Nacho Pot Pie with or without Chicken

Nacho Pot Pie ourwaytoeat

It has been bitterly cold and snowy in Minnesota.  I am at once craving variety and comforting, old-school Midwestern staples.  These individual Nacho “Pot Pies” are comforting, easy to make for meat eaters and vegetarians, and are also a tasty departure from everyday chicken pot pies.  I kept the calorie count under control using fat-free Greek yogurt in the creamy pot pie filling instead of cream or half n’ half, and topped them with a small serving of multigrain chips instead of a buttery crust.  We thought the texture and flavor were perfect.  When served, each person can add nacho toppings as judiciously as they desire.  These mini-casseroles aren’t as “fancy” as Day After Thanksgiving Individual Pot Pies with or without turkey, but they are a guaranteed happy meal for a dreary winter week night or a main course at a Superbowl Party.

Nacho Pot Pies ourwaytoeat

Nacho Pot Pies, yield 4 Individual Pies, easily doubled

Ingredients:

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 a Red Pepper, chopped

1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeds removed and minced—add an extra pepper for more heat.

1/2 an Onion, chopped

1-14 ounce can of Black Beans, rinsed

3/4 cup of frozen Corn, thawed

1.5 Tablespoons of Taco Seasoning I use Home-Made Taco Seasoning following the Girl Who Ate Everything’s recipe.

2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour

1 Cup Vegetable or Chicken Stock

1/2 Cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt

2 Scallions, white parts and just the beginning of the green, diced fine

Tortilla Chips–I used multigrain

Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese to top each Pot Pie

Olive Oil

Optional:  cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized chunks, 1/3 cup per dish

Method:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Coat individual 5-inch baking dishes, or a small casserole dish or glass pie plate with cooking spray or oil.

Nacho Pot Pie Fixings 2 ourwaytoeat

Sauté onions in olive oil until translucent, add chopped red pepper and cook 2 minutes.  Add garlic and jalapeno, cook one minute until fragrant.  Sprinkle taco seasoning and flour, blend together and cook 1 minute.  Add stock and bring to a boil, then simmer 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened.  Stir in Greek yogurt, most of the black beans and corn.

Chopped Chicken and Black Beans ourwaytoeat

Add chicken, or a few extra spoonfuls of baked beans into each dish.  Divide filling between individual baking dishes.

Assembling Nacho Pot Pies ourwaytoeatTop with tortilla chips, scallions and shredded cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees, 18-22 minutes until golden.

Nacho Pot Pies topped with cheese ourwaytoeat

Serve with traditional nacho/taco accompaniments:  shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced olives, sour cream, sliced avocado, lime wedges and salsa.  These are Nacho Grandma’s Pot Pies.

 

How We Stayed Warm in the Winter

Amazing sunset from CozumelLast year, we won a trip to Mexico.  We liked it so much, this year we paid for the privilege to return.  We went to Cozumel, and it was lovely, colourful, warm and most importantly, relaxing in every possible way.  It was a few months ago, but for all practical purposes, we have barely seen the sun since.  The late and rainy spring here in Saint Paul, Minnesota makes us extra glad we were able to have a winter getaway.    Cozumel Sun Cover

We spent the majority of our time in Cozumel on the beach.  I spent a good portion of my time on the beach considering this functional branch and palm leaf umbrella that filled the gaps between the palm trees on the beach, providing shade.  I wasn’t thinking about making one, or how someone made it, just that it exists, it is functional, humble and pretty and provides shade.  That is all I could ask of the umbrella, and of myself.  That, and snorkeling every day to look at the sea rays, seashells and pretty fish.  Fire-breathing dragon! This is a fire-breathing dragon sunning himself at our resort.  Someone might mistake him for an iguana, but that person would be wrong.  According to our scientific research, this is a fire-breathing dragon.How we spent our winter vacation Here is me, posing with one of the books Bjorn read on our vacation.  I might have taken this picture to show off the manicure I gave myself on the beach.  Bjorn read two books on our short vacay:  Love Rock Revolution – K Records and the Rise of Independent Music by Mark Baumgartner and Big Day Coming – Yo La Tengo and the Rise of Indie Rock by Jesse Jarnow.  He devoured them and clearly enjoyed both of these non-fiction histories of his one of his favorite indie record labels and his favorite band.  Since the trip, we have joked that Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley (of Yo La Tengo) were on the trip with us.  Side note:  on our vacation I only managed to read 5 magazines and one chapter of Big Day Coming and paint my nails.  I really needed to be on vacation.  Reflection

