Mexican night

Tonight I hosted craft night with a Mexican food theme: flan, chicken flautas and chili con queso blanco sauce, reheated black bean and corn empanadas, fresh homemade salsa, and chili brownies.This is the same flan I made awhile back.

Chicken Flautas
25 small flour tortillas
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
olive oil
2-3 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 lbs chicken, cooked and chopped (I food processored it)
2-3 tbsp fresh chopped coriander
Mexican/mixed/cheddar cheese

Heat the tortillas one at a time in a large, heavy frying pan over high heat, for 30 seconds on each side. Cook the garlic and onion in the olive oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the cumin and chili powder and cook for another minute or so. Add in the chicken and cook until heated through. Mix in the coriander and remove from heat. Place a large spoonful of filling and a pinch of cheese on each tortilla, then roll up. Line up in a 9" x 13" greased baking dish. Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes or until crispy. Serve with chili con queso blanco sauce for dipping.

Chili con Queso Blanco Sauce
1 can Ro-tel
1/2 loaf queso blanco Velveeta

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until melted.

Salsa
4-5 ripe tomatoes
2-3 cloves garlic
4-6 jalapeno peppers
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 onion, chopped
salt
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until slightly chunky. Let sit overnight.

Chili brownies - just a hint of the chilis combines really well with the chocolate. Sweet but not overly sweet.

Baked ratatouille with pasta

I've never had ratatouille before, so I'm not sure if this tastes like it should, but it's yummy and that's what matters.

Baked Ratatouille with Pasta
1 small eggplant
1 yellow squash and 1 zucchini, thickly sliced
15 oz chicken, cubed
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
2/3 c chicken stock
3 tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and quartered
1 tbsp chopped mixed herbs
8 oz pasta
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

1. Wash the eggplant and cut into 1 in cubes. Put into a colander with the squash, sprinkle with salt, and allow to drain for 30 minutes.
2. Mix the cubed chicken with the soy sauce, garlic, and sesame seeds. Let marinate for half an hour. Saute in a pan with the marinade.
3. Put the pepper, onion, and garlic into a saucepan with the stock. Bring to a boil, cover,a nd cook for 5 minutes until tender. Remove the lid and boil until all the stock has evaporated. Add the tomatoes and herbs and cook for another 3 minutes, then add the rest of the veggies and cook until tender. Season to taste.
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente, then drain. Toss the pasta with the veggies and chicken. Transfer to a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 350 until lightly toasted.

Bumbleberry pies

A fellow TFA'er gave me this recipe for bumbleberry pie. I usually make mini ones, as they're a lot easier to eat. I've made them both with the traditional pie dough and cream cheese dough. The cream cheese was a little richer and flakier, but there really wasn't much difference.


Bumbleberry Pie
Filling:
1-2 cups apples, peeled and chopped into small pieces
3-5 cups total cups of any or all of the following: strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries
3/4 c sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
6 tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon


Glaze:
1 egg yolk
2 tsp water
sugar


Cream cheese dough:
1 1/4 c flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 c full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 c butter, at room temperature


Regular pie dough:
1 c cold butter, diced
2 c flour
1/4 c sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 c cold water


Combine all the fruit in a large bowl. If I'm making mini pies, I usually throw all the berries and cherries into the food processor first and turn them into small chunks. Sprinkle in the rest of the ingredients and stir gently.


Roll out half the pie crusts (either one big one or about one dozen of each dough for mini ones). Fill with the fruit mixture (about 2 tbsp for mini ones). Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Cut slits in the top and place over fruit. Seal edges and flute.


Combine the egg yolk and water, then brush over the top crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes (about 5 for mini ones), then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 35-40 minues (about 10-20 for mini ones) or until golden brown. Let cool on rack.

Black bean and corn empanadas

A coworker gave me a ton of corn, so I decided to make some black bean and corn salsa. I had tons of it, so I made some empanadas. I made different dough than I usually do and it was really crumbly, so rather than keep trying to roll it out, I made open-faced empanadas. Warmed up with more cheese on them, they were delicious!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2 c cooked corn

1-15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1-15 oz can ro-tel

chopped cilantro

1 jalepeno, finely chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

several squirts lime juice

2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar