Fried Fungus

They recently stopped serving the fried portabella mushrooms at The Chimes. I was devastated by this menu change. I was doing fine until about 2 weeks ago when the fried portabella mushroom cravings attacked. This weekend I gave in and made my own. They turned out surprisingly - to me at least- well.

Fried Portabella Mushrooms
4 Portabella Mushrooms, sliced
~2c Flour
~3 Eggs, beaten
Salt
Red Pepper

Sauce
2.5 T German Mustard
2T Mayonnaise

Heat frying oil to ~350 degrees. Season the flour to taste with the salt and pepper. Coat the mushroom slices with egg and dip in flour. Fry Mushrooms until golden brown. Mix the German Mustard and Mayonnaise to make a dip for the mushrooms.

Xy's "In under 30 mins" solution

Paul and I have this about once a week, when we want a quick supper that combines some of our favorite foods.

Spinach and Feta with Pita Chips
16c Baby Spinach
4 Garlic cloves, minced
1/2c Heavy Cream
1/2c Feta, crumbled
Pepper
Pita Chips

Wilt the Baby Spinach and drain. Mix the Cream, Feta, and Garlic in a saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese is melted. Sometimes I let the cheese sauce reduce some by simmering it. Mix the Spinach and Cheese sauce. Eat on Pita Chips

Bean Enchiladas

Beans
2 c dried Pinto Beans
1 Onion, chopped
6 cloves Garlic, minced
1 slice Smoked Bacon
1 Beer
1 T fresh Oregano, chopped
1 T Paprika
1 T Cumin
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 t Cayenne Pepper
1 T Salt
8 oz Sour Cream

Cream Sauce
3/4 c Onion, chopped
1/4 c Carrots, chopped
1 Tbs Garlic, chopped
2 Tbs Water
2 Tbs Chicken Glaze/Bullion
1/4 c Flour
1.5 c Heavy Cream
4 oz Mushrooms, sliced


1.5 c Cheddar Cheese, grated
8 Tortillas

Soak the Beans overnight. Boil the beans with the Onion, Garlic, Bacon, Beer, Oregano, Paprika, Cumin, Bay leaf, and Pepper for 1.5h-2h. Add the salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Add Sour Cream to Beans.

Cook the Oil, Onion, Carrots and Garlic over medium-high heat until softened. Add water and Chicken Glaze; stir until combined. Add Flour and stir to combine. Add Heavy Cream and cook until heated. Put the Cream Mixture in the blender and blend until smooth. Add the Sour Cream and Sliced Mushrooms to the Cream Mixture. Cook the Cream Mixture until heated. Add the 1 cup of cream mixture to the beans.

For each tortilla, place some of the bean mixture on the tortilla, add cheese, and roll. Place tortillas in a baking pan (13x9x2). When all the tortillas are rolled, pour cream sauce on top of rolled tortillas. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes (You're just melting the cheese)

Chili

We got these fancy hot dogs and didn't have any chili in the freezer. So I ended up making some chili for our fancy hot dogs.

1/2 cup dried kidney beans
1 beer
1 large onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 lb ground meat
2 T chili powder
2 T fresh oregano, chopped
1 T cumin
1/2 T red pepper
3-4 diced tomatoes
Salt

Soak the kidney beans in water for about 8-12 hours. Cook the kidney beans in the beer. (I use my pressure pot but, one can cook them in beer and water for 45-60 minutes and get about the same results.) Set aside the beans with their cooking liquid. In a different pot, cook the onions, garlic, bell pepper, ground meat, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and red pepper. When the meat is browned, add the tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes covered. Add the beans and their cooking liquid and boil until the chili becomes thick. (You're evaporating the excess water from the chili.)

I hate carrots.

I will sometimes eat carrots to make my mother happy. I know that they are good for me especially since bad eyes run in my family and yet the fact remains that I hate carrots. So in an effort to eat something other than green vegetables, I decided that I would have to find a way to eat some kind of orange vegetable.

Carrot Fries are a good way to eat carrots. When these came out of the oven, I commented to Paul on how good they looked. Paul looked at the fries and said, "That's 'cause they look like seasoned fries." I started to get excited by this observation, "Maybe they'll taste like seasoned fries!" Well they don't taste like seasoned fries but they don't really taste like carrots either. So I still don't like carrots but I can eat Carrot Fries to get some orange vegetable in me.

Carrot Fries

3 Carrots, cut into fry shape
1 Tbl Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the Carrot sticks in the Oil, Salt, and Pepper. Put the Carrots in a pan and try to keep them from touching each other. Bake for 30 minutes.

We ate ours with some ketchup to further disguise the carrot flavor.