West by Midwest

Recipes and thoughts from the West by Midwest kitchen

Carnitas Chipotle Bean Stew

We eat Carnitas (Mexican fried pork) all the time, but always pick it up at a good Mexican grocery/taqueria. I found 20 oz packages of carnitas at Costco and wanted to give it a try for a cool day, not sure what I was going to make. I searched the pantry and put this together.  It's got a little heat to warm you up. Carnitas Chipotle Bean Stew Ingredients: 1 20 oz package of carnitas, or pick up fresh at a local taqueria 1 onion, finely sliced 2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil 2 cloves garlic 1 large can Italian Tomatoes 2-3 chipotle peppers, chopped finely (canned with Adobo sauce) 1 can White Beans (or black if that's what you prefer) (drained and rinsed) 1 can Garbanzo ... read more

Roasted Cracked Dungeness Crab

  It's that time of year, Dungeness Crab is abundant on the West Coast. Sometimes we pick it up off the boat in Half Moon Bay, but I find that the crab at Costco is really good, and a lot less work! It's precooked, but I make it even better by roasting it a little. Roasted Cracked Dungeness Crab Ingredients: 1 stick Butter 3-4 cloves of Garlic 2-3 large Dungeness Crabs Cracked Pepper if desired Steps: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a LARGE roasting pan, melt the butter until it starts to brown a little.  Add the garlic, either minced or smashed and the pepper. Clean the crab, crack the shells cut the bodies into smaller pieces.  Place in the roaster and ... read more

Broccoli Cheesy Pie

So this is a quiche, but guys are weird about "quiche" so it's a PIE in case they ask. You can play with the ingredients.  It was a rainy day, I didn't want to make a stew that required me to go to the store so this was dinner. Easy. Cheesy. Pie. Goes great with a salad. Broccoli Cheesy Pie Ingredients: 1 Pie Crust (store bought is just fine)  1 tablespoon butter 1 large yellow Onion, diced  Coarse salt and ground pepper 6 large eggs 3/4 cup Heavy Cream or Evaporated Milk 3/4 pound Broccoli florets, steamed or roasted until crisp-tender 1 cup grated Sharp Cheddar (4 ounces) 1/4 cup  Feta Cheese Steps: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pie crust into ... read more

Bite Sized BLT’s

I first made these when I had some fresh tomatoes from my garden and needed an appetizer to take to a summer party.  These are so pretty with the red tomatoes and green arugula and would make a festive Christmas appetizer too. Bite Sized BLT's Ingredients: 1 package Puff Pastry 6 pieces of Bacon 1 large tomato or 2 medium 1 cup Arugula Olive Oil Mayonaise Shredded Parmesan Cheese Pepper Steps: Cut the puff pastry into small pieces, 12 for larger bites, 25 for truly "bite size". Spread a little mayo on each bite and sprinkle a little parmesan over the top. Bake according to directions on the pull pastry box, until lightly browned. Seed and Dice the tomatoes ... read more

Cranberry, Meyer Lemon and Persimmon Vodka Fusion

I made something similar a few years ago, so planning ahead for Thanksgiving! Quick and easy and ready for those Over 21 cocktails.  Ingredients: 1/2 Cup dried Cranberries The Peel from 1 Meyer Lemon 1 Persimmon, peeled and sliced thinly 1/4 cup Sugar 1 Cup (or more) Vodka Steps: In a 16 oz canning jar, add the cranberries, lemon peel, persimmon and sugar.  Pour Vodka to fill and cover fruit. Shake occasionally to make sure sugar is mixed in. Let sit for 2 weeks to fully infuse the vodka and plump the cranberries. This can be put over ice, shaken and poured into a martini glass, or spooned into a flute and filled with Champagne. Use the fruit as garnish or ... read more

Crab Mac and Cheese (+ Bonus Easiest Crab Cakes ever)

This is easy Mac and Cheese with a special twist.  I had some biscuits to use up and a can of crab so I added a nice "crumble" to the top and used the rest to make a couple crab cake biscuits.  I'll be playing with this recipe to make it even better, but wanted to make the first batch really easy to make. Crab Mac and Cheese Ingredients: 8 oz of dried Macaroni 2 Tbls. Butter 1 Celery stalk, finely diced 1/2 Onion, finely diced 2 cans low fat Evaporated Milk 6 oz low fat Cheddar cheese, shredded 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. dried Mustard 1 tsp Paprika or a pinch of Cayenne Crab Crumble and Biscuits Ingredients: 4 Biscuits from a can (Pillsbury Grands work well) ... read more

Butternut Squash and Chicken Ravioli with Brown Butter

  This is AWESOME! And it's easy to make.  Great for a Fall dinner when butternut squash is in season, even better when you find pre cut butternut squash like I did when I made this.  I had Chicken and Kale ravioli I needed to use up and this was a great combination. Ingredients: 1 20 oz. package of butternut squash (or peel and cut one whole squash into small cubes) 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced lengthwise 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large package of fresh ravioli, I used chicken sausage and kale 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 stick) fresh sage leaves or poultry seasoning Pine nuts (totally optional but really good) Pecorino or Parmesan ... read more

Fresh from the Pillsbury Bake-Off

    I'm pretty exhausted, having just returned from the 47th Pillsbury Bake-Off in Nashville, Tennessee. Pillsbury knows how to throw a cooking contest. I understand that there were over 100,000 recipes and I was thrilled that mine was one of the 100 that were chosen as finalists. This isn't something I do.  I cook, a LOT, but I don't enter many cooking contests, I have only entered 2 recipes in recipe contests before, and my FIRST recipe I ever entered into the Pillsbury Bake-off, on a total whim no less, was chosen to compete. Nashville was a great location choice. I grew up in the Midwest but had never driven down to Nashville. The town was great, the music was ... read more

Chicken Tikka Masala and Spicy Cilantro Dip

I saw this recipe and it made me want to try to cook Indian food for the first time. It can be made in a slow cooker, or I used a heavy pot that can go from stove top to oven and slow cooked it at 250 degrees for 4-5 hours. Served over rice with some store bought Naan on the side and homemade spicy cilantro dip, it is great for Fall and Winter to take the chill off.  I made it on a very hot day in the California Fall and it was still great for Sunday dinner. Chicken Tikki Masala Ingredients: 1 1/2-2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs 1 large Onion, diced 3 cloves Garlic, minced 1 inch fresh Ginger, peeled and grated 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste 2 tablespoons Garam ... read more

Dias de los Muertos

Another art form! Last year I went to Forever Hollywood's Day of the Dead / Dias de los Muertos celebration with a friend in LA and had a blast. I have loved the Day of the Dead figurines since I lived in Texas years ago. I also have a lot of scrapbook paper left over (ok, I stopped working on those scrapbooks the day I bought my digital camera) so I combined my love of the two to make some presents for Halloween. These are photographed on the inspirational paper, though I used another paper for some of the accents. This was my first, I had a splotch with an oil paint pen malfunction so the lips were a little bigger than I ... read more