Taco

#SundaySupper: Easy Taco Recipes for Taco Tuesday

~ lk529 ~ 23 Comments

 

Warning! This recipe is insanely addicting. It will make you want to go out and buy all of the chorizo you can find. In fact, I did just that. However, at the time of purchase there were only two packages of chorizo left on the shelf. But still! I don’t think I can go to the store without getting a package. All because of these tacos. Truth be told, we made these twice in one week! They’re that good. We’ve told friends about them and have promised to make them next time they come over. I need to double the amount of chorizo from now on so that we’ll actually have leftovers!

The first time I made these tacos I did everything ahead of time. I made the salsa and crema around 4pm. Because Treat took a nap I jumped at the opportunity and cooked the chorizo, too. Not one to squander my slightly less hectic house, I decided to assemble a couple of tacos and have a photo shoot while the light was still good.

It’s hard not to yell at your toddler for standing on his chair while you’re standing on yours to get that aerial shot. You’ll see he has some of that salsa on his beloved Thomas plate. He was mostly interested in picking out all of the black beans, one of his favorite foods.

IMG_9826

We had to take a break from the photo shoot to bring Treat up from his nap. Both boys ended up eating their dinner before Daddy got home from work! At least they both adored the dish enough to still sit with us at the table nibbling while we scarfed down some tacos.

Firecracker also decided to help me with some food styling by dumping a heaping spoonful of salsa onto one of the tacos. (Good thing I was already done!)

IMG_9830

That helpful toddler ensured that his little brother had enough salsa to eat, too. It’s moments like these that melt my heart. They’re such good brothers to each other. The love that Treat has had for his older brother has been obviously visible in his adoring looks since month 1. Firecracker also took to our family’s new addition within a couple of weeks, trying to say his name long before the rest of his vocabulary emerged. I just hope this brotherly love lasts them a lifetime.

IMG_9832

Can you believe that until these tacos I’d actually never had queso fresco!? Even with my series of Mexican Monday, which has been severely lacking lately. I’ve typically been “too cheap” or simply unable to find it. Now, living in Southern California, I had no trouble finding a large variety of Mexican cheeses at the store. The queso fresco reminded me of a saltier version of string cheese, so if you can’t find it, I’d suggest shredded mozzarella.

I had bought some typical taco toppings, lettuce and tomato, and then completely forgot about them! Honestly, these tacos shine without them and the lime and cilantro crema keeps them feeling light and fresh.

Chorizo Tacos with Black Bean & Corn Salsa

Ingredients for tacos:

  • 1-2 lb ground chorizo, casings removed if using links
  • soft shell taco tortillas, we prefer flour but corn would work well, too
  • queso fresco

Ingredients for salsa:

  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can (15 oz) fire roasted corn, drained
  • 1/4 C diced red onion
  • zest 1 lime
  • juice 1 lime
  • 1-2 tbsp agave, to taste
  • fresh cilantro, torn, to taste

Ingredients for crema:

  • 1/4 C sour cream
  • 1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped
  • zest 1 lime
  • juice 1 lime

Steps:

  1. Cook ground chorizo in a skillet over medium high heat. Drain and set aside.
  2. Make salsa: Combine all salsa ingredients in a large bowl. Season to taste with S+P. Keep in fridge until ready to serve.
  3. Make crema: Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt. Add water if needed to thin it out.
  4. Assemble tacos with chorizo, salsa, crema, and queso fresco. Option to add other favorite taco toppings: avocado, lettuce, tomato.

*This recipe is modified from Keri at http://fashionablefoods.com/2016/04/25/chorizo-tacos/

Chorizo Tacos with Corn & Black Bean Salsa Sew You Think You Can Cook (1)

Update October 1, 2017: October 4th is National Taco Day and to celebrate the Sunday Supper Movement has collected about two dozen fun and simple taco recipes to celebrate! Be sure to scroll past my recipe to see the mouth watering collection for yourself!

The taco recipe I’m sharing with you today is in fact an oldie but goodie. These Chorizo Tacos with Black Bean & Corn Salsa were first enjoyed about a year ago (8/21/16 to be exact) and shared here on Sew You Think You Can Cook. I kid you not when I say these have made a very regular appearance on our dinner table since then!

Because chorizo is already seasoned with incredible Mexican flavors, all you need to do is cook it up and drain the fat! The salsa is simply mixing a few ingredients and is a favorite of my kids. The crema is another 3 ingredients. Done!

Breakfast, Dessert, and Alternative Tacos

Lunch and Dinner Tacos

 

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Biscuit Taco Pizza

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Do you ever have those nights where you simply don’t want to make dinner? But you have all this food in the fridge from earlier in the week that you know you should eat but just don’t want to? I feel like those nights happen here quite a bit.

