Betty Crocker: Bacon-Cheddar-Ranch Pinwheels

Ah, the wonder of a pandemic Halloween! No trick-or-treating. No parties. No nothing. So my family decided to do a distanced, outdoor Halloween get-together with lots of good food and fun decorations and crazy costumes. I wanted to try something new, but it had to be something whose ingredients could be added to a quick Amazon Fresh order, so I ended up with these cuties. Perfect for popping in your mouth as you pass the food table.

Bacon-Cheddar-Ranch Pinwheels
Adapted from Betty Crocker

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese
6 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1½ tablespoons ranch seasoning mix
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
5 (8-inch) flour tortillas

In large bowl, beat all ingredients except tortillas with electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Divide mixture evenly among tortillas, spreading evenly. Tightly roll up tortillas. Cut into ½-inch slices, and serve.

Makes 10 servings

Poblano Chicken Casserole

I'm going to try not to age myself, but a very long time ago when I was in college, I lived next to a very nice HEB grocery store.  And this grocery store had a delicious frozen meal that was a poblano chicken casserole.  I loved that frozen casserole, and it made for a great dinner on multiple occasions, but then I moved out of HEB territory.  I've tried looking it up online, but I'm not even sure they make it anymore.  Regardless, I finally got a recipe together that does a pretty decent job of mimicking what I remember of the dish.

Poblano Chicken Casserole

3 poblano peppers

3 tablespoons canola oil, divided use

4 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 cups long-grain white rice

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tablespoon Goya adobo without pepper seasoning

1 (15-ounce) container crema Mexicana agria, or sour cream

½ cup whole milk or half-and-half

1½ teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped

8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided use

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Rub peppers with 1 tablespoon of oil and place on a baking sheet.  Roast for 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes to ensure even charring.  Once evenly charred, remove from baking sheet, place in a glass bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let set for 15 minutes to steam.  Working carefully to avoid burning your fingers, and using plastic gloves to keep from spreading capsaicin to your eyes or other areas, peel off the charred skin of the peppers and deseed.  Dispose of the skin, seeds, and stem, then slice pepper flesh into squares, approximately 1 centimeter square.  Set aside.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

In a saucepan, bring chicken stock and butter to a boil, then add the rice, stirring well.  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low or low, and simmer for 20 minutes or until all of the chicken stock is absorbed and the rice is tender.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, toss the chicken chunks with the Goya adobo seasoning.  In a large sauté pan, heat the oil until shimmering over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken, and cook, tossing occasionally, until no longer pink.  Reduce the heat to medium, then add the reserved poblano pepper squares, crema Mexicana agria, milk, onion powder, and salt.  Stir until crema has melted and the mixture is smooth.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice and the chicken mixture; stir well.  Sprinkle in the cilantro and half of the Monterey Jack cheese, then stir well again to combine.

Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray, then spread the rice mixture evenly in the dish.  Sprinkle the top with the remaining Monterey Jack cheese.  Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly and the cheese has browned some.

Makes 6 servings

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

My brother-in-law has a bit of a pig problem.  Wild pig, that is.  They rampage over his and my sister's property, tearing everything up and having a million baby pigs.  So occasionally some delicious wild pork products end up in my freezer.  At that point you have to do the pig justice, so I found this absolutely revelational way of cooking a pork tenderloin.  It's rich and spicy, with slightly candied bacon on the outside.  I found it hard to stop popping pieces in my mouth.  Even if your pork happens to come from the grocery store, this recipe will make it magic.

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

2 pounds pork tenderloin

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

2 tablespoons dry ranch seasoning

2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped

1 pound applewood smoked bacon

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Lightly oil a baking dish or roasting pan.

Cut a slit, lengthwise, down the center of the pork tenderloin to within ½-inch of the bottom, being careful not to cut all the way through. Open the tenderloin so that it lies flat and cover with plastic wrap. Flatten to a ½-inch thickness by gently pounding with the flat side of a meat mallet, starting from the middle and working outward. Remove plastic wrap.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, ranch seasoning, and chopped jalapeño pepper.  Mix well.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over the flattened pork, then, working from the long side, roll the pork up.  Place in a baking dish, ensuring the open end is on the bottom.

Weave the bacon strips into a crosshatch pattern, if desired (see instructions here).  Lay the bacon over the pork roll and sprinkle with the brown sugar.  Rub the brown sugar into the bacon to ensure it adheres.

Roast until the bacon is crispy with the fat rendered, and the pork is done (165°F on a thermometer), about 30 to 45 minutes.  Let sit for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

The Chunky Chef: Homemade Freezer Pickles

One time when I went to a family event, my sister brought out these little pickles for us to snack on.  And I thought, okay, it's pickles.  But then I tried one.  And there was something so addictive about them.  And I found myself eating more of them.  And more.  And then it was like I only wanted pickles.  So I asked for the recipe.  And I made a big batch just for me.  And yes, I had pickles for dinner tonight.  I am not ashamed, although I probably should be.

Note: I used a mandoline to get perfect even slices, but these pickles probably won't last long enough for that to matter.

