Red Chile Pork Tacos

At my house you can never go wrong with tacos, or nachos or how 'bout anything mexican or TexMex. I guess its only natural with us living in Texas and so close to great authentic flavors. And these tacos are a favorite, there's something about the spicy yet sweet pork and the crunchy taco shells. Its making my mouth water just thinking about it! I'm changing up the directions a little bit because as you know we've been in a crazy heat wave and I don't dare use my oven. So everything's going in the crockpot.

Menu: Red Chile Pork Tacos, fruit salsa and black beans(go ahead throw in a frozen margarita, I promise not to tell)

Red Chile Pork Tacos with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 cups thinly sliced onion
8 hard taco shells
1/2 cup chopped tomato
8 teaspoons chopped green onions

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Or set your crockpot to low.
   

2. Combine first 3 ingredients; rub evenly over pork. Here's where I'm changing it, throw it in the crockpot for about 8 to 10 hours, you know the drill. Place pork on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Remove pork from oven; let sit 5 minutes before slicing. If you're preparing the night before, just pop in the fridge and when you're ready for dinner reheat and continue to step 3.
   

3. While pork cooks, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Uncover and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

4. Fill each taco shell with about 2 ounces pork, 3 tablespoons sautéed onion, 1 tablespoon tomato, and 1 teaspoon green onions.

Now I'm not a banana fan, actually can't stand the smell or taste of them but my hubby and son love them with a passion and they both need to eat more fruits and veggies so this one's for them.

Fruit salsa: Combine 2 cups sliced banana, 1/2 cup diced pineapple, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 diced seeded jalapeño peppers in a large bowl; toss gently.

Because I won't eat the salsa I throw together a 2nd side dish. Open up a can ob black beans and drain them. Dice up a red bell pepper and a jalapeno. Add a few handfuls of them to the beans and heat them up. After warming the beans, put a dollop of sour cream and there you go.

Grab a plate of tacos, add your side dish and go to town.

Recipe and picture courtesy of my favorite website CookingLight.com

Crockpot Vegetable Minestrone

I like to make Monday dinners ahead of time because we all know how hectic Monday mornings are and by the time 5 o'clock rolls around I'm beat and don't want to deal with cooking. So last night I whipped this little goody up, well actually all I did was open and pour, open and pour, open and pour, ok you get the picture.

Menu: Crockpot Vegetable Minestrone and garlic bread sticks

Crockpot Vegetable Minestrone

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables or you can do what I did and use up all the leftover bags of various veggies in you freezer, I had corn, peas and carrots. I added a can of lima beans also.
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 box of beef broth
1 packet of onion soup mix
2 cups of pasta shells

1. Set your crockpot to a quick time like 4 to 6 hours because this really doesn't need to cook, you're just warming everything up.
2. Pour your frozen veggies, tomatoes (juice and all), beef broth and soup mix in the crockpot. Stir together and allow to cook.
3. 45 minutes prior to serving, add your pasta. Keep a close eye on your pasta shells, you don't want them to overcook.
4. When you're ready to serve pop the frozen bread sticks in the oven for about 8 minutes. When they're crispy, serve with your soup.

Super easy, simple supper. If you want you could even add some ground hamburger to make this even more hearty and filling.

Menu Planning Monday - August 18th

What's the secret to my success in the kitchen, ha yeah right success, well at least sanity? It's menu planning and I'm teaming up with Organized Junkie and will start sharing my weekly menus. Usually I try to do 2 to 4 week menus since I like to only go to the grocery store once every 2 weeks and then Sam's Club once every few months, but I digress. Menu planning helps save money time, and most of all my relationship with the hubby. If I menu plan, I know what's for dinner and can get it on the table in no time flat with little interference or killing my hubby because I'm usually in a bad mood by the time I make it home 'cause I'm starving. So for our inaugural menu planning Monday here's the menu...



Monday
Dinner: Crockpot Vegetable Minestrone and garlic bread sticks

Tuesday
Dinner: Red Chile Pork Tacos, fruit salsa and black beans

Sweet, succulent onions are the perfect foil for this savory pork taco filling. Ancho chile powder gives the meat a mild, slightly fruity chile flavor.

Its another great recipe from Cooking Light only instead of using the oven we'll be using the crockpot.



