mexican - Around My Family Table

Street Tacos

July 6, 2012 · by amft · 10 Comments

We love grilling out and love Mexican food. My newest obsession in the Mexican food world are street tacos. I order them everywhere I go and then compare them to each other….yes, I am that geeky. And yes, hubbyman gets tired of hearing me talk about them; however, he adds fuel to the fire when he finds a new place that sells them.

So these aren’t true street tacos because I used a little bit larger tortilla which is an uncooked tortilla by my favorite company, TortillaLand…I just couldn’t bring myself to buy a different brand. I’ve become so addicted to them. Have you tried an uncooked tortilla yet? Trust me…you won’t go back to regular tortillas. These only have 5 ingredients…and you would find it all in your pantry!

I ended up turning some of the meat into burritos for the kids. For some reason, they thought “street tacos” sounded yucky. However, I put all the same stuff plus refried beans into the burrito and they ate it happily! Go figure! Please note: if you cut the meat for street tacos then it does not really matter which way you cut it. However, if you are cutting it for strips in a burrito or fajitas, then you must cut it against the grain.

Street Tacos

2 lbs flank steaks or 2 lbs skirt steaks, trimmed of excess fat

8 (taco sized) uncooked flour tortillas, cooked according to package

crumbled queso fresco (or shredded monterey jack cheese)

2 limes, cut into wedges

pico de gallo

Marinade:

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapenos, minced

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 tsp kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

3 small limes, juice of

3 oranges, juice of

2 tbls white vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine marinade in a large ziptop baggie (note: if you have a good blender or food processor feel free to use it to combine ingredients instead of chopping). Add steak to baggie and refrigerate at least 1 hour, but no more than 8 hours.

Prepare grill with a medium-high heat. Remove steak from marinade and season both sides with a little additional salt and pepper. Grill over direct heat for 10-15 minutes for a medium consistency. Remove from heat and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.

Cut against the grain in to strips or into bite sized pieces. Serve as tacos, burritos, or fajitas with queso fresco, limes, refried beans and pico de gallo.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2012/07/street-tacos/

Disclaimer: TortillaLand send me a box of tortillas, but they came while I was out town…so they spoiled. I honestly LOVE these tortillas and really do use them, so lucky me I had some in the fridge already. Honestly, my family gets upset if I buy a different brand now. LOL!

Filed Under: beef, cinco de mayo, grilling, main dishes · Tagged: beef, grilling, mexican, tacos

Cinco de Mayo Ideas

May 2, 2012 · by amft · 6 Comments

Cinco de Mayo is coming up on Saturday, so I wanted to share some of my posts from the last year that would make a great addition to your menu for Saturday! Enjoy these easy Cinco de Mayo Ideas!

Amazing Key Lime Pie

Fry Your Own Tostadas!

Mexican Lasagna Casserole

Pollo Asado

Breakfast Nachos

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

And if that’s not enough, check out my Cinco de Mayo post from last year!!! There are 7 more recipes listed there.

Filed Under: cinco de mayo, holidays and activities · Tagged: cinco de mayo, mexican

Kids in the Kitchen: Easy Cheese Enchiladas

July 8, 2011 · by amft · 9 Comments

I can’t believe I didn’t realize that last Friday was really the 1st Friday of the month. I got so excited to share our 4th of July picnic with y’all that I just totally spaced this.

This month’s KITK is from my sister. She is an awesome cook and is teaching her children well. Isaac, who recently turned 7, actually makes these enchiladas all by himself. I wish my daughter was at this stage, but she has a few more lessons in the kitchen before she can do this all by herself.

Want to feature your family and a family recipe? Send me an email to schedule a time….aroundmyfamilytable (at) gmail (dot) com.

