Category: Mains

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. Mix together the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with half the spice mix. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook, flipping once, until done in the middle, about 9 minutes total. Set aside to cool, then shred.

In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, Monterey Jack, parsley and the rest of the spice mix.

In a lasagna pan, pour in a little of both enchilada sauces. Add a layer of 4 noodles, spoon on half the ricotta mixture, sprinkle on half the chicken and pour on a little more of both enchilada sauces. Add another layer of 4 noodles and repeat, ending with a layer of 3 lasagna noodles, the rest of the sauce and the Cheddar on top.

Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Place all of the ingredients in a wide 6- to 7-quart heavy pot. (Don’t worry if everything isn’t completely submerged.) Bring to a boil, skimming any scum that collects on the surface as necessary.

Reduce the heat to medium-lowish and simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally, until the pork is fork-tender and the liquid has completely evaporated, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Discard the orange pieces and bay leaves.

TESTER TIP: If the liquid hasn’t completely evaporated, transfer the pork to a bowl and continue to simmer the liquid, stirring often, until it disappears.

Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C).

If your pot isn’t ovenproof, transfer the pork and fat to a dish of some sort that’s ovenproof. Slide the pork into the oven, uncovered, and let it fry in its own fat until it’s browned, 20 to 30 minutes. There’s no need to stir. Serve it straight from the pot. (Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

Heat up a skillet over medium high heat (make sure the pan has a lid). Season the chicken breasts all over with salt and pepper, then place the chicken skin side down directly onto the pan.

Cook for 2 minutes on each side, then remove the chicken breasts temporarily to a plate. There should be some brown bits on the bottom of the pan now. Deglaze the pan by adding the chicken broth, scraping up the brown bits from the pan. Add the fire roasted tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, oregano, coriander, and bay leaf.

Put the chicken breasts back into the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Put the lid on and simmer the chicken for 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked.

After the chicken has cooked, let it rest for at least 10 minutes before shredding, otherwise all the juices will run out of the chicken. In the meantime, turn the heat to high and reduce the spiced tomato sauce until it reaches the consistency you like (this should be 5-10 minutes). Make sure to stir often so it doesn’t burn. Toss the shredded chicken to coat in this sauce, and serve.

Trim beef stew pieces as needed to be bite sized.

Toss beef stew pieces with dry seasonings.

Working in batches, over medium/high heat brown seasoned beef pieces in olive oil in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot.

Combined browned beef pieces with the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Slow Cooker:
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. For less ‘juicy’ sauce, broth can be reduced to ¼ or ½ cup.

Pressure Cooker:
Cook under high/standard pressure for 35 minutes. Can be quick depressurized or allowed to depressurize naturally.

Oven:
Bake at 350 for 2 hours or until meat is tender.

Bring the water to boil in a saucepan. I cheated slightly and boiled the water in an electric kettle and poured it into the saucepan. There’s no real superior method here. Add the ancho chile to the boiled water and soak for 15 minutes to give it time to plump up.

Blend the soaked chile, 1 cup of reserved hot water, crushed tomatoes, garlic, salt and gochujang until smooth.

Pour sauce into a large pan and heat over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the tortilla chips. Stir the chips to coat with the sauce. In a separate pan, drizzle a teaspoon of oil and fry an egg on top, until the whites have settled. Plate the egg and fry the rest of the eggs. If you are excellent at multitasking, you can probably fry the eggs while you heat the red sauce. I am not quite so talented.

Top the chips with the fried eggs, cotija, chopped cilantro, jalapeños, onions and avocado. Serve immediately.

For the Sauce:
Add all sauce ingredients in a large blender and puree until smooth. Taste and season with more salt if necessary. Set aside.

Make sure the spice level is to your liking. If not spicy enough, add half a jalapeno and blend/adjust until perfect.

For the Meat:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the cooking oil, onion, ground beef and generous pinch of salt. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat into smaller chunks. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes, until beef is lightly browned.

Add the potatoes, carrots and peas. Mix together with the meat and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the pureed sauce to the skillet, mix together and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and continue cooking for 10 more minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are soft and tender. If the meat starts to get dry, add in ¼ cup of water and continue cooking.

Remove from heat, taste and season with more salt if necessary.