From Frozen to Fabulous!

Frozen foods have been around since the 1920’s, believe it or not. In this modern day, they are truly a far cry from their humble, vegetable, beginnings with Clarence Birdseye and his contemporaries. Just about any type or style of food can now be found in the freezer section of your local grocery. How you prepare them is plainly laid out on the package, but how you serve them can be another matter all together.

Let us take the simple burrito. While it can merely be heated and eaten, it can also be so much more. Lay out thawed burritos in a baking dish and cover them with chili and cheese, then bake until everything is heated through and the cheese is all melty. Serve up with freshly sliced avocado, sour cream, salsa or pico de gallo, and fresh greens for a more TexMex flair that feeds the soul as well as the stomach.

Have a taste for lasagne? Pick one up for supper tonight, but be sure to grab some extra mozzarella, grated dry cheese such as asiago or parmesan, pesto, and fresh basil. Cook the lasagne as directed, but when the cover comes off to allow the top cheese to melt and brown, smear on some pesto and sprinkle on the extra cheese before popping back in the oven for that last five or ten minutes. Serve with a fresh side salad featuring strips of fresh basil, and a warm and crusty garlic bread.

Pretty much everyone is aware of pigs in a blanket, or klobásníks. Sausage wrapped in a bit of dough and baked up for a hand sandwich. Use croissant pastry and fill it with sausage, cheese, cheese sticks, sliced chicken, or even sliced steak sauteed with onions and peppers for that Philly take.

Eggs are another ubequtious ingredient that many overlook. Crack some fresh eggs onto a frozen pizza before cooking for a sunny side up surprise. Add a fried egg to a cheeseburger, or make it scrambled if you prefer. Turn breakfast into dinner or dinner into breakfast!

Coffee is another kitchen wonder. If you have some leftover from the beginning of your day, use it to end your day in a delightful way. Put a scoop or two of ice cream into a dish or cup, then pour the cold coffee over it to make an Italian cafe classic – an affogato. Top with sliced almonds, whipped cream, even sprinkles to customize your dessert or evening sweet tooth offering.

Give these ideas a try, or better yet, try out your own. Let us know what you come up with so we can give your ideas a whirl in our own kitchen, too.

Enjoy!

— Ann Cathey

Easy Enchiritos

In need of a hot meal quickly?This little Tex-Mex experiment turned out much better than expected.

Easy Enchiritos

 

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

1 15ox can black beans, drained

1 8 pack burritos or chimichangas

1 15 oz can chili

1 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, cumin

lots of grated cheese of choice (to desired cheesiness)

 

Oil spray an 8×8 baking dish. Spread the drained beans evenly in the bottom. Dust spices over the beans. Add a layer of cheese.

 

Layer in burritos. I had to cut one in half to make them fit: five across, two and two halves to fill the rest of the space. Add a layer of cheese.

 

Top all this off with the can of chili, spreading evenly and covering all exposed tortilla to prevent drying. Add another layer of cheese. Go ahead and lay it on thick! You know you want to! 🙂

 

Bake at 400F for 40 minutes to ensure that all ingredients are thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

 

Serve with dollop of sour cream, hot sauce, salsa, sliced black olives, sliced avocados, or diced green onion, as preferred.

 

I would offer photos, but it went too fast.

Enjoy!

–Ann Cathey

Bronco Burrito – Galveston TX

This lovely island surprise is located in an old light blue building on Broadway. Don’t blink or you might miss it, which is apparently what a lot of Galveston visitors do.

Bronco Burritos is a small business that packs a large punch, right in your breakfast noms. The burritos are huge, well packed, and so fresh you will think they are collecting eggs from hens in the back yard.

There were a lot of work trucks parked outside, with electricians and plumbers and landscapers ordering to go, or if they had time sitting down in the tiny dining area to chomp their burritos.

We chanced to visit with some friends who live on Galveston Island a few weeks back. It was the height of the chicken-flu, and the restaurant had postings everywhere (even on the receipts) apologizing for the temporary price hike due to the price of eggs. Very nice of them not to surprise you with it at the very end like some places have been doing. The price difference was maybe 20 cents per burrito, so it wasn’t too horrible.

My partner foodies and I all ordered variation of the Bronco Burrito, the restaurant’s signature menu item. I subbed extra bacon for sausage and wheat tortillas. As you can see, it was still a monster.

The Bronco normally has 2 eggs, potatoes, bacon, cheese, refried beans and chorizo. Not a small meal. You may customize as I mentioned, including things like wheat tortillas, all egg whites, and additional veggies. They also offer burritos with barbacoa, carne guisada, machacado, and migas.

Burritos aren’t the only items on the menu at Bronco. The have a variety of breakfast plates including machacado, pork chops and tamales. The tamales a la carte or on my hit list for our next visit.

Each order is accompanied by a little pot of salsa. Watch out for this. It’s a bit warm for my tastes, but I like spicy salsas. It’s brownish with lots of tomatillo. The heat seems to be mostly from jalapenos, but there could be something more.

To give you an idea of how popular this place is, we visited on a Tuesday, and there were more than 30 orders placed (mostly to go) during our 45 minute visit!

This place get a definite thumbs up, and revisits as often as possible. Remember, however, that they are closed on Sunday.

On the 1-5 scale, Bronco Burritos gets:
Cleanliness – 4.5
Service – 4.5
Quality of food – 5
Flavor – 5
Pricing – 4
Overall experience – 4.6

Bronco Burritos
4917 Broadway
Galveston, Texas 77551
5am to Noon, Monday – Saturday

–Ann Cathey

Fast Food Tacos with a Sense of Humor

Here I go, yapping about a fast food chain again.

Surprising decor! A flower arrangement on every other table with taco sauce!

There are tons of taco shops and shacks out there, and a lot of them are truly wonderful, tasty creations. Torchy’s Tacos out of Austin, Taco Cabana, and all those food stands in Houston and Conroe are great examples.

 

The latest exterior for Taco Bell.

Then there is Taco Bell. Some locations are snazzier than others. It probably has to do with the clientele, but don’t tell them I said that.

 

 

 

Soft and crunchy tacos, with a side of burrito.

I swear they put something addictive in the meat, like a mineral or vitamin that tons of people are craving and don’t know it. We jokingly call their tacos “crack tacos”. When a craving strikes nothing else will do to quiet it but that we make a Taco Bell run.

 

 

A crunchy taco with sour cream.

Soft taco in mid-munch.

Anyone else out there have this craving?

 

 

 

My traveling companion and I can’t seem to get enough on some trips!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why, yes! Yes, of course!

–Ann Cathey