Mexican In and Out

I think it’s safe to say that Mexican food is slowly becoming my favorite cuisine to eat. Yes, it may just pass up Italian in the near future!

Sunday, my mom and I had a fun day planned. We went to a place in town that I have just recently become familiar with called “Glazed and Amused”. You go and pick out ceramic pottery ranging from plates, cups, and bowls to figurines, planting pots, and magnets. Then you choose if you want to do acrylic painting or glazed (which they fire in the kiln). They provide brushes, 100’s of colors of paints, and just a great artsy atmosphere to take your time in painting your piece. Sunday turned out to be a rainy day, so it worked out perfect!

Mom decided to paint a mug..sadly we didn’t get an “after” photo, so when I pick them up this week I’ll post the glazed pieces.

I had to choose a kitchen piece of course—I did a cutting board, but I decided I am going to hang it on my wall being I already have several cutting boards.

We had such a blast at Glazed and Amused, we are already brainstorming what we should paint for our next trip!

A few hours of intense painting can definitely work up an appetite, so we figured it was a good opportunity to try out the new Mexican restaurant in town.

Right upon entering, I loved the Spanish style decor!

And of course I love the fresh and warm tortilla chips they bring out—yum!

Fortunately, I liked my entree even more! I chose the El Mariachi Especial which consisted of steak topped with shrimp and mushrooms and a cheese sauce,I subbed a red sauce, served with rice and guacamole. Mexican flavor at it’s finest!

But, if you’re not a fan of going out to eat, or simply want to cook at home for the night, Mexican at home can be just as tasty!

Impossibly Easy Taco Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef, I used 1 cup Morningstar Soy Crumbles
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 package (1 ounce) Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix
• 1 can (4.5 ounces) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, drained
• 1/2 c sweet corn (either canned, fresh, or frozen)
• 1/2 c Hunts fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup milk, I used soymilk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Heart Smart Bisquick mix
• 3/4 cup shredded Mexican blend shredded cheese
• salsa (any variety)
• Sour cream, if desired

Directions:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Grease 9-inch pie plate. Cook ground beef and onion in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in seasoning mix (dry). Spoon into pie plate; top with chilies, tomatoes, and corn.
• Stir milk, eggs and Bisquick mix until blended. Pour into pie plate.
• Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 8 to 10 minutes longer. Cool 5 minutes. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Tex mex Steak Fajitas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb flank or skirt steak
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 pkg fajita seasoning mix
• Tortillas, I used whole wheat
• Cheese, sour cream, salsa, shredded iceburg lettuce, and guacamole if desired

Directions:

• Heat to high heat a large cast iron pan or griddle. Add a teaspoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the steak, frying on each side for 3 minutes, or to desired doneness. 3 minutes per side will yield approximately medium rare doneness for an average cut of flank steak.
• Reduce the pan heat to medium high. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary. Add the onions, bell peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, until the onions are slightly translucent.
• Slice the meat against the grain into thin slices. If you slice the meat at a slanted angle, you will be able to get your slices pretty thin.
• Turn skillet on low, add meat and follow package directions on fajita seasoning mix.
• Place warm tortillas on place, fill with meat mixture and desired toppings.

*Serve with fat-free canned refried beans and/or packaged Spanish rice.

Casserole Week: Mexicali Casserole

I really should have posted this yesterday since it was Cinco de Mayo, but as well all know, life can sometimes get in the way. So consider this a day late celebration!

Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? If so, how?

The sun finally decided to come out of it’s shell and shine a bit yesterday. It’s been raining, cloudy, and gloomy for days and now they are talking SNOW tomorrow. Hopefully it’s a late April Fool’s joke or something.

I really enjoyed this Mexican casserole, not only because it’s easy to whip together, but it’s healthy and filling as well! You can serve it with lettuce, taco shells or warmed tortillas.

Mexicali Casserole

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground turkey

1-1/2 cups chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup water

2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice I used thinly grated butternut squash

1/3 cup sliced ripe olives

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the turkey, onions, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender; drain. Sprinkle with chili powder and salt. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, water, grated butternut squash and olives.

Transfer to a 2-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 375° for 50-55 minutes or until rice is tender. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

What is your favorite Mexican dish?

