by Bette Lee Crosby | Apr 2, 2014 | Taste of the South
Tacos come in all shapes and sizes and Naomi shares her favorite recipe for making grilled steak tacos with us on Mid-Week Mixers.
Naomi says: My son and I have a favorite Mexican restaurant by us that serves some killer steak tacos. We can down these things like there is no tomorrow. As I was eating them one night, I told him that these really can't be that difficult to make, so I set off on a journey to come up with my own recipe. I can't believe how easy this recipe is to make and how cheap they are to make. Plus, I love the freshness of these things. I partner them with the Mexican rice side and normally corn on the cob or a Mexican salad.
It is very important to note that the meat is the easiest part of this dish. Do not cook it until the last couple of minutes to ensure you get the juiciest meat possible!!
So, here we go!:
Ingredients:
2 lbs Skirt Steak
Adobo Seasoning (See recipe under My Favorite Seasonings)
Mexican Beer
SOFT Corn Tortillas
Garnishments:
Pico de Gallo (See recipe this blog)
Cheese (cheddar or queso fresco)
Salsa Verde
chopped avocado
lime slices/juice
Directions:
1) Remove Skirt Steak from packaging and generously rub with Adobo seasoning.
2) Place in a disposable or glass 9×13 pan. Cover with Mexican beer and set aside for minimally 1 hour. I do up to 4 hours.
3) Prepare grill. Drain off liquid and grill steaks until rare.
4) Place on cutting board and chop into bite sized pieces.
5) Heat a frying pan which has been coated liberally with cooking spray. Place meat in hot pan and allow to “sear”. Remove to serving dish. If necessary, but not advisable, place in warm oven.
6) In a small, heated frying pan, warm tortillas flipping once. Remove to warmed oven.
7) Top tortillas and favorite taco toppings!
by Bette Lee Crosby | Mar 26, 2014 | Taste of the South
By this time on Mid-Week Mixers, Spring is definitely in the air and we're looking forward to warmer weather.
If you like to add Latin spice to your dishes, you can't go wrong with a good adobo of basically garlic, oregano, black pepper, and turmeric and other spices depending on where you live. Try Naomi's Pub and Grub recipe to get started!
Naomi says: I know Summer is coming when I make big batches of my Adobe seasoning! I tried a commercially prepared Adobo in a recipe for Ropa Vieja and it was so salty, I ended up having to throw out a $30 dinner! I said never again and looked at what was in it and came up with this. I am very big into how much salt go into my seasonings, so this isn't overboard! Adobo seasonings come in two types. Either a liquid or dry. I prefer the dry due to shelf life and versatility in dishes I can use it in. I don't need to alter the liquids in my dishes to make up for the liquid in the Adobo and I really haven't seen a taste difference in the two. During the late Spring and Summer months, when I am cooking Latin inspired foods like there is no tomorrow, I double, triple and quadruple this recipe at the beginning of the season and use it in almost everything I cook!!
So, here is a basic recipe!
4 Tablespoons Kosher salt
3 Tablespoons Onion Powder
3 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
3 Tablespoons COARSE Ground Pepper
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
Directions:
1) Mix all ingredients in an airtight container. Product can be stored for up to 6 months.
by Bette Lee Crosby | Mar 19, 2014 | Taste of the South
The festive party continues as we gear up for Cinco de Mayo. This is a great recipe for Chile Rellenos which most people would wait and order at a restaurant. I think Naomi did a great job of simplifying this dish. If you ever wanted to try it, now's your chance at this week's Mid-Week Mixers!
Naomi says: Like tamales, I had heard of Chile Relleno all the time, but was intimidated to prepare them, particularly as it related to the charring of the Anaheim peppers. I can't believe what I missed out on. This dish is fantastic and simple!
When this popped up on Pinterest, for some reason, I felt ready to wade in. Originally published at TeenieCakes. Cristina did a SPECTACULAR job of laying it out step by step. I knew I was ready to go. Now, I will admit that I was kind of lazy and switched out a couple of things. I think it worked fine.
I have linked this post to her blog so that both directions can be referred to if questions pop up. Her pictures are beautiful and educational.
So, here we go!