I’m not typically a simple reheat-the-leftovers type of person (with a few exceptions here and there). Often times leftovers get put into quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, or omelets.

And sometimes they get turned into pizzas!

But what if you don’t have a pizza crust in the fridge or any yeast (or time to let the yeast do its thing)? Well, there’s Pinterest for that! I saved this No Yeast Pizza Crust that took only 15 minutes. I figured, “Why not? What have I got to lose?”

The crust that we got reminded us more of a biscuit than a pizza, hence my post title. You could also infer that leftover taco meat and toppings were used to top the biscuity crust.I used salsa as the sauce, topped it with cooked Mexican chorizo, and Mexican blend cheese. After coming out of the oven I added some fresh chopped lettuce, tomato, and scallions.

And the best part? Firecracker was willingly eating veggies! I guess if you put it on a pizza, kids will eat it.

Biscuit Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 C flour
  • 1 C milk
  • 1/2 stick room temperature butter
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • cornmeal, for pizza peel

Steps:

  1. Place pizza stone in oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Put all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix until the dough forms a ball around the hook.
  3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Roll out to desired thickness. Transfer dough to a pizza peel dusted with corn meal. Top dough with desired toppings.
  4. Shimmy pizza onto pizza stone. Bake 10-12 minutes.

*This recipe is adapted from Serene at http://houseofyumm.com/no-yeast-pizza-dough/*

Biscuit Taco Pizza in 30 minutes with this yeast free dough Sew You Think You Can Cook

Chipotle Lime Shrimp with Strawberry Salsa

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

They say you eat with your eyes first.

That must be true because viewing the stunning food photography by Jessica of How Sweet it is caused me to try this intriguing flavor combination: chipotle, strawberry, and black beans.

I admit, I added the black beans – the addition that really had my husband scratching his head. Instead of eating this Mexican Monday meal as tacos, we had tostadas. And tostadas call for refried beans to act as the “glue” that holds the meat and toppings in place. I didn’t think traditional refried beans would really be the way to go with shrimp so I opted for refried black beans. I’m very relieved to inform you that it worked!

I cut some serious heat from the original recipe and I still found it to pack on the spice. Because I freeze my chipotle in adobo in ice cube trays I never know until the cube thaws if I have just sauce, just pepper, or a combination of both. Jessica’s recipe calls for the sauce to be in the marinade – instead I had a pepper which I cut in half and tossed in the bag. This method is a great alternative if you don’t want too much heat but still want that smokey spice from the chipotle peppers. Additionally, I only used half of one (large) jalapeno instead of two whole jalapenos in the strawberry salsa – by all means, if you like it spicy add as much jalapeno as you like!

Chipotle Lime Shrimp

Ingredients:

  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, halved
  • 2 limes (zest and juice)
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

Steps:

  1. Place all ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
  2. Cook shrimp 2 minutes on each side. I did this on a lightly greased grill pan. If you cook the shrimp in a skillet, add 1 tbsp of olive oil.
  3. Serve shrimp with strawberry salsa (recipe below) in a taco with lettuce and cheese or as a tostada with refried black beans and cheese.

Strawberry Salsa

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz fresh strawberries, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, finely diced
  • 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
  • 1/4 C fresh cilantro (I used Gourmet Garden lightly dried cilantro)
  • juice of 1 lime

Steps:

  1. Combine all ingredients and season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

*These recipes are adapted from Jessica at http://www.howsweeteats.com/2014/04/chipotle-lime-shrimp-tacos-with-strawberry-salsa-you-can-totally-preorder-my-book/*

Chipotle Lime Shrimp with Strawberry Salsa | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Tortilla Pie

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

They say you’re not a true cook until you’ve owned (or at least cooked in) a cast iron skillet. I don’t know who “they” are, but I do know why “they” love the cast iron. Cast iron provides the most even cooking temperature, it’s oven safe, and the more you use it the better your food tastes.

I’ve always dreamed of using a cast iron skillet. I’ve even gotten really close to buying my own – but I chicken out at the price. I’ve seen many recipes that require or heavily suggest the use of a cast iron skillet. I always save these recipes but they’re filed under the “yeah-right-that’ll-never-happen” category. (Like ice cream maker recipes, until my husband gave me an ice cream maker for Christmas!)

These cast iron skillet recipes are no longer only in my dreams because I am now the happy owner of a cast iron skillet. But not just any cast iron skillet! I have Stuart’s grandfather’s skillet! My mother-in-law had two and generously gave me one.

Naturally the first thing I use it for is Mexican Monday!

This tortilla pie tastes better than it looks (now that the sun goes down at 5:30 it’s impossible to get good food photography). If you want to see photos that do this pie justice check out the original recipe. There are a lot of steps but they can easily be done in advance. And let me tell you, it’s completely worth it. This tortilla pie takes the flavors of enchiladas, combines it with the volume of a burrito, and assembles it in pie form. Crispy on the top and creamy on the inside.

