Enchilada Casserole

Here's another home cooked meal play-by-play.  This dish is easy to make and is very good too.  All right let's get cooking.

Cooking Onions

First, pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F.  Next, chop 1 medium onion.  In a pot or pan, heat 1TBSP oil over medium heat and cook onion till tender.

Adding Hamburger

Once onion is tender, add 1lb hamburger and brown hamburger.




Adding Enchilada Suace

After the hamburger is browned, add 1 28oz. can of Enchilada Sauce and stir mixing hamburger and sauce.  Reduce heat and cook to reduce sauce a little. 

Adding Corn Tortilla

After the sauce has reduced a little, add 1 pkg. corn tortilla (cut into 1in. squares).  Stir until tortilla is coated with the sauce.  Do not overcook tortilla.

Putting into Pan

Once the tortilla is all mixed and coated with the sauce, pour all contents into a 9x13 baking pan.


Adding Cheese, Olives, & Green onion

Add grated cheese, sliced olives, and green onions over the tortilla mixture.  Place in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until cheese melts.

Finished product

Once cheese has melted, take out of oven and enjoy.  We usually eat this dish with salsa.  You can add sour cream and/or jalapeno peppers if you choose (as condiments).





Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 28 oz. can enchilada sauce or 2 14oz. cans of enchilada sauce
1 package corn tortilla (cut into 1 inch squares)
1 package grated cheese (mexican blend)
1 small can sliced olives
chopped green onions



This is an easy fast mexican dish that the whole family would enjoy.  Try it out and let me know what you think. 

Overall, I give this Enchilada Casserole dish 4 stars.

Skillet Chicken w/Broccoli, Ziti, and Asiago Cheese

Tonight we're having one of our favorites.  This dish is easy to make and it is always delicious.  My wife cooked tonight.  This is one of her many dishes that she has enjoyed making.  Tonight's blog will be a play-by-play on how to cook this dish.  So if it looks good, you can try and make it yourself.  



Cooking Chicken

First cut 1lb skinless,boneless, chicken breast into 1" squares.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat 1T. oil in a non stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 1 minute without stirring.  After your minute is over, stir chicken and cook until lightly browned around the edges.  Transfer chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.  


Cooking onions, garlic, and Italian seasoning

Add 1T. oil , 1 medium onion to the skillet.  Return fire to medium-high heat and cook, stirring often until onion is soft (2-5 minutes).  Stir in 3 garlic cloves (minced), and  1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  


Adding Ziti

Add 8oz. of Ziti pasta or any short pasta, 2 cups of water, and 1 can (14oz) low sodium chicken broth. 




Pasta boiling

Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is very thick and syrupy and almost completely absorbed, about 12-15 minutes.


Adding Broccoli and sundried tomatoes

Add 12oz. of broccoli florets and 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes(oil packed, rinsed and chopped) and 3/4 cup water.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the broccoli turns bright green and is almost tender, about 3-5 minutes.  


Adding cream and Asiago cheese

Uncover and return the heat to high.  Stir in 1/2 cup Heavy Cream, 1/2 cup Asiago Cheese, and reserved chicken with any accumulated juices and continue to simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked and heated through, about 1-2 minutes.  Off the heat, stir in 1T. lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.   





Finished product

Serve and add more grated Asiago Cheese is desired.  ENJOY!!!!!




Here is a list of the ingredients:
1lb. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (cut into 1" squares)
1 medium onion, minced
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. dried oregano or italian seasoning
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
8oz. Ziti or Penne pasta
2 3/4 cups water
1 T. lemon juice
14oz. can low sodium chicken broth
12oz broccoli florets
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (oil packed, rinsed and chopped)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Asiago cheese or Parmesan cheese





If you like what you saw and read, try the recipe out.  You will not be disappointed.


I give this Skillet Chicken w/Broccoli, Ziti, and Asiago Cheese 4 stars.

Gyotaku Niu Valley

It was another night eating out.  We decided to go to one of our frequent dining places, Gyotaku in Niu Valley.  They are located in the Niu Valley Center on Kalanianaole Hwy.  There is a lot of parking.  They are open Mon-Thu, Sun 11am-9pm and Fri-Sat 11am-10pm.  The service is very good and the ambiance is better than their other two locations. 

Flying Dragon Roll



Close up view

My wife had the Flying Dragon Roll.  She says it was almost like a crabcake wrapped in lettuce in the sushi and on top was a peice of spicy ahi along with a sauce drizzled over.  She says it was a good combination of tastes.  What made the dish was the sauce.  It made it tasty.  She says she wishes that they would have a combination of rolls you could choose from rather than eating all eight pieces of the same thing.  These sushi rolls are good to share as an appetizer.

Keiki Saimin w/tempura

Sorry about the picture but the flash wasn't cooperating.  This was what my son ate.  He just loves his saimin and sweet potato tempura.  He practically ate it all.  The saimin noodles aren't overcooked and the potatoes are a hit or miss.  Sometimes they are perfect and sometimes they are undercooked.  What he really like about the keiki meal is that it comes with shave ice for dessert.  I forgot to take a picture of the shave ice.  It's ok because the shave ice is course and not finely shaved.  Course or not he devours it all.

Close up of Potato Tempura

My son wanted to take a picture of his food so here it is.  Can you see the texture of the tempura?



Pokedon and Tempura



Pokedon

This is what I usually get when we eat here.  You can choose from the fish poke or mixed poke.  I get the mixed pokedon.  It comes with fish, tako, shrimp, ogo, cucumber, and sprouts.  It is very good.  Sometimes if they can, I ask them for a hot sauce so I can add some kick to it.  There is just enough rice to go with the poke and adding the tempura, it makes the meal just right.  Not too filling to make you too full but yet enough to feel just right.  The seafood ingredients are always tender and not chewy.  The tempura comes with 2 pieces of green bean, one piece sweet potato, one pice eggplant, and one piece shrimp.  This meal always satisfies. 




If you are ever in the Niu Valley area stop by and have some lunch or dinner.  They do have lunch specials that are pretty good also.  They have a variety of Japanese dishes to choose from. 

Overall- I give Gyotaku Niu Valley 3 1/2 stars.