Afghan-Kishmish Panir (Cheese with Raisins)

Afghan-Kishmish Panir (Cheese with Raisins)

Ingredients:
1 gallon of milk
White vinegar
Cheesecloth
1 box black seedless raisinsa

How to cook:
In a large stockpot, add a small amount of water to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Add1 gallon of regular whole fat milk to the pot and bring to a boil. Stirring helps the bottom not to burn and the milk to boil faster. NEVER LEAVE UNATTENDED. As the milk begins to steam, take about 1/4 cup of white vinegar and put it next to the stove. When the milk starts to rise in the pan, add the vinegar in a circular pattern. Take the pan off of the heat. Take a slotted spoon and start helping the curds and whey separate (some people like to lightly salt the cheese, if you would like to, add two good pinches of salt at this point). After about 5 minutes you should have a good amount of separation. In the sink and over a colander, double fold a cheesecloth and press into the shape of the colander. Using thick, new kitchen gloves (the kind used for washing dishes), slowly pour the contents of the pot into the cheese cloth, when all of the curds are in the cheesecloth, gather the ends of the cheesecloth together and twist. The VERY hot whey will come out and shape the curds into a ball. Press to make it smooth and round. Twist and press two or three times only and the place the cheesecloth on a plate in the refrigerator. You do not want to twist too much or else the cheese will be crumbly. When the ball has cooled, take it out of the cheese cloth and wrap it in foil until you are ready to cut. Cut the cheese in slices down the ball so that you end up with thick slices, and then cut the slices into cubes. Fill half of the plate with cheese and place raisins on the other half of the plate and serve. The cheese can last 2-3 days, slightly longer if salt was added.

Indian-Deviled Egg

Image by starmist1 via Flickr

Indian-Deviled Egg

Ingredients:
6 - hard-cooked eggs
½ - cup Parmesan cheese
1 - teaspoon horseradish
½ - teaspoon salt
½ - teaspoon dry mustard
¼ - teaspoon pepper
3 - tablespoons salad dressing or mayonnaise
½ - teaspoon paprika
¼ - cup black olives, sliced

How to cook:
This is a good way to hard-boil or hard-cook eggs. Put eggs into a large pot and cover with cold water about an inch over the eggs. Set the temperature to medium-high and heat until water starts to rapidly boil. After the water begins to boil, turn off the heat, cover, and let stand for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, pour out the water and add cold water to stop the cooking. Crack the eggshell and remove the shell.

Take a knife and cut eggs lengthwise in half. Next step is to remove yolk and put into a small mixing bowl. With a fork, mesh egg yolks. To the egg yolks, add Parmesan cheese, horseradish, salt, dry mustard, pepper, and salad dressing (or mayonnaise).

Fill egg whites with yolk mixture and you want to have the mixture heaping. Garnish with paprika and add the olives to the top.

Mexican-Breaded chicken with Avocado

Mexican-Breaded chicken with Avocado

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 slices avocado
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons sliced green

How to cook:
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the cornmeal, cornstarch, garlic salt and cumin. in a shallow bowl, beat the egg and water. Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness; dip into egg mixture, then place in the bag and shake to coat. In a large skillet, heat oil. Cook chicken for 4 minutes on each side. Top with cheese and avocado; cover and cook until chicken juices run clear and cheese is melted. Garnish with sour cream and onion.

Mexican-Tortas: The Big Nutrition Sandwiches.

Image via Wikipedia

Mexican-Tortas: The Big Nutrition Sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• 4 (3 ounce) thin-cut beef round steaks
• 4 Mexican-style sandwich rolls (bolillos)
• 1/4 cup sour cream, divided
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans - drained, rinsed, and mashed - divided
• 2 avocados - peeled, pitted and sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
• 2 pickled jalapeno peppers, sliced into quarters lengthwise
• 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce, divided
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 cup crumbled queso fresco (Mexican fresh cheese), divided
• 1 lime, quartered

How to cook:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and pan-fry the round steaks 5 minutes on each side, or to desired doneness. Slice the rolls lengthwise. Spread about 1 tablespoon of sour cream onto one side of each roll, and top with about 1/3 cup of mashed pinto beans per sandwich.
   
2. Place a cooked round steak per sandwich on top of the pinto beans, and then layer each sandwich with one-fourth of the avocado slices, tomato slices, and sliced pickled jalapenos, about 1/2 cup of shredded lettuce, 1/4 cup of cilantro, and 1/4 cup of crumbled queso fresco cheese.
   
3. Squeeze a lime wedge over each sandwich, close, and serve.
   

Servings:4