Tag: fresh garlic

Categories
Appetizer Condiment Recipes

Slow-roasted garlic confit creates ‘clove’ at first bite

Garlic confit is made by slowly roasting whole cloves of fresh garlic in olive oil to create a nutty, spreadable garlic with a delicious, concentrated flavor.
Garlic confit is made by slowly roasting whole cloves of fresh garlic in olive oil to create a nutty, spreadable garlic with a delicious, concentrated flavor.

I seem to always be several years behind on the big Internet cooking trends.

I can’t tell if that’s because I’m skeptical of the hype or because I have too many recipes to try already.

This week, though, I finally crossed one that I just hadn’t gotten around to off my list: garlic confit.

Apparently, I’m just in the mood for weird French cooking terms lately.

I wasn’t totally sure what constituted “confit,” but an article by J. Kenji López-Alt on the website “Serious Eats” breaks down the process.

Essentially, López-Alt writes, “The word confit (pronounced ‘kon-FEE’) derives from the French verb confire, which simply means to preserve.”

He goes on to write that, to confit, meats or vegetables are traditionally slowly cooked in fat and fruits in a super-concentrated sugar syrup, which is supposed to kill off bacteria and keep it from growing later on.

López-Alt said the way we use the term confit in modern cooking isn’t quite true to the tradition (or the part of speech), but it’s generally adjacent.

In the case of this week’s recipe, my goal wasn’t necessarily preservation so much as wanting to completely transform fresh garlic.

I read a few different techniques before I began my process, and I ended up combining several ideas to get where I wanted to go. America’s Test Kitchen and the Food Network have nice posts about the process and how they did it, for example, that are both a good read.

In the end, I decided I wanted pure slow-roasted garlic, so while a lot of people add herbs like rosemary to their confit, I opted to leave it alone.

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Garlic Confit

Garlic confit is made by slowly roasting whole cloves of fresh garlic in olive oil to create a nutty, spreadable garlic with a delicious, concentrated flavor.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Keyword confit, extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, olive oil, whole garlic

Ingredients

  • at least 3 or 4 bulbs garlic
  • enough olive oil to cover the cloves I used extra virgin

Instructions

  • Peel the whole cloves, trimming just a sliver off each to remove the root ends, and place them in a small oven-safe dish. (They don’t need to be spaced out at all. You just need enough room to cover them in oil.)
  • (As a side note on peeling garlic, I watched various people online put several cloves into a canning jar and shake them up for a bit, which had the magic effect of separating the skin from the cloves. I did this and had decent success with it, although some were still a bit stubborn. It definitely saved time, though.)
  • Pour olive oil into the dish to just cover the cloves.
  • Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and roast the cloves for one to one and one-half hours, checking after the first hour.
  • The cloves are done when they’re a light, nutty brown and are completely soft.
  • Let the garlic cool completely, and then you can use both the cloves and the oil in recipes where a concentrated garlic flavor would be desireable.
  • Or, you can eat it spread onto crusty bread and sprinkled with some of your favorite seasonings. Just strain the cloves from the garlic and spread them with a knife.
  • Store the cloves and oil in the refrigerator.

We are big into garlic at our house, so the hidden benefit of this was the aroma that filled our house while it roasted.

The final product was a rich, concentrated garlic flavor that we have used for all kinds of applications, from a pasta that I’ll share with you soon to spreading it on burgers. The roasting process takes some of the bite out of the garlic, but it leaves all the flavor.

And I have to be honest, I’m a little mad I didn’t try this sooner. But now that I have little containers of garlic confit and garlic-infused oil in my fridge, I can’t wait to find a ton of ways to use it before I run out. The French got this one right.

This piece first appeared in print June 25, 2026.

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

It’s OK to wing it, even with classic French chicken dishes

Dijon roasted chicken and vegetables is a play on a classic French dish, known as poulet à la moutarde. It creates decadent crispy skin, juicy chicken and perfectly roasted vegetables for dinner.
Dijon roasted chicken and vegetables is a play on a classic French dish, known as poulet à la moutarde. It creates decadent crispy skin, juicy chicken and perfectly roasted vegetables for dinner.

When I go to try a recipe I think sounds tasty, I often follow the directions pretty closely, only deviating here and there to kick some of the flavors up a notch.

