Red Enchilada Sauce

Here’s another recipe made so much better with a touch of smoked paprika, and I also added a little tomato paste to give it a little touch of acidity.   The obsession is still going strong!

I found the original recipe is on Gimme Some Oven.  I’ll share the full enchilada recipe that I used it with soon!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or any other neutral oil)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3 teaspoons tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken stock

INGREDIENTS:

1. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and whisk together over the heat for one minute. Stir in the remaining seasonings (chili powder through smoked paprika).

   

   Stir in the Spices

2. Stir in tomato paste until well incorporated. Then gradually add chicken stock, whisking constantly to remove lumps. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until slightly thickened.
3. Use immediately or refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.  Mason jars work well.

I’ve made this enchilada sauce a LOT in the last year and have subsequently gone through quite a few jars of chili powder.  I’ve tried Spice Islands, Simply Organic, Kroger, and McCormick.  And I have to say my favorite chili powder as of late is Target’s Market Pantry chili powder!  I’ve purchased two jars of it and have enjoyed the extra bit of kick it has compared to other chili powders both times.

Red Enchilada Sauce

Smoky Caramel Popcorn

I didn’t have as much time to bake this year with our new little roommate to tend to, but it wouldn’t have felt like a holiday season without making SOME sort of treats.  I had to make the usual batch of Furikake Chex Mix and tried out a David Chang/Momofuku cookie recipe (coming soon).  My mother-in-law volunteered to watch Mia on Black Friday so that Kev and I could go out on a date, and we took her up on it.  When we mentioned we were thinking of going to brunch and a movie, she asked us to pick up a tub of her favorite Arclight caramel corn.  With that in mind, I made a mental note to find a good candied popcorn recipe when Christmas came around.  I wanted to make something a little different and came across this recipe for a Smoky Candied Popcorn on Kitchn.

The amount of chili powder in the recipe is perfect – it’s not spicy at all and just adds a subtle hint of smoky flavor.  I followed the recipe to a tee the first time, and it was delicious.  However, I wanted to take the smokiness level up a notch without the possibility of creating spiciness by having too much chili powder.   With my newfound love of smoked paprika, I added a quarter teaspoon in to the dry mix.  And who doesn’t like a good salted caramel?  I added another 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt to the recipe too.  This popcorn is like crack.  I’ve made it three times in the last few weeks and can’t get enough of it!

Hope you can enjoy it too!  Here’s the recipe, as adapted from Kitchn:

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 cups popped popcorn (8 cups if you like your popcorn more candied)
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line a large (18×13-inch) baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone pan liner. Place the popcorn in a large bowl. Mix together the chili powder, smoked paprika, baking soda, and salt in a separate tiny bowl and set aside.
2. In a heavy-bottom pan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, light corn syrup, and butter. Cook 10 minutes, occasionally swirling or stirring with a rubber spatula, until it all melts into an amber-hued caramel and pulls away a bit from the side of the pan. This mixture will be super hot, so be careful not get any on your skin.

   

   Caramel Caramelizing

3. Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the chili powder, smoked paprika, baking soda, and salt — the mixture will bubble up, so be careful.

   

   Whisk in Spices, Baking Soda, and Salt

4. Quickly pour the caramel over the popcorn and toss with a rubber spatula to evenly coat all the popcorn kernels. Once coated, carefully spread the popcorn onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, separating any large clumps that came together.
5. Let cool 15 minutes if serving immediately or 2 to 3 hours to cool completely before wrapping and gifting. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

   

   Smoky Caramel Popcorn

Vegetable Soup with Lentils and Seasonal Greens

Diet starts…yesterday!

Happy New Year, everyone!  Ahh, January. The month of resolutions, fresh starts, and attempts to undo all of the hefty holiday indulging.  Here’s a recipe I really enjoyed that falls in the healthy eating category, while still being tasty!

I came across a pretty clean eating recipe at Saving Dessert for vegetable soup but made a few edits.  I upped the butternut squash because you can’t cut up a butternut squash and just end up with 1 cup.  I also threw in a zucchini just to mix it up a bit, and used purple kale instead of the pound of bok choy.  With the extra veggies added, there isn’t a ton of broth in the soup, but I also don’t mind it that way.  Perhaps this is more of a stew in that sense.  Anyway, we are all about efficiency in this household with the baby around, and this is a great easy way to get our veggies in without having to cook every night!  Hope you like it as much as we do!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small leek, cleaned and sliced (white and light green parts only)
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 1/2 cup chopped butternut squash (1/2″ cubes)*
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 3/4 cup green lentils, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups (32-ounces) no-salt or low-salt vegetable stock
• 14 ounce can chopped canned tomatoes (low salt)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bunch kale, swiss chard, cabbage, or other seasonal leafy green (I used purple kale)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like things spicy!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Drizzle the olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven with a heavy bottom. Heat on medium until hot. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is softened.
2. Add the leek, celery, carrots, butternut squash, and the lentils. Stir gently to coat all vegetables in the olive oil then add the zucchini, vegetable stock, and chopped tomatoes. Add paprika and cayenne, and season with salt and pepper.  Cover the pot with a lid and gently simmer for about 15-20 minutes until lentils are soft.

   

   Loving All the Color

3. Add the tomato paste, chopped greens, and thyme. Simmer until the greens are just tender.

Smoked paprika might be my new favorite spice.  I really wasn’t expecting this soup to be so tasty because… how good can vegetable soups really be?  The smoked paprika really adds that addicting smoky flavor to the soup, and the little bit of cayenne adds a warm tingle to the tongue.  I’m not big on spicy food, so this is just the right amount.

*If butternut squash isn’t in season, you can sub it with rutabaga, turnips, or other hard squash. I bet potatoes or sweet potatoes would even work in this!  Be sure to cut vegetables about the same size so they cook evenly.

Vegetable Soup with Lentils and Seasonal Greens