KUPL - Cooking With Hawk

Cooking With Hawk

Hello and thanks for stopping by the Cooking With Hawk page this week. To be totally honest, I've had a severe case of Writer's Block the past few days. Can't seem to get all the gears in my brain working at the same time.

Usually when these moments of non-inspiration hit, I can depend on my family...my dear loved ones...to get those gears in motion. Not last week... The teenage daughter was spending half of her time at camp, and the other half of her time trying to convince her mom and me that if she didn't get to see her boyfriend at least four days out of the week it was the total end of her world.

The two boys were glued to the video screen with their game controllers firmly implanted in their hands, pausing only to swap games, move from the GameCube to the PS2 to the XBox to the Wii, or to raid the refrigerator.

That left my wife...my soulmate...the love of my life. And what advice did my fair LadyHawk have to combat Writer's Block?

"Let's go out to eat. How does Mazatlan or Juan Colorado sound?"

Thanks, honey. Big help that is. How can I ever get over this Writer's Blo...DING DING DING DING DING...WE HAVE A WINNER!!! Those places are always busy and the food is really good. So why not post some of my own versions of South of the Border favorites? This week you'll find a great recipe for an easy and versatile Cheese Enchilada, a nice side dish of tasty Spanish Rice, and a favorite of a lot of KUPL listeners who have asked for this recipe, Sweet Corn Tomalitos! So let's Tex-Mex it up and get Cooking With Hawk!!

Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients~
3 cups (divided) of shredded cheese (I use a mix of cheddar and Monterey Jack)
3 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of minced onion
12 corn tortillas
15 ounces of enchilada sauce

Directions~
Preheat the oven to 350.
Mix 2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cream cheese, garlic powder and onion together.
The mix will be about as stiff as Play-Dough.
Pour about a quarter of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
Place about 2 Tablespoons of the cheese mixture on a warmed tortilla. Roll it up.
Place the rolled tortilla in the pan and repeat for the rest of the batch.
Cover the tortillas with the remainder of the enchilada sauce.
Sprinkle the remaining cup of shredded cheese on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Comments~
Enchiladas are one of my stand-bys when we go out for Mexican food. This recipe is very flexible since you can add shredded or chunk chicken, seasoned ground beef or shredded beef to the cheese mix if you want more than just cheese in your enchilada. When you serve this dish, top with a dollop of sour cream, guacamole and/or salsa.

Spanish Rice

Ingredients~
1 1/2 cups of white rice
2 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of plain tomato sauce
3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1/4 of a medium onion
2 Tablespoons of oil

Directions~
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for about 2 minutes.
Add in the dry rice. Stir together untl the rice becomes golden brown.
Add in the tomato sauce and the broth. Stir well and bring to a boil.
Once it boils, turn the heat down to low and cover the pan. Let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Comments~
OK, so it's not as easy as Minute Rice. But you don't see Minute Rice being served with your cheese enchiladas when dining at your favorite Mexican restaurant. This is just as easy to make as Rice-a-Roni or any other kind of boxed rice dish. Just try it once and I think you'll wonder why you've never tried this before.

Sweet Corn Tomalitos

Ingredients~
5 Tablespoons of softened margarine
1/4 cup of masa harina flour (available in most Mexican food isles or at ethnic markets)
1/3 cup of sugar
2 cups of corn kernels (either fresh or frozen, thawed)
1/2 cup of cornmeal
1/2 cup of water
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of milk

Directions~
In a small bowl, mix the margarine, masa harina and sugar until light and flufffy.
Blend half of the corn kernels with the water in a blender until smooth.
Combine the two mixtures and blend.
Add the remaining corn, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and milk.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil.
Pour the corn mixture into an 8-inch baking dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
Place on top of the pan with the boiling water.
Steam for about an hour, making sure the plastic wrap remains sealed tight.
Check the water levels often and add water when needed.
Use the "toothpick test" and remove the baking dish when the toothpick comes out clean.

Comments~
This is a variation of a side dish served at Chevy's. Several KUPL listeners have emailed me asking for this recipe, but I didn't have one created yet. After much research and trial and error (and some really strange and disgusting inedible failures), I came up with a decent version of this Chevy's favorite!

Not bad for a last minute throw-it-together-as-you're-on-the-air recipe collection! Next week will be different. You see, next week is the 1st Anniversary of the Cooking With Hawk page! And I promise to come up with something special for the occasion...if I can only get over this Writer's Block! "Honey, where do you want to go out to eat this week?"

Thanks for checking out the Cooking With Hawk page this week. Look back next week for new recipes, cooking ideas, produce tips and the occasional restaurant review. If you have missed any previous editions of this page, click on the Recipe Archive button below. It will take you to a page where all the menu items I've posted are listed. Email me if you would like any of the recipes. You can write to me directly at jhawk@KUPL.com if you have any questions about a recipe or would like to share one of your personal favorites with the rest of the viewing audience. While you're online, check out some of the other "Hot n Fresh" pages, or take a look for upcoming concerts and events. It's all at your fingertips at KUPL.com. And thanks for listening to New Country 98.7 KUPL, the Biggets Hits, the Biggest Stars!