When Joey is inspired by a recipe, he looks up a few more versions of the same dish and then goes completely rogue, creating his own, unique interpretation.

That was the case recently, when he announced we were going to figure out our own path to making a French dish, poulet à la moutarde (or mustard chicken).

He volunteered to spatchcock the chicken (one of my least favorite kitchen chores) and told me to grab pen and paper, as he already watched several videos on making the classic French recipe and had ideas on how to do it his own way in our Kansas kitchen.

So, while I normally give you a source for these recipes, this one is a Joey Young creation. He was certainly inspired by the French, but if you look at their recipes and what we ended up making, you’ll see he improvised quite a bit.

The best part, though, was the experiment was absolutely delicious.

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Dijon Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Dijon roasted chicken and vegetables is a play on a classic French dish, known as poulet à la moutarde. It creates decadent crispy skin, juicy chicken and perfectly roasted vegetables for dinner.
Course Main Course
Cuisine French
Keyword celery, chicken, dijon mustard, fresh garlic, garlic, garlic salt, milk, onion, onion powder, paprika, parsley, potatoes, rosemary, whole chicken, yellow onion

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken spatchcocked
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • leaves from one sprig fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried
  • about 1/4 to 1/2 cup dijon mustard
  • 2 large potatoes cut into one-inch pieces
  • 1 medium onion thinly sliced
  • 3 stalks celery diced
  • 1 bulb garlic cloves separated and peeled
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • black pepper to taste

Sauce Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup milk I used skim
  • 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • garlic salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place the spatchcocked chicken on a cutting board while you prepare it.
  • Combine the garlic salt, paprika, onion powder and rosemary leaves in a small bowl, and then rub it evenly under the skin of the breast and along the bottom of the chicken.
  • Now, coat the entire outside of the chicken in a thin layer of dijon mustard.
  • Put the prepared potatoes, onion, celery and garlic, along with the parsley and black pepper into the bottom of a nine-by-13-inch baking dish, and stir to combine.
  • Add the chicken on top, breast side up.
  • Put the chicken in the oven and check the internal temperature after 45 minutes.
  • Let the chicken cook to 160 degrees, and then remove it from the oven. Carefully place the chicken on another dish or cutting board to rest while it up-cooks to 165 degrees.
  • While the chicken rests, mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, and then pour over the vegetables in the baking dish. Give it a stir and then place it back in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the oven, and give them another stir.
  • When the chicken has reached 165, slice and serve it, along with the roasted vegetables.

This was moist and tender, and while Joey and I both expected the mustard to overpower the entire meal, it was actually just a really nice supporting character to the overall dish.

Plus, the mustard created a beautiful, crispy skin on the chicken, which was a great texture and flavor addition.

Everything also reheated well, which was nice, as we ate on this for leftovers.

And, luckily, I did manage to keep up with Joey as he explored our spice cabinet and added ingredients, or we’d never know exactly how to recreate this awesome dinner.

But who needs a recipe when you are this good at making it up as you go along?

This piece first appeared in print June 18, 2026.

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

Get your mojo going with this citrus-forward pork recipe

Slow cooker mojo pork has a bright flavor, thanks to plenty of fresh citrus, that makes it the perfect dinner over some yellow rice and black beans.
Slow cooker mojo pork has a bright flavor, thanks to plenty of fresh citrus, that makes it the perfect dinner over some yellow rice and black beans.

I’ve said before that trying to figure out measurements while Joey cooks is pretty much a herculean feat.

He’s a man who always measures with his heart. And, boy, does his heart love our spice cabinet.

That’s perfectly fine with me, though, because he is great at combining flavors, and he’s also the person you want in the kitchen when you know the dish you made still needs “something,” but you can’t quite figure out what that is.

That’s enough compliments for him, though, because as I mentioned last week, he and I decided to have a face-off on who could prepare the best pork butt, and the recipe I’m sharing this week is the one he decided to try.

The good news is I was hovering behind him, writing down measurements as he cooked so that you can re-create it, too.

This was a combination of a recipe from the website “AllRecipes.com,” which you can find at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/281144/slow-cooker-mojo-pork/ and from an Instagram creator, Nicole Nelson McLaughlin, who posts under @nicolemcmom. Plus, Joey had some adjustments of his own, of course.

