by Sara Mitchell

It could be a fault that I could eat mexican food every day, but since I just watched two episodes of America’s Next Top Model I’m going to OWN IT. And smise. 

I often have the standard ingredients for mexican fare lurking around my kitchen minus one or two things. Tonight I was minus tortillas. And beans. But the beauty of the burrito bowl is that it doesn’t matter what you do or don’t have. Because we all know that mexican food is just the same ingredients tossed together in different ways. 

I had over a pound of chicken tenders that needed to be cooked pronto so I salted and peppered them earlier this afternoon and stuck ‘em back in the fridge. This little step is easy to forget but makes a big difference no matter how you plan on cooking your chicken. 

Then I threw a truckload of fresh ingred’s in the blender to make a salsa verde:

• an entire bunch of cilantro cut up minus the stems
• five or six cloves of garlic (could have used 20 more)
• two huge shallots 
• one chopped Anaheim pepper
• two chopped jalapenos (with seeds!)
• one serrano, chopped
• Why does Anaheim get capitalized?
• dry white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc. The grassy flavors go perfectly in a green sauce like this. You may be asking why there is white wine in a salsa. You ask too many questions. Just cook.)
• a little olive oil because a little fat couldn’t hurt

Blend until you have a delicious looking poison-green liquid. 

I cut up the chicken into smaller pieces and then sprinkled with a generous amount of cumin since I had decided this chicken was destined for a burrito bowl. I tossed the chicken and sauce into the slow cooker for a long, beautiful, seductive cooking time of about two hours.

At the end of the two hours I was skeptical about how well the chicken was cooked. I poured everything into a nice, heavy pot and brought it to a boil for a few minutes and then covered it and turned the heat down low. It smelled like a mermaid/unicorn/latin princess party. Awesome.

I chopped up a big heirloom tomato and threw it in the rice cooker along with half a cup of jasmine rice, a cup of water, salt and cumin. And garlic powder.

Assembling a burrito bowl is like making a plate at an all-you-can-eat buffet except you pile everything on top of each other and it’s actually going to taste good and you aren’t at a buffet and you won’t die of a sodium overdose and there is no soft-serve machine or sprinkles and the carpet doesn’t smell like a daycare after a trip to the community pool.

Tonight’s burrito bowl (in order of appearance):

• Leal’s seasoned tortilla chips
• Chopped chicken dancing in a pool of salsa verde
• Homemade mexican rice
• Mixed greens
• Lime juice
• Shredded knock-you-on-your-ass cheddar cheese

Last time I made this the rice was cilantro-lime like at Chipotle (oh how I freaking miss you out here in the desert!!!) I hope this has inspired you Fudging It lovelies to not fret when you don’t have all the right ingredients. 

This is the most decadent chocolate cake I have ever eaten, and certainly the best I’ve made. Ina Garten has this recipe in one of her cookbooks, but I just use the one off of foodnetwork.com

The cake is so moist and the icing is so luscious and creamy. It has been excellent everytime I’ve made it. Ina always says that adding fresh brewed coffee really enhances the chocolate. Boy is she right! It doesn’t taste coffee-ish at all to me. Which wouldn’t bother me either way. I tried to take some “real” shots of the kitchen while I was at work. And the must lick spoon! And I get my fill of the leftover icing before I call in the kids and husband!  You must make this cake!

If you notice the date, I made it for Easter Lunch. Just getting around to posting!

And finally... the best part!

by Nancy Mitchell

Feeling like tequila? Here’s a nice little alternative to a margarita. I first spotted this drink on the excellent cocktail menu at Beaver’s Icehouse, and was immediately intrigued by the combination of tequila and creme de cassis*. I was surprised when the waiter told me it was a classic cocktail. Sure enough, the El Diablo cocktail made its debut in Trader Vic’s Book of Food and Drink way back in 1946. Here’s my version of this old classic.

*Creme de cassis is a purple liqueur flavored with blackcurrants, a kind of berry that grows in europe. It’s relatively inexpensive, and also makes for a very delicious and very pretty champagne cocktail.

El Diablo
1 1/2 oz tequila
1/2 oz creme de cassis
1/2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 oz ginger ale

Combine the tequila, cassis, and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass and top with the ginger ale. (Most recipes don’t specify a quantity of ginger ale, but this sort of drives me crazy, seeing as “top” could be very different depending on the size of your glass. I find 1.5 oz to be about right.)

Garnish with a slice of lime, if you’re feeling extra fancy. Cheers!

Find more of Nancy’s delicious drink recipes on her blog, The Backyard Bartender.

by Sara Mitchell

In any social circle there is always someone heralded by all as the best cook ever. The proof is that their contributions to pot luck occasions are always mind-blowingly delectable.

“OMG, please tell us the recipe to this orgasmic hominy-and-cheese casserole!”

You get the point. You work with these people or go to Bible Study with them. You can’t wait till next year when you can once again have their famous Fourth of July Jello Salad. Or maybe you are the Pot Luck Cooking Goddess. (Will you submit a post to Fudging It, please? What’s your secret?)

But by the same logic, if one is only as good of a cook as one’s contribution to a public smorgasbord is, then I am a lousy cook. Wretched, actually. I believe it is because I am cursed. I am cursed to a lifetime of miserable bowls and plates of barely picked over cookies, salads and side dishes. I cannot cook for others outside of my home. That’s just the way it is.

