Handheld Tex Mex Burritos

Every now and then, Laura and I will do a quick meal and make some yummy Mexican food. We had the stuff to make these and it is very easy to do. Here are the items you'll need.

1 package of large Burrito size Flour Tortillas
1 can of Black Beans
1 can of yellow Corn
1 can of diced green chillies
1 roasted red bell pepper (diced)
1 jar of salsa
1 2 cup bag of shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 lb Ground Beef
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of instant Mexican or Spanish rice

In a pot, begin browning beef off and strain the grease off before adding other ingredients. Add the red peppers first and let them settle and cook down in the beef on medium heat. Add the green chillies next and cook down again for 3-4
minutes. Add the beans, corn, and stir in the seasoning packet. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Cook rice per package instructions in the microwave. Remove rice and remove may mix from heat. Use 1 plate and steam each tortilla in microwave for 10-15 seconds to stream a little bit. Spoon meat mix, rice, Cheese, then salsa, hot sauce if you want to. Wrap over once, fold the sides, and roll until done. Place in microwave 20 seconds to melt cheese and you're ready to go. Very tasty and quick meal that isn't bad for you and is virtually dummy proof. Very good food, and cheap to make. Serves at least 8 burritos for under $10. Can't beat that with a stick. Darn good eatin'.

Dr. Pepper Steamed Pork Roast

I made a sauce for Easter Holiday that made me think of making a Pork Roast with the same flavor as the sauce so I came up with this. Great recipe for making sandwiches which is what I did with this particular roast. Here are the things you will need.

2 cans of Dr. Pepper (20 oz bottle will do if you do a half and half application)
Cajun Seasoning
Granulated garlic
Italian Seasoning
Paprika
Chilli Powder
Onion Salt
Salt
Pepper

Pour a can of Dr. Pepper on the roast and rub it down with cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, chilli powder, granulated garlic, paprika, onion salt, salt, & pepper. Place on a slotted broiler pan and pour another can of Dr.Pepper into the bottom of the pan and cover with foil. The soda will steam into the pork while it's cooking. Place into a 375º preheated oven for 3 and a half hours. Once timer is done, remove from oven and peel away the foil. Baste with sauce all over and cook meat side up and place in oven with the door open on broil setting for 3 minutes. Repeat basting phase 2-3 more times. Pork will form a bark. Remove and let stand for 20 minutes before ripping the meat off the bone. It will just fall off if you cooked it enough. Once torn off the bone, put the pork in a ziplock bag and pour in a cup of Dr.Pepper BBQ sauce listed in the previous post. Seal the bag and toss the pork around for a good coating. This pork roast is kick yo momma in the mouth good. Until the next time, keep on cooking and make yourself happy.

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

I often get into the kitchen and think of something strange to make BBQ sauce out of. I had some leftover Dr.Pepper in a bottle and told myself to try it, since my first soda BBQ sauce was the Cheerwine sauce, and it was very tasty. I used almost the same recipe but subbed Dr. Pepper. Here it goes everyone.

1 small bottle of no high fructose corn syrup ketchup
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
10 oz Dr. Pepper
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
2-3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes hot sauce

Mix all the ingredients in order on medium to medium low heat in a sauce pot and start mixing it up with a wooden spoon. Once completely heated until simmer is established, cover and reduce temperature to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir mixture every 5 minutes and at the end you should have a slightly thick deep reddish brown sauce. Very good on chicken like the picture dictates.

The Irish Brew and BbQ Burger

Laura rocked a burger out today that would rival any restaurant burger. It was a burger that involved just a seasoning pack, a bottle of beer, and some inventiveness. Just mix onion and garlic soup mix into meat with 1/2 bottle of Guinness and some bread Crumbs. Heat up skillet to medium high. Form the burgers and put them into the searing hot skillet for 6 minutes a side at a 1" thickness to cook to medium/medium well. Top them with bacon, cheddar cheese, and fried onion bits. Cover with BBQ sauce (I put Sweet Baby Rays on mine, but I suggest using my Guinness Sauce that I have listed on my blog). Thing was off the edge of freakish good. One of the best burgers I've personally ever had. Absolutely delicious.

Hawaiian Style Tilapia with Pan Seared Pineapple and Balsamic Reduction

This is a very simple recipe to follow and it's quite quick. Takes about 20-25 minutes and 15 of that is marinade and prep time. Here's the things you will need.

