Carne Guisada with cheese...Please!

You all know how I love my Mexican food...and if you have not had this or even heard of it...you are in for a treat! Carne guisada is one of my absolute FAVORITE Mexican dishes! It's slow cooked beef in gravy with diced potatoes and you can eat it in a taco, over rice, by itself or however your little heart desires. Whatever you do...make sure you put cheese on it! Mmmmm. I decided to make a big batch on last Sunday since my plans of laying by the pool were foiled once again by the weather...and then we enjoyed it for lunch at the office the next day!

Carne Guisada

4lbs top sirloin steak, cut into 1 inch cubes

3 potatoes, diced

1 - 2 cups water

1 beef bouillon cube

3 tablespoons tomato knorr

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt & pepper, to taste

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over med/high heat. Coat the meat with the flour, salt and pepper. Brown the meat until browned on all sides.

Add the water, potatoes, bouillon, knorr, cumin and oregano. Cover and simmer for 3 or more hours, stirring occasionally.

NOTE- I ended up needing to thicken it a little. I had some leftover bacon grease and made a roux with that and flour...it was a delicious addition.

Printable Recipe!

I doubled the recipe...that is why it looks like so much!

The sun was a little bright! Not the best pic!

Delish!!!!!!!

 Serve it with Authentic Mexican Rice and Homemade Flour Tortillas!

 Once again, sorry for the lack of posting...BUSY.BUSY.BUSY! I am stockpiling alot of good dishes for you though :)

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One Dish Wonder

I reallllllllllly need to make one dish meals more often...
When I was in South Texas last year I found a one pot meals cookbook at TJ Maxx. I have been eying this particular recipe ever since I opened it and for some reason or another, never got around to actually making it or anything from the cookbook for that matter...I tried to find it online to show you but I can't find it anywhere! I should have taken a picture of it!!!

Here it goes!

Mexican Chicken, Chile & Potato Pot

adapted from : One Pot Meals Cookbook

2 tablespoons vegetable, canola or olive oil

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" cubes

1 whole yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 zucchini, diced

2-4 potatoes, depending on the size, diced

1-2 serranos or jalapenos, diced (serranos are a bit hotter than japs)

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock

1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped and separated into two piles

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons tomato knorr**see note

salt & pepper to taste

• In a large pot heat the oil over medium/high heat and cook the chicken until lightly browned.
• Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, zucchini and potatoes. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
• Next add the chicken stock, half of the cilantro, hot pepper, canned tomatoes, cumin, oregano, knorr**, salt and pepper.
• Simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are no longer crisp.
• Serve with warm flour tortillas, fresh avocado slices and garnish with the remaining cilantro and ENJOY!

You can really do a lot with this dish. It would be great with fresh tomatoes instead of canned, green cabbage and the original recipe called for a sweet potato! I just used what I had on hand and it was DELISH!

**You can find tomato knorr in most grocery stores. It will be in the Mexican/Spanish foods section. It is a good staple to have on hand when cooking Mexican cuisine**

Printable Recipe!!!

NOT PICTURED: Oregano, canned tomatoes, knorr, oregano, cumin, salt & pepper
Didn't use the red pepper, but I'm sure it would have been delish!

Just don't make the same mistake I did...opened the wrong end of the oregano shaker!

Mine...

Matt's...he had the right idea by adding the shredded cheese!

I hope you guys like this!!! It is one of my new favorites!!

PS-It's my birthday today and I am spending my afternoon at the dentist...What was I thinking??? 

ADIOS!

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Authentic Mexican Rice

I had a dream last night about a very dear friend of mine, almost like a second Mom to me, that passed away last August after a very courageous battle with cancer. I won't go into the details of the dream but it is sort of ironic that I had planned on posting this today in honor of Cinco De Mayo.

I can accredit her with all of my Mexican cooking skills. Starting from a young age, I would sit in her kitchen during the Summers we spent in Michigan and help her cook. Everything from flour tortillas to beans, rice and everything in between. Some of them are still a work in progress but one thing I have mastered is the rice fluffy, tender and delicious. Just like she used to make it.

Esmer's Rice

1 cup long grain white rice, preferably Comet brand* see note

2.5 cups water

1.5 tablespoons tomato knorr or tomato bouillon 

1 garlic clove, minced

1 green bell pepper, sliced thick

1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Stir together the water and knorr, heat in the microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, In a large skillet heat oil over medium/high heat, add the rice and garlic, saute for 3 minutes then add the bell pepper, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Continue to cook the rice until lightly browned.

Add the hot water/knorr mixture and bring to boil. DO NOT STIR, VERY IMPORTANT!

Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for approx 20 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. AGAIN, DO NOT STIR! VERY IMPORTANT!

Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE* Comet Rice can be found in most stores throughout Texas. However, I do not live in Texas and can only get my hands on it when I go. Any long grain white rice will do but I find that La Preferida is a close second to Comet. There is something about how the rice fluffs when it is cooked :)

Printable Recipe!!!

A necessity for Mexican Cuisine!

Time to cover and simmer

Perfect...

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Two Casserole Tuesday!

I'm sure all of you out there have a favorite "go to" cookbook...mine happens to be La Pinata written by The Junior League of McAllen, Texas. It was first published in 1976 and has been a hit in South Texas ever since. It has so many different recipes...but my favorite part is the Mexican foods section...and if you haven't noticed, we love our Mexican food!!! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it...

