Zucchini con Queso, Chicken & Zucchini con Queso

I love Mexican food almost as much as I love Cajun & Creole food.  When I lived in Texas, I loved eating at authentic, mom-and-pop, hole-in-the-wall joints.

Especially the little joint where I first tried guacamole salad, had true enchiladas and tacos with real Mexican cheese

where the owner/matriarch pointed to a table and said "you sit there!"  Even if it wasn't the table you wanted

where the owner/matriarch grabbed a chef's knife and stabbed her husband in the kitchen in the middle of dinner service.

But that's a story for another day.
Let's go with this story instead...

My favorite Mexican cookbook, The Border Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico by Cheryl Alters Jamison & Bill Jamison, is full of authentic recipes.

Like this creamy, cheesy Zucchini con Queso.

It's not something I get to make often because it's time consuming for a side dish.

But chicken can be added to turn it into a meal.  Making the time it takes more justified.

Time consuming side dishes could turn me a little stabby, afterall.  And you can never be too careful with a chef's knife.

If you are up for something different for Cinco de Mayo, Zucchini con Queso could replace those refried beans.

Chicken & Zucchini con Queso could stand in for tacos and enchiladas.

Either way, you can't go wrong.  Just keep that knife to yourself.

Print It

Zucchini Con Queso
adapted from The Border Cookbook

Vegetables:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 lbs zucchini, cut in fat matchsticks
1 medium onion, sliced in thin strips
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large bell pepper (any color), sliced in thin strips
2 Roma tomatoes sliced into thin strips
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt

Sauce:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1/4 cup sour cream
4 oz grated pepper jack cheese

In a large skillet warm butter and oil over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes until wilted. Stir in the bell pepper, tomatoes, oregano, and salt. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until zucchini is very tender.

While the vegetables cook, make the sauce.

In a saucepan, warm butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the flour.  Cook and stir until bubbly.  Add the garlic, evaporated milk, and sour cream and heat through. Stir in cheese, cover pan, and remove from the heat. Stir again in several minutes if needed to melt cheese evenly. Keep sauce warm until serving.

Serve the zucchini mixture with spoonfuls of the cheese sauce.
6-8 servings


Print It

Chicken & Zucchini Con Queso
adapted from The Border Cookbook

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 chicken breasts, sliced in thin strips
1 tsp dried oregano, divided
1 tsp salt, divided
2 lbs zucchini, cut in fat matchsticks
1 medium onion, sliced in thin strips
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large bell pepper (any color), sliced in thin strips
2 Roma tomatoes sliced into thin strips

Sauce:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1/4 cup sour cream
4 oz grated pepper jack cheese

In a large skillet warm butter and oil over medium heat. Season the chicken strips with half of the oregano and half of the salt.  Brown the chicken, then add zucchini, onion, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes until wilted. Stir in the bell pepper, tomatoes, and remaining oregano, and salt. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until zucchini is very tender.

While this cooks, make the sauce.

In a saucepan, warm butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the flour.  Cook and stir until bubbly.  Add the garlic, evaporated milk, and sour cream and heat through. Stir in cheese, cover pan, and remove from the heat. Stir again in several minutes if needed to melt cheese evenly. Keep sauce warm until serving.

Serve the chicken & zucchini mixture with spoonfuls of the cheese sauce.




More from The Border Cookbook...

More Cinco de Mayo...

Linking with:

Thanksgiving Leftovers--Louisiana Style {Smoked Turkey and Okra Gumbo}

Gumbo made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey 

will soon be bubbling away 

on back burners across Louisiana.

The number of gumbo recipes equal the number of cooks.

There are many types of gumbo.
Chicken, hen, guinea, turkey, dove, duck, goose.  Rabbit, squirrel.  Seafood.
Beef and pork (except for sausage) are rarely seen in gumbo.

There are also different styles of gumbo.  Cajun gumbo is almost always made with a very dark roux and rarely has tomatoes and/or okra.  Cajuns also tend to stick with poultry and game--seafood gumbo is not their "everyday gumbo."

Tomatoes and okra are usually found in Creole style gumbos.  Seafood is more prominent as well.

My gumbo rules:
1-- I like a dark roux.  A dark roux adds a layer of flavor that can't be beat.  Keep in mind that the darker the roux, the weaker the thickening power.

2-- I don't go crazy mixing a lot of different meats/proteins.  Gumbo is meant to feed a crowd at a low cost.

3-- And meat doesn't get mixed with seafood, except for possibly shrimp and andouille sausage.  You may see chicken, shrimp, crab, and sausage gumbos in cooking magazines, but on most Louisiana tables, chicken (or other fowl or game) and seafood are not traditionally mixed.