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Slow Cooker Mojo Pork

Slow cooker mojo pork has a bright flavor, thanks to plenty of fresh citrus, that makes it the perfect dinner over some yellow rice and black beans.
Course Main Course
Keyword bay leaves, cilantro, cumin, fresh cilantro, fresh garlic, fresh lime, fresh oranges, garlic powder, lime juice, lime zest, minced garlic, orange juice, orange zest, oregano, pork butt, pork shoulder, yellow onion, yellow rice

Ingredients

  • 4- pound pork butt roast
  • 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
  • zest from two large oranges
  • zest from two large limes
  • 3/4 cup orange juice freshly squeezed
  • 1/2 cup lime juice freshly squeezed
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped, plus more for serving
  • 8 to 10 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • prepared yellow rice for serving
  • 15- ounce can black beans rinsed, for serving

Instructions

  • If there’s quite a bit of fat on your pork butt, you may want to trim and discard some of it (leave a little—fat is flavor).
  • Add the pork butt to a crockpot, and then sprinkle the rest of the ingredients around it. (You can stir a bit to combine things, if you want, but it’ll combine as it cooks, too.)
  • Cook, covered, in your crockpot for seven to eight hours on high or four to six on low until the pork is cooked through and easy to shred.
  • Discard the bay leaves.
  • Shred the pork in the crockpot, and serve the shredded pork and onions on top of the yellow rice and black beans. Top with some of the juice from the crockpot, as well as some fresh cilantro.

The delicious smell of this recipe just completely took over our kitchen. The citrus came through in a really pleasant way to highlight the pork and give it some brightness.

We just ate this in bowls over the rice and beans, but you could put this into tortillas, too, if you wanted to or scoop it up with tortillas chips.

So, I do think our pork butt competition fully ended in a tie. But the good news is that we ended up with two very different kinds of leftovers over the next week or so.

And I definitely had to refill several of my spice containers afterwards, but that’s the price of a great meal.

This piece first appeared in print April 30, 2026.

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

This week’s dish is ravi‘whole’i made for someone with spare time

Beef and spinach ravioli can be made completely from scratch at home, and while it is a lot of work, the freshness and flavor are definitely worth it.
Beef and spinach ravioli can be made completely from scratch at home, and while it is a lot of work, the freshness and flavor are definitely worth it.

Something I love about Joey is that he is often quite willing to jump into a grand kitchen experiment with me.

Recently, that was when I pulled out my pasta roller, and instead of merely making noodles, as I have so far since I bought it, I proposed creating ravioli from scratch.

He was totally on board.

We did some troubleshooting together, trying to hone our technique, and by the end, we had some pretty nice looking stuffed pasta, ready to be made into dinner. (It might have also been after 8 p.m. by the time we finally accomplished this, but that’s not the point.)

This recipe is a combination of a beef ravioli recipe from the blog “Josie and Nina” (you can find their original post at https://josieandnina.com/italian-beef-ravioli/) and from “Easy Italian Cookbook” by Jennifer Donovan.

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Beef and Spinach Ravioli

Beef and spinach ravioli can be made completely from scratch at home, and while it is a lot of work, the freshness and flavor are definitely worth it.
Course Main Course
Keyword baby spinach, breadcrumbs, fresh pasta, fresh spinach, ground beef, nutmeg, onion, panko, parmesan cheese, ravioli, ricotta cheese, white wine, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 6-8 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 16 ounces fresh spinach
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs I used panko
  • 1/2 rounded cup parmesan cheese grated
  • garlic salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 8 ounces ricotta cheese
  • batch of fresh pasta dough

