Taco Night! Good bye pre-packaged seasoning mix!

Tonight I made tacos using my own blend of seasonings. I decided to stop and measure/record each ingredient just in case it came out great and I wanted to blog about it. Now I am so glad I did! I highly recommend everyone try making your own seasoning. The flavor is much more rich and authentic. You can taste and appreciate each spice rather then just tasting a lot of salt. :)

In addition to our tacos, we had our "staple mexican side dish". Anytime we have mexican at home we include our house version of Chipotle's rice. Yum! Tonight I was lazy...but this recipe is even better with Basmati or a medium grain rice (rather then minute rice).

Homemade Taco Seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container.


For the tacos:

Set saute pan over medium heat and add oil. Once hot, place a finely diced onion (I use 1/2 onion) in the pan and saute until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add meat (works great with ground beef, chicken, or pork) to the pan and cook, breaking the pieces up as they cook, until the meat is browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Season with homemade taco seasoning (about 2 tablespoons per 1 lb of meat). Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup beef broth to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook the meat, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 20 minutes.

*You can also add a couple tablespoons of tomato paste when adding the liquid (but Chris doesn’t like tomatoes)

Serve with your favorite taco fixings :)







Our House Chipotle Rice

1 cup packed cilantro leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cups quick cooking (instant) white rice
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Lemon juice (a good “squeeze”)

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan and cook rice as directed. Squeeze lemon over rice. Fluff with fork and serve!

Long Overdue!

I can't believe my last blog post was in December! It has been a long, busy winter for sure and I am so glad Spring is almost here! Chris has just 96 days left in his horrible Surgical Intern year. Things are looking up as we look to purchase our first home together and have more time to spend together once this year is over. (It ends in June.)
This weekend I got a reminder of how wonderful it is to spend time with Chris. He had FOUR ENTIRE DAYS OFF (unheard of)! We traveled to Chris' parents house in Amish County. When we were there we hiked in the snow and mud to look at a water fall near his parents' house. It was a lot of fun. I also helped prepare a Mexican dinner while visiting. Chris' mom asked that I teach her how to make my Mexican Rice. We served that with tacos and corn souffle. It turned out great! And it was really fun cooking dinner with my mother-in-law. Enjoy!


(Sorry about the picture. I took it with my cell phone!)


Original Mexican Rice Recipe (modified from www.cooking.com)

Olive Oil (enough to coat saucepan)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped white onions

1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers

2 cups converted long-grain rice

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons chipotle taco seasoning (recommended: Ortega)

4 cups chicken stock



**Chopped green onions

**Sour cream

In a medium saucepan (with lid), add garlic, onion, and pepper and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add rice and cook another 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, seasoning, and stock in saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve with green onions and sour cream as garnish.


Ashleigh’s version

In place of taco seasoning pack add:

2 teaspoons of chili powder.

Salt to taste (1 1/2 teaspoons of salt)

Pepper to taste (1/2 teaspoon black pepper)

1 teaspoon of ground cumin.

3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves (or sub. cilantro spice)


(Note: On a hectic weeknight, you can also substitute a jar of your favorite chunky salsa and omit the chopping/cooking/adding of the white onion, green pepper, and tomatoes. :)

A quick weekend dinner: Mexican Chicken Pizza

I removed the frozen, diced chicken breasts from our freezer this morning because I intended to make stir-fry for dinner. However, Chris and I ended up eating Chinese at the mall today so I needed a contingency plan. I had a thawed pizza dough and a package of Mexican cheese blend in the refrigerator (for Monday) so I decided to make us "Mexican Chicken Pizza". I didn't have a recipe, but I was inspired by a similar recipe by Kraft Foods. Our version turned out very well. It was quick, easy, and pretty inexpensive. This would make a great weeknight meal!




Mexican Chicken Pizza

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound frozen chicken, diced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons cayenne sauce
Salt and pepper to desired taste
(*or substitute packet of taco seasoning for quick fix)
3/4 cup sliced onion
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 ball frozen pizza crust, thawed
1(16-ounce) jar chunky salsa
1 (8-ounce) packages shredded Mexican cheese (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and other mild cheeses combined)

Optional toppings to serve:
Shredded lettuce
Sour cream
Reserved salsa



Position the oven rack at the lowest level. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread dough on a lightly greased 13x9 inch pan (or use pizza pan or stone) and place in oven for 7-8 minutes. Crust will be barely brown.
While crust bakes half way, heat the oil in a skillet and add the frozen, diced chicken, seasonings, onion, and green pepper. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until chicken is no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes, flipping/disturbing chicken half way through cooking. Add 1 cup of the salsa and bring to a boil.
*Reserve some of the remaining salsa to spoon evenly over the pizza crust.
Remove chicken mixture from heat and wait for crust to finish baking.

Spoon salsa over crust and spread evenly. Next top with chicken mixture and then with Mexican cheese mix.

Bake the pizzas for 10 to 12 minutes, then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 10 minutes more. Turn oven to broil for 2 minutes before removing pizza.
Serve the pizza slices topped with the reserved salsa, shredded lettuce, and sour cream.

We're-Not-Going-to-Qdoba-Again Chicken Burritos

A recipe created by Ashleigh

Since the workers at Qdoba are beginning to re-call our order by memory, I told Chris I was going to make burritos at home rather then follow our usual Sunday ritual of visiting Qdoba. He was disappointed at first, but after tasting it he said "I would recommend this to all my friends". Haha. A true compliment! :)

I wish I could have kept him away from the dish long enough for a photo, but he said he was too hungry. There were plenty of left overs (enough for two more meals) so maybe I can snap a picture when we warm up our next burritos!

In the meantime, a tribute to my inspiration, Qdoba :) (We will go back...for sure)


(Photo taken from: Qdoba nutritional calculator)


My recipe:

Ingredients:

8 soft flour tortillas

Filling:
3 cups chicken broth
4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved (1.3 lbs)
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
2 sprigs fresh oregano
1 small onion, quartered
1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/3 palm full
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
Mix Sauce Separately:
2 cups salsa (I used Medium heat)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 pinches
1 teaspoon chili powder


1/2 up sour cream
Prepared white rice (about 1 1/2 cups, left-over)
2 cups Monterey Jack shredded cheese

Directions:
Place all ingredients (accept for cheese and prepared rice) in a crockpot. Cook on low 5-6 hours.
Use a fork to shred chicken (chicken will shred very easily). Add sour cream, stir and unplug/turn-off crockpot. Remove 1 cup of mixture and set aside. Add rice to crockpot and let mixture sit for 10 minutes. While rice sits, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat tortillas (30 seconds) in microwave wrapped in a damp paper towel.
Pile chicken and rice mixture from crockpot into warm tortillas and roll. Line 13x9 inch casserole or baking dish with enchiladas, seam side down. Pour reserved sauce mixture over the rolled enchiladas and top with cheese. Place in hot oven and bake 20-25 minutes. Turn oven to Broil setting (high) for 5 minutes. Let sit for 8-10 minutes before serving. We topped ours with sour cream.