While it may appear that I have dropped off the face of the blogosphere, I promise I haven’t. Some things may have taken up a bit more of my time than I expected, in real life that happens. What I haven’t done is stop coming up with blog ideas and working on new recipes. Just trying to get my hot southern mess creativity on in general. I have been having debates about what I should blog about next. Do I go with something Easter-related or do I go in some other direction? In perfectly, hot southern mess fashion I chose to go the other direction with a deliciously easy recipe for Quick Taco Bake Pie. It’s perfect for Taco Tuesday or any day of the week.
A couple weeks ago I woke up way too early in the morning to set off on an adventure to New York City for some Allrecipes and foodie fun. I met up with my friend Stella from Stella Reynoso in Charlotte and we flew to Newark and took the train into the city. We navigated the Subway system and found our way to our hotel. From there we went to lunch at Butter, Alex Guarnaschelli’s restaurant and I ate the best Cesar salad I have ever had. It was beautiful! I think I must have looked like Emma Stone in in Easy A biting into the steak.
It was seriously that good. I haven’t had steak that good since we left Texas. After our late lunch we hung out at our hotel room until it was time to go to our first Allrecipes event. We were headed to Salvation Taco for an Allrecipes Allstars cocktail party. Chips and guacamole were set out around the room and we were offered drinks almost as soon as we walked into the room. Let me tell you, those margaritas were good and strong and the chili lime salt rim was a great extra touch! I would have loved to have a second glass but as soon as I would get one I would set it down and someone would snatch it. We had fun in the photo booth and chit chatting getting to know each other outside of the computer.
During the party appetizers were offered and they were great. The servers were awesome and made sure I didn’t touch anything with gluten. One of my favorite things were the chorizo taquitos. After eating my first one I pulled out my phone and opened up the notes…I needed to recreate those taquitos and here a few weeks later I finally have.
The key to this recipe is the chorizo. You want good chorizo. I’ve told people a million times over quality will always win. This rule goes for so many things in life too, not just food. Yes you can buy cheaper ingredients when it comes to cooking but the quality of your food will be affected! Just buy the good stuff! Then make these chorizo and cheese taquitos. If your family is anything like mine they will devour them.
Want to see more from my adventures in New York City? Check out my Instagram for my pics from the trip!
5.0 from 2 reviews
Easy Chorizo and Cheese Taquitos with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream
Spray frying pan with cooking spray and cook chorizo until done. Be sure to crumble into small pieces. When done drain grease well (I used a colander)
In a bowl mix together 1 cup of Chihuahua Cheese (or Monterey Jack) and cooked chorizo. Combine well breaking up any large chunks of chorizo.
Place corn tortillas on a plate with the tortillas covered with a damp paper towel.Warm corn tortillas in a microwave for 30 seconds to one minute.
Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons filling on the side of each tortilla. Lightly dampen other side of tortilla with water with your fingers. Roll tortilla tightly around the filling and place, seam-side down, on a baking sheet. You can hold in place with a tooth pick if needed.
Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and crispy, about 15-20 minutes.
Cilantro Lime Sour Cream
In a small bowl combine sour cream, chopped cilantro,the juice of half a lime and a dash of sea salt. Stir well and serve..
If I had to pick my favorite type of food without a question I would tell you Mexican food. I absolutely love Mexican food. I really don’t know why, I don’t but do I need an excuse to love really good food? Living in El Paso Texas I became spoiled by Mexican Food, there was plenty of it. There was good Mexican food and then there was bad Mexican Food like Chicos… it’s an El Paso thing. You either loved or hated Chico’s. I’m sorry Aaron Sanchez but it is not the best thing I ever ate (with my hands).
I’m sorry i’m just anti-Chicos. There are just too many unappetizing stories out there about them. There was a lot of good food to be found in El Paso though. Good food that I really miss and I have been recreating. I just can’t find really good Mexican food in North Carolina. I know the food in Mexico varies by region but I have yet to figure out what region the Mexican food around here is from.
