This is such a versatile salsa - very good on chicken, fish, shrimp, scallops, pork etc... You can add finely diced up jalapenos and sweet onions if you wish - Just remember that both the mango and strawberry are very light flavors and adding to much will kill the taste!
Mango
Strawberries
Cilantro
Pineapple juice (or orange or lemon)
Dice the mango, and slice the strawberries - I would go with equal amounts of each. If you use a cup of each you will need about half a bunch of cilantro finely chopped added. If you have some lemon, orange, pineapple juice it would be good to have a few tablespoons in there to help bring everything together. Mix and let sit for at least 20 minutes before serving.
This is a dish so easy even my dad can make it (and that's saying a lot!). The thing I like most about white chicken chili is that it's so light. It's rich and filling but not as heavy as regular chili...
1 LB Chicken, diced 1 tsp oil 1 Box Chicken broth 2 Garlic cloves, minced Chili powder Cumin powder Adobo Seasoning 2 16oz can Cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained 1 can Hatch Chilies, diced 1 Avocado, diced Cilantro Salt Pepper, fresh ground Tortilla strips
Heat the oil in a stock pot and heat to a medium high. Add a few tablespoons of chili powder, 1 tablespoon of the cumin and adobo seasoning and mix (you can adjust for taste later) to the chicken mix well and add to the pot - cook for 5 min or until done. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the Hatch chilies and Cannelloni beans - mix well. Add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Ladel into bowls, add some tortilla strips, avocado, and cilantro. Eat & Enjoy...
I've taken this dish to a few parties now and it is always quickly gobbled up. It's a nice light dish that can be used as a salsa, or even a relish on top of fish or chicken...
2 cans Black beans, rinsed well 1.5 cup Tomatoes, diced 2 cups Corn, off the cob 1/2 cup Red onion, diced 1 Jalapeno, minced .25 Cup Cilantro, chopped 2 Limes, juiced 2 tsp Cumin Salt Pepper Baked Tortillas or corn chips for serving
Start with a bowl large enough to mix everything in. Add everything, mix well, put in the fridge for an hour so everything can get happy happy - done - Eat & Enjoy... It really is that easy. The hardest part of the dish is prepping all the ingredients. You can serve it with baked tortillas or regular corn chips...
One of the things I love most about this dish is that it's good hot, at room temperature, and cold straight out of the fridge... I have been eating this dish most of my life. We don't have it very often but it's always fun and easy to make. The little one even likes to help put it together because it's so easy to do.
1 lb Ground sirloin ½ cup Chopped onion 1 tsp olive oil ½ tsp Salt ¼ tsp Pepper 1 4 oz can Green Chiles - If you really like chiles you can use two cans 1 ½ cups Shredded sharp cheddar cheese - or a Mexican blend 1 ½ cups Milk ¼ cup Flour ½ tsp Salt Dash Pepper 4 Eggs beaten Dash Tabasco
In a medium sized saute pan add the olive oil, onion and a pinch of salt and cook until translucent. Once the onion is ready, add the beef, salt, pepper and cook until just browned (cooked through). Because this dis his going in the oven, you do not have to over cook the beef - it will continue cooking in the oven. Drain all the fat off the mixture and set aside. In a 10 x 6 x 1.5 inch baking dish add half the chilies - if you really like chilies like I do, you can use two cans of chilies. Sprinkle with cheese, and top with the meat mixture. Arrange the remaining chiles over the meat. Combine the remaining ingredients, beat until smooth and pour over the dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 – 50 minutes...
You can eat it straight away or let it come to room temperature - I even like it cold out of the fridge (which is the state it was in when I took the above photo)...
Some of my favorite places to eat are hole in the wall restaurants. As you can see this little 8x5 pull behind falls into that category. I was driving to a meeting when I passed this gem parked in a gas station lot. I spied it out of the corner of my eye and had to turn around to give it a shot. The only bad thing is, out of all the times I've been back I can never find this place! Since it's on wheels it's easy to move and OMG I want more so dang badly! If you know how to get a hold of them please let me know!
I have said below that there is quite a difference between Tex-Mex and Mexican food. Although you can make a mole in 2 hours - it takes 2 days to make a proper mole. Although you can smother your tacos in the Kraft or Sargento Mexican blend cheese - they wouldn't do it in Mexico. There are many others and I'm working on a blog to point out some of the big differences I've experienced. When I talk about Mexican food I'm talking about eating outside of Cancun & Cozumel - most of the food these places is more Americanized... Anyway click the photo and you can see what their menu was like - 100% Yum.
There was quite the language barrier when it came to ordering - my Spanish is quite horrible, and she didn't speak a lick of English. It all worked out though and I got exactly what I wanted.
My lunch: This was 100% fantastic. Sour cream, and a roasted salsa accompanied my gordita and taco. One was chicken (bock bock bock is how I ordered it) and the other was beef (moooo for that one)...
If you didn't know, the second Tuesday of the month is 'Taco Tuesday'. No, it's not a real thing, but why not - it sounds good... My earliest memories of tacos comes from being at "Taco Joe's" up in East Chicago. They had the best soft tacos. Every time we would go up to see my grandmother we would go by there and chow down. I was probably 4 or 5 the first time I had one, and I'll never forget how good it was. They were simple - flour tortilla, luscious port taco meat, a spot of cheese, hot sauce and that was about it. No frills either - oblong white plate stacked with 6 or 8 of the things and there you go... From what I can recall they had a very short menu and you got enough food on your plate to make you hurt if you ate it all. My mom was somehow able to get the recipe from them and one of these days I'll put it up.
