Veal quesadilla

Another great meal made from the veal Matt's grandparents gave us! This packet of ground veal we got was taco-seasoned. So what did we do? Made quesadillas! In a large skillet over medium-high heat, I added the 16 oz package of ground taco-seasoned veal. Broke up the meat to cook evenly. Then added to the skillet a few spoon of Mexican crema. Spooned some of the cooked meat on one side of a flour tortilla, then topped with some shredded mozerella. Then folded over the tortilla and pan-seared both sides in a buttered skillet. Delicious!! If you can't find taco-seasoned ground veal, I would think adding a packet of taco seasoning to ground veal would do it. 

Awesome taco filling/nacho topping

I have a very special guest blogger for you all today! The famous Matt Hawkins! Yup, the guy I'm always talking about in my blog posts / my wonderful husband. Matt likes to cook too and last night he made these amazing tacos. It was so good he was saying how he needs to remember this recipe. So I was like, why not blog about it! So readers, I'd like you to meet Matt!:

Awesome taco filling/nacho topping

You will need:

For the meat:

2.5-3lb ground beef

2 cloves garlic (minced)

Smoked paprika

Chili powder

Onion powder

Salt, pepper

For the veggies:

3 medium tomatoes (seeded, diced)

1 medium red onion (diced)

1 bell pepper (diced)

1 lime (split in half)

Cilantro (to taste) diced

Salt

Cheese of choice (I used a blend of cheddar and Queso Gran (which is like manchego))

Corn tortillas (deep fried, so start heating the oil now)

First make the veggie topping, combine the bell pepper, red onion (why are they called red onions, anyone can see they are purple onions!), tomato (I like to remove the seeds and “juicy” parts for 2 reasons: 1) I don't like the taste, and 2) It will turn your little salsa into a mushy mess) and cilantro in a mixing bowl. Drizzle the lime juice on top and add salt to taste. Mix it up well and put in the fridge while you prep the tortillas and beef. 

For the ground beef, sauté the garlic in a little bit of olive oil for about 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Next season the beef with salt and pepper and add it to the pan, separate the clumps so you can mix it up well in the pan (or pot). Now add the chili powder, onion powder,and paprika. You're aiming for a ratio of about 3:1:1 for these three seasonings,but feel free to adjust to your personal taste. Once the meat is browned, drain off the grease and set it aside until your chips/tacos are prepared.

Make sure your oil is nice and hot 350 degrees or so. You can either make tacos or nachos with your corn tortillas. If you're going for nachos then slice the tortillas into triangles and fry them in batches. Be careful of the rising oil, you don't want it to spill over and make a mess or worse, burn you. The nachos at the hospital aren't as good as these.Alternatively, you can make tacos from the shells. If you have a fancy-pants taco frying device, use that! Alternatively you can use tongs to hold them in a taco-type shape. One of the best methods I found was to drop the tortilla round in the oil, when it starts to rise up and float, press down in the center with the tongs. Hold it like that until it is nice and crispy (chewy tacos aren't very good) about 1-2 minutes. You can also use a dual-wielding technique with two sets of tongs to hold both ends of the shell in a taco shape. You're tacos might come out slightly misshapen, that's okay; just like the ugly duckling,these shells taste a million times better than the ones you get out of the box.

Alright, now you're ready to build! You really shouldn't need directions for this part, but just in case:

1) Take a shell/chips

2) Pile on some meat!

3) Stack it with cheese!

4) Add the veggie mix!

5) EAT!

6) Repeat as desired

Corn and Poblano Salad

Matt makes a chorizo and potato taco topped with this creamed corn and poblano mixture that is amazing. For a cookout we were going to, I wanted to make something similar. Instead of using mexican crema like Matt's version, I decided to use queso fresco so it'd be easier to eat as a side dish. We've recently discovered queso fresco. It's a really light cheese - kinda like a Mexican feta cheese.  I love it. I kept picking at it while making this dish (guilty).  But it's great for crumbling, like in this dish, not so much for melting.

