway, Spanish Rice! I got addicted to great rice when I used to frequent a little hole in the wall taco joint in Seattle. Great street style tacos, but the rice was the perfect. The grains were tender but not mushy, the spices accented the meal well, but weren't too overpowering.

When I moved back to Salt Lake, I attempted to relive the experience but couldn't find something similar anywhere. I tried a number of the boxed Spanish rices for years and none of them were very good. Some were sticky, some were dry, some were the right color, but had no flavor. Some were a nuclear red-orange that looked like sweet and sour rice.

You know... nothing is worse that restaurant Spanish rice that has been soaked in a bland tomato sauce and is passed off as "a delicious side dish". No, Bad tacquiera!!! That kind of rice is just lazy and the affront to the senses should be pulverized and used as a substitute for kindergarten paste.

So I started tinkering with a few recipes that I found on the web and distilled it down to what I like. It has a few more steps than the boxed rice mixes, but has much more flavor. I actually will make extra so I can take the leftover to work the next day. Drench it in hot sauce, salsa and melted cheese, and then spread a little cubed chicken on top. You now have a great Mexican bowl. Here's the details:

Spanish Rice

Serves 4-6


1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1/4 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
2 14.5 ounce cans of chicken broth
1 tablespoon taco seasoning (or 1+ teaspoons each of chili powder, cumin and coriander)
heaping 1/8 cup salsa
(Spicy version: add any of the following to taste (not all of them unless you want to burn out all of your nose hairs) : a couple teaspoons of hot sauce/habenero sauce, 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, or one small minced jalapeno)

Dice the onion into small pieces. Mince the garlic cloves into very small pieces. Place the results of each to the side to add later.

Place a 2 quart or bigger saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the shortening and allow it to melt. Pour in the rice and slowly stir it until the rice begins to brown. At that point add the onions and stir for another two minutes so the onions start to become translucent. Add the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth (watch out for the steam!), followed by the spices and the salsa. Stir until the concoction comes to a boil for two minutes, then drop the heat to low (add any spicy ingredients at this point too) and cover. Let it cook for another 20 minutes. Do NOT uncover unless it begins to boil over, and then uncover only long enough to let the bubbles subside.

Remove from the heat and let stand for another 5 minutes.

Place the contents into a bowl and fluff slightly with a fork and serve with any Mexican style dish. It pairs up well with the Beef Enchiladas, Tacos, Fajitas or Tequila Lime Enchiladas (coming soon).