Like any good Daytonian, I usually go A-1 ape when Mikesell's comes out with a new flavor. In fact, they have yet to do something I don't like. Tuscan spice, new kettle chips flavors, cinnamon puffcorns - they can do no wrong. If you ask around Dayton, usually the only complaint is that they might make a wonderful flavor that's limited edition and haven't brought it back yet (ahem, Habanero Lime). 

In hindsight, I'm really disappointed that I didn't take an outcome picture of one of the first recipes I've created in a while.  Rest assured, they didn't look all that spectacular - just your average looking corn muffins.  I let a few of the mini ones cool and tasted them while they were still warm, and was immediately disappointed that there was no heat, that I'd used far too little pepper.  Then, oh snap!  There it was.  Just a few seconds after I'd imbibed it, that little bit of warmth snuck right up, and it was perfect.  I will say it was a tiny bit of smoky heat to finish, not even too much for my 18 month old son to handle.  If you like a higher level of sass, seed and mince one additional chile for the recipe.  I took this one to a cookout, so I erred on the side of caution and went with just what regular folks would enjoy.  I had to wash and reuse muffin tins between batches, and this still only took me an hour, start to finish.  Makes about 4 dozen minis.


2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
3 eggs, beaten
1 stick butter/margarine, softened
8 oz creamed corn
1/3 C milk
1/3 C shredded asadero cheese
1 whole chipotle pepper, seeded and minced
1 tbsp adobo sauce from the can of peppers
1/4 C diced yellow onion, sauteed

Mix all of this together and spoon into greased muffin tins.  Mini muffins will take about 15 minutes at 350, while larger muffin or popover tins will take 20 minutes or so.  if you decide to do this in a cast-iron or loaf style, I'd give it at least 45 minutes.

Mr. Fvf and I have been going out for dinner much more often than we should lately. My longer hours and more grueling days at work make for a lousy housewife, but also mean finances are fast and loose, and we can basically dine out whenever we please. So - more reviews for you, but bigger front-butts for us. Can't win'em all. One of the many Fridays that I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to look at and dismiss anything in our cupboards, we decided to check out Los Reyes. It's always been hard for us to make it to a meal there. We either completely forget about it, or get pulled in by the tractor beam of Christopher's Restaurant a few doors down. I'd heard quite a few good things and not a single bad thing about Los Reyes, so I figured it was high time to get around to it.

The hostesses were very friendly, but also very in violation of child labor laws. I would be shocked if they were a day over 13. Regardless, we were seated quickly and had our drink orders taken right away. The place was nearly packed, just as much as any other place would be on Friday evening during dinner rush. I obviously wasn't the only one that had either discovered or was hoping for a diamond in the rough.

Their menu did lack a little bit in the "entrees not involving flour tortilla" department, so I stuck with my usual suspects, the flautas (two beef, two chicken).

Mr. FvF went straight for the entree containing the most of his favorite sausage, Pollo con Chorizo.
You'll have to excuse blogger for being a total dickweed today and not letting me align or justify much of anything at all.  Due to that, I'm really tired of monkeying with this entry and I'll just give you a very forward opinion.  Wasn't impressed. My flautas didn't even come with beans or rice.  Almost everything needed more salt, or more seasoning. Must have been the blandest chorizo I've ever tasted, and I'm almost certain that they used flour tortillas for my flautas regardless of what the menu stated.  The price was right and the service was good, but the food just wasn't impressive.  It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't great.  We'll probably stick with our old favorites next time when it comes to Mexican food. 

I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to make chilaquiles for dinner. It's one of the easiest dishes ever if you use pre-made ingredients. Even if you make everything from scratch, it's still only about a 30 minute dish. Here's what you'll need:

You might remember me mentioning a few weeks back that we had dinner at Las Piramides and loved every second of it. Mr. FvF, especially, had a huge hard-on for the Chorizo Pollo he ordered. It's really only three basic ingredients, so I figured I'd give a whirl of recreating it in our own kitchen. Here's what you'll need (serves two, multiply as needed):

Finally, a recipe! The FvF household has been in such a tizzy lately prepping for our upcoming marital bliss that coming up with new recipes hasn't been at the top of my priority list. But, Dot's Market has butterfly pork chops on sale for a song, so I wanted to come up with something different than souvlaki to use it for.

We're getting pretty excited about our trip to the Riviera Maya, too, and I figured I might try something with a little Mexican flare. I made a marinade of orange juice, olive oil and the typical things you'd find in taco seasoning and gave it a whirl. Here's what you'll need for that part:

1/2 C OJ
1/4 C olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Other stuff you'll need:
Skewers
Cherry tomatoes
Lime
Cilantro

Mix all of those together in an airtight container and set aside. Trim your chops of fat and cut into 1" cubes, toss them into the marinade, replace the top and give it a good shake. Marinate for at least 4 hours or better yet, overnight.