Ingredients:
8-10 Anaheim peppers, charred and cleaned
Sauce:
1 T. Olive Oil
1/3 c. diced onion
1 can (28 oz) CRUSHED tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste
Eggs:
6 eggs separated
1.5 cups low-fat milk
6 T. flour
salt and pepper, to taste
1 package (4.5 cups) Mexican blend or Co-jack cheese
Cojita Cheese (optional)
Directions:
1) If not done, char peppers. This is so easy with a gas stove. Simply place the pepper over the flame and turn as it is browning. One thing I noted is to put aluminum foil around the burner ANY time I do this in the future. As you can see, the peppers will leak juice while cooking and led to a HUGE clean up job for me! Place the cooked peppers in a Ziploc bag for 1 hour. Clean the burnt part off the pepper in the sink. Remember to take out the seeds and stems. Again, a huge mess so be prepared!
2) In a sauce pan, saute the onions in the olive oil until transparent. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper. Simmer 15-20 minutes.
3) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Liberally spray a 9×13 pan. Line pan with half the peppers. Then, half the cheese. Repeat layers.
4) Beat egg whites until they form into stiff peaks. Mix together milk, egg yolks, flour, salt and pepper. Blend this mixture with the egg whites.
5) Pour all over the pepper/cheese layers. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
6) Pour tomato sauce over the eggs and return to the oven to bake for another 30 minutes.
7) Sprinkle with Cojita cheese, if desired. I served with corn on the cob and Mexican Rice.
by Bette Lee Crosby | Mar 12, 2014 | Taste of the South
No celebration would be complete without a good dinner for St. Patrick's Day, corned beef brisket courtesy of Mid-Week Mixers and Naomi's Pub and Grub.
Adapted: Irish Food and Drink Recipes
Naomi says: As many of you know who have been following this blog, at least this month, I stumbled upon this “free kindle book” and set out to try the recipes in them. I have not been disappointed. Bored with my standard boiling of my corned beef with the potatoes, carrots and cabbage, I set out to expand my horizons this St. Patty's Day and bake it. Yes, I know…I am quite the adventurer.
The book had a recipe in it for a Dutch Oven Corned Beef Brisket and I ventured in. My family has said it is the best corned beef I have ever made. There was a sweetness to it, but you could definitely taste the essence of Guinness Stout. The success of this dish has really made me want to venture into new ways to make my briskets.
So, here we go:
Ingredients:
4 lb corned beef brisket (I used a flat cut)
1 cup brown sugar
12 oz Guinness Stout
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. VERY IMPORTANT~ Place a cooking rack in a dutch oven. It is important that the meat not “sit” in the liquid.
2) Rinse the brisket and dry.
3) Rub the sugar into the meat and place the meat on the cooking rack inside the dutch oven.
4) Slowly pour the stout over the beef to just wet it and then around the meat.
5) Cook for approximately 2.5 hours (meat should be at 180 degrees F.)
6) Brush brisket with cooking liquid periodically during baking time.
7) When finished allow roast to sit in cooking pan for approximately 20 minutes with the lid on. Then remove to cutting board and allow it to sit another 15 minutes. This will allow the brisket to slice beautifully.
*NOTE: Sadly, the cooking liquid really “soured” up. I was hoping that it would have turned into a beautiful dipping sauce for the brisket, but, alas, it didn't and I didn't see a way to save it. The “potency” of the stout really reared its ugly head after cooking.
by Bette Lee Crosby | Mar 5, 2014 | Taste of the South
McDonalds Copy Cat Shamrock Shakes on Mid-Week Mixers
This is the low fat version of the classic Shamrock Shake, Mid-Week Mixers style. What is your favorite ‘green-themed' food/drink for St. Patrick's day?
Naomi says: It used to be that I would eagerly anticipate the arrival of McDonald's Shamrock shakes. Those little gems of thick, minty coolness would make me smile. But, alas, came the time when I really tried to stop going to McDonald's because my demand for a higher quality of food overruled my love of those little gems. So, my smile returned when I came across this recipe on Yummly. Unfortunately, they seemed pretty high in fat and I wanted to play and see if I could get the fat down with keeping the taste. I think I was successful. The other thing is that it seemed that the mint flavor wasn't as strong in Yummly and I like the taste of mint in my shakes, so I set out to bump up the mint extract.
The original recipe called for soy ice cream and that made me cringe. I also wanted to try a low fat frozen yogurt and fat free milk, so that is what I did.
So, here we go:
Ingredients:
2 scoops vanilla low-fat frozen yogurt
1 1/4 cups fat free milk
1/2 t. mint extract
10 drops food coloring
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until processed. Pour into chilled shake glass and top with canned whip cream. Serve!!