This side dish is sweet from the corn and spicy from the poblano peppers. The paprika and cumin added a touch of smokiness to the dish. And yes, I used 24 oz of queso fresco, but all the cheese helps mellow out the spiciness. This dish would be great topped on a taco as well.

Corn and Poblano Salad

Ingredients

3 ears yellow corn, kernels removed

3 poblano peppers

1 onion, diced

24 oz queso fresco

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2-3 tbsp olive oil

First, roast the poblano peppers on the grill until charred on all sides. Then place in a bag to steam for 10 mins. Remove from the bag and using a knife, scrape off the charred skin. Remove the stem and seeds from the poblano peppers. Slice the peppers into strips and then dice. 

In a deep medium skillet, heat about 2-3 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook for about 5 mins until translucent. Then add the corn and cook for about 3 mins. Then add the diced poblano peppers, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for about 1 min.  Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl. Crumble half the queso fresco into the salad and mix. Set aside and chill in the fridge. When ready to serve, crumble the rest of the queso fresco into the salad. Enjoy!

3-layer Nacho Dip

It's been a little while since I've last posted about a dish. For that I'm sorry. We've just been so busy traveling lately, and then I had a busy week at work. But I will make it up to you with this great dip...

At my friend's baby shower, there was this dip there that I couldn't help but go back to. There was a layer of refried beans, avocado, and something else...

It was creamy, so I knew it had to be sour cream. But there was something else to it that I couldn't put my finger on. Turns out the secret was...taco seasoning! Such a great idea in adding flavor to a normal dip. I knew I had to go home and make it. It turned out perfectly like the one at the shower. You'll want to make this dip for your next gathering, trust me.

3-layer Nacho Dip

Ingredients

1 can refried beans

2 avocados

1 packet guacamole seasoning

1 c. mayo

1 c. sour cream

1 packet taco seasoning

1 tomato, seeded and diced

handful of cilantro, chopped

shredded cheddar cheese

tortilla chips

In a casserole dish, spread the refried beans out evenly. In a bowl, mash the avocado meat and guacamole seasoning together. Spread the guacamole evenly over the refried beans. In another bowl, mix the mayo, sour cream, and taco seasoning together until well blended. Add the creamy mixture over the guacamole. Top the 3-layer dip with shredded cheese, the tomato, and cilantro. Best served chilled. Enjoy with some tortilla chips.

Beer-Battered Fish Taco with a Jalapeno Mayo

I whipped up this dish a couple of weeks ago and we really enjoyed how it turned out. The batter turned out so light and fluffy, not too heavy or greasy like most fried food. And the jalapeno mayo with it was a great compliment. I was thinking a red cabbage slaw with carrots tossed in the jalapeno mayo would be really yummy on top as well. I topped the tacos with some green leaf lettuce instead since we had some left over. I like to use what we've got, hate to waste :) Below is the recipe, approximately.

Beer-Battered Fish Taco with a Jalapeno Mayo

2 lbs white fish filet (such as tilapia)
1 1/2 to 2 c flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp baking powder
1 bottle of beer
1 egg
salt and pepper
1 jalapeno
4 bunches of scallion
1 c mayo
1/2 a lime
tortilla
lettuce

To prepare the fish:
Cut each filet into half lengthwise. I ended up with 14 strips of fish. Season with salt and pepper. Then prepare the batter: whisk the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder together with about 3/4 of the bottle of beer and egg. Add more beer to thin out the batter, add more flour to thicken the batter. The batter should be runny, but thick enough to coat the fish. Dip the fish in the batter, and then fry in oil at 350 degrees F. About 4 mins cooking time, or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

To prepare the mayo:
Chop up the scallions. Seed and dice the jalapeno. Combine the mayo, scallions, jalapeno, and juice of half a lime in a mini food processor. Process until smooth.

On a tortilla shell, lay a fried fish on, and top with the jalapeno mayo and some lettuce. Enjoy!