What's for Dinner?

It's an idle Monday, or really any weekday, and you're getting over the fact that it's not the weekend yet or anymore and so you still have to grudge through the week making the same routine dinners you probably made last week.  If you have kids or a husband, ok or a wife, maybe it's just you, everyone's asking you "what's for dinner?" and what you reply with is Meatloaf Mondays, Tuna casserole Tuesdays, is it Wednesday already... let's have chicken, again.  No... you need to get out of that routine dinner rut and have something that actually tastes like well, food.  Something out of the ordinary but still comforting because anything new and you know your significant other or children will say "what is that?" and point and push it around the plate. Then you'll get angry and throw all the left overs in the trashcan so now you won't have Thursday's Left-Over Night dinner, oh crap!  Don't worry, this can all be avoided with a simple dish that will guarantee to fill you and your family up (and if there are any left overs, oh they're the good kind of left overs indeed)!

The answer: my Mom's Tamale Pie.
In reality it's like a Mexican casserole; good news for you, you cook everything in one container and bake to enjoy! Less dishes, less stress, more family or you time, more of comments like: "Mom can you make that again?!" "I'm so full I couldn't eat another bite, but I might steal a bite of yours." And, "I can't wait to eat this for lunch tomorrow." I promise, it's that good.

I took pictures of the products I use to make it as a helpful guide and you can use these or whatever you like best.

This dish serves 4 very hungry individuals or approx. 6 

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground chuck (beef)

1 package Taco Seasonings (I use 1/2 the bag, and prefer low sodium if you can find it)

1 can Refried Beans

8 oz. Salsa (I use medium spice and you want a more "saucy" salsa)

8 oz. Mexican shredded cheese

1 cup Instant Polenta

3 cups water or chicken stock

 You will also need a saute pan and wooden spoon (for cooking meat), rubber spatula, glass casserole dish, whisk and pot (for polenta).

Instructions:

1) Preheat - Bake @ 350 degrees.

2) Cook the ground beef in a large to medium sized saute pan over medium heat with 2 Tbsp. oil.  Read the directions on the back of the Taco Seasonings, drain off some of the fat, add once meat is cooked with some water and cover.

3) Off the heat, mix in the salsa and refried beans to the meat. Set aside. 

4) Bring 3 cups water or stock with 2 tsps salt to a boil, then with whisk in hand, already moving the liquid in a circular motion, pour in the polenta. Because it's instant, it really does cook in an instant. Continue stirring until all the liquid is absorbed.  Take off the heat and stir in a couple pats (tablespoons) of butter.

5) Spray your glass dish with some Pam cooking spray for easy removal once baked.

** Here's how the dish is layered: Polenta, Meat, Cheese, Polenta, Meat, Cheese. It's really that simple.

6) So you'll want to pour in half the polenta, spread evenly with the rubber spatula. Then half the meat and half the cheese.

7) Do these three layers again ~ polenta, meat, and finishing with the remaining cheese.

Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and the whole thing is bubbly-hot! (Approx. 20 + minutes)

 The layers: Polenta, Meat, Cheese (left) The finished baked product.


While the Tamale Pie is baking in the oven, make the sauce. This is totally optional, but I feel like it adds a more "not-your-everyday-casserole" touch plus if you put hot salsa in yours, this will help cool down your mouth.  Oh, did I mention it has cilantro in it?... which I know some of you think tastes like soap so just admit the herb but keep the rest.

1 - 8 oz. container sour cream (I like Daisy brand)
about 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
salt & pepper
--> Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and season to taste.

When its all hot and bubbly and smells like Mexican food, take out of the oven, carefully please, and let cool for 5 minutes. I know, very tempting to just dig right in, but if you still want the roof of your mouth intact, please wait. Cut out squares of your "pie" doing the best you can to get as much melted cheese as possible and drizzle the sour cream sauce on top.