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
  • Add the onion and saute until it is cooked through. Add in the garlic and saute for about a minute or until it just starts to be fragrant.
  • Add the ground beef to the pan and saute, breaking it apart as it cooks, until it’s cooked through. Remove any excess fat from the pan, and then pour in the wine, being sure to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the spinach, and let everything cook for about two minutes, stirring to wilt the spinach into the mixture.
  • Add the meat mixture to a food processor and process for a bit, just to get things incorporated, and then add in the bread crumbs, parmesan, garlic salt, pepper and nutmeg, and process until the mixture is kind of a paste.
  • Mix the ricotta into the meat mixture.
  • Assemble your ravioli by rolling out the dough into long strips. Using the utensil you’ll use to cut the ravioli (I used a two-inch scalloped cookie cutter), gently make impressions along the dough where you’ll want to cut out each ravioli (you’re just marking it, not cutting the dough), and then scoop about one teaspoon of filling (or more, if your ravioli are larger) into the center of each of the spots. Using a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of water around the edges of each spot. Cover with another sheet of dough and press around each mound of filling with your fingers to seal them, working out as much air as possible, and firmly press your cutter to cut out each individual ravioli.
  • Set the finished ones off to the side.
  • To freeze, place them on a baking sheet lined with waxed or parchment paper, and place them in the freezer until they are frozen through. Then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag until you’re ready to cook them.
  • To cook them, fresh or frozen, boil a large pot of salted water, and carefully drop the ravioli in. Let them boil for a couple minutes until they float to the top and are warmed through. (You don’t need to thaw the frozen ones before cooking them.)
  • Serve with your favorite sauce.

We ate our ravioli with pesto, and they were really tasty. I did learn that it’s imperative to really flour your surface when you’re cutting out the ravioli so that you can get them to release without tearing.

These were a lot of work, and I’m sure many people would think it’s a waste of time to make your own ravioli, when there are excellent ones in the freezer section at the grocery store. But Joey and I had a great time cooking—and eating—together, and that made it worth it.

This piece first appeared in print April 2, 2026.

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
Breakfast Main Dish

Oh, baby, are you going to love this Mexican-Dutch fusion

A Mexican Dutch baby combines the traditional puffy pancake with lots of great south-of-the-border flavors, like chorizo and salsa, to make a meal that’s great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
A Mexican Dutch baby combines the traditional puffy pancake with lots of great south-of-the-border flavors, like chorizo and salsa, to make a meal that’s great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Sometimes I feel like I must try a recipe, just because it sounds too ridiculous or strange to ignore.

In this case, it was finding a guy online making a “Mexican Dutch baby.”

If you’re not familiar with a traditional Dutch baby, it’s basically a large, puffy pancake made in an already preheated pan in the oven.

I have generally only seen Dutch babies filled with fruit and powdered sugar once they come out of the oven, so the idea of a savory one—and a Mexican one, at that—intrigued me.

Now, I will warn you that I probably ruined this from being a true Dutch baby, because I beefed it up quite a bit, making it pretty impossible to puff up as much as a traditional one would, but just trust me that having this as a hearty, filling meal is totally worth whatever puffiness sacrifice you’re making.

I found this recipe on the YouTube channel @yaydadcooking. I doubled the recipe for my version, increased the amount of chorizo and paprika and also added garlic, onion and bell pepper.

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Mexican Dutch Baby

A Mexican Dutch baby combines the traditional puffy pancake with lots of great south-of-the-border flavors, like chorizo and salsa, to make a meal that’s great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Main Course
Keyword bell pepper, chorizo, Dutch baby, fresh garlic, garlic, minced garlic, oaxaca cheese, paprika, potatoes, queso fresco, Russet potato, salsa, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 9 ounces chorizo
  • 1 large Russet potato diced
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 1 bell pepper diced
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • Oaxaca cheese or queso fresco to taste
  • Your favorite salsa for serving

Instructions

  • Place a large, cast iron or oven-safe deep skillet in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. (Mine is a 13-inch pan.)
  • While it preheats, heat a skillet over medium heat, and add the chorizo. Saute until it’s cooked through, and remove it from the pan, setting it aside.
  • In the leftover grease from the chorizo, saute the potato, onion and pepper until everything is cooked through (if there isn’t enough oil in the pan, add a little canola or vegetable oil to supplement). Add the garlic and saute for just a couple minutes or until it’s fragrant. Remove it from heat and stir the chorizo back into the mixture.
  • Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk or fork, and then stir in the flour, milk, paprika and salt and pepper. Whisk it some more until the mixture is lump free.
  • If the oven is preheated, carefully remove the hot pan and add the butter, letting it melt and swirling it to coat the bottom of the pan. Pour in the chorizo/veggie mixture and spread it evenly over the bottom of the pan, and then pour the batter mixture over the top of that.
  • Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the batter is golden brown and set.
  • Top the Dutch baby with cheese and salsa, slice and serve immediately.

