Kickin' It in Kansas City

Long time no see! April is flying by in a crazy blur and I can barely keep up. One day it's Easter and the next thing I know the month is nearly half over. Whatthewhat?! 

I've never been much of a fan of April. I enjoy spring, I really do, but I also know what's lurking just over the horizon...the dreaded summer, which we got a little preview of with some near 90 degree days this week. Color me not amused and enter the return of my overwhelming desire to move to Colorado. That aside, so far April is my favorite month this year?! I blame this almost entirely on the slew of fun activities that abound for me this month. 

Backtracking for a moment, after spending Easter weekend at home with the fam, I was Kansas City bound during the first week of April. Because it would just be way too simple for TF and I to actually live/work in the same city [note sarcastic tone], he recently moved from OKC and started a new job in KC. Being the wonderful girlfriend that I am, I dropped in for a bit to help him get unpacked and settled in his new abode. The visit was not without isn't fun though, which included me getting to do what I love: practice my craft in the kitchen and a trip to my favorite KC dining establishment [see photos below]. 

TF "let me" unpack and organize the kitchen. It was actually pretty fun (I'm weird like that) because I got to find and play with all his fun kitchen gadgets, and the OCD person in me loves to organize. I'm fairly certain that if you combined my kitchen with his I would never stop cooking. It's like my version of a toy store...that and home depot (again, another weird quirk). Nonetheless, whilst unpacking I found some adorable little dishes with candles that you could light under them to keep the contents of the dish warm (like miniature buffet trays for one). I'd forgotten about making him get them during his Christmas raid of his mom's kitchen store and couldn't wait to try them out as part of my dinner concoction:

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Veggie Baked Burritos

Ingredients

Inspiration found here

• 6 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1/2 cup of diced white or yellow onion
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend, but any kind would work)
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil (for basting)
• tomatillo sauce for topping (see when TF and I made it last year)

The inside goodness pre-wrapping. It also works great to eat just like this if you want to skip the tortilla altogether (I did this on day 2 as this recipe clearly makes a ton)

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 F
2. Poke a few holes in the sweet potato, wrap in a slightly damp paper towel, and microwave on high for about 6-8 minutes (this is probably my favorite trick for cooking a sweet potato quickly)
3. Meanwhile, combine corn, onion, black beans and spices in a large skillet or wok (you know I love to use a good wok) and warm through 
4. Once the sweet potato is done, peel and dice it before adding to the skillet/wok. Adjust spices as desired to make sure it has the right amount of flavor/spice 
5. Next, place the tortillas on a place and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave on high for about 30 seconds.This helps keep the tortillas from cracking when you roll them in a minute
6. Fill tortillas one at a time with veggies/beans, topping with a row of cheese. Then roll and place opening flap side down on a cookie sheet covered with foil. Top with a thin layer of olive oil. Repeat as necessary
7. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, turning half way through and topping the now top side with a thin layer of olive oil. At the end, broil on HIGH for just under a minute to crisp the tortillas into a perfectly golden, crunchy shell
8. Once done, plate and top with a layer of tomatillo sauce and serve with your favorite Mexican side item....naturally, we went with queso (which we are finally getting close to perfecting the recipe on, at which point there will be cheers of joy and I will share our masterpiece)

I conclude this post with some of my fav pics from my time in KC. Enjoy!

One of my instant favorite places, the City Market. HUGE farmers market + lots of homemade treats, all insanely cheap. My giant piece of baklava was $1

Since we didn't get to celebrate our birthdays together, TF and I did belated birthday meals. My choice: the Beer Kitchen, for their amazing fries [parm and truffle oil here, last time we got sweet potato]. Love this place.

And the best mac and cheese known to man. Did I mention that this place is within walking distance of TF's abode?! 

And just in time for the playoffs, part of my birthday present included this amazingly comfortable Thunder shirt

Lastly, because I remain proud of my handiwork, I present the bookcase/TV stand that I constructed on my own....although to be fair, I'm somewhat of a closeted craftswoman :)

Mexican Fiesta Part Dos

By now it's no surprise that I love Mexican food. Luckily for me, TF shares my love of Mexican food, so much so that we've become modern day queso experts. Finding good queso on the east coast has been one of our greatest challenges to date, surpassed only by our many failed attempts to create our own version of the delectable dish. TF and I spent an extended Labor Day weekend in Oklahoma, during which time we tried our hands at yet another queso recipe. 

One day I'll share the recipe that passes our increasingly rigorous standards

This one was our closest yet (and actually good and edible....which is a far step above some of the concoctions we've come up with) but alas, the perfect queso remains just out of reach.

In more successful cooking adventures, I also offered to make TF a dinner of his choosing one night. This was partially a selfish gesture as I welcome any opportunity to test my cooking skills, but since I left him dictate the menu I figured the selfishness was balanced out. Naturally, he requested Mexican (in the form of a chimichanga) and then proceeded to craft a list of various elements that he wanted included in said chimichanga. It was a fairly extensive list, but I felt up to the task.

Step 1: Chicken

As a vegetarian, I rarely find myself working with meat in my recipes. Since I've been unable to convert TF, I knew chicken or beef were going to have to be part of the dish. Unfortunately, the market was sans chicken tenders (which I prefer because they're thinner and cook faster) so I had to settle for a chicken breast. This recipe is really versatile though and the ingredients are completely interchangeable, so feel free to use whatever strikes your fancy.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• Fajita seasoning (to taste)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease baking dish
2. Wash and trim any excess fat from the chicken (I'm super anal about this, even when I'm not the one eating it)
3. Season as desired and bake for 20-35 minutes (depending on meat thickness)
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Slice at an angle into thin strips 

Step 2: Homemade Refried Black Beans

One food area where I feel as though I have been successful in my conversion of TF and his eating habits (although don't tell him this :)) is with black beans. I love a good black bean. As a vegetarian I feel like liking beans is somewhat of a prerequisite and although there are a slew of varieties on the market today, I love the black bean for its versatility. When TF listed off refried beans (or as I like to call them: when bad things happen to otherwise healthy beans) I was determined to not only make them from scratch (and with my beloved black beans) but also healthy. 

Ingredients

Slightly edited from Ellie Krieger

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder, or other chili powder
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup low-sodium vegetable broth, plus more if needed
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat
2. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes
3. Stir in the garlic and chili powder and cook for 1 minute more
4. Stir in the beans and vegetable broth and cook until the beans are warmed through, about 5 minutes
5. Mash the beans coarsely with the back of a wooden spoon, adding more vegetable broth to moisten, if needed
6. Season with salt and pepper, to taste
7. Stir in the cilantro

Step 3: Additional Fillings

In addition to beans and chicken, TF also requested rice, a sauce of some sort, and lots of cheese. The rice was nothing special (just a fiesta rice found at market....I had to cut myself off somewhere in an effort to keep from overextending myself, as I'm known to do) and for the sauce, I recreated this one, a personal favorite that I don't make nearly enough despite how easy it actually is. Finally, we had a block of monterey jack cheese left from our queso experiment and I shredded most of it for filling to complete the ensemble.

Keeping with the theme of not trying to over extend myself, I also didn't get to make the tortiallas from scratch. Still love this recipe when time allows!

Step 4: Grand Finale--the Baked Chimichanga

Similar to my above referenced feelings towards baked beans, I am anti-cooking anything that requires frying. Consequently, my greatest challenge in creating this dish was finding a baked version of the restaurant-style chimichanga that TF craved...soft and melty on the inside, lightly browned and crispy on the outside. 

And thus, this beauty was born. I made a non-chicken version for myself and while this isn't something I'd usually order (or make for myself), but I must admit, it was pretty damn tasty (and TF agreed).

Preparation

Inspiration for this creation found here

1. Preheat oven to 450F and spray baking pan with cooking spray
2. Using the above ingredients, mix rice and beans in a bowl until combined
3. Pile desired number of tortillas on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave for 1 minute to make the tortillas more flexible for folding
4. Fill tortilla(s) with desired fillings (I ordered mine-rice/beans, chicken, cheese, and topped with tomatillo sauce before folding). Be careful to avoid overfilling (I got a little overzealous and as a result ours were a little fatter than the original recipe)
5. After filled, tuck in the sides and roll up, laying fold side down in baking dish
6. Cook until golden brown and crispy (about 8-10 minutes)
7. Serve with guacamole on the side and enjoy! 

Gian and TF's Mexican Fiesta

Well, I'm back in the District for a brief pit stop before taking to the skies for another weekend with one of my faves. While in the sooner state last week, I did carve out some time for a little cooking (actually it was a semi-full day affair, but so worth it). 


When I realized I wasn't going to be spending a lot of time in my own kitchen over the next couple weeks, I decided I needed to make time to do a little cooking in the kitchen I was visiting. It took minimal convincing to get TF on board (he was sold the minute I suggested it, which was a little disappointing...I had a whole convincing speech ready and waiting) and soon the planning began! We decided to cook Sunday dinner for six and were both so excited at the thought that it wasn't long before we crafted a menu filled with so many delicious dishes I was hungry just thinking about them! Since the group was a mix of varying tastes and eating preferences, Mexican was the natural choice for something that would be both fun to make and please everyone.


