Doctors, Meat Pies, Movie, The Love Boat.

Poor Matt, he no sooner got rid of his 24 hr. blood pressure monitor (which interfered with his sleep) than they gave him an order for bloodwork. Whilst he was there, it snowed pretty hard so he had to clean off the car before he could drive it. As we mostly have the car in the underground garage, that isn’t something we have to do much any more. Finally when he came home he got to eat breakfast having had to fast for these tests. He did one test, diabetes I understand, where they sample your blood, then give you a heavy glucose drink. You then have to sit for the best part of two hours, when they sample your blood again. Now I am diabetic and have never had this test, by the sound of it, I’m quite glad.

I just read a pretty awful recipe for Shepherd’s Pie and it occurred to me that North Americans completely miss the point about Shepherd’s or Cottage pies. Traditionally on Sunday in England we had roast meat for our main meal of the day, usually Sunday Lunch, and, more often than not, it was beef or lamb. On Monday, which was wash day, some of the meat would be served cold, possibly with pickles, in order to relieve the housewife of cooking chores when she was doing the wash (before the days of washers and dryers) then on Tuesday, the leftover meat would be minced, mixed with onions and plenty of good gravy to moisten it, seasoned and put in a casserole with a lid of mashed potato with dots of butter on top and warmed through browning the potatoes. This was served with whatever vegetables were available (frozen didn’t exist in those days). That was usually the end of the roast. Checking in my copy of Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery Book (my cooking bible) I see she only talks about mutton for Shepherd’s Pie and doesn’t even give a recipe for Cottage pie. I guess the idea of leftover lamb came into being somewhat later while leftover beef was for the Cottage pie. I have no idea where the idea of adding vegetables came from. I just came across vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie, what rubbish, that is a total misnomer.

Thursday night I watched Hugo, it won a few Oscars the other day and it looked as though it would be a good movie, it was. However, from seeing a couple of excerpts it wasn’t what I thought at all, it looked a bit spec fic, but in fact that just turned out to be when Hugo was dreaming. However, it’s a delightful story, kind of Oliver Twist, rags to riches kind of thing. Ben Kingsley was, as usual, excellent, I have never seen that man do anything in which he wasn’t excellent and Asa Butterfield was also very good as Hugo. I loved Sacha Baron Cohen as the Station Inspector, there was a touch of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) about him. If you get the chance to see the movie, I highly recommend it.

That reminds me, do you remember the series The Love Boat on TV in the 70’s and 80’s? I heard yesterday that the cruise ship, the Pacific Princess, has been sold for over $3 million to a Turkish company who specialise in ship breaking. Seems sad. I wonder how they recoup all that money.

I’m not normally into Mexican cooking, but this looked so delicious I think I might have a go at it. They make me hungry just looking at the picture.

Easy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

ByThe Gluten Free Goddess
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Sometimes I make "Christmas Enchiladas" with both a green salsa and a red sauce. I pour the red sauce down the center of the rolled tortillas in a wide strip and spoon the green salsa on both sides. Then I center a thin strip of shredded cheese down the middle, studded with sliced ripe (black) olives.

Ingredients

3 cups cooked chicken, hand torn
1/2 cup roasted green chilies, chopped
3/4 cup low-fat sour cream
Juice from a large fresh lime
Cracked or lemon pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 cups Quickie Enchilada Sauce* (see below)
10-12 white corn tortillas
Light olive oil, as needed
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack, Cheddar, or vegan cheese
Fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled, diced fine
1 teaspoon chili powder, mild or hot
1 teaspoon cumin
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-oz. can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 teaspoon organic sugar or agave
1 splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried cilantro or 1 tablespoon fresh minced cilantro

Instructions

For enchiladas, combine the following ingredients:

3 cups cooked chicken, hand torn
1/2 cup roasted green chilies, chopped
3/4 cup low-fat sour cream
Juice from a large fresh lime
Cracked or lemon pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 cups Quickie Enchilada Sauce* (see below)
10-12 white corn tortillas
Light olive oil, as needed
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack, Cheddar, or vegan cheese
Fresh chopped cilantro

Lightly oil a 13x9" baking dish. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, toss together the cooked chicken, chopped green chilies, sour cream or mayo, and lime juice; season with cracked or lemon pepper and cumin. Set aside.

Make your Quickie Enchilada Sauce (recipe below) or if you're really in a hurry, stir together an instant sauce using one of the following:
* 16 oz. of your favorite red or green salsa
* 1 8-oz. can chopped roasted green chilies, and 1 cup hot chicken broth thickened with sour cream, or a tablespoon or two of sweet rice flour
* 16 oz. V8 Juice spiked with hot pepper sauce, cumin, chili powder, chipotle seasoning, etc. Add a spoonful of salsa or chopped roasted green chilies.

Quickie Enchilada Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled, diced fine
1 teaspoon chili powder, mild or hot
1 teaspoon cumin
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-oz. can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 teaspoon organic sugar or agave
1 splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried cilantro or 1 tablespoon fresh minced cilantro

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and gently sauté the onion and spices for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and cilantro, stir and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes.

Use as a sauce for enchiladas, burritos, or Mexican-style casseroles.

To make the baked enchiladas:

Spread about a spoonful (about 4 oz.) of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the oiled baking dish. Heat each tortilla in a scant amount of hot light olive oil before you stuff it, till softened. Set the warm tortilla into the prepared baking dish and coat the tortilla. Spoon one-tenth of the chicken mixture into the center of the tortilla and roll it up into place, seam side down. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Pour the enchilada sauce all over the tortillas and top with shredded cheese. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted, the sauce is bubbling, and the enchiladas are hot.

Serve with a crisp green salad, and offer salsa and fresh guacamole at the table.

Total Servings: 6

Have a great weekend