This was really tasty, and it reheated extremely well out of the fridge the next day.

This would make for a good dinner or breakfast, either one, and the neat thing is you can really control the spice level, based on what salsa you choose. We went with a spicy green salsa, and it was delicious.

And I’m pretty excited to see this Dutch-Mexican fusion. It combines the best of both types of recipes into one, and that’s the kind of culinary world I want to live in.

This piece first appeared in print March 5, 2026.

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

I’ll give this recipe my ‘stamppot’ of approval

Stamppot is a traditional dish from the Netherlands, featuring creamy mashed potatoes, fresh kale and smoked sausage to create a hearty, but simple, meal.
Stamppot is a traditional dish from the Netherlands, featuring creamy mashed potatoes, fresh kale and smoked sausage to create a hearty, but simple, meal.

I love finding recipes that claim to be “national dishes” or “traditional” ones.

But I will also confess that, more often than not, when I declare that something is “traditional,” there is someone who will email me (very nicely, mind you) to let me know that, actually, the recipe I found wasn’t quite right.

Inevitably, the person I found making that dish online or in a cookbook somewhere doesn’t quite live up to the food one of my readers grew up enjoying.

So, I am very cautiously introducing you to what is supposedly the Dutch national dish: stamppot.

Stamppot is a mashed-potato meal that is mixed with some vegetables and served with sausage. It’s hearty and simple, and while Joey swore it could really have benefitted from a bit of gravy, it’s delicious, too.

Plus, while you’re eating a big plate of mashed potatoes, you’re also getting a huge serving of veggies along with it. That seems like a win to me.

This comes from the blog “Gypsyplate” by Jason Beiser. You can find the original post at https://gypsyplate.com/stamppot/. I added extra kale and garlic in my version and substituted an onion in place of shallots.

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Stamppot

Stamppot is a traditional dish from the Netherlands, featuring creamy mashed potatoes, fresh kale and smoked sausage to create a hearty, but simple, meal.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Dutch, Netherlands
Keyword bay leaves, comfort food, fresh garlic, garlic, kale, mashed potatoes, minced garlic, nutmeg, onion, smoked sausage, stamppot, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds potatoes cubed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 tablespoons butter divided
  • 16 ounces kale cut into strips (a big bunch)
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 1 1/2 cups milk warmed
  • pinch nutmeg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound smoked rope sausage cut into bite-sized pieces

Instructions

  • Add the potatoes to a large stock pot and just cover them with cold water. Add the bay leaves and add a large pinch of salt.
  • Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the water and discard the bay leaves.
  • While the potatoes cook, heat two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until it’s tender. For the last couple of minutes, add the garlic and give it a quick saute until it’s fragrant.
  • Remove the onion and garlic and place it on a plate or bowl to the side, and add the kale to the skillet, along with one-half cup of water. Place the lid on the skillet to wilt the kale. Check on it after a few minutes and stir to help the kale cook down. Add more water if all of it evaporates, and continue that process until the kale is cooked to your liking.
  • Meanwhile, mash the potatoes with four tablespoons butter, the milk, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. (This made a slightly looser mash than I would normally make, but it had a great consistency once it was combined with everything else.)
  • Add the kale and sauteed onions and garlic to the mashed potatoes and stir to combine.
  • Set the potatoes aside, keeping them warm.
  • In the same skillet as before, saute the sausage until it’s cooked through and has a little color on it.
  • Serve the stamppot by placing a layer of the mashed potato/kale mixture on the bottom and topping with some sausage.

The amount of kale was a bit intimidating at first, but it does cook down a lot, and the flavor actually melds in with the mashed potatoes really well. I was afraid it would take over, but it was just a nice compliment to the rest of the dish.

The leftovers also reheated nicely, which was nice later in the week.

And this recipe may or may not be exactly what someone from the Netherlands would expect, but regardless, it was a darn tasty meal.

This piece first appeared in print Feb. 26, 2026.

