What? You don't have the Muppets and John Denver Christmas album?

Now you do.

Besos y abrazos,
Amanda

X-Mas 2006 Mix

Hey kids, for your holiday listening enjoyment please find my Christmas 2006 Mix at the address below:


http://www.sendspace.com/file/bw3u5v


Ho ho ho,
kevin

Asopao de Pollo

You will need:
About a pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Dried oregano
Salt
Pepper
Medium onion, diced
Medium green bell pepper, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 cup ham or Canadian bacon, diced
2 jalepenos or a habenero if you're CRAZY, diced and optionally seeded
2 cloves of garlic, diced
6 c. chicken broth
1 big can of diced tomatoes
2 t. tumeric
1/2 cup rice
1 c. frozen peas
chopped fresh cilantro
pimento strips or sliced stuffed green olives

Mix together the spices and season the chicken thighs. Set aside.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and sautée the onion through the garlic until soft. Add chicken, chicken broth, tomatoes, and tumeric and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 25 minutes, then add the rice. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or longer if you want the rice to get stickier. Salt to taste.

Take the chicken out, shred it and put it back in the pot. Stir in the peas, cilantro, and olives.

Note: The olives sound like a weird thing to add but they really make it delish.

NC BBQ a la Amanda

i used a pork roast, but some suggest "boston butt".

i also didn't really measure the spices very well -- but here's a rough estimate:

SERVES 4 (approx.)
(this version of the recipe is intended to use a 2 pound pork roast)

the night before cooking:
combine the following and rub all over the meat, like you like it:

2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
3 tbsp paprika (less? doesn't really matter)
1 tsp/tbsp of cayenne pepper (depending on what you like)
1 tbsp of salt (sea salt, whatever salt)
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper (or regular pepper -- the coarser the better)

Wrap it tightly in plastic and store it in the fridge overnight.

The Cooking:

Combine
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
Some more pepper (not too much - about a tsp)
Some more salt (again, not too much)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (or a couple of shakes, whatever)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (a splash)
Mix it up

Place the seasoned meat in the crock pot (it won't be entirely covered by the liquid), put the lid on it and cook for 8-9 hours on LOW. Do not stir or open the crock pot. You can seriously just let it cook all day and totally ignore it. After 8-9 hours (i did it for 8.5), the meat will be cooked and you can remove it from the crock pot -- it will shred VERY easily and you should be able to pull it apart and make it look like real barbecue with a couple of forks. I discarded the remaining vinegar-juices, but maybe you want to do something with them. Cook greens?

You know what to do from here -- the yellow pepper sauce, the Texas Pete, the green beans and cornbread, the hush puppies (who makes hush puppies?) and soggy mac-and-cheese, the white buns (if you prefer sandwiches.) Now -- I didn't make the special slaw, because i don't like it, but Dan told me that it would have been just slightly better with a little bit of slaw. I just can't eat cabbage, so I didn't make it. maybe next time.