Zesty Zucchini Boats

A friend of mine gave me a giant zucchini and I wanted to do something a little different than what I usually do. I made mine vegetarian, but you can make yours with meat if you want. Let's get down to business:

1 hugemongous zucchini or several small ones (maybe 3-4)

1 diced yellow onion

5 cloves minced garlic

1 pound soy chorizo, or regular chorizo

1 can corn drained

1 can black beans drained and rinsed (I made mine from dry beans because I was too lazy to go to the store)

1 can pinto beans drained and rinsed

1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped (omit if you have the soap gene)

1 can fire roasted Rotel

1 pound of Oaxaca cheese grated

1 cup Cotija cheese grated 1/2 cup set aside

1 pound Colby Jack cheese grated

3 tablespoons or 1 packet taco seasoning

Toppings:

Salsa, sour cream, avocadoes, whatever you like.

   Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl combine corn, beans, cilantro, Rotel, cilantro, cheeses, and taco seasoning. In a pan sauté onions, garlic, and chorizo until the meat caramelizes or gets crispy and the onions become translucent. Drain any fat if you used real meat. Add mixture to bowl and thoroughly combine by folding together. Don't stir or the beans will break up. 

Slice zucchini lengthwise and scoop out seeds making a little tunnel in the middle. Fill tunnel with mixture and overstuff a bit and press it in. Top with remaining Cotija cheese and bake at 350 until zucchini is fork tender.

Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

I'm slowly coming back

 So I took a long hiatus after my husband passed away. I've still been cooking, but I decided to focus on my kids. I retired from working for the state of California, moved to Washington, and started a new job as a medical receptionist for a not for profit hospital. It's been an adventure during this pandemic. But I'm finally ready to kick this depression and get into the swing of things. Here's to new adventures!

How to be cheap, lazy, tasty & efficient.

So last night I decided to get my tattoo finished, yeah I'm a rebel. Our oldest child is a tattoo artist, so I get it done at home. Multi task time!
For $7 I got 10 chicken thighs, for $3 more dollars I got 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup & 1 can of nacho cheese. (This is nacho cheese, get yer own!) Ready? No? Too bad!

Lay the chicken in a casserole dish, season with garlic powder, fresh cracked pepper & some seasoning salt. Then, dump the cans of soup & cheese on the chicken. Cover it with foil, and bake it at 350 until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Serve over some rice. $13 fed 10 people, and they even asked for the recipe.

I forgot to take a picture of the food but here's phase 3 of the tattoo, now we just need to fill it in & color:

How to be a lazy cook and still impress your friends and family.: Toscana soup

How to be a lazy cook and still impress your friends and family.: Toscana soup

Toscana soup

Here's the original recipe:
3/4 cup onions, diced 1/8 inch
1 slice bacon, 1/4−inch diced
1 1/4 teaspoon garlic cloves, minced
1 ounce chicken bouillon
1 quart water
2 medium potatoes, cut in half length−wise,
then cut in 1/4−inch slices
2 cups cavallo greens (kale can be substituted),
cut in half, then sliced into 1/16−inch strips
1 1/2 cups sausage link − spicy, pre−cooked, cut in half
length−wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2−inch slices
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Place sausage link onto sheet pan and bake in 300 degree oven for
15 to 20 minutes or until done.
Place onions and bacon into 3 to 4 quart saucepan and cook onions
over medium heat until the onions are almost clear. Add garlic and
cook for 1 minute.
Add chicken bouillon, water and potatoes, bring to a simmer for 15 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients then simmer for 5 more minutes and serve.

I have to cook for 6 people so I cooked a whole package of Italian sausage (6 links) in a pan. I removed them from the pan, then cooked a whole onion chopped up, 4 big cloves of garlic chopped up, and 4 potatoes in the grease from the sausage. Then I dumped all that in a pot. I added 2 cans of chicken broth and the bullion along with some water. I let that simmer until the potatoes were done, then I added some chopped green beans (only because I didn't have greens on hand), and then I realized I forgot the bacon, so I chopped up about 6 slices of bacon & cooked those real fast, dumped them in the mix & added one can of evaporated milk. I like my soups on the thick side so I added half a cup of instant mashed potatoes. Topped it off with some shaved cheese, and we inhaled it.

This is what we ended up with:

Lentil Quinoa Stew

So, I'm sick and trying to think of something that doesn't hurt & is easy, yet comforting. I decided on my way home from work to make this. Start with your basic ingredients, you should have this type of stuff on hand if you have a well stocked pantry. Paula Deen has some good tips on what to have on hand http://www.pauladeen.com/kitchenbasics/article_view/stocking_your_pantry/. Here's my basic ingredients:



Along with some carrots, celery, one onion, and some garlic. I chopped one whole onion, about 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, about 5-6 celery stalks, and 2 rice bowls full of baby carrots. If you use whole carrots...um maybe 3? I let those a simmer away in a little olive oil over medium low heat.



Meanwhile in another pot I had the lentils simmering away, I let them cook for about 20 minutes, then added in half a cup of quinoa, and let that simmer for another five minutes with 3 bay leaves. Why a bay leaf? I have no clue, but if you forget it, any chef will yell at you, so just do it. They're inexpensive to have around. Once most of the water is gone add in the beef broth, 2 cans of beef roast, and either 1 can tomato paste or 2 cans tomato sauce. I also added in salt & pepper to taste, about 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning, and one tablespoon of sugar to take some of the acidity out of the tomatoes. I let that simmer for another ten minutes then added in the veggies. I served it with some corn bread on the side. It came out pretty tasty. I'm sick & my brain is a little addled, so I forgot to take a final pic, and when I remembered it was all gone. We had unexpected company (teenagers), and they inhaled it.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Melt

You drooled a little reading that title, didn't you? I did too thinking of it. This meal is soooooo easy! I took canned chicken & threw it in a pan with a tablespoon or two of dried parsley, a tablespoon of dried dill, salt, & pepper, then I let it all simmer down until the liquid evaporated. These are the main spices used in ranch dressing.


Then I laid a tortilla in another pan with a little butter, topped it with cheese all over, spread the chicken mix on half & topped with bacon. I cooked that covered over medium low heat until the cheese was nice and melted.


After it was melted I drizzled a little ranch dressing over it:


I then folded it over like a quesadilla:


I didn't get a chance to take a picture on a plate because the family inhaled it too fast.