Baked Tacos

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs ground beef or turkey
1 can refried beans
15 ounce tomato sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning (we use homemade)
1 – 2 cups shredded cheese
15ish hard taco shells
Your favorite taco toppings.


DIRECTIONS
1.  Brown ground beef. Drain off any fat.
2.  Add refried beans, tomato sauce, and seasoning.
3.  Spoon mixture into taco shells.
4.  Place filled shells into a 9×13 pan, standing up. Sprinkle with cheese.
5. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until heated through.


Note:  sometimes we don't bake them, and just fill warm hardshell tacos with the mixture.  We then top with tomato, lettuce, and salsa/taco seasoning/avocado.

Taco Spaghetti

INGREDIENTS

5 oz. dried spaghetti, broken (we use quinoa spaghetti)
1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp. taco seasoning (we use homemade)
11 oz. can whole kernel corn with peppers, drained
1 cup colby jack or cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup salsa
4 oz. can diced green chili peppers, drained
shredded lettuce
tortilla chips
tomato
sour cream, optional


DIRECTIONS
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a 12-inch skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is brown. Drain fat. Stir in water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cooked pasta, corn, olives, half of the cheese, salsa, and green chili peppers.
3. Transfer mixture to lightly greased 2-quart round casserole. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until melted.
4. Serve with shredded lettuce, tortilla chips, tomatoes, and sour cream, if desired.

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken

1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed

1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn, or fresh if in season

Crumbled tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS

1.  Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker.

2.  Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn.

3.  Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.

 

Chicken Fajita Rub

1/2 tsp chile powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper

GREEN RICE

I am hosting a BBQ for Father's Day and have decided to make grilled chicken and poblano tacos. I wanted a side dish to go along with it and found this from Ingrid Hoffman. Hopefully it will turn out good. I am a tad nervous that it will be too much green with the avocado salsa too.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups chicken stock, warm
2 poblano chile peppers
1 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped (about 1 cup)
Salt
3 tablespoons corn oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 2 cups)
1 cup medium or long-grain white rice
3 cloves garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
4 scallions, white and pale green parts only, sliced, optional

DIRECTIONS
1. In a blender combine, warm chicken stock, poblano peppers, cilantro and 1 teaspoon salt.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. In medium saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add rice and garlic and stir for another minute. Add chili puree, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cooking until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 15 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Garnish with scallions and serve.

AVOCADO SALSA

This is a recipe I came up with.  I don't measure, so just play with it until you get the taste you want.

INGREDIENTS
2 avocados, mashed
1 tomato, diced (liquids taken out)
fresh cilantro, finely chopped
juice from 1 lime
frozen corn, thawed (we will try grilled fresh corn on the cobb come summer)
2 grilled pabalno peppers, chopped (we don't always add this)
1/2 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced (I use a zester)
1-2 jalepenos, finely diced (if you want good spice, do not de-seed)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
cumin to taste

DIRECTIONS
Mix all the ingredients together and put the pit of one of the avacados in the middle of the mixture.  This will keep from turning brown.

Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

BAJA FISH TACOS

The original recipe calls for corn tortillas.  We tried this with both corn and flour and liked the flour recipe so much better.  The corn tortillas seemed dry, so make sure you get good/fresh ones.

From Cooking Light December 2002.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 pound mahimahi or other firm whitefish fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups presliced green cabbage
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
8 lime wedges

DIRECTIONS
1.  Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add fish; toss to coat.
2.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish; sautê 5 minutes or until fish is done.
3.  Combine cabbage, onions, and sour cream in a medium bowl.
4.  Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/4 cup cabbage mixture down center of each tortilla. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; fold in half. Serve with lime wedges.

TACO SEASONING

It's taco night and we realized we don't have taco seasoning.  We decided to use what was in our spice rack.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

CRISPY BLACK BEAN TACOS WITH CABBAGE SLAW

INGREDIENTS
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
½ tsp ground cumin
5 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2C coleslaw mix
2 green onions chopped
1/3C chopped fresh cilantro
4 corn tortillas
Hot sauce (for taste)

DIRECTIONS
1. Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash
2. Mix 2 tsp olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season with salt/pepper
3. Heat 3 tsp olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer and spoon ¼ of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
4. Fill tacos with slaw and serve with hot sauce

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

This recipe came from none other than Jessica Alba. Once you try these you will never want any other enchilada. These freeze really well too. Just put them together in a aluminum pan and cover with foil. No need to bake prior to freezing.

INGREDIENTS
32 oz chicken stock
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 12 oz jar of salsa
1C shredded cheddar cheese
1/2C shredded Monterey Jack
1/2C chopped fresh cilantro
1 can (16oz) red enchilada sauce
1 can (16oz) green enchilada sauce
Mexican hot sauce
Cayenne pepper
Cooking spray
8 corn tortillas (6 inch)

DIRECTIONS
1. Cook the chicken and chicken stock in the crock pot (8 hours on low; 4 hours on high); shred in a bowl and mix in the salsa; set aside
2. Combine cheddar, 1/4C Monterey Jack, and cilantro; set aside
3. In a pot over medium heat, combine enchilada sauces and add Mexican hot sauce and cayenne to taste; stir until simmering
4. Coat an 11” x 13” casserole pan with nonstick spray
5. Microwave tortillas for 20 second (to prevent breakage wrap in damp paper towels)
6. Place small handfuls of cheese mixture and chicken in center of each tortilla, roll up and place in pan, seam side down; sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture. Ladle on sauce, and then add remaining ¼ Monterey Jack
7. Bake 20 minutes, at 425 and serve with remaining sauce on the side