Frijoles Charros

Here is another one of my regulars that was taught to me by my Mexican friend, Celia Chimal.  I have never been a fan of the normal pot of beans, but this is one that everyone will love.  It is full of flavor and yumminess!  You can adjust your spice level with the amount of jalapeños.  

 

Now for the history lesson...

Charro (no, not the coochi-coochi singer) is a type of Mexican cowboy that is known for wearing the traditional attire seen below.  They participate in Mexico's national sport called Charreadas, which is a type of rodeo.  Check out the link here for more information. 

Mexican Charro

Frijoles Charros 

16 oz bag of dried pinto beans (washed and soaked overnight in water)

1 ham hock

1/2 lb fresh chorizo

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 medium onion

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb diced ham

4 hotdogs, diced

3 Roma tomatoes, pureed

1-2 jalapeños, minced (remove ribs and seeds to reduce heat), optional

1/4 c. chopped cilantro, optional

In a heavy dutch oven, add pre-soaked beans and ham hock to pot and fill with 8-10 cups water.  Cook beans on medium heat, covered for 3 hours or until tender.  If water evaporates too much you may need to add more, however don't overdo it or you will lose flavor.  

While beans are cooking, over medium high heat, cook the chorizo and bacon until done.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent.  Add in ham, hotdogs, tomato puree and jalapeños and cook for and additional 3 minutes.

To the cooked beans, add the meat and tomato mixture to the pot and stir.  Cook and additional 30 minutes to fully develop the flavors.  Stir in cilantro just before serving and additional to garnish. 

Nanny Bea's Taco Soup

This is a tribute to my wonderful Grandma.  This recipe is so easy and is ready in a flash with tons of flavor.  Taco Soup is her recipe and she deserves all the credit for being so creative.  Thanks Nanny, I love you!

Nanny Bea's Taco Soup

1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn
1 15 oz can pinto or black beans
1 - 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning
1 package of Ranch dressing mix
salt and pepper to taste
Garnish with avocado, cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream or whatever your heart desires

In large dutch oven, brown ground beef and onion.  Add remaining ingredients and cook 20 minutes more.  DONE!  Yes it's that easy.

Caldo de Camaron (Spicy Shrimp Soup)

 

This is one of my husband's favorite soup recipes.  This is a very common dish served throughout Mexico.  Most grocery stores including Walmart sell dried chiles.  If you have problems finding them you can substitute with 3 canned chipotles, just make sure you remove the seeds to reduce the heat.

Caldo de Camaron (Spicy Shrimp Soup)

2 chipotle chiles, dried

2 guajillo chiles, dried

1 onion, chopped and divided

4 cloves garlic

2 14 oz cans fire-roasted tomatoes

1 carrot, sliced

2 medium potatoes, cubed

2 cubes Knorr chicken bouillon 

1 lb Shrimp, peeled and deveined

salt and pepper

cilantro

lime

In small saucepan, add enough water to cover chiles and bring to simmer over medium low heat to reconstitute.  Meanwhile, in a large pot, fill halfway with water (approximately 6 cups) and add carrot, potatoes and chicken bouillon.  Once chiles have softened, remove stem, seeds and membrane.  Add chiles, half onion, garlic, and 1 can tomatoes to blender and blend until smooth. Add chile mixture, remaining onion and other can of tomatoes to pot.  Cook over medium heat until potatoes are fork tender then add shrimp and cook 3-5 minutes more.  Be careful not to overcook the shrimp as this will toughen them. Salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

New England Clam Chowder

This was one of the recipes I acquired while in cooking school at college.  It's one of my favorites and so easy to make.

New England Clam Chowder

6 T. butter
1 onion, diced
4 cans minced clams, drain and reserve liquid
3 med potatoes, peeled and diced
1 c. heavy cream
1 T. corn starch, dissolved in 2 T. cold water
salt and pepper, to taste

Melt butter in medium saucepan and add onion.  Cook until translucent.  Add reserved clam liquid and add enough water to equal 2 cups.  Add potatoes and boil over medium heat until fork tender.  Add in clams, heavy cream, salt, pepper and corn starch slurry and cook an additional 10 minutes until thickened.  Serve with oyster crackers and warm crusty bread.

Amy's Beef Stew

As I woke up to -5 degrees wind chill this morning, I knew I had to make something that warmed your bones.  This stew did exactly that.  It's my version of a little French, a little American and oh so good.  As you can tell from the pics, we licked the bowl clean.

Amy's Beef Stew

3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4" slices 

1 1/2 pounds cubed beef stew meat

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup red wine

1 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 quart beef broth

4 carrots, chopped

1 onion, coarsely chopped

10 oz. sliced mushrooms

6 stems of fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup parsley

1 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard

salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy dutch oven, brown bacon and reserve in dish with a slotted spoon.  Place stew meat in bowl and pour flour over, stirring to coat each piece thoroughly.  Add oil to bacon fat and transfer meat to pot in one layer.  Try not to overcrowd pot as this will not allow meat to brown properly.  Once meat is browned on all sides, deglaze pot by adding wine.  Cook and stir until reduced by half.  Add reserved bacon, mushrooms, carrots, onions, tomatoes, tomato paste and beef broth to pot.  Take a small piece of cheesecloth and place bay leaf, parsley and thyme and secure by tying up corners making a bouquet garni and add to pot.  Salt and pepper to taste and cook for 1 hour or until meat is tender and soup has started to thicken.  Stir in mustard and cook 5 minutes more.  Remove bouquet garni and serve with hot, crusty bread.

Spanish Chorizo Corn Soup

This is our pre-snow storm dinner.  I hit the store this afternoon to stock up on provisions to cook my way through this storm.  Stay tuned for more!

Spanish Chorizo Corn Soup

1 pound Spanish chorizo, chopped
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large potato, peeled and diced
6 ears of corn, kernels removed or 3 to 4 cups frozen corn
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
4 to 5 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and chopped
1 fresh or dry bay leaf
1 28-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 quart chicken stock

Place a large pot over medium-high heat with olive oil. Add the chorizo and cook stirring every now and then for 2-3 minutes. Add the potatoes and corn, and brown that up a little bit, then add bell pepper, onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes.  Pour in the tomatoes and chicken stock, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish soup with parsley or cilantro

Chicken Soup for the Snow

It snowed about 5" up here yesterday so after shoveling and clearing paths, this chicken soup was my solace.  Sorry Papi, no tacos.  Maybe next time. I managed 4 meals out of the roast chicken (salad gave me 2 lunches).  What a deal!

Chicken Soup for the Snow

2 T. butter
3 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 T. garlic, chopped
1 tsp. thyme
4 c. water
1 T. heaping chicken base
10-12 oz cooked chicken, diced
pepper
parsley, garnish

Melt butter in medium saucepan and saute vegetables for approx. 3 min until onion softens a little.  Add thyme, water, chicken base, chicken, pepper and stir till combined. Cook for appox. 15 min.  Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.