Crazy Girl's Kitchen

Get ready:

• 3 Tsp canola oil
• Meat of a 3-lb rotisserie chicken, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 Tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tsp chili powder
• 2 14-oz cans of diced tomato
• 16 corn tortillas
• 3 Tsp canola oil
• 1 Tsp flour
• 3 Tsp chili powder
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 14-oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar
• 1 cup shredded Pepper Jack
• salt & pepper

Now let’s play:

Heat up oil in a large saute pan. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, cumin and chili powder. Saute till onion is translucent. Add chicken and diced tomato. Cook through. Then set aside. In a sauce pan, heat up the other 3 Tsp of oil and whisk in flour till well combined. Add the next five ingredients and cook through. Microwave tortillas for 30 seconds while setting oven temperature to 350F.  Ladle some sauce into a large roasting pan to cover the bottom. Roll up a tortilla with about 4-6 Tsp of chicken mix and place it in the roasting pan. Repeat with the rest. Pour the rest of sauce over rolled-up tortillas and sprinkle cheese on the top. Transfer into the oven and cook till cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling. Cool for 15 minutes then serve (about 8 servings).

After-play thoughts:

I don’t recommend making too many ahead of time as tortillas can get mushy after sitting in the sauce too long even when refrigerated.

Get ready:

• 1 rotisserie chicken meat, roughly chopped
• 2 Tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium celery, sliced
• 3 carrots, halved and sliced
• 1 lb lentil, rinsed and drained
• 1 Tsp dried tarragon
• 8 cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Heat up oil in a large stock pot. Add diced onion and a pinch of salt; saute for 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots; saute for another 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to broil. Add lentil and let simmer for 25 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken meat and tarragon. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve (6-8 servings).

After-play thoughts:

This is soup is great for chili weather, busy schedule, or weight control.

Get ready:

• 2 1-lb pork tenderloins
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 olive oil
• 1 Tsp dried tarragon leaves
• 1 Tsp pepper
• 2 Tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tsp olive oil

Now let’s play:

Combine all ingredients in a large ziploc bag and marinade for 2 hours in the fridge. When time is up, heat up oil in a large cast iron skillet and sear all sides of tenderloins till golden brown. Then place the skillet in a 400F oven for 8-10 minutes till pork is cooked through. Slice and serve (4-6 servings).

After-play thoughts:

Leave the pork tenderloins in the marinade too long can overwhelm the nature taste of pork. If you have to, take the pork tenderloins out of the marinade after 1 hour and place them in a covered container without rinsing.

Get ready:

• 1.5lb ground beef
• 2 Tsp canola oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 Tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cayenne
• 1 Tsp dried cilantro
• 1 14oz can tomato sauce
• 1 16oz can black beans, drained
• 40 tortilla chips
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Heat up canola oil in a large saute pan. Season ground beef with salt and pepper. Brown and break apart the beef with a spatula till no longer red. Add onion and saute for another 3 minutes. Add chili powder, ground cumin, and ground cayenne. Saute for another 2 minutes. Add beans and tomato sauce. Cook for 3 minutes. Fold in dried cilantro leaves. Spread tortilla chips at the bottom of a large roasting pan. Spoon on half of cooked mixture on top of the chips evenly. Top off with cheese and scatter jalapeno slices over the cheese. Place the whole thing under a broiler (set on high) for about 3-5 minutes or until cheese melted. To serve, using a lasagna server to scoop out a small portion onto a plate. Then scoop out another small portion and lay it on top of the previous scooped out portion, so each serving has two layers. You can make another batch of nachos with the other half of cooked mix, or store it for later use (about 2-4 dinner servings).

After-play thoughts:

It’s a quite lean dish if you opt for 90% or above lean ground beef.

Get ready:

• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon granulated onion
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 3 racks of baby back ribs, about 8lb

Now let’s play:

Preheat oven at 300F. Mix all the ingredients well in a container. Place the ribs on sheet pans, and rub the mix generously over the ribs (pad down the mix onto the ribs). Then park in the oven for 3-3.5 hours.

After-play thoughts:

You can always make the rub mix in a larger batch for future uses.

Get ready:

• 3 lb ground beef
• 1 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 3 whole large eggs, whisked
• 1 Tsp dried basil
• 1 Tsp dried parsley
• 1 Tsp garlic powder
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup plain bread crumbs

Now let’s play:

Mix all the ingredients together by hand, and then use palms to form into 1.5-inch balls (make about 48 balls). Bake in a 400F oven for 20-25 minutes.

