Breakfast quesadilla: Cheesy Sweet Potato Mushroom Hatch-adilla

I needed something other than a smoothie for breakfast. Searching through the fridge, I spotted a sweet potato and some Cheddar. Hatch chiles are always in good supply in the freezer, and I'd picked up some yummy Hatch onions too. With mushrooms and turkey bacon on hand, it just seemed like a good idea. 

Cheesy Sweet Potato Mushroom Hatch-adilla

• 1/2 a small to medium sweet potato
• Scant 1/4 cup of sharp Cheddar, grated
• About 2 Tbsp. of diced Hatch chile onion (or green onion)
• 3 mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/2 a small Hatch chile, roasted and diced small
• 1 piece of turkey bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 3 Tbsp. of your favorite bbq or jerk sauce
• Two flour tortillas (get the ones made in-store)

Punch tiny holes in sweet potato and cook in microwave (5 mins. on full power for a smaller one). Let it cool a bit. 

In large fry pan, put a little coconut oil (or spray) and saute mushrooms and onions just slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Build your quesadilla by spreading on a little bbq sauce, then placing in the pan. Now pile on flat spoonfuls of sweet potato. Dot with mushrooms and onions, Hatch chile, turkey bacon and Cheddar. Spread remaining sauce on the other enchilada. Put the top on, and toast your enchilada, flipping once carefully. 

Enjoy - it's a little weird but really yummy! 

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Foodies, rejoice - Houston culinary adventures

I like adventures. Traveling, learning, trying new skills - and especially eating. It's rare for me to miss out on good food. When it comes to telling a story about food, the next best thing after being there and enjoying the food is the memory of such joy, in the form of pictures.   

Here are a few from a recent collection: Corey's visit, and then from the just-opened and much anticipated The Pass and Provisions from Pilot Light Restaurant Group. 

Grilled tuna, pineapple-cilantro salsa, grilled avocado with watermelon

Corey is an adventurous foodie, which I love, because it's like the icing on the cake to hang out with her and enjoy food so much. She was craving fresh tuna (not available in Trinidad) so this was a wonderful Saturday lunch made at our house. It was ridiculously good, the tuna was seared perfectly, and I'd never tried grilled avocado. The watermelon provides an exclamation point of color and flavor.  

Then there were the favorite foodie fixes on Corey's list, including shrimp corn dogs at Haven and diver scallops in a green pea broth at Brasserie 19. It was a quiet afternoon before the dinner rush, so we had a great visit with Executive Chef Amanda McGraw.

Haven's shrimp corn dogs, lemonade

Brasserie 19 Executive Chef Amanda McGraw

Diver scallops from Brasserie 19

Illuminated foyer at The Pass and Provisions

The Pass and Provisions is such a treat for us, as we mourned the closure of Gravitas and the ensuing empty space at the end of our street. We feel like we won BIG with the opening of this amazing space brought to our community by the Pilot Light Restaurant Group, and outstanding menu meant to be shared. 

After all, we live an entire 10 houses away from the restaurant, so you can't beat the commute. Oh, and our friend Marty custom-built many elements of this funky space, including the bar structure, finishes and furniture.  

Have I mentioned how much I love living here?

Truffled maitaki mushroom pizza, fontina

Shaved potato and thyme pizza, tallegio

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Spicier Southwest Style Stuffed Peppers

The foundational inspiration for this recipe was on a blog called Inquiring Chef (thank you kindly!). I wanted to make a few changes:

1. Sneak in more veggies
2. Use ranch style black beans which have a savory sauce
3. Make it smokier with smoked cheddar and Van Roehling Campfire Dust seasoning (see note at bottom)

They're vegetarian but are so hearty

Spicier Southwest Style Stuffed Peppers

serves 4 or more

1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced 
About 6 oz. of mushrooms (white or crimini or baby bellas), chopped
4 medium bell peppers (any color)
1 1/4 cup grated smoked cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 tsp. chili powder
3/4 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. Van Roehling's Campfire Dust (see NOTE below) or 1/2 tsp. salt 

1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or more if you like heat)
2 cups cooked rice (I prefer brown)
1 can black beans (I used ranch style) 
3/4 cup salsa
3 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped (plus more for garnish, if desired)

for serving:
sour cream (optional)

Ingredients before I put them in the processor

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise (cut from stem to base). Using a spoon or a small paring knife if you prefer, scrape out and discard the core and seeds. 

