Friday, October 3, 2008

Hey Mom, What's for Dinner?

Thank goodness I've got a few years (I hope!) before I'm hearing that each night!

Was checking out the October issue of Southern Living yesterday and found a recipe for whipped Chipotle Butternut squash. My parents have A TON of butternut left over from a summer garden mis-plant, so we're trying to use it up. The combo was interesting...and it got me thinking dinner with a Latin flair sounded good....
I have a go-to recipe of cornflake-crusted baked chicken - you get the crispiness of fried, and the chicken stays juicy, but it's much healthier...but we had thawed pork chops, and I wanted something with a bit more kick...hmm....what about tortilla chip-crusted pork chops? With a spicy queso sauce? In hindsight, I think I was reminiscing over the days when I was lucky enough to live in Austin, and get to eat at places like Shady Grove - they have a Tortilla Fried Queso Catfish that is to-die-for!
So, I bought some ho-hum queso in a jar, but sautéed some tomatoes with garlic, chili, and comino to mix in - made a huge difference! Used Tia Rosa Megathins tortilla chips crushed up for the crust, baked the chops for about 30 minutes, garnished with lime and cilantro, and voilà semi-gourmet dinner!
Dinnertime at Casa Kalinowski

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