3-Meat Meatloaf

1# chorizo

1# ground lamb

1# ground chicken

½ lg. onion - chopped

4oz. tomato paste

1c quick oats

2 lg. eggs

salt & pepper

Mix everything together in a medium roasting pan.  Shape into loaves, top with a little ketchup and a sprinkle of green herbs.  Bake an hour at 350°.

Serve with a side of steamed vegetables, baked or mashed potatoes, or a spiralized vegetable casserole 😉 Cold meatloaf, cut thin, is great for sandwiches.  This freezes well too, if you decide to have one meatloaf now and save the other for later.  I've also crumbled this into a good red sauce, served over pasta for a quick dinner of spaghetti with meat sauce.  Have Fun - Be Creative - Happy Cooking! . . . Lin

Chorizo Spaghetti - A Mexican-Italian Fusion

1# chorizo

1# ground round

½ lg. onion - chopped

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1-2t brown sugar

black bean spaghetti

Brown the meat and onion together, chop-stirring, and when it's nicely browned, elevate one edge of the pan, push all the meat in that direction and put a crumpled paper towel in the space it creates, to absorb all the grease.  Pitch that one and repeat with another paper towel.  Once drained, add the tomatoes and sauce and sugar.  If you have really well seasoned chorizo, nothing else is needed.  Not salt nor pepper, just a good hearty appetite.  😊

Serve over your favorite spaghetti, or be daring and try something new and healthy! . .Lin

Spaghetti Squash with Chorizo Sauce

1 med. spaghetti squash

3/4# chorizo with casing removed

1 lg. clove elephant garlic - chopped

1 lg. shallot - chopped

1 14.5oz. can petite diced tomatoes

2 med. carrots - grated

sour cream - optional

Pierce the squash, several times with a long fork or knife.  Wrap in several layers of paper towel and microwave on high for 15 minutes.  Set aside.  In a large pan, combine the chorizo, garlic and shallot.  Break up the meat with a sharp-edged wooden spoon and saute' these until the chorizo is browned.  Drain off about half the grease.

Add tomatoes and carrots, stir together, cover and simmer 30-45 minutes.  Towards the end of this time, cut the squash open, lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds.  Continue to scrape all the way down to the inside of the shell, to remove all the cooked squash's "spaghetti."  Arrange the squash on plates and top with the sauce.  Top with aged, grated cheese - OR - to mellow out the spiciness of the chorizo, you can stir a little sour cream into the sauce.  This would be great served with really good, crusty, buttered Italian or French bread. . .Lin

Chorizo-Chicken Chili

1# chorizo sausage

1¼# chicken breast tenderloins

2 med. red onions

2-3T extra virgin olive oil

1½c chopped celery

2 lg. cloves garlic

1 14.5oz. can petite diced tomatoes

2 14.5 oz. cans black beans

¾c small pasta - dry

In a 5qt. pot, break up the chorizo and add a little bit of the onion, that's been finely chopped. Stir this over medium heat with the olive oil. Once the chorizo starts to sizzle, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and add to the pot. Stir well and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add rest of onion, celery, chopped garlic, tomatoes and some water if needed. Simmer on low heat for 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta, separately, to the el dente stage, then combine drained pasta and rinsed-drained beans with the rest. Simmer another 5 minutes, covered, then serve. . .Lin

Chorizo-Cabbage Soup

1 lg. onion

1 lg. clove of garlic

1 lg. stalk of celery

2 lg. carrots

2T bacon grease

1 head of cabbage

1 can diced tomatoes

6oz. chorizo sausage

Chop all the vegetables. Saute' the first 4 in the bacon grease. When sizzling, after about 5 minutes, add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, a can of water and the chorizo. Simmer 30-60 minutes. Serve with crusty bread. . .Lin

Chorizo Pepper-Pork

1# boneless center cut pork chops

6-7 colorful sweet mini-peppers

1 lg. garlic clove or shallot

1 med. onion

2 stalks celery

1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes

*6-12oz. Mexican chorizo 'sausage'

Cut the fat off the pork and cut the meat into cubes. Saute' it in a little butter – stir fry until browning – about 15 minutes. (*Chorizo isn't always a solid. Often times it's soft, and more sauce-like, as is the case with this chorizo. If you can find the solid chorizo sausage, cut it in pieces and saute' it with the pork. Otherwise, hold the more liquid form chorizo, to add at the end of the cooking process.)

Add all the vegetables, chopped or sliced, to the pork pot. Continue to saute' about 15 minutes, covered, until translucent. Next stir in the tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes. At the end, add the sauce-like chorizo and continue to simmer another 20 minutes adding a little water if needed. Serve over rice with a side of refried beans. Or as I did, add a can (or two) of rinsed-drained beans for a Chorizo Pork Chili to be served with crusty bread or crackers. . .Lin

Mac & Chorizo

2/3c dry corn pasta

1# chorizo

1 lg. clove elephant garlic

1 lg. Onion

Cook pasta until al dente'. Brown chorizo with sliced garlic, adding chopped onion when chorizo is cooked about half way. Continue to saute' until onions are just translucent, then add drained pasta. Slice several sprigs of basil into the mix, stir and serve. Makes 3-4 servings. . .Lin

Chorizo Spaghetti Squash

1 large spaghetti squash

¾-1# Chorizo sausage

1 large onion

Poke holes in the squash and wrap in paper towels. Microwave at 70% power 18-22 minutes until squash gives a little under pressure. Cut in half and scoop out only the very center part containing the seeds. Fluff with a fork and put on a dinner plate. Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a non-stick pan with the chopped onion, stirring often. When sausage starts browning, add a little water which helps the grease to evaporate. When cooked, scoop onto the squash. . .Serves 2-3. . .Lin

Chorizo Patties For Dinner

This is more a dinner idea than an actual recipe.

While on my trip out west, I had breakfast in a wonderful little diner one morning. I ordered chorizo and eggs. Then I did some second guessing, thinking maybe I'd regret the choice if it was too spicy. Well, it was PERFECT! Best chorizo I've ever had.

So. . .I came home, tracked down the meat packing facility that makes it and had 6# sent to me. So be prepared for chorizo-this and lots of chorizo-that. :-) For this dinner I made a quarter-pound patty, fried it with onions then served it as shown with canned corn and bean salad and avocados. Oh, so good! . . . Lin

Chorizo Chicken Soup

1½# chicken pieces

Simmer chicken in about 4 cup of water for an hour or two. Trim off the fat and cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Chill the broth then skim the fat off.

Chop:

2 med onions

1 clove elephant garlic

3 c celery and carrots

6 oz chorizo - casing removed

6± baby Yukon Gold potatoes

Saute' the onions, garlic, celery and carrots in 1 T butter and ½ cup of water. Add chorizo and another cup or two of water. Simmer, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Add potatoes and original chicken stock. Simmer another 30 minutes, add chicken, heat a little longer and serve. . .Lin

Chorizo, Chicken and Shrimp Paella

This was an interesting brain tease for me.  We've been invited to a New Year's Eve party and wanted to make my Red, White and Green-Mini Vegetables to go with the ham our hosts are cooking.  I also wanted to make a main dish - something with a few different meats.  I once had Paella, at a Spanish restaurant in Madison Wisconsin my son and daughter-in-law brought us to, 20 years ago.  I don't think I've ever made one but had these three meats rattling around in my head.  I "Googled" those three and found that the other ingredients I had in mind are also usually combined with them in creating this type of Paella.  Ahhh, so here goes - another cooking adventure!  Happy New Year everyone!

1-1/2#  chicken breast - cut in pieces

12 oz    Spanish chorizo - cut in pieces

2 med  onions - sliced or chopped

10         multi-colored mini peppers - sliced

2           cloves elephant garlic - sliced

6-8       cloves regular garlic - chopped

10 oz   package fresh grape tomatoes

1/2 c    sun-dried tomatoes - sliced

1 pinch  saffron threads

1 T       real Maple syrup, honey or sugar

1/2 t     sea salt

1 28 oz  can whole plum tomatoes

1 T       powdered chicken bullion

1 t        hot Hungarian paprika

1 c        frozen peas - thawed

12 oz   frozen shrimp - thawed

2 c        20-minute type white rice

Saute' the chicken, chorizo and a little of the chopped onion in 1-2T extra virgin olive oil for 5-10 minutes.  When browned a bit and sizzling, cover and simmer on low another 10 minutes.  Add the rest of the onion, peppers and garlic.  Stir and saute' a little to release the flavors.

Combine halved grape tomatoes and next 4 ingredients in a bowl. After another 10-15 minutes, when your kitchen begins to smell like a Spanish restaurant, add seasoned tomato mixture and the can of plum tomatoes, cut up a bit.  Stir and simmer on low another 5-10 minutes to blend the flavors.  Chill a couple hours or overnight.

Just before serving, heat and check flavors.  Add salt, pepper, etc., to correct if necessary.



Add uncooked rice, more liquid if needed, and bring mixture to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, then add peas and shrimp.  Combine and simmer 5 minutes and serve. . .Lin