Garlic Shrimp Tacos

Looking for an easy, quick dinner?  This one takes less than 15 minutes, start to finish.  It features shrimp, which cook in mere minutes.  That being said, make sure all your prep is ready before you put them in the pan.

Here's what you'll need:
1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP olive oil
1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt and pepper
2 TBSP minced garlic, about 6 cloves
juice of 2 limes
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro
flour tortillas, to serve
salsa, sour cream and minced jalapenos, to serve

Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the shrimp to the hot skillet.  Turn when they begin to turn pink, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the lime juice and garlic.  Cook until shrimp are completely pink, about 2 minutes more.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.

Serve immediately on flour tortillas with sour cream, salsa and jalapenos.  Makes 4 tacos.

Enjoy!

Posole-inspired Stewed Chicken

The hubby and I have made several trips to Mexico, where we discovered some very tasty food.  I like to recreate many of the things we've eaten, and have never met a recipe I can't make, tho I often alter them to suit my family's tastes.

Posole is typically a chicken soup made with tomatillos, green chiles and hominy.  My husband's not a fan of hominy, so I substituted sweet corn I got at the farmer's market.  I also wanted it to be less of a soup and more like a thick sauce over the meat.  The result is thick, sweet and a bit spicy.

Here's what you'll need:
1 chicken, cut into 8 or 1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 lb tomatillos, quartered
4 poblano peppers, stems removed & cut in half
1 jalapeno, stem removed
1 bunch green onions, white and light green parts only
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch cilantro
1 - 1 1/2 c water or chicken stock
juice of 2 limes
1 tsp salt
2 ears sweet corn

Preheat oven to 400.

Arrange the tomatillos, peppers, onions and garlic on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake until the tomatillos break down, about 20 minutes.

Using a gas burner or grill, char the 2 ears of corn.

Turn when they show color, until evenly charred.  Remove from heat.

When cool enough to handle, slice the kernels from the ears with a sharp knife.  Set aside.

Heat about 1 TBSP olive oil in a large skillet.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and cumin.  Quickly sear them in the skillet, about 1 minute on each side.  Remove from the heat.

When the vegetables are done transfer them to a blender or food processor.  Add the cilantro and 1 c water.

Pulse until the mixture is smooth, adding enough remaining water to make a sauce.  Stir in the lime juice and salt.

Pour the sauce over the chicken in the skillet.

Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer.  Cover and let cook about an hour, until the sauce thickens and reduces.

Stir in the corn kernels.

Bring back to a boil.  Cook 1-2 minutes, until the corn is warmed through.

Serve with steamed rice or warmed tortillas.

Enjoy!

Salsa Verde

My salsa garden has been exploding this year!  I've been making all sorts of red tomato-based salsas, and they're all delicious.  But sometimes I like a change, and salsa Verde is the just  the thing.  I found some gorgeous poblano peppers at the local farm market this morning, so it was the perfect day for this.  It doesn't get much fresher than this.

Here's what you'll need:
2 lbs tomatillos, husk removed, quartered
3 qt poblano peppers (about 20)
5 jalapeno peppers
1 onion, roughly chopped
6-8 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 LARGE bunch cilantro
1 can vegetable broth
juice of 5 limes
1 TBSP salt

Preheat oven to 400.
Arrange the cut tomatillos on a sheet pan.  Lightly drizzle with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Arrange the peppers, onion and garlic on another sheet tray.  Drizzle with olive oil' sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake the tomatillos until they are soft and begin to break down, about 20 minutes.

Roast the peppers until they are charred and soft.  Remove some of the charred skin and the seeds from the peppers.

Transfer the tomatillos to a blender.  Pulse until mostly smooth, adding lime juice as needed.

Repeat the blending process with the peppers, onion, garlic and cilantro adding vegetable stock, as needed, to process the peppers.

Pour all the blended into a large pot.  Stir in the salt.

 Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce to a simmer and cook 5 minutes.

At this point, I used a hot water process to can my salsa.  It's also ready to eat, as is, or it freezes well in zip top bags.  Makes about 10 cups.

Enjoy!

Carnitas Redo: Quesadillas al Pastor

I made carnitas the other day and, oddly, had some left over.  I didn't want to have the exact same meal again, so I decided quesadillas would be a great way to reshape that dinner.  It was fast. It was easy.  It was delicious!

Here's what you'll need:
8 taco-sized flour tortillas
about 2 cups shredded carnitas, or roast pork
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (mine was smoked)
1 c diced pineapple (I used fresh)

Divide meat among 4 of the tortillas.

Top with the pineapple.

Sprinkle cheese evenly over the top.

Transfer to a preheated griddle.  Top with remaining 4 tortillas.

Cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat, until the tortilla begins to brown.  Turn.

Cook another 3-4 minutes, until browned and the cheese is melted.

Cut into wedges.  Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Enjoy!

Carnitas

Carnitas is pork that has been marinated in chiles and then braised in the broth for many hours.  The taste is rich and smoky, and the meat's fork-tender.  It's delicious served with warmed tortillas or over a bed of rice.
For all you food purists out there, this is not the authentic recipe, this is my version.

Here's what you'll need:

3-4 dried Guajillo peppers
boiling water or chicken stock
The juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
1 lb pork loin or chops, cut into 1 inch chunks
1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
flour tortillas, salsa or Mojo and sour cream, for serving

Guajillo chiles are smoky and not too spicy.  They give a ton of flavor without burning up your taste buds.  I bought this big bag at Walmart.  You can also get it at international grocery stores.

Break the stem off the peppers and put them in a bowl, breaking them to fit.

Add enough boiling water or broth to completely cover the peppers (about 2 cups).  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool to room temperature.

When cool, pour the softened peppers and their liquid into a blender.  Pulse until smooth.

Add the lemon juice and salt, then pulse until well-blended.

Put the pork cubes into a shallow dish and pour the pepper mix over it, stirring to coal it all.

Cover and refrigerate 2-8 hours.

Get a cast iron skillet or dutch oven screaming hot.

Add the oil.  When it just begins to smoke, add the pork cubes, turning to sear all sides.  Cover.  Place the skillet in a 350* oven.  Bake until the pork easily breaks apart with a fork.

Serve with warm flour tortillas (or rice), salsa or mojo and sour cream.

Enjoy!

Mojo

I recently spent a week down at my daughter's while she had and recovered from surgery.  Her boyfriend is a bit of a foodie (Major understatement!) and cooks things I've never tasted before.  One night, he was making us Cuban sandwiches and I was tasked with making the mojo.  Mojo is a condiment Cubans use like we use ketchup.

We trolled the recipe sites looking for a suitable mojo, and settled on one that had only 4 ingredients.  I was garlicky and delicious!  But I felt it was missing a little something, so when I re-created it here at home, I added a bunch of cilantro, fresh from the garden.  Not only did it give the mojo a more pleasing color, it really added a flavor boost.

Here's what you'll need:
1/2 c olive oil
10 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 c sour orange juice (or equal parts lime and orange juice)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 small bunch cilantro

Combine the oil and the garlic in a small saucepan.  Over low heat, simmer the garlic just until fragrant.  DO NOT allow it to brown, or it can become bitter very quickly.

Add the juice to the pot.  It may splatter a bit, so stand back.  Bring to a boil.  Cook 1 minute.

Remove from heat.  Stir in the cumin and cilantro.

Allow to sit, at room temp, until completely cooled.

Pour the cooled sauce into a blender and pulse until smooth.

Pour into an airtight container and store in the fridge for one week, or in the freezer up to one month.

Enjoy!