Pollo Loco Pinto Beans

Ingredients:

3 C. dry pinto beans
½ lb. ham hocks
4 C. water
1 green plantain, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 C. shredded carrots
salt
3 T. vegetable oil
1 T. chopped onions
1 1/2 C. corn kernels
1/2 C. chopped scallions
1/4 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 C. chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Directions:

1.Rinse and sort beans. Place beans in a large pot and add water and ham hocks. Bring beans to a boil, cover pot and reduce heat. Allow beans to cook 2 hours until almost tender. While beans are cooking, prepare the seasoning.

2.In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium heat, add onions, corn, scallions, salt, garlic, cilantro, and ground cumin, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

3.When beans are almost tender, add the seasoning mixture, plantains, carrots, and salt. Cover and cook for another hour until the beans are fully cooked.

Pollo Loco Fire Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole roaster chicken
4 C. water
⅓ C. vegetable oil
½ C. orange juice
½ C. pineapple juice
2 T. lime juice
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. salt
1 T. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground oregano
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground coriander
¼ tsp. yellow food coloring

Directions:

1.Butterfly the chicken with a pair of kitchen shears by cutting all the way down both sides of the backbone. Once you have sliced down both sides of the backbone, remove it from the chicken. Position the chicken so that the drumsticks are pointing away from you and use a paring knife to slice through the white cartilage at the top of the breastbone. Bend the carcass of the chicken back at the cut and the breastbone will pop out. Run your fingers down both sides of the breastbone to pull it away from the meat, then pull it out. Remove any excess fat found inside the carcass, and your chicken is ready for marinating.

2.Make the marinade by combining all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Place the chicken in a 3½ to 4-qt. container with a lid and pour the marinade over the top. Cover and marinate for 48 hours in the refrigerator.

3.Move the chicken around in the marinade a couple of times while it marinates. When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat your grill to medium/low heat.

4.Place the chicken, starting skin-side up, on the grill and cook for 2 hours. Flip the chicken over after 1 hour and continue for the final hour.

5.Use a large knife to separate the chicken into 8 pieces: 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, 2 thighs, and 2 breasts. Serve with tortillas and your choice of beans, rice, and salsa.

Pollo Loco Rice

Ingredients:

1 C. white uncooked rice
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 can (about 15 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 small can of diced green chilies
1 can of pinto beans (about 15 oz.) drained and rinsed
1 C. chicken broth
1 C. corn
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. of smoked hot paprika
1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Directions:

1.In a frying pan, brown rice in oil to make it toasty. Add onions and garlic, stirring often until onions are beginning to turn translucent.

2.Lightly spray inner part of a rice cooker with cooking spray and add rice/onion mixture. Combine remaining ingredients, set cooker to cook.

3.When cooker turns to warm setting, give a stir and return cover. Let stand for another 10 minutes. Serve with fresh cilantro and sour cream or shredded cheese if desired.

Creamy Corn Pudding

INGREDIENTS:

6tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish
1 medium onion, chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
2cups heavy cream
5 large eggs
¼cup all-purpose flour
2tablespoons sugar
16ounces frozen corn, thawed (about 3 cups)
2tablespoons chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter an 8-inch square or another shallow 2-quart baking dish.

2.Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and ¹/₄ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

3.In a blender, combine the cream, eggs, flour, sugar, 2 cups of the corn, the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¹/₄ teaspoon pepper; blend until smooth. Add the onion and the remaining cup of corn and pulse once, just to combine.

4.Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake until set but still slightly wobbly in the center, 50 to 60 minutes. Sprinkle with the chives.

Pan-Roasted Chicken Paillard

Ingredients:

2 8-ounce skin-on bone-in chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Wondra flour or all-purpose flour (for dusting)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lemon, halved

Preparation:

1.Preheat oven to 400°. Using a thin, flexible knife, cut chicken breasts away from bones, leaving skin intact. Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; using a mallet or heavy skillet, pound chicken until 1/2-inch thick (which will help it cook evenly and stay juicy). Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dust with flour; shake off excess.

2.Melt butter in a small saucepan. Spoon off milk solids (the white foam that separates from the butter) to make clarified butter. (It has a high smoke point and won't burn over high heat.)