South of the Border Super Bowl Sunday

Had a  wonderful day off today—the sun was shining (finally), went out to eat with a good friend and had some amazing pizza, topped off the day with some Cold Stone coffee flavored ice cream, and now kicking back and finally getting around to blogging about the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Reading blogs this week I’ve seen a lot of yummy looking Super Bowl food—too bad we all couldn’t get together and swap food. But at least there’s always the option of sharing through a blog. We hadn’t really planned out what we were going to make Sunday because on Saturday I was snowmobiling from a.m. to p.m. and clocked out at around 200 miles—to say I was a little sore Sunday would be an understatement—ouch! I usually like to plan menus ahead of time, but I’ve found that last minute things can actually come together rather well—this was one of those times! It came out as more of a Mexican meal, hence the “south of the border” theme.

I have never had buffalo before, but since we had some on hand I thought why not use it for tacos. Here’s some surprising health benefits and a meat chart about buffalo I thought were interesting:

Buffalo meat has 3.5 times less fat than beef.

Buffalo meat is lower in cholesterol than beef.

Buffalo meat contains less calories than beef.

Buffalo meat has more iron and vitamin B-12 content than beef.

Buffalo meat has 35% more protein than beef.

Do you eat buffalo meat? I was highly impressed with the stats and ever more so with the taste—I would prefer this anytime over beef! Any recipes you have using buffalo?

Buffalo Tacos

Ingredients:

• 8 tortillas (see what I used below)
• 1 lb ground buffalo
• 1 can green chilies, drained
• 1 c chunky salsa
• 1/2 c green pepper, diced
• 1/4 c yellow onion, diced
• pepper to taste
• shredded pepper cheese blend, sour cream, taco sauce, and shredded lettuce

Directions:

• Spray skillet with nonstick cooking and brown buffalo on medium heat until cooked through (6-8 min). Add taco seasoning and water called for on package and mix thoroughly.

• Add in pepper, onions, salsa, ground pepper, and chilies. Cook until heated through.
• Shut off stovetop and cover to keep warm while you warm tortillas in microwave briefly.

I used Gourmet Tortillas Premium Light Healthy Flour Tortillas. No taste or texture difference in these compared to your standard tortilla, so why not just go the healthy route?

• Add lettuce, meat, and desired toppings to your taco, roll it up, and chow down—but don’t forget to make this delish cornbread for a side dish!

Black Bean Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1 package Betty Crocker cornbread and ingredients called for on package—minus oil(not needed due to the sauce in the vegetable mix).

• 1 New Age Southwest Fiesta Blend frozen vegetable mix

Directions:

• Preheat oven to temp called for on package.
• Spray 8 x 8 inch pan with nonstick spray.
• Mix cornbread, egg, and milk thoroughly.
• Add in full bag of veggie mix and continue stirring.

• Bake for time called for on package.
• Let cool briefly, cut into 8 slices or 16 bite-size appetizer bites.

Stay tuned for the next three days—three days of tempting Valentine’s treats for the one you love—or heck, just you! :-)

Midweek Mexican

Hello Amigos!

Stopping by with a little south-of-the-border flare today! I love Mexican food—quesadillas, burritos, and salsa. Here’s some tips for eating healthier at your favorite Mexican restaurant:

• Choose soft shells vs. crunchy—they are baked and not fried.
• Go all out with salsa.
• Black beans are an excellent choice for most any dieter. They are low-fat, high in protein and provide plenty of fiber.

• Refried beans may sound like a good choice, but they are often prepared with lard and Mexican cheese blends, or even bacon, which really ups the fat and calorie content of what could be a healthy side.

• Con queso dips and nacho cheese are tempting toppers for chips, but they're both extremely rich and high in fat and calories.

• Switch to bean burritos instead of beef or cheese burritos and you'll be saying adios to lots of extra calories.

• Some better choices are: chicken fajitas, bean burritos, a sautéed chicken dish with peppers and onions (hold the cheese!), or a soft taco.

• Some popular dishes to avoid include: nachos, chimichangas, chalupas, taquitos, and chile relleno.

What are your healthy Mexican eating tips?

Since you don’t always have to go out to get a southern sizzle, I like eating Mexican homemade at times, even though I have not once ounce of Mexican in me..pasta+bread=Italian is all me! :-)

Vegetarian Tacos

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

• One 8’-12’ whole wheat tortilla
• 1/4 c Boca soy crumbles, or other meatless crumbles of your choice
• 1 Tbsp taco seasoning
• 2 tbsp FF sour cream
• 1/2 of a Roma tomato, chopped and seeded
• Handful of shredded lettuce
• 2 Tbsp black beans
• 1/4 c shredded Mexican cheese blend
• Add a dash of taco sauce to finish it up, my favorite below

Directions:

1. Mix taco seasoning with thawed Boca crumbles.
2. Pretty easy if you’ve ever eaten a taco—get out your tortilla, put lettuce, cheese and all the rest of the layers, topping it off with sour cream. Roll up that taco and chow!

