Product Spotlight: Trader Joe’s Traditional Premade Carnitas

Low maintenance with BIG seasonal flavor- Carnitas and Butternut squash enchiladas for a dinner party.

I thought of this idea when I had leftover butternut squash cans in my pantry and carnitas in my fridge… it all seemed to fit together after that!

TJ’s Traditional Premade Carnitas

• Servings: 8-10 Enchiladas
• Time: 45 min
• Difficulty: Easy
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Recipe by Bonnie Kuss

Ingredients

• 2 Cans TJ’s butternut squash puree
• 1 jar chipotle salsa
• ½ cup chicken broth, veggie broth, or water
• 8-10 Tortillas of Choice ( Corn or flour )
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• ½ cup Fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 round of TJ’s Queso Fresco Or 1 wedge of Cotija crumbled
• 1 Package Carnitas TJS pre made
• Make it totally Vegetarian or add extra fiber by using 2 cans of drained black beans instead of Carnitas.

Directions

1. Combine puree, salsa, and ½ CUP broth or water in bowl, add spices and stir set aside
2. Place carnitas into separate bowl and shred or chop into small pieces add 1- 1 ½ cup of sauce to pork and stir to combine
3. If using corn tortilla, warm in a pan with oil oil to prevent cracking before rolling, If using flour tortillas feel free to skip that step. Lets get rolling!
4. Place 1 cup sauce on bottom of pan
5. Take 1 tortilla, add 2 rounded TB full of sauced meat, 1 TB cheese and roll up, set inside pan seam side down and repeat * *Continue rolling until you have used all your filling.
6. Pour remaining sauce mixture on top of enchiladas. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 20 minutes, after 20 minutes remove foil and sprinkle with ½ – ¾ cup cheese. Bake for 5-10 minutes until cheese has mostly melted.
7. Top with the fresh cilantro right before serving!

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SWASHBUCKLED! (S2E6): Italian-ish

This week, we go deep into Marie’s Italian roots to make something, kind-of, Italian-ish? None of the ingredients that were provided were very Italian-y, but they all were delicious to eat on their own, and in the dish!

Watch this week’s episode here:

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Ingredients Featured in This Week’s Episode:

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This week, we dive deep into Marie’s “non-white girl” roots, and make some vegetarian stuffed peppers and take a fun twist on a traditional caprese salad.

The stuffed peppers are full of fiber from the veggies, whole wheat cous cous and black beans, while being packed with flavor from the jalapeño artichoke dip and fragrant cheeses. We both loved the stuffed peppers and preferred the green ones over the yellow (which was a surprise to us both!)

The caprese salad was a slam dunk…if you removed the chocolate. Cherries with Mozzarella and Basil was a delicious flavor combination. The dark chocolate pretzels made things a little weird, so when you make this at home (which you should!) we recommend just saving the pretzels on the side to eat on their own (a perfect dessert!)

 

Black Bean, Cous Cous and Veggie Stuffed Peppers

• Servings: 6
• Time: 35-40 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Recipe by Amanda Hibshman, RDN

Ingredients

• 3 Bell Peppers
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• Pinch of Salt & Pepper
• Cous Cous, cooked according to package directions (1 cup water + 1 Cup Cous Cous + 1 Tbsp butter + Salt)
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1/4 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1 zucchini quartered and sliced
• 1 package of mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• oregano
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 Can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup Artichoke and Jalapeño Dip
• 12 Tbsp Quatro Fromaggio (divided so each bell pepper gets 2 tbsp)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Rinse bell peppers and slice in half. Remove seeds. Rub all sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place bell peppers skin side up on a lined baking sheet (parchment paper or foil). Bake for about 15-20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add diced onion, celery and carrots. Let cook for about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for a few more minutes. Then add mushrooms, butter, salt, pepper and oregano.
3. Add 1 1/2 cup of the cooked cous-cous mixture (can save the rest to use as a salad topper), can of black beans, and tomato sauce. Let cook down for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked through. Mix in artichoke & jalapeño dip thoroughly.
4. Remove roasted bell peppers from the oven. Turn over. Place 1 tbsp of Quattro Fromaggio cheese at the bottom, fill with 1/6 of the filling mixture, then finish with another tbsp of cheese.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Cherry Caprese Salad

• Servings: 6
• Time: 10 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Recipe by Amanda Hibshman, RDN

Ingredients

• 18 Reinier Cherries, pitted and halved
• 1/2 package mozzarella balls (about 12), halved
• Large handful of basil (about 20 leaves), Chopped
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Fresh Ground Salt and Pepper (about 1/4 tsp each)
• Balsamic Glaze
• Optional (and not recommended): Chocolate covered Pretzels

Directions

1. Rinse cherries, pit and halve them, Combine in a bowl with mozzarella balls and basil. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Garnish with balsamic glaze on top.
2. We added the chocolate covered pretzels as the challenge for this dish, but it definitely didn’t do this beautiful and delicious salad any flavors. We made it again without the pretzels and it was so great. But the pretzels were fantastic on their own!