After-play thoughts:

Thanks to Alton Brown’s perennial effort of turning gadgets into multitaskers, mini-muffin pans are hands down the best tool for the job. The pans promote even proportion (meatballs should just fit comfortably into each cup) and even browning while holding the shape. If you use those pans that make 24 mini-muffins per pan, this recipe conveniently makes 2 pans of meatballs.

Get ready:

• 1 5lb pork shoulder, bone-in and skin-on preferred
• 4 Tsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 10 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8 anise seeds, crushed
• 20 peppercorn, crushed
• 3 Tsp grounded ginger
• 1 cups dark Chinese soy sauce
• 2 cups light Chinese soy sauce
• 1/2 cup fish sauce
• 1/4 cup Chinese vinegar
• 1/2 cup Chinese cooking wine
• 2 cups sugar
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:
Mix well dark and light Chinese soy sauce, fish sauce, Chinese vinegar, and Chinese cooking wine. Heat up 2 Tsp oil in a large dutch oven. Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper,  and then brown the entire pork shoulder when the oil is hot (skin sides first). Set the pork shoulder aside. Add remaining oil, diced onion, and saute for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic, crushed anise seed, crushed peppercorn, and grounded ginger. Saute for another 2 minutes. Add the pork shoulder back to dutch oven. Pour in mixed sauce and sugar. Add water until the pork shoulder is barely covered. Put the lid on, and bring to broil. Turn down the heat to medium low, and cook for 2.5-3 hours. To serve, pull the pork shoulder apart into chunks and drizzled with sauce (4-6 servings).

After-play thoughts:

This is a very authentic Chinese festival holiday dish. It’s totally fine to strain and then freeze the cooking liquid for future use. If you find skin too fatty, feel free to discard it when serving.

Get Ready:

• 1 lb Rotini Pasta, cooked
• 1.5 lb broccoli florets, cooked
• 2 Tsp granulated garlic
• 1 Tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp dried basil leaves
• 3/4 cup sliced black olives
• 5 Tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Toss everything together.

After-play thougths:

I think Rotini is the best shape of pasta for this recipe, but you can substitute it with any other shape desired. Also, there are couple of ways to cook broccoli – saute, bake, blanch, steam, etc. The best and simplest way I find is to use a very large pot for cooking pasta, pour broccoli into the pot 3 minutes before the pasta is done, and then drain the whole thing.

Get ready:

• 1 Tsp salt
• 1/2 Tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tsp onion powder
• 1 Tsp garlic powder
• 3 Tsp paprika
• 1 Tsp chili powder
• 1 Tsp cayenne
• 1 Tsp brown sugar
• 1 Tsp ground cumin seed
• 1 tsp ground fennel seed
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cup ketchup
• 8 Tsp packed dark brown sugar
• 2 Tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tsp cayenne
• 1 7lb pork blade roast
• 3 tsp olive oil

Now let’s play:

Preheat the oven to 250F. Mix the first eleven ingredient together in a bowl. Rub to mix onto the pork blade roast. Place the roast in a large roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, then place the whole thing on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Roast for 10-12 hours. Take it out of the oven, and let it rest. Meanwhile, assemble the next six ingredients. Microwave for 2 minutes and then stir till well combined. Pull the pork apart. Mix in half of the sauce evenly. Serve immediately, as entry or on the bun, with the rest of the sauce on the side as a condiment (12-14 servings).

After-play thoughts:

Please do not open the oven door during the first at least 10 hours of roasting. After 10 hours, only open the door if you are not sure about the doneness, but the cases are the roast can be cooked for 12 hours straight.

Get ready:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup flour
• 5 Tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried  tarragon
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 Tsp tomato paste
• 3 cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Preheat oven at 350F. Split chicken breasts lengthwise into half. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dredge in the flour till well coated. Heat up 2 Tsp olive oil in a large saute pan and brown 4 chicken breast halves. Repeat with the rest. Rest browned pieces in a 13*9 baking dish. Add the last Tsp olive oil to the saute pan and saute diced onion for 2 minutes. Add garlic and carrots. Saute for 3 minutes. Add celery, and saute for 1 minute. Add white wine, and scrape off the brown bites off the bottom of the pan. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Add chicken stock into the baking dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Serve chicken breast halves with baking liquid (6-8 servings).

After-play thoughts:

You can strain the baking liquid and make gravy of it.