Beef Tacos, Burritos, Nachos and Tortilla Pizzas

IT'S TACO NIGHT!!! Nothing authentic about it but it's time for some crazy-tasty ground beef in a crispy corn shell with a ton of toppings! You can (AND SHOULD!) double this recipe to feed a crowd or to ensure you have lots of leftovers to make delicious Burritos,Tortilla Pizzas and Nachos!! The flavor far surpasses a packet of taco seasoning and any fast food taco filling. We make this one all the time, it's SO good and easy.

This is yet another recipe from Americas Test Kitchen. They know their stuff, check them out.

I <3 this book.

First, get your spices ready in a small bowl.

2 Tbs      Chili Powder

1 Tsp      Cumin

1 Tsp      Coriander 

1/2 Tsp   Oregano, dried

1/4 Tsp   Cayenne Pepper

1/4 Tsp   Salt

• Next, chop a medium yellow onion while you heat a few teaspoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes, then add 3 cloves of crushed garlic. Cook 1 minute more.
• The skillet should still have some oil in it, if not add a touch more. Add the seasoning and stir for 1 minute. This step really brings out a ton of flavor from the spices, and It's makes your house smell great!
• Add 1 lb of 90% lean ground beef and break it up. If you don't use 90% you'll wind up with orange,  greasy meat.
• While the meat is cooking combine the following in a cup:

1/2 Cup   Chicken Broth, low sodium
1/2 Cup   Tomato Sauce
2 Tsp       Vinegar, preferably cider
1 Tsp       Brown sugar, preferably dark 

• Once the meat is no longer pink add the liquid mixture to the skillet. Stir and let simmer uncovered for at least 10 minutes, until most of the liquid is gone. 

It should look like this

While the meat is simmering you can fry your tortilla shells (I recommend Mission brand extra thin yellow corn tortillas) or warm flour tortillas for burritos:

Then get your favorite toppings ready:

Tomato, Avocado, Onion, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Sour Cream, Black Beans and the ever present Chipotle Tabasco

You have no idea how hard it was tot take this picture before devouring these!

Seriously. Make these. And invite me over.
Also check out my Enchiladas Verdes and Mexican Meatballs

Enchiladas Verdes

Corn Tortillas filled with Chicken, Cilantro and Monterey Jack covered with a Chile & Tomatillo sauce and topped with Queso Fresco and Crema Mexicana (sour cream). This one ain't for a weeknight, trust me, but if you're looking for an amazing weekend meal or just have the extra time or inclination these make an impressive, delicious dinner. While this recipe does have a fair amount of steps and clean up it's really straight forward, not too complicated at all. Of course, if you want to simplify this recipe you can skip the sauce and just make some great Chicken Taco Filling. 

This recipe is adaptated (yet again) from Americas Test Kitchen. Those guys are awesome. Watch their shows on PBS and Check out their website: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=14761&incode=M**ASCA00

AND this cookbook is amazing! I use it all the time!

1 Lb            Chicken Breasts, skinless
1 1/2 Cups   Chicken Broth, low sodium
1 Med          Yellow Onion, chopped
2 Tsp           Garlic, pressed/minced
1/2 Tsp        Cumin
1/4 Tsp        Coriander 

• First, lets poach the chicken. You could poach it in water but that'd be bland and boring. So, chop a yellow Onion, saute it, add the Garlic, Cumin and Coriander and cook for 30 seconds until wonderfully fragrant. Pour in the low sodium Chicken Broth. Bring your enhanced chicken broth to a simmer and add 1 pound of skinless chicken breasts (I used bone-in today but boneless is easier). Cover, let the chicken simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken is 160 degrees. Don't forget to turn the chicken over half way through. Remove chicken and let cool. Reserve at least 1/4 cup of cooking liquid. 

Swimming in flavor

While the chicken is cooling lets make our sauce. 