Now if you want to eat a few tacos, instead of and extremely heavy side and dessert, a spicy Mexican soup can pair wonderfully with tacos—I am extremely happy with this soup recipe I came up with—enjoy!

Black Bean Taco Stoup

(It’s somewhat like soup, but somewhat like stew, hence the “stoup”)

Serves:4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed in 1’ cubes
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 14.5 oz can Italian stewed tomatoes
• 14 oz chicken broth
• 7 oz black beans, rinsed from the can
• 2 Tbsp mild salsa
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 3 Tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 tsp basil

Directions:

• Sauté onion in a sprayed stock pot on medium heat for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add bell peppers and sweet potato, reducing heat to low-med and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and stir.
• Turn heat to low and add in all the rest of the ingredients except the beans, stirring after each addition.
• Simmer for 30 minutes then stir in beans.
• Serve with a dollop of FF sour cream if you wish!

And to round off this Mexican meal, head on over to the lovely Kelly and her blog to get the recipe for some Mini Cinnamon Horchata Cupcakes…adios!

 

Daily Giveaways

**Anoooother chocolate-covered giveaway for the chocolate monster within!**

**Gourmet popcorn flavors up for grabs here!**

**Crackers with a hefty dose of Omega' 3’s—two chances to get your hands on some here!**

Feeling a Bit…Fishy

It’s Monday, and I am feeling a bit fishy—but I would rather feel fishy then to have the flu feeling like so many people out there. We got a notice saying two people at our University were confirmed with the Swine flu. When I got the message, I immediately called my mom and said, “What should I do?”(Of course I knew the probable answers.) She casually replied, “Well just stay home.” But unfortunately it was the last of my mid-term tests, so I had to tough it out. I armed myself with hand sanitizer and a pack full of Lysol wipes—no way am I getting this flu!

Have you dodged this flu bug??

So I suppose your wondering why I am feeling a tad on the fishy side. This weekend I tried out two new recipes that feature an under the sea specimen. First up is a Tuscan Salmon Sandwich Spread. It’s such a good sandwich spread to make on Monday and have all week to put on homemade bread, hero rolls, pita bread, sandwich thins, bagels, etc. Next up is simple yet semi-gourmet looking/tasting Confetti Crab Cakes.

So grab your scuba suit, and join in on the under sea scrumptiousness!

Tuscan Salmon Sandwich Spread

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c bottled light Italian dressing
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 14.75 oz. can red or pink salmon
• 15.5 oz can rinsed cannellini beans
• 1/2 c diced celery
• 1/4 c chopped red onion
• 1/4 c chopped black olives
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried

Directions:

• Mix Italian dressing with mustard.
• Flake salmon in a bowl; toss with beans, celery, red onion, olives, parsley and dressing mixture.
• Split mixture up into 4 equal parts and serve on your preferred bread.

Confetti Crab Cakes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 8 oz lump crab meat
• 1/2 c unseasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 c chopped scallions
• 3/4 c finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 tsp seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay)
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper (optional)
• 2 Tbsp light mayo
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp canola oil or butter

Directions:

• Combine crabmeat, breadcrumbs, scallions, bell pepper, Old Bay seasoning, and ground red pepper (if using) in a medium bowl. Add mayonnaise and lemon juice; mix with a fork. Form mixture into 8 patties about 3 inches in diameter.
• Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Fry crab cakes until browned on the bottom (about 4 minutes); turn and cook 4 more minutes, or until browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the crab cake reads 155°. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Hope your Monday treats you well! Don’t miss Wednesday’s post—it will make your hump day just a bit better! :-)

Under the Sea

 Spongebob is my favorite thing under the sea, but tuna and crab come in at a close second! That doesn’t mean I still don’t want to try a Krabby Patty sometime, but it would have to be vegetarian style—soy Krabby Patties anyone?

I’ve been trying my best to save money on groceries by making sure I use up what I have before buying more. It definitely stretches my creativity!! I came across this tip for impulse buying at the grocery store..

Before you put something in your cart, ask yourself, “Will I use it this week?”

Do you have a recipe, or a meal plan that includes the item you are debating on?

