mexican street tacos (carne asada)

 

My son said they were "fire".  Or was it "gas"?  Either way,  I'll take it!

mexican street tacos (damndelicious)

2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/2 pounds skirt steak, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

mini corn or flour tortillas, warmed

3/4 cup diced red onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 lime, cut into wedges

In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, cumin and oregano.

Add steak and marinate for at least 1 hour up to 4 hours, turning the bag occasionally.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add marinated steak and cook, stirring often, until steak has browned and marinade has rediced about 5-6 minutes or until desired doneness.

Serve steak in tortillas, topped with onion, lime and cilantro (I combined the onion, lime and cilantro with some diced tomatoes).

easy vegan cabbage roll soup

 

I made this soup for my vegan daughter and froze small portions for her to have on hand.  She texted me, "Wow that was definitely the best vegan soup I've ever ever had!!!  Thank you very much it was super yummy!!"  I'll be making it again for her.

easy vegan cabbage roll soup (adapted from it doesn't taste like chicken)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound green cabbage, chopped into bite-sized pieces (5 cups)

6 cups vegan beefless broth or vegetable broth

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

3/4 cup uncooked basmati rice (I used 1 (15 ounce) can white beans)

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 bay leaf

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup vegan beef crumbles

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped for garnish

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the carrots, onion, and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes until the onions have turned translucent and begin to brown.

Stir in the cabbage, 6 cups of broth, crushed tomatoes, rice, and all the spices. 

Add the vegan beef crumbles.

Bring the soup to a simmer and cook stirring as needed, for about 25 minutes or until the rice (I used beans) and cabbage are tender.

Serve hot with fresh parsley.

no bake chocolate cheesecake

 

Our sweet neighbor and her daughter delivered a slice of chocolate cheesecake to daughter #3 who LOVES Oreos (the crust is made from Oreos).  It was of course delicious and I want to make it sometime.

This recipe had me at no bake.

no bake chocolate cheesecake (my friend and neighbor jenny)

18-20 Oreo cookies- blend in food processor until crumbs

6 tablespoons, melted- add to Oreo crumbs and blend until combined

Press Oreo mixture into a 12" springform pan.  Freeze for 30 minutes.

filling

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup whipping cream- whisk until soft peaks form

Mix cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla and salt to cream cheese and mix until well combined.  Add melted chocolate chips and mix well.  Gently fold in whipped cream.  Pour mixture over frozen crust.  Spread evenly.  Refrigerate overnight or until set.

topping

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons whipping cream

Heat chocolate chips and whipping cream in a glass bowl in the microwave.  Stir after 1 minute.  Continue to heat until it is fully blended and mixed together.   Pour over top of cooled cheesecake.  Refrigerate 1 hour.  After the cake is cooled, slide a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen.  Open springform pan and slice.  Top with berries if desired.

thai chicken soup

This soup is so simple yet so very good.  It was to good I plan to use red curry paste just to test the difference.

thai chicken soup (adapted from food network)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons green curry paste

6 cups chicken broth

1 (15 ounce) can coconut milk

1 tablespoon fish sauce, plus more to taste

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

4 ounces thin rice noodles, broken into pieces

2 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts, very thinly sliced crosswise

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more to taste

1 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and curry paste and cook, stirring 1-2 minutes.  Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, and fish sauce; cover and bring to a boil.

Add the bell pepper and noodles and simmer, uncovered, until the noodles are al dente, about 3 minutes.  Add the chicken and simmer until just cooked though, about 3 more minutes.  Stir in the lime juice and cilantro.  Add more fish sauce and lime juice, if desired.

garlic-ginger chicken thighs

 

Excellent flavor.

garlic-ginger chicken thighs  (food network)

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 cup thinly sliced red onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger (used 1 tsp ground ginger)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

freshly ground pepper

olive oil for the grill

Combine the chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, juice and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large resealable plastic bag.  Seal and shake to coat the chicken with the marinade.  Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat a grill to medium heat and oil the grate.  Grill the chicken until marked 5-6 minutes.  Flip and continue to grill until cooked through, about 5 more minutes.  Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

tuscany chicken soup

 

Excellent.  This is one of my recent favorites, for sure.  It was simple yet super flavorful.  Sun dried tomatoes are not my favorite so I substituted them for petite diced tomatoes.  I also added 1/4 teaspoon cayenne for a little kick.  

Slow cooker version at the end of the recipe.

tuscany chicken soup (taste of home)

1 tablespoon oil from jar of julienned oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup julienee oil- packed sun-dried tomatoes (I used 1/2 can petite diced tomatoes)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups uncooked small pasta (I used 1 cup)

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

2 cups whole milk (I used 1 cup 2% n=milk)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a Dutch oven, heat oil from sundried tomatoes (I used petite diced tomatoes so only used the olive oil) and olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion; cook and stir until softened, 4-6 minutes.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste and garlic.  Cook 2 minutes longer.

Stir in broth, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, cayenne and garlic powder.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in pasta.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered until pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.  Stir in  chicken and spinach.  Cook and stir until heated through and spinach is wilted.  Add milk and grated Parmesan cheese and let heat through.

NOTE:  I followed the directions for the first three lines then I put everything into the crock pot except the milk and Parmesan cheese.  I let it cook for a few hours then added the milk and Parmesan cheese at the end.

veracruz-style tilapia

 

This dish had great flavor!  My daughter who doesn't normally enjoy fish really, really liked it.  That says a lot.

veracruz-style tilapia (allrecipes.com)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon caper juice

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup pitted, sliced green olives

1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

2 teaspoons fresh oregano

for the fish

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 tilapia filets (I use the tilapia loins from Costco)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

2 medium limes, juiced

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Make the sauce:  Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium heat.  Add onion; cook and stir until translucent; 6 to 7 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3o seconds.  Stir in capers and caper juice.  Add tomatoes, olives, and jalapeno; cook and stir until tomatoes begin to collapse and jalapeno softens, about 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in oregano.

Move the sauce to the side.  Add 1 teaspoon oil to the bottom of the skillet.

Add the tilapia fillets.  Season with cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper.  Cover with the sauce.  Squeeze lime juice over the top.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.