Enchilada Casserole

Enchiladas are one of our favourite dishes to make and it took us a few years of trial and error
with technique and ingredients before we got it right where we want it.  We really didn't think we could make it better...until a few weeks ago.  We had left over shredded pork that we'd made in the slow cooker, and I decided to go the "lazy" route and try an enchilada casserole.  I'd never had one, never made one, only heard of 'em.

Shockingly... we liked it better than our enchiladas.  Justin nailed it when he said it's like a lasagna.  The ratios were great.  We loved the way all the flavours came together.   And it took a lot less time to make than enchiladas because there wasn't the frying process or the rolling process.  Just layer up the dish and go.

For this round, we decided to try ground beef instead of the shredded pork.  I think we liked the shredded pork better, but the ground beef was still great (and we figured we'd go with it for the recipe because it seemed more accessible and quicker).  Shredded chicken would probably be bomb, too!  I think the corn and beans really make the dish - corn adds a nice crunch, beans add a great creaminess.  We made our salsa verde extra spicy, so we didn't add jalapeños to it, but they would also be great amongst the layers.  And since it heats up so well as a leftover, we made the recipe huge so we could have lunches to take to work for the next few days. 

We were thinking we hadn't pulled out much old punk in a while.  So Justin suggested some Suicidal Tendencies, and one he said he liked.  "Memories of Tomorrow".  -jen

ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
Prep Time:  30 minutes
Cook Time:  45 minutes

Poblano chiles

Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  10-12 large portions

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 poblano chile, diced
• 2 packets taco seasoning
• non-stick cooking spray
• 4 cups salsa verde (make your own quick and easy with CTDF's recipe here)
• about 15 corn tortillas
• 1 can (14oz) black beans, rinsed
• 1 can (14oz) corn, rinsed
• 1 cup chopped cilantro 
• 4 cups shredded cheese of your choice (go for 6 cups if you like it cheesy!)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Add diced onion, diced chile and ground beef to pan.  Cook until vegetables are soft and meat is thoroughly cooked, stirring intermittently.  Drain grease from pan, add about 2 tablespoons of water and taco seasoning.  Cook until water has cooked off.  Set aside.

Coat a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with non-stick spray.  Spread a thin layer of salsa verde on the bottom of the dish.  Lay out two layers of corn tortillas over the salsa verde.  (I found I could get two whole tortillas in, and then broke up a 3rd one to fill in the holes for a single layer.)  Sprinkle half of the seasoned meat over the tortillas.  Add half of the beans and corn.  Spoon another thin layer of salsa verde on top.  Add half of the cilantro and one third of the shredded cheese.  Repeat another double layer of tortillas, followed by a repeat of meat, beans, corn, salsa verde, cilantro and cheese.   Finish with a single layer of tortillas.  Top tortillas with a thin layer of salsa verde and then add the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, uncovered.  Remove and let rest 5-10 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve. 

Tall Can Mexican Black Beans

I love when a recipe is actually inspired by a song, rather than coming up with a recipe and then searching for a song to go with it!  I'd been in a Tim Armstrong mood the other day (when aren't I?), but wasn't feeling like Rancid, so I pulled out both albums by the Transplants.  As soon as I heard the song "Tall Cans In The Air", I knew I had to do a beer recipe with tall cans!  I brainstormed a lot of ideas (and will still do more), but in the end, I decided going with a Mexican theme.  The black beans are Part 1 of my Tecate dinner, and they came out great!  I'm not even a big fan of beans, but seasoned with all these great flavours, I couldn't help but love 'em.

Justin and I actually were discussing whether or not we could taste the beer in the beans... 3 cups in a recipe is a hell of a lot of beer.  However, it didn't really seem to stand out.  There wasn't a super distinct beer flavour, but I'm sure after simmering for hours with a load of other flavours, it's just going to blend in with the rest.  I wouldn't change the recipe at all... though I might be inclined to try a darker beer next time, perhaps a Negro Modelo?

