Tag Archives: main dish

October 29, 2013 · 7:06 am

Ginger Beef Stir-Fry

We eat a lot of stir-fries in our house. They are a fairly quick meal to get on the table, and they are one thing that I don’t hear complaints about from anyone. This Ginger Beef is not a saucy stir-fry, but is very flavorful. The beef marinates for about half an hour at room temperature and then is cooked in small batches over very high heat. Fresh ginger, cut into thin matchstick shapes, green onions and sliced serrano chiles (hot, but not overpowering) provide additional flavor. Because this dish is not as chock-full of vegetable as some other stir-fries, I often serve it with Szechuan green beans (recipe coming soon!).

RECIPE:

Ginger Beef Stir-Fry

Servings: 4-6
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Marinade
5 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs unseasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbs honey (or 5 drops liquid stevia)
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
½ tsp red chile pepper flakes
½ tsp ground cumin

Stir-Fry
1 ½ lb flank steak or top sirloin steak
2 Tbs oil, divided
2-3 hot chiles, preferably red serranos, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchstick shapes
1 bunch (about 5-6) green onions, cut diagonally into 1” pieces
1 Tbs sesame oil

Mix together all of the marinade ingredients.

Thinly slice the steak (partially freezing the steak will make this easier) and place slices in a Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the sliced steak. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. This can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Remove beef from fridge 30 minutes before cooking.

Place 1 Tbs oil in a wok or large skillet and heat over high heat until very hot. Place a small amount of the beef (about ½ cup at a time) in the hot pan. Sauté beef slices over high heat until juices in pan almost completely evaporate. Transfer cooked beef to serving bowl. Repeat with remaining beef.

Add remaining 1 Tbs oil to the pan and sauté the sliced chiles, minced garlic and ginger matchsticks for 1 minute. Add the beef back to the pan with the sliced green onions. Stir in the sesame oil and cook for 1 minute. Serve immediately over steamed rice.

(recipe adapted from Simply Recipes)

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as beef, Chinese, entree, food, ginger, main dish, recipe, steak, stir fry

April 23, 2013 · 11:30 am

Layered Chicken Taco Salad in Baked Tortilla Bowls

Sure, you can eat taco salad on a regular plate, but it is much more fun to eat it out of an edible tortilla bowl. Tortilla bowls are also a great enforcer of portion control. Have you ever noticed that when you layer taco salad on a plate it seems to grow well beyond your original intentions by the time you add all of the toppings you want? Tortilla bowls are the perfect solution, especially for the kids in my family who usually end up with a plateful of food they can never finish.

Intimidated by the thought of shaping and deep-frying tortillas? Me too. Good thing these are simple to make, and baked instead of fried. All you need is a super-old-scratched-and-rusty muffin pan.

To make your baked tortilla bowls, warm tortillas slightly in the microwave (just enough to soften). Spray both sides of tortillas lightly with olive oil cooking spray (or brush very lightly with oil). Turn a muffin tin upside down. Press tortillas into the spaces between muffin cups. Make sure the bottoms of the tortilla bowls are flat so that they will not wobble when served on a plate. Bake at 400F for 8-10 minutes, or until crunchy and just beginning to brown.

You can layer your regular taco salad fillings in the bowl (seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce, etc) or try this layered shredded chicken salad. It is similar to some of the semi-fast food Mexican restaurants where you build your own burrito/salad. There are layers of seasoned chili-cilantro rice, black beans, crock-pot cooked shredded chicken, and a cilantro ranch dressing.

This Green Chili Cilantro Rice is also great served alongside other Mexican dishes or grilled meats.

RECIPES:

Layered Chicken Taco Salad in Baked Tortilla Bowls

Servings: About 8
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Crock-Pot Shredded Chicken
Green Chili Cilantro Rice
Tortilla Bowls
Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Black Beans – mix with 1 Tbs lime juice
Shredded Cheese
Corn
Lettuce
Chopped jalapenos or banana peppers
Salsa
Sour Cream

Place baked tortilla bowls on a plate. Layer with rice, black beans (these are really good mixed with 1 Tbs lime juice!), shredded chicken and other desired toppings. Top with cilantro ranch dressing and serve.

Crock-Pot Shredded Chicken
2 lb boneless chicken breasts or tenderloins
1 cup prepared Italian salad dressing
½ cup salsa
1 Tbs taco seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced

Stir together all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until chicken can easily be shredded. Shred chicken, stir in sauce from pot and serve. If the sauce is too thin (this will especially happen if you use chicken that is injected with broth), shred chicken and return to crock pot, then cook on high with the lid OFF until sauce thickens.

Green Chili Cilantro Rice
1 ¾ cup chicken broth (or water+2tsp chicken bouillon)
1 can (4 oz) diced mild green chilies, undrained
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
½ tsp salt (omit salt if using bouillon)
1 cup Basmati rice (or other long grain variety rice)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine broth, green chilies, garlic, olive oil and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice, cover, and simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes, or until rice is cooked. Stir in chopped cilantro. This can also be cooked in a rice cooker: combine all ingredients except cilantro in rice cooker and cook according to directions; stir in cilantro.

Tortilla Bowls
Flour tortillas
Olive oil (or olive oil cooking spray)
Muffin tin

Warm tortillas slightly in the microwave (10-15 seconds; just enough to soften). Spray both sides of tortillas lightly with olive oil cooking spray (or brush very lightly with oil). Turn a muffin tin upside down. Press tortillas into the spaces between muffin cups. Make sure the bottoms of the tortilla bowls are flat so that they will not wobble when served on a plate. Bake at 400°F for 8-10 minutes, or until crunchy and just beginning to brown.

Cilantro Ranch Dressing
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup buttermilk or regular milk
2 tomatillos** or 4 Tbs green salsa
½ bunch of cilantro (about 1 cup chopped)
2 cloves garlic
1 lime, juiced
1-2 jalapenos (with or without the seeds; with seeds=spicier)

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until well mixed. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving for optimal flavor.

**Optional: Roast tomatillos for 20 mins at 400°F before adding them to the blender. If you are using a spicy green salsa instead of the tomatillos, go easy on the jalapenos.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Filed under Main Dishes, Salads, Tips and Tutorials

Tagged as baked tortilla bowls, cafe rio, chipotle, cilantro ranch dressing, crock pot, entree, main dish, moes, recipe, shredded chicken, taco salad

October 23, 2012 · 6:14 am

Taco Cornbread Pie

Our Little J is a Mexican food junkie. When she doesn’t like what I serve for dinner, she makes her way to the spice drawer and returns with her jar of “Taco Magic” (known to the rest of the world as chili powder). She then proceeds to turn any meal into tacos. Meatloaf, meatballs, any roasted or baked chicken dish: instant tacos. A generous sprinkle into most soups: taco soup.

So when she hears that I am actually making a “real” Mexican-flavored dish, she is giddy with excitement, and during dinner the Taco Magic jar stays in the spice drawer where it belongs.

If you have an oven safe dish that can also go on the stovetop (like a dutch oven, cast iron skillet, or skillet with oven-safe handles), this is an easy one pot meal. I always love cutting down on dishes.

Taco Pie is the Mexican version of a Shepherd’s Pie or Pot Pie. The filling is a taco flavored combination of ground beef, black beans, tomatoes, corn, peppers, green chilies. All of the great ingredients of tacos without 600 little bowls to wash. The crust is a cheese-topped cornbread that bakes in the oven on top of the filling.

(Please ignore that cheese-less wedge. How anyone could dislike cheese and end up in my family is beyond me)

RECIPE:

Taco Cornbread Pie

Servings: 8-10
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Taco filling:
2 lb ground beef
1 red pepper, chopped
1-2 hot peppers, finely chopped (adjust to taste)
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 can chili-seasoned tomatoes
1 small can diced green chiles, undrained
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can black or kidney beans, drained & rinsed

Cornbread topping:
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
¼ cup butter, melted
½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 eggs
2 cups shredded cheese

Optional garnishes:
Salsa, sour cream, diced avocados (or guacamole)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Brown the ground beef in an oven safe skillet.** Drain fat. Add peppers and onions to the skillet. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until onions just begin to soften. Stir in tomatoes, canned chilies, olives, corn and beans. Simmer mixture over low heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Taste and add additional salt, if needed.

Cornbread topping: In a mixing bowl, stir together melted butter, yogurt or sour cream and eggs. Stir in corn muffin mix with a rubber spatula until just mixed.

Spread the cornbread batter over the hot filling in the skillet. Bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes, or until cornbread is cooked through and lightly browned. (Exact cooking time will depend on the diameter of your baking dish. If the top of the cornbread is brown, but center is not set, cover with foil and continue to cook until set). Top with cheese. Cook 5 additional minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream, avocados, and/or salsa, if desired.