Wednesday
Dinner: Mexican Lasagna

Something to keep in mind is that this is an extremely flexible recipe. You can add or omit ingredients to your taste and whatever you do, this “Lasagna” will surely be amazing. I’m using a full-sized pan for this (something that will feed 20+ people) so keep that in mind and cut the recipe in half if you’re just using a regular casserole dish. Be on the look out for quantities such as “some”, “A few”, or “A good bit of”…just remember, this is flexible. Don’t stick too closely to my exact recipe. Make it all your own.

This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman's guest recipe blogger Pastor Ryan. It looks super simple and yummy.


Thursday
Dinner: Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, potato salad and corn on the cob

This recipe yields slow-cooked barbecue flavor in less than an hour. The sandwiches need to be broiled at the last minute, but the rest of the menu can be made ahead of time.

Its another great recipe from Cooking Light only instead of using the oven we'll be using the crockpot.


Friday
Dinner: It's Pizza Night! Store bought pizza and salad.

It's Friday night and I never feel like cooking so I try to pop in a store bought pizza and put together a bag of pre-made salad. Its easy and the dishes are minimal. This allows me to catch up on any cleaning and/or keep the kitchen clean for the weekend. I like DiGiorno or California Pizza Kitchen (later only on a splurge) but any brand you like best will work.



Saturday
Breakfast: Mixed Berry Pancakes and sausage patties
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Grilled Chicken, stovetop stuffing and brussel sprouts


Sunday
Breakfast: Biscuits and jelly, scrambled eggs
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Spaghetti, ceasar salad and garlic bread

So now here's your shopping list for the week...

August 18th Shopping List

Now stay tuned for each day's recipe. I promise they will be posted bright and early each morning, or if they need to cook overnight I will post no later than 9 PM the night prior.

D.I.Y Friday - Photo Letter Frames

10/2/08 FYI: I fixed the broken link to the shared pictures, guess all the action crashed the link so I'm hosting it elsewhere!

Inventive, Distinctive & Personalized by You!
(and an easy DIY project!)

You've seen them in model homes, designer dream showcases and on the Oprah show. They're gorgeous and a true conversation piece. Letter Perspectives is the creator and it is the gift you give to someone who has everything, but only if you can afford to drop $150 as a starting price. OR, yes there's an or, you can DIY it for a fraction of the cost.

Begin with your idea, what do you want you frame to say? It could be your last name, it could be the traditional things like HOPE, FAITH, LOVE, FAMILY, it could be KITCHEN, or do a sports theme for BASKETBALL. Whatever you get the point. I chose to do WELCOME, so that I could put it in the entry hall.



You can either take the pictures yourself or you can use the work of others. Sites like Flickr allow you to save photos for free (as it was pointed out, let me make it clear you can save photos for free for your own personal viewing pleasure, professional photographers who post on Flickr typically have a setting so they can't be downloaded and/or watermarked images) or you can subscribe to sites like iStockphoto, for a minimal charge and download professional images. So start searching for images, things related to the style you want to use. So if your word is KITCHEN, look for images of things like utensils or spices. If your word is BASKETBALL, look for images like nets, balls, bleachers, hoops or courts. I've got a great start with the help of a friend (Gatorhightowers) for you here. So once you've gotten some great images you might have to do a little photo-shopping on them to get your desired letter.

Then just upload your letters to a photo print site like shutterfly or snapfish, where you can print 4x6 or 5x7 prints for as little as .15 cents.

Once you get your letters in it's time to start shopping for a frame. If you choose an uncommon number of slots, say a 7 4x6's frame is going to be difficult to find pre-made. However you can look for a frame that will match your dimensions and have a matt made for usually under $30. My suggestion would be to watch the flyers for a 50% off coupon and use it to buy your odd sized frame. That is how I was able to purchase a $50 frame for $25. Which brought my frame costs to only $35.00. Much better than $150!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Thank the heavens there's a break in the 100 degree temperatures! I can finally use my oven and stove again. To celebrate this glorious occasion I plan on fixing a super yummy pizza. This recipe goes way back to my college days of experiment cooking. I found this recipe and of course what college student doesn't love pizza, so I had to try it. My roomies were thoroughly impressed and so was I. Everyone I make this pizza for can't believe that it doesn't have any bbq sauce in it and neither will your taste buds.