And so I present to you the Transplants (whom I've been listening to all week), doing "Tall Cans In The Air"... lemme see 'em!  -jen

TALL CAN MEXICAN BLACK BEANS
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: Overnight soaking
Cook Time:  3-4 hours
Serves:  6-8 

• 1 pound dried black beans
• 8 cups water

• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 tall can (24oz) Tecate beer (separated)
• 1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 jalapeños, chopped (de-seed for less heat)
• 3 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• few dashes of Green Tabasco 

Sort through dried beans to check for small pebbles.  Soak in 8 cups of water overnight.

Using a colander, drain soaking water from beans.  Place beans in a large stock pot with 5 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of the Teacate beer.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and turn heat down to simmer for 1.5 hours.

Add tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, garlic, green chiles, cilantro, lime juice, bay leaves, cumin, coriander, oregano, salt, Tabasco, and remaining 1 cup of Tecate.  Continue simmering with the lid off for another 1.5-2 hours.  Part way through the second simmer, using a masher, mash up some of the beans to help thicken the sauce.  Cook down until desired consistency.  Sauce should be slightly thickened, but they shouldn't be soupy.

White Fish Tacos, Avocado Sauce, Black Bean & Olive Spanish Rice

Fish is a food that I didn't like until I was about 27 years old and Justin made me my first fish hash tacos.  This sealed the deal for me and fish and I have had a love affair ever since.  Since it's surely due to California that I love fish (it's much less "fishy" here than it is in Chicago), it was only natural that our play list consist of some of our favourite California bands - Rancid, NOFX, and Sublime.  Sublime's "Bad Fish" came on, and seemed incredibly appropriate in its juxtaposition to our excellent fish recipe below. -jen

 

BLACK BEAN & OLIVE SPANISH RICE

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped green or Kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1.5 cups of long-grain white rice
• 2.5-3 cups water **see instructions
• 15oz can diced tomatoes, drained (keep juice and set aside)
• 15 oz can black beans, drained
• 2 tablespoons Caldo de Pollo (or chicken boullon)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil in large skillet or sauce pan.  Sautee onions and carrots until tender and onions are transparent.  Add chopped olives and minced garlic and sautee another 3 minutes.

Add rice to vegetables and mix in.  Measure the drained tomato juice into a measuring cup, and use water to make up 3 cups of liquid total.  (If you have 1/2 a cup juice, you'll use 2.5 cups of water).  Carefully add liquid to hot pan.  Stir in tomatoes, beans, Caldo de Pollo, cumin, coriander, chili powder, smoked paprika and cilantro.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and turn heat to low.  Simmer for 25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.  Don't lift the lid during cooking!

FISH TACOS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion (yellow, white, spring, or combination)
• 1 pound of boneless, light fish (sole, snapper, catfish, cod, etc), patted dry and cut into large chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed or ground sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if desired)
• 1 lime (1 tsp of zest, and then juice the entire lime)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• corn tortillas
• Avocado Sauce (see recipe below)
• cilantro and chopped green onions for garnish
• Queso Fresco (if desired) 

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.  Add  onion and cook until onion is tender and translucent, 1-2 minutes.  Add fish, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, lime zest, and cayenne.  Cook for 2-3 minutes; fish will begin to turn an opaque white.  Add lime juice, garlic, and cilantro.  Continue cooking another 3 minutes, using the spatula to break up the fish into a hash.  Remove from heat.

Heat tortillas over the open flame of a gas burner until lightly browned (or use a dry skillet if you have electric burners).  Serve fish in warmed tortilla, top with Avocado Sauce, green onions, and cilantro.  We like to add a little crumbled Queso Fresco to ours.

AVOCADO SAUCE

This is a light, avocado and citrus sauce that goes well with fish, chicken, or as a vegetable dip.

• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1 green onion, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon green Tabasco sauce
• pinch of salt
• pinch of black pepper

In a small food processor, combine all ingredients, blend well.