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

Give yourself the green light to make spicy chile verde

Chile verde spends a lot of time simmering in a pot, but putting it together is really easy. With plenty of fresh pepper and onion flavors, it’s a filling and excellent meal.
Chile verde spends a lot of time simmering in a pot, but putting it together is really easy. With plenty of fresh pepper and onion flavors, it’s a filling and excellent meal.

With the Chiefs out of the Super Bowl this year, it felt like there was a lot less pressure for Joey and I in hosting our annual party.

But that also meant a lot of hemming and hawing from our friends and family about attending.

It’s tough to commit to a Sunday night when you don’t really have a dog in the fight and Monday morning is looming.

We ended up with a great crew of four guests to watch the game and, thanks to our smaller contingent, a fridge full of leftovers to enjoy throughout the week.

The recipe I made for the group comes from the blog “Kevin is Cooking.” You can find the original recipe at https://keviniscooking.com/pork-chile-verde/. I added extra garlic in my version and added the optional potatoes.

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Chile Verde

Chile verde spends a lot of time simmering in a pot, but putting it together is really easy. With plenty of fresh pepper and onion flavors, it’s a filling and excellent meal.
Course Main Course
Keyword anaheim peppers, chile verde, cilantro, cumin, fresh cilantro, fresh garlic, jalapeno peppers, minced garlic, pork butt, pork shoulder, Serrano, slow cooking, tomatillos, white onion

Ingredients

  • 1.5 pounds boneless pork shoulder/pork butt
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1.5 pounds tomatillos
  • 6 anaheim chile peppers
  • 2 jalapeno peppers
  • 2 serrano peppers
  • 1 large white onion
  • 8 to 10 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro around 2 cups, stems included

Instructions

  • Prepare the pork shoulder by cutting it into one-inch cubes. Add them to a large bowl and season with the cumin, salt and pepper. Mix to coat the meat, and then set it aside. (I put mine in a covered container in the fridge over night.)
  • Husk the tomatillos and slice the stems off the peppers and give them all a good rinse. Also cut the onion in half, and add the tomatillos, peppers and onion to a large stockpot, covering them with water. Boil for about 8 minutes, and then remove them with a slotted spoon directly into a blender or food processor, along with the garlic and cilantro, blending until the mixture is smooth.
  • Set the sauce aside.
  • Heat the oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven with a lid, and saute the pork cubes on all sides (do this in batches), just until each side has some nice color on it.
  • Add all the pork back into the pot, along with all but one cup of the sauce, and stir to coat.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Place the lid on the pot and cook for about three hours (stirring occasionally) or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 180 to 190 degrees.
  • While the pork cooks, cube some Russet potatoes into one-inch pieces, and boil them until they are fork tender. Drain them and set them aside.
  • When the pork is done, add in the potatoes and the rest of the sauce, and stir to combine. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Serve with tortilla chips, with corn or flour tortillas or just in a bowl.

This was really, really good. It’s a bit spicy but not over the top. You could easily throw in a couple more anaheim peppers and skip the jalapenos and serranos, if you wanted to make it extremely mild.

We also threw a can of kidney beans in a few servings for leftovers, and that was great.

In the past, I made tomatillo sauces by roasting my vegetables under the broiler or in my air fryer and then blending them, and you could absolutely do that with this recipe, too.

The next time we make chile verde, if I decide to boil the veggies, I’m going to plan on making another soup at the same time to use the leftover water, because it smelled absolutely amazing.

And while I was bummed that we didn’t get to see some of our friends and family who didn’t get out on Sunday, at least I can drown my sorrows with some awesome food they didn’t get a chance to enjoy.

This piece first appeared in print Feb. 12, 2026.

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

Easy garlic pasta recipe is too ‘shrimp’le to fail

These easy garlic shrimp noodles features a sweet sauce, punctuated by fresh garlic and ginger, along with lots of tasty pasta to soak it all up.
These easy garlic shrimp noodles features a sweet sauce, punctuated by fresh garlic and ginger, along with lots of tasty pasta to soak it all up.

The pantry clean-out continues this week.

Thanks to a stir-fry dish I shared with you back in June, I still had half of a package of lo mein noodles hanging out in the cupboard.

When Joey plopped a bag of shrimp in our cart on a recent grocery trip, I decided I needed to find something to make that could use both ingredients.

Then our week got really, really busy. There was no time to make anything fancy.