~*~*~*~

Smoked Turkey and Okra Gumbo is probably more Creole than any other gumbo I've made.  

It has a tomato-y base, is flavored with bay leaves (a common seasoning in the New Orleans area), and contains okra.  

~*~*~*~

How to make a roux

How to make stock

Print It

Smoked Turkey and Okra Gumbo

Turkey stock (8-10 cups)
2 large onions, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups sliced okra
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt, or to taste
½ tsp black pepper, or to taste
¾-1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
¾ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
6 cups leftover smoked turkey
cooked rice
chopped green onion

Start by making a stock with the turkey carcass, onions, celery, and garlic.

Make sure all of the vegetables are chopped before starting the roux.

Brown the sliced sausage in a large cast iron or stainless steel pot.  Remove.  Add oil to the pot and heat over medium.  Test by sprinkling in a pinch of flour. If the flour sinks, continue heating the oil. If the flour bubbles, sprinkle in all of the flour. Slowly stir and scrape the flour, moving the mixture constantly. If pools of oil form on the surface, sprinkle additional flour over them. Continue stirring and scraping until the roux is brick red or light chocolate colored.

Immediately add the chopped vegetables (onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, okra) to stop the roux from burning.  Add the tomato paste to the mixture and saute until the vegetables are tender.  If the mixture is dry, add liquid from the diced tomatoes to help cook down the vegetables.

Slowly pour warm stock into the pot, stirring to prevent lumps.  Add the seasoning and tomatoes and simmer for 1 hour.  Add the sausage and turkey to the pot and simmer another hour.

Serve over cooked rice.  Sprinkle green onion over the top of each bowl.

More Gumbo...

Linking with:

That Moment When... {Who Dat Hot Wings}

So.  Wings and football.

A classic pair.

I've been experimenting with hot wings since The Boy loves them.
Working on a few cooking methods.  And a sauce using two of my favorite Louisiana products: Cajun Power Garlic Sauce and Louisiana Hot Sauce.
(My most favorite Louisiana products would be Zatarain's Creole Mustard and Community Coffee)

When I tell you we've been eating a lot of wings, I'm not kidding.

Only every time we've had wings, the Saints have lost.
The week I gave wings a rest, the Saints won.

I was starting to think that my hot wings had bad ju-ju.

Last Sunday no wings came out of my kitchen.
And the Saints lost anyway.

~*~*~*~

These wings were fried "naked."  We liked them, but they weren't the favorite.

I tried baking the wings.  The adults liked these the most.  The chicken turned out more tender and fall-off-the-bone than the other cooking methods.  Still had that crispy exterior going on too. Baking is also the healthier way to go.  And no babysitting a deep fryer.  Bonus!

I know the standard is blue cheese dressing but I like a bowl of the remaining hot wing sauce instead.

Last, was frying them breaded.  This was my son's favorite.  The adult's least favorite.  He liked them because they are more like fried chicken.  I did not like the extra mess.  Extra calories too.  Although, let's be real.  When I'm eating wings, sitting on my butt yelling at the Saints in front of the tv, I'm not much into calorie counts.

Print It!

Who Dat Hot Wings
3 ways

For the wing sauce:
1 stick butter
7-8 Tbsp Louisiana brand hot sauce
4 Tbsp Cajun Power Garlic Sauce

For the wings:
1. Fried Naked
vegetable oil
deep fryer
3 lbs chicken wings

Heat oil to 375 F in a deep fryer.  While the oil is heating, remove and discard the tips of the wings and cut apart the drumette and wingette at the joint.  Pat the wings dry.

When the oil is hot, add a few wings at a time to the fryer, being careful not to crowd them.  Fry for about 10 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165 F in the thickest part of the meat.  Remove from fryer, drain briefly on paper towels.  Place in a large bowl with wing sauce and toss to coat.

2. Fried Breaded
vegetable oil
deep fryer
3 lbs chicken wings
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Heat oil to 375 F in a deep fryer.  Remove and discard the tips of the wings and cut apart the drumette and wingette at the joint.  Place the wings in buttermilk.

Mix together the flour, panko, salt, and pepper.  Dredge wings in breading mixture and fry for 12-15 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165 F in the thickest part of the meat.  Remove from fryer, drain briefly on paper towels.  Place in a large bowl with wing sauce and toss to coat.

3. Baked
3 lbs chicken wings
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Remove and discard the tips of the wings and cut apart the drumette and wingette at the joint.  Place the wings in a large bowl.  Toss with vegetable oil.  Season with salt and pepper and toss again.

Place wire racks on two large sheet pans.  Spread out wings between the two pans and bake for about 50 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165 F and the skin is crispy.  Remove from oven, place in a large bowl with wing sauce and toss to coat.



More Game Day Snacks...


Linking with: