Carne Asada Tacos and El Toritos Sweet Corn Cake

Carne Asada Tacos

This recipe is 16 servings, I usually half it unless we are having company.

Ingredients
3 pounds flank steak
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika

1 white onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, juiced

2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 white onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 dried New Mexico chile pods
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste

1 (32 ounce) package corn tortillas
2 cups grated cotija cheese (optional)
2 limes, cut into wedges
Directions
Lay the flank steak in a large glass baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, 4 cloves of garlic, juice of two limes, and olive oil. Season with salt, black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, cumin and paprika. Whisk until well blended, then pour over the steak in the dish. Turn over once to coat both sides. Cover with plastic wrap, and marinate for 1 to 8 hours.
In a small bowl, stir together 1 chopped white onion, cilantro, and the juice of 1 lime. Set aside to use as a relish for the tacos.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Toast chile pods in the skillet for a few minutes, then remove to a bowl of water to soak for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Place the tomatoes, 1 onion, jalapenos, and 4 cloves of garlic onto a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, until toasted but not burnt. Place the roasted vegetables, and soaked chile pods into a blender or food processor, along with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the marinated flank steak into cubes or strips. Cook, stirring constantly, until the meat is cooked through and most of the liquid has evaporated.
Warm the tortillas in a skillet for about a minute on each side to make them pliable. Tortillas may also be warmed in a microwave oven. Arrange two or three tortillas on a plate, and lay a generous amount of beef over them. Top with a sprinkle of the onion relish and a large spoonful of the pureed salsa. Add as much cheese as you like. Garnish with lime wedges, and serve.

note: I put avocados on ours super yummy.

El Toritos Sweet Corn Cake

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, unsalted
2 tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup masa harina
3 tablespoons cold water
10 ounces frozen corn kernels -- * See Note
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:Whip butter and shortening in mixing bowl until fluffy and creamy. Add masa harina gradually and mix thoroughly. Add water gradually, mixing thoroughly. Blend corn kernels until coarsley chopped. Stir into masa mixture. Mix cornmeal, sugar, whipping cream, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add butter-masa mixture; mix until blended. Pour masa mixture into 8" greased baking pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until corn cake is firm, 40 to 50 minutes. Allow to stand at room temperature 15 minutes before cutting into squares. Or use ice cream scoop to serve. * or use canned cream corn

Pork Chops

Easy easy meal. Another one of my childhood favorites that my momma used to make. I even called her today to make sure I had it right. Not hard to mess this one up, though! Gave me a good excuse to talk to my momma. :)

Simply brown your pork chops:

Sprinkle with lots of this:


After they're browned, add this:

Serve over this:

Serve with green peas. It's against the rules to not serve this dish with peas.

My kids were kinda freaking out about this meal, (kinda is putting it nicely). But my 10 yr old and my 3 yr old finally tried it and ended up LOVING it. Morgan even requested it for her birthday meal. :)

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Sauce

From marthastewart.com
Ingredients
Serves 6.
3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves
Coarse salt and ground pepper
5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 jars (16 ounces each) medium green salsa
3/4 cup heavy cream
12 corn tortillas (6-inch)
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely shredded (3 cups) 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper; place with garlic on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine salsa and cream.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Once chicken is cool enough to handle, shred meat, discarding skin and bones. Peel and chop garlic. In a large bowl, combine chicken, garlic, and 1/2 cup salsa mixture.
3. Stack tortillas flat, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute to soften. Working with one tortilla at a time, dip in salsa mixture, lay flat, and fill with 1/3 cup chicken mixture. Roll up and arrange, seam side down, 8 enchiladas lengthwise and 4 crosswise in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with remaining salsa mixture, then cheese. Bake until cheese is browned and salsa is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes; let rest 10 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with cilantro, if desired.

*I only did one bottle of mild green salsa, and I thought the flavor turned out great. YUM!

Lentil Soup

This is the BEST. (from Amy Kroff)
INGREDIENTS:
1 C dry lentils
1 C shopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T cooking oil
4 C beef broth
1 7.5 ouce can tomatoes, cut up
1 T worcestershire sauce
1/4 t. dried thyme or oregano
1/4 t. pepper
1/8 t. cumin
1 bay leaf
1/2 C chopped carrots
1/2 C chopped celery
1/2 lb. fully cooked smoked sausage links, sliced - or chopped ham

DIRECTIONS:Rinse lentils, set aside. In a large saucepan cook onion and garlic in hot oil until tender but not brown. Stir in lentils, beef broth, undrained tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, thyme/oregano, pepper, cumin, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add carrot and celery. Return to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 mins or until lentils and veggies are tender. Stir in meat - heat through. Discard bay leaf.

I got this one from thisweekfordinner.com also. This is the third lentil soup recipe I have tried recently and it is our favorite.

