Colorado Green Chili with Pork

This was dinner the other night, and I thought it was nothing short of a miracle.  Because honestly, I was sick and didn’t want to cook, but I didn’t want to order take-out either.  You have those nights, right?

So the green chili ended up being the meal, along with some tortillas, refried beans, shredded cheese, and sour cream.  The kids loved it too – it was full of flavor (without being spicy) and they got to put together their own burritos.

Colorado Green Chili Adapted from From An Adobe Oven to a Microwave Range

1 pound of pork shoulder, fat trimmed and cut into cubes

2 Tablespoons salted butter

1 – 28 ounce can Original Rotel

1 teaspoon garlic

Pinch of salt

2-3 Tablespoons dried minced onions

1 heaping teaspoon chicken base, or 1 (or 2) bouillon cube(s)

2 cups water

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

½ cup cold water

Heat the butter in a large skillet, add the pork and gently brown.  Add the can of Rotel, water, garlic, salt, onions, and chicken base.  Turn to a simmer and let cook – stirring occasionally for about 2 hours.  Adding more water as necessary – it cooks down quite a bit.

Before serving, mix ½ cup of cold water with the cornstarch.  Slowly add a little at a time to the simmering pork mixture and stir.  Continue adding until you have the desired consistency.  I prefer mine to thicken to the consistency of gravy.

Serve over rice, bean, eggs, burritos, or tamales.

Making Homemade Vanilla Extract

This is my vanilla extract.  The larger bottle is vodka (1.75 Liters to be exact) with approximately 45-50 vanilla beans steeping.  And in the long run it’s more economical (and better tasting) to make my own.  I go through 2 of these bottles a year!  Yikes!

So let’s get to making our vanilla extract!  This is 1/2 pound of Madagascar vanilla beans that I purchased from Beanilla*, aren’t they gorgeous?!  They’re nice and oily – not dry like some you might find in your local grocery store.

I cut directly down the center of the each vanilla bean for two reasons.  First, I like to see flecks of vanilla seed in my vanilla extract, and second, because a lot of the flavor of the vanilla bean is actually inside the bean.

Next, I drop them directly into my vodka bottle (after removing the plastic guard first) and when the last bean is in, I screw the cap back on and shake well.  Let your vanilla sit for at least 3 months (preferably more) in a cool place, such as your pantry, before using.

I always keep two of these large bottles of vanilla extract in my pantry - one using Madagascar vanilla beans, the other using Bourbon vanilla beans.  I write with sharpie on the top of the caps (“M” for Madagascar and “B” for Bourbon) to make distinguishing them easier.

That way, when I’ve completely drained one bottle I can pull the other one from my pantry and use it, while starting the whole process over again.  You can still use the ”old” vanilla beans for making vanilla sugar (just gently pat the beans dry and add them to your sugar container).

You can also make your own vanilla bean paste (seen here) by scraping any seeds that are remaining inside each bean and mixing them with corn syrup until desired consistency – store in a small plastic container with a lid in your pantry.  I personally haven’t tried making my own paste, but I plan on it when I’ve drained my next batch of beans to see if it’ll work with “used” beans – I’m all about repurposing!

This smaller jar is simply some good bourbon with vanilla beans halfed (with the half-side facing down) in order to “plump” the vanilla beans.  This method was mentioned in a cookbook called Sarabeth’s Bakery, and she does this in order to scrap the vanilla seeds out and use them in her baked goods.

No worries, I also plan on using the vanilla-flavored bourbon when I’ve used all my “plumped” beans, and at this rate it should be nice and strong because I don’t scrape out vanilla bean seeds often!

*This is where I purchase my vanilla beans from and I’ve had great experiences with them over the years.  I haven’t been paid (or compensated in any form) for this endorsement – feel free to use whomever you deem worthy!

My Birthday Cake

This cake is super special, not because it’s a secret recipe or anything like that.  It’s special because this cake was made for my birthday by my husband and kids.  I can’t even remember the last time that someone made me a cake!If you’re interested in the cake recipe, you can find it here.  The frosing recipe is below.  Just a quick note that this frosting is not tooth-achingly sweet, and has a nice light whipped texture with a very slight grain (due to the powdered sugar).

I loved it and thought it was super simple to whip up – my husband (who is sensitive to grainy texture) didn’t like even the hint of grain from the sugar.  With that said, if you like buttercream frosting with powdered sugar you’ll probably like this one.

Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting slightly adapted from Sweetapolita

2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks), softened

2 cups powdered sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

pinch of salt

In a large bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar together until creamy.  Add the vanilla, the cooled chocolate, and the pinch of salt.  Beat until smooth and satiny.  It’s ready to use!  Decorate your favorite layer cake or cupcakes.

Gluten Free Angel Food Cake

This is what happened to the rest of my fresh strawberries – Angel Food Cake!  Love it, love it, love it.

Gluten Free Angel Food Cake Adapted from The Gluten-Free Kitchen

1/2 cup cornstarch*

1/3 cup potato starch*

3/4 teaspoon guar gum

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients above together in a medium bowl; whisk, and set aside.

1 1/4 cup egg whites

1 Tablespoon water

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a really large bowl, add the egg whites, water, cream of tartar, and vanilla - beat until really foamy.  Slowly add the 1/3 cup of sugar and continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff.

Then fold the flour mixture into the stiff egg whites.  Continue to fold until there are no lumps – this takes awhile!  Scoop batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan (with removable bottom), smooth the top and place in the oven for about 35 minutes.

When the cake is done, carefully turn it upside-down with the tube resting on a glass bottle (I used an old Starbuck’s Frappuccino bottle - the tube fit perfectly inside the bottle opening) on top of a cooling rack.  Let cool until the cake falls out of the pan!  Mine only took about 8 minutes.

Serve with sweetened whip cream and strawberries!

*Just a note about measuring.  I put my measuring cup right into the bag (or box) and scoop and level - some people call this the “scoop and swoop” method.

Freezing Strawberries

Do you ever freeze strawberries?  I do this often in the summer, when the strawberries are so ripe that you can smell them in the produce section even before you see them!

I stock up, and freeze some for smoothies, milkshakes, and strawberry topping.  It’s really easy and convenient, and in the winter I can pull them out of the freeze for a little taste of summer.

All you need to do is wash them, pat them dry, cut off any bad parts and hull them.  Then place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and freeze them for a few hours.

Then place them in a plastic freezer bag (or vacuum seal them – I do this if they’re not going to be used for a few months) and place in the freezer.  Super easy!

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the cookies that earned my daughter a round of applause from her classmates.  Give them a try sometime – you won’t be sorry!

I made the dough the day before (as the recipe suggested) and baked them off the next day.

I also baked a couple right away because sometimes I don’t have the forethought to actually make cookie dough in advance – and I’m happy to report that they turned out great too.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook

Makes approximately 24 large cookies

1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons cake flour

1 2/3 cups bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup shortening

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 – 3 cups chocolate chips

sprinkle of sea salt

Measure the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, (using your beaters) cream the butter, shortening, and the sugars together.  Add the eggs, and the vanilla.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat on low just until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

Use a large cookie scoop (mine is 1.6 ounces) and place dough balls next to one another on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  When the cookie sheet is full, place it in the freezer for about 1 hour.*  Then put the frozen balls of dough into a plastic food storage bag and store in the refrigerator (for up to 2 days) or the freezer (for about 1 month).

When you’re ready to bake, place the frozen dough balls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet (I was able to fit 6 on a cookie sheet at a time) and sprinkle each cookie ball with a few grains of sea salt (or coarse salt).

Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 – 20 minutes for refrigerated dough and 20-23 minutes for frozen dough, or until lightly golden brown.  They will appear gooey in the middle until they have cooled – no worries, this is what makes them soft!

Transfer the parchment sheet of cookies onto a wire rack to cool.  Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container to keep them from drying out.

*Freezing the dough in balls first (before storing in the plastic bag) greatly reduces the chance of the dough sticking to each other.

Freezing Buttermilk

This is what I did today – I measured buttermilk into freezer containers so I wouldn’t have to pour it down the drain.  And I had lots of buttermilk to freeze since I buy a new 1/2 gallon every two weeks “just in case” I need it for any baking recipes that I might want to try on the fly.  Hopefully this will save me from buying buttermilk for awhile!

And if you’re like me and wonder how long your foods will last past their expiration dates, look no further!  You can head over to Still Tasty* and find out.

*As published in Food Network Magazine

Stay tuned – next I’m posting the chocolate chip cookie recipe that earned my daughter a round of applause from her class!