Italian Sausage Lasagna.

This ended up being a disastrous monster. It was supposed to be a hearty lasagna with veggies and Italian sausage but I ran out of space way too fast.

I started with two jars of GV spaghetti sauce (Green Pepper & Mushroom and Onion & Garlic) and a box of oven-ready lasagna. Layer sauce on bottom; add layer of lasagna; add sauce, add ricotta, add sauce, add layer, add sauce. At this point, I was already almost overflowing. There was no way I was going to fit everything in, so I nixed the squash. I put the not-very-well-crumbled Italian sausage and sliced baby Bella mushrooms on top and covered with mozzarella. Now it definitely was overflowing. And proceeded to happily boil over in the oven. It turned out reasonably well in the end though with the sausage lending a lot more flavor than ground beef would have.

The picture is actually from a microwave reheating the next day. The mozz didn't seem to want to re-melt and was a little dry; also, you can see I added a bit too much water to the mix. Seriously. It took longer to reheat it than it did to eat it.

Enchiladas.

In an effort to use some of the leftover frozen pork shoulder...this takes quite awhile simply because the pork should be braised. But once that's done, you can go from ingredients to pan in about 20 minutes + 20-30 minutes in the oven. I made a big pan of these with about a pound of pork and a can of refried beans. I filled three tortillas with beans and cheese and two tortillas with shredded pork, halved them and layered them in the pan; covered with a big can of El Pato enchilada sauce (which has some good kick to it) and a handful or two of shredded cheese.

In retrospect, I should've poured some sauce along the bottom of the pan to keep them from sticking but it worked out just fine anyway. Halving them really helps since I can have a pork and a bean enchilada, and it turns out that fills me up just fine.

Shrimp Quesadilla.

I've come to realize how essential the green pepper is. Really. It goes with pretty much anything, particularly anything involving a skillet (because I don't like them too crunchy). Likewise, lime and butter are essential to shrimp (one or the other or both, depending on context).

So, basic quesadilla. Refried beans, cheese. I used shrimp, fajita-style peppers, and diced onions. Towards the end, I threw in some jalapenos to give some zing to the whole mess and then added lime a minute or two later to take off the bitterness. Also, sour cream and salsa verde blended is not bad.

Shepherd's Pie. Cottage Pie, actually.

Real shepherd's pie is made with lamb, and cottage pie is made with beef, right? In any case, this is a bit involved as far as casseroles go, but makes a hearty meal. Followed diagram from Cooking for Engineers. Boil chopped potatoes for crust. While that's going, cook some chopped onion and carrot in a pan (didn't see a small bunch of celery at the grocery so I didn't bother) until the onion starts to clear up. I tossed in a pound of ground beef for this and broke it up as it cooked. While that's cooking, finish up the potatoes (mash and season). By then you should be ready to drain the fat off the pan; add some flour (a tbsp or two) to help thicken the gravy later. Then add a can of beef broth. CfE calls for only a cup to their tbsp of flour so adjust accordingly. Let that all simmer down and thicken. I actually went and worked out during this time. When you're ready, pour the pan mixture into a casserole dish. An 8x8 worked perfectly for me. Layer on the mashed potatoes and either fluff or smooth and then use a fork or something to make some cool designs. The peaks will brown and crust in the oven. I also forgot to put in the pats of butter CfE asks for. I think it's fine without and I used butter making the mashed potatoes anyway. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

It turned out just fine, I thought. Used salt and pepper to taste afterwards, but I'd rather season afterwards than season too much during cooking. I also laid on the potatoes pretty thick so the potatoes not on top but not right on top of the gravy got a weird consistency. Tasted just fine and will get me to eat carrots.

Twice Baked Broccoli Potatoes.

Standard twice baked potatoes. Nuked for baking, let sit, halve, scoop. Make mashed potatoes as you see fit but not creamy. I used salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix in some frozen broccoli and a slice of crumbled bacon and refill potato skins. The broccoli helps stretch the potatoes. Top with a bit of shredded cheese and pop in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. I served with Sweet Baby Ray's and Frank's Red Hot.

Naked Porkchop and Black Beans.

Just a pan fried pork chop with some onions. I wanted to use up some leftover black beans so I did that with some sour cream and salsa for the chop. This cut was massive, by the way, and gave me a headache.

Pesto with Grilled Tomato and Peppers.

This was to use up the last of some leftover spaghetti and temporarily sate my appetite. Basic pesto was just olive oil, basil, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, and a little bit of parsley and lemon juice to taste. The mix on top: diced Roma tomatoes and green peppers, flashed in the skillet to make them hot but not too soft. Nothing special.

Fresh Salsa.

I also got this from Simply Recipes. Quick rundown:

• Can of diced tomatoes
• Cilantro
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Garlic
• Chiles
• Oregano
• Green onions (which i actually didn't end up using because they had gone bad)
• Salt and pepper

Basically, mix it all in. Since the canned tomatoes are 28 oz probably, use half, add half the other stuffs, and mix; repeat with the other half.

This ends up making about a quart. Cheaper by volume in the long run than buying store salsa, I think. And better and fresher tasting too. The oregano and cilantro make for a nice herb-y taste. I used a lot of pepper on my second batch and instead of two cans of chiles, I used a 10 oz can of jalapeno salsa. Not quite what I was looking for but it sort of got the job done. Next time, I may use fresh chiles. Also, I liked a little more vinegar than Simply Recipes suggested.

Carnitas. And a messed up layout.

I have Michelle to thank for introducing me to carnitas at Casa Montez. Still the best I've had and one of the best Mexican dishes I've had. The nice thing about this is that pork shoulder is bought in large quantities so lots of cooked and uncooked leftovers which is nice. I bought the smallest one at the store: 5lbs. I ended up using about 2 for this. Oh, and I got the motivation for this from the Simply Recipes version.Braise the pork in water and beef broth. Instead of salsa (which was in short supply at the time), I ended up using a packet of taco seasoning which explains the greasy orange color. Braise for about a million years (about 3 hours). The meat should pull apart easily.

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I grilled some onions and green peppers, fajita style, before throwing in some pork to caramelize. I added a bit of the broth from the braising process to keep the pork from sticking to the pan too much and to give the vegetables some seasoning.

You'll need a massive tortilla for this. (By the way, eating two of these will hurt you.) Add whatever you want, basically. I used shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, and fresh salsa. The pork keeps fairly well in tupperware and a bit of the broth. I ended up using the leftovers for nachos and pitas.

Breakfast Quesadilla.

Same quesadilla making process as before (butter to brown, cheese, fill, fold, brown). In this one, I used some eggs, mushrooms, onion, and green pepper; veggies cooked before hand to reduce crunch. Served with sour cream, japs, and green salsa.

Black Bean Taco Salad.

Basic taco salad ingredients:

• Lettuce
• Black beans
• Avocado (too lazy to make guacamole)
• Shredded cheese
• Onion, chopped
• Japs
• Salsa
• Sour cream

I didn't include any meat since I didn't have any on hand. Layer, layer, layer, top. Ta da. Never mind the sandwich, this would make a perfectly filling meal with meat and a bigger bowl (READ: larger portions).

Garlic Lime Shrimp.

This one is easy. I used the 40-60 count frozen, cooked shrimp. Mince some garlic and chop some peppers for color and toss everything in the skillet with a bit of olive oil to char. I crusted it with mostly basil, a dash of garlic powder (if you didn't add fresh garlic) and parsley; squeeze in some lime juice to add to the sweetness of the peppers and give it a nice aroma as the sugars caramelize. Served over leftover thin spaghetti.

Cadillac Quesadilla.

Doesn't some restaurant say, "Order it Cadillac style!"? It's just adding a side of black beans and rice...
Ingredients:

• Tortilla
• Black beans
• Shredded cheese
• Onions
• Green peppers

I grilled the peppers and onions in a skillet first to get that nice carmelization. Toss some butter in the pan and throw the tortilla on. Layer cheese over the whole thing and let it melt slightly before adding filling to one half. (Added sliced tomato at this point for kicks.) Fold over and let it sit a bit so the tortilla gets nicely browned on one side; flip, repeat.

A humble serving suggestion: sour cream, red salsa, green salsa.

Epic pita.

Pitas are such useful foods. You can eat them plain. Use them as a dipping implement. Make a cheap pizza. Or stuff them and give them a direction as unique as your choice of ingredients.

For this one, I believe I used:

• Cheddar cheese, slice
• Turkey
• Tomato
• Avocado
• Rice, leftovers
• Salsa

Other variations I've done:

• Cucumber
• Cottage cheese
• Tomato
• Avocado

• Lettuce
• Black beans
• Shredded cheese
• Shredded pork
• Avocado

Fried Chop, Garlic Smashers, and Cheesy Broc.

Easy stuff. Just a fried pork chop, butterflied. Cheap, frozen broccoli. I think I used instant potatoes for this. Self explanatory.

Pork and Black Bean Stew.

I think I found this recipe on the back of a can of black beans. You would think I would a can of black beans better than that. In any case, this was...

• Black beans
• Corn
• Green chiles
• Chicken broth
• Pork (I ended up using trimmed portions of country style ribs. It was a lot of work but worth the price. Looking for something easier? Use lean stew meat, obviously.)

I believe...that's about it. Bring to boil, simmer. Use whatever seasonings you want, especially to make it spicy, like lots of chili powder. Add flour if you want it less soupy, though it thickens on its own in the refrigerator.

I thought it served well with some japs, diced tomato, and sour cream; add a side of sourdough.

Introductions are for fools.

So this is for you, fool. BOOYAH.

The first handful of posts are going to be one after another since I don't feel like backdating anything. This is basically going to be my searchable online reference for things I've cooked in the event I'm looking for a quick fix or something more elaborate. A notebook of sorts.