I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
Author: ajeanneinthekitchen
I have worked in the restaurant and catering industry for over 35 years. I attended 2 culinary schools in Southern California, and have a degree in culinary arts from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, as well as a few other degrees in other areas. I love to cook and I love to feed people.
My lakes were filled with Canadian geese and a whole bunch of other various ducks. It was nice to see my lakes filled with so much variety again. But there was one surprise I almost missed and had to stop and do a double take. In a lake filled with Canadian geese, there was one, and one only, snow goose too. It was trying its best to blend in and not be seen, but I noticed it and let my camera snap a few good shots before walking away. 🙂
Don’t just blend in. Be yourself and be the one who stands out in a crowd. 🙂
Larry and I love fish and all kinds of seafood. I felt like it was time for something fishy. I had my pineapple cucumber salsa Crab Cakes With Pineapple Cucumber Salsa left, so I thought those would be a great combination. After all, I originally served it over crab cakes, so already knew it paired perfectly with seafood. 🙂
Aioli is a condiment used all over the Mediterranean regions of Europe. It is similar to mayonnaise, but with heavy garlic influences, and often often flavors as well. It is often described as garlic beaten up with olive oil and lemon or lime juice. I’d say that’s a pretty fair description.
I have an inside grill that I place over my burners when I am just grilling a little bit. It’s also perfect for using during inclement weather when I don’t want to go out into the elements. 🙂 I got that real hot, then added both olive oil and lime olive oil before placing the cod on the grill. I cooked the cod for about 4-5 minutes per side, or until it was lightly browned.
Lime Aioli
This particular version of aioli is intentionally light. It is meant to be drizzled over foods. To make it thicker, just add another egg yolk or two, if using them. There is a debate on the use of egg yolks. Purists think the use of egg yolks makes it more like mayonnaise than a true aioli.
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp garlic
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup lime juice
1 1/2 cups olive oil
2 tsp water, if necessary
Place everything in a food processor except the olive oil. Slowly add the olive oil at the same time the processor is emulsifying the mixture.
I placed the cooked cod on top of a bed of pureed sweet potatoes, then added some of the lime aioli on top, and finished it with a generous dollop or two of my pineapple cucumber salsa. I finished the dish with some corn pudding and the last of my New Year’s pretzels Keeping Our New Year’s Traditions and served it with a chilled Pinot Grigio on the side (one of ours, that we made). !Delicioso!
Have a great day and make everyday great. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.
Enchiladas originated in ancient Mesoamerica with the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, evolving from simple corn tortillas dipped in chili sauce and filled with fish or beans, later evolving under Spanish influence to include meats, cheese, and new sauces, becoming a staple and culturally significant dish in Mexico. The word “enchilada” (meaning “in chili”) appeared in print in 1885, deriving from the Spanish verb enchilar (to add chili).
I made some chicken and spinach enchiladas and topped them with the chipotle cream sauce, the same sauce I used for my hongos en chipotle. Hongos en Chipotle I was looking for a new sauce to make and ended up making the hongos as well. Many people, and restaurants for that matter, make enchiladas with just one thing inside, but I like stuff in my stuff, so I made my filling with chicken, spinach, garlic and shallots. Larry and I also prefer flour tortillas to corn tortillas, though we eat both.
Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas
Enchiladas today can be filled with anything and topped with a wide variety of sauces. Some people like corn tortillas and some people like flour. Your can roll them, as they are most often done, or you can layer them, which I like to do as well. There are no rules really. They lend themselves to the limits of your imagination.
Cook the spinach, shallots, garlic and seasonings in a hot skillet with olive oil for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Mix together with the shredded chicken. I also added some Peruvian peppers too.
Add a little sauce to the bottom of the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Heat the tortillas just long enough to make them pliable, then dip in a little sauce, fill with the filling and roll. Repeat until all the tortillas are filled. Pack them in tightly together.
Add a generous amount of sauce on top, then cover with the cheese you are using. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature gets to about 160-165*F, the cheese is completely melted, and the tortillas are nice and soft.
Top with the green onions, cilantro, and whatever other toppings you might like, such as chopped tomatoes and/or sliced olives. !Desfruitar! Enjoy. I served mine with my black-eyed pea salad Keeping Our New Year’s Traditions with a little rice, and my hongos en chipotle. I topped mine with avocado slices, and Larry added sour cream.
