Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

I know Cinco de Mayo has already come and gone, and this post is a couple of days late, but better late than never, right?! I love creating things that are out of the ordinary, especially for the “ethnic” holidays we all love to celebrate. For instance, for St. Paddy’s Day, I rarely make corned beef and cabbage, but will instead make other traditional Irish foods. The same is true for Cinco de Mayo.

I LOVE Mexican food, and we eat quite a bit of Mexican food. And because we like Mexican food so much, I have quite a few Mexican cookbooks. I went through my collection and came up with something different yet still muy delicioso for the day. I also had some leftover shredded chicken and pork that I wanted to use up, so I came up with the perfect idea. I made a tortilla tart, using up both my chicken and pork, as well as many Mexican style vegetables. !Que Bueno! Margaritas were definitely the drink of the day too.

It came out like a layered quesadilla. I served it with arroz verde, or “green” rice made with cilantro, green onions and jalapenos.

Chicken and Pork Tortilla Tart

olive oil and/or lime olive oil for cooking

2 1/2 cups corn, thawed

1 red pepper, sliced into thin matchsticks

1 large tomato, diced

1/4 cup green onions, sliced thin

2-3 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped

1 TBSP lime juice

salt & pepper to taste

1-2 jalapenos, diced fine

2 TBSP garlic, divided

1 onion, diced fine

2 tsp cumin, divided

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup chicken broth

1-2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1-2 cups shredded cooked pork

4 10-inch tortillas

1 cup Mexican blend cheese or jalapeno jack, shredded

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese or crumbled Cotija cheese

Combine the peppers, onions, jalapeno, corn and 1/2 of the garlic together and separate.

Combine the tomatoes, green onions and cilantro together and set aside, leaving some cilantro for the topping.

Preheat the oven to 400* F or 205*C.

Combine the chicken and the pork.

Cook the peppers and other vegetables in the hot olive oil and lime olive oil for about 5-7 minutes, or until tender.

Add the tomatoes and green onions and combine well. Then add the lime juice and the seasonings. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. I used a very large yellow heirloom tomato. Any kind of tomatoes are fine.

While the vegetables are cooking, in a saucepan, combine the black beans with the remaining garlic, remaining cumin, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until the broth has evaporated.

With a masher, mash the beans.

Lay a tortilla on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread 1/2 the beans evenly over the bottom. Add a layer of cheese, then add 1/2 of the meat and spread evenly over the cheese.

Add another tortilla on top and add a layer of vegetables, spreading them evenly over the top of the tortilla.

Add another tortilla and repeat. Top with more cheese.

Place in the oven to bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until all the cheese is melted. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, top with cotija cheese, cilantro, and/or sour cream, then cut it into slices and desfruitas!

When it is ready, pick it up and eat it like you would a piece of pizza. It’s a Mexican tart that is like a combination of a quesadilla and pizza – a quesapizza maybe? Whatever you want to call it, call it delicious! I promise, this is something a little different, but you are going to love it. It just might become a new favorite too. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We’ve been out and about all day in Laramie, WY, which is only a couple hours North West from us. We had fun exploring up there. I had some good stuff to share with you, but I am losing my light, so I will share it with you all at a later time. Our house has notoriously bad lighting, and it is hard to work on the computer when I can’t see the keys properly. 🙂 I have lots of good stuff too, but you’ll just have to wait. Instead, I will share more pictures of yet another very playful squirrel. He was trying to eat a pinecone that was way to big for him, but he kept trying. he was very determined, that’s for sure. He was so fun to watch. He looked like he was having fun posing for the camera too.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We have three kinds of Herons who like to call our lakes home for the spring and summer months.

We have the newly discovered (by me) Black Crowned Night Heron.

We have our larger, more common Blue Herons.

And we also have Grey Herons.

I just love our lakes. We have so much beauty and wildlife. You never know what or who you are going to see. Life is full of beautiful surprises. Life is definitely good. 🙂

I guess Larry and I have been craving comfort foods lately. This time he asked for spaghetti and meatballs. OK. No problem. So that’s what we had; spaghetti and meatballs.

