culinary matters

For a few years I've been buying most of our meat from the fowl section--7% lean ground turkey, whole chickens, and lean turkey Italian sausage.  Recipe options abound for each of these meats, so we never feel like we're lacking variety.

Today I thawed ground turkey for meat and cheese enchiladas.  Half a hour before I needed to start prepping dinner, I remembered that I'd stopped buying enchilada sauce--because of that whole foods thingy we've got going on.

Dinner can't be late these days because my three year old gave up her nap and needs to be in bed, clean and brushed, by seven o'clock. So this no enchilada sauce thing threw a glitch in my evening.

I rushed to the Almighty Internet and perused enchilada sauce recipes.  Each time I do this, I reject any recipe that has too many steps or too many ingredients.  That's not my life.

Sometimes, like last weekend, picking the simplest recipe brings on culinary disaster.  The cobbler recipe I printed off flopped.  I didn't have tapioca so I had to reject many of the recipes.  I'm learning that a good cook/baker researches ahead of time, and has a well-stocked pantry so that good recipes aren't rejected due to one or two missing ingredients.  I'm too new to from-scratch cooking to ascertain, by myself, what items a "well-stocked" pantry requires.

Now for that enchilada sauce.  We love Mexican dishes around here, but I'm not an authentic Mexican cook by any means.  My version of enchiladas probably resembles more of a baked chimichanga--if there is such a thing.

The simplest recipe I found actually turned out just fine, and quite authentic.  And by authentic, I refer to the fire-department shout out with each taste of the masterpiece.  Was I wise in putting in only a third of the chili seasoning called for?  Definitely.  And even with a third, I had to employ a trick I learned from another online recipe--adding an eighth teaspoon of sugar offsets the fire from the chilis, should said fire overwhelm.  My husband and I pride ourselves on our ability to brave most Thai or Mexican or Indian spices.  But I had to think of the kids--who ended up eating tacos anyway, instead of Momma and Daddy's enchiladas.  Too many folks around here calling for the fire department extra milk didn't seem like a good idea.

When looking for more chili powder a few weeks ago, I noticed the two brands available at Walmart--which unfortunately is the only close supermarket--both contained a preservative.  So I chose Chipotle Chili Pepper, by McCormick, in place of chili powder.  Pray tell, what is the difference between chili pepper, and chili powder?  A question for all you authentic Mexican cooks.

Here is that simple enchilada sauce recipe, which by the way, had me cooking up my first roux.  I know it's pitiful to have reached one's forties without ever having made a roux.  Better late than never, right?


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Note from other post:  Thank you, Terri, for your water bottle suggestion.  I have for a few years been looking for good-quality reusable hard-plastic water bottles, to no avail.  The lids are always cheaply made and the plastic caps detach too easily and get lost.  I'll have to try a higher-end store, I think.  Walmart and Target don't have any thing worthwhile on their shelves.  If any of you have found something that lasts, let me know.  Thank you!