Kitschen Chaos: Queso-rap!

I was going to make tacos for a quick and easy dinner, but needed something else to go with it. I didn’t wanna make anything complicated because it would totally defeat the purpose of my easy-to-make supper.I found some Tostitos Hint of Lime chips in our pantry and decided to run with that. Making this appetizer dip is insanely easy and the results are awesome!

1 225gram bar of cheese (cheddar or monterey jack) although use whatever you prefer, 1 large green chili (de-seeded, unless you wanna die of heat-then by all means keep them there) 1/3 c beer, 1/3 c chopped onions, 1 Tbs chopped garlic, 1/3 c store bought salsa, 1/4 c chopped coriander (cilantro/wansoy), salt and pepper to taste.

1. Prepare everything you will need because you have to work pretty fast.



2. Saute onions on medium heat until they soften. Add chopped chilis and fry for about a minute. Add beer and reduce.

3. Add cheese (grated or cut into cubes) and allow to melt.

4. Mix in salsa and coriander.

5. Transfer into a bowl and garnish with more coriander.Serve with Hint of Lime chips.


I would have added Spanish Chorizo to this recipe but Abdul was over and all the pork I would have used had to stay in the fridge. Aaah, interfaith relationships ;p

Kitschen Chaos: Taaaaaaaacos!

One of my go to dishes when I’m either too lazy to take time to prepare a meal, or just want something fast (like w/n 20 minutes) is tacos. There are several reasons why I love making this.

1. You don’t actually have to cook anything except the meat.

2. You can “build” your own meal. Everything is laid out in front of you and you can put what you like and ignore the rest.

3. If you make a large batch of the ground beef, you will have left overs-perfect for the next day, or as a midnight snack.

4. Men love tacos. And since I was cooking for both my dad and Abdul, this was the logical choice.

500g ground beef, cumin powder, chili powder, spanish paprika, garlic powder, 1/2 c chopped onions, 1/4 cup chopped garlic, 1 packet Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix, 2/3 cups juice from a can of stewed tomatoes, the rest of the stewed tomatoes, chopped lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese, taco shells.

1. Saute onions until soft and add in garlic. Season with cumin, chili, paprika, salt and pepper.


2. When slightly brown, add ground beef and cook until meat is browned and there is not more pink. Drain the liquid and then add the taco mix and tomato juice.


*Note: The taco mix packet actually says add 2/3 cup water. The tomato juice is my own thing to add more flavor.

3. Simmer for about 5 or so minutes.Add some chili flakes for some zing. Meanwhile, put the lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and cheese into small bowls and set up on the table, along with the taco shells. When beef is ready, bring to the table too (duh.)


4. Build your own taco!



Note: I already put a lot of onions into the beef because I can’t stand fresh onions, but do what YOU like. Also, I use stewed tomatoes because, guess what, I don’t like fresh tomatoes either. I know, I’m weird.

Enjoy!

Kitschen Chaos: Stuffed Tomatoes

This is actually part of yesterday’s Kitchen Chaos but I thought I’d save it for today because yesterday’s post was getting too long already.

As I was saying, I am still not used to having to excessively think about a menu because of dietary restrictions but ever since I started dating Abdul, I have been careful about pork (at least when he’s eating over) and now one of my best friend’s has gone all pesco-veg on me. It’s all good, it helps me get creative and invent new recipes!

So, stuffed tomatoes. It actually started with “I think I’ll make stuffed tomatoes” I picked up the tomatoes, and wondered “What can I stuff them with?” I scanned the seafood counter, spotted the crab meat and just grabbed some before I could change my mind. I picked up a few other things to mix with it and that was that. Recipe Below:

Tomatoes stuffed with Crabmeat (again, measurements are more or less accurate. Adjust to your taste)

1/4 k. crab meat, 200g fresh button mushrooms, diced (canned mushrooms are shit. They should not even be called mushrooms anymore), 1/3 c. crumbled feta cheese, 3/4 c. caramelized onions, 2 Tbs garlic, 1/2 bar cream cheese, juice of 1/2 lemon, about 15 basil leaves, ripped up quickly (it doesn’t need to look pretty), 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, 10 medium sized tomatoes, rock salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (freshly ground pepper makes a difference!) 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese, 1/4 c. fresh grated parmesan.

1. Chop onions, mushrooms and garlic and set aside.

2. Fry onions and deglaze several times to bring flavors out (I added, salt, pepper, a bit of cayenne pepper and oregano to the onions)


3. Mix together cream cheese, caramelized onions, garlic, feta, mushrooms, crab meat, lemon juice, breadcrumbs and basil in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. This unappetizing looking stuffing is actually really good!

4. Cut of the tops of the tomatoes and scoop all the seeds out until the tomato is hollow. Stuff with the crab meat goodness.


5. Top with cheddar and parmesan cheese. Pile it on high, don’t be shy!

6. Bake at 350C until cheese is slightly toasted, about 15 minutes.



Now eat them before they get cold!

Kitschen Chaos: Spaghetti alla vongole

Welcome to my first post on Kitschen experimentation!

So, Originally, I was supposed to spend the holiday (Inauguration of our new President!) working and helping my boyfriend clean his studio, but then I ended up planning to make dinner and inviting over Sarah and Banj.

I was going to make pasta form scratch but impending girly time of the month makes me very lazy/cranky so I went with regular dry spaghetti noodles. Also, since Sarah decided to go pesco-veg, my once easy to create menus now take more careful planning.

Let me tell you that I am not a big fan of seafood. I don’t hate it, but I will take a nice juicy medium steak any day over shellfish, so cooking with no meat or poultry is definitely a challenge for me.

I decided to make Spaghetti alla vongole, which I found out later on-as I was cooking it-is apparently my boyfriend, Abdul’s favorite pasta dish. I mean, really? Talk about pressure. As for the Tomatoes stuffed with crab meat, It was kind of a “quick what should I stuff the tomatoes with” moment at the supermarket that led me to this invented recipe. Enoy and tell me what you think if you actually try it!

Spaghetti alla Vongole (please take note that my measurements may or may not be on point-I cook accdording to taste)

500g Spaghetti Noodles, 2 Tbs olive oil, 3 Tbs chopped garlic, 1/2 c chopped onions, 1Tbs chili flakes, 1kilo fresh clams, 1 1/2 c white wine, 2 sprigs rosemary (chopped), 1 nob butter, salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook spaghetti according to instructions on packet and reserve 1 cup of pasta water.



2. In a deep pan, saute onions, garlic, rosemary and chili flakes on low heat for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.


3. Add clams and white wine and allow to cook on high heat until clams open up (about
5-8 minutes) Add butter.



4. Before adding pasta, check sauce. Add salt and pepper if necessary. Then add spaghetti and toss.


Ta-dah! Easy Peasy!

Now Italian tradition says no cheese. But you don’t need to listen to them. I added half a cup of fresh parmesan before serving, and put more on the table.

Enjoy! I’ll blog about the tomatoes tomorrow!