Homemade Freezer Pickles

Adapted from The Chunky Chef blog

1 pound mini pickling cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 red onion (approximately ⅓ pound), peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1½ teaspoons mustard seed
1½ teaspoons celery seed

Add cucumbers and onions to a large non-reactive mixing bowl. Sprinkle with kosher salt and stir to combine. Let sit for 1 hour. Transfer mixture to a colander to drain, then rinse to remove excess salt. Wipe out the same mixing bowl, then add drained and rinsed cucumber mixture back to the bowl.

In another small mixing bowl, combine sugar, apple cider vinegar, mustard seed, and celery seed. Stir together to combine. If the sugar isn't mixing well, add bowl to the microwave (make sure it's microwave-safe!), and heat for 30 seconds or so, until the sugar will dissolve into the vinegar when stirred.

Pour liquid over the cucumber mixture in the bowl and stir to combine. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 1 full day. Transfer freezer pickles to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 6 months.

To eat: Thaw pickles out in the refrigerator overnight. Once thawed, pickles should be eaten within 2 weeks. Enjoy on their own, on top of a burger, on top of hot dogs, on top of sandwiches, or however you'd like!

Note: Pickles can be frozen in glass containers (leave about ½-inch of headroom at the top to allow to expansion), plastic containers, and freezer-safe resealable plastic bags.

Makes approximately 3 cups

The Kitchenista Diaries: Smothered Oxtails

I've had a pack of oxtails in my freezer for a little while, just waiting for me to find a recipe that would bring out all of their fantastically delicious flavor (they've been waiting a while now).  I had tried fancy recipes that used wine and all sorts of aromatics, but I just wasn't loving them.  So this time I decided to go bare bones, down home, how-does-your-mom-make-it, and it was fantastic.  Best oxtails I've ever made.  Funny how that works.

Smothered Oxtails
Adapted from The Kitchenista Diaries blog

4 pounds oxtail, trimmed of excess hard fat
1 tablespoon Kosher salt, more to taste
½ cup all-purpose flour, divided

2 tablespoons Greek seasoning, divided use
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 sweet yellow onions, such as Vidalia, Noonday, or Walla Walla, sliced
1 whole head garlic, top sliced off

1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock

2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce

Toss the oxtail pieces in salt and let sit for an hour at room temperature. Combine the flour with one tablespoon of Greek seasoning, and stir to combine.  When ready to cook, pat the oxtail dry and toss in ¼ cup of the seasoned flour. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Brown the oxtail on all sides, taking the time to allow it to get crusty. This will take at least ten minutes, but more if you need to brown the oxtail in batches. Don't crowd the pot, otherwise, they'll just steam.  Control your heat so that the meat browns without the oil burning. If you're done browning your oxtail and the bottom of the pot is blackened, it's better to clean it out before proceeding, or it could impart bitter scorched flavors into the gravy. The goal is to have lots of crusty browned bits in the pan, which is where your flavor starts, so control your heat.

Place the browned oxtail pieces in the bottom of the crock of the slow cooker. Reduce the heat to medium-low. You should have quite a bit of fat left in the pot, but if not add oil or butter to get to about two or three tablespoons. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, then the remaining 1 tablespoon of Greek seasoning, garlic, and bay leaf. Fry the aromatics for a minute, until fragrant. Sprinkle the onions with the remaining seasoned flour, then stir to coat. Cook the roux for a few minutes until bubbly and light brown.

Pour in your chicken and beef stocks, Worcestershire sauce, and browning sauce, scraping up the fond at the bottom of the pan.  Bring the liquid up to a boil. Once the liquid comes to a boil, carefully transfer it to your slow cooker. Cook on high for 6 hours, or on low for 8 to 10 hours, depending on the size of your oxtail pieces. Once the meat is fully tenderized, remove it from the pot. Discard the bay leaves. If you see a ton of oil floating at the top, skim it or drag a piece of bread across to soak it up. Oxtail renders a ton of fat, but the flour helps to keep most of it in the gravy. Squeeze out the garlic and mash it against the side of the pot before whisking into the gravy. If the gravy is too thin, let it cook longer to reduce. If it's too thick, thin it out with water. Give the seasoning a final taste for salt and pepper before returning the oxtail to the pot to warm through.

Makes 4 servings

Allrecipes: Unbelievable Rolls

I don't make bread that often, because let's be honest - it's a pain.  You have to keep waiting for the yeast to do its thing, and poking the dough and punching the dough and kneading the dough.  It's a whole thing (and why I invested in an electric breadmaker).  But when I saw how easy this recipe was, I had to try it.  No way it worked.  Guess what?  It works.  And the rolls are super tender and delicious.  Recommended for bread atheists.

Note: I actually used half-and-half instead of milk, so that additional fat may also have helped make these super tender.

Unbelievable Rolls

Adapted from Allrecipes

¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
5 teaspoons active dry yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup unsalted butter plus 2 tablespoons, melted, divided use

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm milk, water, and sugar to 110°F to 115°F.  Remove from heat, and mix in the eggs and yeast.  Measure flour into a large bowl and stir in salt.  Make a well in the flour, and pour milk mixture into it.  Do not stir.  Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.