 

 

Head over to our PATREON PAGE to become a patron of Fearless Flying Kitchen and check out outtakes from this week as well as Mr. Critic’s reaction.

Classic Black Beans

For a long time, Trader Joe’s was really lacking in the dried legume department. But lucky for me…about a year ago, they introduced dried black beans, and life has never been the same.

If you find cooking beans from scratch intimidating, you are not alone! Before I started making them from scratch, I imagined an all day process that was very labor intensive. But if you have gone through the process before, then you’ll know just how easy it can be. Beans are a very forgiving food to cook, they just need a little bit of (mostly) hands-off time. Having this classic recipe in your back pocket, I guarantee you’ll start stocking up on this staple.

The process really starts the night before. First, empty your 1lb bag of black beans into a large pot and sort through it for any rocks or random beans that might have made their way into the bag (totally common to find stuff like this in raw beans. If you find one, just discard it). Then cover with water, about 2 inches above the bean line, and let sit out overnight. You can cover if you like.

Next, you’ll dump out the water (in a strainer? using your hands to strain it? You pick) and refill the pot with fresh water, about two inches above the bean line. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. You’ll add the rest of the ingredients (diced onion, garlic, bay leaves and salt), and continue to boil and add additional water until fully cooked, about 1-1 1/2 hours.

You will want to occasionally try the beans, and add additional salt as needed, just keep in mind that the flavor intensifies as the water evaporates, so over-salting can be a thing. If that happens, you can always add additional water. Make sure to cook until it is soft.

I love to top my side of beans with the new TEENY TINY AVOCADOS. Great flavor combination! This recipe makes about 6 cups of cooked beans (breaking down to 12, half cup servings).

 

• Servings: 12
• Time: 90min
• Difficulty: easy
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Recipe by Amanda Hibshman, RDN

Ingredients

• 1 lb Bag Black Beans
• Lots of water
• 1/2 Onion, diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 tsp Salt (+ more to taste)

Directions

1. Empty black beans into a large pot, look through beans to make sure there isn’t anything funky in there (sometimes rocks or other beans make their way into your bag) and cover with water (about 2 inches above the bean line). Let sit overnight. 
2. When ready to cook beans, drain soaking water and refill with fresh water, about 2 inches above bean line. Turn heat to high and add onion, garlic, bay leaves and salt. 
3. Let boil until beans are soft and cooked through (usually close to an hour), stirring occasionally and adding additional water as it evaporates. 

Do you have any secrets to the perfect pot of beans? Concerns? Let us know in the comments!

Tacoladas: Beef and Veggie Pie

Do you remember math class in school? I do, and I remember two things in particular: One, was that I hated it. Two, was that I would get such a rush every time I found out I had the right answer when I checked the back of the book.

I sometimes get that same feeling when I COMPLETELY create and improvise a recipe from scratch. I am talking, no pinterest-ing, no internet searching. Nothing. And then it actually turns out, and it is delicious. Even better when there are lots of vegetables too! Such a rush.

So, behold my Taco Pie, aka. the source of this rush:

Taco Pie. Er, Casserole. Er, …nevermind

Ok, that seems a little silly after I look at this picture. I mean, it looks like just any regular casserole, right? (Side note – If anyone can come up with a better name for this, please let me know in the comments below. It does not resemble a pie in any way shape or form, that is just what I keep calling it. And I think the term “casserole” can scare some people off with nightmares of cream of chicken soup and mayonnaise. )

From the bottom to the top, this casserole starts out with a hint of my favorite TJ’s salsa (I use the Trader Joe’s Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, but there are many you can choose from, just pick your favorite), then a layer of corn tortillas, cut into triangles.

Now, many of my friends have gone back and forth over “what is the best corn tortilla found on the shelves of Trader Joe’s.” My personal favorite is the “De Mi Abuela: Wheat and Corn Tortillas” because they are a little bit thicker, and have lots of flavor. Not every one in my house is a fan of that one, so I usually end up getting the “Corn Tortillas” that are gluten-free and have minimal ingredients. They are just your regular, run-of-the-mill tortillas. And that is perfectly acceptable in a dish like this, that has so much flavor and other textures going on.

Left: De Mi Abuela
Right: Corn Tortillas

The next layer is a mix of 6 different veggies that have been sautéed in a little bit of olive oil. You could probably swap out some of the veggies if you have other favorites. It is kind of a cool way to clean out your fridge if you have just a few randoms laying around. While I had my cutting board out, I actually ended up dicing a lot more veggies than this, and then saving them for the following morning to add to an egg scramble.

