Tag: cumin

Categories
Side Dish

You have my ‘parmesan’ to treat yourself to potatoes this weekend

Crispy Mexican potatoes feature lots of traditional Mexican flavors, making them just a little spicy with a crispy, cheesy bottom and a creamy interior. They are a great side dish for a variety of meals.
Crispy Mexican potatoes feature lots of traditional Mexican flavors, making them just a little spicy with a crispy, cheesy bottom and a creamy interior. They are a great side dish for a variety of meals.

“What makes them Mexican potatoes?” a friend asked as he scooped my latest food experiment onto his paper plate in our backyard.

“I think it’s just the spices that put it in that category,” I told him.

He looked at me quizzically and only grabbed a few.

But after finishing off that first spoonful and going in for a second, I think it was safe to say he didn’t really care if there was a national origin to this side dish or not—they were a hit.

It was a couple weekends ago that Joey fired up his smoker and we invited some people over to eat with us and enjoy the truckload of food we prepared. It’s always more fun to enjoy meals like that with friends, and this one was no exception.

And this potato side dish was a great addition to the meal.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog, “Bites with Bri” by Brianna May. You can find the original post at https://biteswithbri.com/mexican-potato-recipe/. I added extra spices in my version below.

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Crispy Mexican Potatoes

Crispy Mexican potatoes feature lots of traditional Mexican flavors, making them just a little spicy with a crispy, cheesy bottom and a creamy interior. They are a great side dish for a variety of meals.
Course Side Dish
Keyword barbecue side dish, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, easy side dish, garlic powder, Mexican, onion powder, oregano, paprika, parmesan cheese, yellow potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds small yellow potatoes halved
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese use the real stuff, not the stuff in a can

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside (I tried using foil, and it was tough to remove the potatoes. I think parchment is a better way to go.)
  • Make sure the potato skins are dry after washing them before proceeding with coating them in seasonings. Just pat them with a paper towel.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the potatoes, oil and spices. Stir well to completely coat the potatoes.
  • Press the cut side of each potato into the shredded parmesan and place it, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat, spacing the potatoes just slightly apart.
  • Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
  • Transfer hot potatoes to a serving dish and serve immediately.

I wish I could tell you how these reheated for leftovers, but we didn’t have any of those. These taters went quickly, and if I do this side for another barbecue where we’re expecting more people, I will definitely double the recipe.

These were just a little spicy. You can always decrease or cut out the chili powder if that’s not your thing, but we really enjoyed them. The crispy cheese, creamy potato and Mexican spices all go together perfectly and were perfect along with the smoked chicken Joey made as the main course.

I still can’t tell you if they really qualify as a “Mexican” dish, but I can tell you nobody will care much once their mouths are full.

This piece first appeared in print on July 20, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Try to wrap your mind around enchilada meatballs for dinner

Enchilada meatballs take all the wonderful flavors from the classic Mexican dish and serve them up in meatball form. They are great for dinner with a side of rice.
Enchilada meatballs take all the wonderful flavors from the classic Mexican dish and serve them up in meatball form. They are great for dinner with a side of rice.

I’ll admit it. We’ve been in a bit of a meal rut lately.

Joey and I have fallen into a pattern of three to five dishes that we make every week, and while our meals are never bad or disappointing, they have been lacking a little excitement.

So I decided to pull out a kind of strange recipe I saw online recently to create some enchilada meatballs. (Yes, that’s what passes for excitement at our house.)

I have had enchiladas. I have had meatballs. Heck, I’ve even had enchilada casseroles, but it’s such a simple dish that there aren’t a lot of ways to be creative with it. So I thought I really needed to see what enchilada meatballs were all about.

This comes from the blog “The Weary Chef.” You can find the original post at https://wearychef.com/recipe/cheesy-mexican-meatballs/. I doubled nearly all of the seasonings in my version below.