But the good news is that both shrimp and lo mein noodles are crazy quick to make.

So when I found a recipe for garlic shrimp noodles that promised to be done in 15 minutes, I jumped on it, and it wasn’t just great because it was a quick meal; it was great all on its own.

This comes from the blog “Lena’s Kitchen” by Lena Gladstone. You can find her original post at https://lenaskitchenblog.com/15-minute-garlic-shrimp-soba-noodles/. I added several spices and extra garlic in my version.

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Easy Garlic Shrimp Noodles

These easy garlic shrimp noodles features a sweet sauce, punctuated by fresh garlic and ginger, along with lots of tasty pasta to soak it all up.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword 15-minute meal, dried ginger, easy dinner, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, garlic powder, ginger, hoisin sauce, honey, lime juice, lo mein, minced garlic, red chili flakes, sesame oil, sesame seeds, shrimp, soba noodles, soy sauce

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger
  • 10 ounces soba or lo mein noodles
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound shrimp peeled
  • salt to taste
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Prepare a sauce by adding the soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, hoisin sauce, honey, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and dried ginger to a small bowl, and whisk until everything is well combined. Set it aside.
  • Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package instructions.
  • While the noodles cook, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the shrimp with salt, and then saute in the shrimp in the hot skillet. When the shrimp is nearly cooked through, toss in the minced garlic and grated ginger, and saute until the shrimp is finished.
  • Decrease the heat to low, and add the noodles and sauce to the skillet, stirring to coat everything in the sauce.
  • When everything is heated through, serve, topped with sesame seeds.

I added the hoisin sauce and some extra honey above, because I didn’t think the sauce had quite the sweetness that I wanted it to have. Otherwise, the sesame oil was a bit overpowering. If you don’t have hoisin, you could add a bit more honey or a bit of brown sugar, instead, until you get the sauce how you want it.

I also left out green onions as a garnish, because Joey isn’t generally keen on raw onions, but that would have been a great addition, as well.

Luckily, Joey wasn’t upset that I hijacked his shrimp purchase with my own dinner plans—mostly because he’s a sucker for anything with plenty of garlic.

And now there’s a tiny corner of my pantry that is ready to be filled with another mystery ingredient sometime in 2026.

This piece first appeared in print Jan. 22, 2026.

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

‘Tuscan’ play at this shrimp pasta game

Creamy Tuscan shrimp features Italian seasonings, alongside pasta, mushrooms and more. It’s a great, filling dish for a cold night.
Creamy Tuscan shrimp features Italian seasonings, alongside pasta, mushrooms and more. It’s a great, filling dish for a cold night.

A few weeks ago, as one of my officemates, who shall remain nameless, glanced at my column, he remarked, “You’re really on a pasta kick right now, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” I told him. “I’m always on a pasta kick.”

I mean, it’s kind of a silly question. Pasta is amazing.

So, despite the judgement from the peanut gallery, I made yet another pasta dish this week—well, actually I added pasta to a dish—and it was delicious. It was perfect for an evening meal on a cold day.

This comes from the blog “Salt & Lavender.” You can find the original post at https://www.saltandlavender.com/creamy-garlic-shrimp-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-and-basil/. I added mushrooms, onion, and pasta, as well as extra seasonings in my version.

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Creamy Tuscan Shrimp

Creamy Tuscan shrimp features Italian seasonings, alongside pasta, mushrooms and more. It’s a great, filling dish for a cold night.
Course Main Course
Keyword 30-minute meal, baby bellas, baby spinach, basil, fresh garlic, fresh mushrooms, fresh spinach, heavy cream, lemon juice, linguine, minced garlic, onion, oregano, parsley, pasta, shrimp, spaghetti, sun-dried tomatoes, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces spaghetti or linguini
  • 2-4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 8 ounces fresh mushrooms sliced (I used baby bellas)
  • 1 teaspoon flour
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes oil drained
  • 1 pound raw shrimp peeled and deveined
  • 2 cups fresh baby spinach packed
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Prepare your pasta according to the package directions.
  • While it cooks, melt two tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When it’s melted, add in the onion and mushrooms, and saute until the onion is cooked through. (If the veggies soak up all the butter, you might add a tablespoon or two more to make sure there’s a little fat in the pan for the next step.)
  • Stir in the little bit of flour and add the garlic, sauteing until the garlic just becomes fragrant and the flour is all absorbed.
  • Stir in the cream, lemon juice, basil, oregano, parsley and sun-dried tomatoes, being sure to incorporate any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet.
  • Let the mixture come to a low simmer, and let it cook for two minutes.
  • Add the shrimp, letting them cook in the sauce for about five minutes or until they’re cooked through.
  • Finally, stir in the pasta and spinach, stirring to wilt the spinach into the sauce, and add salt and pepper to taste.