Classic vacation photo:  the subject is extra good looking, you can see a reflection of a palm tree and the ocean in his Ray Bans and there is a guy taking a snooze behind him.  And the model is extra good looking.  Sideways Sol on ourwaytoeat.comThat good looking vacationer came up with the perfect drink for a Mexican vacation or a Minnesota summer day: the Sideways Sol.  This consists of a Sol beer and a shot of tequila.  Add salt and lime if you like.  This is a simple drink for vacation in Mexico slash summer.  Don’t over think it.  Don’t complicate it.  Just enjoy it.En Concierto This is what I mean about Mexico being colourful.  There are mod murals on walls like this one.  I don’t know what it is advertising, but I love the colour scheme.  Sanjor

This is another mod advertising mural.  The colours of Mexico are vibrant, saturated and I can’t get enough.Tacos de Tripa on ourwaytoeat.comEating off-resort favors the bold, experienced and bilingual.  For a taste and texture adventure, one option we came across was tripe tacos.  They are reportedly tasty!Chips, Pico and Fresh GuacWe could have ventured out to eat, but we didn’t.  We took the path of the utmost easy-going every chance we could on this vacation.  Early every morning when we walked to the beach we passed the snack bar at our resort where the cooks were scooping out the ripe green, soft interiors of halved avocados with large spoons, and chopping scores of tomatoes and onions and piles of cilantro and limes.  The result was a lovely plate of chips with pico and guacamole like this one, that we enjoyed several times throughout this lovely, lazy, restorative trip.  I hope, I so hope that we’ll get to go back.

Barrio in Saint Paul and Minneapolis

We’ve been to the Saint Paul location of Barrio, next to the Bulldog on Mears Park and the Nicollet Avenue location of Barrio a handful of times in the past few years since they opened.  There has been a long lull since our last visit, and we made up for it recently by making it to both locations in one week.  

We had a heavy snack / sort-of supper at the Saint Paul Barrio location the other night after attending the 25th Anniversary Party at Summit Brewery.

This meal reminded me that I love the corn chowder with roasted poblano peppers and queso fresco at Barrio, and I sure do wish that one single quesadilla, taco or enchilada on their menu was made without meat.  With the first trip to Barrio in a long time taking place over the dinner hour behind me, I realized that the winning reason for a vegetarian to visit Barrio is for a snack and a drink.  Thankfully, I had the opportunity to do just that at the Nicollet Mall location a few days later.

Bjorn and I planned to meet at the downtown Minneapolis Barrio location after work the other night to enjoy a summer’s end, last hurrah patio happy hour.  I arrived before him and ordered a Caesar Chavez, Barrio’s “Champion Margarita” made with Traditional Reposado tequila and served in a heavy tumbler on the rocks with ice and a big wedge of orange and lime–very refreshing.

During both September 2012 Barrio visits, we’ve delved into Queso Fundido.  It is a gooey-melty cheesy extravagance served hot in an oven-proof dish along with a basket of warm tortillas.  Fortunately, the rich Fundido is not served in an over-abundant portion if you share it among a few people.  The tortillas are soft, fresh and arrive warm with zig-zag char marks, having kissed the grill before being tucked into a woven basket and hurried to the table.

We are used to the ubiquitous “Chips and Salsa” served for free or cheap at Mexican restaurants.  Chips and Salsa are great for staving off hunger but can be accidentally filling and fairly ho-hum if the salsa lacks character or the chips aren’t fresh.  At Barrio, the chips are house made and are a little on the too-salty side–chug your water, not your cocktail…  Their redemption is that they are served with an assortment of 3 house-made salsas, ranging from hot to moderately hot, and a salsa verde which proved to be interesting, plenty kicky and fun to eat.

In both the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Barrio locations, the atmosphere is something to behold:  Mexican wrestling masks, a towering wall of tequila bottles, glittery graffiti-style paintings adorning the walls, candelabras drenched in dripping candle wax and a shining welded-metal toro presiding over it all…Barrio means neighbourhood, this ‘hood is relaxed and lighthearted, yet hip, with a funky edge.  

And, it sure is a great place for a snack.

Lovely Labor Day

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Labour Day Weekend 2012 was probably the best on the books.  We were at the lake with my parents;  truly a magical place that we get to enjoy all year round.  The weather was perfect this year, so we filled the hours with our favorite summer pass times: boating, swimming, water-skiing, bon fires, leisurely meals, visiting family, a great meal at Companeros, 4-wheeling, sunsets, coffee on the dock, magazines, garden strolls, board games, long talks and lots of laughs.  It was the best.

Tostadas – A Satisfying Meal in 5 Minutes

Pop quiz, hotshot.  You are starving.  Your interest in cooking is nil, but you want something tasty, now.  You, or someone who is depending on you to cook for them, are well on their way to a hunger-induced meltdown.  What do you do? What do you do?  In my imagination, when you are in culinary school there is a day that the teacher singles out a student and poses this question in a maniacal tone reminiscent of the lunatic bus-bomber in the movie Speed.  Like Keanu Reeves in the third-best film in his acting career,* I have a cool head under pressure, and the perfect response that you aren’t expecting:  Tostadas!**

I think every home cook needs to have a few quick, tasty ideas up her sleeve for hunger that’s gone too far.  There are many correct answers, but the key is to have the idea and the ingredients at the ready when there is either a hostage situation and your response will save the city, or for when you and yours just need to eat now. 

There are a few fairly obvious guidelines to succeeding at the preparation of a good meal in 5 minutes.  The first key is simplicity.  Tostadas are extremely simple.

My favorite Tostadas in the world come from Red Pepper in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and they are nothing more than a tostada with melted cheese and hot sauce.  In fact, Tostadas began appearing at our house as an homage to Red Pepper Tostadas, and are frequently eaten on evenings when we’re tuned in to University of North Dakota Hockey on T.V.

We have Tostadas with just cheese and hot sauce as a snack or side dish, but when Tostadas are the meal, I rifle through the pantry and the fridge for a few extra ingredients to round them out.  This is the second key to 5 minute dinner prep:  it must be flexible.

I’ve made tostadas with sliced black olives, canned black beans that have been rinsed, jalapenos or with vegetarian refried beans, which is one of my favorites.  You could use chopped tomatoes, frozen corn, onions, or leftover taco-seasoned beef or chicken.  The assembly simply involves topping a Tostada shell with your Mexican-inspired ingredient of choice, and melting the cheese.  Often, I just zap the tostada in the microwave until the cheese melts.  Occasionally I have used the grill, or placed the tostadas in the oven at 350 degrees.  It only takes a few minutes for the cheese to melt, and the beans to be warmed through. 

An added bonus of using the grill or the oven is it lets the cheese get a bit brown, and the Tostada shell toasty.  If you are truly can’t wait for the oven to heat, by all means, microwave the Tostada.  It will be great.

The third key to 5 minute dinner prep is that it must be something you can make easily for one person, or for a crowd.  If you heat your Tostadas in the oven or on the grill, you can make anywhere from 1 to 10 at a time.  The microwave cooking method would get a little bit tedious if you were making more than 4 Tostadas at a time.  We’ve made cheese Tostadas as a side dish for the meal we prepare and deliver every other week to an Emergency Safe House for homeless youth in our neighborhood.  We wrapped the Tostadas individually on a paper plate, which is the same way they are served at the Red Pepper.

While the Tostadas are heating in the oven or in the microwave, there is just enough time to throw together a quick salad to make Tostadas into a proper meal.  Shredded or torn leaves of lettuce, slices of tomato or olive, jalapenos, onions, and slices of avocado with a squeeze of lime juice, a little sour cream, and of course hot sauce are all perfect for a salad, and are tasty when piled on top of the Tostada.

Now, all that is left is to dig in.  Give me 5 minutes and a few pantry staples and I can take you from a little too hungry to human again.

*In my opinion, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey are the best flicks starring Keanu Reeves in a leading role.  In order to make a fair comparison, I should probably have seen that movie that forever changed effects in movie fight scenes to include slow motion flight through the air with flailing legs…what was it called?  The Matrix?  But, I give myself enough credit to review the key performances in  the height of Keanu Reeves’ acting career because I saw him live as Hamlet in grade 8.  I have now said everything I will ever say about Keanu Reeves on this blog.  I am somewhat in disbelief that I managed to say even this much about him.

**I know you were expecting a slick, action-movie –like response to the question “What do you do? What do you DO?” line of questioning, but I can’t think of any way to make a parallel between Keanu’s response that he’d “shoot the hostage” and solving a garden variety household hunger emergency.  Ok, now I’m really done discussing Keanu Reeves, forvermore.