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Enchilada Meatballs

Enchilada meatballs take all the wonderful flavors from the classicMexican dish and serve them up in meatball form. They are great for dinner with a side of rice.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword chili powder, cumin, easy dinner, enchilada sauce, enchiladas, garlic powder, ground beef, hot sauce, kid-friendly, meatballs, onion powder, oregano, quick oats, shredded cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef leaner is better
  • 10 ounces red enchilada sauce divided
  • 3/4 cup quick oats
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce I used chipotle Tabasco
  • 2 cups shredded cheese I used Mexican blend

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
  • In a bowl, combine the ground beef, 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, oats, eggs, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, cumin, chili powder and hot sauce. Using a spoon or your hands, mix everything together until it’s well combined.
  • Using a one-inch scoop or just a spoon to portion, roll the mixture into meatballs about the size of a ping-pong ball. Place them in the prepared baking dish. They don’t need to be very far apart.
  • Once all the meatballs are in the dish, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top of them. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, remove the foil and sprinkle the cheese over top of the meatballs. Bake, uncovered, for 10 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted and just a little browned. Serve immediately with your favorite Mexican sides.

We ate these with some Mexican rice and rolled them up in tortillas, kind of like a meatball sub. This was absolutely delicious, but it was also extremely filling. Those meatballs are deceptively dense but also really good, so be careful when filling your plate.

As far as the spice level, this was incredibly kid friendly. If I were to make this again just for Joey and me, I would buy spicier enchilada sauce and maybe use a spicier hot sauce in the mix, too. Just as is, though, it was very mild, and you could always back off on adding the hot sauce or even cutting back on the chili powder for your pickier eaters.

It’s fun to take traditional flavors and mix them up a bit by serving them in a new way every once in awhile, and this recipe was no exception.

Of course, now that our meatball leftovers are gone, we are slowly falling back into our normal rut. I guess I need to hop back online for something new.

This piece first appeared in print on March 9, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Crockpot Main Dish

These tacos must ‘birria’ your next new dinner recipe

The process of making birria tacos is simplified a bit with the use of a crockpot for this recipe, but all the rich flavors are still there to enjoy.
The process of making birria tacos is simplified a bit with the use of a crockpot for this recipe, but all the rich flavors are still there to enjoy.

A few months ago, I was introduced to the deliciousness that is birria.

Birria, according to the “My Latin Table” website, is a Mexican dish that traditionally uses lamb but is often made with beef, too. The article goes on to note that it can be eaten as a soup or made into tacos.

The reason birria is so delicious is that, as the meat cooks, it creates a delicious stock that is served as either base of the soup or as a side for dipping the tacos. Between the spices, reconstituted dried chile peppers and beef, you almost want to pour yourself a glass and drink it. (But I didn’t do that. Because that’s weird.)

After trying birria at an amazing Mexican restaurant, I decided I wanted to give the recipe a try myself. Being short on time, though, I opted for a slightly less-than-authentic version that relies on a crockpot. Either way, this turned out absolutely amazing. I was so sad when the final container of leftovers exited our refrigerator.

This recipe comes from Nicki Mejia. You can find her on Instagram under “tastewithnicki.” I added extra seasonings and changed the directions slightly in my version.

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Birria Tacos

The process of making birria tacos is simplified a bit with the use of a crockpot for this recipe, but all the rich flavors are still there to enjoy.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword adobo, all spice, allspice, bay leaves, beef, beef roast, chiles de arbol, chili powder, consomme, corn tortillas, crockpot, cumin, garlic, garlic powder, guajillo peppers, Monterrey jack cheese, oregano, slow cooker, tacos, thyme, tomatoes, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds beef roast
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon pepper
  • 4 teaspoons chili powder
  • 4 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons adobo
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon all spice
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 16 ounces beef broth or stock
  • 6 dried guajillo chiles
  • 3 dried chiles de arbol
  • 1 half large tomato
  • Monterrey jack cheese shredded (for serving)
  • Corn tortillas for serving