Menu: BBQ Chicken Pizza, corn on the cob, and a yummy glass of white wine/Chardonnay.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:
1 (10-ounce) Italian cheese-flavored thin pizza crust (such as Boboli)
3/4 cup tomato chutney
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
2/3 cup diced plum tomato
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
1/3 cup chopped green onions

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Place crust on a baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 3 minutes. Remove from oven; spread chutney over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. If you're using your own chutney be sure to drain the juice from the tomatoes as you place them on the crust, otherwise you'll end up with soggy crust.
   

3. Top chutney with chicken. Sprinkle diced tomato, cheese, and green onions evenly over chicken. Bake at 450° for 9 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut pizza into 6 wedges.

Note: If you can't find tomato chutney, make your own. And I highly suggest that you choose this option. Combine 2 cups diced plum tomato, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon Jamaicañ jerk seasoning, and 1 minced garlic clove in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes or until thickened.

Serve with your corn on the cob and you've turned pizza night into a dinner grown ups and kids alike will love.

Recipe and picture courtesy of my favorite website CookingLight.com

My Favorite Things: Part 3

I'm sure by now you have realized that I love Cooking Light recipes, if you haven't what planet have you been on? I'm not sure when I first found Cooking Light but I do know it was way before they had a website that you could access all of their recipes from. I think I've been a subscriber of the magazine for at least a good 10 years and let me tell you their recipes are some of the best I've ever tasted. I'd say within the last 5 years have they opened up their recipes to the internet user and I'm sooooo thankful. Now I don't have to go digging around my stacks of books looking for a recipe I know I saw in one of the summer issues.

Cooking Light has been on the frontier of low fat, low calorie, eat your veggies and love 'em cooking. Their recipes are unique, inventive and all around great. They have been able to take some of your favorite full fat dishes and rewrite the book on them. I believe about a year ago they partnered up and their website now gives you access to a variety of other magazines, like Southern Living, recipes as well. They have great features for grilling, quick & easy meals, party planning and you have the ability to store all of your favorite recipes on their website, this includes their recipes and your own.

One of my favorite features is a daily email that highlights their "Dinner Tonight" meal. Each day they email a complete menu plan that is quick, easy and always super yummy. This makes menu planning a snap because you can grab 5 to 10 of these "Dinner Tonight" meals and you've got every night planned.

You really have to check them out, you've already seen some of their amazing recipes on my blog so what are you waiting for? Just look for the link on My Favorite Thing section.

Maple Glazed Salmon

I'm feeling fishy! Let me preface this with the fact that I have only recently became a fish eater. Oh I'd gladly eat tuna fish out of the can, yes its very yummy and a great way to lose weight. Oh and I'd eat swordfish because lets be honest, it tastes like steak when grilled. And call me strange but I could eat my weight in sushi. I think it had to do with the fact that raw fish just doesn't taste fishy. But no not until the last year have I became a fan of fish. Now I can't eat a large variety of fish but I'm loving salmon and so I've started fixing more salmon dishes lately. And one of my favorite is this quick fix meal. I can't wait for dinner tonight!

Menu: Maple Glazed Salmon, Scrumptious Sweet Potatoes and Orange Zest Broccoli

Maple Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon maple syrup

1. Prepare grill, heating to medium.

2. Combine first 5 ingredients. Sprinkle fish with salt; rub with paprika mixture.

3. Place fish on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 7 minutes. Drizzle fish with syrup; grill 1 minute or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Scrumptious Sweet Potatoes
I usually like to buy the prepackage sweet potatoes, you know the kind that are wrapped up in plastic. They have the microwave directions on the side and only take 5 minutes to cook. So I suggest looking for these at your grocery store, otherwise bake your sweet potatoes in the oven.

While the potatoes are baking combine a few tbsps of butter with brown sugar and chopped pecans, you could even throw in a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and chili powder. After the potatoes are done, split them open and drop a tbsp of your butter mixture in and let the ooey gooey goodness melt all over them.

Broccoli
Another quick fix convenience, I buy the steam-fresh packages of frozen broccoli. Pop it in the microwave and out comes perfectly steamed broccoli. But to dress it up, while its steaming, I take an orange and get some yummy zest. Put the zest aside and then cut the orange in half. After the broccoli has steamed put it in a big bowl, add the juice of 1 half orange and the zest. Mix it up and you're ready to go.

Now everything is ready to go so plate and serve!

Recipe and picture courtesy of my favorite website CookingLight.com