Taquito Casserole

My dad got this recipe from somewhere...perhaps the back of a box of taquitos. Anyway, it's a great recipe and lately I've made it a few times.



Ingredients:
1 box of unthawed taquitos (you need about 30)
28 oz can refried beans
20 oz can enchilada sauce
4 oz can chopped olives
4 oz can chopped green chiles
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cups of shredded cheese


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.




First, chop the green onions. Use the white and green parts. I love this photo. I love green onions! Hey, win-win!




Put the refried beans, green onions, olives, and green chiles into a microwave-safe bowl. Stir everything up so it's all happy together. Microwave for about 3-4 minutes, stirring halfway through.




Meanwhile, spray a 9x13 casserole pan with nonstick cooking spray. Lay down some taquitos.




Drizzle about half of the enchilada sauce over the taquitos.




Put half of the refried bean mixture over the taquitos.




Spread half of the cheese over the refried beans.




Repeat layers! Cover with foil and cook for about 50-60 minutes, or until hot. Cover with remaining cheese and put back into the oven until the cheese is melted.




This is pure comfort food. It's like enchiladas without all that pesky rolling! Add salsa, sour cream, and guacamole for a religious experience.

Taquito casserole is so great. Aside from the cooking, it really doesn't take much active time at all. You can use the taquitos that are corn or flour tortillas. I like both.

And now my stomach is grumbling. Maybe there are some leftovers still left in the refrigerator...

Let's Kick It Up a Notch!

Foodbuzz sent me a terrific package filled with goodies from Emeril's product line.



The package contained chicken broth, Emeril's Essence, Emeril's Chicken Rub, and a horseradish mustard. I immediately got inspiration from the mustard.

Kicked Up Honey Mustard Shrimp

Ingredients:
Shrimp (I think this is the 3 pound bag from Costco)
4 Tbsp. Honey
4 Tbsp. Mustard
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste



The star of this dish is Emeril's Kicked Up Horseradish Mustard!



Add the ingredients into a bowl. Here's a photo of the mustard outside of the bottle. It looks (and tastes!) amazingly great!



Whisk the ingredients together until they are all incorporated.



Put the shrimp and marinade into a zip top bag and let marinate for about 30 minutes. You can marinate it longer if you'd like.



Put the shrimp on skewers to prep for the BBQ.



BBQ the shrimp until they are pink and cooked throughout. This doesn't take very long, maybe 4-5 minutes.



Serve the shrimp. These did not last long at all. Everyone at our party adored them!




Since I received this package I have been using Emeril's Essence for a lot of things, most notably steak and (separately) scrambled eggs. It's delicious! I definitely recommend his products. I hadn't ever bought them before but you can bet that now they're in rotation in my kitchen.

Great Blog

I just wanted to recommend a great blog Joel F. Brown. I came across this guy on LiveJournal through his posts in the Food Porn community. His writing is pretty good, in a stream of consciousness way. It makes me think Jack Kerouac went to Paris to learn how to cook French cuisine. It's not for the weak of stomach or heart, though. And it's not for those who are offended by expletives since he uses those liberally.

Anyway, check it out!

Indian Food Night

Last night we had a great dinner with friends. A lot of this food I picked up from the market but I made some toor daal from a recipe I got from a friend. But first...the market food!



Samosas from the salad bar area of Central Market. These were delicious!



Naan from Trader Joe's.



Daal palak, also from Central Market. It was so good and a bit spicy.



And here's the daal I made! It was a hit! It was also health, as the only oil I used was less than a tablespoon. Here is the recipe, as written by my friend Payal:

Need:
Toor Dal (found at Indian grocery stores)
2 1/2 tsp Paprika
3 tsp Cumin-coriander powder
3/4 tsp turmeric
Juice of one lemon (can substitute with lemon juice from store)
7 tsp sugar
green chilli (optional)
a small piece ginger (optional)
salt (according to taste)

Also need separately:
3 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds

Soak the lentils (toor dal) over night if possible or at least 4 hours. Then boil it until its completely soft or put it into a pressure cooker for 3 whistles. Then add some water and whip it until its blended. Now put the pan on a stove and put the whipped dal in there. Add all the spices up to salt. Once the dal is boiling, in a second small pan, heat up oil. Add black mustard seeds and heat until they sizzle. Add fenugreek seeds and heat some more. Add the mixture to the dal. Stir it up and add more water if needed. Let it boil for 30 minutes or until it reaches a desired consistency. Eat with rice.



I used equal amounts of coriander and cumin. I also could not find black mustard seeds so I used brown. Speaking of spices, a good tip is that if you happen to have a store near you that sells them in bulk it's much cheaper to get them from that section. This is especially true if it's a spice for a recipe that you do not use very often.

Oh, a couple of other amendments I made: I did not use the chili and for the garlic, I had some from a jar (oh, the humanity!) and I put in about a teaspoon. I'm not sure if the consistency I made was correct but it was so delicious. The consistency was a bit like mashed potatoes but it went very well with the rice (brown basmati) and the naan.

I loved making food with friends! It was fantastic.

Wine Review

Back in late April, some friends and I went to Yakima for their annual Spring Barrel Opening. One of the wineries we visited was Plaza Socievole Winery. I fell in love with their white wines, which is interesting because I usually don't like white wine all that much. I tasted, then bought, a bottle of their 2007 Harmony.

From their website:
This beautiful blend of 75% Viognier and 25% Roussanne. This wine showcases the magnificent terroir of the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. Fresh aromas of peaches and pineapple intermingle flawlessly with the French oak. The subtle oak accents give this wine a fun yet sophisticated complex mouth feel. "A touch of class in a glass".

I adore both Viognier and Roussanne so putting two together is amazingly delicious. It's complex and smooth. It's a delightful summer drinking wine. This winery definitely deserves a look from everyone. I also bought some Riesling of theirs that I'll have to review soon.

Anyway, I'm not a sophisticated wine reviewer but I know what I like. This white is not too dry for me to want a glass of water afterward nor is it sweet. I wouldn't even label it "semi-dry". I would just say it's good drinkin'. It's crisp and accessible.