Now your answer should be: Tonight we are having Tamale "Mexican" Pie.  And yes, you will want to make it again, and again. Best go-to dinner! Thanks Mumbo <3

Sweetie Pillows

That day when couples buy obnoxious gifts for one another, chocolates, flowers, big fluffy animals is only 2 days away; I think that's all a load of crap compared to a home cooked meal.  Honestly ladies, when was the last time your man cooked for you, I mean the whole meal without any help?! Probably not in a while.  And even for all you single ladies out there, when was the last time you made a fun girls night cooking in, drinking too much wine, and gossiping?! Probably the same amount of time.  Well here's a dish that both parties will love... sweet potato gnocchi with maple cinnamon sage brown butter sauce (adopted from Giada de Laurentiis).

First thing you should know about gnocchi, it isn't that hard to make, in fact it's easier than making pasta; but just like making pasta, you have to have a little patients and not be afraid to get a bit messy.  Also, this was my first time making gnocchi by myself.  When I was at school, every Thursday night my best friend Jenny and I would make dinner together, while doing homework and watching our girly shows on TV. We made gnocchi with each other a couple times, but I actually never made the "batter" myself.  So here I was, in my little apartment kitchen, attempting to make gnocchi with not enough flour to dust and roll it (Florida weather molded my bag of flour, ew) and not really knowing what I was doing.  Long story short, they actually turned out light and delicious, but next time, here's what I would change about Giada's recipe:

**At the end of this post is the original full recipe.

Corrections:
1) Giada uses whole milk Ricotta but if you want to cut back on the calories, I used part-skim ricotta by Polly-O brand.  Another hint, when mashing the sweet potatoes, use your old-fashion potato masher or a potato ricer, not a fork; it will get all the lumps out more evenly.

2) More FLOUR!! The recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups flour but I would probably add close to another 1/4 cup of flour in the batter itself.

 My gnocchi batter, which was a bit tacky as you can see on my hands and I only had enough flour to coat the ball but not enough to keep dusting the cutting board as you cut and roll it into 6 logs. Flour is the key!

3) After I realized I did not have the key, well lets just say it was totally useless of me to attempt making logs out of my gnocchi batter so instead I pinched pieces off.  The original recipe says to roll the sectioned batter into logs and then cut into small pieces. Without the key this is nearly impossible because the batter is so sticky and sticks to everything but itself.  If you are lacking in flour, get yourself a glass filled with hot water and dip your fingers into the water to pinch off pieces making gnocchi. Put them on a plate to separate and then into your boiling salted water to cook. They will float when they're done.

 These are my tester gnocchi's. I know how strange they look, but trust me, after a bath in some brown butter maple cinnamon deliciousness, you won't care what they look like.

4) Making the sauce is the easy part. Hot pan, check. A stick of butter? Yes please.  Savory sage, spicy cinnamon and sweet maple syrup, you can stop drooling now, it will be in your belly soon enough.

A saute pan with rounded edges is perfect so you can impressed your honeybun or your girlfriends when you do a saute flip to perfectly coat each one of those luscious gnocchis in brown butter goodness.  Oh yea!

 Saucy.

There you have it.  Sweet potato gnocchi.  Simple, yet good enough for your girlfriends and even that silly Hallmark holiday, Valentines Day.  If you love or don't love this holiday, either way, this recipe is a must!

I ate mine with a side of garlic sauteed spinach. Advised to serve with a big glass of a buttery, clean Chardonnay.

Giada de Laurentiis' recipe (found on foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

For the Gnocchi:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 2/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for the work surface

For the Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 20 fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the Gnocchi: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pierce the sweet potato with a fork. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender and fully cooked, between 40 to 55 minutes depending on size. Cool slightly. Cut in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Mash the sweet potatoes and transfer to a large measuring cup to make sure the sweet potatoes measure about 2 cups. Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes back to the large bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, salt, cinnamon, and pepper and blend until well mixed. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer the formed gnocchi to a large baking sheet. Continue with the remaining gnocchi.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the gnocchi in 3 batches and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the gnocchi using a slotted spoon onto a baking sheet. Tent with foil to keep warm and continue with the remaining gnocchi.

For the Brown Butter sauce: While the gnocchi are cooking melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the sage leaves. Continue to cook, swirling the butter occasionally, until the foam subsides and the milk solids begin to brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Careful, the mixture will bubble up. Gently stir the mixture. When the bubbles subside, toss the cooked gnocchi in the brown butter. Transfer the gnocchi to a serving dish and serve immediately.