Carne Asada Tacos

Can you believe it's August already?!  Summer always goes way too fast.  Here's a good entree to throw on the grill.  Whether you're at home or at your favorite Tex-Mex place, carne asada is always a great choice!

Carne Asada Tacos

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Yield: 4-6 servings

2 pounds flank or skirt steak

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Marinade:

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 tsp cumin

1 large handful fresh cilantro, leaves and stems, finely chopped (great flavor in the stems)

Salt and pepper

2 limes, juiced (about 1/4 cup)

2 Tbsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

For Serving:

Tortillas
Pico de gallo (fresh tomato salsa)

Chopped avocados or guacamole
Chopped peppers (red, green, yellow, whatever strikes your fancy)
Cilantro
Lime
Sour Cream
Cilantro Lime Rice (optional)

Lay the flank steak in a large non-reactive bowl or baking dish. Combine marinade ingredients and pour the marinade over the steak. Make sure each piece is well coated. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-4 hours.

Preheat your grill over medium-high flame (you can also use a cast iron grill pan on high heat for stove-top cooking). Brush the grates with a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking. Remove the steak from the marinade. If you are cooking indoors, you may want to brush off excess marinade as the bits may burn and smoke on the hot pan. Season both sides of the steak pieces with salt and pepper. Grill the pieces for a few minutes only, on each side, depending on how thin they are, until medium rare to well done, to your preference. You may need to work in batches. Remove the steak pieces to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak across the grain on a diagonal.

Serve with warm tortillas (flour or corn). Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds on each side in a dry skillet or on the grill, until toasty and pliable. Alternatively, you can warm tortillas in a microwave: heating just one or two at a time, place tortillas on a paper towel and microwave them for 15 to 20 seconds each on high.  Add the carne asada and additional toppings to the tortilla, then serve.

What a great marinade!

Toasted Quinoa, Corn and Avocado Salad

I knew I wanted some kind of tex-mex/southwest type of salad.  I love avocado, lime and cilantro (guacamole anyone?).  I really like black beans, but wanted to go another way with the salad.  I don't use quinoa regularly.  I've only experimented here and there so when I found this recipe I had to try it.

Quinoa is a great source of protein, and it's very filling.  We actually used this for our entree, and added a side of pasta salad and fresh veggies for dinner.  This recipe calls for rinsing and toasting the quinoa.  Some quinoa is packaged as pre-rinsed, but the the toasting process adds a nutty flavor.

This salad surprised us.  We didn't expect it to be as good as it was.  Kevin couldn't stop raving about it.  It was bright from the lime jalapeno dressing and we loved the pop of sweetness from the corn.

Toasted Quinoa, Corn and Avocado Salad

Adapted from Marie Simmons’ “Fresh & Fast Vegetarian” as seen on Ezra Pound Cake

Yield: 3 as a main dish or 6 as a side dish

1 cup quinoa

1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil

1 cup fresh corn kernels (from ~2 ears)

1 cup red peppers, diced

1/4 cup thin-sliced scallions (white and green parts)  (I used a bunch of chives)

1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Lime-Jalapeno Dressing:

2 tsp cumin

5 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

1/2 cup fresh lime juice, plus more to taste

1 Tbsp jalapeno, minced and seeded , plus more to taste

1 garlic clove, grated

1 tsp salt

Rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water for at least 45 seconds. Shake the strainer to remove as much water as possible.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the rinsed quinoa and cook, stirring, over medium heat until it is light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Add 2 cups water to the quinoa, and bring to a boil. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and appears to be uncoiling, 18 to 20 minutes.

Let stand, uncovered, until cool, about 10 minutes.

To Make the Dressing: Sprinkle the cumin in a small skillet, and toast over medium heat, stirring, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. When the skillet is cool to the touch, add the oil, lime juice, jalapeño pepper, garlic and salt. Whisk to blend.

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients to a large bowl and toss to combine. Spoon the salad onto a large platter, and sprinkle the avocado and cilantro on top.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This chicken tortilla soup is ridiculously quick, full of flavor and very satisfying.  I highly recommend you make it soon.

Instead of the hunting down dried chili peppers, I used chipotle chili powder which gives the soup some smoky chili flavor and heat.

When serving, I sometimes skipped the sour cream, but do not skip the lime juice.  A good squeeze of lime adds a brightness to the soup that you don't want to miss.


Sopa Azteca (Chicken Tortilla Soup)
Adapted from Live to Cook . . . at Home, originally from Rick Bayless

1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 (15 oz) can pureed tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, peeled & smashed
2 qts chicken stock
2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and Pepper, to taste

For garnishing
1 large ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and cubed
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Tortilla chips, roughly broken
Sour cream
1 large lime, cut into 6 wedges, for serving

Put the tomatoes with their juice in a blender jar along with the chili powder (a food processor will also work).

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic once the oil is hot and cook until caramelized, about 7 minutes.

