Taco Meat

I have been searching for the best taco filling that is easy and the tastiest.  I combined a few recipes and found the perfect taco meat for tacos, salads, you name it. It is just the right amount of spice for kids!

One onion, chopped

3 Tablespoons of garlic

1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey or beef.  I use the ground turkey from Costco that come in a 4-pack.

1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

3 Tablespoons of cumin

1 tsp of chili powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 cups of beef broth

1 small can of tomato paste

In a 12-inch saute pan, brown ground turkey or beef with the onion and garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder. When the meat is browned all the rest of the ingredients and cook to a simmer.  Let it simmer over the stove until most of the liquid is gone. That's all there is to it!  It makes enough that we can even freeze some.

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 (10 oz.) cans of enchilada sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (canned corn works just fine, but drain it first)

4 oz. can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper

4 scallions, thinly sliced

12 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of your mixer cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, and 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir in 1/2 cup of each type of cheese.
3. In a second bowl toss together the chicken, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, green chiles, and half of the scallions. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and combine well.
4. Spread about half of the remaining enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
5. Spoon the filling into each tortilla, roll the tortilla up, and place in the baking dish with the seam down. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the filled tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and serve.

Pork Carnitas

Holy smokes this is good stuff! I could eat this for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. We made this for Mexican night the other night and even my kids gobbled it up.

3-4 lbs. pork shoulder, boneless or bone-in
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 heaping (!) tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Cut the pork shoulder into a few large chunks. You don’t want them bite-sized; I make mine about 3-4 inches.

2. Mix cumin, garlic powder, sea salt, and the two peppers together in a small bowl. Place the pork chunks in a plastic container with a lid or a Ziploc bag. Pour in the spice blend, then toss the bag vigorously until the chunks are completely coated on all sides.

3. Place the pork in a large, deep pan. Pour the lime and lemon juice into the bottom, then add water to just cover the meat.

4. Turn heat to high and bring the water to a rip-roaring boil. You want big bubbles! When it’s rolling, turn the heat to a simmer. Keep the pan uncovered. You want it bubble a fair amount, but not be a roiling boil. While it’s cooking, it will look like uninspired soup. Do not be discouraged!Essentially, you’re waiting for the water to evaporate from the pan, but while the water is evaporating, the powerful acidic qualities of the lime and lemon juice are tenderizing the meat. Yay, science!

5. At about the 2-hour mark, check the pot. The water should be much lower and maybe even almost gone. Now things get interesting… allow all the water to cook out of the pan and watch as the meat magically fries and carmelizes. It is a thing of beauty. But seriously, you need to watch it at this point.

6. Carefully turn the hunks of meat – without shredding them – to brown all sides, then remove the hunks to a plate and let them rest for 5 minutes before eating. If you’re into this sort of thing, you can save the pork fat from the bottom of the pan in a glass jar and use it for other cooking projects.

Source: theclothesmakethegirl.com

Fish Taco Salads

I kind of made this up when my taco shell crumbled and I thought why not make it a salad. You could easily just get soft taco shells to have fish tacos. We love them.

About 4-5 Tilapia filets

garlic salt

lemon juice

Fry the tilapia filets in a skillet over the stove in a tablespoon of olive oil. I sprinkle them with garlic salt and lemon or lime juice (has to be fresh).

Dressing: (from Liz Edmunds, the Food Nanny)

3/4 c. mayonaise ( I use Greek yogurt for a no fat better tasting variation)

1/2 c. buttermilk (1 Tbsp. vinegar and enough skim milk to make one cup is good too, but only use 1/2 cup of that)

1 T. lime juice

1-2 T. fresh cilantro

1 tsp garlic

3/4 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. dried onion

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Avacado-Mango Salso

2 Mangos skinned and diced

2 Avacados cubed

1 red pepper

3/4 of a red onion

fresh cilantro

2 T. sugar

2 T. olive oil

4 T. red wine vinegar

2 tsp. salt or garlic salt

Mix it altogether and let sit about 30 minutes before serving.

I used cabbage, crumbled tortilla shells, tomatoes, fish, dressing, and salsa. Yummmmy!

Priscilla's Beef Enchiladas

I can't say enough about these enchiladas.  They are better than any restaurant I've ever eaten in.  The BEST!!!!

Beef for the enchiladas:
5 lbs. beef roast or combination of beef and pork roasts
3 T. vegetable shortening
3 onions, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies
2 (7 oz) cans green chili salsa
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
4 T. flour
4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
Juices from beef roasts

Slow cook your roast in a crock pot for about eight hours on low.  I usually just do this over night, and I put a little water in the crock pot. Drain meat, reserving juices. Cool meat, then remove bones, shred meat, and set aside. Melt shortening (I use oil)  in a large skillet. Add onions and green chilies. Saute one minute. Add green chili salsa, garlic powder, flour, salt, and cumin. Cook one minute over medium-low heat. Stir in reserved meat juices and shredded meat. Cook five minutes until thick. Cool. Put about three cups mix into freezer bags and freeze for later. Makes about nine cups of Mexican Meat Mix.

Enchiladas
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
1 (16 oz) can whole tomatoes, undrained and finely chopped
Vegetable oil for frying
12 corn tortillas
3 cups of Mexican Meat mix
1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c. sour cream

Combine enchilada sauce and chopped tomatoes in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a small skillet. Dip one tortilla at a time in hot oil for several seconds, then dip in hot enchilada sauce mixture. Set aside. Place about 1/4 c. Mexican meat mix on each tortilla and sprinkle with 2 T grated cheddar cheese. Roll up and place close together in a shallow casserole dish, seam-side down. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese. Bake about 15 minutes, until bubbly. Spoon sour cream over enchiladas and serve hot. Makes about six servings.