Usually when I made spaghetti, I make it more of a Bolognese sauce with both ground beef and sausage. But this time, it was just strictly with meatballs, and mushrooms in the sauce. I served it with my garlic herb cheese bread and a bold, fruit forward red blend on the side. It was like a trip to Southern Italy only in the comforts of our own home.

Meatballs

You can make meatballs with any kind of ground meat you like. You can also mix and match and make them with different kinds of meats. This time, I only used ground beef, because that is what I had.

1 1/2-2 lbs ground beef

1 TBSP garlic

1 TBSP dried onion

1 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried sage

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

Mix everything together well and form into small meatballs by rubbing them in your hands. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet or pan lined with parchment paper and let set in the refrigerator for at least an hour before cooking.

When ready to cook the meatballs, get a large skillet very hot and add a combination of olive oil and butter. Carefully place the meatballs in the hot oil and cook for about 5 minutes, turning over at about the half way point, so they can brown completely. DO NOT over crowd the pan. Make them in batches if you need to. Once they are done, remove them from the heat and discard most of the excess oil and butter.

I confess. Rarely do I actually make my own marinara sauce. Do I know how? Absolutely I do, but I usually don’t have the time it requires. So I cheat. I start with a jar of store bought sauce, and then I doctor it up. I always add more fresh tomatoes, garlic and herbs. So in a way I make it my own. I almost always add mushrooms too, since we both love mushrooms. I sauteed the mushrooms and garlic in the remaining oil/butter from the meatballs. The more vegetables I can add, the better it will be, right?!

I had some delicious HUGE heirloom tomatoes so that’s what went into the sauce. I just love heirlooms. They are just packed with freshness and flavor.

Once the sauce was ready, I re-added the meatballs and thoroughly coated them in the sauce.

When everything was heated it up it was time to serve it over pasta and enjoy. !Mangia! Larry was happy. This is exactly what he wanted for dinner. WHOOOO HOOOO!!!!!

There is nothing wrong with simple. In fact, often times, it is the simple things that are best.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Blooming trees. I mean this in the best way possible, and not as a British slur. The trees are in blossoming and blooming everywhere, and some are even in full bloom. They are so pretty and colorful. As much as I love seeing them though, there are drawbacks. My allergies are also in full bloom, which sometimes makes it very difficult to make it through the day without sneezing and itchy, watery eyes. It’s all worth it though.

Even though it is allergy season for so many of us, go outside and enjoy all that Mother Nature has to offer. It is so worth it. She has provided us with so many beautiful gems to savor and to enjoy. And she always does too.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe, and stay well, and take those allergy medications if needed. ‘Til next time.

More so than not, when I am cooking for just the two of us, simple meals are what’s on the menu. This happens for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is because of limited time. Sometimes, it is because I am just trying to use up leftovers. And sometimes it is simply because that’s what we want at the time.

Rustic cooking is one of my favorite ways to cook, especially when it is just for the two of us. Rustic cooking simply means the cooking methods and/or foods prepared are unrefined and simple, but also warm and inviting. It is typically based on old-fashioned preparation techniques, ingredient availability and a unique set of cultural influences. Most of the rustic foods are also full of bold, strong and hearty flavors. Flavors that warm you up from the inside out. In other words, rustic foods are good comfort foods.

I took us to rustic France with our simple dinner of quiche and Lyonnaise potatoes last night. Served with wine and a simple bread just completed the meal and us feel even more like we were in rural France, even if only for a short time, via our own kitchen at home.

Quiche can be made with anything. The main ingredients are eggs, cream and cheese. The fillings can be anything you like. Ham, Spinach and Mushroom Quiche I always make a crust for my quiche, but it has also become quite popular to make crustless quiches too. Once again, I made a ham, spinach and mushroom quiche. It’s not that this is my favorite kinds of quiche, but it just kind of works out that way, especially when I only have little bits of this and that left.

