These are a tribute to Starvin’ Arvin’s in Grand Junction – the originator of the Green Supreme.  I was missing them the other day and decided to try my hand at making up my own.  It helped that I had some green chili on hand (leftover from the camping trip potluck the night before).

WHAT YOU NEED:

• eggs – scrambled, over easy, sunny side up, filled with garlic, whatever your preference
• green chili – you will need LOTS of this!  Well, if you are like us anyway.  Check out the recipe here
• sour cream
• cheddar cheese
• fluffy biscuits (we made ours with some cheddar inside – sooooo good!)

Basic Bisquick biscuits work great – just don’t roll them out.  You want all of those nooks and crannies to catch everything.   Put 1 to 3 biscuits on each plate – depending on the size of the biscuits and the appetites you are serving.

<biscuits>

Lay an egg or two over and around the biscuits.

<eggs & biscuits>

Cover both with lots of green chili.  Then add some more   Oh, and cheese.  Generously sprinkle the cheese over the eggs and the chili.  Top with a dollop of sour cream.

<all together now>

Voila!  These are soooo good.  Not quite heuvos rancheros, more than just eggs and chili, and just right.

Part of the beauty of these is that you can make most of it a day or so ahead & just warm it up.  Makes it good for a group.

This is one of those recipes that doesn’t have any exact measurements… just get the basic ingredients and you’re golden.

Oh, and it can be as hot as you can handle it, but it’s rarely terribly cool.  It all depends on the peppers used.  These are the basic guidelines…

Ingredients:

• 2 Anaheim chilis
• 2 jalapenos (the redder the better)
• olive oil
• 1 med sweet onion
• 6+ cloves garlic
• 6 pork chops, cubed
• 4 tomatillos
• 2 cans Herdez salsa verde
• water (usually around 2-4 cups)
• flour (1 Tbsp for every cup of water)

In a dry saute pan over med-high dry roast the chilies until the skins blister.  Cut off the stems and empty the seeds out (unless you want the heat they add).  Chop them up and set aside.

Chop the tomatillos and set aside.

Peel and chop the onion and garlic.  Drizzle some olive oil in the saute pan and caramelize the onion & garlic.  When the onion is translucent add the chilies and tomatillos and saute together until caramelized.  Set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed pan brown the pork on all sides.  Add the onion mixture and the Herdez salsa verde.  If you need more liquid, combine a tablespoon of flour with a cup of water and add to the pan.  Add more as needed.

Allow this to cook down for about 20 minutes.  The longer it sits, the more flavor it will have.

Serve with warm tortillas, chips, sour cream or as part of a green supreme (recipe coming soon).

Enjoy!

*It is also very tasty made with chicken.

** make it vegeretian by leaving out the pork, but be warned that the pork or chicken really adds a lot of “filler” and makes it go much further.

So, you have burritos or tacos, and you just want a little something to go with them, right?  Or perhaps you are one who likes to have rice inside your burritos… well, here is a great rice that’s a cinch to make!

Ingredients:

• pre-cooked rice (we use leftovers) about 1-2 cups is good
• 1 can Herdez Salsa Verde (not a jar, a can)
• 1/2 sweet onion – chopped
• garlic – minced
• diced fire-roasted chilies – optional
• olive oil – for the pan

Pour some oil into a large skillet or saute pan.  Saute the garlic and onions (and chilies if using) until they just start to carmalize.

Add the cooked rice to the pan, stir a bit, and pour the salsa verde over it.  Stir again.  Cook until it’s warmed throughout.

Serve, eat and enjoy!

Told you it was easy…

This also transports very well, and it’s even better after it sits for a day or so.  Some people don’t like any spice, but for those that do, you can easily substitute a diced jalapeño or two for the can of chilies.

Fuel My Blog is a great little community of bloggers from all over the world who have come together to create a cookbook.

This isn’t just any cookbook though…

Thereare recipes from a lot of different places – India, France, Bangladesh, USA… you get the idea.  These are the foods that are made by normal people like you and I, who just happen to blog and be a part of this community.

Interested?

The cookbook was compiled over at Blurb, and is now available to order!  Its called “A Global Cookbook” by the FuelMyBlog Community, and you can preview it here.

Any sales proceeds from this book will go to Stop Hunger so not only will you have a unique cookbook but you will also be helping this amazing charity.