Instructions

  • Combine the roast, onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, adobo, oregano, thyme, all spice and garlic powder in your crockpot. Pour the beef broth over top of everything in the pot.
  • To prepare the chiles, pull the stem off of each one and shake out as many seeds as you can.
  • Add the chiles to a medium-sized pot and cover them with water. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for about five minutes or until the chiles are soft. (Do not get rid of the water you boiled the chiles in!)
  • Add the softened chiles, tomato and about one cup of the boiling liquid to a blender or food processor and blend until the mixture is smooth.
  • Pour the chiles mixture into your crockpot. If the liquid isn’t covering the ingredients in the crockpot, add more of the boiling liquid until it is.
  • Cook for eight hours on low or four hours on high.
  • When the roast is done, shred it with a couple forks.
  • To make the tacos, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray it lightly with cooking oil. Dip a corn tortilla in the stock. Place it in the hot skillet and sprinkle on one to two tablespoons cheese. Put a large spoonful of the meat mixture onto half of the tortilla and carefully fold it over. When the tortilla is browned to your liking, gently flip the taco over to brown the other side. When it is done, transfer the taco to a warm plate.
  • Continue until you have as many tacos as you want to serve for your meal. Serve the tacos sprinkled with a little extra cheese and alongside a small bowl of the stock for dipping.
  • Refrigerate any leftovers.

Like I said, the flavor of these tacos is absolutely phenomenal. They weren’t at all spicy, but you could easily kick them up a notch with some salsa. Birria is also traditionally served with fresh diced onions and cilantro, if you want to add some color.

The trick for the leftovers is to wait to put the actual tacos together until you’re ready to eat them rather than assembling 100 percent of them right away and storing them in the fridge. They assemble just as easily as leftovers as they do the first time.

And if you are having any trouble finding the dried chiles mentioned in the recipe, try looking in the Hispanic foods section of your local grocery store. They’re normally sold in big plastic bags in that area.

Despite looking complicated, birria tacos were actually very simple to make, and they bring a little bit of a wow factor to the dinner table. Put this one on your list for your next taco night this winter.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 8, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Side Dish

Don’t fritter away dinner this week; try a new side dish

Chickpea fritters are really easy to make, using a base of canned garbanzo beans, along with plenty of herbs and spices. They are a fantastic side dish to add to your next dinner.
Chickpea fritters are really easy to make, using a base of canned garbanzo beans, along with plenty of herbs and spices. They are a fantastic side dish to add to your next dinner.

I’m going to need all of you to mentally prepare yourself for the mood I found myself in recently: pantry clean out mode.

Once or twice a year, I find myself staring into the abyss that is my pantry and wondering where all of these random food items came from.

Because I love to try new recipes, I often fall victim to clearance items that look “interesting” or just having loads of extra ingredients leftover from whatever my last experiment happened to be.

This week, I found myself staring down a can of chickpeas that has been taking up space at the back of a shelf for longer than I care to even guess.

I bought a few cans for a recipe experiment that went terribly, and I never ended up using the last one. I kept assuming we’d make a batch of hummus or they would end up in a curry or soup sometime, but they’ve just become a permanent resident instead.

But not any more, thanks to this week’s successful experiment: chickpea fritters.

This comes from Yumna Jawad of the “Feel Good Foodie” blog. You can find her original post at https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/chickpea-fritters/. I added extra seasoning in my version.

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Chickpea Fritters

Chickpea fritters are really easy to make, using a base of canned garbanzo beans, along with plenty of herbs and spices. They are a fantastic side dish to add to your next dinner.
Course Side Dish
Keyword chickpeas, cumin, garbanzo beans, garlic powder, parmesan, parsley

Ingredients

  • 15 ounces canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil

Instructions

  • In a medium-sized bowl, mash the chickpeas until they’re nice and crumbly. Add in the flour, parmesan, parsley, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper and water, and stir until the mixture starts to come together.
  • Preheat a large skillet over medium-low to medium heat, and add the canola oil.
  • While the oil heats, form six patties—about one-half-inch thick—out of the chickpea mixture, making sure to compact them with your hands so they stay together.
  • When the oil is hot, carefully add the patties and cook for one to two minutes on each side or until they are golden brown.
  • Serve hot as a side to your favorite Mediterranean, Indian or Middle Eastern dish, or just eat them by themselves with a good dipping sauce. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

I recommend eating these with something—maybe as a side to a curry, along with a gyro or at least with a good sauce—because the are a bit dry on their own.