Asian Spinach Salad

Toss together:
1 small bag of spinach
8 oz. bowtie pasta (cook, strain, cool)
2-4 Tbsp. Sesame seeds
1/2 C. Sunflower seeds
1 can sliced water chestnuts
3 chicken breasts - season heavily with lemon pepper, grill and cut into bite size pieces
(I didn’t have lemon pepper, so I cooked the chicken on the stove top with olive oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, S&P and that worked nicely as well)
1 C. bean sprouts
(I also added green bell pepper and green onion b/c I had them and they were yummy)
Dressing:
1/2 C. Canola oil
1/2 C. sugar
1tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Seasoned Rice vinegar (unseasoned works too)
1/2 tsp sesame SEED oil
1 tsp grated fresh garlic
store in fridge. Return to room temp before combined.

I got this recipe from thisweekfor dinner.com. All of the parentheses notes are from the website. I didn't add green pepper or the green onion. I also did not have sesame SEED oil. I did have the lemon pepper. This recipe was DELICIOUS! I will definitely make it again. My husband really liked it too, and he can be kind of picky sometimes. This is best the day it is made because the dressing, if left on the salad, seems to kind of loose its flavor the next day.

Parmesan Chicken (aka: Yum Yum Chicken)

This is such an easy recipe and Dalia loves it! (She calls it Yum Yum Chicken)

I only make this for three people so if you're making it for more you'll need to add more ingredients. 

I start with 2 or 3 chicken breasts, cut into chicken tender size.  I mix 1/2 cup bread crumbs with 1/3 cup parmesan on waxed paper.  I drizzle evoo (olive oil) on the chicken so that when I roll it in the bread crumbs they stick to the chicken.  Then I put the chicken coated in the bread crumb/parmesan mixture in a baking pan and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  It is super easy and really tasty.  I usually serve it with garlic noodles and salad.  

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

(I didn't take this photo... Becky Higgins did. But mine looked exactly like this minus the pretty bowl.)

GARLIC CHICKEN FARFALLE

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16 oz. Farfalle pasta (bow tie pasta)

1 c. heavy whipping cream

3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed (I used fresh and would HIGHLY recommend it. Plus, I used 5 cloves because I love love love garlic!)

1 Tbsp. pepper*

1/2 c. butter

1 lb. bacon, crumpled**

1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice (yes, Winco has it)

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*I didn't do a whole tablespoon just in case...

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**I did my bacon in the oven at 400 for 25 minutes or so. It got nice and crisp. Turn your fan on and open a window or two, though.

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[ directions ]

Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours (I did high for 3 ish). Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred. Set this aside. About a half hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Ok, so now for the verdict:

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ABSOLUTELY.

POSITIVELY.

TO

DIE

FOR

GOOD!!!!

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My husband and I were ready to jump in this dish and live in it, it was so incredibly good. Just as good, if not better, than a restaurant. Seriously. My girls, who have complained night after night about dinners, loved it, too, thank goodness! Too bad it has so much butter and whipping cream - talk about calories! But oh man. DELISH! The smell that emanates from the pan when you've melted the butter and add the garlic... that will be the smell in Heaven, for all I'm concerned. Enjoy ladies. Go and impress.

Tuna Casserole

This is an old standby from my childhood that my mom would make. I loved it as a child, but sadly, my girls don't enjoy it as much because in their minds, it's "seafood". Oh please.
It's so easy and cheap and a great meal for those nights where you're running and don't have time to plan for anything elaborate.

Tuna Casserole

Elbow macaroni (I use mine from food storage)
Several cans of tuna - drained
Several cans of Cream of Mushroom soup
Dried onion (again, from food storage)
Frozen peas
Milk
Cheddar cheese

Boil pasta.
Mix together tuna, soup, onion and peas. Add milk to your desired consistency. Add to pasta in a baking dish... top with grated cheese. This last time I had a bag of ranch flavored potato chips in the pantry that I crumbled on the top as well. It gave the dish a yummy crunch.

Bake until heated... 350° or so.

Sorry I don't have exact measurements. This is one of those dishes that could probably grow and grow as you add the ingredients.

Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas

Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas

I got this recipe from my sister in law several years ago and have used it TONS! My kids love it - so much, in fact, that Olivia requested it for her birthday dinner last night.

In the morning, dump a bag of frozen chicken breasts into your crockpot.
Dump (do you like my word "dump"??) two big cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup AND one big can of enchilada sauce on top of chicken. Cook on high until chicken is d.o.n.e.
I use mild enchilada sauce because I'm a wimp... but I've used medium before and the kick is good. It all depends on your (and your family's) preference.