Have a great day and make everyday great. Happy New Year. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.
Hongos are mushrooms in Spanish. I LOVE mushrooms. I know not everyone does, but I am definitely a mushroom lover. Hongos en chipotle are mushrooms cooked in a chipotle cream sauce. Varieties like cremini, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms are commonly used in modern hongos en chipotle recipes to provide different textures. They are smoky and deliciously spicy and pair well with any Mexican specialty.
Most people do not associate mushrooms with Mexican food, but when diving deep into the culinary traditions of Mesoamericans, you will be surprised to see that mushrooms have been a part of the Mesoamerican diet for about 9,000 years. Indigenous communities in regions like Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Central Mexico have harvested wild mushrooms (hongos) for millennia. The Aztecs specifically prized fungi like huitlacoche (corn smut), which they considered a mystical delicacy. The huitlacoche is often called the Mexican truffle. They originated from Central Mexico, with deep roots in ancient Aztec cuisine, where this edible corn fungus was considered a delicacy, not a blight. The name comes from the Nahuatl language (spoken by Aztecs) and refers to the charcoal-colored, mushroom-like growths (galls) that form on corn kernels, transforming a staple crop into a prized ingredient for dishes like tamales, quesadillas, and stews. The Aztecs highly valued huitlacoche, incorporating them into their diet and even believing they held mystical, aphrodisiac properties. Its consumption wasn’t limited to the Aztecs. Other Indigenous groups also considered them a delicacy, harvesting it for its unique earthy, sweet, and savory flavor.
The chipotle pepper—a smoke-dried jalapeño—originated with the Aztecs, who used wood-fire smoking to preserve ripe peppers. This technique created an earthy, smoky flavor that naturally complements the umami of mushrooms. Historically, mushrooms were not just sautéed but transformed using chili-laden pastes and fermentation. Dishes like hongos en molito or sopa de hongos often utilize chipotle for its “heat and smoke” profile to amplify the flavor of the fungi.
Hongos en Chipotle
I was making chicken enchiladas, and I was originally looking for a different kind of sauce to make when I stumbled across the recipe for Hongos en chipotle. I used the same sauce for both my hongos and my enchiladas. The original recipe was very simple, with only a few ingredients. Of course I embellished upon it and made it my own. That’s just what I do. 🙂
8 cups whole mushrooms, stems cut down to the nubs
4 TBSP butter
1-2 cups roasted tomatoes
1 large jalapeno, roasted
1-2 TBSP chipotles peppers and sauce
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste – I used my smoky bacon & chipotle infused salt
1 TBSP garlic
dash cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp spicy Mexican pepper or chili
3-4 sprigs fresh sage, stems removed
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed
jack and/or cotija cheese
green onions, sliced thin
cilantro, chopped
Preheat the oven to 400*F or 204* C.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roast the tomatoes and pepper for about 30-40 minutes or until soft and roasted. I like to mix and match my tomatoes, and I often use a couple of different varieties.
Once the vegetables are roasted, allow them to cool a bit. Split the jalapeno and remove the charred skin and the seeds. Place the tomatoes and the jalapeno in a food processor along with all the spices, herbs, garlic, cream and chicken broth and process until it becomes a smooth liquid.
Get a large skillet very hot, then add the butter and the mushrooms face down and cook until they start to caramelize and are well browned.
Add the cream mixture and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. I used about 1/3 of my sauce for my enchilada sauce too, but more on that later.
Pour the mushrooms and sauce into a deep baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Add either the jack or cotija cheese, or both, and cook until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and add the sliced green onions and chopped cilantro and serve immediately. If you have a broiler, that would work perfectly well too.
These hongos will pair well with any Mexican or Southwestern dish, or anything that you want to add a little Mexican flavor to. !Desfruitar! Enjoy.
Have a great day and make everyday great. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. Happy New Year. ‘Til next time.
Larry teases me all the time for my love of butter. We both say I will eat anything that works as a butter delivery system. Julia Child also shared this love of butter. Julia Child loved butter so much, that she coined many now famous phrases on the uses of butter. Julia Child famously said, “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream,” embodying her philosophy that fat adds flavor, but perhaps her most iconic butter quote is, “With enough butter, anything is good,” promoting fearlessness and richness in cooking. She believed in using quality ingredients and not fearing indulgence, showing that butter, like cream, was a key to delicious, unpretentious food. But Julia Child and myself are not the only butter lovers. In fact, many people all over the world love butter, and have for over 10,000 years, back to the times when people first started keeping livestock.
