South of the Border

So, the Hubs and I just got back from a most fantastic, week long stay in sunny Cabo San Lucas. OMG, was it the BEST! I love Mexico and Cabo did not disappoint. We relaxed, we drank, we ate, we surprised my husband by having his family meet us there. It was one of the best vacations ever! Last night he was craving brownies and, not having any store shit in the house, I decided to make some from scratch using the bar of Mexican dark chocolate that I brought home. I think this will be my go to recipe for brownies from now on. They were so incredibly good. The brand of chocolate was Maria Tepoztlan in the black box (dark). Now, if you read online reviews of this product you will see people have a lot of strong opinions about it. I ate some of it straight up and, at first, I didn't care for it very much but it kind of grew on me. I went back for more. Love it or hate it, it made a damn fine brownie.  The chocolate bar is not divided into squares like regular bakers chocolate so I did my best to approximate the amount I used. My base recipe was an old recipe that made over 3 dozen brownies. I halved it because I do not need that many brownies in my house. So, that is why my measurements are kind of odd. Regardless, these things were out of this world. I highly recommend that you try them.

Mexican Chocolate Brownies

1 1/2 sticks butter
2-3 ounces Mexican Dark Chocolate
1 1/8 Cup flour, sifted
3/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 2/3 C sugar
2 heaping Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 Tbs espresso powder
1/4 C vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat over to 325F and grease a 9"x9" baking dish

Over low heat melt butter and Mexican chocolate in a small sauce pan. Set aside to cool

Sift flour and salt onto a plate and set aside

In a large mixing bowl whisk eggs until foamy. Whisk in sugar and then cooled chocolate/butter mixture. Whisk in vanilla and espresso powder. slowly add flour mixture and cocoa powder and whisk to combine

Pour batter into baking dish and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour. Brownies should still be gooey in the center.

Waste Not, Want Not

The Hubs and I have a vacation coming up (YAY!). So in preparation, I am trying to use up things in my refrigerator that just won't keep while we are gone. One of those things is a package of linguica sausage that we have had in there for what seems like forever. I had originally wanted to make enchiladas out of it but, being pressed for time, I decided to go the casserole route. Hubs kept asking me what was for dinner and all I could say was, "Something cheesy". I honestly had no idea what I was going to do. I quickly browsed the pantry and grabbed some things I thought would work well together and started at it. I am happy to report it came out really well. We practically ate the entire thing! I have no idea what to call it though since it was a strange combination of Portuguese and Tex Mex flavors. All I can say is it was damn tasty.

Chicken And Linguica Casserole

1 large chicken breast, poached and chopped (reserve cooking liquid)
2 Linguica sausage patties, chopped
1/2 large onion, diced
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs Adobo seasoning
1 can Rotel
1/2 can nacho cheese soup
1 can red enchilada sauce
10 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat over to 350F
In a large frying pan add oil and linguica sausage and fry until sausage begins to crisp. Add oinions and continue frying until softened. Add chopped chicken and Rotel and saute and 3 or 4 minutes. Add nacho cheese soup and stir to incorporate. Add reserved chicken poaching liquid if needed to ensure full blending of the soup with the other ingredients. Remove from heat.

Coat the bottom of a casserole dish with a thin layer of enchilada sauce. Cover sauce with a layer of corn tortillas. Add half of the chicken mixture for the next layer. Top mixture with another layer of tortillas. Add a think layer of enchilada sauce and top with 1 Cup shredded Cheddar Cheese. Repeat layers 1 more time to use up remaining ingredients.

Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes-1 hour until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Let stand before serving.