Pinterest Diaries: Enchilada Dip

**Hey, Friends!
I am heading to Flo.Rida (Am I the only one that finds that hilarious?) until Monday. I will be posting pictures and videos on my Instagram and Snapchat (username on both: whofavorsfire). There may be a day at Disneyworld while I am there, so get ready for magical Halloween-y overload!

While I am away, I am going to try this post scheduling tool here on the blog AND on the FB. The posts will be a few food tutorials and post about media I am into. Hoping it goes off without a hitch!

For Labor Day, we had a family shindig and I decided to flex my appetizer skills by making a dip. I scoured the internet looking for something tasty and stumbled across enchilada dip. I LOVE ENCHILADAS. I keep enchilada sauce on hand at all times. Casserole, mixed into Mexican themed rice, mixed into sour cream for added zip, or even just regular enchiladas. I don't discriminate. Get in my belly. Right meow.

After discussing if this was a good plan with The Husband, I took a trip to Trader Joe's to get some stuff.  Here is what the recipe called for:

1½ - 2 pounds ground beef

½ medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups enchilada sauce

2 cups grated Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese

Sour Cream (optional)

Tortilla Chips (optional)

 

In my head, I had an idea of what was needed. I know how to make enchiladas and I know how to make dip. So I went into the store sans list. Whoops. I went rogue much sooner than usual. I ended up with:

                                                     

 

Anyone versed in the world of dip making knows that a traditional creamy dip has at least two of the following in it: Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, or Mayonnaise. Consider this dip's holy trinity. I didn't realize heading in that this "dip" I found broke the sacred rule. I ended up using sour cream and cream cheese because #yolo, that's why. I also decided to add bell pepper, beans, and corn to make it a bit more hearty. I also swapped ground beef for ground turkey and used a mix of red and green enchilada sauce. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO READ YOUR LABELS IF YOU HAVE DIETARY ISSUES. After eating a metric shitload of this dip, I got really sick. The extremely delicious Trader Joe's enchilada sauce (my g-d go to sauce) has wheat in it. Use a GF sauce if you need to steer clear of those amber waves of grain.

Let's get down to business (to defeat the huns? #accidentalDisneying):

The recipe's instructions:

1. Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain. Add in onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in enchilada sauce and top with grated cheese. Cover and allow cheese to melt, about 3 more minutes.
2. Top with sour cream and serve with tortilla chips.

 

TOO EASY. NOT TASTY ENOUGH. MPA MAD! MPA SMASH PUNY RULES!

 

Here is how I did it:

 

1. Heat olive oil in wok. Add turkey. Break it up and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin.

 

2. While that is browning, prep your veg. I bought pre-diced onion so I just had the pepper. De-seed and de-rib, dice.

 

3. Once the turkey is cooked through and browned some, drain. Leave in colander until needed.

4. Add a smidge more oil to the wok. Toss in onion and pepper. Hold off on seasoning until they cook down. Then add some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin.
                                             

 

5. Add beans and corn. Cook until they are warmed through.

                                         

 

6. Add turkey and mix together. Add in enchilada sauce and cook down for 5 or so minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and season as needed/if needed.

 

7. Add shredded cheese and mix until melted.

8. Add cream cheese and mix until melted and incorporated through entire dip. Then add about 1/4 cup of sour cream (this was eyeballed, using a fork because I am nothing if not a scientist) and mix.                                         

9. Grab some chips and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

Pinterest Diaries: Beer and Brown Sugar Pulled Chicken

Sorry for the delay! Yesterday took more out of me than expected, but I got some quality time in with family. I got to deflect emotions with humor. I also got to bring some pulled chicken to my fabulous neighbors AND got baby snuggles for a hot minute. So, ya know, I recouped.

On to the food porn!

The software:

• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 3 tbs soy sauce
• 3 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/3 c. brown sugar, packed
• 12 oz. porter beer
• 6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
• Slider buns if you want to holla at some sammiches

The hardware:

• Crock Pot
• mixing bowl
• whisk
• measuring spoons/cups
• large mixing spoon
• 2 forks
• 1 plate
• CROCK POT LINER. Seriously, y'all. Hop on this. It makes clean up 1,000 times easier. I have never had one break, melt, get maimed, whatever. Whoever invented these deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for bringing harmony into homes.

The cast of characters, if you will.

Right off the bat, you can see I went rouge. I can't help it. I forgot the Worcestershire sauce. I also thought I had chili powder and paprika. I was wrong. So I used a few dashes of cayenne instead. I also added salt and pepper, BECAUSE WHEN DO YOU NOT ADD SALT AND PEPPER?!?!?! I used reduced sodium soy sauce which is part of the reason I felt the true spirit of #yolo when adding salt.

Let's get cookin'. The original directions are:

1. Whisk together everything but the beer and chicken.
2. Add sauce, chicken, and beer to the crock.
3. Cook on low ~4 hours or until chicken pulls apart easily with a fork Dinglehopper fork (or if you are my mom, a faaaahk).
4. Using 2 forks, shred chicken.

I continued my rogue streak and did things differently. My version:

1. Whisk together everything but brown sugar and beer. The teeny tiny can I had measured 2 tablespoon more than needed. I felt it was negligible and added the whole thing. More of that #yolo swag.
   
2. Pack that brown sugar! Whisk it in. At this point, it was not a sauce. It was a paste. I decided it needed to be thinned out before hitting the crock.
   
3. Whisk in the beer. Make sure to scrape the sides.
   
4. Line dat crock, yo'!
   
5. Pour half of the sauce into the crock. Put the chicken in, tossing it to make sure it is covered in sauce. I had boneless/skinless chicken breast and not thighs. Whoops.
   
6. Pour the rest of the sauce in, covering the chicken. Using the mixing spoon, tuck the chicken into its saucy bath.
   
   Cover. Set it on low. Forget it. Well, kind of. I cooked this from around 10 PM until about 5:45 AM. Mostly because that is when I woke up to pee. Around 1 AM, I turned the breasts (of which there were approx. 4). I then turned it to warm so I could grab some more z's.
7. At about 8:45 AM, I got up for real to get to shredding. I pissed off the cats by refusing to feed them but the smell of deliciousness seemed to mellow them out as they mewed in vain, pleading for a morsel or two. #sorrynotsorry I grabbed a plate and shredded it a breast at a time, throwing the shreds back into the sauce, mixing well so every one was covered. I kept the crock on warm until we left around 9:30 AM and put it back on a few hours later after the services. Apologies. This is where my pictures end.

Results:
I felt it was a little too...tangy. I assume this is where my tomato paste #yolo moment backfired. However, plenty of other people enjoyed it. Honestly, I would up the garlic next time and maybe add a little more sugar to cut the tang. The Husband suggested using a different beer as he felt the porter was too assertive. He suggested maybe a stout. I suggested maybe a different porter or whatever beer is on hand.

Would I do it again? Heck yes. It was tasty, fairly inexpensive as most of it is pantry staples for us. I almost always have brown sugar and there will never be a day when my house is barren of soy sauce. We had some balsamic on hand too. It was independently verified as delicious by family members that don't have to tell me they like what I make.

 

I declare this as a win.

Introducing Pinterest Diaries

Often, I like to think I can craft. Sometimes this is a big win. Other times, not so much. Whether trying new stuff in the kitchen or trying not to get craft herpes (it's ok glitter, you're still my favorite color) all over the damn place, Pinterest has given us would be crafters/home cooks/DIY-ers a place to revel.

You can find EVERYTHING on Pinterest. Cute dogs? You got it. Cosplay ideas. Boom. Done. Quick dinner ideas? Holla! Gadgets and gizmos? A plenty. Whozits and whatsits? Galore. Thingamabobs? At least twenty.

I have talked about wanting to DIY a lot of stuff on my 30 Before 30/soon to be 35 Before 35, as well as wanting to expand on what I make in the kitchen-new recipes and ingredients. I have decided to add a new, reoccurring post theme to display the new things I make. The good, the bad, the inedible, the ugly, the everything.

I get my first chance at a new Pinterest recipe tonight. I needed a hot dish to bring to the coalition (or if you are me and can't take death seriously, the funeral after party) for my Uncle. I chose a pulled chicken made with brown sugar and beer. Beer? Yes. Good for an after party, right? Especially for this Uncle. George, while he stopped drinking later in life, gave me the best beer advice I have ever received--and it was at the tender age of 8: Don't wash down a package of Oreos with a 6 pack of beer. You'll get a hell of a hangover!*

So, tonight or tomorrow I will have my first installment of the Pinterest Diaries-Beer and Brown Sugar Pulled Chicken. And if it comes out a hot mess? I'll have to get real friggin' creative, real friggin' early in the morning.



*I have taken this advice seriously and have never washed Oreos down with beer. I stick to milk. Good lookin' out, Uncle George. <3