Taquitos

Simple, easy and delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

Thinly sliced steak (Sirloin or chuck roast work great)

Corn tortillas

Cabbage, finely chopped

onion, finely chopped

cilantro, finely chopped

Green salsa/salsa verde (click on the name for recipe)

Olive oil

salt, pepper

Pearl onions (optional)

Season meat with salt and pepper and cook in a pan (I also like to add a little bit of minced garlic as it's cooking). When meat is cooked, cut steaks into small strips or squares.

Place a little bit of olive oil on a griddle and lightly rub the corn tortillas on the oil. I usually hold two tortillas together and then rub the outside sides on the oil and set them on the griddle to warm up and cook a bit. If you cooked the tortillas stacked in two's they'll stay softer. When the tortillas are ready, add the meat, cabbage, onions, cilantro and top with salsa. Serve with the pearl onions on the side. Enjoy!!

Note: To prepare the pearl onions, simply peel them and them put them in a pot with water. Let them cook and once they are ready, transfer them to your hot griddle for them to cook a bit more and get some nice color and extra flavor.

Buttermilk Syrup

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups buttermilk (or 3/4 cups milk + 1 Tbsp of lemon juice, mix and let sit for 5 min. before adding to recipe)
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

Combine all but vanilla in a large sauce pan.  Bring to boil over medium low heat.  Don't boil hard or it will go brown.  Simmer for 7 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.  Serve over pancakes or waffles or even over ice cream!  Stores in the fridge for a couple weeks.

Chocolate Lava Cake

Plain and simple....and absolutely DELICIOUS!

INGREDIENTS:

6 tbsp butter

3 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips or baking squares (cut into pieces if using squares)

1/2 c sugar

6 tbsp flour

pinch of salt

3 eggs

1/4 tsp vanilla

Confectioners' sugar to decorate

This recipe makes enough for two large ramekins. Line bottom of ramekins with waxed or parchment paper, then grease; set aside.

Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds or until chocolate is melted; stir until smooth. Using a whisk, beat in the sugar, flour and salt until blended. Add eggs and vanilla. Pour mixture into prepared ramekins. Refrigerate them for 1 hour or until ready to bake.

Bake 13 minutes (at 425 degrees Fahrenheit) or until edges are firm but centers are slightly soft. Make sure you don't overbake them. Cool for 5 minutes and carefully run sharp knife or thin spatula around cake edges. Unmold onto serving plates, remove waxed paper. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately. Enjoy!!!

Note: You can use 12 cup muffin pan instead, bake for 9 minutes instead (I've only made them in the ramekins though)

Chipotle Ranch Chicken Sandwich

Not too long ago I tried a chicken sandwich that was just plain delicious!! I told my husband that I was going to try and figure out the sauce and make the sandwich at home. I was in luck! The sandwich turned out just as good and we loved it!

To make the sauce you will need Chipotle Peppers. You will be able to find these in small cans at your local grocery store. There are many different brands, I just happened to buy this one. You won't use all of the peppers so you can freeze the rest and use them with other recipes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb chicken breast/tenders

adobo from chipotle peppers

garlic salt

cooked bacon strips

1 large onion, sliced

Pepper Jack cheese

Cibatta bread

Chipotle Ranch sauce (see recipe below)

Put a little bit of olive oil on a skillet. Season the chicken with garlic salt and cook on medium heat on the skillet. Add a little bit of adobo sauce on top of the chicken. While chicken is cooking, sautee the onions. When the chicken, onions,chipotle ranch sauce and bacon are ready, you can begin making your sandwich.

Spread some chipotle ranch on the cibatta bread and then place on a hot griddle just for a little bit to help soften the bread and toast it at the same time. Add more sauce to your bread, add the chicken, cheese, bacon and finally the sauteed onions, place the top slice of bread and enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS for SAUCE:

1 cup sour cream
1 can of Nestle's Media Crema (Table cream) or add another cup of sour cream if you can't find this ingredient
1 cilantro bunch
1 pkg Ranch dressing mix
2 chipotle peppers

Place all ingredients for sauce in the blender and voila! The sauce is done!

Zucchini Casserole

ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

1/4 C. Chopped Onion

6 C. Sliced Zucchini

1 C. Sour Cream

1 Cube Butter, melted

1 C. Shredded Cheese

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Pkg. Stuffing, crushed

Cook onions and zucchini in boiling water for 5 minutes. (I sauteed mine instead)

Combine soup, sour cream and shredded cheese. Add drained zucchini.

Combine stuffing mix and melted butter. Spread half the dressing mix over bottom of casserole dish. Spoon on vegetables and cover with the rest of the dressing.

Bake 350 for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Next time I make this, I will add in chicken so it more of a complete meal. I think it would taste great if you added in different vegetables also.

White Chicken Enchiladas

This is a super yummy enchilada recipe I found at the Pioneer Woman Website. It's not your typical enchilada recipe, or at least not the ones I had in Mexico anyway. I really like the fact that she uses corn tortillas rather than flour because that's what we use when making enchiladas. I think flour tortillas get extra soggy. Anyway, I made some changes to her recipe and that's what I'll post here. To get her original recipe and of course many other yummy ones click here.

Some of the changes that I made was to replace a few ingredients such as fresh peppers rather than canned (fresh is always best) and also used a rotisserie chicken rather than cook one, among other things. Again, visit her site if you would like to see her original recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Rotisserie chicken, shredded (about 2- 1/2 cups)

2 c chicken broth

1 tbsp canola oil

corn tortillas

1 large onion, diced

6-7 Anaheim peppers, diced

2-3 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced

1 tsp paprika

1/2 c heavy cream (you can use Nestle Table cream/Media crema instead)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 c sour cream

2- 1/2 c monterey jack cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

cilantro, chopped

PREPARATION:

Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for a minute or so. Add chicken and half of the Anaheim peppers, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot, Mix in the cilantro (reserve some to garnish enchiladas when done). Turn off the heat and set aside.

In a separate pan, melt butter and sprinkle four. Whisk together and cook for about a minute. Add in one and a half cups of chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for a minute or two. Add the rest of the Anaheim peppers. Reduce heat, then add in sour cream and some cheese to melt (about a cup or so). Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Soften tortillas on a griddle. You don't need to cook them too long, all you need is for them to be soft enough to roll.

To assemble: spoon chicken mixture on top of a tortilla, add some cheese and roll up. Place in a 9x13 casserole dish seam side down. Continue to do the same with the rest of the tortillas.

Pour cheese mixture over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you'd like but I don't think it's necessary at all cause they are plenty cheesy. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Grilled Tilapia with [Bing] Cherry Salsa

SERVES 4 - Prep. Time: 15 min - Total Time: 20 min

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grates
1/2 pd. (2 cups) Bing cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno chile (ribs and seeds removed), minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
4 Tilapia fillets (4 to 6 oz each)

1. Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. In a medium bowl, combine cherries, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine; set salsa aside.

2. In a small bowl, stir together coriander, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub tiapia all over with oil; sprinkle with spice mixture.

3. Grill tilapia until opaque around the edges and underside loosens easily from grill, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a metal spatula with a thin blade, flip fish; continue to cook until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve tilapia topped with cherry salsa.