Go on, gain a few (more) pounds!

11/10/09

Are you still pigging out on leftover Halloween candy? Yes? Well put down that salad bowl full of sugary vice (save it for that five hour Pride and Prejudice marathon you've been planning) and try these gastronomic delights. I have been reminiscing about them since I made both for Lori's potluck party on Halloween.

If you like these:

...then you have to try these:

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
(recipe adapted from Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with Limoncello Frosting by Giada De Laurentiis from the Food Network)

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Swiss Chocolate mix)
Orange juice (instead of water in cake mix)
1 bag mini chocolate chips (I used Toll House semi-sweet mini morsels)
1 cup diced candied orange peel (I couldn't find this so I strained out the jelly of a 18 oz. jar of orange marmalade through a wire mesh sieve and used the orange peel pieces)
Chocolate frosting (I used Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Whipped frosting)

Mix the chocolate cake mix according to package instructions, substituting orange juice for the water. Fold the chocolate chips and the candied orange peel into the chocolate mixture and bake according to package directions. The volume of the batter is increased by the extra ingredients, so one batch makes 36 cupcakes. Let cool for one hour on a wire rack before frosting.

Giada's recipe has instructions for an orange/lemon frosting that you can make, but I didn't have time so I used a canister of chocolate frosting I already had. If you want to try her version, you can click on the blue recipe name above.

...Or snarf up a huge bowl of this. I had three!

Green Chile Chicken Posole
(recipe adapted from Delicious Living)

Posole is a traditional New Mexian dish, and since I have family going back several generations from there, I've always wanted to try it. There are many different versions of posole, but this one was so good I think I'll just stick with it. It's made in the slow cooker, so that's an added bonus.

1 cup finely diced red onion
1 29 oz. can posole (hominy), drained
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/4 lbs.), cut into
1/2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

Diced avocado, sour cream, grated monterey jack cheese and fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish.

Place onion, posole and chicken in slow cooker. Add garlic, water and chicken broth. Add oregano, chili powder, salt, green chiles, black beans and cumin; stir. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

The Delicious Living version also has instructions for a red chili sauce you can drizzle over the top, but I think it's fine without it. You can click on the link to that website above. The garnishes really do make the dish, though, so make sure to use them. Delicioso!