Recipe: Seafood Enchiladas

Made this last night for a Cinco de Mayo party and it was a HUGE hit!!!

Ingredients:

1 1/3 lbs. lump dungeness crab meat (I got a 3 lb. live crab and had it cracked and cleaned)
3/4 lbs. shrimp, peeled, deveined, coarsely chopped
3/4 lbs. sea scallops, coarsely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of green garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp. cracked red pepper flakes
3 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
2 cups good quality red enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cups good quality salsa verde
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 stick butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
12 corn tortillas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.  Heat the butter and oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.  Add the green garlic, onions, and spices, saute until the onions start to become soft.  Add the mushrooms to the mixture and cook until the mushrooms start to soften.  Add all of the seafood and cook until the shrimp just starts to turn pink.  Add the spinach in a final step and cook until the spinach is wilted.  Remove the mixture from heat.

Prepare a large casserole dish by spraying with cooking spray.  Soften the corn tortillas in the microwave by placing them in on high for 40 seconds.  Put about 3/4 ladle full of the seafood stuffing into each tortilla, roll, and place into the casserole dish.  Pack the rolled tortillas in as tightly as you can.  Pour the enchilada sauce and salsa verde evenly over all of the tortillas.  Top with the shredded cheese in an even layer.  Place into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until all the cheese is melted and starts to brown.  Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe: Shredded Chicken Burritos

This was dinner tonight... ole!!! :)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 large tomatoes (beefsteak or other large type), roughly diced
1 medium Vidalia or other sweet onion, roughly chopped
2 1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro (approximately 1/2 bunch)
3 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. rice vinegar
2 medium jalapeno peppers, roughly chopped
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup shredded green cabbage
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Manchego cheese, shredded
4 large flour tortillas
Water (for poaching chicken)

Directions:

Place the boneless, skinless breasts into a large pot. Put enough water into the pot to cover the chicken plus 1 1/2 inches. Add 2 tsp. of the salt to the pot. Place the pot on the stove on medium-high heat for 20 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through and able to be shredded easily with a fork. Shred the chicken into a bowl and set aside.

In the food processor, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapenos, paprika, the remaining 1 tsp. of salt, black pepper, and the rice vinegar. Pulse these ingredients in the food processor until chopped finely and fully blended to form a salsa.

Warm the tortillas according to package directions. In each tortilla, place an equal amount of each of the two shredded cheeses, warm shredded chicken, equal amount of each of the two cabbages, and an equal part of the salsa. Fold both ends and wrap over to form a burrito. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Cocktail Recipe: Margarita

Ingredients:

5 oz. blanco tequila

2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp. Cointreau orange liqueur

2 tsp. of sugar

Directions:

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the ingredients to the shaker, shake vigorously. Let stand for 90 seconds. Strain either into a glass filled with ice or into a martini glass and serve up. Garnish with a lime wedge.

(p.s. I don't like my rim salted... but do so if you must :P)

Recipe: The Chicken and the Egg Tacos

This is a breakfast dish I cooked up that blends a little bit of my southern roots with some West Coast Mexican flavors. In the south, chicken and egg biscuits are a common breakfast dish because both chicken and eggs are so plentiful in the south. Heck, my home state of Georgia is the largest producer of both, which should tell you something. But, I didn't feel like going through the effort of making biscuits this morning, so I added a few Mexican touches to get a completely different concoction that turned out really well.

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 large eggs
1 large green heirloom tomato (other colors are OK, I just prefer the green :))
1 red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallions, green and white parts
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. of chipotle chili powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2/3 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese
8 small flour tortillas (soft taco size)
2 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil
2 tbsp. of milk (I use non-fat)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Dice the heirloom tomato and red bell pepper together into a medium sized bowl. Add the scallions, garlic, cumin, paprika, chipotle chili powder, and kosher salt and mix together. Cover and place in the refrigerator.

Pound the chicken breasts out between two sheets of wax paper until they are a little more than 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Put 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sautee the chicken breasts in the olive oil about 10 - 12 minutes, turning frequently, until browned and cooked completely through. Cut the cooked chicken into thin strips and set aside.

In a small skillet, put 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together with a little salt and pepper and the milk until fully beaten. Place the eggs in the skillet and cook until fully scrambled, turning and separating constantly.

Warm the tortillas either in the microwave or in the oven according to package directions. Get the salsa mixture you made earlier from the refrigerator. In each tortilla, place equal portions of the scrambled egg, sliced chicken, pepper jack cheese, and salsa. Fold and serve!

Makes 4 servings (two tacos per serving).