That being said, they have great flavor, and I really liked these. Plus, they were super easy if you’re looking for a quick side dish.

I know that removing a single can from my pantry is nowhere near the triumph I’m trying to pretend it is (and you would definitely be saying that if you saw the mess I’ve gotten myself into), but as they say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

I suppose the cleanup of a thousand ingredients starts with a lone can of chickpeas.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 29, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Side Dish

Everyone will want to ‘congri’gate around your table for this dish

Congri is a beans and rice dish from Cuba. Some argue that traditional congri can't be made with black beans, but this mixture was good enough that you probably won't care.
Congri is a beans and rice dish from Cuba. Some argue that traditional congri can’t be made with black beans, but this mixture was good enough that you probably won’t care.

An article by Eliana Rivero goes into great detail about some of the cultural dishes of Cuba, including a dish I decided to try for this week’s column, congri.

According to Rivero, “The name comes from the Creole French words congo and ris (beans and rice) to produce what today is widely consumed by Cubans in the diaspora (and in their Louisiana variation, Cajun red beans and rice).”

Except, after reading Rivero’s article, I discovered that there’s a lot of back and forth amongst Cubans about what actually constitutes congri. Some people, like her, claim it must be made with red beans, and others claim it can be made with black.

So, I’m putting it out there now that while what I made—a delicious black beans and rice dish—may not be considered congri by all Cubans, what I can promise is that it’s absolutely worth a try.

This comes from the website “Food52.” You can find the original post and a great personal story about the dish by Taryn Pire at https://food52.com/recipes/83081-congri-cuban-black-beans-and-rice. I doubled the seasonings in my version.

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Congri

Congri is a beans and rice dish from Cuba. Some argue that traditional congri can't be made with black beans, but this mixture was good enough that you probably won't care.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Cuban
Keyword adobo, bay leaves, black beans, chorizo, congri, cumin, garlic, green bell pepper, white rice, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried black beans
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 large green bell peppers diced
  • 1 medium yellow union diced
  • 8 to 10 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 9 to 12 ounces chorizo
  • 4 cups white rice
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 2 tablespoons adobo seasoning
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • The day before you cook your beans, rinse them well. Add them to a stock pot and add water until there’s about one inch covering them. Bring the pot to a boil, then remove them from heat, place a lid on the pot, and let them sit undisturbed until the next day.
  • When you’re ready to cook the beans, add more water to the pot—again, to about one inch covering them. Add the bay leaves and bring the pot to a boil. Turn the heat to a simmer and place the lid on the pot. (They’ll need to cook for 45 to 70 minutes.) Check the beans every 15 minutes or so to make sure there is still plenty of water in the pot. Add more, if necessary.
  • While the beans cook, heat the olive oil in another large stock pot over medium heat. Saute the peppers and onions until they are cooked through. Add the chorizo, chopping it up as it cooks. When the chorizo is nearly cooked through, add the garlic and uncooked rice. Stir well.
  • Add in the cumin and adobo, stir well, and then remove the mixture from the heat until the beans are cooked through. (To test the beans, fish one out, let it cool, and try it. You want it to be easy to bite without being complete mush.)
  • When the beans are done, remove them from the heat. Drain the beans, but reserve six cups of the bean broth (if there isn’t enough, add water until you get six cups). Discard the bay leaves. Add the bean broth and beans to the pot with the rice.
  • Bring the pot to a boil, put the burner on low, and place a lid on the pot. Let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Stir the mixture well. If the mixture is soupy, let it cook a bit longer, with the lid off, to evaporate the liquid to your desired level. Generally, congri is a drier dish, with little to no liquid. Add salt to taste and serve.

This was flavorful and super delicious. It makes a ton, too. I made a batch and a half and couldn’t even fit all of it into my large crockpot for a group meal we had.

It’s perfect as a side dish, especially with something that has some sauce with it—like enchiladas or chili con carne. You can also eat it alone, although I’d think it would be best with a little salsa added to the mix.

I may not have actually accomplished historically accurate congri, but I did manage to create a delicious dish with plenty of leftovers for us to enjoy for the rest of the week, so I’m not going to worry too much about labels.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 11, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Seize the ‘carne’ with a summer-friendly chili recipe

Chili con carne is an easy recipe that just simmers on your stove until you're ready for dinner. With tons of spices and several types of peppers, it's a great meal for a crowd or one that provides plenty of leftovers.
Chili con carne is an easy recipe that just simmers on your stove until you’re ready for dinner. With tons of spices and several types of peppers, it’s a great meal for a crowd or one that provides plenty of leftovers.

There is an in-depth article that appeared back in 2017 in Texas Monthly by John Nova Lomax about the origins of chili con carne in the United States.

It’s a great read, if you get the chance, and apparently there’s a lot of controversy about the recipe’s origins from historians, but I did love a quoted section from a Kansas newspaper reporter who visited Texas in the late 1800s.

“Speaking of hot things, at San Antonio they have a dish called chili con carne,” he wrote. “[…] It is awful seductive looking […] They always have enough to go around, for no stranger, no matter how terrific a durned fool he is, ever calls for a second dish. He almost always calls for a big cistern full of water, and you can’t put the water in him fast enough with a steam engine hose.”

Let me assure you that although I did decide to try this Texas staple this week, it is not spicy enough to call for cisterns of water. Instead, the recipe I tried has great depth of flavor and is easy to adapt, based on your own favorite spices.

This comes from the blog “Chili Pepper Madness” by Mike Hultquist. You can find the original post at https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/chili-con-carne/. I added lots of extra spices in my version. And, yes, despite the strong opinion of many Texans, I added beans, too.

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Chili con Carne

Chili con carne is an easy recipe that just simmers on your stove until you're ready for dinner. With tons of spices and several types of peppers, it's a great meal for a crowd or one that provides plenty of leftovers.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword ancho peppers, beef, chili con carne, chuck roast, coriander, cumin, garlic, guajillo peppers, jalapeno peppers, kidney beans, oregano, paprika, Tex-Mex, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces dried guajillo peppers
  • 2 ounces dried ancho pasilla peppers
  • 4 to 6 pounds chuck roast cut into one-inch pieces
  • 4 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons oregano
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons coriander
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 2 jalapeno peppers diced
  • 20 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 to 4 cups beef stock optional
  • 2 15.5- ounce cans light red kidney beans rinsed and drained

Instructions

  • Start by heating a large pot with a lid over medium heat. Drop in the dried peppers, turning them every so often, until they are warmed through.
  • Remove from the pot and remove the stems and seeds from the dried peppers and submerge them in very hot water (at least three cups) in a container with a lid. Let them sit for 20 minutes. When the peppers are done, combine them with three cups of the soaking liquid in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
  • While the peppers soak, place the cubed roast in a large bowl along with the paprika, smoked paprika, oregano, black pepper, brown sugar, cumin, coriander and salt. Mix well to coat the meat evenly.
  • Heat the oil in your large pot over medium heat and add the meat, onions and jalapenos. Saute for around six minutes or until the meat is nicely browned and the vegetables are softened.
  • Add in the garlic and pepper sauce. If you already have a decent amount of liquid in the pot from the meat and vegetables, bring the mixture to a boil. If there isn’t much liquid or not enough to your liking, add beef stock to the pot and then bring it to a boil.
  • Reduce the heat to a low simmer and place the lid on the pot. Let it cook for at least two hours or until the beef is tender.
  • If desired, shred the beef at this point. Add in the beans, and add more beef stock, if desired.
  • Serve in a bowl with rice, wrapped in tortillas, with chips or however you like it.

This was extremely delicious. We ate our chili con carne with some Mexican rice along with some corn chips on the side. When we ate the leftovers, we rolled it up in tortillas and ate it like burritos.

If you like peppers, you’ll love the flavors in this chili. It was fairly mild (I did deseed my jalapenos), if you’re not into something overly spicy.

And unlike the long-ago reporter from Kansas, we did go back for second helpings when we were finished. I guess that cements us as durned fools in our house.

