Cheese Enchiladas and Beans

My first taste of enchilada came early.  Estrada’s Spanish Kitchen was a family owned restaurant in Visalia established long before my parents were born. It was fine dining … Frequented for forty some odd years by our family.

The old Victorian house on Main Street was a business on the first floor and a family home on the second. It was our family’s favorite place to eat especially Christmas Eve … Forty six years in a row according to my brother. As a kid it seemed to take forever for the food to be served. I amused myself when young … picking the enormous wax covered wine bottle that was providing more temptation than candle light … seeing coins embedded in the wax … digging. Yep, I was disciplined. My brother, more self disciplined, just explored the upstairs bathroom, the only one available. But I bet he was really looking for Susie.

I have tried to recreate the tastes of Estrada’s dishes. (Estrada’s taste alike here) A friend married into this restaurant family not too long ago, and had mentioned the recipes were definitely a family secret. Yes, I asked. He said, I could give you the recipes but then I would have to kill you. Of course he was kidding! Do I have to even say that? There were about a half dozen of these Estrada’s restaurants throughout California owned by the same family. Only one now exists … Daly City. (Closed Feb 3rd, 2019)

In my teens, mother, every few months, would form an assembly line of hot vegetable oil, heated canned enchilada sauce, corn tortillas, cheese and onion. She and I would make two dozen enchiladas, some to be eaten … some to be frozen. We used Velveeta cheese … Considered a healthy alternative to cheese in those days.

(For this dish, I will be using a quick sauce recipe I picked up from a former neighbor about 40 years ago. I was shocked at the time to find enchilada sauce got the red color from peppers not tomatoes. Labeling was yet to reach today’s sophistication.)

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A Comfort On A Cold Gray Day

Sausage And Navy Bean Soup

Sausage and Navy Bean Soup

It’s rainy and cold this morning. I had planned to share a cookie recipe today  … a breakfast cookie! But this can wait until tomorrow. I am going to put together a rich soup instead. And because it is last minute I won’t be soaking the beans overnight. The soup is a bit Italian. What a comfort it will be! Pair this with a country bread and it’s a complete meal. If you like add a small glass of red table wine.

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A Recipe Change Up

Chicken and Dumplings My Style

Chicken and Dumplings My Style

My mother is from Arkansas. In 1939 she travelled to her new home in California. She brought with her a southern style of cooking which included recipes for fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, fried potatoes, and chicken and dumplings. Vegetables and fruits were mainly canned to preserve. This seems to be in vogue again today!

As a child I had a very difficult time eating chicken. I was generously given the drumstick … Every child’s favorite it seemed. But I could see every vessel and tendon … Even more so with stewed chicken and dumplings. The taste was delicious but…. I was being a kid!

What I have done here is create more of a shepherd’s pie with chicken. Rather than placing the biscuits or dumplings, mother used the same recipe for both, into the chicken dish I have included them separately. I loved my mother’s biscuits! She liked to make them thinner than most would, pressing the dough thin before cutting. This created a biscuit that was less cakie. If baking biscuits separately not as a topper, she would dip each in bacon drippings, lightly coating both sides before placing into a baking dish and popping into the oven. Yep! Still love this taste today. But for those who are not bacon fans butter works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Not Just a Leftovers Dish

Turkey, Sausage and Rice Dish

Here is a dish I put together with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It received a 9 out of 10 rating from family … 10 being equivalent to the Thanksgiving turkey meal. I say that is a pretty good rating! Wouldn’t you?!

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Something To Tide Them Over

Eggs and Ham

A Make Ahead Brunch … Make this the day before company arrives. Did I say microwave! Yes, you just might need to use the microwave for heating if your oven is stuffed. This is delicious and rich. They won’t be hungry ’til dinner.

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Portuguese Peas

This delicious recipe for Portuguese Peas is one of my Grandmother’s. She didn’t make it often but I really enjoyed this dish as a child. It was always served as a side dish garnished with hard boiled eggs. It really is surprisingly different in flavor, so very tasty.

You will enjoy this dish. Give it a try.

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A Family or Company Meal

Enchilada Taco dinner and Wine

Enchilada Casserole, Taco Salad, and Wine

Pair this casual dinner with a dry or sweet Rose’, or beer or even a skinny Margarita. Sounds a bit like summer! Just a bit of fun before slipping into the icy cold of winter. No intense spiciness here. This enchilada casserole can be a welcome in cold weather too … with rice and beans. Or for a brunch!

For those intense spicy meals wines with higher alcohol content are not suggested nor are expensive reds. The expensive reds will be clouded by the spiciness. And alcohol adds fuel to the fire of spice. FYI: Dry Rose’ generally has a higher alcohol content than the sweeter variety.

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A Big Taste Casserole With A Little Bite

Tuna Chicken or Turkey Casserole

A quickie meal, Tuna Chicken or Turkey Casserole, with a rich taste and a hint of heat. In the 50’s and early 60’s we were not a casserole family at all. In fact, I don’t remember having a meal with a casserole as a main dish until I discovered them. My mother had a true prejudice for these dishes … Until she tasted my tuna casserole! I hope you will enjoy it too!

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London Broil Recipe Dinner Menu

Meat and Potatoes, these guys are still around! And this one is having a birthday today. This London broil meal can be fixed in a jiffy. And is so economical … not to worry about how many guests he brings! Pair it with a good tasting economical wine. This is a London Broil Complete Dinner for Four!

Good cheap wine choices are out there, and it makes good sense to pair this meal with a value wine instead of something you would serve with filet mignon. The wine … spicy Cline zinfandel. All this is a hungry man’s delight! Oh, and French apple pie for dessert!

Three recipes here … Well, four if you include the mushrooms smothering the meat … London broil with mushrooms, twice baked potatoes, and balsamic salad dressing.

The sequence of putting the meal together could go like this.

  • Marinate the meat overnight
  • Make salad dressing up to the day ahead
  • Potatoes can be made the morning of the dinner. Baking for the last time just before serving.
  • Put the salad together the morning or afternoon on the same day. Add tomatoes and avocado, if using, as well as dressing just before serving.
  • Prepare the mushrooms at the time of the meat being broiled.
  • Uncork your value wine while the meat is broiling. Two bottles for 4 people. Just 20 bucks for two bottles of this wine.

Come join us, wine or beer or even diet cola to celebrate Stephen’s birthday!

For recipes HERE!

 


A Family’s Style macaroni and Cheese

With one of the most popular instant macaroni and cheese products changing their recipe this seemed to be the perfect time to introduce my instant, sorta, Macaroni and Cheese.

My first two children rarely experienced instant box dinners. These box mixes were not plentiful in the day. And everyone in my family was a scratch cook, including my dad … apple pie and Portuguese beans. It was hard to take the step.

When my next two children became toddlers more than ten years later the choices for these instant meals had grown into quite a selection and had a popular following. While the older children loved home cooked the younger children definitely had different food likes and dislikes. So, while i was busy working nights on the oncology floor and my husband was busy by day prosecuting a lengthy infamous trial were we serving this out of a box to the children? The younger ones, maybe. Or maybe the taste for this came along in their college days.

There is definitely a smoothness, creaminess, that is hard to achieve with some cheeses … Something that is easily achieved with a box mix. But this is just what makes scratch recipes interesting … The ability to change up texture and taste.

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