It's time to Rumble! Mexican Style Mole Sauce (mo-lay)

I love Mole (pronounced mo-lay). I love the complexity and layers of flavors.  I love the comfort food feel and the spice without too much heat.  What I HATE is the time it takes to make a traditional mole sauce.  Traditionally it involves about a million spices that the cook needs to roast, crush, make into a paste and then cook forever.  Like all day and then some.  Way too much work for me.

But yesterday I was craving mole bad.  I figured there had to be an easier way to make it...right?  And I didn't have any of the traditional pablano peppers or onions.  I searched the internet for different recipes and stumbled upon a recipe that gave me the answer!  They used jarred salsa and a blender! Now why didn't I think of that?

So I broke out my blender and rumbled through my pantry to find the ingredients that I knew would make a good mole sauce and off I went.  Below is the full recipe.  Please don't be scared by the large list of ingredients.  These are spices that are pretty common and chances are you already having them sitting in your pantry waiting to be used.  Also, you can totally play with this recipe and leave something out and add something else in.  If you don't have mace or allspice, use a dash of nutmeg instead.  The only spices that are essential to make this recipe work are cumin, chili powder or paprika and cocoa powder.  The rest just make it taste yummier.  And yes...that is a word.

So now that you've made the mole what in the world do you do with it?  This is the BEST part!  You can use it for just about anything!  Traditionally it is slow cooked with pork or poultry but there is no reason you can't use this with beef or even tofu or seitan.  You can use it for an enchilada sauce (inside and out) or mix it with some sour cream/cream cheese and make a fabulous Mexican chip dip.

But whatever you do, make it.  Soon.  You will thank me for it.  Enjoy!

Upcoming posts:
~Solar Oven Cooking (tomorrow)
~Lemi Shine Review & Giveaway
~Rhubarb Festival (next week)
~Nielsen-Massey MexicanVanilla Review (coming soon)

Buffalo Chicken Tenders with Bleu Cheese & Celery Sauce (It's a Rumble too!)

I love Buffalo Wings.  Love.  I still mourn the loss of my favorite sauce at BW3.  Why in the world did they think it was a good idea to get rid of the curry?  Did they not know that years later I would still be pining away dreaming of my lost love?  But I digress. (**Correction, I mistakenly said that they had gotten rid of Spicy Garlic.  They did not...but they DID get rid of the Curry and if you didn't get a chance to try it you are missing out.  It was fabulous and I still miss it.)

I'm not the only member of my family that loves that tangy and spicy bite.  My kids even love it!  So much so that I've blogged a Buffalo Wing Soup and my version of the Buffalo Wing Dip.  But I needed something that was a wee bit healthier and something that would get dinner on the table fast.

Enter in the frozen chicken tenderloin.  I. Am. In. Love.  I only wish I could find them in an organic version.  For right now it's not an option to me (both in logistics and in budgeting) but I am keeping my eye open for them so I can use them in the future.  They can go from freezer to the table in under 30 minutes. 

Garlic, Wine & Herb Pasta (Guest Blogger)

This is Amy:

Today I am lucky enough to have another guest blogger.  I blogged about her blog, Tales of the Wife, last Friday and invited her to bog today.  Thanks Jacqie!

This is Jacqie:

Thank you for inviting me!

The Hubs and I love to cook dinner together, especially when we can take our time and be creative. We don't really follow the rules when it comes to food and pairings and such. However, this dish is something we (mostly he) came up with before we had a toddler on our heels and a newborn in our arms.

Field Trip Friday - theunsuccessfulblog

I love my friend Jen. We have a ton in common. We are both extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering moms to one boy and one girl. Our boys are both the oldest and we both have had interesting and similar life experiences that have led us to where we are now in our lives. Jen and I also both share a self deprecating sense of humor and we both use humor to basically survive.

We also both have an insane passion for food. The obsessive kind of passion that takes over your brain so that you are constantly thinking of flavors and ingredients and...well...you get my point. But most important...she understands why my #1 Taste Tester is not allowed to cook in my kitchen after he ruined one of my Calphalon pans. I still shudder and want to cry when I think of the black char that was burned into the metal. I also still want to know how the heck he managed to do it! I mean wow...that took effort. But that is another story for another day.

