Injera - Ethiopian Flatbread

So, this week I am getting up the courage to try it...the staple food item from Ethiopia.
I say getting up the nerve because once our son comes home, this will probably be a regular food in our household, and I want to make sure I get it right!  I want it to not just be food for him.  I want it to bring the comfort and safety that only our native comfort foods can sometimes bring.  I want it to be a piece of his history and his future.  So....here goes!
I got this recipe from here....from a woman from Guinea in west Africa.

Injera is like a spongy, sourdough crepe, that they use in Ethiopia in place of silverware.  They eat this with just about every meal, and break off pieces of it to scoop up their saucy stews with.  It's actually really tasty!  I thought it would be hard to make, but it was actually really easy!


INJERA RECIPE
Makes: 8 -10 Injera of 24cm

Ingredients:

2 cups Self rising flour

½  cup whole wheat flour

½ cup cornmeal

1 tsp active dry yeast

2 and ½ cup of water

Directions:

Note: The first step is done 2 or 3 days prior to the cooking day.

1-      In a large bowl, mix all the flours with the active dry yeast and 2 cups of water. Mix really well to form a batter. Set it for 2 days for the fermentation to take place. If you like the bread less sour 24h will be just enough.

2-      After fermenting the batter, some liquid will rise on top mix all really well.

3-      In a blender add the fermented batter and with few drops of water and whip well. The batter should be quite thin once you are done. Let it sit for another 20 min.

4-      Heat a non-stick pan or skillet until very hot do not add oil and pour ½ cup of batter in a circular motion in the pan.

5-      Bake it for 30 seconds, then reduce the heat and place the lid, bake for another 45 seconds.  When ready bubbles should appear all over the bread.

6-      Remove and place in clean cloth to let cool down for 2 minutes.

7-      When ready serve with stew (Doro Watt or any watt).

Huevos Rancheros Quiche

All the Guatemalan breakfast flavors I LOVE in an easy to eat (and easy to freeze!) serving!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp cumin, optional
1 jalapeno, diced, optional
1 cup refried black beans
corn tortillas

Directions:
1.  Whisk eggs and milk together.  Add salsa, cheese, (and cumin and jalapeno, optional).  Mix together.
2.  Take a corn tortilla and spread a spoonful of refried black beans onto center.  Spread around slightly.  Push into muffin tin cup.  Fill with egg mixture.  Repeat until egg mixture is gone.
3.  Bake at 450 until set, about 15 minutes.
4.  Pop in the freezer, in a ziploc bag and grab when needed, putting in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes.  Serve with sour cream.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cream of Wheat

Make cream of wheat on stove as directions say...then add semi-sweet chocolate chips and fresh cherries (diced up)!

Chris' Outlaw Chili

This is wicked good!  Chris' own creation years ago...still a fall favorite!

Ingredients:

drizzle olive oil

1 Tbsp garlic

1 lb Sirloin Tip Steak (any cut will do, really)

1 cup Bourbon Whiskey

water

2 jalapeno peppers, diced

2 habanero peppers, diced

2 green bell peppers, diced

2 red bell peppers, diced

31 oz dark red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

15 oz great white northern beans (drained and rinsed)

30 oz diced tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes)

15 oz diced tomatoes (or canned whole tomatoes, cut up)

salt to taste

Directions:

1.  Lightly brown the garlic in olive oil.

2.  Cut steak into strips, and add to the sauted garlic.

3.  Once steak is browned, add whiskey.  Cook over high until most of the alcohol is cooked off.

4.  Add water and cook for 30 minutes. 

5.  Add salt, and all the peppers.  Cook for 30 more minutes.
6.  Add remaining ingredients and cook until warm.

Serve with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream (and/or avocado)

Note: Peppers are for flavor AND heat, so pick peppers that you like, even plain green ones.  If you like the flavor of the hotter peppers but you don't want the heat, just remove the seeds and membranes before dicing! 

Huevos Rancheros Quiche

Wanted to try something new today to incorporate all the great flavors in Guatemalan/Mexican Huevos Rancheros, into a quick grab and throw in the microwave breakfast!
Totally awesome!!!!

