Trick-or-Treat Turnovers

SERVINGS: 8

TIME: Prep: 30 min. Bake: 10 min.
Ingredients:

* 1/2 pound ground beef
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
* 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
* 1/4 cup prepared mustard
* 2 tubes (16.3 ounces each) large refrigerated flaky biscuits
* 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add cheese and mustard; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Cool slightly.
Flatten each biscuit into a 4-in. circle; place four biscuits in each of two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of meat mixture onto each.
Using a sharp knife or cookie cutters, cut out jack-o'-lantern faces from remaining biscuit circles; place over meat mixture and pinch edges to seal tightly. Reroll scraps if desired and cut out stems for pumpkins.
Brush with egg. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8 servings.

Spicy Black Beans and Yellow Rice

I saw this on Food Network and my mouth started watering so I put it up here in case anyone else wanted to try it. This goes with the Chicken Enchiladas below it.

Spicy Black Beans:

* 2 cups (about 1 pound) dried black beans, picked over, soaked overnight
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 medium onion, diced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1 bay leaf
* Kosher salt
* freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot, soak beans overnight covered in water by 2 inches. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, and bay leaf and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and cover with water by about 1-inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Taste the beans and season with salt and pepper.

Yellow Rice:

* 2 cups long-grain rice
* 4 cups water
* 2 cloves garlic, smashed
* 1 tablespoon turmeric
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 bay leaf

Put all the ingredients into a heavy-bottomed pot, stir well, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat until the rice has absorbed the water, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Discard the garlic and bay leaf, fluff with a fork, and serve.

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

Ingredients

* 1 pound tomatillos, husked
* 1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
* 4 garlic cloves
* 2 jalapenos
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
* 1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:

* Extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 medium onion, diced
* 3 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 cups chicken stock, storebought
* Chopped cilantro leaves
* 1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded
* Salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 10 large flour tortillas
* 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
* 2 cups sour cream
* Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish
* Spicy Black Beans, recipe follows
* Yellow Rice, recipe follows
* Guacamole, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the salsa:

On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

Enchiladas:

Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

Serve hot with Spicy Black Beans and Yellow Rice, the remaining tomatillo salsa, sour cream and fresh guacamole, if desired.

Easy Spicy Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
* 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
* 1 tablespoon cumin
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 6 cups low sodium chicken stock
* 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
* Salt and pepper
* Cheddar cheese
* Sour cream
* Chopped red onion

Directions

In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and peppers and cook until tender about 5-8 minutes. Stir in spices and toss to coat vegetables. Pour in stock and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. In a blender, puree half of the soup until smooth and stir back into soup pot. Serve hot with garnishes

Slow Cooked Curried Chicken with Cauliflower

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons canola oil
* 6 cloves garlic, minced
* 2-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup prepared South Asian curry paste (recommended: Patak)
* 3 cups chicken broth, low-sodium canned, or homemade
* 2 cups whole milk plain yogurt
* 6 bone-in skinless chicken thighs, about 2 1/4 pounds
* 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 (1 pound) bag red lentils, picked over (2 1/4 cups)
* 1 head cauliflower, broken into large florets
* 2 (16-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
* 1 bunch fresh mint or cilantro leaves, chopped
* 1 lemon, cut in wedges

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Heat the oil; add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add the curry paste and continue to cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes more. Whisk the broth with all the aromatics in the pan; then pour the liquid into a slow cooker. Whisk the yogurt into the liquid.

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Add the chicken, lentils and remaining salt to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours, adding cauliflower and chickpeas about half way through cooking.

Divide curry evenly into bowls and scatter freshly torn mint or cilantro on top. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

Cooks note: This dish can be easily adapted to make a flavorful vegetarian dish. Simply cut out the chicken and use vegetable broth instead.

Copyright (c) 2007 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

Sopa Seca: Mexican Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for pan
* 12 ounces fideos (bundled vermicelli)
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
* 1 teaspoon New Mexican chili powder
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes
* 1 to 2 chipotles en adobo sauce, minced
* 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, homemade, or low-sodium canned
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 2 cups shredded smoked turkey
* 1 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
* Mexican crema, or sour cream thinned with a bit of milk, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush a 9-inch square baking dish with oil. Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fideos and cook, turning them with tongs, until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bundles and any broken pieces to a plate.

Add the onion to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, coriander, oregano, chili powder, and bay leaf, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Crush the tomatoes over the pot with your hand and add them to the pot along with their juices. Add the chipotles, increase the heat to high, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, the toasted fideos, salt, and pepper, to taste. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently, uncovered, breaking up the fideos with a spoon, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the turkey.

Remove the bay leaf. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish, sprinkle the grated cheese over the top, and cover loosely with foil. Bake until the cheese melts and the casserole is hot through and through, about 20 minutes. If desired, serve with some crema drizzled over the top.

Copyright (c) 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Ingredients

* 2 pounds ground chicken, coarsely ground preferred
* 3 tablespoons chili powder, plus 2 teaspoons
* 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
* 2 (28-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
* 1 medium sweet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled and shredded
* 1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth
* 1/4 cup instant tapioca (recommended: Minute tapioca)
* 1 to 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with seeds, chopped
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon kosher salt
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* Pinch ground cloves
* 1/2 to 3/4 cup lager-style beer, optional
* Toppings: Sour cream, shredded Cheddar or Jack cheese, chopped scallions, and chopped pickled jalapenos

Directions

Put the chicken in the slow cooker. Add 3 tablespoons of the chili powder and all the rest of the ingredients, except the beer. Stir everything together, cover, and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.

Just before serving, stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons of chili powder, the beer, if using, and season with more salt and pepper, to taste, if desired. Divide the chili among warm bowls. Serve with the topping of your choice.

Know-How: Stirring in chili powder right before serving brightens the flavor of the chili.

Copyright (c) 2007 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved.