Archive for August, 2009
One of my favorite dishes since I was a child is nachos. It’s a little known secret that the sweet spot to the American taste buds is in layering and it’s no surprise that nachos rains supreme in likability! What I’m about to show you is what I consider the easiest and tastiest version of chips and nachos you could ever make. Recently I was thinking of alternatives to buying tortilla chips and these chips are 100 times better. I recommend making your own salsa and guacamole for this (as seen in our episode 5), but store bought can replace all of these ingredients as needed. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!
[print_link] Nacho Dip and Chips
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup of colby jack cheese
- 2 can re-fried beans
- 8 flour tortillas
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
- 1/2 cup sliced jalapeno peppers
EQUIPMENT:
- a sheet pan
- a deep baking pan
- a measuring spoons and cups
METHOD:
To make the chips, we are going to stack the flour tortillas as evenly as possible. Cut them in half, then cut the halfs in half, then cut the halfs in halfs. They will resemble mini pizzas at this point. Lay them out on the sheet pan in a single layer, nothing stacked on top. In a side dish mix the chili powder, cayanee pepper, and salt with a spoon until blended. Using cooking spray, spray lightly over the top of all the chips. Pinch and spread the spices over the top oiled chips. Set aside as we’ll bake these with the dip.
First preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. For the dip, take your deep baking pan and pour the cans of re-fried beans down to form a nice layer on the bottom. Sprinkle the cheese to cover the full layer of re-fried beans. Now sprinkle the black olives, lettuce, and jalapeno peppers over the top.
Place both the chips and the dip into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove both the chips and dip. Top the dip with the salsa, guacamole, and sour cream. Place your newly baked chips decoratively on top and serve.
Bread is, hands down, the staple of any kitchen and it’s time to stop buying something so easy to make. I’ve made it every week for the past year and a half and everyone has raved about how wonderful this tastes. It was apparently so good, i stopped buying bread and just make this for our bread needs during the week. Honey wheat bread, here we come! There is a bit of work for this guy, but with the aid of a mixer and if you remove the “waiting” times, it is quite fast and simple. I highly recommend you try this at home.
[print_link] Honey Wheat Bread
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/8 cup Honey
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 1 teaspoon Dry Active Yeast
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 1/2 cup Water (110-115F)
EQUIPMENT:
- Bread Loaf Pan
- Kitchen Towel
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Mixing Bowls
- Baking pan
PREPARATION TIMES:
- 20 minutes mixing
- 1 hour rising
- 30 minutes shaping
- 30 minutes baking
- 30 minutes cooling
METHOD:
Add All Purpose Flour, Wheat Flour, Yeast, and Salt into a mixing bowl and mix until blended. Add Butter, Honey, and Water and mix until a dough forms into a large ball. Remove the ball of dough and begin to kneed on the counter for about 10 minutes or until the dough is somewhat elastic. Reform into a ball once completed.
Using the Vegetable Oil, coat a separate mixing bowl with 3/4ths of the oil. Transfer the dough ball into the newly oiled bowl and then flip so the oiled side of the dough is now facing up. Wet a kitchen towel with lukewarm water and drape over the mixing bowl containing the dough ball. Set aside in a draft free area for 1 hour or until the dough ball has doubled in size.
Remove the dough ball from the mixing bowl and punch down to make the dough flat. Now shape into an even log. Coat the bread loaf pan with the remaining vegetable oil and place the dough log into the pan. Set aside in a draft free area for about 30 minutes or until the dough has risen again.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and arrange the racks to have one in the center and one directly below it with enough room for the additional baking pan. In a separate baking pan add 1 cup of water and place in the oven. Place the bread loaf into the oven and cook for 30 minutes, making sure not to open the oven at least until the last 5 minutes of baking.
Remove from the oven and transfer from bread loaf pan to a cooking rack. Let bread stand for 30 minutes or until cool and than cut. If storage for later, place in a zip lock bag, making sure to remove as much air as possible from the bag. It should last for a 1 and 1/2 weeks.