Tuesday, December 31, 2013

New Year…

I have been neglecting my blog lately more than ever and it’s going to stop. I’ve been side tracked with my busy toddler and working and it’s going to stop, today.

I need more facets to my life and this is something I’ve been missing. I ran out of creativity and have just let this blog go to the birds…

I appreciate that I still have views, but it’s time to step it up and get back into the blogging life.

So my resolution is to be back here, blogging.

No matter what you celebrate, I hope your holidays are wonderful, happy and bright.

One love.

peachychichi.blogspot.com

Friday, December 20, 2013

Tortilla Soup

While the rest of the nation is stuck in a cold snap, I’m over here complaining that it’s just under 60 outside today…

But, winter is winter and here I am with my spicy take on a toasty and tasty tortilla soup!

Tortilla Soup from PeachyChiChi.blogspot.com

This is pretty easy if you want to go with canned ingredients. Or if you’re a freezer lady, like me, it’s all out of the freezer or fresh, so it’s still pretty easy… It is soup, after all.

I have chicken broth, black beans, onions, corn, bell peppers and chicken ready to go in the freezer. I went out and grabbed a couple Roma tomatoes and used a leftover can of green chiles I had bought for a dip and never used. (Seriously, canned food is lonely in my pantry. It hangs out with the lingering cans of tuna but even that canned fish I grew up knowing and loving is making it’s way out of my diet.)

So, let’s get some ingredients, which are approximate, because I freeze crap in bulk and don’t measure much as I take it out.

About 16oz of shredded chicken
32oz of chicken broth
2cups of black beans, rinsed and drained
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1cup green bell peppers, diced
1cup onions, diced
2cups of corn, diced
A few cloves of garlic

Directions:

Dump it all in the crock pot. Just throw that shit in there all willy nilly like. You’re in a hurry, aren’t you? That’s what a crock pot meal is for… So dump that shit, turn it on low if you’re not that hungry or turn it on high if it’s time to eat.

While you’re waiting, either open a bag of tortilla chips or bust out a stack of corn tortillas, preheat your oven to something hotter than the pavement in the summer and grab a pizza cutter. Slice up the tortillas, however you want and throw them on a baking sheet. Salt, season, oil, spit shine those bad boys, however you prefer and pop them into the oven until they’re crispy!

Serve it all together, maybe a little cheese on top, maybe not, that’s okay too, but tortilla that soup up and you’re done!

Enjoy, guero.

peachychichi.blogspot.com

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Aebleskivers

Aebleskivers from PeachyChiChi.blogspot.com

 

What is an aebleskiver?

 

They’re like pancakes, but smaller… And round, and fluffy… And you can’t get enough.

 

I grew up eating these during the holidays. I was lucky enough to have a grandmother who wasn’t far from her tall, pale, European roots. She wasn’t blessed with the culinary gift, but once a year, she got down and we feasted.

 

It’s actually Æbleskiver, pronounced able-skee-ver. In Dutch, it means, ‘apple slices’, which, I don’t quite understand, but it works for me. They’re marketed in America as ‘pancake puffs’… Rolling on the floor laughingThe more you know.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c milk
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites

Aebleskivers from PeachyChiChi.blogspot.com

 

Your pan is very important.

 

I’ve seen quite a few kitschy little pans that won’t do you any good.

 

You need a solid material like cast iron to heat evenly to give you quality skeevers.

 

Don’t cut corners on a good pan, it will last a life time.

 

 

 

Now, let’s make a big ole pile of awesome.

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, stir together the milk and the egg yolks until well combined. Add to the flour mixture, stir until smooth.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer, on high, until stiff peaks form. Now, this can seem like a daunting task if you’ve never done it before, and you’re like me, you might think you’re doing it wrong. Keep mixing, keep that shit on high and things’ll, you know, get stiff.

Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter with a spatula, GENTLY, leaving some puffs of whites. Now is not the time to just mix like a mad housewife, be gentle with the air bubbles you’ve taken so long to beat up, because that’s where the fluff of this glorious puff comes from. You’ll notice that towards the end of this process, your last skeevers of the batch will be flatter than the first. It’s your batter. It’s, deflating… Frowny face.

Place the pan over medium heat, lightly brush or spoon a little oil of your choice into each cup. We used Crisco while I was growing up, butter, margarine, whatever your preference is fine, just as long as the flavor isn’t strong, obviously.

When the oil sizzles, spoon about 2 tbsp of batter into each cup, so that they’re about 2/3 of the way full.

Aebleskivers from PeachyChiChi.blogspot.com

 

They’ll start to form bubbles, get crispy on the edges and look like they want to be flipped over, in about 1 or 2 minutes, depending on the heat.

Use a fork, or like me, two forks, and flip that little fucker in its shell. It’s a tricky little process, but if you mess up, use a toothpick to tuck the excess batter back into ball form and you’ll get the hang of it.

Flip each skeever and cook until shell is formed and they’re golden brown all over.

Aebleskivers from PeachyChiChi.blogspot.com

Pick out and transfer to an oven safe dish, in a warm (300) oven until they’re all finished.

Garnish with powdered sugar and syrup and ENJOY!

 

peachychichi.blogspot.com