Go check it out!

Last night I fed a craving… after fighting a migraine for a couple of days, I was tired. I wanted some comfort food in a bad way. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a few of the ingredients necessary for the particular comfort food I was craving – namely Tikka Masala. And – due to the headache – I didn’t think driving to the store would be wise. So, I decided to look through some cookbooks we have, and hit google for some tasty alternatives.

I found them. Oh yes, fabulously tasty alternatives!

I happened to have a jar of Seeds of Change Korma simmer sauce (yes, I cheated for that part) which worked well since I didn’t have any heavy cream in the house. Might I recommend it to you? It’s so good! Slightly fruity, sightly tangy… but I digress.

Then I discovered that I had some split yellow ming beans in the pantry (yay!) so I went looking for a recipe for them. I love google. How did we survive before it? I mean really!

So after looking through a myriad of sites, I stumbled across the following recipe over at route79.com and I assure you it is a keeper.

Yellow Daal

• 1/2 cup split yellow daal lentils (mung beans)
• water to cover by 1″
• 1/2 large sweet onion – finely chopped
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1.5 tsp. turmeric
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• 2 tsp. coriander
• 1/5 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 cloves garlic – diced
• approx. 1 tsp. shredded ginger
• 7 oz. diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. butter

The original recipe has some approximations, but I have given you what we used. It also called for chilis, which would have been a great addition, but the girls wouldn’t have eaten it. It also calls for fresh coriander leaves to put on top, but I don’t have any of those around.
Wash the daal in cool water and strain off. Put it into a pot with enough water to cover it by an inch. Add all of the spices, onion, garlic and ginger (and chilis if using) – basically everything but the butter.

Cook it over medium-high heat, at a vigorous simmer for about 1 hour, checking it often to stir and add water as needed. It will cook off the water quickly, so you’ll need to add more. Our dal was softened after an hour, but yours may need more time. Cook it this way until the dal is softened and the sauce is thick.

When it’s done, add the butter (or ghee preferably) and let it melt in. Stir and serve!

~~ Some changes I will try next time: add potatoes. I really love daal with potatoes in it, but I’m not sure how traditional yellow dal is with them. I contemplated carrots too, but I actually stayed pretty strict to the recipe this time.

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Alongside the korma (made with chicken and onion) and the daal, we had aromatic basmati rice (of course!) made in the rice cooker with 3 cardamom pods, 2 cloves and a dash or 3 of ground cinnamon (I was out of cinnamon sticks). This rice also makes a fabulous rice pudding, as it’s already somewhat seasoned.

Aromatic Basmati Rice

• 1.5 cups basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• 3 cardamom pods
• 2 whole cloves
• 1/2 cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon)

Wash the rice thoroughly. Put it into the rice cooker with the water and spices and let it soak for 30+ minutes. Cook it until the water has all evaporated off.

That was easy.

If you want rice pudding, however, keep some of it aside. In a heavy-bottomed pot warm some heavy cream until it almost begins to curdle. Add vanilla extract, the rice and some strongly brewed chai. Boil down until it gets to the consistency you want – some like it thicker, some thinner. I usually add some dried fruit and slivered almonds to it also. Golden raisins are good, as are cranberries or cherries.

Ta-da – dessert is served as well!

We made naan to go with it ll, and a salad of napa cabbage, cucumbers and carrots with a sweet chili & vinegar dressing.

I’ll publish a naan recipe when I find one I love. This one wasn’t bad – especially as it only had 4 ingredients – but it isn’t “The Naan Recipe” that I’m still searching for.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes as much as we did… I think I’ll go have me some leftovers!

After looking through a myriad of sites for the perfect daal recipe, I stumbled across the following recipe over at route79.com and I assure you it is a keeper.  Better than most of the daal I have had at restaurants!  Even the kids had thirds…

Yellow Daal

• 1/2 cup split yellow daal lentils (mung beans)
• water to cover by 1″
• 1/2 large sweet onion – finely chopped
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1.5 tsp. turmeric
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• 2 tsp. coriander
• 1/5 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 cloves garlic – diced
• approx. 1 tsp. shredded ginger
• 7 oz. diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. butter

The original recipe has some approximations, but I have given you what we used.  It also called for chilis, which would have been a great addition, but the girls wouldn’t have eaten it.  It also calls for fresh coriander leaves to put on top, but I don’t have any of those around.