This piece first appeared in print on June 23, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Side Dish

Roasted vegetables will be the ‘bell’ of the ball this summer

Southwest potatoes combines potatoes, bell peppers and onion with plenty of herbs and spices for a delicious summer side dish that's easy to make and looks pretty on the table.
Southwest potatoes combines potatoes, bell peppers and onion with plenty of herbs and spices for a delicious summer side dish that’s easy to make and looks pretty on the table.

Even though I try not to heat up the house with my oven too often in the summer, I am definitely willing to make an exception for the right recipe.

Last week, that exception came when I decided I didn’t want one of the typical cold summer sides like coleslaw, potato salad or a green salad to go with our dinner, and I stumbled on a delicious-looking recipe that combined potatoes and bell peppers. It sounded like a fantastic summer side, especially with all the brightly colored peppers included.

It fit the bill perfectly, and not only was I happy with the flavors but it also ended up being a great meal for leftovers later on.

This comes from the blog “Will Cook for Smiles.” You can find the original post at https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/southwest-roasted-potatoes. I added extra spices and vegetables in my version.

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Southwest Potatoes

Southwest potatoes combines potatoes, bell peppers and onion with plenty of herbs and spices for a delicious summer side dish that's easy to make and looks pretty on the table.
Course Side Dish
Keyword bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, paprika, potatoes, summer side dish, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 large Russet potatoes
  • 1 large red bell pepper
  • 1 large green bell pepper
  • 1 large yellow or orange bell pepper
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 heaping teaspoon cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a large, rimmed baking sheet by lining it with foil.
  • Cut potatoes and onion into about one-half-inch pieces. Cut the peppers into about one-inch pieces.
  • Add all of the vegetables to a large bowl or directly onto the baking sheet to combine with the other ingredients.
  • Add the oil, herbs and spices to your vegetables and mix well until they are evenly coated in the mixture.
  • Evenly spread out the coated vegetables on your prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Serve hot.

If you’re into something a bit spicier, you could easily toss in some hot peppers or maybe some cayenne pepper in the mix for this. But I will say this combination of spices was definitely flavorful while still being a crowd pleaser.

It was also super gorgeous on the table. I would highly recommend this one for a gathering if you need a good side dish this summer. We really enjoyed it.

And, in the grand scheme of things, heating up the kitchen was very much worth it. There’s something about roasted bell peppers that I absolutely love, even if I have to sweat just a bit to get them.

This piece first appeared in print on June 9, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Meat is ‘naan’ essential for this potato and chickpea curry

Potato and chickpea curry is spicy and full of lots of flavors from a variety of spices. It is also vegan, giving those avoiding animal products a great, quick meal to enjoy.
Potato and chickpea curry is spicy and full of lots of flavors from a variety of spices. It is also vegan, giving those avoiding animal products a great, quick meal to enjoy.

Quite a number of years ago, when we put our house on the market, our realtor gave us some tips for keeping our home ready for showings.

In addition to keeping things clean and organized, he encouraged us to pin back the curtains for plenty of natural light and begged us to take a break from cooking anything that would have strong, lingering smells. Specifically, he said we should stay away from curry.

I thought about that this week when I decided to try a vegan curry recipe I found online. Personally, I think the smell of spicy curry would be a selling point for a house, but I’m sure it’s not for everyone.

This recipe was fantastic, and if you’re trying to cut some meat out of your diet, I highly recommend it. It was filling, extremely flavorful and very pretty, to boot. It was also on the spicy side, so if that’s not your favorite, I’d skip this one. I think it would be a bit difficult to make this one completely mild.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Well Plated” by Erin Clarke. I added extra garlic in my version.

