Gorditas de Harina

 This is like my secret recipe. I feel weird to share it, but then again, I love you all. So here it is. Gorditas are kind of like a mix between a tortilla and a pita. It is a little pocket you fill with delicious meats or beans. Gorditas de harina means gorditas made from flour. Most places you can find make Groditas from corn. This one tiny area from Cody's mission in Mexico made these flour Gorditas and he loved them, so I found this recipe that he says reminds him of Gorditas from his mission. (Win!)

If the directions are confusing you will have to ask me and I can show you.

INGREDIENTS

• ▢2 pounds all-purpose flour, approximately 6 2/3 cups
• ▢1 tablespoon baking powder
• ▢1 teaspoon salt
• ▢½ cup lard
• ▢1 cup water
• ▢1 cup milk

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Place a comal (griddle or cast-iron skillet) over medium heat and allow it to heat up.
• In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Add the lard and combine until you have the consistency of small crumbs.
• In a small pot combine water and milk and heat until warm, but do not bring to a boil.
• Add the warm liquid and mix well with your hand. The mixture may be a little sticky. Knead on a cutting board or smooth counter until dough is pliable and springy. Sprinkle with flour if dough is too sticky.
• Form 2 to 2½-inch dough balls. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough balls to form 5 to 6-inch disks. If dough is sticky, sprinkle board and rolling pin with flour to make it easier to roll out the dough.
• As you roll out each disk, place on the hot comal to cook, it will take 1 minute or less on each side. Press down gently on it with a rolled up kitchen towel to cook evenly. After cooking the first side, turn gordita over and let it cook on the opposite side.
• As soon as you can handle the gordita, with a sharp knife, make a pocket around the edge, just big enough to fill.
• Keep the gorditas warm in a tortilla warmer or under a clean dish towel while you make the rest.
• Fill gorditas with stuffing of your choice.

Fried Rice

Make sure you have a very big frying pan. It is also pretty essential that you have a non-stick pan. I don't have either of those things and I can still make it work, but it would be a lot easier if you had a wok or something. Food for thought. Also, don't forget to have the rice cold. It does make it so much easier to fry.

I don't follow this recipe exactly when I make it. I use whatever veggies I have on hand and I probably don't make quite this much rice. But this recipe probably makes fried rice better than what I usually do. But follow your heart.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 large eggs, whisked
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and black pepper
• 4 cups cooked and chilled rice (I prefer short-grain white rice)
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3–4 tablespoons soy sauce, or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds or toasted sesame oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large sauté pan* over medium-high heat until melted. Add egg, and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. Remove egg, and transfer to a separate plate.
2. Add an additional 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, peas and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion and carrots are soft. Increase heat to high, add in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the rice, green onions, and soy sauce, and stir until combined. Continue sautéing for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice, stirring occasionally.  (I like to let the rice rest for a bit between stirs so that it can crisp up on the bottom.)  Then add in the eggs and stir to combine. Remove from heat, and stir in the sesame seeds/oil until combined.  Taste and season with extra soy sauce, if needed.
3. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

Easy Teriyaki Chicken

 I have tried to make teriyaki chicken in the past and never liked how it turned out. I saw this recipe and decided maybe to stop being a cheapskate and actually buy chicken thighs instead of using chicken breasts like I always have on hand. It tasted a million times better. So, moral of the story, don't always be a cheapskate! Use thighs. 

Also, my other tip is to use a really good pan. I have now invested in more cast iron and use that when I want my food to actually turn out good. Who knew? Plus we all need more iron in our diet, so here is hoping you all cure your anemia problems by cooking more with cast iron pans.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp water 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger 
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil, divided 
• 1.75 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Prepare the marinade first. Stir together the soy sauce, brown sugar, water, garlic, ginger, and 1 Tbsp of the cooking oil in a bowl.
• Place the chicken in a shallow bowl or dish, then pour the marinade over top. Turn the chicken a couple of times to make sure it's well coated. Let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes to one day (refrigerated), turning the chicken occasionally as it marinates.
• When ready to cook the chicken, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken, discarding the remaining used marinade.
• Cook the chicken for about 5-7 minutes on each side or until cooked through and the liquid in the skillet has reduced to a light coating of glaze on the chicken.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Italian Sausage Bowtie Pasta

I'm just copy/pasting the recipe from a website called lovebakesgoodcakes.com. I am pretty loose with all of my recipes. I substitute things depending on what I have on hand or am willing to buy at the store. I just love this recipe and want to be able to find it easier now!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package (12 oz.) bow tie pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound mild Italian sausage, casings remove
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (28 oz.) Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup packed spinach leaves, cut into thin strips
• Fresh parsley, minced (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet add the olive oil then cook and crumble the sausage and red pepper flakes over medium-high heat until cooked through and browned. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is tender. Add the tomatoes and heavy cream. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana

This is an Olive Garden copycat recipe. I made it tonight, and it was a success. (To accommodate Lizzie's allergies, I pulled out a couple servings before adding the cream. I just put a little almond milk in hers instead.) It's easy and really yummy:

• 1 lb ground hot Italian sausage
• 1 tbsp garlic minced
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 4 russet potato diced
• 1 pinch salt to taste
• 1 pinch black pepper to taste
• 4 cup chicken broth (32 oz)
• water see recipe instructions
• 1 bunch kale stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese shredded (for topping) - I left this out

instructions

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown and crumble hot Italian sausage, about 5-8 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until some of the onion begins to turn opaque (no need to cook onion completely at this point). Drain grease from skillet.
2. In a 6 quart crock pot (or bigger), add cooked sausage & veggies plus the diced potato. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour chicken broth on top. There should be enough broth to cover the tops of the potatoes; if there isn't, add up to 2 cups water so potatoes are covered.
3. Gently stir ingredients, cover crock pot, and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.
4. Remove lid from crock pot and add kale and heavy whipping cream, then stir to combine.
5. Cover crock pot and cook on HIGH for another 30 minutes.
6. Serve zuppa toscana immediately with shredded parmesan cheese as garnish.

Grandma Hadley's Menus

Breakfast Casserole (a.k.a Christmas Morning Casserole)

This is Mom's recipe, that she got from Sister Killian:

• 6 slices bread
• 6 beaten eggs
• 1lb pork sausage (browned & drained) or bacon
• 1 1/2 C grated cheddar cheese
• 2 C half and half or whole milk
• 1 tsp salt
• butter

Remove crust from bread (optional). Spread butter on bread slices. Place bread side by side in buttered 13x9 pan. Sprinkle sausage or bacon over bread. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine eggs, milk, and salt. Mix well and pour over all. Let sit 15 minutes before baking or make the night before and put in fridge. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

May also add 4oz. can green chilies and/or ¼ c. green onions.