3 Med        Poblano or Jalapeno Chiles 
1 1/2 Lbs   Tomatillos 
1 Tsp         Salt
1 Tsp         Sugar
1 Tsp         Garlic, pressed/minced
1/4 Cup     Cooking Liquid (our enhanced chicken broth)

• Preheat your broiler. The recipe calls for Poblanos. I have trouble finding them around here, even at the super mercado, so tonight I'm using a mix of Anaheim and Jalapeno. Any green chiles will work. Halve the chiles and remove the ribs and seeds (if you love heat leave some jalapeno ribs/seeds). Remove the paper husk from the tomatillos and give them a quick rinse. If you have large tomatillos cut them in half as well. Toss the chiles and tomatillos in a bit of vegetable oil and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Broil on the middle rack until they begin to get black and charred. Rotate the sheet for even cooking. Let cool.
• Once cool enough to handle peel the blackened skin off the chiles. Leave the skin on the tomatillos. Throw the roasted chiles, tomatillos, garlic, salt, sugar and cooking liquid in a large food processor or blender and pulse until slightly chunky. Give your sauce a taste, it may need a touch more sugar or cooking liquid. 

Before

After

Ready! 

Now that the sauce is ready and the chicken has cooled lets finish our filling and tortillas and get this bad boy in the oven.

1 1/2 Cups   Monterey Jack, grated
1/2 Cup       Cilantro, chopped 

• Shred the chicken, grate the cheese and chop the cilantro and toss together in a bowl. Add salt to taste. You can also add more cumin or anything else you like now. 

All that's left is to prep your tortillas and fill them. I recommend Mission brand extra thin yellow corn tortillas.

• Quickly fry 12-14 tortillas in a small amount of very hot (but not smoking) corn oil, about 10-15 seconds each. Put each tortilla between paper towels as you go.

Enchiladas Assemble!!

• Preheat your oven to 350. Get a 13x9 glass baking dish and pour enough sauce to cover the bottom. 
• Fill each tortilla with 1/4-1/2 cup filling, depending on tortilla size and roll. Place enchiladas seem side down in the dish. Repeat until dish is full or you are out of filling or tortillas. (At this point you can refrigerate the dish overnight and bake when ready, just increase the baking time)
• Cover enchiladas with remaining sauce and top with Queso Fresco, Monterey Jack or your cheese of choice. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted. 

Like this!

• Serve immediately with crema and a side of black beans. 

These are SO good! AND as good as they are tonight they are EVEN better the next day! Make them for people you love, then ask them to to the dishes ;)

Quick Pic: Better BLTs

What's the difference between an OK sandwich and a GREAT sandwich? Doing that little bit extra. Get a loaf of good bread, slice it and toast it gently. Then step up the flavor with with a tasty spread. I'm not a big Mayonnaise fan but if you mix it with smokey Chipotle Tobasco and put it on a bacon sandwich the results are amazing. The smokey heat of the Chipotle with the salty & sweet smokiness of Applewood Smoked Bacon make this sandwich a cut above the rest. 

 Toasted French Bread, Roma Tomatoes, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Baby Spinach and Chipotle Mayo. The only thing missing is some nice avocado. Mine weren't quite ripe yet. 

Drooling? Make it! Like it? Got some sandwich secrets of your own? Let me know in the comments! 

Breakfast Burritos for the Freezer

I LOVE breakfast burritos. I also love to spend as little time as possible on breakfast on a workday. So I'm making Sunday's breakfast and breakfast for the whole week in one fell swoop.

I got my inspiration from Kim's blog Stirring the Pot here: http://mykentuckyhome-kim.blogspot.com/2012/09/lets-talk-freezer-meals-burritos.html 
and also Here:http://mykentuckyhome-kim.blogspot.com/2012/08/spicy-chorizo-zucchini-and-egg.html 
She's got lots of good stuff posted, check her out.

I'm cooking up Chorizo, Zucchini, Onion and Potato, along with a big batch of Scrambled Eggs and topping them off with Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Manchego cheese and Chipotle Tobasco sauce.

Looks good. Smells even better. 

Fill em

Wrap em, stack em

This is the first time I've thrown a Zucchini in the mix and it was fantastic! They were so good we were lucky to get 5 (out of 9) into the freezer for later! Looking forward to breakfast this week. I'm also looking forward to trying this filling in a taco as well. 

Freeze em

Here's a rough recipe. Exact measurements aren't essential:

1 Small Zucchini (Diced)

1 Small Onion (Diced)

2 Small Potatoes (Diced)

1/2 - 3/4 Lb Chorizo

• Cook the Chorizo on med-high first, try to get some browning on it, once cooked through add the veggies. Lower heat and cover. Let the veggies soften and the flavors meld. Pour mix into a bowl, scrap out the pan and melt butter and scramble the eggs. 

