Oven-Baked Brown Ale Chimichangas w/ Spinach Tortillas

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Taco Rye PA Soup

Weekends usually involve a crockpot meal, most likely a soup.  I'm a busy bee on the weekend and try to avoid standing over the stove for too long.  I mean, I'd rather be taking a stroll around a lake, walking along where the ocean meets the sand, visiting museums, or swinging by Wilmington Homebrew for a brewing demo and chitchatting with fellow homebrewers.  The solution to the dilemma of being chained to the kitchen is the trusty old crockpot.  This soup is going for a taco flavor but is doing double duty by cleaning out some goods in my pantry/freezer.

The great thing about this type of soup, you can really customize it to your tastes.  Add a can of whatever kind of beans or chopped tomatoes.  Make it as spicy as you want with adding more or less spices or hot sauces.  Have fun with it and in the process get rid of some of those cans that have been in your pantry for a while.

Taco Rye PA Soup (yields 6-8 servings)
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 can of black eyed peas (I actually used some leftover black eyed peas from New Year)
1 can black beans
1 can creamed corn
1 can tomato soup
1 (12 oz) bottle of Rye PA

1 tbsp. chili powder*
1/4 tsp. garlic powder*
1/4 tsp. onion powder*
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes*
1/4 tsp. dried oregano*
1/2 tsp. paprika*
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin*
1 tsp. salt*
1 tsp. pepper*
*(OR you can use 1 pkg of taco seasoning)

1/2 lb. ground turkey, browned

Topping:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Sliced jalapenos
Tortilla chips, crushed

Put all ingredients, except for toppings into a crockpot.  Cover with lid.  Turn on low for 5-6 hours. 

Serve in bowls and top with any of the desired toppings.

Enjoy!

Texas Bacon Cheeseburgers

Sometimes you just want a burger.  Last night was one of those nights.  I tweaked this recipe from a Rachael Ray burger recipe.

Texas Bacon Cheeseburgers (yields 4-6 burgers)
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 lb. ground pork

4-6 slices of bacon, cut in half (a slice for each burger)
2-3 slices of bacon, finely chopped

1/2 sm. onion, finely chopped
1 chili, finely chopped*
4 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 tbsp. ground cumin
1/2 tbsp. ground coriander
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. oregano

4-6 slices of cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, etc.)

4-6 spent grain buns

*Use more chilies depending on how much heat you want in your burgers

Preheat oven to 375F.
Take the 1/2 slices of bacon and lay them across a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet.  In 375F oven, bake slices of bacon till crisp; about 12-15 minutes. 

Cook the shredded bacon in a skillet till crisp.  Remove bacon to paper towel.  In drippings still in pan, cook the onion, chili and garlic for about 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat.

In a medium bowl, combine ground turkey, ground pork, finely chopped bacon, onion mixture, and spices.  Mix well. 

Make and shape 4-6 even patties.  The number of burgers really depends on how big you want them and of course, how many mouths you're feeding.

I like to bake my burgers, but you could just as easily cook them on the stove top or on a grill.  For the oven method, I lay the patties on a wire rack inside of a rimmed baking sheet and cook them for about 20-40 minutes (depending on their size and how well I want the meat cooked) in a 350F oven.  For stove top, heat skillet or griddle or grill over medium-high heat.  Add patties and cook 8-12 minutes, turning once until they have reached desired doneness.  For any method, add slices of cheese the last minute or two of cooking.

Dress your burgers with bacon and veggies.  I like to use a kicked up ketchup.  To make a kicked-up ketchup, in a small saucepan, heat up about 1/2 cup - 1 cup of ketchup (the amount depends on how many of those burgers will have some).  Add about a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and cider vinegar, and a dash to a teaspoon full of ground cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you want it).

Enjoy.

Mexican Lasagna

I found myself in a bit of a rush to get dinner done the other night and wanted to use up some items in both the fridge and the pantry.  I was inspired to do something with the leftover tortillas that I had made the other day and a Mexican lasagna was born.

Mexican Lasagna (yields 4 servings)
.5 lb of ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cayenne pepper, ribbed and seeded and chopped
1/4 c. green bell pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can refried beans
1 tbsp. chili powder
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt & pepper, to taste
4-6 spent grain tortillas

I know some of you are thinking... what? only a 1/2 pound of meat?!  Well, I only have three mouths to feed and with everything else that is in the lasagna, that is all we need, and we still have leftovers!  Recipes are made for a guide... some inspiration.  Feel the free to adapt any recipe to fit your wants and needs!  :)

Preheat the oven to 350F

Brown the turkey over medium-high in a skillet until no longer pink.  Remove from skillet and drain.

Using the same skillet, add onions and cook till starting to soften - about 3 minutes.  Add the bell pepper, cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Add the cayenne pepper and garlic, cook for 1 minute.

Return the turkey to the skillet.  Add the tomatoes (I put mine in a food processor for a minute because my daughter doesn't like chunks of tomatoes).  Add the spices and mix well.  Heat over medium heat till heated through.

Heat refried beans, either in a microwave using a microwave-bowl or in a small saucepan (the beans are easier to spread when warm).

Time to assemble the lasagna.  I used a 9" glass pie plate.  I layed on tortilla on the bottom of plate and broke off pieces of another tortilla to cover the bottom of the plate (this may not be neccessary, it depends on how big your tortillas are).  Next I spread 1/3 of the refried beans over top of the tortilla.  On top of the beans, I put 1/3 of the tomato meat mixture, spread out evenly.  Last, sprinkle about 1/3 cup of shredded cheese.  Repeat tortilla layer.  Spread the remaining 2/3 of refried beans ontop of tortilla.  Spread 1/3 of tomato meat mixture.  Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of cheese.  Place last layer of tortillas, spread the remaining tomato-meat mixture and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!