A couple of recipes, for no good reason.
Jun. 11th, 2005 05:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
omorkaSo I've been getting back into the rhythm of cooking this past week-and-a-half. Here are two of my "needs no prep" recipes. The second one is even vegetarian - vegan, if you leave out the cheese.
My mother claims this is chili. Obviously, she's wrong, although I often slip and call it that. Still, it makes a decent enough filling for tacos, taco salads, and Frito pie (which I make with tortilla chips).
1 lb ground beef (or 1 lb ground turkey and 2 T plain olive oil)
1/2 large onion, diced
1 or 2 cans pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 to 4 T chili powder
1/2 t cumin
1/8 t cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper to taste
Brown the ground meat (with the oil, if you're using the turkey) together with the onion over medium-high heat. Add salt and black pepper to taste, and continue to cook until the meat has no pink left and is no longer in clumps, and the onion is all transparent. Add the beans (use 1 can for 2 or 3 people, 2 cans for 4 or 5; I don't drain the first can but do drain the second, but follow your usual procedure) and 2 T of the chili powder; stir well. Add the cumin. Stir until the mixture begins to bubble. Add the tomatoes and the cayenne pepper; stir everything thoroughly and allow to just bubble again. Taste. If it's unbelievably bland, which it usually is, add another T of chili powder and a smidge more cayenne. Stir, simmer for a minute, and taste again. Repeat until it tastes like you like it; if you want heat, add more cayenne than I have listed. If you have a serious peppertongue, start with 1/4 or even 1/2 t cayenne and then go from there. I don't like it that hot, myself. When the seasoning is the way you want, turn the heat to low and go do something else for 30 minutes. Serve in heated tortillas, poured over corn chips, or however else you like. Top with your preferred toppings - shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, chopped tomato, sliced black olives, guacamole, pico de gallo, or whatever. If you put Cheez Whiz on this I will come haunt your dreams, though.
And this is a variation on a variation of Pasta e Fagioli.
2-5 cloves garlic, to taste
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 can purple-hulled peas (or 1/2 a bag of frozen purple-hulls, cooked)
1 small can tomato sauce
dried basil, oregano, and thyme
1 1/2 cups dried macaroni elbows, or the equivalent amount of another pasta
2 T grated Parmesan
Start the water boiling for the pasta in a large saucepan. Decide how garlicky you want this. I use 5 cloves, but if you're not that fond of garlic, start with 2. Crush the garlic through a press, or chop it very finely if you're one of those people who claims a press changes the flavor. Add the olive oil to a medium-sized saucepan and place it over medium heat. Add the garlic. As soon as the smell changes from pungent to sweet, or the instant you see the smallest particles of garlic start to brown, drop the heat to low. Add the tomato sauce to the garlic and stir, briskly, until the oil combines with the sauce. Turn the heat back to medium. Drain the purple-hulls and refill the can with water; drain it halfway and dump the peas and the remaining water into the tomato sauce. Add basil, oregano, and thyme to taste (if you don't know what "to taste" is for those herbs, try a heaping 1/2 t of basil, a scant 1/2 t of oregano, and 1/4 t thyme). Stir well. Raise the heat to high to bring the mixture to a boil, then lower it to medium-low to let the sauce simmer. By now the pasta water should be boiling; add the macaroni (or whatever you decided to use) and stir it to keep it from sticking. Set the timer for 10 minutes and go play on the computer for a bit. (If you grate your own Parmesan, come back in 8 minutes and do that.) When the timer goes off, stir the pasta again, drain it, rinse it briefly in cold water and drain again, and dump it in your pasta serving bowl if you have one. (If not, just leave it in the big saucepan.) Pour the bean sauce over the pasta and toss vigorously. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top. This serves three people alone, four if you serve it with garlic bread and a salad.
My mother claims this is chili. Obviously, she's wrong, although I often slip and call it that. Still, it makes a decent enough filling for tacos, taco salads, and Frito pie (which I make with tortilla chips).
1 lb ground beef (or 1 lb ground turkey and 2 T plain olive oil)
1/2 large onion, diced
1 or 2 cans pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 to 4 T chili powder
1/2 t cumin
1/8 t cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper to taste
Brown the ground meat (with the oil, if you're using the turkey) together with the onion over medium-high heat. Add salt and black pepper to taste, and continue to cook until the meat has no pink left and is no longer in clumps, and the onion is all transparent. Add the beans (use 1 can for 2 or 3 people, 2 cans for 4 or 5; I don't drain the first can but do drain the second, but follow your usual procedure) and 2 T of the chili powder; stir well. Add the cumin. Stir until the mixture begins to bubble. Add the tomatoes and the cayenne pepper; stir everything thoroughly and allow to just bubble again. Taste. If it's unbelievably bland, which it usually is, add another T of chili powder and a smidge more cayenne. Stir, simmer for a minute, and taste again. Repeat until it tastes like you like it; if you want heat, add more cayenne than I have listed. If you have a serious peppertongue, start with 1/4 or even 1/2 t cayenne and then go from there. I don't like it that hot, myself. When the seasoning is the way you want, turn the heat to low and go do something else for 30 minutes. Serve in heated tortillas, poured over corn chips, or however else you like. Top with your preferred toppings - shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, chopped tomato, sliced black olives, guacamole, pico de gallo, or whatever. If you put Cheez Whiz on this I will come haunt your dreams, though.
And this is a variation on a variation of Pasta e Fagioli.
2-5 cloves garlic, to taste
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 can purple-hulled peas (or 1/2 a bag of frozen purple-hulls, cooked)
1 small can tomato sauce
dried basil, oregano, and thyme
1 1/2 cups dried macaroni elbows, or the equivalent amount of another pasta
2 T grated Parmesan
Start the water boiling for the pasta in a large saucepan. Decide how garlicky you want this. I use 5 cloves, but if you're not that fond of garlic, start with 2. Crush the garlic through a press, or chop it very finely if you're one of those people who claims a press changes the flavor. Add the olive oil to a medium-sized saucepan and place it over medium heat. Add the garlic. As soon as the smell changes from pungent to sweet, or the instant you see the smallest particles of garlic start to brown, drop the heat to low. Add the tomato sauce to the garlic and stir, briskly, until the oil combines with the sauce. Turn the heat back to medium. Drain the purple-hulls and refill the can with water; drain it halfway and dump the peas and the remaining water into the tomato sauce. Add basil, oregano, and thyme to taste (if you don't know what "to taste" is for those herbs, try a heaping 1/2 t of basil, a scant 1/2 t of oregano, and 1/4 t thyme). Stir well. Raise the heat to high to bring the mixture to a boil, then lower it to medium-low to let the sauce simmer. By now the pasta water should be boiling; add the macaroni (or whatever you decided to use) and stir it to keep it from sticking. Set the timer for 10 minutes and go play on the computer for a bit. (If you grate your own Parmesan, come back in 8 minutes and do that.) When the timer goes off, stir the pasta again, drain it, rinse it briefly in cold water and drain again, and dump it in your pasta serving bowl if you have one. (If not, just leave it in the big saucepan.) Pour the bean sauce over the pasta and toss vigorously. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top. This serves three people alone, four if you serve it with garlic bread and a salad.
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no subject
Date: 2005-06-12 01:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-12 10:53 am (UTC)(For the Deep South, it was close enough, and I'm told the recipe comes from my aunt who lives in El Paso, which perhaps gives it some authenticity somehow.)