Of course this doesn’t pertain to super sales and bulk non-perishables, but basically just be aware and plan ahead to save money!

 Now lets get to what you came for! Today’s recipe was a attempt to use up things in my fridge, and it turned out surprisingly good for a use-what-I-have meal. =) Not only was my lunch mighty tasty, I used a wonderful appliance that I have had for about 2 years, and sadly has been collecting dust. Do you have any kitchen appliances you don’t use or forget that you have?

Under the Sea Quesadillas

Ingredients

• 1-8” tortilla
• 1/4 c shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1/8 c chopped bell pepper
• 1/8 c flaked crab
• 1/8 c pouch tuna, or canned
• 1/8 c of canned beans {I used chili beans, yum!"}
• 1/4 c of fiesta shredded cheese blend
• Salsa for dipping, optional
• Any other veggies or add-ins you want!

Directions

• I used my quesadilla maker to make these, but if you don’t have one, you can still make quesadillas! Go here for a stovetop method.
• Plug in your quesadilla maker and lightly spray with non-stick spray.

• Get out your tortilla and start layering your filling. I start with lettuce, then meat, cheese, and finally the veggies and beans.

I used Buena Vida Low Carb Tortillas because they’re whole wheat! And then these Chili Beans really added some pizzazz to my quesadilla. If you ever happen to see these, get em’ because you can use them in so many ways!

• Once the light on the maker says ready, fold your quesadilla in half, carefully place on the grill and close the lid until the ready light comes on again. Then lift up the lid and use a spatula to take your quesadilla out.

 

Happy Hump Day!

A Slew of News

  I am overly eager to report my apartment is better than I could have imagined! Of course I scouted the kitchen out first—and it is the cutest! It’s all white, lots of cupboard/counter space and just perfect for me! Then there’s the huge bay window in the living room/dining room area that provides a great view from the 3rd floor. When you walk in to the left is a giant pantry and the right is a giant coat closet complete with shoe racks and all! Then the bathroom is a bathroom, nothing too extravagant. 2 bedrooms—the guestroom is a little smaller but still has a big closet(I am using this for my craft room/office like I have at home), and then my room is gigantic complete with a walk-in closet!! I have never had a walk-in..just 2 closets I took over here! So needless to say the 2nd week in July cannot come any sooner. Bad news—no pictures could be taken seeming how the prior family was still partially there. So you’ll have to imagine for now. My room themed plans are as follows:

• Kitchen-White/Pink Cupcake/Ice Cream Theme
• Bathroom-Tropical Flare
• Living Room-Not Too Sure, More of a Modern Look
• My Bedroom-Fantasyland Complete With All Things Butterflies
• Guestroom-Undecided. Any fun ideas?

So my wonderful mom who already knew my whole pink/white cupcake/ice cream kitchen theme has started early to stock me up =)

(Cupcake plates, dish scrubbies, hot pads, cooking mitts, baking funnels, and a tie apron for all those messy jobs!)

 

Our day ended with a nice meal (one of my fav fast food meals) and a sweet treat dessert—DQ anyone(hey, Krista!) For those of you that are new to the blog, I know I mentioned it before in previous posts that my first job when I was fifteen was at KFC—yes I know I was young/desperate—but hey I worked with a bunch of friends and we had a blast all the while earning moolah! So I decided it was time for a little walk down memory lane! I had planned on trying the new KFC Grilled Chicken, but my mom ordered hers first and I was a bit disappointed that it had skin on it!(I despise skin on my chicken), so I passed it up and went with the standard. My mom said to Grilled was nothing to rave about and she really didn’t find any significant difference between the grilled and the original + it was even a bit drier!!—Bummer!

My Standard(minus the biscuit!):

I ordered up a Tendergrill chicken breast without the wrap and all the extras, some good ol’ green beans and some comforting mashed potatoes with half the gravy. It really is a healthy meal for a fast food place although I wouldn’t advocate eating instant mashed potatoes 24/7. Also I learned that you could just order a nice chicken breast when I worked there—I would actually bake them—they are just frozen like you would buy at the store, a little bit of seasonings baked with no oils/grease/butter/etc. So now you know a little trick—order a Tendergrill chicken breast sans anything else.

Then who doesn’t want to end a great day on a sweet note? I do!

DQ Cherry Sundae can’t be beat! I always get it with 1/2 the syrup otherwise it’s a major sugar overload. Such a nice occasional treat!

Enjoy your Friday and remember—tomorrow’s the weekend!