The first time I worked in an office I was psyched to show off my mad skills at a random office party. One rainy morning I emerged from my bachelorette pad with a cakebox full of chocolate cupcakes. I slipped down the stairs, catapulting my cakes through the air and onto the sidewalk one floor down. Ruined? Oh no, I would not be defeated. Whereas I should have thrown them away and claimed I forgot about the party, I triumphantly re-iced the less damaged ones and walked into the lunch hour party with a platter of messy, gloppy chocolate cupcakes that a first grader could have claimed. I think two people tried them.

For another office party I revisited a fantastic au gratin I had made before. The rubbery and sour dish that emerged was not something that would ever win me the title of “greatest” anything. Except maybe “greatest loser.” 

Here in Roswell there have been umpteen occasions to bring food. And since I think I’m the bomb in my own kitchen, I always hope I’ll break my curse and bring the “it” food to some event. This… has never happened. 

My spicy vodka penne has been a cold, damp tomato mess at parties. My green chili sausage balls that are so warm and heavenly at home have been rock hard little canon balls in public. And today… what should have been a fresh and crispy Santa Fe Quinoa Salad was a room temperature gooey mess.

What should have been a fail-proof dish turned into a complete flop when I doubled the quinoa without realizing that it would need quadruple the time to cook. Minutes before I needed to leave the house with a salad in hand, I was spooning soaking quinoa onto paper towels praying that the towels would soak up the excess water. Curses!

I know I should accept my fate by now and just bring store bought platters to parties. That would be wise. Why get so worked up over what I cannot change? 

I share this with you in the hopes that some of you ladies can relate. And if you have any “fails,” know that Fudging It welcomes those stories, too. 

by Nicole Munroe

I remember a television commercial in the 90’s that talked about being on a deserted island all a girl would need is concealer, lipstick, and mascara. If I were going into some sort of mystery kitchen and I could only bring 3 things, I would bring salt, some sort of cheese, and garlic powder. I put garlic powder in [almost] everything.

The way my mother taught me is to lightly coat the top surface of your food (while cooking). Depending on what it is though, I might do two coats.

Garlic powder reduces the tang in food by adding a certain warmth and depth that cannot be substituted with anything else. It’s also great at covering up mistakes. There has been more than one occasion where I really “fudged” something up and garlic powder saved the day. I just keep adding it until it neutralizes my food.

I always keep a huge container in my pantry, as well as a jar of minced garlic in my fridge. Why both? Well, I used the minced when I want a garlic flavor. Powdered garlic works as more of a “secret ingredient”. Garlic salt, on the other hand, has no place in my home.

Here are some more specific uses:

Breakfast: Hash browns or potatoes in, let’s say, potato and egg tacos.

Lunch: Any and all soups.

Dinner: Coat a roast with garlic powder and salt before pan searing to lock in juices and flavor. Add it to any canned vegetable and the metallic taste magically disappears. Add it to fish to take away some of that “fishiness”.

The next time you’re cooking and you feel like your dish is missing a little something, I urge you to try garlic powder. 

Nicole Munroe obsesses over garlic in Austin, TX.

by Danielle Clardy

Hey there! I’ve come to share a Saturday night dinner with you, which is currently digesting as we speak. This is probably the only recipe I’ve come up with on my own and not adapted from someone else, so it’s a little abstract, but I will do my best to make sure my instructions don’t get lost in translation.

Preheat your oven to 400 f and heat up a tbsp of olive oil in a large saute pan for the pork chops. Prepare your asparagus by washing and snapping off the ends, then throw in a baking pan with sides-no cookie sheets here! Season with kosher salt and fresh black pepper, four pats of butter, a sprinkling of brown sugar and juice of half a lemon. It should look like this…

Pop it in the oven (It will be in there around 20 minutes) while you prepare the porkchops. Chop some fresh rosemary:

And then season your pork chops with the rosemary, kosher salt, and pepper. Don’t be stingy on the salt please. Brown them and then put ‘em in a stack set to the side.

Then you need this stuff, find it in the mexican food section.

This stuff is good! Put it in the pan with all the drippings and let it reduce over medium heat. After about 5 minutes, add a half cup of milk and juice of half a lemon, and continue to let that reduce stirring frequently.

When the sauce has thickened considerably turn down to low and put the porkchops in for about 15 minutes.

While the pork chops simmer, turn the broiler on for the asparagus and cook about 5 minutes (watch it closely) and remove from the oven.

Serve the pork chops with sauce on top. It’s delish!

Love,

Danielle Clardy lives in Arlington, Texas and teaches elementary music.

by Natalie Renfro

It’s Easter weekend and the first Easter I have not been able to be with my family due to now living 1,000 miles away in Indianapolis. I of course became homesick just at the thought of not being able to watch the children in my family hunt for eggs after our 40+ person family devoured a table of food big enough to feed a small army.

I started thinking of comfort foods and for some reason my Nana’s Squash Casserole popped into my mind and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I didn’t have the recipe on hand so I turned to the next best thing: Paula Deen. I halved the recipe since it would just be me but it turned out fabulous. The recipe is almost spot on to how Billy Jean makes it though I can’t quite point out the differences. It was hot, creamy, cheesy and buttery. Just what the doctor ordered!

Squash Casserole:

6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini

Vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon House seasoning, recipe follows 

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Ritz)

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

[Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months]

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside.

In a medium size skillet, saute the onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

I modified a couple of things. For one, I used olive oil since I didn’t have any vegetable oil on hand. Secondly, I seasoned my vegetables while they sauteed because I think this helps bring out more of their flavor. Last, I didn’t necessarily use her ‘House Seasoning’. I just used some seasoned pepper, sea salt and a little garlic powder to taste. No real specific measurements of any of them.

Oh, and I threw a handful of cheese on before topping with crushed crackers. YUM!

Natalie is a newly-minted RN recently transplanted to Indiana.