When farmers first started keeping livestock, particularly animals known for their milk, they also learned that if milk was left to sit for a day or two, it would thicken and a fat-rich layer of cream formed on the top. They also learned that they could skim the cream off the top and churn it continuously, it would turn into butter. The earliest known uses of butter turned up about 4,000 years ago on limestone tablets found in the Sumerian city of Uruk, now known as Warka, Iraq. The first types of butter came from goats, sheep, and yak. Butter wasn’t just used for food either. It was also used as ancient medicines in early Roman times, and was made into ghee in India, which was used for everything from food to healing purposes to ancient rituals.
It is believed some of the first butters, particularly the butter from Sumeria, was ghee. Ghee’s history began in ancient India over 3,000 years ago as a solution to preserve butter in a hot climate, evolving from a practical necessity into a sacred substance in Vedic traditions, Ayurveda (where it’s a healing elixir), and Hindu rituals, used in fire sacrifices (yajña) as well as for offerings, becoming “liquid gold” integral to Indian culture and cuisine, spreading globally as a valued dairy product. Ghee is made by clarifying butter through removing the milk proteins and water, leaving pure butter fat. The clarified butter lasts longer in hot climates and has a higher smoke point than non-clarified butter.
As I mentioned above, ghee was used for cooking, but it was also used for ceremonial rituals and healing purposes as well. Ancient Sumerians offered up gifts of butter at temple in honor of the “powerful fertility goddess Inanna, protector of the seasons and harvest. Ghee was an essential offering in fire rituals (yajña) to deities, symbolizing purity and auspiciousness. In Ayurveda, ghee is a rasayana, promoting longevity and vitality, believed to aid digestion, boost immunity, and lubricate joints. It was used for centuries in healing practices and as a tonic for the sick, including convalescent monks. It was also used to fuel their lamps. Ghee was served to guests as a sign of being welcomed by the host. “In the Hindu hierarchy of foods, an inferior food cooked in ghee can become superior” (p. 268 The Story of Food).
Ghee is used in hot climates, but in cooler/colder climates, the milk solids and water are kept in the mix, making it into a thicker butter. Butter is more nutritious than ghee because it contains the milk solids and additional nutrients found in these milk solids, such as Vitamins A, D, E and K. To make the butter, the milk solids and water were constantly churned.
At first, butter was consumed as a variation of buttermilk, in Turkey, around 6500 BCE. It was added to warmed liquids to provide warmth and necessary fats to the diet. Once the use of butter spread to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, at first, the elites thought it was only food fit for the uncivilized, barbarian tribes, though they did recognize it for it medicinal uses.
Butter was also noted as an important food in the Bible. In the Bible, butter symbolizes divine provision, abundance, blessing, and richness, often appearing with honey in descriptions of the fruitful Promised Land (Exodus 3:8; Deuteronomy 32:14). It also represents spiritual discernment and nourishment, as seen in Isaiah 7:15 where eating butter and honey signifies knowing good from evil, linking it to deeper understanding of God’s Word (like “churned milk”). However, in some contexts, its “smoothness” can metaphorically point to deception or fleeting worldly wealth, contrasting with true spiritual substance. The Hebrew word for butter (“chemah”) often means curdled milk or curds, which were a common dairy product, making it a general term for dairy richness.
From the Ancient Greeks and Romans, the popularity and uses of butter spread (pun intended. 🙂 ) into the rest of Europe and beyond. Evidence has been found of ancient butter found buried in peat bogs from 5,000 years ago in parts of Ireland.
Butter making was traditionally done by women, since they were responsible for milking the animals. The butter churn helped the butter making process immensely, and was around in Scotland from at least the 6th century. Butter churns evolved from simple shaking bags to rocking barrels, dasher plungers, and eventually mechanized devices, with origins tracing back to ancient nomadic cultures (around 6500-5000 BC in Israel) and spreading to Europe by the 6th century AD, transforming from essential household tools into industrial machines by the 19th/20th centuries as cream separators and electric motors automated the process.
In the beginning, these butter churns were churned by dogs on a treadmill.