Potatoes of some sort just some to be a natural partner for quiche. Keeping with a rustic French theme, I chose to make Lyonnaise potatoes this time. The term Lyonnaise is a French term, as many terms in cooking are, and simply means something made with onions. The main components of this recipe are …. you guessed it, potatoes and onions, and of course butter. Cooking potatoes in the Lyonnaise style is just a fancy way of cooking buttery onions and sliced potatoes together.

Lyonnaise Potatoes

Of course I added garlic to my potatoes. I think garlic goes with everything; everything savory that is. 🙂 I also had a few bacon crumbles left that I decided to add at the last minute as well. Waste not want not, after all. I also used a large shallot instead of a white or yellow onion. I often substitute shallots for onions. It just depends on the dish and what I am looking for. Do I want more something subtle or more bold?

You can cook these either completely on the stove op or in the oven as well. I cooked them on the stove top.

5 TBSP butter, divided

olive oil

1-2 large shallots, sliced very thin

salt & pepper to taste

2 TBSp water

1 1/2 lbs small potatoes, rinsed and sliced into thin rounds, about 1/4 inch thick

1 TBSP garlic, optional

1-2 TBSP cooked bacon crumbles, optional

1-2 TBSP chopped or dried parsley

Slice the potatoes into thin rounds and slice the shallots or onions very thin.

Get two skillets very hot, then add 1/2 the oil and 1/2 the butter to each skillet. In one skillet, Cook the shallots or onions with about 1/2 tsp of salt for about 3 minutes at a high heat, or until they start to soften.

Reduce the heat to a medium high, cover and continue to cook for about 12 additional minutes, making sure to stir occasionally. You want the onions to be caramelized and brown in color.

In a separate skillet, add the remaining oil and butter and start cooking the potato rounds. Stir often and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until the potatoes start to brown around the edges and get a little crispy. Add about 2 TBSP water to deglaze the pan. Add the garlic and the salt and pepper and continue to cook. If you are using bacon crumbles, you can add them at this time too.

Once the shallots have caramelized, add them to the potatoes. Add the parsley and mix everything together and mix thoroughly. The potatoes are ready when they are tender yet slightly crispy around the edges. Serve next to your favorite main dish, et voila! Bon appetit!

I LOVE potatoes and could easily eat them everyday. Because I can eat them everyday, I like to prepare them in as many different ways as possible, so there is more variety. 🙂 Change things up. Make them different and add variety. Variety, after all, is the spice of life.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We have lived in our house for 16 years, and there is still always something new to see. The other day, we were walking Juneau and I discovered yet another new bird, or at least new for me. He was pretty far away and was hidden in a tree branch, so he wasn’t easy to see, but I zoomed in with my lens and lo and behold, I discovered we had a new heron in the tree. Larry didn’t see him, and thought I was seeing things until I showed him the pictures. Our new heron is called a Black Crowned Night Heron. He is smaller than our normal blue or grey herons, but just as handsome. The name comes from the fact that they are usually quiet during the day and are more active at night. Black Crowned Night Herons are carnivores, just like other herons. They like to eat frogs, fish, small mammals and even other smaller birds.

He is definitely on the lookout for something good.

I just love nature, and all the nature that I literally find right in my own back yard. Mother Nature has given us some beautiful gifts.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I don’t what it is about Barn Swallows, but I am just fascinated by them. I think they are beautiful little birds. But don’t be fooled by their tiny size. They can be quite fierce and aggressive too.

I am seeing quite a few of these tiny little fighters all over the place. They are out and about. They come to Colorado in April and stay throughout the summer, though some stay a bit longer and don’t leave until October.

They really seem to like this particular light post.

Every now and then, I see them on a different light post too. We used to have a nest in our rafters, but once we painted our house, the nest was taken down and they never returned.

I got lucky on this one. He was just about to take off and fly away, but I got one more good shot of him first.

Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

If you are anything like me, you are a fair weathered salad eater. I love salads, and I eat a lot of them too, but usually only in the warmer weather. In the winter, I live in snow country, and a salad just doesn’t do it for me. Or as my dad would say, “it doesn’t warm the cockles of my heart”. But in the warmer weather, there is nothing better than a cool, crisp salad to help beat the heat.

