Texas travels

Where did the past month and a half go? Yikes! Yes, I've been busy. Spring has sprung. We've been busy cleaning up the yard. I planted my recession veggie garden, which includes rhubarb!, carrots, lima beans, peppers, tomatoes (including a very sexy Mr. Stripey) onions and french green beans. We'll see how the veggies fare, we got a ton of rain last week.

Yesterday I finished up the herb garden which has basil, lemon basil, thyme, rosemary and catnip and a bunch of shallots. The sage is starting to come back- she cut out a monstrous bush of it.

Last month, I made the pilgrimage to visit JoDee in Texas. Lots of good eats along the way. Here are two recipes from my travels. One is a clone of Central Market's LOVE dip (Central Market was amazing!) and the other is a fancy pants version of my favorite meal I had down there- King Ranch Casserole. Cheesy, chickeny and served with chips and rotel- hello- comfort food galore for Lori.

This came from HomesickTexan's blog-http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/

Love Dip (adapted from the Houston Chronicle)

Ingredients:1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup tomato salsa
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried tarragon or 2 leaves fresh tarragon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
1/8 teaspoon lemon juice

Method:Throw all the ingredients except lemon juice in a blender and mix until smooth. Add lemon juice to taste. Goes well with crackers, bread, tortilla chips, vegetables, chicken and fish.

And this also from her website too. Yum yum yum

Slightly Fancy-Pants King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:1 1/2 pounds of chicken, without skin and bones
4 teaspoons of lime juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 an onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 10oz. can of Ro-Tel tomatoes (or you can use a can of regular diced tomatoes and a 4 oz. can of diced green chiles, or if tomatoes are in season, can use two cups of diced fresh tomatoes with 1/4 cup of diced green chiles, such as a jalapeno)
4 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 cup of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of half and half
1/3 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
3 cups of grated pepper jack and cheddar
10 corn tortillas
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:1. Cook the chicken in the olive oil on medium, adding 2 teaspoons of lime juice, 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder and salt to taste.

2. When chicken is done (after about 20 minutes), shred it with two forks and set aside. Should yield about 3 cups.

3. Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium, and add the onions, red bell pepper and poblano pepper. Cook for 10 minutes.

4. Add the garlic, flour, cumin, cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder, and cook for 1 minute.

5. Add the chicken broth and cook on low until mixture is thickened, a few minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and Ro-Tel cover the pot, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Uncover the pot, and add the sour cream, 2 teaspoons of lime juice and 1/4 cup of cilantro, and add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

8. Heat up the tortillas (you can do this by adding a bit of oil on an iron skillet and then cooking the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side).

9. Ladle 1/2 cup of the sauce onto the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking pan.

10. Layer half the tortillas along the bottom of the pan (on top of the sauce). To make sure entire pan is evenly covered, you can rip some of the tortillas into strips to fill any gaps.

11. Add half the chicken, half the remaining sauce, half the remaining cilantro and 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese.

12. Repeat the layering, leaving the cheese layer on top.

13. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Serves 6-12, depending on how big a portion you distribute. Goes great with sour cream and cilantro on top.