9 Eggs

1 Big Splash Milk/Half and Half/Cream

1-2 Tbs Butter

Salt & Pepper

• You know how to scramble eggs, right?

What do you think of this filling? What do you put in your breakfast burritos? Make it? Like it? Let me know in the comments! 

Albondigas

Mexican Meatballs in a Chipotle Tomato Sauce over Rice. It's a little bit like Mexican Spaghetti and Meatballs. If you like Albondigas Soup you'll like this spicier, tomato-ier cousin. We make it a lot, it's one of our favorites. I picked this dish up from an episode of Everyday Food on PBS a few years back and have tweaked it over time.

Meatballs:

1 Medium     Zucchini (Grated, Liquid squeezed out)

1 Medium     Yellow Onion (Grated, Liquid Squeezed out)

1/2 tsp         Cumin

1/4 tsp         Coriander

1/4 cup        Bread Crumbs (plain)

1                 Egg

1-1 1/2 Lbs  Ground Pork

Salt & Pepper

• First, grate a Zucchini and an Onion on the big holes of a cheese grater. Using a clean towel, cheese cloth, or paper towels squeeze out as much liquid as you can. 
• Lightly beat an egg in a mixing bowl. Add pork, zucchini, onion, bread crumbs and all the seasonings and combine until mixed. 
• Form mixture into 16 equally sized meatballs. Place meatballs on a baking sheet as you go.
• Put the meat balls into the freezer for 15 minutes. This will help keep them from falling apart and will promote browning in the pan.

Once they're in the freezer it time to make the sauce. It's super simple.

Sauce: 

1 28oz Can   Whole Peeled Tomatoes 

1-2              Chipotle Peppers OR 1-2 Tbs  Chipotle Tabasco Sauce 

Salt & Pepper

Either of these work well. The peppers give more heat, the tabasco gives more flavor. 

• Add tomatoes (just the whole tomatoes, not the juice they're packed in) and the chipotle to a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Season with Salt & Pepper

 Start heating a small amount of oil in a large skillet on Med-High. After the 15 minutes remove the meatballs from the freezer and cook them until they are well browned all over. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and bring to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and let simmer 5 more minutes. 

After simmering

Serve over White Rice and top with Cilantro. (Don't skip the cilantro!) 

Rojo, Blanco y Verde

Hecho en mi cocina!
Also check out my Enchiladas Verdes and Crunchy Beef Tacos! 

Quick Pic: Veggie Pizza

I'm trying out my mobile blogger app. Here's tonight's dinner.

Sauted mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, red onion, garlic, cheddar, monetary jack and homemade pizza sauce. Topped with Parmesan and garlic salt. 
I use Leonardi's pizza dough from WinCo.

Pizza Tips: 

• Rest your dough! Even if you're using fresh store bought dough it's always best to let it rise and relax in a warm area for as long as possible. The texture will be better and it will be easier to roll/stretch out. 
• Make/buy your dough ahead of time! You can freeze it!
• Make your sauce ahead of time! You can freeze it!
• Don't over sauce your dough or use too many toppings with a high moisture content, such as fresh veggies. The top of your crust will be doughy and underdone.
• When using pepperoni: place between layers of paper towel and microwave for a short time (30 secs to a minute). You'll be amazed how much grease comes out. Added bonus: your pepperoni will be nice and crisp when they come out of the oven.
• Use plenty of olive oil on your pizza pan. It tastes great and will keep your pizza from sticking. 
• Cook your pizza on a lower oven rack at a high temperature, 400-500 degrees.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast

Quick & tasty weeknight dinner. You can never have to many chicken breast recipes. 

• Take boneless skinless chicken breasts, lightly salt them, dredge them in flour, dip in beaten egg yolk, and coat them in a mixture of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and Panko Breadcrumbs. The mixture should be about 2 parts cheese to 1 part Panko. 
• Place the coated chicken in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. This time will help the coating stick. 
• Heat a tablespoon of butter in a skillet on medium-high heat until it foams. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, this will keep the butter from burning. Add chicken to skillet and WAIT. After 3-4 minutes check the color. Turn it when its beautiful. 
• When both sides are beautiful take them off heat and make sure they are around 155 degrees. If they aren't fully cooked put them on a cooling rack set on a baking sheet (so the coating doesn't get soggy) and put them in the oven until done. 
• Let the chicken rest on the plate for 5 minutes before cutting into them.

