Lately I have been trying this new thing called Bountiful Baskets. It is a produce co-op where you can order a "basket" on Monday/Tuesday and then wake at the crack of dawn on Saturday to pick it up. The cool thing about it is they try to use only seasonal fruits and veggies from local (or as close as possible) growers; oh, and you get a lot for your $15. This is my second week and I have been really pleased and challenged. Challenged because I am not a big fan of fruits or vegetables and have frequently ignored or underused them in my culinary endeavors. This whole process of getting a giant batch of "rabbit food" has forced me to eat more healthy things and start testing the boundaries of my recipe collection.
As for today I am going to focus on the goodies I received in my "Mexican" pack. I made two new items: Tomatillo Chicken and Calabacitas.
For the chicken I started by moving the top rack all the way up in the oven and turning on the broiler to let the oven get all toasty. Next, I went about peeling off the husks and rinsing the tomatillos. Don't be alarmed if they are sticky that's just how they are. Once they are all clean and de-stick-i-fied, I placed them on a foil lined cooking sheet. The foil is not required, I just like the easy clean up. (I'm a little lazy, so what)
When everything was ready, I put the tomatillos in until the tops started getting all black and crispy, or charred as the fancy chef types might say. Now I don't know if this will happen to you but mine started making all kinds of funny whistling and popping noises. It all worked out though.
Once the tops are done, it is time to flip them bad boys over so the other side can get all broiled as well. I did get really smart for the other side and lined my tomatillos into two rows on far sides of the pan. The reason this is so smart is because it put all these little green wonders right under the heating element making them get black faster and far more evenly.
This is what it will look like when they are all done. Make sure to keep all the juices and everything because we will use all of it.
While my tomatillos were cooling off, I started working on getting my other veggies chopped. I diced three of these onions.
Used all of it including the greens.
Then I diced up two of the little peppers. Now I take out the seeds because I can't handle the heat but if you want it spicy leave them bad boys in.
Next was the chicken. I took three boneless skinless breasts and sprinkled them with salt and pepper on both sides. I put them in a big pan with high sides that I got all warm on medium high heat with some olive oil.
Sear the chicken till it's golden brown then flip it over and do it to the other side.
I took the chicken out of the pan and added the onions and peppers and a teaspoon of garlic. Right now you might be asking yourself, "Teaspoon?" Here's the deal, when I use garlic I cheat and use the pre-minced stuff in the jar. I do this because I haven't yet replaced my garlic press and hate the way my hands smell if I chop it by hand. So tah-dah, garlic in a jar. I didn't put any more oil in the pan because I still had some from the chicken but you might need to add more. I sauteed the veggies till they stared to get brown.
While the veggies cooked I took the tomatillos and put them into my food processor; don't forget all the juices. I pureed the heck out of them till I had a nice sauce.
When the veggies were done I poured the tomatillo puree into the pan with about a 1/4 cup of water. I used the extra fluid to deglaze the pan. After the deglazing, I just nestled the chicken breasts into everything, slammed the lid on top, and left it all on low to simmer for about an hour. The only time I touched the pan in that hour was to occasionally flip the chicken over so everything could get coated in the yumminess.
And this is the finished product.
As a side dish I decided to try and use the Mexican Grey Squash. To be honest, I had no idea what to do with this squash so I did a little research. This squash is also called Calabacitas. I got some really great ideas and this is what I came up with.
Preheat the oven to 350. Start dicing up a small brown onion. Next, chop up two of the grey squash.
Then open a can of green chiles and get a cup of frozen corn.
In a pan, heat some olive oil over medium heat. When it's ready add the onion and a teaspoon of garlic. Sauté them until they are just hinting at turning brown.
Add the squash a cook for about 4 minutes and then add the corn.
Once the corn is no longer frozen add the can of chiles.
Now the good part, take the pan off the heat and add a cup of cheese.
I used this because it is "authentic Mexican" but I figure you can use whatever you like.
Put this delicious concoction in a baking dish and put in the oven for 30 minutes.
At the end broil it for a couple extra minutes till it looks a little crispy and golden on top.
That's it!
This is everything all together. Yum!