Once the onions and garlic have caramelized, add them to the blender and process until everything is completely smooth.

Return this mixture to the pan over high heat and cook until it is the consistency of tomato paste, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the chicken and black beans and simmer for 5 minutes.  Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.

While the soup is simmering, garnish each bowl with tortilla chips, avocado, and cheese.

When the soup is ready, fill each bowl and serve with sour cream and lime.

Fish Tacos

I've never been a real big fan of fish, but we've been trying to add more to our diet.  I like tilapia due to it's mild flavor so when I saw it on sale I picked up a couple filets.  Kevin and I first had fish tacos when we were on vacation a while back.  Since we really enjoyed them, I figured this would be a way to prepare the tilapia.  

I tasted the cooked fish on its own, it was clean with a hint of the lime flavor.  Once you add some of your favorite taco toppings you'll lose that subtle lime flavor, but you can pump it up with a squeeze of lime over your taco.

I've always been afraid of cooking fish because of the smell it might leave in the house.  I was really happy that the kitchen didn't stink afterwards.

Fish Tacos

Adapted from Not Eating Out in New York (marinade) and Steamy Kitchen (sauce)

Yield:  about 8 tacos (4 servings)

1 1/2 lb white fish (I used tilapia)

Salt and Pepper

1 lime

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp chili powder

2 Tbsp oil

For Assembly/Garnish:

Corn or Flour Tortillas

Guacamole or Sliced Avocado

Cilantro

Fresh Salsa

Lime Wedges

Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper, the juice of a lime and olive oil.  Cover and set aside in the fridge while prepping other ingredients.  (If you don't want to marinate it, you can sprinkle the fish with chili powder or taco seasoning right before cooking.)

For the sauce, stir together the sour cream, paprika, garlic powder, salt and chili powder.  

Warm the oil in a pan (or brush oil lightly on a piece of foil on a grill) on medium heat.  Add the fish and cook for 2-4 minutes per side.  Don't move the fish more than you need to as it will break apart easily.

Place the cooked fish on a serving platter and break it into large chunks.  Serve immediately with your favorite combination of tortillas, sauce and garnishes. 

Guacamole

I LOVE avocados!  I have been known to eat an avocado straight out of the skin with some lime juice and salt sprinkled over it.  When I make guacamole for just the two of us I usually end up eating most of it myself.  I can't get enough!  This guacamole is really bright and fresh tasting because of the lime juice and cilantro.

Guacamole

Original Recipe

2 Avocados, skin and pit removed

Juice from 1/2 lime

1 Tbsp cilantro, minced

1 small clove garlic, minced (optional)

Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Salt to taste

Add all ingredients to a bowl.  Mash together with fork until combined and the desired consistency is achieved.  I like to leave it a little chunky, but some prefer smooth.  Give it taste to make sure seasoning is what you want.  Taste it with a tortilla chip because the chips are salty on their own.

Prevent Browning:  If there are any leftovers, place plastic wrap directly onto the guacamole.  I've also heard that leaving the pit with the leftovers will also help fight browning, but I haven't found that this helps anymore than the plastic wrap trick.  The amount of lime in this particular recipe seems to keep the avocados from browning for a few days also.

Huevos Rancheros

On Cinco de Mayo, I found myself on my own.  Kevin had band rehearsal, and I didn't want to go out.  I wanted to celebrate the "holiday" with a quick and easy "just for one" mexican dinner and margaritas.  Huevos Rancheros fit the bill, but I'd never had them before.  I like fried eggs and all the americanized condiments that go on top of them so why not give it a try.  I've been eating lots of fried eggs lately and Kevin is only "meh" about them so I took advantage of my dinner alone.  I accidentally overcooked my egg, because I wasn't sure when to flip the egg and tortilla over, but it was still delicious.

A few nights later I suggested Huevos Rancheros for dinner so Kevin could try them.  I adjusted the cooking time so the egg would still be runny.  Once the yolk was broken, it ran all over the tortilla and we mixed the toppings into the yolk too.  So good!  The creamy egg added a nice flavor to the salsa, cheese, black beans and avocado, but wasn't too overpowering.  Even Kevin liked it, and said that they tasted more authentic than any other mexican I'd made.  I think the corn tortillas had something to do with that, but even still, these Huevos Rancheros were muy deliciosos!

Huevos Rancheros

Original Recipe

1 6-inch corn tortilla

1 egg

Cheddar Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Salsa

Avocado, chopped

Black beans, warmed

In an lightly oiled pan on medium heat, lightly brown the tortilla on both sides.  Sprinkle some cheese on top of the tortilla and let it melt a little.  Crack an egg over the cheese and season with salt and pepper.  Let the egg cook for 3-5 minutes with the pan covered, then carefully flip everything over and cook the egg to desired doneness (less than a minute for a runny yolk).  Flip everything right side up onto your plate, sprinkle with more cheese (if desired) and top with the black beans, salsa and avocado chunks.