Turkey Posole!

Being from San Diego, Charlie and I eat A LOT of Mexican Food. At least once a week in fact! And seeing as we have a lot of Mexican relatives we cook a lot of Mexican food as well.

This recipe is a great one for the winter. The hot soup helps keep you warm and it's a great excuse to use up all that left over Turkey from Thanksgiving!

You will need:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 fresh poblano chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
4-5 chopped fresh thyme leaves
Coarse salt and pepper
1 cup beer (Pacifico works)
16 tomatillos, peeled and coarsely chopped or coarsely processed in food processor
1 (15-ounce) can hominy (BIG Mexican corn)
1 quart chicken stock
1 1/2 to 2 pounds light and dark cooked turkey meat, chopped*
1 lime, juiced

For Garnish (optional):
White Onion, finely chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Avocado, sliced
Limes, sliced
Hot Pepper
Tortilla strips & chips


Heat a medium soup pot over medium high heat. Add vegetable oil, onions, garlic, peppers, cumin, oregano, thyme, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook 5 minutes to sweat onions then add beer and cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatillos and cook 5 minute more then stir in the hominy, stock, lime, and the turkey. Stir in water if more liquid is needed to just cover everything in the pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about an hour to blend flavors.

Hash House A-Go-Go

If you ever find yourself in San Diego, jonsing for some amazing breakfast (or even lunch) , look no further than Hash House A-Go-Go on 5th Ave in Hillcrest, famous for huge portions and ridiculously long lines that go surprisingly fast.

Now I've been to HH a few times, and I have NEVER EVER been disappointed, not once. Not only is the food amazing, the portions HUGE, and the plating beautiful, it's a great place to take someone who's never been, just to see the look on their faces when their food comes. Honestly people, it never gets old.

Now just a heads up, the pictures below are from a few different trips over to HH, were not REALLY that big of pigs, I swear.

Charlie and I stopped in for lunch once (they serve breakfast all day), I was craving their French Toast, and I sadly found out that the French Toast is pretty much the only breakfast item they DON'T serve all day.

He wanted lunch I wanted breakfast, neither of us were hungry enough for our own plate, so we opted for the Sage Fried Chicken and Bacon Waffles, which was just recently featured on Man Vs. Food on the Travel Channel.

The plate comes PILED with bacon waffles, and TWO huge chicken breasts, pan fried golden brown, topped with fried leeks, drizzled with a maple reduction and stabbed through the center with a heftily aromatic spring of fresh rosemary. Yes, that's ONE serving. Thankfully for those of you who want this, and don't live near a HH, Food Network tackled this recipe, and I'm sharing it with you.

Another breakfast favorite of mine are their Farm Benedicts. HH's benedicts are unlike ANYTHING you've ever seen, tried or made at home. Seriously, it's pretty epic. Below is the Sage Fried Chicken Benedict.

It's served on a bed of mashed potatoes, a huge housemade biscuit, and topped heavily with scrambled eggs, fried chicken, bacon (which I got on the side) fresh spinach, ripe tomatoes and griddled mozzarella cheese then topped with chipotle cream sauce.

On our last trip, Charlie and I met Adam for breakfast since he was in town the evening before, and HH was my first choice when he asked where we should go for breakfast.

Adam opted for an Indiana Favorite, Andy's Sage Fried Chicken w/ maple reduction, 2 eggs, bacon mashed potatoes & biscuit.

I finally got my French Toast. It comes dipped in Banana Cinnamon Cream, grilled until golden brown and then topped with a griddled banana, sliced lengthwise, toasted pecans, powdered sugar and maple syrup. TO. DIE. FOR.

"Fixed Up" Cupcakes!

Sometimes I don't have time to be Super Girl and make cupcakes from scratch, and let's face it, not much can beat a perfect boxed cake mix. It comes out perfect every time! So something I like to do, to fix it up and make it slightly more homemade, is just replacing a few ingredients for a better taste.

To turn a basic box of cake mix into "Fixed Up!" cake, simply follow the directions on the back, omitting the water for milk, or buttermilk. If you don't have buttermilk, or can't find it, you can add 2 tsp of lemon juice to regular milk and let it sour for an hour. Using 4 eggs instead of the number recommended and fresh vanilla extract are other homemade substitutions.

For Red Velvet, simply use a box of White Cake Mix, omitting buttermilk for water, the same amount of oil, 4 egg whites, 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tsp vanilla extract, red food coloring until bright, and 1tbsp baking soda mixed with 1 tbsp white vinegar in a separate bowl, (it will foam) and then add to the cake mix. Bake as directed.

I love to use the canned frosting and tend to stock up when they go on sale at the store. Aren't 10 for $10 deals great?! I usually tend to tint my frosting and add at least 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to the frosting to thicken it. If I plan on using the frosting in a piping bag I use an additional 1/2 cup before I pipe it onto cupcakes. It helps the frosting keep it shape and makes the tub go a bit further. For chocolate frosting, mix equal parts powdered sugar and cocoa powder.