Southwestern Soft Taco Casserole

Our grandsons...a happy band of brothers.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I am back home and ready, really ready, to take up whisk and spoon and create again in my own familiar and well-equipped kitchen. The break from routine and repetition was really needed and the time spent with family was simply priceless. As you can see, our grandsons are growing like over-fertilized weeds and our time with them, while short, is treasured. On reflection, I, too, am often tempted to say to the passing moment, "Stay, thou art so fair." Instead, I worked my way through blog related email tonight and hope to catch up with your comments and questions tomorrow morning. Thanks so much for your patience and continued support in my absence. The posts for the remainder of this week will be simple, but scrumptious, vacation fare. Next week, at the request of the Silver Fox, who, at the moment, is up to his ears in pasta and ground beef, I'll be featuring dishes from France and the Mediterranean. They are not at all toney, but I know you'll enjoy them.

The recipe I'm featuring tonight is one my younger daughter prepared for us while we were in New Hampshire. It is fast, easy and delicious and, better still, quantities can be doubled or tripled when you have a gang to feed. It can be made well in advance of serving and it also freezes well, freeing you for other chores or time with family and friends. Her version of the recipe uses just 7 ingredients, and, while it varies slightly, I think the recipe first appeared in Taste of Home magazine with a slightly expanded ingredient list. Optional ingredients in the recipe below are highlighted in red. If you have not yet sampled this casserole, I hope you'll give it a try. Here's the recipe.






Southwestern Soft Taco Casserole...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Melissa Mabe and Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup water
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 ounces) Mexican diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 ounces) corn, drained
6 flour tortillas (8 inches), cut in half
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) In a large skillet, cook beef, and, if using, green pepper and onion, over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add water and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Stir in black beans, tomatoes and corn. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
3) Place four tortilla halves in bottom of a greased 13 x 9-in. baking dish. If using, spread tortillas with half of refried beans. Then spread with half of beef mixture and sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese.
4) Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. Yield: 9 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Orange and Rhubarb Bread

Two Years Ago Today: Blueberry Buckle

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Black Beans and Bok Choy

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite... Mark Bittman is one of my food heroes.I love the clarity of his writing and the no-nonsense approach he takes to food. I miss his weekly column in the New York Times and he is one of the few food writers whose recipes I keep in a shoebox in my pantry. The box is probably overkill, but I don't really trusts computers, despite the fact I made my living with working with them. As a matter of fact, I have recurring nightmares in which agitated systems programmers converge on a computer room with manuals in hand and my personal computer lies in an intensive care unit trying to fight off a fatal virus which has made it through every firewall known to mankind. It's enough to send chills up and down my spine. So, I bookmark, backup and keep paper copies of certain things, among them Mr. Bittman's recipes. I've been working Chinese black beans and wanted to share his shrimp and black bean stir-fry with you.It is fast and easy and really, really tasty. Bok Choy is now available in supermarkets and the black beans can be found in any Asian grocery store. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. If you have all the ingredients ready to go before you start to cook, you'll find this really easy to do. My only caution is not to overcook the dish. The stems of the bok choy should retain some crunch and the shrimp should be pink but still tender. If you like a slightly thicker sauce for your stir-fry, you'll want to make a light slurry of cornstarch and water and add it just before serving the shrimp. Here's the recipe.

Stir-Fried Shrimp With Black Beans and Bok Choy...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Mark Bittman

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons fermented black beans, sold in Asian markets
2 tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
1-1/2 pounds uncooked shrimp, in the 20 to 30 per pound size range, peeled
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar, divided use
2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided use
1 clove garlic, sliced, and 1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided use
1 pound bok choy or other cabbage, trimmed, washed and dried
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil, divided use
1 tablespoon peeled and minced or grated fresh ginger
3/4 cup chicken stock or white wine
1/4 cup minced scallions

Directions:
1) Soak black beans in sherry, wine or water.
2) In large bowl, marinate shrimp in 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sliced garlic, salt and 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
3) Separate bok choy leaves from stems; chop stems into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces, and roughly chop leaves.
4) Preheat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil and raise heat to high. When it begins to smoke, add minced garlic and, immediately thereafter, shrimp and its marinade. Cook shrimp for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon it out of wok or skillet.
5) Put remaining peanut oil in wok or skillet and, when it smokes, add ginger, followed immediately by bok choy stems. Cook, stirring, until bok choy is lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes, then add leaves. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then add 3/4 cup water, stock or white wine and let it bubble away for a minute.
6) Return shrimp to wok or skillet and stir; add black beans and their liquid, scallions, and remaining sugar and soy sauce. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Turn off heat, drizzle remaining sesame oil on top, and serve. Yield:3 to 4 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Spring Mushroom Soup with Aromatic Vegetables

Two Years Ago Today: Po Cha

Three Years Ago Today: Lemon and Almond Tart

Noodles with Pork and Black Bean Sauce

 
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Necessity is often the mother of invention, at least in my kitchen. The first time I made these noodles it was to use the last bits of a black bean sauce that had outworn its welcome in my refrigerator. While I should have been more creative and used it  for a non-Asian type of dish, I was in a rush and wanted to get on with my evening. Lots of Asian food gets made in my kitchen because I'm always in a hurry at the end of the day. At any rate, I grabbed a notebook, pillaged the pantry and started to take notes. The note taking is a habit I develop when I was an active participant in cooking contests. One of the first lessons I learned is that memory is a fickle and can't be trusted to retain the minute details associated with recipe creation. Something, usually small, will be lost in translation and a second stab at a once stellar dish will be quite humdrum. So, the first items I grab when I'm creating are a pencil and my notebook. This recipe came together quickly and the only tricky aspect was getting the right balance between the bean and oyster sauce. All of the ingredients used to make these noodles can be found in large grocery stores, so, I think those of you who are so inclined will be able to make them without a hassle or ingredient search. This is a fast and easy recipe and if you like the flavor of black beans I know you will enjoy the noodles. Here's the recipe.

Noodles with Pork and Black Bean Sauce...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:

Sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or sherry
1 tablespoon sugar
Pepper to taste
Stir-Fry
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 pound pork tenderloin cut into thin strips
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 small bok choy or a few cabbage leaves chopped
12 ounces hot cooked Chinese egg noodles or linguine

Directions:
1) To make sauce: Combine cornstarch, chicken broth, black bean sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine and sugar in a small bowl. Stir until sauce is smooth.
2)  Heat a wok or large skillet pan  until hot. Add  oil and swirl to coat sides of pan. Add pork and cook until no longer pink, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic to wok and cook until vegetables are crisp tender and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Return pork to pan. Stir in bok choy and toss ingredients to mix. Stir in reserved sauce and cook until it thickens. Place noodles in a bowl and top with pork and black bean mixture. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas with Ginger and Garlic

Two Years Ago Today: Parker House Rolls

Three Years Ago Today: Lamb and Feta Cheese Patties with Red pepper and Apple Relish

Crock-Pot Cuban Pork and Black Beans

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I spend a few days each year working with a group of women who develop recipes for low-income families. Our goal is to develop nutritious meals that have wide appeal. These recipes must use inexpensive ingredients but still deliver meals that are flavorful, wholesome and delicious. This slow cooker meal, adapted from Family Circle Magazine, is an example of the type of recipe the group experiments with. It is patterned after Lechon Asado, a slow cooked pork roast that is a signature dish of Cuban cooking. Addressing the concerns of those on limited budgets, the group opted to use a loin of pork rather than its shoulder, because the loin is less expensive here. They opted to serve the pork over rice rather than in rolls which would have added a couple of dollars to the meal. Eliminating the bread allowed them to make black beans to serve alongside the pork. They also decided to use pickle relish instead of chopped pickles. While relish is a common ingredient in their pantries, pickles are not. The original recipe was made in a crock-pot, but not all of the group owned them. As an alternative, they cooked the pork stove-top for about 3 hours. They felt that baking it in a 250 degree oven for 5 or more hours was a waste of energy, a point that is awfully hard to argue. The recipe the group came up with follows. I've highlighted the changes they made to the original recipe. This is really a great family meal. The citrus overtones of the pork play nicely against the heat of the black beans that appear below. I know you will enjoy dish. Its flavor improves with age and I'd suggest you make this a day before you plan to serve it. Here's the recipe.

Crock-Pot Cuban Pork...Recipe inspired by Family Circle Magazine

Ingredients:
3 pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 cup orange juice
Zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup drained dill pickle relish
2 sweet onions (such as Vidalia), thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:
1) Season pork with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Brown all sides of pork, about 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.
2) Put tomato paste, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, orange zest and juice, lime zest and juice , cumin, oregano and broth into liner of slow cooker and stir to combine. Add onions, garlic and pickle relish. Place browned pork on top. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Reduce heat to LOW and cook for 4 to 5 hours longer. Remove meat from slow cooker and using 2 forks pull it into shreds. Return to slow cooker and heat through.
3) Stir in cilantro. Serve with rice or on ciabatta or Cuban rolls. Yield: 8 servings.

This is the quick and easy recipe that was developed for black beans. It uses canned beans, so the dish comes together very quickly. The beans are delicious.

Cuban-Style Black Beans

Ingredients:
3 (14.5-oz.) cans undrained black beans
1 (1o-oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (i.e. Rotel)
1/2 yellow onion diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a medium-size pot. Add onions and sauté until soft. Add oregano and cumin and stir, then add can of diced tomatoes with green chilies. Add 2 cans of undrained beans and bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes, Drain reserved can of beans and add to pot. Cook 10 minutes longer. Serve hot. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.








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