Once chicken is d.o.n.e. pull it out and shred with two forks.
Fill corn tortillas with chicken, cheese (I've used colby jack and cheddar - both are good) and sauce. Roll up. Fill pan (or pans in my case). Cover with sauce, cheese and sliced olives. Bake 350° 20 minutes or until completely heated through and bubbly.

SO GOOD and SO EASY!

Serve with cornbread, chips and salsa, and corn! OH, and lettuce on top! YUM!

tip: warm tortillas 3 at a time in microwave before filling and rolling or they'll rip in process and that's a bummer.

Tater Tot Casserole

This is a yummy and easy recipe and VERY kid friendly...in fact, I don't think I've ever met a child who didn't like it! :-)

1.5lbs ground beef
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 12oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups medium cheddar cheese
1 bag tater tots

Spice to taste:
salt
pepper
garlic salt

Brown ground beef, season and add onions

Put ground beef in a 9x9 pan

Add cream of mushroom soup and 3/4 cup cheese

Cover with layer of tater tots

Sprinkle remaining cheese

Bake according to tater tot instructions. When complete, I like to broil for a few mins to make my tater tots nice and crunchy.


Remove from oven and let set for five mins. Serves 4. This also freezes up great! I usually make two at once, one for dinner, one for the freezer. :-)

Mom's Meatloaf

This is how my mom taught me to make meatloaf and it's fantastic! :-)

2.5lbs ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
5 eggs
12-15 saltine crackers crumbled
1 16oz can of tomato sauce
Spices to taste:
Oregano
Garlic Salt
Pepper


Put ground beef and spices in a bowl

Add chopped onions and crumbled saltines

Add eggs and 3/4 of the can of tomato sauce

Mix with hands until completely combined. The only way I have found to completely mix this is to actually use your hands...if anyone has a better idea let me know! :-)


Put mixture into baking pan and form into a loaf, use side of hand to create a 'canal' down the center. Bake at 350° for 45 mins. Use last 1/4 can of tomato sauce to drizzle over top. Bake another 15-20 mins or until internal temp is 160°.

Finished product

Slice and serve with your favorite sides! :-) Serves 6.

Chicken Manicotti

This was another one I used as a freezer meal and it was FANTASTIC! And it's REALLY easy too! :-)

1 jar-28.5 oz. spaghetti sauce (Again, I used Hunts Traditional)
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast tenders
8 oz ricotta cheese
14 uncooked manicotti shells
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 can {2 1/2 oz.} slice ripe olives, drained (optional)

1. Spread about 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 13x9

2. Mix ricotta cheese with chicken and sprinkle garlic salt on chicken mixture. Insert chicken into uncooked manicotti shells, stuffing from each end of shell to fill if necessary. Place shells on spaghetti sauce in dish.

3. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce evenly over shells, covering completely. Sprinkle with olives and cheese. STOP HERE.

TO STORE IN REFRIGERATOR: Cover unbaked manicotti tightly with aluminum foil
and refrigerate no longer than 24 hours.

TO STORE IN FREEZER: Wrap unbaked manicotti tightly with aluminum foil and
label. Freeze no longer than 1 month.

TO COOK FROM REFRIGERATOR: About 1 hour before serving, heat oven to 350
degrees. Bake in covered baking dish about 1 hour, or until shells are tender.

TO COOK FROM FREEZER: About 1 1/2 hours before serving, heat oven to 350
degrees. Bake in covered baking dish about 1 1/2 hours or until shells are
tender.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

I made this as one of my freezer meals when I was preparing for Cole to be born. It froze so nicely and cooked up fantastic! Ryan (5.5 yrs) gobbled it right up! I served it with mashed potates and green beans.

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 cartons (8 oz) whipped cream cheese with onion and chives
1 tablespoons butter
6 bacon strips (Use a pepper crusted bacon for extra good flavor!)

Season with salt, pepper and garlic to taste.

Flatten chicken to ½ inch thickness. Spread 3 tablespoons cream cheese over each. Dot with butter and sprinkle with salt; roll up. Wrap each with a bacon strip. Place, seam side down, in a greased pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 35-40 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Freeze these uncooked.

Paula's Homemade Lasagna

I love this recipe and everyone who has had it seems to love it too! :-) This recipe makes one 9x13 pan and one 9x9 pan. I usually put the 9x9 in the freezer for a dinner later. The 9x13 easily serves 6 and the 9x9 easily serves 4! I only took pics of the 9x13 pan, but make sure that you make both pans at the same time so you don't use too big of portions on the 9x13 pan.

2.25 lbs of ground beef (if you want to go a little healthier, use ground turkey)
2 lb container of ricotta cheese
1 lb monterey jack cheese
1 lb medium cheddar cheese
1 pack of lasagna noodles
1 26.5 oz can of spaghetti sause (I use Hunts Traditional cause it's cheap and good!)
1/3 cup chopped onion

Spices: I do all my spices to taste.
Garlic salt
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Season salt

Preheat oven to 350°

Step 1:

Start browing the ground beef, while starting this, begin to boil lasagna noodles and chop onions.