Because we eat so many salads in the warmer weather, I am always looking for something different. I like a lot of variety, both in my salads and my dressings. I also like a lot of color and different textures. This new summer salad is a definite winner, and meets all my salad requirements. It’s very colorful. It has a lot of different flavors and textures, and most importantly, it tastes really good too. I call it my summer sunburst salad. I served it with a vegan creamy cashew and orange dressing too. As is, this whole salad is vegan, but if you want to make it more of a main meal, all you need to do is add either shrimp, salmon or chicken, and you’ve gone from a vegan side salad to a main meal.

Summer Sunburst Salad

This salad is all about presentation. You want people to say “WOW” when they see it. The sunburst is in the presentation.

Mixed baby salad greens

1/4 red onion, sliced very thin

1/2 avocado, sliced

1/4 red bell pepper, cut into thin matchsticks

1-2 small oranges, sliced into segments

cooked asparagus spears

1/2-1 cup blackberries

1/3 cup chopped cashews

Start with a layer of the mixed baby greens then arrange all the rest of the ingredients on top to make a bright, colorful sunburst. Start with the avocado slices, then add the orange segments. Add a few blackberries in the center, and then sprinkle the rest of the ingredients around to really make the salad pop. You can use any kind of dressing you like, but I served it with a creamy orange and cashew dressing, also vegan. I actually made the dressing first, then created the salad around the dressing.

Creamy Orange and Cashew Dressing

This dressing can be used as a dipping sauce as well.

This can be a thick sauce or a more liquidy sauce or dressing, depending on how you use it and what you like.

3/4 cup cashews

1/4 red onion

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup orange juice

1 TBSP lemon juice

1-2 TBSP lemon olive oil, optional

1-2 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar, optional

1/3 cup fresh parsley

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

1 tsp maple syrup

salt & pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

2 cups + 1/4 cup water, or more as needed or desired

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat off and add the cashews. Let them soak for at least an hour.

Once the cashews have soaked for at least an hour, drain them and place them in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse away until you have a liquid sauce. If you want the sauce thicker, 1/4 cup of water is fine. If you like it thinner, add more water until you reach the desired consistency.

I like bolder dressings, so I added more lemon olive oil, lemon balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes. Once the dressing is ready, place it in the refrigerator to chill until you are ready to use it.

Let the summer salad season begin. I’m sure you will be seeing a lot more delicious salads and dressings coming your way since the season has officially started. Enjoy!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

As much as I love to cook, it is NOT all I love to do. I LOVE living life and all that it has to offer, even outside of the kitchen. 🙂 The other day it was a beautiful day. It was way to nice to spend indoors. Mike and Larry played a round of golf while Lauren and I enjoyed ourselves at the zoo. Both were perfect ways to enjoy the beautiful weather and to spend some quality time with Mother Nature.

There were a lot of animals I would have liked to have seen, but they were not available to see. I loved seeing all the animals we did see though, with one major exception. You all know how much I HATE snakes. I do my best to avoid them at all costs. However, when we were leaving the lion’s den, they had an exhibit of a HUGE python, all curled up. I definitely could have done with seeing him. Needless to say, I DID NOT take a picture of him. But I did take a lot of other pictures of the other animals we saw.

I love this picture of the lioness watching over the lay of the land.

Some of the animals were active, but most of them were just lazing around.

We were hoping this hippo would turn around and give us a big smile, but nope. She was shy, and kept her back to us the whole time.

Catch me if you can.

This lion was just as impressive as the real king of the jungle. It was created all out of Legos – 56, 408 to be exact. Whoever made it did a fantastic job. So creative.

Lauren and I had a very fun day at the zoo. It’s been years since I’ve been to the zoo, but it is always something fun to do. The Denver Zoo features an 84-acre campus in an enchanting urban field station, where 3,000+ wonderful wild animals serve as ambassadors for their wild counterparts all over the world. The Denver Zoo is ranked the 10th best zoo in the nation. Who knew?

As you can see, I love to live life both inside AND outside the kitchen. I make the most out of everyday.

Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.