Reviews, Chews & How-Tos

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Chile Relleno Casserole

Chile Rellenos ('stuffed peppers') are a delicious Mexican dish that becomes the perfect comfort food when made into an egg and cheese casserole.

Chelsea's Chile Relleno Casserole

Ingredients:

8 pasilla (poblano) peppers
1/2 lb block medium cheddar cheese
1 lb bag shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 lb ground turkey, 1 medium onion
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 cans tomato sauce
1 T. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin

The first step is to prepare the chiles. I have a gas stove that emits a hot flame during 'broil' setting so I use my oven to sweat the chiles.

Put top rack at the highest part of the oven so you can and place all of your peppers directly under the flame.

I have not used an electric broiler for this process but have been told it takes a very long time to blacken any type of veggie under an electric broiler. If you don't have a gas oven you can blacken the peppers on a BBQ over high heat.

Rotate the peppers until all sides are burned black and skin in bubbling.

Take peppers out of oven (or off BBQ) and put directly into a plastic produce bag and tie the bag to seal in the air and peppers. Peppers will begin to sweat, which will essentially peel the burnt skin off of them. Wait about 10-15 minutes until cooled.

While waiting for the peppers to sweat and cool, brown turkey meat in skillet and add one medium chopped onion. Set aside

Take the peppers out of bag, and peel remaining skin off peppers.

Cut top of pepper off and also cut one slit lengthwise down the pepper(this will allow the pepper to spread out flat like a piece of paper) Dispose of the excess seeds from inside of peppers

Lay each pepper in glass baking dish.

Cut 1/4 inch thick slices of cheese and stick two slices of cheese inside slit of each pepper then pile about 4 large spoonfuls of cooked ground turkey and onion mixture on top of cheese.

Use remaining sides of each pepper to fold over the top of the turkey and cheese. Set aside.

Prepare egg mixture - - crack 8 eggs in bowl, add 1/4 cup of milk and beat vigorously until thoroughly mixed and frothy, Pour the egg mixture evenly over cheese stuffed peppers in glass pan.

Bake in oven at 380 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare Sauce - - take two cans of tomato sauce and empty into sauce pan. Heat over stove on medium. Add seasonings and stir to blend.

Simmer for 10 minutes and stir every few minutes to combine flavors.

Pull glass pan out of oven, eggs should be at least half cooked, pour tomato sauce over top of casserole and top with additional shredded Mexican blend cheese.

Stick back in oven for 20 more minutes. Pull out to serve, casserole should be bubbling and cheese will be melted and starting to crisp. Enjoy!

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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Review: The Soap Basket LLC

Posted by Jess 5 comments:

Labels: Bodycare Products, Jessica Maass, Review

“The right lathers, right oils, and the essentials you need to get clean!”

The Soap Basket, LLC makes a bold claim on their Facebook page, and I was privileged enough to get to test that claim. I was not disappointed!

I was able to choose three scents of their all natural goat's milk soaps from a very long list of options, and selected Vanilla Lavender, Sandalwood Rose, and Snickers Coffee.

When I received the package in the mail only three days after being told it was on its way, I immediately was entranced by the lovely smells coming from it! Even the Mr, who doesn't usually care if the soap is scented or not, was sniffing the package with interest.

The Vanilla Lavender and Snickers Coffee soaps were in their own little boxes in the package, while the Sandalwood Rose, being shorter and wider than the other two, was loose. My only complaint about the packaging was that the individual boxes, though they had the shop information and even a Bible passage, lacked scent information and weight, which I would have liked to have available.

All of these handmade goat's milk soaps smelled amazing, though they did have different levels of intensity. Each, also had a fantastically gentle lather that left the skin feeling soft and moisturized afterwards, instead of dry and stretched. This is definitely a feat in the Mojave desert, and even the Mr was impressed, as he thought I had just put on lotion the first time he felt my hands after using this goat's milk soap!

Left to Right: Snickers Coffee, Sandalwood Rose, and Vanilla Lavender

The Vanilla Lavender soap was chosen with my son in mind, and was placed in the bathroom. He still thinks that washing his hands is one of the coolest things you can do, so I wanted a scent that was far from stimulating.