The size tortillas you use will depend on the size of your skillet. Because my skillet is a square, my tortillas were smaller than the original, therefore I used less of the filling. What was left of the filling ingredients created a perfect burrito that Stuart took to work for lunch.

Tortilla Pie

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 1/2 C beef broth
  • 1 – 2 tbsp canola oil, divided use
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 C milk
  • 3 scallions
  • 1 can (15oz) refried beans
  • 1 C enchilada sauce
  • 5 flour tortillas (size to fit in cast iron skillet)
  • 1 – 2 C shredded Mexican blend cheese

Steps:

  1. In a cast iron skillet, brown ground beef over medium-high heat. Season with taco seasoning and add the beef broth. Cook until reduced. Remove from skillet and place in a bowl.
  2. Add up to 1 tbsp oil to the skillet (if needed) and saute the onion until translucent. Add garlic and cook 60 seconds. Remove and add to the beef.
  3. Create a roux by putting 1 tbsp of oil in the skillet and whisking in 1 tbsp flour. Reduce heat to medium and slowly add the milk to the pan, whisking constantly. When thickened add the beef and onions. Add scallions. Remove from skillet.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  5. Wipe out skillet. (Careful, it’s hot!) Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
  6. In a bowl, mix together refried beans and enchilada sauce.
  7. Place 1 tortilla in the cast iron skillet. Top with up-to half of the bean mixture. (This will depend on the size of your tortillas.) Place a tortilla on top of the beans. Top with up-to half of the beef mixture. Repeat. Top pie with last tortilla, cover with shredded cheese.
  8. Bake 30 – 40 minutes, until golden brown.

*This recipe is adapted from Anita at http://www.hungrycouplenyc.com/2014/06/mexican-tortilla-pie.html *

Tortilla Pie

Beef and Bean Tostadas

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

I was first introduced to tostadas by really good friends of ours. They invited us over one Mexican Monday and I have to say it was nice to not be the one preparing our weekly tradition. They served tostadas. I’d never had them before, in fact I’d never heard of them! I’m sure I’ve seen them on menus at Mexican restaurants before but they clearly didn’t make a lasting impression.

A tostada is essentially a flat taco. So if you’re looking to mix up your Taco Tuesday this is a great alternative. The ingredients are the same, but the vessel is different. I actually think tostadas are easier to eat than crunchy tacos. My beef with crunchy tacos (see what I did there?) is that after the first bite you’re no longer holding a taco, if you’re lucky you’re still holding something. You now have a taco salad on the plate that was hopefully below you, otherwise you have a taco salad on your floor. But with a tostada, everything is “glued down” with refried beans. The vessel is flat, so when it does break apart, you still have at least half a tostada in your hand and what fell is still mostly in tact. The tostada is my solution to crunchy taco night!

An Original Recipe

Beef and Bean Tostadas

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 – 3/4 C water
  • crunchy yellow corn tostada shells
  • 1 can (16oz) refried beans
  • your favorite taco toppings: shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, tomato, scallion, etc

Steps:

  1. In a small bowl combine seasonings. (Alternately, you can use a 1 oz packet of taco seasoning.)
  2. In a nonstick skillet over medium high heat brown the beef. Drain any fat.
  3. Add the seasoning and water to the meat. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook 5 minutes.
  4. Heat the refried beans.
  5. Assemble tostadas by spreading refried beans on a tostada shell, adding the meat, and any toppings you like!

Beef and Bean Tostadas

Chipotle Pulled Pork Tacos

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Hi,

So… I forgot to post on Mexican Monday yesterday…

As a result, you get the more popularly known Taco Tuesday.

Stuart picked out this recipe off of foodgawker to have on one of our Mexican Mondays, but I altered it by taking advantage of my slow cooker and using pork instead as it was on sale and chicken was not.

On this particular Monday we both had a long day at the office (due to the fact that we carpool), so the decision to use the slow cooker was even more clutch! And because we got home late and were very hungry, photos were not taken. I did think enough to snap a photo with the trusty iPhone. Please accept my apologies for the sorry photograph.

Chipotle Pulled Pork Tacos

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb boneless pork roast
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 3 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
  • lime

Steps:

  1. Place pork in slow cooker, fat side up. Trim some of the fat if desired.
  2. Top pork with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and chipotle peppers.
  3. Cook on LOW 4-5 hours.
  4. Shred the pork and return to the sauce and squeeze with the lime. Keep warm until ready to assemble tacos.

Chipotle Pulled Pork Tacos

Turkey Tomatillo Lettuce Wraps

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Mexican food isn’t necessarily known for being healthy, and I know my preference for turning Mexican Monday into Pasta Night doesn’t follow many diets, but it is possible to turn Mexican Monday into Healthy Night. Most taco recipes can be turned into taco salads, or in this instance, a lettuce wrap!