Wash the daal in cool water and strain off.  Put it into a pot with enough water to cover it by an inch.  Add all of the spices, onion, garlic and ginger (and chilis if using) – basically everything but the butter.

Cook it over medium-high heat, at a vigorous simmer for about 1 hour, checking it often to stir and add water as needed.  It will cook off the water quickly, so you’ll need to add more.  Our dal was softened after an hour, but yours may need more time.  Cook it this way until the dal is softened and the sauce is thick.

When it’s done, add the butter (or ghee preferably) and let it melt in.  Stir and serve!

~~ Some changes I will try next time:  add potatoes.  I really love daal with potatoes in it, but I’m not sure how traditional yellow dal is with them.  I contemplated carrots too, but I actually stayed pretty strict to the recipe this time.

This is a wonderful fragrant rice to serve alongside any dish, but especially Indian cooking.

• 1.5 cups basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• 3 cardamom pods
• 2 whole cloves
• 1/2 cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon)

Wash the rice thoroughly.  Put it into the rice cooker with the water and spices and let it soak for 30+ minutes.  Cook it until the water has all evaporated off.

That was easy.

If you want rice pudding, however, keep some of it aside.  In a heavy-bottomed pot warm some heavy cream until it almost begins to curdle.  Add vanilla extract, the rice and some strongly brewed chai.  Boil down until it gets to the consistency you want – some like it thicker, some thinner.  I usually add some dried fruit and slivered almonds to it also.  Golden raisins are good, as are cranberries or cherries.

Ta-da – dessert is served as well!

If you happen to have a bounty of fresh berries around, this is a great late Summer drink – and you can put it up to use through the cold winter months.

• 2.5 lbs fresh, ripe berries – about 6 pints. Use a mix of fruits for the best flavor.
• 2 cups water
• 1.5 – 2 cups sugar (preservative)

Combine the berries and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce to med-low and gently simmer until berries burst and release their juice – about 20-30 minutes.

Transfer cooked berried into a jelly bag. Suspend the bag over a large bowl and let the juice drip through. DO NOT squeeze the bag, as it will cloud the juice. Let the berries drain completely – about 1.5 – 2 hours.

Fill a large stockpot or canner 3/4 full with water and bring to a simmer. Heat clean, empty bottles in the simmering water (190F)

Transfer strained juice to a medium saucepan over med-low heat. Add the sugar – at least 1/4 cup sugar for every cup juice. Stir to dissolve – about 5 minutes.
Skim the top of the berry mixture to remove froth.

Both the water and the juice need to be at 190F – a bare simmer. Remove the bottles from the water and fill to the top. Cap tightly and return to the hot water bath, making sure they are completely submerged. After a full 10 minutes remove the bottles and let cool.

If any bottles don’t seal properly, refrigerate them and use up within 2 weeks.

This can be added to lemonade for a wonderful berry lemonade (or limeade) or can be saved to drink when fresh berries are just a fond memory. Some people like to add it to sparkling water as well for a fizzy fruit drink.

• 1.5 cups melted clarified butter
• 1/2 cup oil
• 40 leaves phillo dough
• 4 cups finely ground nuts – your preference
• cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, etc to taste
• 1.5 cups evaporated cane juice (sugar)
• 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp brown rice syrup or honey

Mix butter and oil.  Cut dough to the shape of the baking pan by laying the pan on top of the stacked dough and cutting off excess.

Combine the finely ground nuts with spices.

Butter the inside of the baking dish.  Gently place one leaf of dough into the pan, fitting it carefully along the bottom of the pan (the dough is very fragile, so fold them to pick up and unfold them into the pan).  Brush with butter and oil mixture.  Continue placing sheets of phillo one at a time, buttering each one, up to 10 sheets.

Sprinkle 3 Tbsp of nut mixture on the tenth leaf.  Open 2 more sheets of dough on top of nuts, buttering each.  Repeat with the nut mixture and two more sheets until all are used up.  As soon as the last 2 sheets are used, brush with butter and oil.

With a very sharp knife, lightly score the top of the pastry lengthwise into four then draw the knife across diagonally to make diamond-shapes.  Bake at 325F for 90 minutes.

Combine the lemon, syrup and sugar in a saucepan.  Cook until the sugar dissolves.  Boil for 5 minutes, or until a drop forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water.  Remove from heat and stir water into syrup.  Cool.