Easy Cheese Enchiladas

10 corn tortillas
1 lb ground turkey, beef, or left over chicken
shredded cheese
1 large can (19 oz) enchilada sauce (or 2 small)
dehydrated onion
green chiles (opt)

Brown the turkey with a handful of dehydrated onion and green chilies. Mix in half of the enchilada sauce. Cut 3 torillas in half and line flat edges on the sides of a casserole. Fill in the center with 2 more tortillas and spread the meat mixture on top. Add as much shredded cheese as you’d like. Add the remaining tortillas in the same configuration with 3 cut in half lining the sides and 2 filling in the center. Spread the remaining sauce on top covering the toritalls completely and top with a little extra cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 or until cheese in completely melted.

Teachable Moments: oven/stove safety, hygiene, knife skills, creativity

Kids in the Kitchen is a monthly feature on the first Friday of the Month.
Want to check out the previous KITK posts?

BBQ Chicken Bites
Canning Jam
Irish Soda Bread

Filed Under: kid friendly, kids in the kitchen, main dishes, vegetarian · Tagged: cheese, kids, KITK, mexican, supper

Yummy Chicken Salad with Grapes

July 4, 2011 · by amft · 7 Comments

Happy 4th of July! If you missed my posts last week, I shared some of my favorite picnic dishes which would be perfect for your party or picnic today!

- Patriotic Fruit Kabobs
-Classic Mustard Potato Salad
-Roasted Sticky Chicken

I always make this chicken salad with leftover chicken. It’s so easy and the best chicken salad I’ve ever had. I made my Roasted Sticky Chicken recently, so I had to make this with the leftovers to share with y’all. You can use any type of bread, the kids usually prefer a 9-grain bread, but hubbyman and I usually splurge and use croissants. YUM!

Chicken Salad with Grapes

3 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 ½ cups seedless red grapes, halved
1 cup chopped pecans
1 small minced onion
1/2 tsp salt
1 ½ tsps Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup mayonnaise

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill until ready to serve. Awesome for sandwiches or even for dipping with crackers.

*I love adding some cheddar cheese and spinach to my sandwich!

Filed Under: main dishes, picnics, poultry · Tagged: chicken, holiday, leftovers, make ahead, mexican, salad, sandwiches

Fry Your Own Tostadas!

June 21, 2011 · by amft · 6 Comments

Y’all know already how much I love Mexican and Tex-Mex food! But I hate pre-made taco and tostada shells. They pretty much taste like cardboard to me. So many, many years ago I set out to start frying my own from regular corn tortillas. I do try to make my flour tortillas from scratch, but I haven’t tried to make corn tortillas from scratch yet. So I just use regular store bought tortillas.

Frying them is so quick and easy that I don’t know you’d want to buy the pre-made ones. The only thing you have to watch out for is the occasional hot grease splatters, but they are few and far between. And wear an apron to protect your clothes.

How to Fry Your Own Tostadas!

oil (veg, corn, or canola)
corn tortillas

In a small to medium fry pan add a layer of oil up to about 1/2 inch deep. Heat on medium high until hot, but not too the smoking point (that would be way to hot).

Test that the oil is hot by placing one end of the tortilla in the oil, you should see a bunch of tiny bubbles form. If it’s hot enough, slowly add in the rest of the tortilla. Poke down the tortilla (and any bubbles that form in the tortilla) into the oil using long tongs. Be gentle and patient. When you notice that you can pick up the tortilla without it bending, carefully flip it over. Continue pushing it down. The tostada is done when the center is hard and no longer gives. The color will darken as it cools, so don’t worry about it not getting dark enough. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Use this same technique to make taco shells, but instead of letting the first side get hard fold it in half after about 30 seconds of frying. The longer each of the folded sides is in the oil, the harder the taco shell will be. Warning: don’t let it go too long or your shell will be impossible to open up when it’s time to stuff it.

Tostada Toppings: Refried Beans, Shredded Beef, Chicken, Salsa, cheese, sour cream, Rice, ground beef etc.

Filed Under: beef, cinco de mayo, holidays and activities, how to, main dishes, vegetarian · Tagged: mexican, supper

Guiltless Beef Chimichangas

June 14, 2011 · by amft · 12 Comments

I totally stole this idea from my sister, so I can’t take all the credit. Although she didn’t give me her recipe, I think these turned out great. These chimichangas are guiltless because they skip the oil bath and opt for a quick roll in the oven. My guess is that you won’t even miss the frying and all the clean up that goes with it.

