A Little Mexican Flavour

One of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning is decide what I will be making for dinner that night.  First, I look in the fridge or freezer to see what I already have at home.  If I'm lucky, I'll have all the ingredients on hand (which is usually not the case).  Yesterday's freezer contents were 2 whole chickens, ground beef, assorted fish, hamburgers and chicken breasts.  I decided to make something with one of the chickens.  But what would I make?  A stew? Roasted chicken?  And then it came to me, chicken tacos!  I love Mexican food and my favourite Mexican restaurants are those teeny tiny ones, that have just a few tables, if none at all.  I find the food at those restaurants, by far, have the most authentic Mexican flavour.  Less is more.  The simplest, freshest ingredients make for the best tacos - nothing too fancy.

I allowed the 3-4 pound chicken to defrost, chopped it up, then boiled it for approximately 30 minutes.  Once cooled, I shredded the entire chicken.  It gave me approx. 5 cups of shredded chicken.

I chopped an onion & garlic and sauteed in vegetable oil until golden.

I added shredded chicken, salt, pepper, oregano, ground cumin, cinnamon and cloves.  After some research, I found that these ingredients are key to making "authentic" chicken tacos.  However, it still didn't have the distinct taste I was looking for.  I added some chili powder, chopped cilantro and a cup of the chicken broth that was left over from boiling the chicken.  Without the broth, the chicken would have been too dry.   Now, it was perfect! 

Some of the taco toppings - freshly grated white cheddar, iceberg lettuce, homemade salsa and sour cream

Homemade salsa - chopped onion, garlic, tomatoes, avocado and cilantro, along with lime juice, salt and pepper.

Here it is on a plate.  The taco shells are Mexican corn tortillas.  They come refrigerated...all I had to do was warm them up in the oven.  I made some rice to serve on the side, it was boiled in the strained, leftover chicken broth.   Nothing goes to waste in this kitchen!

I hope I have inspired you to make something different with your chicken. The tacos were delicious and hubby and girls loved them.  I will definitely be making these again in the future.  Thanks for stopping in!  It has been raining here for most of the day.  Waiting for hubby to get home, so we can have dinner together.  Have a good evening everyone! xo

Pissaladiere S'il Vous Plait!

Yesterday evening, I made something new for dinner, something I had never made (or even heard of before) -  it's called Pissaladiere.  It resembles a pizza, but is topped very differently.  It originated in the region of Southern France.  Before I go on, I have to thank my dear friend, Rachel, for giving me the inspiration to try this new dish.  She posted it on her delicious food blog www.browniesformozart.blogspot.com .  When I saw the photo of the scrumptious looking pissaladiere she made, I looked on-line for a recipe so I could try it myself.  My friend Rachel, made the dough for hers from scratch.  I cheated and bought ready-made pizza dough.  It turned out so lovely, I am going to make the dough from scratch next time. 

I found a great recipe for Pissaladiere on the Epicurious website.  I adapted the recipe to my own liking.

I sliced 3 large vidalia onions very thinly and minced 4 cloves of garlic.  I used 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme and 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary (finely chopped) from my garden.  In a large skillet, I heated 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and sauteed the onions, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper and a bay leaf over low heat with the lid on for approximately 40 minutes.  Every once in a while, I gave it a little stir with my wooden spoon.

This is what it looks like when it is done - the onions are sweet and caramelized and the liquid is evaporated.  DELICIOUS!  This will be the "tomato sauce" for your pizza.  Now stir in one tablespoon of capers (drained).  Let it sit and cool.  In the meantime, get your pizza dough from the fridge and let it rise on your counter top for approximately 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough using flour to prevent sticking.  Place in a round pizza pan, lightly dusted with yellow cornmeal.  Spread your onion mixture evenly on your dough, leaving an edge for the crust.  Next, add approximately 20 kalamata olives and anchovies.  It is common to use anchovies, but I only put it on half the dough, because the girls wouldn't like and I am not a big fan either.  They are a bit too salty for my taste.  But, Nuno loves them!

Unfortunately, in all the excitement, I forgot to take a picture of the dough and all the toppings before I popped it in the oven at 425 degrees F (400 degrees F using my convection oven) for 30 minutes.

And here it is, in all it's glory!  I must say, I wasn't sure if the girls were going to like it, but they did!  The onions almost melt into the dough and become crispy.  The flavor of the onions is so mild, with a hint of thyme and rosemary and the saltiness of the olives and anchovies counter balance the sweetness.  This was wonderful.  Nuno and loved it.  It was something new and different.  I will definitely be making this again.  Thank you to Rachel for the inspiration!  Maybe I have inspired YOU?

I will leave you with this great quote...

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food." - George Bernard Shaw

My Herb Garden & Greek Inspired Chicken Kabobs & Potatoes

After getting married in the summer of 2000, Nuno and I  moved into our first apartment in the big city - Toronto. We lived above a nail salon, on a busy main street.  It was a large, 2 bedroom apartment, not modern, but somehow, at the time, it was just perfect.  I remember falling in love with the large living room with the red brick fireplace.  That was the beginning of our married life.  One year later, we had a little girl, that little girl quickly grew up, and when she was 5, we had another little girl.  I recall my eldest, Anita, always asking for grass. Outside our apartment, there wasn't any grass, nowhere for the girls to play, only concrete and lots and lots of cars.  So 7 years later, we took the leap and bought our first home in the City of Barrie.  One of our main concerns was finding a place with plenty of grass for the girls to play.  And so we found our cozy little home, with lots and lots of grass, and soil for planting.  It's hard to believe we've only been here 4 years.  It seems like a lifetime ago since we lived in Toronto.  Last year, Nuno dug up a garden for us to plant our herbs in. One of my favorite things to do, is go out to the side of our house and pick fresh herbs to cook with.  In the fall, when things start dying off, I have to go to the grocery store to buy my herbs.  So I don't take for granted, this little herb garden, and all it provides during the summer months.

We have parsley, cilantro, chives, thyme, oregano, dill, lavender, rosemary, basil and mint.

And of course, a little gnome!

Look at the beautiful oregano!  It smells delicious!

On Thursday afternoon,  I went to the herb garden, saw all the oregano and decided to make a Greek inspired meal - grilled chicken kabobs and delicious baked potato wedges! 

I cut up vidalia onion, and green & red bell peppers.  I didn't have any mushrooms on hand, but they would be great too! I also cut up some boneless, skinless, chicken breast into chunks and wrapped them in bacon slices. 

I basted the kabobs with an olive oil marinade ( lemon, garlic, salt, pepper, finely chopped oregano) and set aside while I prepared the potatoes.

I used red baking potatoes.  Wash them and cut into wedges.  Next, add salt, pepper, olive oil, a little water, lemon juice, and freshly chopped oregano.  Thoroughly combine. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven.  Half way through cooking, remove pan from the oven and stir potatoes.  Add some more liquid, if it is drying out. Return to the oven until you reach desired crispiness. 

Grilled to perfection, on the BBQ, by Nuno, my grill king. ;)

Here are the potatoes, just out of the oven!  They smell absolutely delicious!  I can pretty much guarantee there will be NO leftovers, they're just too good!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the food on a plate.  I was in such a rush to eat the food, I totally forgot the picture.  But you get the idea! 

It is a rainy Saturday here in Barrie.  It has been raining for several days now.  I'm getting a bit tired of it now, but it IS good for the garden!  I hop you all have a wonderful, happy weekend, no matter what the weather! xoxo