Once they've marinated, thread them onto skewers (don't forget to soak wood skewers for at least 20 minutes), interlacing them with cherry or grape tomatoes. Give them a little squeeze of fresh lime juice and place them on a hot grill (about 400 degrees) for about 4 minutes per side, until there's just a bit of give left to the pork. Let them cool for a moment, the squeeze a bit more lime juice on them and dust with fresh chopped cilantro.


The truth is, I wanted these to be really amazing, but they were missing something. I didn't marinate overnight like I normally do, so I think that may have taken away from the flavor. This marinade also didn't have as much oil in it as most marinades I make, so the pork dried out a bit, despite not being overcooked. I think some sort of richer, maybe dairy-based sauce to drizzle over before serving would have suited them well. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears!

In the end, though, I'm a sucker for grilled veggies (okay, grilled anything) and a colorful plate - so it wasn't a complete disappointment.

On almost any major chain restaurant menu, you can find some variation on Fiesta Chicken. Even if they're culinary dullards, it's still usually pretty good, because it seems really hard to screw up. I made some earlier last week, and it's now in my top five "tasty as they are fast" dinners. Here's what you'll need (as usual, this recipe is for two people - double up as needed)...

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
house seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder)
5 tbsp ranch dressing
1 cup salsa
2 cloves crushed/minced garlic
1/2 C shredded Monterrey-Jack cheese

Warm a Dutch oven over mid-high heat and lube it up with either oil or cooking spray. Season the chicken on both sides with house seasoning and sear it for about 5 minutes on each side until it gets a nice golden brown to it. In a bowl, mix together the dressing, salsa and garlic and pour them into the pan over the chicken. Cover and cook for about 10-15 more minutes (no need to turn). Add the shredded cheese directly over the chicken breasts, then cover for 1-2 minutes so the cheese gets delightfully melty.

There's virtually no prep for this and you could serve it a few different ways. We ate it just as it was, with a mix of corn and peppers and some red potatoes I cut into wedges and seasoned in an attempt to replicate Taco Bell's Fiesta Potatoes. You could also easily chop or shred it once it's cooked and make it into a taco or burrito, or garnish it with cilantro and tortilla strips if you're feeling fancy.

Years ago when I moved away from south-of-town, I would find myself craving Max & Erma's chicken tortilla soup. Once I started to learn about cooking and the wonder that was copy-cat recipe websites, I found a recipe for it and modified it a bit over the years. This is yet another dish so delicious that even the world's biggest onion hater will eat it, even though it contains a whole vidalia onion.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cans condensed cream of celery soup
2 cans condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 32 oz carton chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes w/chiles
1 cup salsa
4 cloves minced garlic
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cumin
2-4 chicken breast halves (depends on size), cooked and chopped

Combine all of the ingredients except for the chicken in a large stock pot. My advice is to start boiling your chicken while you do this. The soup base needs to simmer for a while, so this will give your chicken time to cook & cool before you chop it up and add it. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to medium-low for at least one hour (covered).
Add your chopped chicken and cook another hour.
Seriously, that's it.
Garnish with crunchy tortilla strips or Fritos and shredded cheddar-jack cheese.

Finally, a healthy recipe! I swear we normally eat healthy at Chez Vizz. The holidays may have a been a bad time to start the blog and showcase my sometimes disastrous eating habits.

Most everyone I know loves the Southwestern Eggrolls from Chili's, but most of those people (the ones who aren't slow) also know that their deep fried goodness makes them far from healthy. It's not hard to figure out what's in them, so the challenge is making them better for you - which for me, is not much of a challenge.

Southwestern Eggrolls

1 whole chicken breast, cooked and chopped or shredded
1 TSBP canola or olive oil
1/4 red bell pepper, minced
2 TBSP minced green onion
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 pkg (about 5 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 TBSP diced jalapeno peppers
1/2 TSP cumin
1/2 TSP chili powder
1/4 TSP salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 cup shredded cheese, Monterrey Jack or Colby Jack work best
approx. 8 low-carb tortillas

Preheat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add red pepper and onion and sauté for a couple minutes, or until tender.

Add corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper to pan. Cook for another 5 minutes & stir well so that spinach separates and is incorporated into mixture. Remove pan from heat and add chicken, then cheese and stir until cheese is melted.



You may want to moisten and microwave your tortillas to soften them up and make them easier to roll - only takes about 15 seconds. Roll them up like tiny little burritos and secure with toothpicks and place in a baking pan that you've lubed up w/cooking spray. Bake in a pre-heated 350��� oven for about 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole or that rancid avocado-ranch like they have at Chili's.

Enjoy!