3.Pour clarified butter into a large ovenproof skillet set over medium-high heat. When butter begins to shimmer, place chicken in skillet skin side down. Cook, occasionally pressing on chicken with a spatula so skin maintains even contact with skillet, until skin is brown, 5-6 minutes.

4.Transfer skillet to oven; roast until chicken is just cooked through, 3-4 minutes. Remove skillet from oven; turn chicken breast over. Let stand in skillet for 1 minute. Transfer chicken to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.

Serve with lemon halves alongside.

One-Pan Paprika Chicken with Potatoes and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

6 to 8 chicken thighs (about 3 pounds, bone-in and skin-on)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons paprika
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes
1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
Handful of thyme sprigs
Leaves from 3 to 4 parsley sprigs, for garnish

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a rack in the middle position.

2. Prepare the chicken: With scissors or a sharp knife, trim the excess chicken skin and fat from the thighs. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.

3. Marinate the chicken in the sauce: In a large bowl, stir together the mustard, lemon juice, paprika, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat. Set aside while you chop the vegetables.

4. Prepare the vegetables: Cut the baby potatoes into halves. Peel the red onion and cut it into 8 wedges through the root end. Smash the garlic cloves lightly with the flat of a knife, just to break the skin. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, but keep them separate from the other vegetables.

5. Bake the chicken and vegetables: In a large baking dish (9x13-inch pan, 3-quart dish, or other similar sized baking dish), toss the potatoes, onion, and garlic with salt, pepper, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Spread them evenly in the pan and top with thyme sprigs. Nestle the chicken into the vegetables and scrape any extra sauce over top. Bake for 30 minutes.

6. Add the tomatoes: Remove the pan from the oven, scatter the cherry tomatoes on top, and return the pan to the oven.

7. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of a thigh registers 165F. Serve with a salad or crusty bread.

Yankee Cornbread

Ingredients:

Butter (for the pan)
Flour (for the pan)
3 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups yellow cornmeal, preferably stoneground
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 375F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the paper. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

2. Prepare the batter: In a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients, stir together the eggs, canola oil, and yogurt until smooth. Stir in the sugar followed by the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Keep stirring until no pockets of dry ingredients show.

3. Bake the cornbread: Pour the batter into the pan and use an offset spatula or regular spatula to smooth the top. Bake the cornbread for 35 minutes, or until it is uniformly golden brown on top and firm in the middle. Set on a rack to cool for 10 minutes.

4. Slice the cornbread: Make 2 vertical slices and 5 horizontal slices to form 18 squares. Lift them from the pan and serve with butter.

Easy Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds potatoes (about 3 large potatoes), peeled and quartered
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1-2 cups vegetables—diced carrots, corn, peas
1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method:

1 Boil the potatoes: Place the peeled and quartered potatoes in medium sized pot. Cover with at least an inch of cold water. Add a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender (about 20 minutes.

2 Sauté vegetables: While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until tender, about 6 to 10 minutes.
If you are including vegetables, add them according to their cooking time. Carrots should be cooked with the onions, because they take as long to cook as the onions do.

3.If you are including peas or corn, add them toward the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat starts to cook, as they take very little cooking time.

4 Add the ground beef, then worcestershire sauce and broth: Add ground beef to the pan with the onions and vegetables. Cook until no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Bring the broth to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth if necessary to keep the meat from drying out.

5 Mash the cooked potatoes: When the potatoes are done cooking (a fork can easily pierce), remove them from the pot and place them in a bowl with the remaining 4 Tbsp of butter. Mash with a fork or potato masher, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6 Layer the meat mixture and mashed potatoes in a casserole dish: Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread the beef, onions, and vegetables (if using) in an even layer in a large baking dish (8x13 casserole).

Spread the mashed potatoes over the top of the ground beef. Rough up the surface of the mashed potatoes with a fork so there are peaks that will get well browned. You can even use a fork to make creative designs in the mashed potatoes.

7 Bake in oven: Place in a 400°F oven and cook until browned and bubbling, about 30 minutes. If necessary, broil for the last few minutes to help the surface of the mashed potatoes brown.