Step 2:

Add chopped onions and mix into ground beef. Season with spices to taste.

Step 3:

While beef is continuing to brown, shred the cheese.

Step 4:

Spray pan with cooking spray and layer with one layer of lasagna noodles. Use a spoon to spread spaghetti sauce on top of the noodles. (Remember not to use too much sauce on each layer or it will make it too juicy and your layers won't stay together when cut.)

Step 5:

Drain ground beef and sprinkle evenly over noodles and sauce.

Step 6:

Use a spoon to dollop ricotta cheese.

Step 7:

Sprinkle a layer of cheddar and monterey cheese.

Step 8:

Add another layer of lasagna noodles.

Step 9:
Repeat steps 4-8 again.

Step 10:

Spread sauce and sprinkle remaining ground beef and cheeses to create the top of the lasagna. Bake for 20-25 mins at 350°. The internal temp should be about 130°. (If you are baking this from the freezer, cover with tin foil and bake for an hour at 350°. Check the internal temp, if it's to 120° to 130°, remove foil and bake for another 5-10 mins.)

Step 11:

This is what your final product should look like. Let it set for a few minutes and serve with salad and garlic bread! :-)

Apricot Chicken

I found this recipe on Blogger's Buffet and tried it out tonight. LOVED IT! Super easy, super tasty, and super kid friendly! Enjoy.

Apricot Chicken

Ingredients
1 sm. jar apricot preserves (16 oz or whatever
1 env. Lipton onion soup mix
1 (8 oz.) bottle French/Russian/tomato based salad dressing (Tangy French is good!) 8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or however many your family will eat)



Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in shallow pan. Mix apricot preserves, onion soup mix and French dressing in bowl. Mix well. Pour mixture over chicken. Bake in oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour and serve.



Olivia's comment: "This tastes like orange chicken!" (and that's a good thing)

Sausage Rice Casserole

1 lb ground pork sausage
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Milk
Cashews
Cooked rice

Cook sausage. Drain most of fat. Stir in soup and one can’s worth of milk. Cook until thickened and heated through. Serve over cooked rice and top with cashews. Very good!

Garden Spiral Primavera

12oz pkg of garden spiral pasta
¼ C olive oil
¼ C butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ lb mushrooms sliced
3 C broccoli florets
1 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 carrots sliced
1/3 C chicken broth
1 tsp basil flakes
1 tsp parsley flakes
salt and pepper
¾ C freshly grated Parmesan
Prepare all veggies. Cook pasta. Melt butter and oil in skillet; add onions and garlic—saute 2-3 minutes. Add vegetables, sauté 3 more minutes. Add seasoning and chicken broth; simmer 5 min. or until veggies are tender. Toss with pasta. Serve with cheese.

Chuckwagon BBQ Rice Round-Up

1 pound lean beef or turkey
1 package Rice-a-Roni beef flavored
2 tbs butter
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef until well cooked. Remove from skillet; drain. Set aside. In same skillet over medium heat, saute rice mix with butter until rice is golden brown. Slowly stir in water, special seasonings and corn; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in bbq sauce and beef. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover, let stand 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Sounds kinda weird, but we tried it and it is wonderful. Kid friendly.

Oriental Sesame Chicken Salad

2 tbs Sesame Seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 packages ramen noodles, smashed
2 cups shredded lettuce
4 chopped green onions (optional)
1 small grated carrot
1/2 pound cooked, shredded chicken

Toast almonds, sesame seeds and noodles under the broiler until golden brown. Add rest of ingredients and mix together.

Dressing

3 tbs rice vinegar
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
seasoning packages from ramen noodles
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Blend ingredients together, top over mixture and chill for at least 3 hours.

My comfort food!

Chicken Crescent Wreath

Ingredients:

2 tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
2/3 cup cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 can (5 ounces) white chicken, drained or 3/4 cup cubed cooked chicken
2 tablespoons chopped onion

Directions: Arrange crescent rolls on a 12-in. pizza pan, forming a ring with pointed ends facing the outer edge of pan and wide ends overlapping. (I actually use a cookie sheet and form mine into an oval to feed more people.) Combine the remaining ingredients; spoon over wide ends of rolls. Fold points over filling and tuck under wide ends (filling will be visible).

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

This is the recipe from the Taste of Home website. I usually double (or even triple) this to feed my family. This is best fresh out of the oven - not so much as leftovers because the crescent rolls aren't as crisp after being refrigerated then microwaved. VERY yummy comfort food.

Martin loves when I serve this with Parmesan Buttered Rice (I will post the recipe later.)