This creamy bar with lavender buds is exactly what I wanted. Of all three soaps, this has the mildest scent, though that was to be expected as neither vanilla nor lavender are strong on their own.

Fair warning, the lavender buds are actual flowers, and therefore are not a bright purple, but actually kind of brown, especially as they become exposed. Personally, I don't mind, as it shows me that the flowers weren't artificially colored prior to being put in the soap.

The Snickers Coffee soap was picked just for me. However, the Mr and I both loved this, the strongest scented soap. It smelled so good, I honestly thought he was going to hide it and keep it all for himself.

In the end, though, I was able to use this black slab of yumminess in the shower, replacing my usual body wash.

Because it was in the shower and had more constant contact with water, this soap did not last quite a month, and I am definitely replacing it! This was the only bar that did not have any texture to it, so I may have to make a soap bag for it, as it kept slipping out of my hands.

I chose the Sandalwood Rose soap with my husband in mind, as he loves sandalwood, and I put it in the kitchen to replace the liquid soap we were using there.

This brown, ridged soap smells so amazing that the Mr and I argued over it. He wanted to keep it for himself. So did I. This one had a stronger scent than the Vanilla Lavender, and still fills our kitchen with its delightful aroma when we wash our hands.

After more than a month, both the Vanilla Lavender and the Sandalwood Rose soaps are still going strong!

If you want to order some of this fantastic handmade soap, you can do so through their Facebook page, or, if you happen to be in the New Franklin, Ohio area, you could stop in their brick and mortar store!

The Soap Basket has a long list of fantastic scents to choose from, and the soaps retail at $1.59/oz.

Should you have any skin allergies or sensitivities, contact them and they will help you pick out just the right soap for your skin! I know that I am going to be ordering more soaps, and look forward to trying even more of their delicious fragrances!

The Soap Basket on Facebook

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Monday, November 3, 2014

Day of the Dead Layered Dip

Posted by Lynda Hardy 11 comments:

Labels: Food, Halloween, Lynda Hardy, Recipe

A Wilton Skull Cake Pan and a classic appetizer recipe turns Layered Bean Dip into a festive Day of the Dead specialty!

A couple months ago, Michael and I were wandering in a craft store, doubtless gathering supplies for something particular - but in the way of all craft store shopping, several random items found their way into our cart.

One of those random things was this cake pan - and it's a cool cake pan, isn't it? Thing is, we officially aren't eating wheat (occasionally we unofficially are), so I do not make cake.

But, it was a skull! Skulls are cool!

There would surely be something amazing I could do with this, even if it wound up being holding candy for trick or treaters.

About a week ago I figured out what I wanted to do - we had a potluck coming up, and I decided to make a layered dip - but put it in this pan, decorate it with a few of the toppings, and hopefully wind up with a sort of sugar skull effect.

Then, circumstances forced us to cancel our plans to attend the potluck, so last night this was dinner. And it was delicious!

Of course you can do this layered dip in any sort of casserole dip, but I do think the skull pan adds a special touch.

Day of the Dead Layered Bean Dip

1 lb ground beef
3 T. taco seasoning blend
1 sm can chopped green chiles
1 can refried beans
1/2 cup salsa
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup corn kernels
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1 tomato chopped
1 sm call sliced black olives
avocado slices or guacamole (opt.)
1 diced onion (opt)
jalepeno slices (opt)
(add or subtract ingredients at will!)

1. Brown ground beef, season with taco seasoning blend and mix in green chiles. Drain cooked beef and spread in pan. Top with salsa if desired.

2. In a small saucepan, heat refried beans and stir in 1/2 cup of salsa. Spread refried beans over ground beef in skull pan.

3. Top with a layer of drained, cooked black beans. If desired, top with a layer of corn kernels.

4. Spread shredded cheese over the top. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes, until all is hot and cheese is melted. Let rest for about 10 minutes, until cooled slightly.

5. If using guacamole, spread over the top. Spread sour cream over the top.

6. Cover with shredded lettuce. Decorate as desired with black olives, tomato slices, onion, jalapenos, avocados, etc.

Serve with crispy tortilla chips or veggie sticks. Enjoy!

(On a total total side note, while we were putting this together, it occurred to us how very much this skull pan kind of looked like one of Doctor Who's Cybermen. That could happen in the future...)