The demand for butter peaked in the 19th century. Butter was in such high demand, that Napoleon III called for cheaper alternatives to be provided in order to meet the high demands. In the 15th century, the French consumed large amounts of butter, which was then known as “the poor man’s fat” because it was inexpensive to produce. The wealthier classes, on the other hand, preferred lard (white pork fat, commonly used to make rillettes). In 1869, French chemist Hippolyte Mege-Mouries invented the butter-like alternative known as oleomargarine made from rendered beef fat and milk, which later became known as just margarine. This butter substitute was popular through WWII, and remained popular through the early 1980’s. Doctors and scientists had people convinced this butter alternative was healthier than actual butter. It was around that time though, that it was actually proved that the natural fats in butter were a healthier version after all, and people went back to eating regular butter once again. I for one have NEVER particularly liked margarine. I ALWAYS use butter!
Butter, like so many other things, was invented by accident and had quite the journey to become what it is today. It started out as an accidental food created by nomadic people that evolved into something just for the wealthy, to becoming a culinary staple found and used all over the world. Today, there are many different version of butter. Butter is often used as a base with a wide variety of other ingredients added for flavor enhancement to make compound butters. Butters are made differently from all over the world. They differ in ingredients, the types of cream used, the flavors, the aging, and a whole host of other variations.
Butter is such a well-loved condiment, that we don’t just eat small portions of it. No, no. We eat it in pounds. I thought I ate and cooked with a lot of butter, but the “Kiwis” or people from New Zealand and the Danes from Denmark have me beat by far. They consume between 3.6 lbs (6.2 kg) and 18.85 lbs (8.55 kg) per person per year. France and Belarus are known for their love of butter too, as is the whole of Europe. I am going out on a limb here, and I have no proof, but I am going to say butter may just be the world’s most loved food. So, spread that butter and enjoy. 🙂
Have a great day and make everyday great. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.
It’s a new year filled with new possibilities. There will always be new things to see and to capture with my camera. That being said, I still have a lot of fun random shots from 2025 that I didn’t get a chance to share, and thought now would be a good time.
Swallows’ nests under the bridge.
Be-boppin’ male Hooded Mergansers.
Fun on the foot path.
Prairie dogs at play.
Peek-a-b00, I see you.
The bunny and the gosling.
The great hunter.
Being whimsical.
A Says Phoebe on the fire hydrant.
Winged things.
A homeless camp at City Park.
Watching the world go by.
Beetlejuice.
The sign of the Starling.
The cactus patch.
Egret in the rocks.
Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is all about having fun. Have fun no matter what you do, and no matter what life throws at you. 🙂
You all know how much I love to use up me leftovers. It is both out necessity, since they have to be used, and I hate throwing away good food, and fun. I make it a game to be creative with my leftovers. Often times, they get recreated and repurposed in the same ways, but many times, they turn into something new, yet just as good. Sometimes even better. 🙂
One of the dishes I served for our Christmas Day dinner was lamb. We had a lot of food, and we all wanted to sample everything that was offered, so I had quite a few leftovers too. So the queen came dressed up in her Christmas best and between “the two of us” we recreated once again. We had some lamb and some roast beef leftover, so I cut them both up and turned them into gyros.
Turning lamb and beef into gyros is a simple fix. All I needed to do other than slice it up and re-cook it was to cut up some lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and cucumbers and then make a tzatziki sauce. Pretty easy-peasy really, yet still delicious. 🙂
Tzatziki is a creamy, tangy Greek sauce or dip made from strained yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, olive oil, and herbs like dill or mint, known for its cool and refreshing flavor. It’s a staple in Mediterranean cuisine, commonly served as a dip with pita bread and vegetables, as a topping for grilled meats like gyros and souvlaki, or as a sauce for various dishes. Of course, since it so popular all across the Mediterranean region, there are many different variations. Not only is tzatziki sauce delicious, but it is very healthy for you too, being both high in protein and low in fat and calories. https://ajeanneinthekitchen.com/2025/08/30/gyro-salad/, https://ajeanneinthekitchen.com/2022/08/23/lamb-gyros/
We eat a lot of lamb, and quite often my leftover lamb gets turned into gyros. We love gyros too apparently. 🙂
In my eyes, throwing away good food is a crime, so don’t be a “criminal”. Instead of throwing those leftovers away, be creative with them. Don’t let them go to waste. Reuse them and repurpose them. If you give yourself the chance, you’ll be amazed at what you can create too. 🙂
Happy New Year. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.