Ingredients:
9 corn tortillas
1/2 cup refried black beans
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk or evaporated milk
1/2 - 3/4 cup medium salsa
1/2 tsp garlic
2 Tbsp chopped green onion
1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cheddar, shredded
1/4 cup monterey jack, shredded

Directions:
1.  Combine eggs, milk, salsa, garlic, green onion, jalapeno pepper, cheddar, and monterey jack.
2.  Spread 1/2 - 1 Tbsp refried beans into center of one tortilla.  Place tortilla into one of the muffin cups.  Fill with egg mixture.  Repeat for remaining tortillas and egg mixture.
3.  Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or until set.

Giordano's Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza Copycat Recipe

OH.  MY.  GOSH!  It's like Pizza Heaven!
This is like the golden egg recipe for me!  I've DREAMED of a day when I could make a Giordano's Pizza in my own kitchen!  We first went to Giordano's in Orlando back in the winter of 2006.  It was so amazing that we went there twice in the week we were in Florida.  And we should have gone back EVERY night!  It was the best thing I've ever had the privilege of eating!!!!
And I've searched the internet a million times over the years in search for the perfect copycat...and nothing ever even looked like it would come close.  Until the other day.  I found a chain of posts on a blog about it, and this one guy named Steve seemed VERY knowledgeable about many different Chicago chains and their exact ingredients they use...and he listed his copycat version of their crust...and it got great reviews.  And so, I tried it...and it was PERFECT!
This will be the only Chicago style pizza we ever try!  And I'm planning on eating this a LOT!  :)  As in every week!
This should make a 12 inch pizza...we did a 12 inch and a 6-8 inch, so I'm scaling down from that...

4 cups flour
1 2/3 cup water (the amount of hydration depends on the age of the flour)
3/4 cup canola oil
3 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
mozzarella cheese (lots)
pizza toppings - we like pepperoni, mushroom, spinach, and lots of fresh garlic!
Classico ground tomatoes (apparently Giordano's uses something called 6-in-1 brand, but I emailed them and they don't sell around here...but they sell Classico brand, and it was very good!)

Directions:
1.  Put all ingredients into kitchen aid mixer.  Mix for 1 minute. Let rise for about 6 hours or so. Punch down, then cover and let the gluten relax for 10-15 minutes or so. Cut about 1/4 of the dough off and set aside.  Roll rest of dough out to size needed to cover bottom and sides of pan. Add cheese and toppings.  Roll the smaller dough ball out very thin and place on top of toppings.  Pinch together with bottom crust as best as you can.  Spread sauce on top. Bake at 450 for around 30 minutes--you'll have to experiment with time and rack placement because home ovens act in very different ways!

Apparently Giordano's adds crushed red pepper flakes to their sauce, but I didn't....I should next time though!  But we added about 2 Tbsp fresh garlic to the pizza and that was GREAT!

Bang Bang Shrimp - copycat

I found this copycat recipe online...we tried it and it was awesome!!!  The flavor was right on!  We ended up accidentally thawing out double the shrimp that were called for, and I didn't want to double the mayo for just the two of us (we had this for a date night after putting the kids to bed!)...so we ended up with twice the shrimp/half the sauce - whichever way you wanna look at it!  It was great!  The flavor was the same as at Bonefish!!!!  And the calories weren't nearly as bad b/c it wasn't so sloppy wet with mayo!  Of course, more sauce would have been awesome and more like the real deal...but it would have been way more calories too!  So, I'm good with this way!  :)

Bang Bang Shrimp

Yield: 2 – 4 as appetizer

Ingredients

• 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• For the sauce:
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 4-5 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, such as Sriracha sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• For the egg mixture:
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• For the breading mixture:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• For frying:
• 8 to 12 cups vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl; cover and set aside.
2. Combine beaten egg with milk in shallow bowl; set aside.
3. Combine flour, panko, salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil in another shallow bowl; set aside.
4. Bread the shrimp by first coating each with the breading mixture. Dip breaded shrimp into the egg and milk mixture, and then back into the breading. Arrange the coated shrimp on a plate and pop them into the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This step will help the breading to stick on the shrimp when they are frying.
5. Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Use amount of oil required by your fryer.
6. When oil is hot, fry shrimp 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on rack or paper towels.
7. When all shrimp has been fried, drop the shrimp into a large bowl. Spoon about 1/4 cup of sauce over shrimp and stir gently to coat.