Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Secret Spicy Pico

Sorry this picture is in no way perfection. I couldn't let this pico sit long enough without eating it to take a beautiful photo. So here it is. Just trust me, it's amazing. So amazing in fact, that I'm hesitant to give the recipe out! But i'm holding nothing back on this blog. So here it is. :)

Pico de Gallo
okay, this is just from my head, so feel free to mix up the proportions as you desire. Because that is what makes good pico in my opinion, depending on my mood I will do more or less of certain items. I'd like to thank my sister-in-law Denisse, and my Uncle Chris for inspiring this recipe. I used both of their recipes and Craig and I have put our own spin on them over the past couple of years.

Ingredients
1/2 white onion (chopped as small as possible)
1-2 jalapeno peppers (also chopped as small as possible)
1/2 Jabenero pepper (same thing-this one is optional for those of you that like it super spicy like we do)
3-4 Roma tomatoes (I cut these in half, squeeze out the juice, and chop them up really small)
2-3 avocados (peeled, cored, and chopped)
1/2-1 bushel of cilantro (chopped)
1 lime
1 TB garlic
a dash of salt

Directions
Cut onion and peppers small and place them in a medium sized bowl.
Add chopped tomatoes and avocado, then stir all ingredients with a fork until mixed well
Add chopped cilantro, garlic, salt, and squeeze the lime on top
Stir all ingredients, and serve with chips.

Super easy right? We almost always have all of these ingredients on hand so we can make this awesome pico!

Slow Cooked Pork Tacos


I have to admit, these pork tacos are AMAZING. Thank you foodnetwork for supplying me with this amazing recipe. I changed it up some, but it was pretty awesome as is. I wanted a good slow-cooker meal, and this was definitely it.

Ingredients
  • 3 whole ancho/pasilla chiles(i found these in the Mexican food isle in a bag with the other dried chiles)
  • 3 whole guajillo chiles (I found these right next to the ancho chiles in a bin)
  • 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 2 to 3 chipotles in adobo sauce (small can)
  • 1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
  • 3 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (untrimmed), cut into chunks
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick(or sprinkled cinnamon)
  • Corn tortillas, warmed, for serving
  • Assorted taco toppings, for garnish (i used lettuce, cheese, and freshly made pico de gallo)

Directions

Put the ancho and guajillo chiles in a bowl with hot water, soak for up to three hours (I only did a few minutes, the longer you let them soak the more flavor you get out of them however). Stem and seed the chiles; peel the garlic and Transfer the chiles and garlic to a blender.

Add the chipotles, onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, honey, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt and the oregano to the blender; puree until smooth. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat; add the chile sauce and fry, stirring, until thick and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Pour in the broth and reduce until slightly thickened.

Season the pork all over with salt and pepper and transfer to a large slow cooker. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick, then pour in the sauce. Cover and cook on high until the meat is tender, about 5 hours. (Or cook the meat in a large Dutch oven, covered, for 1 hour 45 minutes at 350 degrees; uncover and cook 30 more minutes.)

Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Shred the pork with 2 forks; season with salt and pepper. Serve the shredded pork in the tortillas, along with toppings.

My Tips:
I kept about a cup of the chile sauce separate in the fridge, and cooked the pork overnight. First thing in the morning i put the pork in the fridge with a leftover cup of the remaining sauce and let it soak until dinner. I then fried it in a pan to warm it up. (The longer the pork soaks the more flavor it has)

Black Beans on the side
When I took the pork out of the slow cooker and put it in the fridge, I put a small bag of black beans in the slow cooker with about 5 cups of water, garlic, 1 chopped green pepper, 1 tomato and whatever spices sounded good (I used this awesome garlic pepper spice I have, oregano, and cayenne pepper). I cooked the black beans on low for about 8 hours and we ate them with the pork.

Cilantro Lime Rice
We also had cilantro lime rice on the side.

Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 lime
lime zest
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbs garlic

Directions:

Add oil to a sauce pan and heat on low. Add the garlic and rice to the oil and saute for 2 minutes on medium heat stirring frequently.

Add the chicken broth, salt, lime juice and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes.

When the rice is done, add lime zest and chopped cilantro and stir to mix in. Serve immediately.


My pico de gallo deserves it's own post. Look for it next. :)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Taco Soup Goodness


I love taco soup especially when it's cold outside. So here is a simple, yummy taco soup recipe for you this winter season.

Taco Soup Recipe


Ingredients

1lb hamburger

Kidney beans 1-2 small cans

1 large cans tomato sauce

1 large cans chopped tomatoes

1 can black olives

1 cans green chiles

1 can corn or hominy

1 large onion

1 pkg taco seasoning


Toppings

shredded cheese

sour cream

avocado

green onions or cilantro


Directions

Cook hamburger and drain, sprinkle taco seasoning

Mix hamburger and all other ingredients in a large pan and simmer for 30 min.

Add cheese, sour cream, avacado, and green onions or cilantro on top.

Serve with chips.