One of our favorite things to do in El Paso when we didn’t want to go out to eat was head to a local grocery store where they made their own tortillas. Their tortillas were heavenly especially right off the machine when they were still warm. Vista Market’s tortillas were the perfect addition for making authentic Mexican meals at home.
Now that I have to rely on store bought tortillas I have been pondering how hard is it to make my own tortillas. I don’t have a press and didn’t want to buy a press not knowing how or if the tortillas were going to turn out. What’s a girl to do? I’ll tell you what, this girl got creative and guess what it worked. Homemade tortillas were very easy to make and definitely worth the little bit of extra work. Here is how I did it.
Step 1: Prepare your dough. This is some of the easiest dough I have ever made. You mix Masa flour,water and salt (if desired). If your dough is a little dry add more water, a little wet add more masa. Allow your dough to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Step 2: Roll your dough into about golf ball sized balls. Keep the ones that you are not preparing to roll covered so they don’t dry out.
Step 3. Take either a large sheet of parchment or 2 sheets of parchment to roll your dough ball out in between. You could use wax paper or saran wrap if desired but parchment was the easiest to work with. The dough doesn’t stick and the parchment can be reused multiple times without any fuss.
Don’t let not having a rolling pin keep you from trying this recipe. A wine bottle (or other round glass bottle) will work as a rolling pin in a pinch.
Step 4: Once you have rolled out something that is about the size of a corn tortilla take a plastic bowl and use it as a “cookie” cutter and cut out the tortilla. Yes, everyone a plastic cereal bowl that you can buy 4 for a $1 at Walmart or the Dollar Store makes for a perfect tortilla cutter.
Step 5: On medium- high heat cook each side of your tortilla for 30 seconds to one minute. I used an electric skillet but a good heavy skillet works just as well. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve. To save for later store in a ziploc bag.
They were seriously some of the best tortillas we have ever eaten! My husband told me that i’m not allowed to buy store bought tortillas anymore even. Yes, they are that awesome! Try them for yourself and see. No need to buy a tortilla press unless you really want to. As long as you have masa, parchment paper, a rolling pin and a plastic bowl you have everything that you need. So what are you waiting for? Are you ready to make homemade corn tortillas and taste the difference?
Corn Tortillas are easy to make, taste better and are cheaper than store bought tortillas.
Ingredients
1¾ cups masa harina
1⅛ cups water
¼ teaspoon salt (if desired)
Instructions
In a medium bowl, mix together masa harina and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add more masa harina; if it begins to dry out, sprinkle with water. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes.
Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-high.
Divide dough into 15 equal-size balls. Cover the dough balls to help retain moisture.
Take either a large sheet of parchment or 2 sheets of parchment to roll your dough ball out in between. Roll dough ball thinly until it is approximately 6-7 inches round.
Once you have rolled your dough take a plastic bowl and use it as a "cookie" cutter and cut out the tortilla
Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until lightly browned and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for approximately 30 seconds more, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve.
If I had to pick one type of food to eat the rest of my life I could pretty easily say, Mexican food. Living in El Paso really spoiled me when it comes to Mexican Food. I am a Mexican Food snob. Yes, I know there are different styles from the different regions and I am good with that, well, as long as the food is tasty. I would even be tempted to go back to eating gluten for the fresh made tortillas from Vista Market. Heck, just give me some of their tamales and a strawberry Jarritos and i’m good. Seriously, it is one of the only soda’s I will drink.
I live in North Carolina now though and we have tried several Mexican restaurants and while we have found a couple that were ok nothing has really wowed us. Thankfully I can make some pretty good Mexican dishes and I am always keeping my eye out for new dishes. One of the recipes I tried recently was for Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos.
The recipe had me at Slow Cooker. My crock pot is one of my favorite time savers for busy nights. When my kids were in track we ate crock pot meals on a nightly basis. In my opinion it is so much better to put something in the crockpot for dinner than to stop and get fast food on the way home.
