beans

Taco Lasagna & Pico De Gallo....

1:47 PM


With my mom being from Texas, migrating to Mississippi after she was married, my family grew up on Tex-Mex and Mexican inspired dishes.  It is my mom's favorite type of foods and it will always make her happy to cook her something that is Mexican or Spanish.

I remember when I was still a newly wed and did not know how to cook well nor have the patience, Old  El Paso came out with a box meal called "Soft Taco Bake".  I tried it and it was a hit with my family. It is a layered soft taco dish, basically.

This recipe is my take on it, I have tweaked it a bit and I do not use the box, but everything I use makes this super easy to prepare for your family.

You will need:

2.5 pounds of ground beef
2 packets of taco seasoning (or prepare your own)
1 can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 large can of refried beans
2 jars of Queso Dip
8 flour tortillas
2 8 inch cake pans
cooking spray

For the Pico De Gallo:
1 fresh whole jalapeno
1/4 sweet onion
half lime
1 tsp salt
2 tsp italian seasoning 
1/2 diced tomato


Cook your ground beef as you normally would, stirring as it browns to create small crumbles. Drain grease and add in one packet of taco seasoning, cooking until seasoning is blended.  Add the beef to a large bowl, then add can of fire roasted tomatoes, and the second seasoning packet. Mix well. 



In cake pan, spray with non stick cooking spray and then begin layering with flour tortilla.  Spoon a nice heap of refried beans into the center, spreading outwards until evenly covering the tortilla.


Add your beef mixture.



Now  pour and spread a nice amount of the queso dip. Add another flour tortilla and continue upward for one more layering of each.


Top the last tortilla with shredded cheese and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.


Remove from oven and allow to cool. This is like lasagna...the more it sets, the easier and less messy it is to serve.


Pico de gallo is really easy.  Chop all of the ingredients and in a bowl, mix with the juice of a fresh lime, salt, italian seasoning.


See, easy. 


I topped my taco lasagna with sour cream, fresh pico de gallo and served with a simple salad. It was so good!




2017

It's Ya Birthday! Party on a Budget

11:52 PM



I have four kids. I am a single mama, divorced since 2007. 

Trying to come up with birthday ideas for my kids that are budget friendly that I can do on my own is tough. 



When my youngest turned thirteen this summer, I knew I had to make it special. At the time (and still to this day) I was obsessed with candy cakes....over the top cakes topped with anything you can find. I am no baker but I loved making her cake.




I opted for a simple taco bar. Easy enough, right? You cook your meats and everything else is pretty much prep. Yes, this was so easy.



This is a fabulous idea because, well, who doesn't love tacos? What kid hates candy? A win-win, right?

Right.



My kids and our guests loved it. Even though the cake fell on the back side, nothing was left. All food was eaten and we didn't know whether to pass out from food overload or be super hype from our sugar high.



This was one of my favorite parties to put together. Outside of the taco bar, we had an ice cream mini bar and the best part???? The best part was that it all cost me less than $100. I'm taking all the food, the Dollar Tree decorations and errthang....less than $100.



Tips for buying on a budget for a birthday party:

  • Check out your local dollar store. 
  • Dollar Stores have tons of candy for goody bags, candy bars, chips, drinks, and decorations. 
  • Clearance!
  • Tons of grocery stores and stores in general have clearance sections or baskets. Look at those clearance bins for candy or decorations for some awesome deals. I got all the toppings for the ice cream bar for 90 cents a bag.
  • Plan a simple menu but display it in a high end fashion.
  • Burgers, hotdogs, tacos, etc....display your food items on coordinating serving platters. It really makes a difference.
  • Be Creative!
  • Make decorations for inexpensive items.




I had hard taco shells, flour tortillas, and bags of doritoes that they could use to make their own Taco-in-a-Bag. Seriously, dudes, this was so good.






bbq

Pulled Pork Tacos & Chipotle BBQ Sauce

1:32 PM


Let's make it a taco night with these bad boys!  I invited some friends over and made some Mexican Street Corn and blackberry pies.....and these. It was just such a good dinner and a great time. Kick your taco game up a few notches and impress folks with these lovies.  I topped my tacos with red cabbage, queso fresco , chipotle bbq sauce and some pickled red onions. Oooooowweeeee. 




