This recipe is slightly inspired by Multi Award Winning Chef Rick Bayless. I was watching him on TV using masa flour mixed with water. Then he just rolled it out…He put a leaf on it for flavor that I can’t get near me and then he spread refried beans on it and somehow made it into nice rectangular cube shapes. I think he called them some sort of Tamales? So I took the idea and rolled mesa flour dough spread with beans and rolled it like a jelly roll and stuffed them into Anaheim peppers for flavor. Then they got topped with salsa. In a little while latter I had these really cool Refried Bean Tamale Style Peppers. For serving they were topped with a little cojita cheese and some fresh cilantro. You can even bump it up a level by pouring your favorite Mexican Style Stewed Meat over it. This was this easy dish that really can wow people.

Ingredients for 4 servings

1 cup masa flour (NO SUBSTITUTIONS…..it won’t come out and won’t taste right either)

3/4 cup water

8 Tablespoons refried beans (about 3/4 can)

4 Anaheim peppers – slit the middle and cut across the stem so you can remove membrane with seeds and it also makes it easier to insert masa roll)

1 cup salsa

4 Tablespoons cojita cheese – crumbled

4 teaspoons fresh cilantro – (torn leaves)

Directions

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix one cup masa flour and 3/4 cup water and mix well and then knead well. Cut the dough in half and in half again. Make each quarter into a dough ball.

Get out a rolling mat.

Over the mat pull out a piece of plastic wrap and place it on the mat.

Place one dough ball on the plastic wrap and flatten it the best you can with your hands. Go over it a little bit with a rolling pin to get it better. Spread about 2 tablespoons of refried across the flattened masa dough. Use the plastic wrap to help pull up the dough to help you make this into a jelly roll shape.

Roll it all the way and place in pepper…..Don’t worry if it crumbles…it will turn out great! Repeat till you’re done. Place peppers on a baking sheet.

Cover each pepper with salsa.

Cover baking with foil. This goes in a preheated 400 degree F over for 30 minutes and then gets uncovered and goes back in for about 15 minutes to brown some.

Then you top it with a little cojita cheese and a little fresh cilantro.

When you cut it open it looks like this.

Yummy Delish! It taste Forking Great! Everyone will love this and it was Forking EZ too!

Next one came out prettier…

After I made the Arroz Con Pollo I was thinking that this was easy quick and delicious. Why don’t I make more chicken this way. So here is Mediterranean Style Chicken. Just brown the chicken on all sides and put to the side. (you can do in either a fry pan or just broil) You add the drippings from the pan and sauté the vegetables till soft add two cups of broth bring to boil, shut off heat add Israeli Couscous pour into pan, add back chicken, cover and an hour or so later you have a pretty nice Forking EZ delicious meal! Since I wrote this recipe I noticed that timings do differ greatly. It’s necessary to use a thermometer when you make this dish. The chicken must have reached at least 165 degrees F……….but I prefer the chicken to reach 180 degrees……it’s more fall apart tender and a lot of stuff I don’t like melts out. I also need to note by cooking the chicken this was the skin will not be crisp enough for most people to eat but the chicken will come out delicious and tender.

Ingredients for about 6 servings

4 lbs chicken quarters (I used three large quarters)

salt to taste (for browning chicken)

pepper to taste (for browning chicken)

granulated garlic to taste (for browning chicken)

1 cup celery – chopped

1 cup bell pepper – chopped (I used assorted)

1 large onion – chopped

4 carrots – chopped

13 garlic cloves – chopped fine

1 Tablespoon soup base – chicken or vegetable (this is instead of salt)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

15oz can tomatoes plus a little water to clean out can

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 small sprig fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

6 oz Israeli Couscous

1/4 cup fresh parley leaves (only leaves) – chopped to finish

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Chicken needs to be salt, peppered and also coated with a little granulated garlic. You can brown in a large fry pan or broil in the oven. Put chicken to the side. Use some of the drippings to fry up the vegetables in a sauce pot.

Put sauce pot on medium high heat and add the celery, bell pepper, onion, carrots, garlic, soup base, black pepper. Stir and cover loosely with foil. A few minutes later stir some more and cover again. When soft add tomatoes with the small amount of water (to clean out can), red pepper flakes and bring to boil and shut off when boiling. Add rosemary, basil, oregano and couscous. Pour in baking dish or pan and add back the chicken and cover tight with foil. This goes in a preheated 350 degree oven on the middle rack until chicken is done. The chicken must reach at least 165 degrees F to be safe to eat. (I prefer the chicken to be at least 180 degrees F….) Check dish in one hour but it might take up to two hours depending on your dish, oven and other items that might be in the oven that will slow the cooking process down.

