Mexican Lasagna with Sabor by Texas Pete

Happy Cinco de Mayo! As a former Spanish major I feel obligated to point out that this holiday is an American invention and not actually celebrated in Mexico, but it is still a delicious excuse to eat lots of Mexican food! (Also it always makes me think of the Sinko de Mayo joke)

I recently discovered ¡Sabor! by Texas Pete® Mexican-Style Hot Sauce. It has a delicious smoky, spicy tomato flavor that really adds to any Mexican dishes. While it is delicious on top of tacos, nachos, etc., I thought it would be fun to try adding it into a dish. And what better excuse to experiment with Mexican food than today? 

My mom made a version of Mexican lasagna growing up, and I remember thinking it was legit Mexican food. I thought it was cool that there were two different countries that had lasagna and I asked my mom what other country’s lasagnas she could make. Eight-year-old Emily wanted to try French lasagna too! (Although now that I think about it, Indian lasagna could be pretty good…)

This recipe is super easy and delicious- I think of it as a cheater’s version of enchiladas! You can cook your own chicken for the shredded chicken or you can even use part of a rotisserie chicken if you want to make it even easier. And don’t forget the margarita!

Jump on over to my food blog Kitchen Climbers to find the recipe! 

This post was sponsored by Texas Pete, but all opinions are my own. Thanks for reading! 

Apple Cider Moscow Mules

Generally I think of the Moscow Mule as a summer drink, but a recent recipe I found may have changed my mind. The Apple Cider Moscow Mule is a perfect drink for fall. And I have also found the perfect cup to drink it in- the AkaiGer Moscow Mule Mug.

This mug is hand-hammered out of 100% copper, and it is beautiful! It is very sturdy with no seams or rivets so you know it will never leak. It would make a stunning addition to any home bar.

INGREDIENTS (Serves One)

 2 ounces ginger flavored vodka

 2 ounces apple cider (store bought or homemade)

 Juice of 1 small lime wedge

 Good quality ginger beer to top off

 Cinnamon to sprinkle

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In your copper mug, add the vodka, apple cider and lime juice.

2. Fill the glass with ice, sprinkle cinnamon over the ice, then top off with ginger beer.

3. Stir well and garnish with an apple slice and cinnamon stick.

I may or may not have still garnished mine with mint instead (our mint plant is taking over our backyard!), but it was still delicious. Definitely a good way to transition a classic summer drink into the colder months.

I received a free mug to review but all opinions are my own.

Homemade Garlic Aioli

I finally acquired a Kuuk garlic press, so I decided the first thing I would do with it is make garlic aioli! The press minced the garlic to the perfect consistency for the aioli without even having to peel the garlic, which made the prep work for this recipe almost non-existent.

I brought this aioli to a potluck at work with a Spanish tortilla, and it was a big hit.

MAKES ABOUT 3/4 CUP

AÏoli can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

INGREDIENTS

• 2large egg yolks
• 4teaspoons lemon juice
• 1garlic clove, minced to paste
• Salt and white pepper
• 1/8teaspoon sugar
• 1/2cup vegetable oil
• 1/4cup extra-virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In large bowl, combine egg yolks, lemon juice, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and sugar. Whisking 
constantly, very slowly drizzle oils into egg mixture until thick and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. (Recipe from Cook's Illustrated.)

The garlic press was easy to use and only required a small amount of effort to squeeze the garlic through even with the skin on. It was a sturdy stainless steel and is dishwasher safe too so it is very easy to clean!

I received a free garlic press to review but all opinions are my own.

Virgin Matcha 'Mojitos'

I finally decided to jump on the Matcha bandwagon and give it a try. I was a little apprehensive to first try it but I have to say I really do like it! Since it's super hot in Texas right now I didn't want to be drinking hot tea, so I tried making an iced matcha drink. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. It's like a virgin mojito but made with matcha!

There are more detailed instructions in the link, but here is the quick and easy instructions as I made it!

In a cocktail shaker, mix 1 tsp Midori Spring Matcha with 1 cup water and a splash of lime juice. Pour into a glass with ice and stir in a sprig of mint and a little sugar if you'd like. Enjoy!

It's a perfect refreshing drink for hot summer days. I'm super impressed with the quality of the Midori Springs matcha and I'm excited to try it in a few other recipes, and also as a hot drink once it cools down!

I received a free tin of matcha from Midori Spring, but all opinions are my own.

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Coffee Cake Cupcakes

These Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Coffee Cake Cupcakes, (or CCCCCCC as I like to call them for short!) look deceptively like muffins, but they are definitely not at all healthy!

I adapted a Cinnamon Chocolate Chip cake recipe from Penzey's, turning them into cupcakes. I then decided that they tasted alot like coffee cake, and the alliterative name was born. One of my coworkers and I spent about 30 minutes trying to come up with other C foods we could put in the cupcakes. We decided against cayenne, corn, and cheese, but thought that cardamom might make a tasty addition next time. If anyone gives that a try, let me know!

Not a muffin, but you could totally eat this for breakfast if you want!

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Coffee Cake Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 12 oz chocolate chips

What to Do

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream butter, 1 cup sugar, and eggs. Add sour cream and vanilla.
3. Sift together dry ingredients, then add to wet.
4. Pour half of batter into bottom of lined cupcake tin. Combine remaining sugar, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. Sprinkle half of this mixture over the batter. Pour remaining batter onto cupcakes and top with remaining cinnamon mixture.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out of the center clean. 

Spanakopita

When I studied in Italy my Sophomore year of college, they took our entire class on a trip to Greece for 10 days. While I have many memories of great food while I was there (and a not so great one of eating octopus!), one of the foods that stands out most in my mind was the first dish I ate there, spanakopita.

