Tag Archives: tortilla

Ground Beef Tacos II

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When in doubt, ask your nine-year old what you should make for dinner…the boy loves tacos! Any Tex-Mex style foods, really. We haven’t had tacos in a while, so I agreed; searched through Pink Parsley and chose this recipe. M is anti-corn tortilla for some reason, so I haven’t decided if I want to fry up the flour tortillas I’ll be using for these.

Verdict: Yum! The leftovers didn’t last more than one day either! I served this with my fave rice, fresh pico de gallo, pepper jack cheese and lettuce. Everyone enjoyed these and my picky daughter even ate more than a few bites. This is the second ground beef taco recipe that I have posted here, and I’m happy to report that this one is going to be my go-to recipe. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Ground Beef Tacos – adapted from Pink Parsley via Cook’s Illustrated

  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped (about 2/3 cup)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbs chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (*I used Mexican oregano)
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 pound 90% lean (or leaner) ground beef
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Directions:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet until shimmering.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic, spices, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent scorching, about 5 minutes longer, until meat is no longer pink.

Add tomato sauce, broth, brown sugar, and vinegar; bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until liquid has reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes.  Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve with your favorite taco fixin’s.

 

 

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Breakfast Burritos

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The tots made these burritos!;) M requested breakfast burritos and I immediately thought they would have eggs, cheese, sausage and/or bacon, salsa, and tater tots! These were so easy and the longest part was waiting for the oven to heat up and then for the tots to bake. I will have to make these and variations of this more often. Oh, look at what my hairdresser gave me – my very first basil plant! Lets hope that I have the ability to keep it alive…I’ve never had any kind of plant to take care of.  I’ll make sure to keep you posted on its progress:) Thanks for reading!

Taco Night!

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Taco night is everyone’s favorite night:o) I have used this recipe before and it’s always a hit. Whenever it’s taco night, I always make my “orange” rice. It’s something I grew up eating and all the ladies in my family make variations of my Gram’s. It’s so simple and so comforting to me, and I love that my kids both really enjoy eating it, too. I remembered I had some homemade salsa verde in the freezer that was waiting to be used, so that’s what that green sauce is on the taco. I will be sure to post the recipe for that the next time I make chile verde or my husband’s favorite – chicken enchiladas with roasted tomatillo salsa. I haven’t made that meal in so long – it’s a lot of work and it makes so much food, but the flavor is excellent.

Anyway, these turned out great – the two men of the house had seconds. I however refrained from indulging in more carbs (frown). I did eat a nice green salad with lots of extra veggies, though. I am on my annual “health kick”…well, I guess it can’t be called annual if this is my third time this year. The holidays and all the yummy-bad-for-you-food caught up with me, along with the lack of exercise. Basically I have been feeling uber-blah, so in the past when this blah-ness has reared its ugly head I cut out a lot of junk and add in lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains and cut out lots of empty carbs. I feel a difference within a day of these changes so it’s totally worth it and then I wonder why I don’t eat like this all the time. Oh, yeah! It’s because it takes thought, preparation and discipline! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Shredded Tex-Mex Crock-Pot Chicken – adapted from goodLife(eats)

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (*I used 2 pounds)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup (packed) cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 2 limes
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Heat the oil in a medium sized sauté pan. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the cumin, chili powder, coriander, paprika and garlic and sauté two more minutes. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth making sure to scrape up any browned bits. Turn off and set aside.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to crock pot. Squeeze the lime on top, add the cilantro, jalapeno, and pour the onion and garlic mixture over top.

Cook on low for 3-5 hours, or until cooked through (different crock-pots cook at varying heats) and tender. Remove chicken breasts from the crock pot, shred and place in a bowl. Scoop out the onions and add to the chicken. Depending on the amount of juices produced, you may want to add some or all of the juice back to the shredded chicken.

For fast and easy soft tacos, add this chicken to taco sized flour tortillas with shredded lettuce, avocado, tomato, cilantro, red onion, and cheese (I like cheddar, pepper jack, or feta best). Add a dollop of sour cream and salsa, too, if you like.