Finish with fresh parsley.

Serve. The chicken will be moist and delicious and the pan will be full of Delicious couscous mixed with vegetables.

Enjoy! Everyone will enjoy this dish.

Lately I’m on a roll browning up chicken quarters, cooking up vegetables adding a starch and about an hour or so later we get a delicious meal with flavorful moist tender delicious chicken that’s a complete meal. Actually these EZ one pan recipes make about 6 meals. This one is a bit spicy …….like a 3.5 out of five…….but super Forking Delicious! You can add any rice you like but they all come out different. Here I used green rice and it came out like South West Risotto…….but that is because it’s a short rice. If you use long grain rice it will come out more traditional. This came out Forking amazing…..It actually surprised me. In these dishes I do note the chicken skin won’t be crispy enough for most people to eat but the chicken will be moist and delicious! The other thing I need to note is that ovens do differ and the timing can differ. You really need to use a thermometer and make sure your chicken has reached at least 165 degrees F. (but I prefer my dark meat chicken more cooked to at least 180 F so all the stuff melts out)

Ingredients for about 6 servings

4 lbs chicken leg quarters (3 big quarters) ((really anywhere between 3 something – 4lbs)

salt to taste for chicken (the way you normally salt your chicken)

ground pepper to taste for chicken (the way you normally pepper your chicken)

granulated garlic for the chicken (about double the amount of salt you used)

1 cup celery – chopped

1 cup green pepper – any green pepper you like! they all have different flavors (I used shishito)

1 large onion – chopped

4 jalapeños – chopped (or adjust to your liking)

4 carrots – peeled – chopped

15 garlic cloves – fine chopped

1 Tablespoon soup base (instead of added salt) (vegetable or chicken)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups water

1 cup rice either long grain or green rice (these kind I’ve tested out)

.o7 oz fresh cilantro (leaves and tender stems…looked like about 1/2 cup) – chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley (for finishing)

2 Tablespoons scallions – chopped (for finishing)

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Chicken quarters get sprinkled with salt, pepper and garlic to taste on both sides. You have a choice and can brown in a pan, or broil in a pan because you need the drippings. After you brown up the chicken put it to the side and use some of drippings to cook up your vegetables. (you need this to infuse flavors)

In a sauce pot on medium high heat with drippings add the celery, green pepper, onions, jalapeños, carrots, garlic, soup base, black pepper, cumin, chili powder and oregano. Stir and loosely cover with foil. Stir a few minutes later and loosely cover again. Repeat. Add two cups water and bring to a boil. Then shut off heat. Add the rice and cilantro. Mix. Pour into baking dish or pan and add the chicken and cover tight with foil. Put in your preheated 350 degree oven. This will be done in about an hour or so… (oven timing may indeed differ….rice needs to be cooked and please check chicken with thermometer and it needs to be at least 165 degrees F. to be safe to eat. (I like my dark meat chicken to at least be at 180 F)

When done finish with fresh chopped parsley and scallions.

Serve and enjoy!

Enjoy! Sorry this photo isn’t the best but the dish really does taste Forking Great!

We go out to eat regularly and sometimes my husband will order the meatloaf or meatballs. He always tells me that this meatloaf or meatballs isn’t as good as yours. He doesn’t say it to be nice because he isn’t that way. I don’t know why many ….most…….(BUT NOT ALL)……restaurants serve FORKING AWFUL meatloafs and meatballs that have a bad texture or just aren’t flavored correctly or both problems ………I guess I’ve been making meatloaves and meatballs a bunch of times for lots of years so I can make them in my sleep. Anyways Sprouts Market had a sale on Ground Turkey with $1.99 a lb for three lb. packages and Frys Grocery Store had all kinds of fresh herbs on sale for .59 cents a package so I made individual meatloafs (meatloaves is also correct spelling…I looked it up). The meatloafs freeze well. I like to have meatloafs and meatballs in my freezer so I have a quick easy meal sometimes. I didn’t write down the exact measurements for the sauce I made. I always use either my slow cooked (6 hours) peeled tomatoes that come out very sweet or Italian canned tomatoes. I do usually but not always add a squirt of ketchup, a glug of Worcestershire and a big dash of Franks Red Hot Sauce. Not today but sometimes I add Korean Red Pepper Paste or Jamaican Picapeppa Sauce to the tomatoes for a different taste. These meatloafs come out Flavorful, Moist and Delicious and the extras will freeze and reheat very well. This recipe makes 19.5 meatloafs.