After getting off our overnight ferry from Italy, we were placed on charter buses to begin our three-hour drive to Olympia. A heavy rainstorm quickly descended and I fell asleep, to awaken several hours later when we pulled up to our hotel. Olympia was a very sleepy little Greek town, distinguished only by it's ruins - the site of the first Olympics. All of the inhabitants, however, were very excited to see us and very welcoming. After dropping off our bags in the hotel we sat down in the restaurant for lunch. I was starving.

Ancient Greek columns

I was pretty confused when they brought out the first dish. It looked something like a hot pocket but with much flakier dough. When I bit into it, a green, cheesy mixture was inside.

As I later learned, this was spanakopita: layers of phyllo dough filled with spinach and feta cheese. While I had amazing memories of this dish, it wasn't anything I had again in Greece, and I never saw it again once I came back to Texas.

Then one day I ran across a recipe for it on Pinterest. I'm going to refer you back there for the assembly pictures because they are so well done I couldn't hope to replicate them myself. Plus the girl is from a Greek family, so I'm pretty sure she knows what she is doing! Then later that week America's Test Kitchen sent out their email newsletter with a spanakopita recipe in it as well. I was pretty sure that was a sign.

After reading both recipes, I decided to combine the two and make a few changes of my own. The ingredients I got almost exactly from America's Test Kitchen but I did add parsley, and sub cottage cheese for the Greek yogurt like the other recipe had. And I followed Alexandra's instructions for assembling it. While I originally wanted to do the hot pocket shaped spanakopitas like I had eaten in Greece, making a large sheet 'cake' of it looked alot easier, so that is what I did.

I've now made this recipe three times, including for Easter, and it is definitely a keeper! I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband has ;)

Underneath that flaky crust of deliciousness is warm spinach and feta cheese!

Spanakopita: Greek Spinach and Feta Pie
Makes 1 9x14 pan

Ingredients

• 
  

Filling
16 oz tub of spinach leaves
¼ cup water
2-3 cups crumbled feta cheese
¾ cup cottage cheese
4 medium scallions, sliced thin (about 1/2 cup)
2 large eggs

1/4 cup diced fresh parsley1 TB dried mint
1 TB dill
1 TB garlic paste
1 TB lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Phyllo Layers
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
½ lb. (14 by 9-inch) phyllo, thawed overnight in the refrigerator

What to Do

Place all your spinach in a large, microwave safe bowl with the water. Microwave for five minutes, then let sit for a minute. Drain into a colander in the sink and press as much water out of the spinach as possible. Let it cool before chopping as it will be pretty hot.

While it is cooling, combine the rest of the filling ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

Chop spinach, and then drain again. You can squeeze dry in a kitchen towel (make sure it is one you don't mind getting green!) or run through a salad spinner. Then add spinach to the cheese mixture.

Now it is time to start layering the phyllo dough. The best instructions for how to do this can really be found here.  Essentially, butter the bottom of a 14x9 baking dish and then start layering the phyllo, drizzling butter over the top of each layer and pressing out any large air bubbles as you go. Don't worry if it rips or tears, once you have all of the layers in place you won't notice! For the bottom section you want to layer 10 sheets of phyllo. 

Once you have layered 10 sheets, spread the spinach and cheese filling evenly through the pan. Then start layering phyllo again. This time you want 7-8 layers. When you are done, score the top couple layers of phyllo with a knife in a grid pattern. 

Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes. The top should be golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. It can be served warm or cold, but in our house we prefer it warm. Enjoy!

Greek-style Stuffed Bell Peppers

We are a big fan of stuffed bell peppers over in our house. I've made Tex-mex stuffed peppers, Italian stuffed peppers, Philly cheese-steak stuffed peppers, and random leftover stuffed peppers. I found this recipe for Greek stuffed peppers early on in my Pinterest years, but it got buried at the bottom of my 100+ recipe dinner board. This weekend I finally pulled it out and dusted it off, and boy was it tasty.
The list of ingredients didn't seem like anything special to me, but I gave it a shot as written anyways. I did sub in ground lamb for ground beef since that's what I had in my freezer and it seemed more Greek that way. I was really amazed though at how well these simple ingredients came together to make an extraordinary dish.

Greek-Style Stuffed Bell Peppers
Serves 4-8 depending on how hungry they are

Ingredients
1 lb ground lamb
1 chopped onion
2 diced cloves of garlic
olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 TB dried oregano
1 8 oz can tomato sauce, divided
1/2 cup rice (I used arborio, but any short-grain rice should work)
2 potatoes4-5 bell peppers
feta

What to Do

Cook the diced onions and garlic in a skillet over medium heat with a few TB of olive oil, until onions are tender and translucent. Then add the meat and cook well. Season with fresh parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Add half of the can of tomato sauce and the rice. Let simmer for a few minutes and then set aside (the rice will not be cooked yet). 

Preheat the oven to 375. While it is heating up, cut the tops off of the bell peppers and remove the seeds from the center. Stand them upright in an oven-safe dish (I used a 5 qt dutch oven). Fill the peppers with the meat and rice mixture and then set the tops of peppers back on. Pour the rest of the can of tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan, along with a can full of water and a little olive oil. 

Slice the potatoes into wedges and put them in the pan too, filling in the cracks around the peppers. Throw a little extra salt on them. 

Bake in the oven for at least an hour, until the rice is done. I cooked mine for 1 hr 15 minutes without a lid and the rice wasn't done yet, so I threw the lid on and let it cook for another 20 minutes. You might be able to get it cooked faster if you leave the lid on the whole time. 

Top the peppers with feta and enjoy! I only needed to eat half of one to feel full, but if you have hungry family members they could probably eat a whole one.