Chipotle BBQ Sauce

1 cup ketchup

2 slices of lemon

3 tbsp of chopped chipotles

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt


In a sauce pan on low heat, begin adding your ingredients. Squeeze the slices of lemon and then add the slices into the mixture. Stir well. Let cook for about 15 minutes and then remove from heat. Allow to cool and place into your container.


Pickled Red Onions
1 large red onion, sliced

1/2 cup of water

1 cup of apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp of sugar

Mix well and add in your slices of onion. Let the onions sit for at least 2 hours before serving. 



Grilled Pulled Pork

1 Pork Shoulder

8 tbsp of Creole Seasoning

4 tbsp of Tajin classic seasoning or Trechas Spicy Powder


Mix the dry ingredients together and using your hand, pat the dry mix all over the shoulder. Be generous. If you need more, add more! The idea is to coat the outside of the pork with a nice layer of seasoning.




Place your shoulder on a hot bbq grill, fat side up and allow to cook for 7 hours.




From the Food Network for cooking your shoulder in the oven: "Set the meat on a rack set into a roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 325 degrees F. Continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into theshoulder reads 185 degrees F, about 4 hours. Remove the pork from the oven and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes.




Once the pork is cooked, allow it to rest for about 30 minutes to an hour. Using your hand or two forks, begin separating the meat or "pulling" it into strands. Remove and discard the fat. (My mom likes to leave a bit of the fat inside the pulled meat for moisture as pork will dry quickly)




Corn Tortillas

2 cups masa harina

1 1/2 to 2 cups warm water

1 tsp salt




In bowl mix your ingredients together. The dough should begin having a consistency similiar to play dough. If it is too dry, add more water. Knead into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for 15-20 minutes. Separate the ball into 15 smaller balls. Place one of the dough balls in between two pieces of plastic wrap, roll flat. I used a bowl to 'cut' out my circle shape. You can use a tortilla press but I did not have one.




Place in skillet lightly greased with olive oil on medium-high heat and cook on both sides for a minute each. Remove from heat and serve warm.

beef

Easy Mexican Pizza....

9:19 AM




Back when I was in high school, our school was not far from our local Taco Bell. Seniors had the awesome privilege of being able to get off-campus lunch while the rest of us had to suck it up and deal with whatever the school cafeteria was serving (which of course, if it was Chicken Nugget day, we all did not mind not being able to leave campus for anything!). 

When I became a senior, I was over Chicken Nugget day and ready to express my upper-classman superiority by heading to Taco Bell every chance I got. It felt good walking back to school with a bag full of brown napkins, a million packets of fiery sauce and a good ol' Mexican Pizza. Yes, I was one of those people who got the exact same thing every time at a restaurant. I hated tomatoes but that Mexican Pizza was so good in all of it's processed mass produced glory.

I hardly ever go to Taco Bell anymore, but every now and again I think about those Mexican Pizzas...haven't had one since college, and I decided to make my own version. Super easy and using Ragu Double Cheddar sauce with a packet of taco seasoning, how can you go wrong with delicious, easy and quick!?





You will need:

Flour Tortillas (2 per pizza)
Refried Beans
2 boneless skinless chicken breast
or
2 pounds of ground beef
2 packets of taco seasoning
Lettuce
1 jar of Ragu Double Cheddar Sauce
2 tomatoes
Shredded Cheese

I made both chicken and beef versions for my family, but you can use either or.  Cook the chicken or beef as you normally would in a pan. (Once ground beef is done, drain grease and then add taco seasoning, mix well and set aside in bowl. Once chicken is halfway done--juices run clear-- remove from heat and begin to 'shred' by using two forks...one to hold chicken in place, the other to shred. Place shredded chicken in bowl and season with taco seasoning packet. Mix well.)

Place your flour tortillas in the oven at 250 degrees until lightly toasted. Prepare refried beans on top of the stove per directions. Chop your lettuce and tomatoes. I place everything in its own bowl for easy assembly.