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Potato and Chickpea Curry

Potato and chickpea curry is spicy and full of lots of flavors from a variety of spices. It is also vegan, giving those avoiding animal products a great, quick meal to enjoy.
Course Main Course
Keyword cayenne, chickpeas, coconut milk, cumin, curry, diced tomatoes, garam masala, garlic, ginger, peas, potatoes, rice, turmeric, vegan, vegetarian, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger or ginger paste minced
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • salt to taste
  • 2 pounds potatoes diced (I used Russets)
  • 14 ounces canned chickpeas rinsed and drained
  • 14 ounces diced tomatoes in juice
  • 14 ounce can light coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • Prepared white rice for serving
  • Naan bread for serving

Instructions

  • In a Dutch oven or stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
  • Add the onion to the hot oil and saute until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and ginger, and saute for about 30 seconds. Add in the curry powder, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt, and continue to stir for about a minute.
  • Once the mixture smells really nice, stir in the potatoes and chickpeas to coat them with the spices.
  • Add in the diced tomatoes and coconut milk, and stir well to combine.
  • Bring the mixture to a very low boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring regularly to keep the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pot, for about 15 minutes.
  • Once the potatoes are fork tender, stir in the sugar, lemon juice and peas. Let the mixture heat over low until the peas are hot.
  • Serve the curry over top of white rice and with a side of naan bread.

I absolutely loved this one. Joey was out of town for the evening, so he had to settle for leftovers later in the week, but he also gave it a thumbs up.

It does make quite a bit of food, and it stretches even further with rice, so if you want to feed a crowd on the cheap, save this one for the future.

Plus, our whole house smelled like warm, delicious spices for a couple days, so I suppose it’s a good thing we aren’t trying to sell it right now.

Of course, with the way the housing market is moving right now, I doubt it would even matter.

This piece first appeared in print on May 19, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Be ready for an enchi’little’ heat with jalapenos this week

Jalapeno cream cheese chicken enchiladas are a great weeknight dinner. They're spicy, cheesy and make for fantastic leftovers.
Jalapeno cream cheese chicken enchiladas are a great weeknight dinner. They’re spicy, cheesy and make for fantastic leftovers.

Sometime last summer I found a huge bag of hatch green chiles that were on clearance in our local grocery store.

I immediately threw them in my cart, visions of cheesy enchiladas with mild, roasted chiles dancing in my head.

What I created was an abomination. I quickly realized how spicy the chiles were when Joey and I each took our first bite and nearly choked from the heat. I’m sure there are people who love playing chicken with the Scoville Heat Scale who would have absolutely loved them, but at the point that they even made Joey sweat, I knew they were way too spicy for either of us to consume. They ended up being deconstructed and made into another dish with lots of other ingredients to balance out the spice.

When I told Joey I was going to try a recipe for jalapeno enchiladas this week, he looked at me with a bit of skepticism that I wasn’t going to try to kill us both again. Luckily, though, we ended up with a dinner that was just the right amount of spicy and was really delicious.

The recipe I used is from the “All Recipes” website. You can find the original post at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/218031/jalapeno-cream-cheese-chicken-enchiladas. I added extra seasonings in my version.

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Jalapeno Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Jalapeno cream cheese chicken enchiladas are a great weeknight dinner. They're spicy, cheesy and make for fantastic leftovers.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword cayenne, cream cheese, cumin, enchilada, garlic, garlic powder, jalapenos, Monterrey jack cheese, paprika, rotisserie chicken, shredded chicken, weeknight dinner, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 1 rotisserie chicken cooked and shredded (about 3 cups)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper divided
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder divided
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 2 or 3 jalapeno peppers diced (remove seeds and ribs for milder taste)
  • 4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 8 ounces cream cheese I used fat free
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 28 ounces green enchilada sauce
  • 7 to 8 flour tortillas
  • 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese shredded

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a bowl, combine the shredded chicken, one teaspoon cayenne, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper, stirring to incorporate the ingredients. Set it aside.
  • In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapenos, and saute until they are soft. Add in the minced garlic and saute for another couple of minutes until it just starts to brown.
  • Cut the cream cheese into one-inch cubes and add to the skillet, stirring to melt the cheese and combine the ingredients.
  • Once the cheese is melted, remove the pan from the heat, and add one-half teaspoon cayenne, one teaspoon garlic powder, paprika, cumin and the seasoned chicken. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined.
  • In a nine-by-13-inch pan, spread half of the enchilada sauce on the bottom.
  • Assemble the enchiladas by spreading a large spoonful of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle the filling with about one tablespoon of shredded cheese, and roll the tortilla tightly, leaving the ends open. Place it seam-side down in the pan. Continue until all the filling is used, squishing the tortillas together as necessary.
  • Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with the rest of the shredded cheese.
  • Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Let sit for five minutes before serving. Garnish with sour cream and pickled jalapenos, if desired.