Pour ½ cup melted butter into flour mixture, and mix well. Add more flour if too sticky. Knead lightly. Cover again, and let rise for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Punch down the dough and shape the dough into rolls, approximately 3 ounces each, and place on a baking sheet on in a 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Bake rolls for 15 minutes, or until done.  Brush rolls with remaining melted butter.  Serve hot.

Makes 16 rolls

The Defined Dish: Blackened Red Snapper

My favorite grocery store is having a Texas-themed shopping week, and as part of that effort, they've sourced some fresh red snapper from the Gulf of Mexico.  I was, of course, all in on this situation, but once you have a delicious piece of fish, you have to actually DO something with it.  I decided that if I was going to eat some gulf seafood, I needed to do something gulf-y to it, which immediately means doing some good ol' Cajun blackening.  This recipe turns out a pretty fantastic rub, and it's really not that hard to get the blackened crust, but maybe unplug your smoke detector before you try it.  Talking from experience.

Blackened Red Snapper

Adapted from The Defined Dish blog

For the seasoning mixture:
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder

For the fish:
1 pound red snapper filets
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges (for serving)
fresh parsley (optional for garnish)

In a small bowl, combine all of the seasoning mixture ingredients and stir until well combined.

Generously coat the flesh side with the seasoning mixture.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering swirl the pan so that the oil evenly coats the bottom of the skillet. When very hot, place fish filets flesh side down, cook, without touching, until a dark brown (or blackened) crust has formed and the fish is almost cooked through, about 6 minutes.

Flip the fish onto the skin side press down with the back of a spatula to flatten the filet and the skin is flush with the skillet (it tries to curl). Continue to cook until the fish is cooked through, or completely opaque and flakes easily, about 3 more minutes. Carefully, using a sturdy spatula, transfer the cooked fish to plates and serve with a wedge of lemon and garnish with fresh parsley (if desired).

Makes 2 servings

Mississippi Pot Roast

There's recipes all over the internet for this particular dinner, which is partially why I avoided making it for so long.  That was dumb of me.  This is a delicious dinner, and it takes almost no effort.  And it doesn't heat the whole kitchen up, which is another win.  I made mine a little spicier than usual because I picked up a packet of spicy ranch by accident, but it was honestly pretty good, so that's also an option if you like the spicier side of life.

Mississippi Pot Roast

1 (3 pound) beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
8 pepperoncini peppers
1 (1-ounce) packet Ranch seasoning
1 (1-ounce) packet au jus seasoning
½ cup water

½ cup pepper juice from the pepperoncini bottle
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

Place the chuck roast in the crock of a slow cooker.  Scatter the pepperoncini peppers around the meat.  Sprinkle the meat with the packet of ranch seasoning and au jus seasoning, then pour the water and pepper juice over the top.  Place the stick of butter on top of the meat and cover the crock.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  At the end of the cooking time, use two forks to pull the meat until chunks.  Serve with rice or mashed potatoes and drizzled with the cooking liquid.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Giada De Laurentiis: Campanelle Pasta Salad

I finally cleaned out my pantry this weekend, and that's when I found that I need to be much better about this sort of thing because I have a decent-size bag of food that's on the verge on the expiration date.  Which means I need to use it as soon as it can be worked into the rotation.  Luckily, two of those items were campanelle pasta and a can of fancy European tuna in oil, so it worked out nicely for my dinner this evening.  If you're tired of the usual tuna pastas, this is a nice change that doesn't take much effort, especially when it's the middle of the hottest part of the summer.

Campanelle Pasta Salad
From Giada De Laurentiis

1 pound campanelle pasta
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided use
1 small or ½ medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (6-ounce) can Italian tuna in oil, drained
1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes, halved
8 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and quartered
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

In a 14-inch skillet, heat ¼ cup oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until aromatic. Add the tuna to the skillet and, using a fork, break into chunks. Add the cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, capers, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the pasta, the remaining ¼ cup olive oil, and the parsley. Toss until all the ingredients are coated, adding a little pasta water, if needed, to thin out the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 6 servings

Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook: Best-Ever Blueberry Bread

This is it.  This is the O.G.  The blueberry bread that my mom made when I was a kid.  It's so simple, and yet I love it more than any other recipe I've tried.  It's golden and crunchy on top and super soft and tender on the inside.  And it has just the right ratio of blueberries to bread.  Yes, that's a thing.  If you're looking for a good breakfast, you've found it.

Best-Ever Blueberry Bread
Adapted from the 1974 edition of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

1¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour

¼ cup granulated sugar
2½ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 well-beaten large egg
¾ cup whole milk
⅓ cup salad oil or melted shortening
1 cup fresh blueberries (about 6 ounces) or thawed and well-drained frozen blueberries, saving 8 to 10 for the top

Sift dry ingredients into bowl; make well in center.  Combine egg, milk, and oil.  Add all at once to dry ingredients.  Stir quickly just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Gently stir in blueberries.  Fill greased 8x8-inch baking pan and smooth the top.  Top with remaining berries.  Bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes 12