Chilies Rellenos

INGREDIENTS:
12 Poblano (hot) or Anaheim (less hot) chile peppers, charred and peeled
1 pound Queso Blanco cheese, cut into strips
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour for coating

DIRECTIONS:
1. Remove seeds and membranes from peppers (or leave 'em in if you're a masochist.) Stuff each pepper with a strip of cheese.

2.In a small bowl combine milk, flour, egg, baking powder, baking soda, salt and canola oil; mix well to make a batter.

3.Pour enough oil in heavy frying pan to reach 1 inch in depth and heat over medium-high heat. Roll each pepper in flour and dip in the batter. Fry until lightly browned on both sides.

Easy Polenta With Tomato Sauce

Italian comfort food! It's sort of like cheesy, sweet grits with tomato sauce on top. You can serve it with or without the tomato sauce. You can also mix in herbs and mushrooms with the cheese. Another option is to refrigerate the mush overnight in a loaf pan, then slice and pan-fry the polenta to serve cake-style. It's a really versatile, easy dish to just throw together anytime.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups spaghetti sauce, or your favorite recipe

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch square baking dish.

2. In a large pot, combine the milk and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it is at a rolling boil, gradually whisk in the cornmeal, making sure there are no lumps.

3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.

4. Pour the polenta into the prepared baking dish, and spread spaghetti sauce over the top.

5. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until sauce is bubbling.

Spaghetti and Stuffed Peppers at Casa de Chaos:

Stuffed Peppers

INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 cup water
6 green bell peppers (I use all colors.)
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Place the rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the beef until evenly browned.

3. Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward. (Slice the bottoms of the peppers if necessary so that they will stand upright.)

4. In a bowl, mix the browned beef, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each hollowed pepper. Mix the remaining tomato sauce and Italian seasoning in a bowl, and pour over the stuffed peppers.

5. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, basting with sauce every 15 minutes, until the peppers are tender.

Garden Ratatouille

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1" cubes

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4" thick slices

2 tsp kosher salt

1 large onion, chopped

2 bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. oregano

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp basil

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup black olives, pitted

Place eggplant and zucchini in colander and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let drain for 30 minutes. Rinse and dry veggies and set aside. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion, peppers, and garlic until tender, stirring often. Add the eggplant, zucchini, basil, and oregano. Cover and cook, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft. Add the salt and season with pepper to taste. Garnish with olives. This dish can be made ahead and served warm or cold. Good with parmesan cheese on top.

Zucchini Souffle

2 cups zucchini, grated

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

3 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup minced onion

1 tsp. dill
1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 pkg. corn muffin mix

parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix all ingredients together and sprinkle top with parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes.

This is my attempt at copying a friend's recipe for brisket. She brought it as an example of Jewish food at my school's International Dinner, and it was sooooooo good! Everyone in my family has been bugging me to get the recipe from her, but she's one of those cooks who just sort of "throws things together" so this is the closest I could get. It's pretty close!

Marilyn's Brisket





You need:

1 brisket ~3lbs.
2 onions, sliced into rings
2 T minced garlic (more or less, to taste)
2 T paprika
salt and pepper
1 cup sweet, red wine (Marilyn uses Manischewitz, but I used Wild Vines and it tasted pretty much the same.)
1 can beer

Here's how you make it --

Place the brisket in a roasting pan that has space enough to cover the meat with stuff. (I put it in a large crockpot -- you know, the bathtub-sized one Dad got me for Christmas a couple years ago? It's perfect for this.) Sprinkle it with the garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Cover it with onions. Pour the wine over top, then pour the beer over top everything. Roast overnight. (She didn't say what temperature to roast it, but I imagine it's kind of low if you're roasting it all night long. I "roasted" mine in the crockpot overnight on the low setting.)