Chipotle Mushrooms with Peppers is flavorful, has a bit of heat, is really easy to make, and is great on its own or in omelettes, burgers, on rice, whatever!
Chipotle Mushrooms with Peppers is a real favorite for me because it’s distinctive, really good, ultra easy, incredibly versatile. It makes a fabulous pizza topping, is great in omelettes, quiches, or scrambled eggs, and makes a great addition to burgers or grilled cheese sandwiches.
The first thing I did with this is put it in some omelettes with provolone cheese and fresh parsley. It takes just a few minutes to create this omelette once you’ve made the mushrooms. I haven’t tried it yet, but I suspect this will freeze pretty well; so it would be worth keeping some of this in the freezer.
You can use more chipotle for spicier or less for just a hint of interesting flavor. I also like this with lots of peppers or just a few. This is just a completely forgiving recipe.
Now about chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: How long do they keep in the fridge? Some microbiologists say 3 months, but some food companies say they last less than a week. My go-to way to confidently store them is by freezing them. I typically put them in very small plastic storage containers and pop them in the freezer. Sometimes I put plastic wrap directly on top so there is no air contact. This ensures both food safety and flavor retention for up to a year. Usually I use just 1-2 tablespoons for a recipe, but in the grocery store the small cans are usually 7-8 ounces. This means I’m always storing them in the fridge or freezer. Chipotles are great to always have on hand.
With this recipe you can vary any of the ingredients to taste. Add more garlic, double the bell peppers, it will always come out really good. Hope you enjoy this and make good use of it!
Slice or chop the mushrooms. Dump the mushrooms and onion into a large skillet with the butter and olive oil. Simmer, covered, over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In the meantime, slice the bell peppers into strips. You'll have about 2-3 cups of pepper strips.
Add the garlic, peppers and chipotle and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are desired softness.
Serve as a side dish or in another dish such as omelettes, on burgers, in grilled cheese sandwiches, etc.
Easy White Chicken Chili can be thrown together in under 10 minutes and is totally yummy and easy to adjust to heat and flavor preferences
I’ve always loved white chicken chili – and this one is as simple and yummy as it can be, guaranteed to be a hit with the family. It’s even a perfect dish for a camping trip – you can dump all the ingredients into a pot and heat it up over a camping stove. We just spent 5 days camping at Telluride for the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival – easy scrumptious dishes like this made a huge difference.
You’ve got lots of options with this. For the chicken, you can use about a pound of leftover chicken, shredded. Or use rotisserie chicken, canned chicken, or raw chicken breast and cook it in a slow cooker for hours. It’s all good. And it’s infallible. You really have to work hard to mess this one up.
Another thing about this dish is that I always have all the ingredients on hand. Everything is canned and every one of them I keep in my pantry. I made this batch using 2 12.5 oz cans of Kirkland Chicken Breast – it’s very good premium chicken and tends to shred on its own when stirred into this chili. You can use a package of taco seasoning (about 1 oz or 2 tbsp), buy taco seasoning, or make your own in 5 minutes.
Of course, this makes a big batch and keeps well. Yes, it can be frozen. So I hope you try it & like it!
2 12.5 oz cans chicken breast or 1 lb rotisserie chicken (see notes for alternatives)
2 15 oz cans Great Northern Beans
1 15 oz can creamed corn
1 14 oz can chicken broth if using rotisserie chicken
1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
½ cup mild diced green chiles
2 tbsp taco seasoning (1 package) or to taste
½ cup sour cream
optional: chopped tomatoes, jalapeno slices, more diced green chiles, sliced black olives, sour cream for garnish
½ cup shredded cheese (jack or sharp cheddar)
Instructions
Dump chicken, beans, corn, chicken broth, soup, and chiles into a large pot. (Note canned chicken has broth in it)
Stir to blend and bring to a boil. Add 1 tbsp taco seasoning, then add more as needed to taste.
Turn heat down to low, add sour cream, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add garnishes if desired and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Alternatives for chicken: - 2 12.5 oz cans of Kirkland Chicken Breast, the can of chicken broth can be eliminated - 1 lb rotisserie chicken - 1 lb leftover chicken
Slow cooker method for raw chicken: - 1 to 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into small pieces Place beans and corn in slow cooker. Layer chicken on top. Add broth, soup, chiles, and 1 tbsp taco seasoning. Cook on low 8 hours. Add more taco seasoning to taste, sour cream, and cheese. Serve
Southwestern Beef n Cheese Stuffed Portobellos are a full meal that’s mainly half beef and half mushroom, seasoned with chiles and salsa, topped with cheese
This Southwestern Beef and Cheese Stuffed Portobellos is the result of bringing home a whole bunch of large portobello mushrooms, just begging to be stuffed Mexican-style. In reality, portobello mushrooms have quite a bit of flavor, so moderate flavors can hide in the background.
I made this with Big Jim chiles and a medium salsa, which were plenty spicy. The cheese I chose was shredded sharp cheddar. I liked the somewhat mellowing effect it had on the flavors and the cheese helped bind this dish together so it doesn’t fall apart. Next time I’ll go sharper, like an extra sharp cheddar and perhaps some parmesan as it was hard to actually taste the cheese.
This got very good reviews and requests for seconds. I also tried topping it with feta cheese and swiss, which helped the cheese flavor stand out a bit more. I still have about a dozen more big portobello mushroom caps, each about 4 inches in diameter. Looks like I’ll be experimenting some more with them tomorrow. Hope you like these!
6 large portobello mushroom caps (~ 4 inches diameter)
1 tbsp olive oil
⅓ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 lb ground beef
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cumin
½ cup mild diced green chiles
¼ cup green salsa (I used Winking Girl medium tomatillo)
½ cup chopped parsley
1½ cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
extra parsley for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Rinse the mushroom caps to remove any clinging dirt. Put them in a steamer (or covered skillet) with water and let steam over water at a low boil for 20-30 minutes. If you have stems and/or broken caps, you can finely chop them and add them into the ground beef mixture later.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and cook the onion 3-4 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook another minute, then add the ground beef, salt, and cumin. Break up the ground beef and cook over medium heat to brown; add diced pieces of the mushroom stems at this point if desired. Then add the chiles and salsa, adjusting seasoning to taste.
Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and shredded cheese, allowing the cheese to melt.
Remove mushroom caps from steamer and place on baking dish. Top each mushroom cap with a mound of the meat mixture as shown in picture.
Bake the stuffed mushrooms 10-15 minutes, garnish with more chopped parsley, and serve.
Pork and Green Chile Casserole is a super easy family favorite comfort food that’s a whole meal and freezes really well. Great for kids and company.
Pork and Green Chile Casserole is a favorite to make again and again that can be thrown together with ingredients you may already have on hand. My son and I got 5 meals out of this – it’s every bit as good left over as it is the first time out of the oven. Just scoop out a serving, sprinkle some more fresh shredded cheese on, and nuke it.
You can use substitutions for many of the ingredients. For instance, in the version you see in this photo, I actually made it with canned pork instead of a fresh cut of pork or pork stew meat. It was a 24 oz can, and when you drain the broth off, it comes to 1 1/2 lbs, the exact right amount. This also works great with chicken or beef. Also I used a wild rice medley, but if you use brown rice, white rice, or minute rice, most people will not notice the difference. Personally, I really like the nuttiness and firmer texture of the wild rice but since I was aware of it, I really took notice of any subtle differences. You can also use jack cheese, a mild cheddar, or a blend of shredded cheeses; I personally like the sharp cheddar so I get more cheese taste even if I just use a little cheese.
The lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream add a lot – the perfect final touch. You can also add black olives, guacamole, avocado, sliced green onions, whatever.
I had planned to freeze this in individual servings, but it got eaten too fast. We had it every day for several days. I’m going to make another one just for freezing in the next few weeks. It’s just so convenient to have around.
So try this out and see if it becomes a family keeper like it has for us. Hope you enjoy it!
1 10¾ oz can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup chopped green chiles
1½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
optional: garnish with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and sour cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°.
Put water, salt and wild rice in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, stirring once, and cover. Simmer on low about 30 minutes or until fairly soft.
While rice is simmering, in a large skillet, brown pork in olive oil; drain. Stir in the beans, soup,
tomatoes, chiles, rice, and cumin.
Pour into an ungreased 2.5-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, until bubbly, about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese and bake about 5 more minutes to melt cheese; bake longer if you want it lightly browned on top. Garnish with lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and sour cream if desired.
To freeze: Sprinkle cheese over cooled unbaked casserole. Cover and freeze. To use,
partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat oven to 350°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat
through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.
Fully baked casserole can also be cut into individual servings, wrapped in plastic, and frozen. Microwave to serve.
Southwest Chicken & Olive Casserole is a stick-to-your-ribs satisfying and very flavorful easy to make dish always popular with the whole family
Southwest Chicken and Olive Casserole is a very easy, very popular dish that I plan to make again and again. As a matter of fact, it freezes very well, so I’m planning to make a lot of it and pack it up into 1-2 serving containers to freeze. It just has a perfect balance of flavors and is really satisfying.
Personally, I try to keep carbs down and eat rice rarely and in small quantities. You don’t absolutely need the rice – this dish is good by itself. It also would make a fantastic sub if you just serve it on a French baguette or a hoagie roll. How about trying it on cauliflower rice? This dish is also perfect over noodles. If you add beans (black beans or chili beans are good), you end up with Chicken and Olive Chili. Yum!
I generally like to get the Costco (Kirkland) chicken thighs that come frozen in sealed plastic packs. This recipe is very forgiving so you can guess at the amount of chicken to use. It’s generally 1.5 to 2 lbs.
All in all, I’m planning to make this and variations of this dish in large quantities so I can always have some in the freezer ready to serve in maybe 15 minutes. Hope you like it!
Cut chicken thighs into strips about ½ inch thick and set aside. Set aside half the olives for garnish.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the onion and cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Remove the onion and garlic from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Turn up the heat to medium-high, add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes on each side until golden.
Return the onion and garlic to the pan with the remaining ingredients and reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 15-20 mins until the chicken is cooked through, juicy and tender, and the sauce is rich and thickened.
Turn off stove, top with the shredded cheese and cover again. Let sit for several minutes to allow cheese to melt.
Serve over rice and top with the remaining black olives that were set aside.
Taco Naan Pizza is an easy yummy dish that looks like a pizza but tastes like homemade tacos. With shredded lettuce, sour cream & tomatoes, it’s a giant taco!
I just invented this Taco Naan Pizza today, and it turned into a full meal comfort food home run. My son pronounced it most appetizing looking and a real favorite – said he absolutely loved it. Plus it was very simple to put together. Other than the naan, I usually have all the ingredients at hand.
I happened to have a 2-pack of Stonefire Whole Grain Naan. an 8.8 oz package. If you’re not serving Indian food, they just scream to be used as small pizza crusts – perfect size, thickness, etc. Each one is perfect for 2 people, unless you’re a male under 30 in which case you’ll probably eat the whole 2-pack of pizzas yourself. In our case, I had 1/3 of a naan pizza while my 25 year old son had 2/3. Very satisfying. I also happened to have a 1-lb package of ground beef I had thawed and an open jar of salsa I wanted to use. Plus I had just brought home some freshly roasted green chiles from one of our Denver street corner chile vendors.
A 2-pack of naan and a pound of beef is just about right for feeding 4 average people, i.e., not football players. For the hot sauce, I used Tapatio, which worked very well. Also Cholula is good. I find adding a small amount of hot sauce in addition to taco seasoning rounds out the flavor and tends to create a more robust, fuller flavor. I usually add it to taste – not just for the heat level but also for the overall flavor and level of seasoning I want. For me, tasting and adjusting is mandatory. Since it’s going on top of the pizza, I tend to make it a bit spicier and hotter than I would if I were eating it by itself.
This is a very forgiving recipe, so feel free to experiment with it. It would be good with black olives, sundried tomatoes, and other typical pizza toppings. Hotter green chiles would also be really good. Got any other ideas? Let me know!
Gingered Summer Veggies is a flavorful, nutritious way to serve a fabulous mix of garden vegetables – satisfying and yummy!
These Gingered Summer Veggies are among my favorite vegetable dishes – just really tasty and full of nutrition. I’ve been making this in double batches and helping myself to a big bowl just as a snack or light lunch.
I started out with this when I brought home a few pounds of summer squash. I usually think of summer squash as okay, but it doesn’t excite me. This particular dish makes the most of this vegetable. Ginger is particularly complimentary to squash – it brings out the best of the flavor of the squash. So now I’m experimenting with summer squash and it’s growing on me. Plus the bell peppers go really well with it. This summer I’m getting bell peppers (all colors) by the dozen. There are only two of us in our household, so it’s lasting a couple days here.
This is also the kind of dish that lends itself to experimenting with different vegetables. Like I might try adding mushrooms, garlic, parsley, whatever. But it’s very good in its basic form so I’ll avoid going overboard by adding too much stuff. Note I designated the green chiles as optional. They alter the flavor in a subtle way, but I like this with or without the green chiles. It’s hard to decide which is better.
This has joined my repertoire of go to favorites. Hope you enjoy it!
Cut squash lengthwise into halves or quarters, then into ¼ inch pieces. Place squash in saucepan in 1 inch of water; sprinkle 1 tsp salt over. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until just getting soft. Drain and set aside.
Melt butter in large skillet. Add squash, onion, and bell pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat until vegetables are getting soft, about 5 more minutes.
Add remaining ingredients. Cover and cook another 5 minutes until fully heated. Add salt to taste, if needed, and serve.
Chile Coconut Collard Greens are full of very robust, satisfying flavor – the combination of coconut, ginger, garlic and chile works great together. Add more chiles for more heat.
I really love these Chile Coconut Collard Greens because they are just bursting with awesome flavor and at the same time are sooo nutritious. They are good with or without the chiles. I chose to add just enough chiles to give a moderate heat. The chiles do alter the flavor, but you might not realize it unless you taste this dish with and without chiles side by side.
Personally, I can eat these collard greens as a meal all by themselves. They have a distinctive flavor that goes so well with the garlic, ginger, and onion. The coconut milk seems to pull the flavors together and round it out.
As I was preparing the greens, I weighed them before and after cutting the ribs out. The ribs did seem pretty big. I discovered that the ribs made up almost half the weight. So to actually cook 1 pound of collards, I started with almost 2 lbs. It works as a rule of thumb on how much to buy.
It’s very good leftover, too. I’m snacking on these leftovers. Hope you like them!
2 pounds collard greens, stems removed, cut into ribbons
¾ cups coconut milk
¼ cup vegetable broth, add more if needed
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce, to taste
1 cup diced medium hot green chiles
Instructions
Melt the coconut oil over medium-high heat in a large wok or skillet. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until it's clear and soft. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, for another minute.
Add the collard greens to the pan and stir.
Add the coconut milk, vegetable broth, lime juice, and soy sauce to the wok or skillet and stir everything well. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, then reduce the heat to low. Stir in the green chiles and cook for 15 minutes, or until the greens are totally tender, adding more vegetable broth as needed to keep some liquid in the bottom.
Adjust soy sauce and chiles to taste, if needed and serve.
