There is a restaurant near our house that makes the most amazing Pork Barbacoa and I just happened to luck into the recipe to make all the components to make the most amazing tacos, salads and burritos. Use these ingredients to make an amazing salad with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and tortilla strips, or wrap in a tortilla to make the best burrito ever!
Pork Barbacoa:
3 lb Pork Roast
16 oz Salsa
12 oz Coke (DON’T use diet soda)
2 Cups Brown Sugar
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 can Diced Green Chiles
Trim visible fat from roast and put in the slow cooker on high; cover half way with water. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours. Remove pork and drain water. Cut pork roast into three or four sections and place back in slow cooker. In a food processor, puree remaining ingredients and pour over roast and continue cooking on high for an additional 3 hours. Shred pork and simmer in sauce until ready to serve.
Black Beans:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
1 tsp Cumin
1 cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Tomato Paste
1 Cup Water
½ tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro
Combine all ingredients and cook in a saucepan until beans are soft.
Lime Cilantro Rice:
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Water
¼ Cup Lime Juice
4 tsp minced Garlic
1/3 Cup fresh Cilantro
1 can Diced Green Chiles
¾ tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Butter
½ Onion, chopped
3 Cups Jasmine Rice, rinsed
Place all ingredients in a rice cooker and heat until fluffy.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, use a pot with a tight fitting lid. Put all ingredients, except rice in the pot, cover and bring to a rolling boil. Add rice, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until rice is fluffy.
Tomatillo Ranch Dressing:
1 dry Ranch Dressing Packet
½ Cup Milk
1 Cup Mayonnaise or Sour Cream
2 Tomatillos
½ Cup fresh Cilantro
1 or 2 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 jalapeño
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth; refrigerate until thick.
Showing posts with label Latin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Latin. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Secret Taco Sauce
This is kind of a continuation of my previous post. This is our absolute favorite taco sauce, however, it would be shameful to limit this amazing condiment to just tacos- it is also amazing on sandwiches, eggs, chicken, etc... It is quite different from sauce I have had on tacos before, but, add it to your favorite tacos and you'll be amazed at the punch of flavor and excitement.
Mix together:
1/4 Cup Buttermilk
2 Tablespoons Mayonaise
1 1/2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Whisk them together until it becomes smooth and drizzle over your favorite dish. Now, this is a thin sauce, so I have been know to add any number of taste-free thickeners- but don't use the kind that require heating or cooking, it will not yeild a good result.
The best tacos you will ever eat consist of Secret Taco Sauce, grilled white fish- I usually use cod since it is almost always on hand in my freezer- shredded cabbage, cheese, corn tortillas, a drizzle of lime juice and salsa made from chopped roma tomatoes, onion and fresh cilantro.
It took me quite a long time to work up the nerve to try fish tacos as mentioned above; even though fish is a traditional filling for tacos, it just sounded strange to me. Since discovering the above mentioned fish tacos, they are now my favorite kind, however, if any of you have the same queasy, uneasiness about fish tacos I had, never fear, I am going to tell you a tasty alternative:
Secret Taco Sauce
Grilled chicken-I grill it simply with seasoning salt and garlic then cut it into strips or chunks
shredded lettuce
lime juice
cheese
salsa made from roma tomaotes, onion and fresh cilantro
Wrap it all in a corn tortilla and it's a pretty nice meal!
This sauce is a new staple at our house, I now keep a squeeze bottle ful in the fridge at all times.
Mix together:
1/4 Cup Buttermilk
2 Tablespoons Mayonaise
1 1/2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Whisk them together until it becomes smooth and drizzle over your favorite dish. Now, this is a thin sauce, so I have been know to add any number of taste-free thickeners- but don't use the kind that require heating or cooking, it will not yeild a good result.
The best tacos you will ever eat consist of Secret Taco Sauce, grilled white fish- I usually use cod since it is almost always on hand in my freezer- shredded cabbage, cheese, corn tortillas, a drizzle of lime juice and salsa made from chopped roma tomatoes, onion and fresh cilantro.
It took me quite a long time to work up the nerve to try fish tacos as mentioned above; even though fish is a traditional filling for tacos, it just sounded strange to me. Since discovering the above mentioned fish tacos, they are now my favorite kind, however, if any of you have the same queasy, uneasiness about fish tacos I had, never fear, I am going to tell you a tasty alternative:
Secret Taco Sauce
Grilled chicken-I grill it simply with seasoning salt and garlic then cut it into strips or chunks
shredded lettuce
lime juice
cheese
salsa made from roma tomaotes, onion and fresh cilantro
Wrap it all in a corn tortilla and it's a pretty nice meal!
This sauce is a new staple at our house, I now keep a squeeze bottle ful in the fridge at all times.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Tasty Tortillas
Like many families today, we are looking for every way we can to save a little money- our food budget is one of the few areas that has some wiggle room. In my efforts to cut back a little, I have been brainstorming things to do to spend less at the grocery store. I have always heard that home made is usually less expensive than store baught, so, naturally, since I enjoy cooking and the challenge of making things from scratch excites me, scratch cooking is where I started.
My new favorite, easy, money saving, home made from scratch item is corn tortillas. It takes me about 30 minutes to whip up a batch and they taste much better than the store baught kind. My boys love helping roll out the balls and, especially, squishing them into thin tortillas. I am sure these would be even easier if I had a tortilla press- we are considering investing in a good sturdy model- but until that time, we just use a frying pan to press out the rounds. According to my basic calculations, for me to buy tortillas, it costs about $.16 for each tortilla, if I make them, they end up being less than $.04 per tortilla; though we're only talking pennies differance here, my family eats trotillas by the truckload, and every little bit helps!