When the pastry is baked, remove from oven and pour the syrup over it.  Cool to room temp and serve.

If you aren’t Norwegian – or know someone who is – you may have never heard of lefse, but if you have, you know that this is a tasty treat that goes with both sweet and savory.

Lefse can best be described as a Norwegian flat bread, not unlike tortillas. It is often made with potatoes, but not always.

There are only two warnings… it takes all day long to make it, and it usually disappears quickly (especially if there are any Norwegians hanging around) but if you hide it in time it does freeze well.

Without further ado… a small collection of lefse recipes for you to choose from.

Potato-Free Lefse

• 1.5 quarts sour cream (3 lbs.) (4 cups =1 qt)
• 2 quarts buttermilk
• 1 lb. butter
• 4 tsp. baking soda
• 2.5 cups sugar
• 6 whole eggs
• 6 egg yolks
• 3 tsp. salt
• 15 lbs flour – 10 lbs for dough, 5 lbs for rolling

Melt butter while mixing wet ingredients except eggs. Mix some flour with the butter to keep it from curdling.

Combine the salt, soda and sugar and beat into the eggs.

Mix everything together.

Take a piece of dough and roll it out on a floured surface into a large circle that will fit onto your griddle, rolling it as thin as possible. Bake on a griddle over medium heat until light brown, turning frequently to prevent scorching. Stack them between clean cloths to keep them from drying out.

*Courtesy of Lee Oswald

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Potato Lefse

• 5 large potatoes
• 1/2 cup sweet cream
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• flour to roll thin

Boil potatoes and mash very fine (a ricer works well) and add cream, butter and salt. Beat until light and let cool. Add flour. Take a piece of dough and roll out into a circle like pie crust, making sure to roll it as thinly as possible. Bake on a griddle until light brown, turning frequently to prevent scorching. When baked, place between clean cloths to keep them from drying out.

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Krina Lefse

Step one:

• 3 large sifters of flour (about 5 cups in each sifter)
• 1 cup melted shortening
• 4 cups fine graham flour

Combine the above ingredients with lukewarm water, adding just enough so dough can be rolled out farily thin. Roll out as for other lefse, but bake on one side only until a very light brown. This makes a large quantity – about 36 large round lefse.

Step two:

When lefse are all baked, prepare the following mixture.

• 1 cup dark syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter
• 2 egg whites
• flour to make a fairly thick batter

Beat eggs & combine with the other ingredients. Spread over each lefse with a spatula. Spread lefse one at a time and bake in a hot oven for a few minutes, just enough to brown slightly around the edges. Bake on one side only.

Pile lefse with coated sides together, and put a weight on top of them until they are cold. Then remove the weight and sprinkle a little water over lefse to keep them from breaking.

Put them away – keeping coated sides apart to prevent sticking.

These lefse will keep indefinitely if kept in a dry place.

When ready to use, hold each lefse under cold water, letting water fun over both sides, then place between clean cloths until soft enough to use. They may have to be soaked twice. When soft, spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon. Put 2 lefse together and cut wedge shaped like a pie.

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Swedish Flat Bread

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sweet milk
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1.5 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup flour for rolling

Cream the butter and sugar together. Combine dry ingredients, making sure to break up any chunks in the baking powder and soda. Beat the eggs into the milk. Combine everything together to form a dough ball.

Roll small pieces of dough very thinly into circles. Bake quickly on a griddle over medium-high heat.

*our friend John’s Grandma’s recipe

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As you can see, there are many variations to the basic recipe, but they are all wonderful. Our favorite ways to eat them around here are with butter, cinnamon and sugar, or with lingonberry jam. They also pair well with savory dishes as a bread to sop up juices.

I haven’t tried to make a healthier version yet, but I would think that you could use coconut oil in place of the shortening or butter in these – if you got the version that tastes like coconut it would be unexpected, but very good. You should also be able to replace the cream or buttermilk with coconut cream or kefir. If you use a recipe that doesn’t use eggs, it would be very easy to make it vegan.

Each recipe makes a goodly sized batch, so wrap some of it in plastic wrap and freeze it. Just take it out and set it on the counter to thaw. You can also refrigerate it to keep it longer. I find though that if I don’t freeze some right away, it tends to get put away into bellies rather quickly.

Enjoy!