Jalapeño Infused Chicken is a brain-dead simple way to prepare especially flavorful and healthy chicken that is also quite versatile – for grilling, baking, frying, etc
Jalapeño Infused Chicken is not just amazingly easy … it’s also incredibly versatile as a basis for all kinds of different dishes. I’ve used it in a stir fry, in casseroles, as a main dish with various sauces. In the photo above, it was grilled and used to top a main dish salad; this dish got rave reviews. The chicken gets spicier the longer you marinate it, but even with 2 days of marinating, it is only moderately spicy-hot.
I’ve also discovered that when I cook it on my George Foreman Grill, the juices that drain off are particularly flavorful. I always use a juice collection dish and then use these juices to flavor rice or to add to soups or sauces. If you’re serving this with some sort of sauce on top, just blend the juices in.
This is the basis for a simple classic chicken – you can grill it and serve it as the main dish with no extra sauce. Or I’ve used this in several chicken dishes that just call for chicken pieces. It goes well in many different kinds of dishes. Also, it is good leftover – either by itself or used in casseroles, soups, or whatever.
I don’t know about you, but for years I used to toss the brine out when we finished up a jar or can of pickled jalapeños. What a waste! I hope you get adventurous with new ways to use this – enjoy!
Juice from a can or jar of pickled jalapeños (to cover chicken)
Dark chili powder
Instructions
Cut chicken up into strips or pieces if desired. Whole chicken pieces can be used, but will take longer to marinate for full flavor.
Place chicken pieces in a dish, cover with pickled jalapeño juice, and cover tightly.
Place in refrigerator and allow to marinate for 1-3 days. Rearrange chicken several times a day as needed to ensure all surfaces of the chicken come in contact with the jalapeño juice. Flavor increases the longer you marinate.
Remove chicken from the jalapeño juice and sprinkle both sides with dark chili powder.
Grill, stir-fry, bake ... cook however you wish until chicken is fully cooked.
Can be served as main dish or incorporated into other dishes.
Southwestern Corn Salad is a fresh combination of corn, onion, chiles, cilantro, spices and a simple sour cream dressing – great for a cookout!
Southwestern Corn Salad is a great side for any cookout – a robust and addictive blend of Southwest flavors, a creamy dressing, and fresh corn. I nice nice change from corn on the cob. You can make it with frozen corn, but it’s especially good with fresh.
This is best made with fresh corn, but with all the chiles, onion, and cilantro, it’s still very good made with frozen. I’ve made it with diced green chiles and again with jalapenos to compare the two. Initially I preferred the jalapenos – the end result was more the flavor I expected. However, I found that when I let both versions sit for a while in the fridge – over an hour – the flavors blended. I ended up preferring the green chiles. But the difference is subtle. It’s noticeable when you compare them side by side, but otherwise few people would notice.
I also like adding black olives and avocado – complimentary flavors and that also look nice.
This is a filling, flavorful dish similar Mexican Street food Esquites often served in a cup on the side. Hope you enjoy this!
5 cups corn cut from the cob (~4-5 large ears) or frozen corn
2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp each salt and pepper
2 tbsp mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
¼ cup hot diced green chiles or 3 tbsp Jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
⅔ cup cilantro leaves , roughly chopped
1 cup green onion , finely sliced
½ cup red onion , finely chopped
Garnish with feta or cotija cheese, black olives, avocado, or cherry tomatoes, as desired
Instructions
Cut the corn kernels off the cob .If using frozen, no need to thaw.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add corn and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, until starting to brown. Add salt and pepper halfway through cooking corn. Add garlic and stir for 2 minutes.
Transfer corn into large bowl. Blend mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice and parmesan in a small bowl. Pour over the corn, and stir well to combine - heat will "melt" dressing. Add cilantro, red onion, green onion and green chiles or jalapeno. Stir again.
Transfer to serving bowl. Crumble over cotija/feta and garnishes of choice. Serve warm or at room temperature.