Guiltless Beef Chimichangas

1 lb ground beef
2 tbls taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
6 burrito size tortillas
2 cups Spanish Rice
nonstick cooking spray
enchilada sauce, cheese, lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream (opt)

Preheat oven to 375. Brown ground beef in a large pan over medium-high heat. Drain grease from beef. Add in taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Spray an 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Inside each tortilla place about 1/3 cup of meat and 1/4 cup of rice. Fold in both ends of tortilla and then roll up like a burrito. Place seem side down into pan. Spray tops of chimis with nonstick cooking spray. Place dish in the oven and bake for about 1o minutes. Remove from oven and add a little enchilada sauce and cheese. Place back into oven to melt the cheese. Top cooling chimichangas with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and sour cream.

**If you want super crispy chimis…place under a hot broiler and flip after several minutes. Watch ‘em closely so they don’t burn.**

**Feel free to use other ingredients: shredded beef, shredded chicken, refried beans, cheese, etc.**

Filed Under: beef, main dishes · Tagged: beef, mexican, supper

Chicken Fajita Seasoning

June 7, 2011 · by amft · 6 Comments

Don’t forget about my wonderful giveaways going on….here is a link to the whole list.

I love making my own version of packet seasonings because I can control the quality of the ingredients and the amount of salt. I decided I would make chicken fajitas while we were camping. I knew this would be super easy and tasty too.

When preparing for a camping trip, prepare little meal packets. Keep everything for the meal packaged in separate ziptop baggies and then put all the little baggies into one large bag. Make sure to write your cooking instructions on one of the inside baggies. This way, it’s easy to grab what you need and you won’t forget to bring an important part of your meal….not that I would know anything about that. LOL!

Chicken Fajita Seasoning

2 tbls chili powder
1 tbl salt
1 tbl paprika
1 tbl sugar
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried minced garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cumin

Combine all the spices in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container. Use approximately 2 tablespoons per pound of meat.

To use: Rub directly on sliced fajita meat. Cook meat and serve with tortillas, cheese, sour cream, salsa, and sauteed onions/peppers. A squeeze of fresh lime would have been really nice!

Hanging out while I cook!

Filed Under: camping, main dishes, mixes, poultry, sauces/mixes · Tagged: camping, chicken, grilling, mexican, scratch, supper

Taco Rice

May 24, 2011 · by amft · 9 Comments

With this economy, elaborate meals with fancy ingredients aren’t always in my budget. I am also super busy with the kids and sometimes can’t always make it to the supermarket every week. So I like to have a few budget meals and/or pantry meals ready for busy days, times when money is tight, or just because it’s nice to have an easy quick stand by meal.

So, the rest of this week, I am highlighting a few of my family’s favorite budget meals. What kind of budget meals does your family like? Do you have any pantry meals that you keep on hand?

Taco Rice

1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups water
2 tsps of a taco seasoning packet (or 2 tsps homemade taco seasoning)
1 can Rotel (tomatoes and green chiles)
1 small onion, finely chopped
tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, black beans

Combine rice, water, taco seasoning, Rotel, and onion in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to med-low. Continue to cook for about 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed and rice is tender.

Stir in a can of drained black beans, if desired. Serve with tortillas, cheese, and sour cream.

Filed Under: grains, side dishes · Tagged: budget, mexican, rice, supper

Cinco de Mayo Ideas

May 4, 2011 · by amft · 20 Comments

We live in the Southwest, so tend to eat a ton of Mexican and Tex-Mex around our house. So, come Cinco de Mayo, I always make some sort of Mexican or Tex-Mex meal just because it’s fun and a reason to celebrate. As you’ve probably already noticed, I’ve shared a ton of these types of dishes over the past months.

Instead of a new recipe, I’m just going to revisit some of my favorites. Looking for more Cinco de Mayo ideas…check out Cinco de Mayo Ideas 2 post.

Mexi-Cali Meat Burritos