Pack the coating on

Notes: 

1. Any hard cheese will work. Pecorino Romano works especially well!
2. Regular breadcrumbs are not recommended, can be used in a pinch. Panko crumbs will result in a crispier crust.
3. Add some seasoning to the flour, egg, and/or breading mix. A sprinkle of Nutmeg compliments the Parmesan well. If you like heat add some Cayenne Pepper. Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, Onion Powder, Paprika, Mustard Powder... Experiment.
4. You may need more/less butter and oil depending on the size of your pan and how many chicken breasts you're making.  
5. It's a good idea to pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness. Not too thin, you don't want your chicken to cook through before the breading is crisp. Not too thick, you don't want the breading to burn because the chicken isn't cooked through yet.
6. The real trick to this recipe is to get the breading to stay stuck to the chicken. If you use just the egg yolk (not the white), use plenty of cheese, let the chicken sit in the fridge for a bit, and don't mess with the chicken too much once it's in the pan it'll stay in place.

Pictured: Beauty 

Quick Pic: Bruschetta

Here's a quick post for a quick appetizer:

Salt & Pepper to taste

Good bread + good tomatoes + good mozzarella + fresh basil + olive oil = Great appetizer! 

Pesto alla Trapanese

Pesto alla Trapanese is a Sicilian variation on a regular basil pesto. It's quick, easy, fresh, delicious AND requires almost NO cooking skill. This one is SO simple. With the right quality ingredients ANYONE can make this impressive, restaurant quality pasta dish!

Here's what you'll need

1/2 Cup      Packed Fresh Basil
10-12oz     Cherry or Grape Tomatoes 
1oz            Grated Parmigiano Reggiano (spring for the good stuff, now is not the time for cheapo parmesan) 
1/4 Cup      Toasted Almonds (skinless, slivered)
1Clove       Garlic (crushed, mined or pressed)
1/3 Cup      Extra Virgin Olive Oil (again, spring for something good)
1                Pepperoncini (Stems and seeds removed)
Pinch         Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
1 Tsp         Salt
1 lb            Pasta (I recommend thin spaghetti or linguine) 

• Toast the almonds in a skillet on medium heat until fragrant, toasty smelling. About 2 mins. Put the garlic, red pepper flakes (if using) and toasted almonds in a food processor. Pulse until almonds start to form a paste, you don't want hunks of almond in your sauce. Add the Basil, Tomatoes, Pepperoncini and salt to the processor and pulse while drizzling in the 1/3 cup of olive oil.

• Meanwhile, have your salted pasta water boiling. As soon as the pasta is al dente drain it and return it to the pot. Pour on your pesto and the the ounce of grated Parmigiano. 

The smell is incredible when the pesto hits the steaming pasta!!! 

• Toss and serve with bread.

Presto!

Try this quick and easy recipe and let me know how it turns out! I'd love to see/hear about your results! 

This is yet another recipe I got from Americas Test Kitchen. I seriously love those guys! http://www.americastestkitchen.com/ You can find this recipe and more like it in this book:

Calzone

I'd been craving calzone for awhile before I ran into this article: http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/08/secrets-to-perfect-calzones/

OHMANLETSDOTHIS!!!

I made one on Sunday. It was really, REALLY good. Even better than I expected. It was even better today, after the filling and sauce spent the day in the fridge.

I'm using store bought pizza dough. Leonardi's brand from Winco is best IMO.

 Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Parmigiano Reggiano with Garlic and Fresh Basil and an egg as binder. 

Wrap it up. 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with pizza sauce 

OH YEAH!

So good. So easy. Looking forward to experimenting with different fillings; spinach, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, BACON...

Thanks America's Test Kitchen. I <3 you. 

Check out this cookbook, I use it all the time!

Big Pot of Beans

I'm making a big pot of beans today. Have a look: 

Mirepoix - Carrots, Onions, Celery with Yellow Bell Pepper 

Bean Melange - Equal parts Pinto, Pink and Navy.  I soaked them in brine overnight.

BACON!!!

Soften the Veggies in Bacon Fat. You wish you could smell this.

Cover with water and a couple teaspoons of Liquid Smoke. Let simmer for several hours.

Now we play the waiting game...
...
...
... and done!

Bacon makes everything better.