How to Make Chiles Rellenos

Okay, so I decided to make a dish I had seen my Mom make a million times before, chiles rellenos! They were easy and delicious! Here's how you do it. Take several types of peppers, I chose some miniature bell peppers but you can use anaheim or poblano chiles. First things first you roast the peppers either over open flame on a gas burner or under the broiler on high for a few minutes. When the peppers are black and blistered all over place them in a bowl and cover with a plate or some plastic wrap and let them steam till the peppers cool enough to handle. The skins should slip right off. If the pepper has not already split from the heat cut a small slit down one side of the pepper, pull out the seeds and the membranes as best you can and set the peppers aside. In a small mixing bowl beat 2 egg whites till light and foamy then fold in the 2 beaten yolks. Heat an inch or two of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. When a tiny bit of the egg batter dropped into the oil cooks and floats to the top immediately it means the oil is at the right temperature. While the oil is heating place some white mild cheese into each pepper, taking care not to over stuff. Possible cheeses you could use are queso fresco, queso blanco or even mozzarella. Take each pepper and place it into the egg mixture and then put the pepper into the hot oil. Turn the pepper once so that it gets browned on both sides, when cooked place pepper on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Sprinkle with a large grained salt like kosher or sea salt. EAT! Wash it down with a nice hard apple cider for maximum effect!

Hope everyone reading this is okay.

I mean, I always hope that, but today I am particularly hoping you have shelter and power and you are safe and dry and warm. I am a hurricane veteran at this point, but I know if you are not they can be very scary and disconcerting. Heck, they are still scary and disconcerting to me, but in a familiar type of way by this point.

As far as the weather here; it was so hot today, the kind of numbing, "NO! I am not doing ANYTHING today!" heat that makes cooking kind of a bummer. However I picked myself up and marched myself into the kitchen to make one of my favorite foods in the world, migas! Migas is an egg based dish, usually served at breakfast where you sauté a variety of vegetables (any combo of onion, bell peppers and chopped tomatoes) in oil, add beaten eggs, strips of fried corn tortillas and top with soft Mexican cheese. YUM! So good. And it cooks very quickly so a good dinner for tonight.

I checked the fridge... two eggs. TWO EGGS? We just bought 2 1/2 dozen eggs like last week! Lord, we have been eating eggs a lot recently. But eggs are so perfect aren't they? Gorgeous little proteins, they can be prepared a variety of ways, they cook quickly with little effort and they can be everything from a hearty breakfast to a decadent dessert (meringue cookies anyone?) So it was time to back up and punt.

I had already chopped some onion and bell pepper for my migas so I sauteed them with a dash of salt in some olive oil and decided to make some pasta sauce. I scoured the freezer for some likely source of protein and found some frozen turkey sausage patties, I chopped them up with my big kitchen knife, still frozen and threw them into the pan with my veggies and stirred them till they were brown and sizzling, then I added a jar of fancy basil pasta sauce I got from my MIL (mother in law).

I made a big pot of boiling salted water, cooked some whole wheat penne pasta and dinner was ready in about 20 minutes.

Stay safe, stay dry and see you later!

Veggie Oven Omelet and Honey Biscuits

Veggie Oven Omelet

Eggs
Cream
Cheese
Onions
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Garlic
Basil
Salt
Pepper

Beat 2 eggs per (adult) person in a bowl with a small amount of cream or half and half or milk (proportional to the eggs). Saute some sliced mushrooms, onions and garlic in olive oil. Grate zucchini and salt it, let it stand a few minutes and then wring it out in cheesecloth or several thicknesses of paper towels. Season the sauteed veggies with salt, pepper and basil. Add parmesan and mozzarella to the eggs,or whatever cheeses suit you. Then add all the veggies to the eggs. Place everything in a greased 8 inch round cake pan and bake it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.


Homemade Honey Biscuits

2 c. white wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. butter/shortening
1/2 c. honey
3/4 c. milk
1 egg

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in oil, honey, milk and egg. Mix enough to moisten dry ingredients completely. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees on a lightly greased baking sheet 10-12 minutes until golden brown.