Today for our Field Trip Friday I am featuring her blog because she has some really yummy recipes listed (I *need* to try the Orange Curry Shrimp/Chicken) and has a cool Earth Week Giveaway.

So check out her blog, http://theunsuccessfulblog.blogspot.com/, enter the giveaway and enjoy a yummy meal.

Stromboli - A Guest Post

Hi, this is Amanda from The Eco-Friendly Family. I have fallen in love with Stromboli and wanted to share the recipe that I've played with and keep craving. I hope you like it as much as I do :)

Thai Chicken Curry

I am very lucky to be a part of a community that brings meals to each other quite often. Any time babies are born or someone is in the hospital or are sick...meals get brought. I have been on the receiving end and have been so grateful. So in turn I make meals for families as often as I can. This is one recipe that I made for a friend when she had her beautiful twins. It is quick, filling, easy and very flavorful. She is pregnant again and just called asking for the recipe because she is craving it. Here it is Cori. :)

This is great as is or served over rice. You can also really play with it...add in any veggies you can think of, pump up or turn down the heat...sky is the limit. Enjoy!

My version of Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip aka Crack Dip

There is a very, very good reason that this dip is nicknamed the Crack Dip. (Mom, I know you hate that term but sorry, that's what it's called. Don't blame me...blame the millions out there who gave it that name) And the nickname is very well deserved. It's because you can't stop eating it. And you crave it. Badly. Heck, even when I was pregnant with my daughter and could keep nothing down but Wendy's Frosties & Emergen-C, somehow this dip not only stayed down but hit the spot!

I have been asked for this recipe many times but for some reason it never made it here. Opps. I am fixing that now. Enjoy!

Field Trip Friday - The Crock Pot Blog

I've used a few recipes from this blog and I give it out all the time but I had forgotten to use it myself. Until this week. Someone on the EFF Board linked one of the recipes and it sounded so good that I had to try it. Lucky for me I had all the ingredients here in the house so it made it super easy...and easy is a huge bonus for me right now because I'm supposed to be resting and not doing much of anything until my back gets stronger.

So I have a feeling we will be visiting this blog a lot here at the Hippy household. So here it is. The Crock Pot Blog. Enjoy!

Oh...and make sure you try this recipe: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-chicken-makhani-indian-butter.html

The only thing I'd change the next time around is to add a cup or two of frozen spinach and maybe a bit of salt...but we tend to like things a little on the salty side.

Pineapple Chicken

I can't take credit for this recipe at all! This came to me from my good friend Jen. My husband sends thanks to her every time I make this.

Honey Balsamic Chicken

Another quick and easy meal. From freezer to table in about an hour.

Honey Balsamic Chicken

1 lb. chicken breasts
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
3 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP Italian Seasoning
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Put chicken in baking dish that has been sprayed w/ non stick spray or lightly coated in olive oil. Sprinkle salt & pepper on both sides of chicken.

3. Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over chicken.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. (1 hour if cooking chicken from frozen)

Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup

This soup is wrong on so many levels. NOTHING in the world should be allowed to taste this good. I made a few adjustments to the original recipe and those changes are reflected below but here is a link to the original: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/09/bu...pot-recipe.html

Garlic Cream Chicken

I think this recipe gets requested more then any else. OMG is it good. It was given to me by my friend Elizabeth when I was on partial bed-rest and was dying to still cook. This is easy enough that I was able to make it in the limited spurts I could get up for. It also tastes like it takes a lot more work then it does. Anyone sensing a theme here? I like to make things that taste great but don't require a ton of effort. My family & guests don't need to know that though. All they need to do is to enjoy the yummy food I make. Enjoy!

Easiest. Chicken. Recipe. Ever. (Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts)

3 ingredients. That's it. It's so easy that it's almost not fair. But, it's yummy and will make anyone look like a pro. You can cook this for guests and they will think you slaved for hours. They don't need to know it took about 5 minutes to prepare, and those 5 minutes include getting out all the ingredients. Enjoy!