Our lakes are filling up with a lot of Canadian Geese and Cacklings right now, but they are sharing the lakes with others too. I saw one lone female Northern Shoveler out on the lakes, and she looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself. I swear she was posing for me and smiling at the camera as she was posing. She loved being the center of attention. 🙂
Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.
I hope 2026 is treating you all well so far. Here for us, so far so good, albeit we have had a pretty quiet start to the new year.
Most of the time, the menu planning stems around whatever Larry takes out of the freezer at the time. I create with what I have. I usually only really “plan” a meal for special occasions or when I am having people over. Very rarely do I actively plan ahead for just the two of us. This time, I was creating something using some hot Italian sausage links. No problem. I can always create something with whatever I have. It’s like cooking from the mystery box. I can always come up with something.
Pasta is always a very forgiving and flexible “tool” to have in the “tool box”. It goes with everything. 🙂
Hot Links & Pasta
Being creative often means using up what you have. If you have little bits of this and little bits of that, use them in a deliciously fun way. See what you can come up with. 🙂
6 Italian hot link sausages, cooked and sliced
1-1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/4 red onion, sliced very thin
1/2 each red and green bell pepper, sliced thin
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in 1/2
1 TBSP Peruvian sweet peppers, optional
olive oil
1 TBSP lemon olive oil, optional
1 box bowtie or farfelle pasta, cooked
1/2 cup dry white or red wine
1-2 tsp dried basil or 1 TBSP fresh basil, chopped
1-2 tsp dried oregano, or 1 TBSP fresh oregano, chopped
Cook the sausage until cooked enough to be able to slice. When it is done, and cooled enough to work with, slice. Set aside. While the sausage is cooking, prepare the vegetables.
When the sausage is cooked, remove from the pan and set aside. Add a little olive oil and lemon olive oil if using to the same pan, and saute the peppers, onions, mushrooms and garlic.
Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stiffing frequently, then add the cooked sausage. Continue to cook for an additional 5 or so minutes, to make sure the sausage is thoroughly cooked.
Add the wine and degalze the pan, then add the tomato sauce and seasonings. If you are using a yellow tomato sauce, use and serve with a dry white wine. If you are making it with red tomatoes, use and serve with red wine.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes and Peruvian peppers right at the end and mix together thoroughly. Serve over the cooked pasta, and add a little chopped basil and/or cheese on top if you like, and VOILA! Dinner is served.
For the most part, I don’t follow rules when I cook. I make my own rules, and I make them up as I go. Walk on the wild side, and be creative, or as I love to say, it’s OK to play with your food. Play around and have fun. It’s NOT rocket science. 🙂
Happy New Year. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.
Traditions are customs or beliefs passed down from generation to generation. By keeping our family traditions alive, we are also building strong bonds that connect us with each generation, from past to present and into the future. They foster a sense of belonging, continuity, and identity, providing positive memories and shared experiences.
As you all know, my mother was from Southeast Texas. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s day is not just a Texas tradition, but it is a common practice all throughout the South. I was raised eating black-eyed peas for New Year’s Day, and I have continued doing so ever since. So, yes, we had some black-eyed peas once again this year too. It doesn’t matter how you eat them, just as long as you do. I tend to make mine into a salad with ham and peppers and some kind of a vinaigrette. https://ajeanneinthekitchen.com/2025/01/02/double-good-luck-part-1/ As usual, I made a big batch, so I shared some with Mike and Lauren too. I mean good luck is supposed to be shared with others, right?! 🙂
Another New Year’s tradition we keep alive in our house is eating soft German pretzels. https://ajeanneinthekitchen.com/2025/01/03/double-good-luck-part-2/ Larry is 100% German and I have a lot of German blood running through my veins as well. This is a relatively new tradition in our house though. Even though there is a lot of German ancestry in our house (that also means a lot of stubborness), I just found out about this German tradition a few years ago, and Larry’s mom Ollie had never heard of it before I introduced it to her a few years ago. That being said, now that we know about it, we keep it up every year too. I shared some pretzels with Mike and Lauren too. Once again, good luck is only good if shared with others.
We still have plenty left of both, so we should have enough good luck to get us through all of 2026.
Happy New Year everyone. No matter what your family traditions are, keep them alive and share them with both the young and the old. They are part of what makes us who we are. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 