These had just the right amount of heat, and it was balanced really well with the cheese, but you can also decrease the spice level a bit by leaving out the cayenne pepper. They were also fantastic leftovers, which I always appreciate on busy weeks.

If these still sound too spicy for you but you’re in the mood for enchiladas, I’d encourage you to search for “queso fresco enchiladas” on my website (spiceupkitchen.net). Those would easily fit the bill.

But if you decide to make up your own recipe, just be careful not to blindly trust mystery peppers at the grocery store. And if you do, let me suggest purchasing some good anti-perspirant, a big box of tissues and a gallon of milk to help you recover.

This piece first appeared in print on March 24, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Crockpot Main Dish Soup

‘Peas’ your tastebuds with a spicy crockpot soup

Spicy black-eyed peas are a great way to warm up on a cold day and are even better with some fresh cornbread on the side.
Spicy black-eyed peas are a great way to warm up on a cold day and are even better with some fresh cornbread on the side.

There is enough debate about black-eyed peas that there’s actually an article about them on the Library of Congress website.

It starts out very simply, asking, “Are black-eyed peas really peas?”

The answer is simple: “No.”

The article then goes into a very technical, scientific explanation of how peas, beans and legumes are classified and named. It’s great reading if you want to take a nap.

But I suppose no matter what their official classification, their presence in our house every New Year’s Day is a constant, as they are supposed to create good luck in the coming year.

Obviously, with all the craziness over the past year, I must have not cooked them quite right in 2021, so I’m hoping this year’s recipe was a better one.

I decided to go with a spicy version of black-eyed peas this year, mostly because I had some jalapeno peppers languishing in my crisper drawer already. You can leave those out and just add another bell pepper and cut out the cayenne if you want to try this recipe and you’re not much of a spice person, but if you like a little heat, you’re really going to like this one.

This recipe from Trisha Haas comes from the blog “Salty Side Dish.” You can find the original post at https://www.saltysidedish.com/slow-cooker-black-eyed-peas/. I added extra spices in my version.

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Crockpot Spicy Black-Eyed Peas

Spicy black-eyed peas are a great way to warm up on a cold day and are even better with some fresh cornbread on the side.
Course Main Course
Keyword bacon, bell pepper, black-eyed peas, cayenne, crockpot, cumin, garlic, ham, jalapeno, oregano, slow cooker, soup, spicy, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces dry black-eyed peas
  • 3 beef bouillon cubes
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 bell pepper diced (any color)
  • 1-2 jalapeno peppers diced (remove the seeds for less kick)
  • 1 cup ham chopped
  • 6 slices bacon chopped
  • 3 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Add the beef bouillon cubes to about 1 cup of hot water. Smash the cubes before adding them to a large crockpot along with five more cups of water, and then add all of the rest of the ingredients, as well. You do not have to do anything to prep the peas. Just dump them in.
  • Give the mixture a good stir and then cook on high for six hours or until the peas are cooked through.
  • This is fantastic served with fresh cornbread.

The photos on the recipe’s website show a mushier-looking soup without a lot of broth. I had a decent amount of broth with mine, so it’s really more about what you prefer with yours if you let it cook down even longer to really get the liquid thinned out. Personally, I love having broth with soups like this so I have something to soak up with my cornbread.

This was so, so easy, since it was as simple as just dumping everything in the crockpot. It literally took no cooking skills whatsoever, which I appreciate sometimes.

Now, with our bellies warmed, supposedly Joey and I are covered for 2022 and all the luck life can bring us. I’m not sure if it worked, but I have some leftovers in my freezer just in case we need a boost in the coming weeks.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 13, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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