Being from Oklahoma, I'm somewhat of a snob when it comes to eating Mexican food on the east coast (to be fair, I'm the same way about eating seafood in Oklahoma). I know what I like, and Salvadorian fare just doesn't hold up to what I was raised with. Consequently, every time I visit Oklahoma, dining at various Mexican establishments tops my list of things to do. Last month when I visited, TF and I discovered the best queso ever (and there's a lot of stiff competition in those parts) and since I was arriving this time in time for dinner, reservations at 1492 were a first on our itinerary and served as the perfect idea playground for our Sunday menu.

Heaven in a bowl

Before we knew it, Sunday was upon us and it was time to break out the recipes. We vowed to make everything we could from scratch (the only thing we didn't attempt were tortillas...although, ironically I met a lady on the plane en route to the sooner state that convinced me I could totally handle flour tortillas; I may be attempting this soon) so lots of ingredients had to be scouted and even more planning than usual was involved to make sure everything was finished and hot at the same time. So much pressure, but we just had to take the plunge. Without further ado, Gian and TF's Mexican Fiesta (in pictures and delicious recipes)!


Pico de Gallo
[Original found here]

Picture fail by me; I had to attempt a make up session the day after

Ingredients

• 3 large diced tomatoes
• 1 diced medium sized onion
• juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1 tsp of salt
• 2 jalapenos (more if you like it hotter)

Preparation

1. Wash tomatoes and jalapenos
2. Dice tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos
3. Put ingredients in a bowl
4. Add salt, garlic, the juice of half a lemon. Mix it up and serve

Homemade Fajita Seasoning

[Original found here]

Ingredients [warning, this makes a lot--we doubled it and had tons left over]

• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp cumin 
• ½ tsp cayenne
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Preparation

1. Mix and use to flavor your desired dish. It was such a great flavor, we used it on  the stir fry veggies and chicken (TF really loved it so it's possible he scattered it on other parts of the meal while I wasn't looking)
2. Store leftovers in air-tight container

Fajita Stir Fry Veggies

This photo doesn't do justice to how colorful this portion of the meal was....I blame my ravenous state for my sloppy photography skills

Ingredients

• 3-4 bell peppers (we got a four pack of red, green, and yellow and just used all of them)
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 ears of fresh corn, cooked and sliced from rind
• Fajita seasoning, to taste (or heat tolerance)

Preparation

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in wok or skillet
2. Add veggies (cook peppers and onion for 2-3 minutes before adding corn) and seasoning
3. Cook until tender

Refried Black Beans

[A La Rachel Ray]

Pre-Mashing

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed, divided
• 1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Place a medium skillet over medium heat with 2 turns of the pan of oil, about 2 tablespoons. Add 1 can of beans, the chilies and cumin to the pan, and mash the beans up with the back of a wooden spoon
2. Stir in the remaining can of beans, season the mixture with salt and pepper, and continue cooking to heat through, 2-3 more minutes

Queso Blanco Mexican White Queso

[We continue our quest to replicate the work of 1492 and El Tequila, but this was a step in the right direction]

Ingredients

• 3 cups monterey jack cheese or 3 cups asadero cheese or 3 cups white american cheese, shredded fine
• 12 ounces green chilies
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 6 tablespoons onions, chopped fine
• 6 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preparation

1. Put all ingredients in a double boiler and heat on medium
2. Cook until melted and well blended, stirring occasionally
3. Serve with fresh tortilla chips or hot flour tortillas

Fresh Guacamole

Ingredients

• 3-4 avocados (ripe)
• 1 medium tomato
• half a small onion (finely chopped)
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 freshly squeezed lime juice

Preparation

1. Slice, core, and dice avocados
2. Dice tomato and onion; mince garlic
3. Stir together avocado, tomato, onion, and garlic
4. Season with salt and pepper; top with lime juice

TF's brain child, we roasted the corn husks for a decorative addition to the meal :)

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

[Courtesy of Tyler Florence]

Ingredients 

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked (these little guys were a lot of fun)
• 1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 jalapenos
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 lime, juiced

Preparation

1. On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes 
2. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor
3. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky
4. Serve on top of enchiladas (below) or as a side for dipping

Cheese and Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 12 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 lb chicken tenders (cooked)
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 3 cups shredded cheese
• Tomatillo salsa for topping (see above)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cook chicken as desired (the vegetarian [me] cut and seasoned it with the fajita seasoning and then TF's brother smoked it, I must admit, it looked darn good) and slice fajita style or dice cooked chicken 
3. Layer 13 x 9 baking dish with a thin layer of tomatillo salsa
4. Fill tortillas with chicken and/or cheese and onion (if I was making this for myself I'd include spinach with the cheese, my absolute fave), roll and place fold down in baking dish
5. Top with cheese and tomatillo salsa
6. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes, until cheese is melted

Finished product (some of it is hiding on the other side of my queso cup). We were all basically in food coma the rest of the night. Best Sunday dinner ever!

*We made dessert to, but since this post is already overflowing with recipes, I'm saving that one for Part II tomorrow!