Anyhow, back to yesterday's tacos - They were simple but oh so very good. I started out wanting to grill a strip steak tacos but just didn't have the energy to get into all of that so chicken inside it was...
Chicken - I had about a pound of chicken breast that I cut into chunks - a bit smaller than your normal bite size piece. I dusted them with Penzeys Adobo seasoning and sauted them to a yummy goodness. It took about 5 minutes over medium heat. There is a good Mexican spice mixture recipe twards the bottom of the page you can use if you don't have theis spice blend. Tomatillo salsa - was made for chicken - If you haven't tried it I suggest you give it a shot. Jut a tablespoon or so on your taco will do the trick. It's very easy to make but you can find pre-made in the market. It gives a really fresh flavor to just about anything. I made mine last night - roasted a few tomatillos, jalapeno, and garlic cloves, blitzed it with some onion and cilantro - yum! Will be doing a video on making it soon. It's really good with corn chips as well... Cilantro - I hate to admit that there was a time in my life that I didn't like cilantro. I'm not sure what I was thinking but I'm all about it now! I think cilantro adds a nice freshness to tacos... Tomatoes - For the first time this year I was able to use a tomato off one of my mater plants. It seemed to take them forever to produce this year... Anyhoo, they're not a must but I like them on my tacos. Green Onion - Usually I use red onion for my tacos but I didn't have any. I did have some green onion in the fridge and it was a good stand in. It tasted great on the tacos... Queso fresco - If you use a Mexican blend cheese for your tacos (which I'll admit I often do) that you get from Kraft or whomever, queso fresco will take your taco to another level. I've been using it a lot more lately and I have to say it's a really good addition. So good in fact that my usage of the other is dwindling rapidly. Avocado - Really do I need to go into this? Mexicanish food and Avocados go together without saying a word... I love avocados and it's not unusual for me to eat one as a snack with just a pinch of salt. Besides all that they look really great on top of a taco...
1 Lb chicken cut into small bite sized pieces 1 Tb Penzeys Adobo seasoning (or use the recipe below) Tomatoes cut to your liking Cilantro, cut to your liking Tomatillo salsa - 2 Tb per taco or so Queso Fresco - A little goes a long way Avocado - 2 - 3 slices per taco Green onion - 2 -4 stalks finely sliced into rounds
Heat a saute pan to medium. Mix the cut up chicken with the adobo seasoning and add to the pan. Cook chicken until fully cooked. Prepare the tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, and avocado and put into bowls. Heat the tortillas and let everyone have at it. I personally think it's best to let everyone make their own so they get what they want. Plus it's fun to make your own taco...
If you don't have any Penzeys Adobo seasoning I suggest you go get you some (www.penzeys.com)! If that's not an option give this mixture a try...
I use the term Mexican food loosely - I've been to Mexico quite a few times and well lets just say there's a big difference between Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisine. They aint got no nachos and everything they make is NOT smothered in a simple Kraft Mexican blend cheese... I'm working on a nice entry called Mexican vs. Tex-Mex - make sure you read it - that is if there really is anyone actually reading these things...
Quick, easy, and good... Tostadas are not only good to eat they're fun to make. Once you have everything prepped, everyone can load their tostada up to their own tastes. They're a big hit at our house for the young and old(er).
With all the pre-prepped food that is available at the market these days if you are in a real hurry you can purchase already fried corn tortillas - onions - tomato - peppers - lettuce - cheese - etc... Personally I like the prep work - it doesn't take too long to do and it keeps your knife skills up!
In the video recipe below you will see we used:
*Fried corn tortillas Refried beans Shredded Mexican blend cheese Tomatoes Red onions Shredded lettuce Hot sauce
It really couldn't be much easier...
* If you don't want fried corn tortillas or are looking for a healthy alternative, try baking up some Tumaro's tortillas in the oven until stiff and using them. They're the best tortillas I've ever used and they come in a variety of interesting flavors. http://www.tumaros.com/
Avocados and shrimp are a match made in heaven. If you ask me the light creaminess of the avocado goes well with the light taste of the shrimp.
This fresh salsa doesn't take much prep.
1 small red onion 1 or 2 tomatoes 1 large avocado 1 jalapeno 6 boiled shrimp (can be grilled too) lime juice cilantro would be nice if you have it. salt & pepper
Dice everything up and mix it up in a bowl. Let sit i the fridge for 20 min to get happy. Eat & Enjoy!
When it comes to making guacamole, there are thousands of recipes claiming to be the "best". I don't know that I've had an "oh my gosh this is the best guacamole I'll ever eat" moment. As long as it's homemade it's all good to me. I've yet to try a commercial guacamole that I liked right out of the package. Give me a break all you really need is 3 ingredients so why buy guac that was made in some factory?
As long as you have good ripe avocados, tomatoes, and an onion you're on your way. Of course you can add much more than that, and I usually do, but that's all you really need to get the ball rolling. To me you have to keep the guac simple - KIS it - keep it simple...
In this video recipe you will see that all I used is:
2 Avocados 2 Tomatoes 1 Garlic clove minced 1/4 cup of red onion 1 Jalapeno Salt Pepper
If I had cilantro or limes I would have used them - but I didn't, and it wasn't going to stop me from making some guac...
Feel free to add other items such as:
cilantro, lime juice, cumin, hot sauce, tomatillos, red pepper flakes, or any other items you see fit for your guacamole.
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