A couple of weeks ago, I asked Matt what he was hungry for and his response was King Ranch Casserole...and I happily obliged...I tweaked mine a tad...so here it goes!

King Ranch Casserole

Adapted from : La Pinata

1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and deboned

1 can cream of mushroom

1 can of cream of chicken

1 can of RoTel tomatoes and green chilis

1 small can green chilis

½ can of chicken broth

1 dozen corn tortillas, cut into squares

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 cups of grated cheese, Mexican blend

• Preheat oven to 350
• In a blend, mix the soup, chilis, rotel & chicken broth. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
• In a 9x13 baking dish, place a layer of the chicken, 1/2 the tortillas, 1/2 the cheese and 1/2 the sauce.
• Repeat the layers, ending with the cheese.
• Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until cheese is browned and bubbly.
• Serve with saltines or tortilla chips for dipping!

Printable Recipe!

I apologize for my lack of pictures for this dish...I don't know what happened to them!?!

Perfect doneness!

Soooooo delish!!!!!!!!!!

Another great recipe from La Pinata is Chili Rellenos Casserole. In the cookbook it calls for canned whole green chilis but I prefer using fresh roasted poblanos and this time I added ground chorizo. So I decided to rename it to Roasted Poblano Casserole. It is ANOTHER favorite of my husbands...I swear sometimes he is just saying he loves my food...hmmm...

I serve it with warm flour tortillas and canned ranch style beans. Last night, I even made a taco out of it...there I go with the tacos again...!!! This would also make a great breakfast...just use ground sausage in place of the ground beef...yum!

Roasted Poblano Casserole

adapted from : La Pinata

4-6 poblano peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded

1lb ground beef

1/2 lb chorizo sausage, optional. It gives it a little extra kick

1/2 yellow onion, diced

4 eggs

2 cups shredded cheese, cheddar or Mexican blend

1 1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup flour

hot sauce, to taste. I used about 1 tablespoon

salt & pepper, to taste

To roast the peppers...

Preheat broiler to 550. Place peppers on a baking sheet and put under the broiler and for 5-7 minutes on each side.

Let cool, remove what you can of the skin, stems and seeds. 

For the casserole...

Preheat oven to 350.

Brown the ground beef and onions, drain grease and set aside. 

Cook the chorizo, drain and mix with the beef and onion mixture.

Arrange half of the peppers in the bottom of a square baking dish.

Top with the meat mixture, cheese and the remaining peppers.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt & pepper. 

Slowly add the flour to the egg mixture and beat well with the whisk.

Pour the mixture evenly over the casserole.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. 

Let set for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Printable Recipe!

Delish!!!!

Leftovers for lunch!!!

I hope you have a great Tuesday and enjoy these two recipes!!! Super easy and perfect for a mid week dinner!

As some of you know, I am heading to Australia on Thursday for 17 days...I will not be posting any recipes for that time but please follow me at Sometimes Eccentric Steph for updates from Down Under! 

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All about Mexican...

I don't think I know a single person who does not love Mexican food...What's not to love? There are so many different/delish dishes and one of them is carnitas, which just so happens to be my husbands favorite.Carnitas is braised or roasted pork. It is so juicy and tender on the inside with a nice crunchy outside that is so so so good. You can eat them alone or as a taco with diced onion and fresh cilantro i.e carnita tacos...and we all know how much we love tacos over here....Last Sunday Matt and I spent a better part of the day cooking up this delicious Mexican feast. Homemade tortillas and all!!!

Carnitas

1 4-5 lb pork butt

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons lard, yes lard...i suppose vegetable shortening would do ;)

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the pork into 4-6 inch chunks and season heavily with kosher salt. 

In a dutch oven or large heavy pan, heat oil over high heat. 

Brown the pork on all sides. If you cannot fit the meat in a single layer all at once, brown in batches. Approx 5 minutes on each side.

Set meat aside on a paper towel lined plate to drain excess grease.

Next, add the chicken stock, garlic cloves, bay leaves, chili powder, ground cumin and pepper to the hot pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan the particles on the bottom and simmer for a few minutes. Add the lard and cook down.

Return the meat to the pan and cover with water until meat is covered about 2/3.

Place pan/pot back in the oven and cook for 3 hours.

Remove from oven and let cool. 

When cool enough to touch, break up meat into chunks or shred, however you prefer.

Place back in the oven to brown and crisp to your likeness. About 10 minutes.

Serve with fresh corn tortillas.

Top with chopped cilantro, onions.

Printable Recipe!

In the words of Charlie Sheen...WINNING!!!

Ridiculously Delish!!!

Corn Tortillas

2 cups corn masa flour, I use Maseca

1 1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

tortilla press

two pieces of plastic wrap

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and knead for two minutes to form a soft dough. 

If dough feels dry, add a spoonful of water at a time. 

Roll into little two inch balls and cover with moist towel.

Heat a small non stick pan or flat griddle over med/high heat. 

Place a piece of plastic wrap on the bottom of the press, place a dough ball on it, cover with the other piece of plastic wrap and press down hard. 

Carefully place the tortilla on the hot pan and cook for 50-60 seconds on each side.

I got this recipe right off the Maseca bag and it makes 16-18 tortillas.

Printable Recipe!

Finito!!!

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