This was creamy and full of flavor. Adding all the extras meant that it wasn’t an overly saucy dish, but there was enough to give everything a good coating.

If you’re not much of a shrimp fan, just leave it out, and then serve this with some grilled chicken. It would be an excellent combination, too.

And yes, if you’re feeling like the pasta is a bit much, just leave it out, too. Just don’t tell me. I’m still on that kick.

This piece first appeared in print Jan. 1, 2026.

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

Easy recipe proves the crock pot is no has-‘bean’

Beans in a pot come together quickly and finish in the crockpot, making for a barbecue-sauce-forward dinner. The recipe can easily feed a crowd or be ready for tasty leftovers later on.
Beans in a pot come together quickly and finish in the crockpot, making for a barbecue-sauce-forward dinner. The recipe can easily feed a crowd or be ready for tasty leftovers later on.

On Jan. 23, 1940, the United States awarded a patent to inventor Irving Nachumsohn’s newest creation: the crock pot.

According to the Smithsonian Magazine, it was originally marketed as the “Naxon Beanery,” with its name coming from a shortened version of Nachumsohn’s last name. With the public’s opinions of German last names during the mid-1940s, he figured it was smart to change it a bit to make the device more marketable.

Though the crock pot officially turned 85 at the start of 2025, its popularity is still high.

For us, it’s a great appliance for everything from over-scheduled weeks, where cooking is just not going to fit on the day’s calendar, to hosting gatherings.

I think I had two of them going while we hosted Thanksgiving—one to keep the mashed potatoes warm before dinner and one hard at work turning the turkey bones into stock for soup.

I fired my crockpot up again this last week to try a dish sent in for our holiday recipe section by Wenda Black of Sedgwick.

I am always appreciative of very simple recipes that I can set and forget, and Wenda’s beans in a pot recipe came just at the right time for me on a super busy weekday.

Wenda said, “I’ve made this many times over the past 30 years.” And I can see why. It’s easy to put together and easy to adjust to your own, personal spice preferences.

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Beans in a Pot

Beans in a pot come together quickly and finish in the crockpot, making for a barbecue-sauce-forward dinner. The recipe can easily feed a crowd or be ready for tasty leftovers later on.
Course Main Course
Keyword brown sugar, catsup, chili beans, crockpot, easy meal, fresh garlic, great northern beans, ground beef, ground hamburger, ground sausage, ketchup, liquid smoke, minced garlic, red beans, red onion, slow cooker, Worcestershire, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground hamburger
  • 1 pound ground sausage
  • 2 15.5- ounce cans great northern beans rinsed and drained
  • 15.5- ounce can red beans rinsed and drained
  • 15.5- ounce can chili beans
  • 1 tablespoon liquid smoke I substituted Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon garlic minced
  • 1/2 medium red onion diced
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Fry the hamburger, sausage and onions in a large skillet until the meat is cooked through, and drain off any fat from the pan.
  • Add the cooked meat and onion mixture to a crock pot, along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix to incorporate everything well.
  • Cook on high for one hour and then on low for one to two more hours. Add more salt and pepper, if needed.
  • Serve in a bowl with corn chips, shredded cheese and sour cream, if desired.

This was a really nice, quick dinner for us this week, and we still have plenty of leftovers.

Joey suggested it would be good over some baked potatoes. I completely agree, so I think that’s how we’ll eat it when we reheat it.

The mixture has a bit of sweetness from the brown sugar and barbecue sauce, but you can also easily add some heat with spicy sausage and hot chili beans.

And it’s a good nod to the Nachumsohn’s “beanery.”

Beans in a pot is just what he had in mind.

This piece first appeared in print Dec. 11, 2025.

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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