Arrange the peppers in a glass baking dish with the hollow side face up. It's ok if they touch.  

Prepare onion, carrot, celery and garlic in a food processor (peel and chunk, then whiz through processor until it's coarse but not mushy). Saute, stirring, for 5 minutes in large pot over medium heat with a teaspoon of olive oil.

Chop mushrooms in the processor or by hand, add to the pot and saute for 3 minutes. Turn off heat. Add spices, rice, beans (with their sauce if using ranch style, or rinsed if not), cilantro and one cup of the shredded cheese. If it's a bit dry, add a little water (you basically want the filling to steam inside the peppers).

Ready to hit the oven

Fill the pepper halves with the mixture, packing it gently to compress it inside the peppers. Bake until the peppers smell yummy and are bubbling and darkening on top, 17-20 minutes. 


Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over the peppers and continue baking until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately, topped with sour cream (if desired).





About Van Roehling products

Van Roehling, a Texas man of German heritage, is our friend's Dad. He was formulating his own variations of barbeque sauces and rubs, experimenting with infusions from the smoker and trying bold spice combinations. His appreciative guests raved about his creations, encouraging him to begin selling his wares. And so he did. 

Let me say that, knowing and loving his daughter, we know that attention to detail and personal connection runs in the family. My favorite is the smoky/garlicky/savory Campfire Dust rub, and I like it so much that I call her 'my dealer' - it's that illegally good. I use this in everything from roasted potatoes to omelets to creamed spinach to marinade. The only thing I haven't tried is sprinkling it on ice cream - betcha it would be good on vanilla!

May I suggest that you order your Van Roehling stuff before it's outlawed!

I'm addicted to this seasoning

Variations:
1: add ground turkey and halve the amount of rice and beans. 
2: substitute quinoa for rice.
3: for paleo-friendly, use ground meat of choice, remove rice and beans, add tomato paste and water, and finely processed cauliflower.

Picking peppers: When purchasing the bell peppers, remember what your spouse/partner/family likes. I totally forgot that Greg detests green peppers. Doh! But they were two thirds cheaper. It would be fun to do a mix of colors so people can choose their color.

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And to top it all off...

Greg digs pizza night. Ok - 'adores' is a more accurate verb. For me, the game is finding stuff in the fridge and pantry to use as toppings. In fact, the decision to have pizza is often contingent upon the discovery of said potential toppings. 

Here's a pic of a recent pizza, and I'd like to share the toppings with you because this worked really well.

 

On this pizza:

• chopped tomatoes (soaked for a bit with salt, pepper and basil)
• peeled and thinly sliced asparagus (peeling it is key)
• paper thin onion slices
• sliced black olives
• zucchini 
• mushrooms
• turkey pepperoni
• mozzarella 
• Gouda
• Parmesan 
• red pepper flakes

And of course for me, a drizzle of truffle oil.

I always keep ingredients on hand to make the pizza sauce (tomato paste, Italian seasonings, garlic and onion powder, bay leaf, salt, pepper, sugar and water) and just do a store-bought crust. I discovered that putting the chopped tomatoes on the pizza after the sauce and before the cheese makes the pizza even nicer. 

When the fridge and pantry don't look so promising, I'll resort to frozen spinach or other frozen or canned veggies for toppings. I even eyed a can of water chestnuts recently until Greg made a small gagging noise. I wisely put it back. It should still be usable when I re-discover it two years from now. 

Do you put weird things on pizza? What unusual toppings do you like?

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