Nothing more beautiful than a rainbow of veggies in a skillet

After that layer, add some more corn tortilla triangles, then the layer of ground beef. I like lean ground beef (96% lean) because it is pretty inexpensive, and is easy to freeze and de-thaw. I also ALWAYS have some hanging out in my kitchen. But if you prefer a different type of protein, you could easily swap the ground beef with turkey, or even shredded chicken (YUM!) Simply brown the ground beef (or ground turkey or chicken) in a skillet. It can be the same one you just cooked the veggies in. Then add a can of diced tomatoes and a half packet of taco seasoning. If you like your food on the spicy side, add a little more. If you like it less spicy, add a little less. However, there was enough heat for me and my family with just half a packet.

Put that mixture on top of the corn tortilla triangles, then load the top up with some shredded Mexican cheese and bake in the oven until it is bubbly, about 20-25 minutes.

I topped mine with some guacamole, salsa, sour cream and Jalapeño Greek yogurt dip. No, I am not a glutton, just indecisive. I think the Jalapeño Greek Yogurt dip won. It is my current favorite.

And the icing on the cake, is the leftovers are even better. I just love when meals get better with age.

• Servings: 6-8
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 zucchini, diced
• 1/2 yellow squash, diced
• 1/2 package of mushrooms, diced
• 2 cups kale
• 1/4 cup salsa verde (Roasted Tomatillo Salsa)
• 8 corn tortillas, cut into triangle wedges
• 1 lb 95% lean ground beef
• 1 can tomatoes with green chilies
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning
• 1/2 package Mexican cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Once warm, add onions and cook for a few minutes, then add bell pepper and cook for another couple minutes. Next, add zucchini and yellow squash, continue to cook for a few minutes. Then add mushrooms and cook for a few motte minutes. Lastly, add the kale.
3. In a 9×13 glass dish, spread salsa along the bottom of the pan, then spread corn tortillas on top. Put cooked veggies on top. Do another layer of corn tortillas.
4. In the same large skillet, brown lean grown beef. Once brown, add taco seasoning and tomatoes and cook on low for 8-10 minutes. Once cooked, add to casserole dish. Cover with cheese and bake for 25 minutes, until cheese is starting to bubble and brown. Remove from oven and let sit a few minutes before serving.

Suggested Side items – Black beans and a salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Cilantro Dressing

Suggested Drinks – Trader Joe’s Organic Mango Lemonade (with or without tequila)

Black And White Chili with Cornbread Waffles

Original Blog Entry Dated July 10, 2013:

If you have ever trolled my Pinterest boards, you might be wondering what the deal is with the waffles. Obsession, right? I have been looking up all the different things that could be waffled, and have been a little bit amazed with everything I have found. Cookies, cakes, apple pies, grilled cheese, grilled peanut butter and jelly, hash browns, tater tots, brownies and cornbread (just to name a few). And I wanna try them all! This past weekend, the hubs gotme a waffle iron for my birthday. The next day, we broke in the iron with a meal I have always wanted to try: chicken n’ waffles. It was delicious, and just made me want to waffle everything in my kitchen even more.

So, on to dinner.

I am a big fan of making chili and cornbread. Not only is it a super easy meal to make, it is actually pretty good for you! I double the amount of beans, which is an excellent source of fiber. It also is the perfect dish to make if you are trying to get more iron in your diet. The ground beef and beans are high in iron, and the tomato sauce is high in vitamin c, which will help you absorb the iron. Even better, is this recipe translates really well into a crock pot meal, which is how I prepared it below.

 

Black and White Chili

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 6-8 hrs in the crockpot
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 cup frozen bell peppers, chopped or half of a red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
• 1 15 oz can black beans, undrained
• 1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

Brown one pound of lean ground beef in a pan with chopped garlic. Add onion. Cook until onions are tender. Transfer to a crock pot (using a slotted spoon, trying to not bring any drippings).  Add the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot and stir well. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Tastes delicious as left overs. Freezes really well too!

Note- I have also made this where I don’t cook the onion and garlic with the beef, and there was more of a crunch, which was delicious. Both ways work.

Now, on to the fun part!

To make things easy, I use the cornbread mix from trader joes. It is sweet and has whole corn kernels, which make a delicious combination.

Mix according to directions (you will also need 1 egg, 3/4 cup milk, and 1/2 cup vegetable oil in addition to the box). Preheat waffle iron, and cook a half cup of batter at a time.

They turned out beautiful! Simply delicious. Would go well with some honey butter too! Mmmm… Honey butter…

If you are a fan of “end pieces” then you’ll die over these cornbread waffles!