**NOTE: If you don’t have an oven safe skillet (or dutch oven), then cook meat mixture in a regular skillet, and transfer to a large baking dish.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as cornbread, entree, main dish, Mexican, recipe, tacos

February 16, 2012 · 11:29 am

Blackened Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing

I wish I could say that fish tacos are a favorite meal in our house. Unfortunately, I have a few fish-haters who refuse to like any kind of seafood. Even when, as in this case, the fish is extremely mild, “unfishy” and full of flavors they already enjoy. But I love them, so I continue to cook them for those of us who appreciate a change from your standard ground beef taco. The others eat the beans and cabbage drowned in the delicious cilantro dressing.

In the summer, I would add fresh homegrown tomatoes to these tacos. After growing my own tomatoes, however, I have a real aversion to grocery store tomatoes. They are always mushy or mealy, regardless of how red and beautiful they appear. So I will wait for summer to add them.

I like to use Cotija cheese in these tacos. Cotija is a firm mild cheese with a texture similar to feta, but without the saltiness. It crumbles easily with your fingers. Cabbage is also a must in fish tacos. The crunchiness of the cabbage makes a great contrast to the soft texture of the fish.

I serve these with a creamy cilantro dressing. It is full of cilantro, and just barely spicy. You can adjust the heat by varying the amount of jalapeno and Sriracha sauce in the dressing. I often make a double batch of the dressing and use it later as a salad dressing or raw vegetable dip.

—

RECIPE:

Blackened Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing

Servings: 8-10
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4 firm white fish fillets (halibut, cod, snapper)
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp Ancho chili powder
1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder
2 Tbs oil

Corn or Flour tortillas
Shredded green cabbage (about 2 cups)
Tomatoes, diced
Cotija cheese, crumbled
1 can black beans, drained and mixed with 1 Tbs lime juice

Cilantro Dressing:
½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
¼ cup mayonnaise
3 green onions
1 fresh jalapeno
¼ cup fresh cilantro
2 Tbs diced mild green chilies (about ½ of a 4 oz can)
2 Tbs fresh squeezed lime juice
½ – 1 tsp Sriracha chili sauce (adjust to taste)
½ tsp kosher salt

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Prepare cilantro dressing: Place all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for about one hour. Use any leftover lime juice to mix with a can of drained and rinsed black beans.

Remove fish from refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Mix dry spices in a small bowl. Pat fish fillets dry and rub spices onto both sides of fish fillets.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Place fish fillets in the hot skillet and sear until cooked through (do not crowd pan; cook in 2 batches if necessary). Depending on the thickness and variety of fish, it should take about 3 minutes per side. Check for doneness with a fork: fish should flake easily, but not fall apart. Remove from pan and let fish rest for 2-3 minutes. Use a fork to separate fish into 2-3 pieces.

Serve fish strips in warm tortillas with shredded cabbage, tomatoes, Cotija cheese, black beans and cilantro dressing.

Makes 8-10 tacos

NoEmptyChairs.me

Dinner in under 30 minutes: Southwest Chicken and Zucchini Sauté

Sometimes we all need a quick fix dinner that can be on the table in under 30 minutes. But we still want something healthy and delicious. This sautéed chicken and zucchini meal satisfies our entire family: I love that it is quick and healthy, and everyone loves the taste.

Don’t have zucchini? Or have too many zucchini-haters? Use any other vegetable of choice: asparagus is very nice, or green beans. You can even throw in a bag of frozen vegetables if you are short on fresh ones.

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Serve on its own, or over cooked rice or pasta. With or without cheese.

Recipe:

Southwest Chicken and Zucchini Sauté

Servings: 6
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2 Tbs olive oil
4 chicken breasts (about 1 lb), diced
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
2 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
1 can yellow corn (or 2 ears fresh corn)
1 can chili seasoned tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, for garnish

Heat oil in a large skillet. Sauté chicken and onion until browned. Sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, and salt. Add zucchini to skillet and cook until chicken is cooked through and zucchini is crisp-tender. Stir in corn and tomatoes. Cook, uncovered, for 7-10 minutes. Stir in cilantro. Garnish with shredded cheese, if desired.

Serve alone, or over cooked rice or pasta.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as 30 minute dinner, chicken, fast and easy, main dish, recipe, stir fry, zucchini

November 22, 2011 · 12:15 pm

Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers

Just a few ideas for using your leftover Thanksgiving Turkey. Most of the recipes below call for cooked or shredded chicken, but work just as well with turkey.

My best wishes for a day full of family, friends, faith and gratitude. And lots of leftovers.

Southwest Turkey Vegetable Chowder