In separate bowl, empty your jar of Ragu Double Cheddar sauce and add in taco seasoning. I use 1/2  a packet of seasoning since I like a lighter queso flavor. Mix well.


Spread beans on tortilla evenly, top with meat then sprinkle with cheese. Add the top tortilla. Spread the cheese sauce and then top with lettuce and tomato.

And there you have it. That is it. This would make a perfect build your own Mexican Pizza night for the kids and family. Everyone can assemble their own and you can add bowls with corn, black beans, red peppers, etc so that each pizza can be customized. 








bake

Easiest No Bake Taco Casserole Ever...

7:08 PM


I am busy working on new recipes so here is a repost of one of my family's favorites!


Having four kids, a photography business and being in school, dinner sometimes means being able to whip something up in a heartbeat. I am always looking for quick and easy meals on those days when I am just too pressed for time. I mean, not everyday can I be super mom, but I still have to be 'mom'.

This seriously is the easiest taco casserole ever. Easy peasy pudding pie.

You need:
Cheese tortilla chips (Doritos)
Ground beef
1 jar of salsa
Refried Beans
Taco Seasoning
Shredded Lettuce
Cheese


In a skillet, brown your ground beef. Drain the grease and add in one packet of taco seasoning per 2 pounds of beef and salsa. Mix well.

In a casserole dish, layer your chips.

Heat your refried beans in the microwave and layer onto the chips. Add lettuce. Top with beef and then cheese.

Seriously, easy, right? Serve fresh and hot. The beef will help melt the cheese.

No bake. Fast. Tasty and your kids will love it. Mine did!




appetizer

Super Bowl Recipe Round Up

7:09 AM


All across America, Super Bowl Sunday means, family, friends, football, bets, belly busting funny commercials and of course, good food. Chicken wings, hot dogs, pizza, burgers, dips and tons of sweets. I love this time of year, coming up with different recipes and ideas that my guests usually don't get to try. Here are some really awesome recipes that will make your guests' tastebuds tingle.

What's on your menu?


Bacon Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

Taco Wontons

BLT Dip

And if you are in the mood for burgers a mini version of this bad boy is truly dee-friggin-licious!
Best Burger Ever

Dressed Up hot Dogs




ground beef

Tacos...

4:31 PM


My mother is a Mississippian by way of Texas.  Even though she has been in Mississippi longer than she ever was in Texas, she still considers herself a 'Hook 'em Horns-Everything-is-Big-Texas gal. Born and raised there, if you ask her what her favorite food is, she will say, "Anything Mexican". Growing up in a town with a ton of Mexican influence, she loves everything South of the Border. One of favorites is tacos. Of course we do the premade taco shells but seriously warming and frying up your own is so much better and tastes wayyyyy better. Tonight, we had tacos, done three ways. Steak, ground beef and shredded chicken.

It was the first time I actually made my own ground beef using sirloin steak and my oh my, I will not be going back to prepackaged ground beef any time soon. 


When it comes to making tacos, it is fine to experiment. Step outside your ground beef box and try different toppings and meats.

Steak is perfect on freshly lightly fried corn tortillas and chicken shredded and seasoned with taco mix and rotel tomatoes is so good.

Here are some ideas:

Instead of your regular shredded cheese try crumbling Queso Fresco, a Mexican cheese, on top of your tacos. The texture is divine and the cheese itself is very light in taste.

Chop up some chipotle peppers and add them into your meat mixture for a nice smoky flavor and a little spicy kick.

Add a half a can of rotel tomato or salsa to your taco meat mixture for texture and  taste.

Serve your chicken or steak tacos with a wedge of lime and be prepared to have your tastebuds dancing.

Fresh slices of avocado are perfect on top of tacos.

Instead of lettuce, shred purple/red cabbage for crunch and taste. It does not get soggy like regular lettuce and tastes so good!

Making fresh pico de gallo is so good. The lime infused onions, peppers and tomato are perfect toppings for tacos. Check out my recipe here for it.








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Divian Conner