Ingredients for 19 servings

3 lbs ground turkey 85% lean

5.5 oz. shallots – fine chopped

1 celery rib – fine chopped

1 carrot – fine chopped

1/2 red pepper – fine chopped

1 fresno pepper – fine chopped

2 Tablespoons canola oil

2 Tablespoons vegetable base (for flavor and to use less salt)

1 Tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon course sea salt

6 eggs – lightly beaten

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/2 oz fresh basil leaves – well chopped

1/2 oz fine snipped fresh chives

3 cups whole wheat panko bread crumbs

4 Tablespoons water (or turkey stock or turkey drippings if you have any…today I used water and it was enough)

non stick spray

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Get a fry pan on medium high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot add the shallots, celery, carrot, red pepper and Fresno pepper. Cook a few minutes and then stir in the soup base, salt and pepper. Cook till soft and take off the heat and put to the side.

In a BIG mixing bowl add the turkey, eggs, herbs, panko and water mix well. When the fry pan contents with the shallots is cool add them to the turkey mix and mix well.

Spray your baking sheets with non stick spray. Get out a scale and measure 4 ounces of meatloaf mix and make individual meatloafs. Fill up your baking sheets till you are done. You should have 19 and one 1/2 meatloafs.

Put them in the oven till they are done. (should be about 20 minutes).

Serve with a traditional or non-traditional meatloaf sauce. I like slow cooked tomatoes or Italian canned tomatoes spiked with ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and Franks Hot Sauce. The meatloafs will be Flavorful, Moist and Delicious!

I was pretty excited to try the new Cook’s Illustrated Hand Rolled Ravioli because I don’t use a pasta machine. I’ve made delicious ravioli before the more traditional way with a 50/50 semolina and flour recipe but my hand rolled ravioli always came out too thick. The Cook’s Illustrated Recipe is so good that it’s too easy to roll the dough TOO THIN….I had to patch some of my ravioli. But it’s a great recipe to I will do again for all kinds of things. I cut the Cook’s Illustrated recipe in half and made 30 small sized ravioli. I also changed up the filling because I had a lot of spinach at home and just added parmesan and a little provolone to my seasoned spinach. These Cook’s Illustrated Hand Rolled Ravioli are DA BOMB!

Ingredients for around 4 servings

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8 oz spinach

1 oz onion – sliced paper thin

1 garlic – ground to paste or microplane

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

pinch crushed red pepper

2 egg (for dough)

3 yolks (for dough) (use an egg white to seal ravioli)

1.5 oz parmesan cheese – shredded (plus more for serving)

2oz mild provolone slices (2 slices)

1 cup ap flour (for dough) (King Arthur Brand Flour is recommended…..I used generic flour and I found that this wasn’t enough flour…..I needed around maybe a third a cup more…plus a small amount for rolling)

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (for dough)

2 pinches sea salt (for dough) (salt is not in the Cook’s Illustrated recipe)

Directions

Put a big fry pan on medium high heat with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. add the onions, garlic, red pepper and the spinach and pack it down. Cover pan and let it go about a minute. Uncover and stir till all wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a colander to drain. Set to the side.

Make the dough. In a food processor add the eggs, flour (start with the recommendation of one cup), 1 Tablespoon oil, salt (if desired not a part of original recipe). Process about 45 seconds. You might need to make adjustments. If to thick to knead add 1/2 teaspoon of water. If dough is too sticky to knead (mine was) slowly add flour till it’s not sticky. *****SIDE NOTE*****my processor broke during this and I was able to mix the dough with a fork.

Roll the dough out cut either into squares or if you have a pasta cutter use it.

I rolled the dough out about 23 inches by about 15 inches. I had a pasta cutter so I used it and made 1/2 moons.

Each round of pasta got brushed with egg white so it will stick well.

To the spinach mixture mix in the parmesan cheese and insert a small piece of provolone and about 1/2 teaspoon of the drained spinach mixture. Fold and keep going till done. Save pasta scraps and cook them up at the end.

Gently boil the ravioli till they float in salted water.

Serve with tomato sauce (recipe for basic tomato sauce is on this site). Or brown butter with pine nuts or a creamy parmesan sauce.

A Special THANKS to Cook’s Illustrated for coming up with a really great recipe!