Week of March 22th

Slow Cooker Chipotle-Honey Chicken Tacos copy

Cook Time: 3 to 5 hours | Servings: Yield 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 to 4 chipotles from a can of chipotles in adobo, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
Juice of 1 lime
Warmed tortillas, for serving
Pickled onion, for serving (see Tip)
Sliced or cubed avocado, for serving

Directions:
Combine the chicken, honey, onion and garlic powders, cumin, salt and chipotle chiles and adobo sauce in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Stir well. Cook for at least 3 hours and up to 5 hours on low. If it’s more convenient, you can let the slow cooker switch to warm after 5 hours. The dish will hold on warm for about another 3 hours before the chicken starts to become quite dry.
Using two forks, coarsely shred the chicken in the sauce. Stir in the black beans and lime juice. Cover and let the beans warm through, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt or lime juice if necessary. Serve in tortillas with pickled onion and avocado.

Unbelievably easy way to make pretty good chicken tacos.

Pickled onions: thinly slice 1/2 of a red onion on your Benriner mandolin slicer (this is like the 4th time I've linked to this...maybe its time to just bite the bullet and get one) and mix the onions with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tbs sugar, and pinch of salt. Stir and let sit for 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Keep this recipe handy- pickled onions go great on a lot of stuff.

I make my own tortillas for something like this, because the chicken recipe is so easy and there is a lot of time. At one point we'll take a deeper dive into tortillas and flatbreads in general, but long story short I make my tortilla dough in a stand mixer with a dough hook (add water SLOWLY, mix until is similar to not-sticky cookie dough), form the tortillas in a press, and after cooking keep them warm in a styrofoam tortilla warmer.

The canned adobo- you'll use 1/4 the can, tops. Empty the remainder on to a square of saran wrap roll it up like a sausage and freeze it for next time. You can slice off a coin or two as needed.

Kung Pao Tofu

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine or sake
1 tablespoon black vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper or 1/4 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 teaspoons cornstarch (for the sauce) plus 1/4 cup (for the tofu)
Salt
Grapeseed or other neutral oil, as needed
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch squares
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch slices
4 scallions, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
4 whole Tianjin chiles or chiles de árbol, crushed
1/3 cup roasted peanuts
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
White rice, for serving

Directions:
Drain the tofu, wrap in a clean kitchen towel, set on a plate and put a cast-iron skillet or other weighty object on top. Let it press for at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.
While the tofu is pressed, prepare the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk the soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin, rice wine, vinegar, sesame oil, white pepper, garlic, ginger, 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1/3 cup water until combined.
After the tofu has been pressed, unwrap it and cut into 3/4-inch cubes. Transfer tofu to a medium bowl, season with salt and coat in 1/4 cup cornstarch; set aside.
In a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add enough neutral oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When it starts shimmering, add the tofu. Cook until one side is golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes, then flip. Cook until the other side is crisp and golden brown, another 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate.
Add the red bell pepper, celery and scallions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the red bell pepper starts to soften while maintaining some bite and the vegetables char, about 4 minutes. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and chiles and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tofu and sauce, and stir to coat; make sure the sauce simmers and thickens, about 2 minutes. Finish with the peanuts and cilantro, stir again, then serve immediately with rice.

Use firm tofu, or extra firm at most. Don't use the pressed super firm, because it will have the constancy of a tennis shoe sole in this application. Ask me how I know. You really dont need to worry about pressing the tofu with a pan or whatever. Just slit the packaging open on top so it can drain, give the package a good squeeze over the sink and then remove the tofu and wrap it in a couple of paper towels for a few minutes.

I frigging love Sichuan peppercorns, so I keep some on hand in my pantry (via amazon), but they're not for everyone. They're not spicy, per se, but do make your mouth tingle. I grind a teaspoon or so up and sprinkle them on my own serving. Fun fact: these are not derived from peppers.

If you crush 4 arbol chilies into this, it will be hotter than fuck. You have been warned. It's ok to just throw them un-crushed into the pan, and gently nudge them around.

