Chipotle Chorizo Chili

Some frigidly cold mornings have finally hit the Pacific Northwest (or a G likes to call it now; the PNW.) And when this happens there is one for sure craving we both start having: chili. We love a good, spicy chili.

This is our favorite chili and we've not only shared the recipe before (Jan. 2012) it actually won us a coveted Le Creuset dutch oven by placing  top 5 in the Johnsonville chili cook off last year. Yeah, a cool memory for us.

But what we haven't shared before is this serving style. Who would of thought a few fries with some Pepper Jack Cheese Sauce would make this spicy chili even better? Let me tell you it's G's favorite way to enjoy the chili. I'm ecstatic usually with a little shredded cheese, Mexican crema and sliced avocado. But when we make this chili G always asks are we going to make it with the cheese sauce and fries? Since this is our last week of indulging before attempting to go back down the Paleo trail we decided to just go for it. Because beans, corn, fries and cheese will all be definite no-no's very soon.

The chili will always be our favorite version and I'm sure we will continue to battle each other for how we'll serve it when we make it. But luckily we both really do like both ways. So regardless we love it when we have it.

Recipe:

Chipotle Chorizo Chili linked here

Pepper-Jack Cheese Sauce with French Fries

1 lb. of your favorite frozen fries cooked as directed on package

1 Tblspn unsalted butter

1 Tblspn flour

1 Cup milk

1 Cup shredded pepper-jack cheese

Prepare fries as directed on package.

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Gradually add milk, whisking until smooth. Bring mixture to boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Whisk in cheese until melted. cook sauce for 1 minute; keep it warm.

Spoon sauce over fries; serve over chipotle chorizo chili.

Curry Shrimp Fried Rice

Oh, how I love fried rice. It's funny, I never crave or dream of pasta but I do deeply crave fried rice. And until this particular recipe whenever I made it at home it has always seriously lacked the taste and textures I was hankering for.

After too many nights of having the above for dinner over Christmas break we finally decided to get on top of it and we actually prepared a meal.

I had heard that using cold, left over rice was the key to making it taste as good as you get in the restaurant. I finely thought ahead and made some rice in the rice cooker at breakfast time. And once it was cool I put the rice in some Tupperware and into the fridge until dinner time.I found this key step to be true as well as how to cook the eggs.

We cooked the eggs first in the pan lightly oiled with vegetable (canola) oil. We let the beaten eggs cook in the pan until set = slightly firm, not scrambling them, just letting them cook. Once almost fully cooked (meaning not runny) we simply slid them, in one whole piece onto a plate. After they were cool we sliced them into thin strips to be added back to the pan with the fried rice just before serving. 

We can't emphasize enough how these two incredibly simple and easily doable steps changed the outcome of our homemade fried rice. We won't make fried rice again without using these two additions. 

Add some curry and shrimp and oh boy we were in fried rice heaven. Me a bit more so than G, but he actually agreed it was the best version we've ever made by far and one recipe we will continue to follow. He's just not a craver of Asian style of food in the same way that I am. 

If you are at all a fan of fried we recommend this recipe with our full endorsement :).

We had it the leftover rice for breakfast 2 days later with a fried egg on top. That in itself was pretty heavenly as well.

Recipe

Curry Shrimp Fried Rice: (adapted from Food Network Magazine)

1 1/2 tsp canola oil

2 eggs, beaten

4 sliced scallions

2 tspns curry powder

2 tspns ground black pepper

4 cups cooked & cold (meaning fully refrigerated cold) rice

1/2 lb. cooked shrimp, chopped into bit size pieces

Dash of salt

Drizzle of sesame oil

Heat oil in pan. Add beaten eggs and swirl eggs. Let set. Transfer to plate. When cool slice eggs into thin strips. Set aside.

Add scallions to pan with curry powder and black pepper. Stir fry 2 minutes. Add cold rice. Spread in an even layer and let cook 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and strips of eggs. Add salt to taste. Drizzle with sesame oil.