I was excited to find this recipe and Mountain Mama’s blog where she partakes in Taco Tuesday. I hope to find more Mexican Monday inspirations from her as I explore her page.

I absolutely loved this recipe – it was fresh, healthy, and crispy. I think it’s genius to take a store bought salsa and add more fresh flavors to it.

If you don’t like using fresh lettuce as your taco shell, you can substitute soft or hard shell tacos.

Turkey Tomatillo Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 C chicken stock
  • 1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1/3 C fresh cilantro
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 3/4 C tomatillo salsa
  • 1 head romaine lettuce
  • your favorite taco toppings, i.e. tomatoes, fresh onion, cheese, avocado

Steps:

  1. In a large non-stick skillet, heat olive oil in medium-high heat. When hot add ground turkey and season with S+P. Brown turkey, breaking up with a wooden spoon. After 5 minutes stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano.
  2. In a food processor combine onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and salsa. Pulse until smooth. Add to the turkey. Cook another 5 minutes.
  3. Add chicken stock and cook let simmer another 2 minutes.
  4. Tear off lettuce leaves, fill with turkey, and top with your favorite taco toppings.

*This recipe is adapted from Kelley at http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/2014/01/cilantro-lime-turkey-taco-lettuce-wraps/?subscribe=success#blog_subscription-4*

Lettuce Wraps

Mexican Stuffed Shells

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

Mexican Monday is back! And it’s back with a trusty favorite recipe. Stuffed shells. I know, stuffed shells are typically an Italian dish, but I much prefer this Mexican spin to the traditional spinach and ricotta.

I’ve been making these stuffed shells for a couple years now, and was not disapointed to find that previous photographs weren’t exactly blog worthy. I’ve done these with both ground beef and ground turkey. Honestly, the turkey just doesn’t yield that same mouth-watering, need-to-grab-another stuffed shell result. But if you’re trying to cut back on red meat this year you can absolutely substitute turkey or chicken for the beef.

Shells

Meat Filling

Stuffed Shells

Mexican Stuffed Shells

The following recipe is for two casserole dishes worth of stuffed shells, which will feed 6-8 people.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb ground beef
  • 4 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 box jumbo shells
  • 1 jar (16 oz) salsa
  • 1 jar (8 oz) taco sauce
  • 2 1/2 C shredded Mexican cheese
  • 3 scallions

Steps:

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. You don’t want them to be too soft so you can stuff them. Using a slotted spoon remove shells from water and place on wax paper. (You run the risk of breaking shells by straining like you would normal pasta.)
  2. Brown ground beef. Drain fat. Mix with taco seasoning and 2 C water. Cook until water is reduced. Mix in cream cheese until melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. Divide salsa between two casserole dishes.
  4. Spoon about 1 tbsp of meat mixture into each shell. Place in casserole dishes.
  5. Top shells with taco sauce.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with cheese and bake another 10 minutes.
  7. Garnish with scallions. Serve with sour cream, salsa, or any other toppings you’d like.

*This recipe is adapted from Maeghan at http://www.thewaytohisheartblog.com/mexican-stuffed-shells/*

Mexican Stuffed Shells 1 Mexican Stuffed Shells 2 Mexican Stuffed Shells 3

Healthy Chicken Tacos

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

Mexican Monday has been in need of a healthy make over. This recipe from Cooking Light is very simple, very quick and full of flavor. The chicken gets its smokey warmth from ancho chili powder and is accompanied by a bright, crunchy slaw.

On a side note, I picked up a package of organic free range chicken breasts for this dinner. They were considerably smaller than the chicken breasts I normally pick up – about half the size! These two breasts yielded 5 tacos. If I used the average antibiotic treated chicken I could have gotten 8 tacos. I am tempted to now pay a little more for organic chicken because the difference in taste was like night and day. I was surprised.

Healthy Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into strips
  • 3/4 tsp ancho chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • zest of 1 lime
  • juice of 2 limes, divided use
  • 1/4 C sour cream
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 2 C packaged cole slaw
  • 1/2 C sliced scallions
  • 1/4 C chopped cilantro
  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • taco sized flour tortillas

Steps:

  1. Season chicken with chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, S+P. In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat cook chicken in olive oil until cooked through.
  2. In a blender, puree sour cream, milk, avocado, zest and juice of 1 lime. Mix until smooth.
  3. In a large bowl toss together slaw, scallion, cilantro, juice of 1 lime, and canola oil. Season with salt to taste.
  4. Assemble tacos and enjoy!

*This recipe is adapted from Maureen at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/ancho-chicken-tacos-50400000111963/*

Image