Mediterranean Chicken Stew

Ingredients:
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 3/4" inch chunks
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
3 teaspoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 plum tomatoes, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces (2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives (about 5)
1 teaspoon white-wine vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Polenta for serving

Directions:
1 Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, and cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium-low; add the remaining teaspoon oil to the skillet. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the chickpeas and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
3 Add the tomatoes; cook over medium heat until starting to break down, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the olives, vinegar, and chicken along with any accumulated juices to the pan; toss until warmed through, about 1 minute. Stir in the parsley. Serve over the polenta.

Here's my polenta recipe: bring two cups of water and one cup whole milk (or 3 cups of water) to close to a boil, and gently whisk in 1 cup of polenta. I like Bobs Red Mill. Turn heat down to lowish and stir frequently for 5 or so minutes until it has the consistency of loose mashed potatoes. Stir in 1/4 cup of the plain ol' Kraft parm cheese, and a tablespoon of butter. Put a lid on it and take it off heat until ready to serve. You can make the polenta more stew-like by going to 4 cups of water/milk.

Weeknight Lasgana Roll Ups

Ingredients:
No Boil Lasagna noodles
15oz Ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1.5 cups Parmesan cheese
1 Large Egg
1/2 cup chopped basil
Pasta sauce
12 oz veggie ground beef crumbles

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Place noodles and hot tap water to cover in 2-quart casserole dish. Microwave until noodles are softened, 3 to 6 minutes. Discard water and dry dish. Lay noodles in single layer on clean kitchen towel to dry. Brown veggie crumbles in a large skillet with a tbs of oil.
2. Meanwhile, combine ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1 cup Parmesan, egg, cup basil, browned veggie crumbles and salt in bowl. Spread half of pasta sauce in bottom of baking dish. With short side facing you. spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture on each noodle, roll, and arrange seam side down in casserole dish. Pour remaining pasta sauce over roll-ups.
3. Microwave, covered, until roll-ups are tender and heated through, 6 to 10 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over roll-ups. Bake until cheese is melted and lightly browned, about 5 minute Let stand 5 min utes. Serve.

Veggie crumbles work here, or if you want to go deluxe, swap that for a lb of (cooked!) hot Italian sausage. Or ground turkey. Or just go cheese.

I think the Barilla no bake lasagna squares work the best here, and is by far the fastest route. You can also do this with large shells, or manicotti- in which case you'll actually have to boil the shells in a pot of water. The microwave trick only really works with those flat sheets of pasta.

I also usually bake these, in which case don't follow step 3. Just put them in the oven with the cheese on top, and bake at like 400 for 30-35 minutes.

I also typically prepare these in the morning, holding off adding the sauce and cheese on top until I'm ready to bake them. They hold up fine in the fridge like this for the day.

Huevos Rotos (Broken Eggs)

Cook Time: 30 minutes | Servings: Yield 4 servings

Ingredients:
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes or 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 pounds new potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces if necessary
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 eggs
Lemon wedges, for serving
Flaky sea salt, for serving

Directions:
In a measuring cup, combine the olive oil, paprika, red-pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, a generous grind of pepper and 1 cup water. Put the potatoes in a large skillet and pour the olive oil mixture over them. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on high until the potatoes are fork-tender, 6 to 9 minutes.
Uncover and turn the heat to low. If the potatoes are sticking or dry, add more olive oil. Arrange the potatoes in an even layer, cut side down if halved, then add the onion and garlic surrounding the potatoes. Cover and cook until the potatoes are golden-brown and the onions are softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
Stir the potatoes (if they’re sticking, add more oil). Make 4 nests in the potatoes and crack an egg into each. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny, 4 to 6 minutes.
To serve, break the yolks gently with a serving spoon, then scoop some potatoes and an egg onto plates or into shallow bowls. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and flaky salt.

I do like 6 eggs, minimum. Don't forget the lemon.