There is something so special about grilling together. The food just seems to taste better when we’ve prepared it together. Making Steak Fajitas means working together to prep, grill and serve a delicious meal. Maybe it’s the love of cooking together that makes everything taste so much better. The weekend is nearly upon us and I can hardly wait!
Continue reading “Summer Night Entertaining with Grilled Flank Steak Fajitas”
We have already established that today is National Avocado Day and that Avocados are more then just the made ingredient for Guacamole. Bet you thought I wasn’t going to get into the whole Guacamole thing. Almost skipped it. I was going to simply share a great recipe for Shredded Roast Beef Taquitos and leave it at that. But then, you gotta have Guacamole with your Taquitos, right?
Continue reading “Shredded Roast Beef Taquitos with Home-Made Guacamole”
Some like it hot. If you are among the “bring on the heat” crowd, these quesadillas should do the trick. First, you’ve got good chorizo at the heart of the filling. Then you’ve got a spicy sauce that packs a mean Jalapeno punch. I mean – wow!
Way, way back in 1949 a man named Jim Knudson and his wife, Margaret, were served tacos for dinner at a friend’s home. What made this experience unique is that neither had eaten a taco before. Jim Knudson was experienced in the food industry and thought offering tacos to the American public was a good idea. After perfecting his recipe that included a dusting of canned Parmesan Cheese, Jim introduced the “Tayco” to the menu of his Grass Valley restaurant. Much to his surprise, customers were not enthusiastic about the new menu item. The taco was not a hit, but Jim Knudson was not about to give up.
Salads, for the most part, are suppose to be a healthy choice in the food selection. And that’s true, most of the time. This salad is not one of the healthier choices. Now it could be, if you were to make some changes to the recipe. Use light sour cream and light mayonnaise instead of the fully loaded variety when making the dressing. Omit the salt if on a low sodium diet. As for the salad itself, use turkey or a super lean ground beef. I prefer chuck because ground chuck just as better flavor, and that comes from its fat content.
Continue reading “Dorito Taco Salad with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing”
My phone chirped – I had a text. It was coming up on five and I guessed Hubby was letting me know he was on his way home. I was right, it was Hubby. I was mistaken about the message. He was going to be late. No worries. My casserole wouldn’t take long. Planning ahead for late evenings is something I take pride in. And besides, it’s summer. There is something perfectly acceptable about eating dinner at seven in the summer. Eat at seven in the winter and you feel like it’s midnight. Why is that?
Hubby wandered into the kitchen and wanted to know what we had planned for dinner. The man drives me nuts sometimes. I print out a schedule every Saturday morning before we go to the market of the week’s planned meals and stick it on the refrigerator door right under the schedule of weekend events in our area. He manages to notice if there’s a car show nearby on any given weekend, but not what we’re having for dinner on any particular night. We all have our priorities, I suppose.
Continue reading “Rotisserie Chicken Flautas with Salsa Verde”One beautiful Saturday afternoon, while strolling down the meat section of my local market, I saw the most awesome thick cut pork chops I had ever seen. These babies had to be nearly 2 inches thick, with a nicely trimmed fat edge on one side and a bone on the other. There were three of these beautiful chops in a package, market for “special” pricing. I can only surmise that a customer had ordered the extra-thick pork chops and then for whatever reason, decided against the purchase after the meat was cut.
Continue reading “Sizzling Ancho Cornbread Stuffed Pork Chops”
I gotta tell you, when I first started cooking up the ground, I had to wonder – a pound of ground beef seemed a bit much for 8 biscuit sliders. Wrong – it was the perfect amount. These “bites” might seem small, but they are packed with flavor and super filling. Have you ever made a Taco Braid? These sliders are similar, only much easier to assemble.
My hubby has the strangest sense of humor. Recently as we sat down to a fine, all from scratch Mexican supper, I made the comment that it was nice to spend time putter about in the kitchen. He smiled and replied “So that’s why you’re so good at miniature golf.” A silly man making a silly play on the word “puttering”.
Continue reading “Pork Carnitas with Cilantro Tomatillo Salsa and Hand-Pressed Tortillas”
As many of you already know, I am a huge fan of Northern Italian-French cooking. Anything that calls for a few pounds of butter mixed with a gallon or so of heavy cream and I am there! My heart might not agree, but the rest of me gets excited at the very thought. The thing that I like about Italian-French cuisine (aside from all the creamy sauces) is the use of wine. Sip, cook, taste, sip some more. Yeah, that makes for a happy cook in the kitchen.
Continue reading “The Heat is On in a Slow-Cooked Pork Carnitas Salsa Verde”
This year as part of our Cinco de Mayo, we had the most awesome Carne Asada Taco Bar. As usual, I had far more marinated meat than we could possible use for one meal, even with family. Rather than cook it all up and have a few pounds of leftovers to deal with, we froze half of the Carne Asada meat for another day.
Just what the heck is Barbacoa? Is it a dish? Is it a style of cooking? Barbacoa is actually a Spanish word that means – you guessed it – barbecue. It’s actually not Spanish in origins, but rather a type of cooking that originated in the Caribbean with the Taino people. Today in contemporary Mexico, Barbacoa generally refers to meats or a whole sheep that is slow-cooked over an open fire, or more traditionally, in a hole dug in the ground, then covered with Maguey leaves much like a roasted pork in the tropics of the South Pacific. Barbacoa is often prepared with parts from the heads of cattle, such as cheeks, or from the heads of goats. In central Mexico, the meat of choice is a lamb, and in the Yucatan, it is prepared with a pig. The meat is known for its high fat content, strong flavors; often accompanied by onions and cilantro.
There are dishes that come out of my kitchen that my guys let me know that I have managed to serve up what they consider to be a good meal. Then there are foods that come out of my kitchen and my guys let me know they really, truly enjoyed what they ate. Generally, when this happens I hear “you can make this again.” It is their way of letting me know having the same food twice is just fine by them. I strive to create a different meal every night. While some things are repeated such as mashed potatoes or a salad, the evening’s entrée changes nightly. (By entrée, I am referring to the main dish). My guys were in luck. The Taquitos I served up for Taco Mixer Tuesday were a dress rehearsal for Cinco de Mayo appetizer. So yeah, I’ll serve them up again tomorrow.
We’ve all heard of Taco Tuesday, right? In our house, we’ve expanded the whole Taco Tuesday thing to incorporate anything with a Mexican flavor. Tacos, burritos, chilies, seafoods, pork dishes, beef dishes – it’s a free for all of Mexican Favorites. I know, Frito Pie isn’t exactly authentic Mexican, it’s more Mexican-American. Still, it’s quick, easy and oh so delicious. Served with slices of avocado and a few pitches of Margarita and you’ve got all the makings for a great night!
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