Beef Carnitas Tacos

Who needs a restaurant!? I make these all the time and they are easy, quick, and so good!

I like to get handmade tortillas from a little shop in Pittsburgh, Reyna Foods. However, if you can't get your hands on fresh corn tortillas, store bought will do just fine.

Ingredients:
2 pounds lean stew beef
1 14oz can beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 orange wedge

Place all of the ingredients into a large pot with tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to a low simmer and cook until meat is tender and can be easily shredded with a fork - about 1.5 hours.

Alternate method #1 (how I do it):
Place all ingredients into a pressure cooker and allow to cook about 45 minutes. Turn off heat and let cooker sit until it has depressurized - about 15 minutes. Shred meat with fork.

Alternate method #2:
Place all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

Serve with shredded cheese, guacamole, pico di gallo, etc.

Queso Chicken "Burrito" Bowl

I'm a huge fan of Mexican food - not such a big fan of burritos. Actually, I like what's in burritos, it's just the wrapping that I can do without. So here is my Qdoba rip-off of the queso chicken burrito bowl.

1) Prepare the chicken:

- cut skinless, boneless chicken breast into cubes

- simmer in 2 cups of chicken broth and adobo sauce until chicken is cooked through

- Set aside

2) Prepare the rice:

- Cook one cup of white rice per package directions

- Stir in chopped cilantro and juice of 1/2 lime

- Set aside

Other ingredients you will need:

- one can of black beans, heated in their own liquid

- one cup of guacamole

- Pace 4-Cheese Queso Dip

- pico di gallo (diced tomatoes/onions/cilantro/lime juice)

- tortilla chips

- sour cream

- shredded cheddar cheese

In a shallow bowl, layer the items in order of - rice, beans, chicken, queso, pico di gallo, guacamole, sour cream.

Sprinkle tortilla chips around the perimeter of the bowl and drizzle some more queso.

Steak Fajitas

This is one of our favorite quick-fix meals. Plus it's perfect for that flank-steak that you have no idea what to do with!

I took a flank steak and used a dry rub all over it. My favorite is Saltgrass 7, which is a mixture of coarse salt, pepper, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Then the steak is grilled to 'medium'. Allow to rest for a few minutes and then slice it as thin as you can with a very sharp knife!

I top mine with my homemade guacamole, sour cream and cheese. Sometimes I'll add salsa, too.

Guacamole
2 ripe avocados
juice of 1 lime
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of diced tomatoes
salt/pepper

Remove the flesh of the avocados and mash with a fork. Add the lime juice and salt and mash into a paste. Stir in the garlic and tomatoes.

Red Chile-Cheese Enchiladas

When I saw this in the December issue of Cooking Light, I had to make it! I added shredded chicken to mine, just because it seemed kinda boring without it. I topped it with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream....as I always do with enchiladas. I think next time I'll also add in the Fiesta Rice too! Of course, my photos aren't nearly as pretty and neat as in the magazine!

Recipe Link: Red Chile-Cheese Enchiliadas

Chicken Enchiladas with Poblano Cream Sauce

Back in graduate school, a girl I used to know made this for us for dinner a couple of times. The sauce was her mom's recipe and she was never able to give me a copy. It was one of my favorite mexican dishes and I've been craving it for about 8 years now! I found this and thought it was very close to what I had in grad school. Maybe after a few practice rounds, I can get it just right!

Ingredients:

* 3-4 poblano chiles, seeded and chopped

*1 clove of garlic

* 1/2 cup milk

* 4 tablespoons butter

* 1 tablespoon flour

* 1 cup Mexican crema or heavy cream

* salt to taste

* 2 whole chicken breasts, cut in half

* 1 cup grated manchego, jack or gouda cheese

Preparation:

Puree the chiles and garlic in a blender with the milk until smooth.

In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter, add the flour and brown lightly.

Add the chile puree, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or a wire whisk until smooth. Lower the heat, add the cream, and stir constantly until the sauce begins to bubble. Remove from heat and add salt to taste. This sauce may be made one day ahead and refrigerated.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and saute chicken breast halves for 4 minutes on each side. Place them in a buttered baking dish, pour the poblano cream sauce over all bake, uncovered, in a preheated oven at 350º for 20 minutes.

Shred the chicken with two forks.

I served this rolled up inside a lightly fried tortilla with the cheese and topped with homemade guacamole and sour cream.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

So, yes, I broke down and tried this one as well! It's such a "staple" on the What's Cooking board, plus it looked so easy and yummy that I had to try it. Josh is always after me to make chicken enchiladas and this seemed very similar but way easier. Plus at 157 calories per serving, it's perfect for a low-calorie diet but super-filling!

The original recipe is from http://www.sparkrecipes.com/ and can be found here...Crockpot Salsa Chicken. We had this on tortillas with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese.

Fiesta Rice

This recipe is from Cooking Light. It's great as a side, inside burritos, and an alternative filling for quesadillas.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup chopped green onions

1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dash of salt

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with chiles, undrained

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add corn to pan; cook 10 minutes or until corn starts to brown, stirring occasionally.

Remove from pan. Set aside.

Melt butter in pan. Add onions; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, cumin, and garlic; cook 1 minute.
Add chicken broth, black pepper, salt, and diced tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat; stir in reserved corn and beans. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 226(16% from fat); FAT 3.9g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 6.6g; CHOLESTEROL 4mg; CALCIUM 52mg; SODIUM 354mg; FIBER 4.9g; IRON 2.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.5g