This is a very basic recipe found all over, but follow it for fool proof, tasty tortillas:
2 Cups Masa Flour
1 to 1 1/2 Cups Water
1 teaspoon Salt
Combine masa, 1 Cup of water and salt (if you don't have a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or even a wooden spoon powered by your hand will work just fine, the stand mixer just makes the process easier). With the beater attachement, mix until all ingredients are incorporated. If the dough is crumbly, add more water a Tablespoon or two at a time until it is a smooth dough; if the dough is sticky, add more masa flour- again, we're going for a smooth dough. Once you have the right consistency, switch out the flat beater for the dough hook attachment and "knead" the dough for 5-10 minutes (if you're not using a stand mixer, then you'll actually get to knead the dough). Roll the dough into a disc or a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let it rest for 30 minutes, for the masa flour to really absorb the water and become the proper texture. Once the dough has sat for 30 minutes, heat a skillet to 400 degrees. Remove dough from the plastic wrap and portion it into 16 sections then roll each piece into a ball- they should be roughly the size of a ping pong ball. If you are struggling to get the seams rolled out of the balls, wet your hands slightly then roll it, seams and lines should disappear easily. It is important to keep the dough moist, if it drys out it will crack and crumble. When not working with the dough, keep loosley wrapped in a damp tea towel. After each ball is complete, use a tortilla press, or a heavy frying pan or skillet, or even a rolling pin or cup, to flatten each ball out to about 5 inches in diameter. I use wax paper or plastic wrap to keep tortillas from sticking while I'm flattening it, then I simply peel one piece off, slap it in the skillet then peel the remaining piece of wrap off the top. Tortillas will need to cook for 15 to 30 seconds per side.
There is a dispute, among experts, about the proper way to cook tortillas- so, to avoid offense to either side, both will be mentioned. Some say, 10 to 15 seconds, flip and cook for 10-15 seconds, then flip back to first side and finish off with an additional 15 seconds. While others argue that all that flipping is not necessary- they reccommend cooking for 30 seconds, flipping and cooking for 15-20 seconds, until tortillas just starts to brown. I have tried both methods and both worked fine for me. Stuff these with your favorite filling- my two favorite ways are scrambled eggs, cheese, sour cream and salsa or grilled fish, cabbage and salsa. These tortillas will keep for a few days in a sealed container in the fridge, and can be reheated either in a warm skillet or the microwave.
To be fair, I must mention that some people prefer to add a little more flavor to their tortillas. I, personally, prefer plain, clean tasting corn and that's it, but, if you'd like to try adding a little garlic, cumin or cilantro to the dough while mixing, it does add an interesting hint of flavor that complements many fillings.
My new favorite, easy, money saving, home made from scratch item is corn tortillas. It takes me about 30 minutes to whip up a batch and they taste much better than the store baught kind. My boys love helping roll out the balls and, especially, squishing them into thin tortillas. I am sure these would be even easier if I had a tortilla press- we are considering investing in a good sturdy model- but until that time, we just use a frying pan to press out the rounds. According to my basic calculations, for me to buy tortillas, it costs about $.16 for each tortilla, if I make them, they end up being less than $.04 per tortilla; though we're only talking pennies differance here, my family eats trotillas by the truckload, and every little bit helps!
This is a very basic recipe found all over, but follow it for fool proof, tasty tortillas:
2 Cups Masa Flour
1 to 1 1/2 Cups Water
1 teaspoon Salt
Combine masa, 1 Cup of water and salt (if you don't have a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or even a wooden spoon powered by your hand will work just fine, the stand mixer just makes the process easier). With the beater attachement, mix until all ingredients are incorporated. If the dough is crumbly, add more water a Tablespoon or two at a time until it is a smooth dough; if the dough is sticky, add more masa flour- again, we're going for a smooth dough. Once you have the right consistency, switch out the flat beater for the dough hook attachment and "knead" the dough for 5-10 minutes (if you're not using a stand mixer, then you'll actually get to knead the dough). Roll the dough into a disc or a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let it rest for 30 minutes, for the masa flour to really absorb the water and become the proper texture. Once the dough has sat for 30 minutes, heat a skillet to 400 degrees. Remove dough from the plastic wrap and portion it into 16 sections then roll each piece into a ball- they should be roughly the size of a ping pong ball. If you are struggling to get the seams rolled out of the balls, wet your hands slightly then roll it, seams and lines should disappear easily. It is important to keep the dough moist, if it drys out it will crack and crumble. When not working with the dough, keep loosley wrapped in a damp tea towel. After each ball is complete, use a tortilla press, or a heavy frying pan or skillet, or even a rolling pin or cup, to flatten each ball out to about 5 inches in diameter. I use wax paper or plastic wrap to keep tortillas from sticking while I'm flattening it, then I simply peel one piece off, slap it in the skillet then peel the remaining piece of wrap off the top. Tortillas will need to cook for 15 to 30 seconds per side.
There is a dispute, among experts, about the proper way to cook tortillas- so, to avoid offense to either side, both will be mentioned. Some say, 10 to 15 seconds, flip and cook for 10-15 seconds, then flip back to first side and finish off with an additional 15 seconds. While others argue that all that flipping is not necessary- they reccommend cooking for 30 seconds, flipping and cooking for 15-20 seconds, until tortillas just starts to brown. I have tried both methods and both worked fine for me. Stuff these with your favorite filling- my two favorite ways are scrambled eggs, cheese, sour cream and salsa or grilled fish, cabbage and salsa. These tortillas will keep for a few days in a sealed container in the fridge, and can be reheated either in a warm skillet or the microwave.
To be fair, I must mention that some people prefer to add a little more flavor to their tortillas. I, personally, prefer plain, clean tasting corn and that's it, but, if you'd like to try adding a little garlic, cumin or cilantro to the dough while mixing, it does add an interesting hint of flavor that complements many fillings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