This recipe had an interesting twist to the “normal” crock pot recipes. It was roasting a whole chicken in the crockpot while resting on top of aluminum foil balls. I had cooked whole chicken in the crockpot before but never using the foil ball method. I was intrigued with how it would turn out. So I stuffed the cavity with limes and simply seasoned with seasoned salt and fresh garlic. The original recipe called for wine also but I skipped that part. Chicken broth is often substituted for wine and I knew that cooking in a slow cooker would produce enough juices that extra liquid wouldn’t be needed, and it wasn’t. The end result was a juicy falling apart chicken. The chicken skin was just missing the typical roasted crispness but I was ok with that. I wasn’t cooking it for the skin but the chicken meat to make a family favorite,tacos! All that was left for me to do was shred the chicken and serve. I kept the cilantro on the side instead of mixing in just in case some of my family members decided to be on team no cilantro. I know some people love cilantro while others hate it. Cilantro love and hate is something that has been studied for years like in this article. My family usually loves it but kids can be picky for no reason.
With lime wedges on the side my family ate their chicken tacos and loved them and asked me to make them again the next night. If I do say so myself they were pretty tasty and will be a welcome addition to our dinner rotation.
What type of food is your favorite?
Do you use your crock pot? What do you use it for?
Put aluminum foil balls in the bottom of a slow cooker crock.
Season chicken with seasoned salt. Rub half the garlic on the inside surfaces of the chicken's cavity and leave them inside. Squeeze 8 lime quarters into the cavity; drop the squeezed quarters into the cavity. Place the chicken atop the foil balls. Squeeze 8 more lime quarters over the outside of the chicken; drop squeezed lime quarters into the bottom of the crock. Rub remaining garlic over the outside of the chicken and put garlic in the bottom of the crock. Pour white wine into the crock.
Cook on Low until the chicken meat pulls apart easily, 5 to 6 hours.
Remove chicken to a cutting board. Remove meat from bones and shred completely. Serve chicken on warmed tortillas with cilantro for topping and lime wedge.
I love to eat Mexican food and for the longest time I was afraid to make Enchiladas. Then one day I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com and tried it out. True to form, not entirely following the recipe. I had to add my own little touches. The enchilada’s I made were awesome and became a regular in our house. Every time I made the enchiladas I would do something different and now they are almost completely from scratch.
Chicken Enchiladas
2lbs (approx.3 boneless skinless chicken breast) cooked and shredded
2TB butter
1 small onion,diced
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno’s (seeded if desired to control the heat)
1 red pepper,diced
1 can diced green chili’s
8oz pepperjack cheese, diced
1/3cup flour
2 cups milk
10 tortillas (I used whole wheat)
cilantro (optional for the cilantro haters out there)
black pepper, fresh ground to taste
2 cups of cheddar or Mexican cheese, shredded (optional)
For the chicken you can use rotisserie chicken from the store or bake it or grill it. I prefer to boil it as follows:
2lbs chicken breast
8 cups water
sliced onion
1t red pepper flakes
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
boil chicken until done/no longer pink inside. Set aside chicken and onions to cool, to shred for later.
Directions
Step 1
in frying pan melt 2TB butter and add onion, garlic, red pepper,green chili’s, and jalepenos. Cook until Onions are transluscent and pepper’s are soft.
Step 2
Add milk and flour (I use a tupperware quick shake) and diced pepperjack cheese. This will make a creamy cheese sauce. Add cilantro if desired and fresh ground black pepper, to taste.
Step 3
Take shredded chicken and mix with 1 cup of sauce mixture and mix well. Place 1/4-1/2cup mixture in middle of tortilla and roll .
Step 4
Once all tortilla’s are rolled pour creamy cheese and veggie sauce over tortilla’s. If desired cover with shredded cheese.
Step 5
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
Voila there you go almost completely scratch made enchiladas… You could go that extra mile and make your own homemade tortilla’s and use fresh green chili’s but that is up to you. With 4 kids i’ll stick to the premade tortilla’s and my Hatch green chili’s