6 Tilapia Fillets
1 can of pineapple tidbits in juice (not syrup)
Teriyaki Sauce
Hot sauce
Honey
Soy Sauce
Balsamic Vinegar
Worcestershire Sauce

Make the marinade first. In a mixing bowl, strain the can of pineapple and a quarter of the tidbits into the bowl with a cup and a half of Teriyaki. Mix together with a fork adding one ingredient at a time. 5 dashes of hot sauce (Louisiana Brand is my favorite because it is sweet and not too hot for this one), 2 tsp honey, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Mix together vigorously in the bowl or a food processor or blender. If in a blender, only pulse for about 3 seconds. I personally use a stick blender for my sauces and marinades. Personal preference is key here. Pull about 1/2 cup of liquid out of the marinade onto a cup or small container and set aside. Place the Tilapia in the bowl with the remaining marinade and are too soak for ten minutes. Put 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat and allow to get smoky hot.  Place tilapia in pan and cook both sides for about 5 mines and then remove. In same pan add remaining pineapple and sear until browned nicely. Once pineapple is seared. Add liquid you set aside and allow to reduce for 30 seconds. Wake the reduction with 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar and cook for 30 seconds. Spoon the pineapple and reduction over the Tilapia and serve. Taste is sweet and tangy. It goes well with the very mild flavor of tilapia and the fish is very spongy so it soaks a lot of flavor up from the marinade very quickly. This is a quick and easy fish to do and virtually takes less than 30 minutes from beginning to end. Promise you'll love it. Just remember that cooking isn't that hard to do. If you like certain flavors, try adding other things. Even trying other marinades. Yummy Yummy stuff. Taste scale I would put this on a 8/10.

Asian BBQ Marinated Chicken over Roasted Asparagus

Every now and then I stay at home with the little guy and I get to experiment with some new recipes in the kitchen. This is a decently easy recipe to fix and doesn't really take a whole lot of time. I wanted something different and started mixing some stuff together that I knew would tasted good. This is very straightforward and is packed with a ton of flavor. The marinade is quick and is absolutely delicious. Here are the things that you will need: Marinade: 1/2 cup Soy Sauce 1/3 cup Bottled BBQ sauce (I used Stubbs because of its thinner consistency) 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard 2 tbsp Brown Mustard (no they aren't the same) 1 tsp of Sriracha Sauce or Hot Sauce will do. 1 tsp Red Pepper Flake 1 tsp Garlic Powder 1/2 tsp Ginger Components: 1 lb Chicken Tenderloins 1 yellow onion 1 jarred Roasted Red Pepper 1 lb Asparagus 2 tsp Butter Garlic Powder Extra Virgin Olive Oil

You'll need a sheet pan, a large skillet, a small skillet, and a medium size mixing bowl for this recipe. In the mixing bowl mix together the ingredients above for the marinade. Put in the chicken tenderloins and coat them thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes. While chicken is marinating your going to melt a tsp of butter in the small skillet and add in the diced yellow onion and allow them to cook on medium heat until slightly transparent and add the diced red pepper. allow to cook together on medium low for 10 minutes. Once done with the onion and pepper, set them aside for a bit. Melt another tsp of butter in the large skillet and add the chicken tenderloins and cook thoroughly on medium-high heat, takes about 5-6 minutes per side. Dice the chicken once done and put back into the large skillet then mix in the onion and red pepper. Preheat the oven to 425. Trim 1 inch of asparagus off the bottom of each stem so that the bottom of the stems are green. Spread the spears on the sheet pan and drizzle them with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle garlic powder generously. Once preheated, place the asparagus in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Once done, your going to just place some asparagus on a plate and spoon the chicken, onion, and pepper mix on top of the spears. This is a spectacular dish with a whole lof of flavor. I will definitely be doing this one as a regular because it is very easy to do and is a quick solution.

Smoking Meat in the Oven Part 2

Well I decided to write what I consider as an addendum to my previous blog about a pork butt that I smoked in the oven. Since I had to move back to an apartment, I've had to be rather inventive with the fact that I love to smoke pork. I've come up with many ways to do this and there was always something missing from the flavor. I am a fan of the taste of muted apple in pork. There is just something about it that is both wonderfully sweet and beautiful about it. It's sugary, it adds a needed muted sweetness, it's refreshing, and it takes down the bite of over-smoking the meat or over cooking in an oven. The same idea is evident; cook it low and don't mess with it. Don't poke it, don't open the door to look at it, don't check it's temp for at least 6 hours. Just let it cook and keep it covered to take as much smoke a possible. A far as setting up
an oven smoke device, it's quite easy. Get a cheap aluminum roasting pan and place soaked wood chips in it. Place that on the bottom rung in the oven. Then on the other rack, put the
roast on the actual oven rack and cover it up in foil. Make sure that you rub the roast down and that the fatty side is facing up so that it melts off through the meat to protect moisture. Cooking in an actual oven is different than a grill or a smoker. Set it for about 6-7 hours at 325°F. Like I said earlier, let it sit. I know that you want to mess with it, but don't. Once 6 hours are done, you can uncover it and begin to start basting it and mopping. Jack up the heat to around 425 and baste in a clean pan, fat side down every 10 minutes for an additional 40 minutes to create a bark. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes before cutting or pulling the meat. If you did it right, the meat should be able to fall directly off the shoulder blade. Just dice it, mince it, shred it, do what you will. It might sound like trouble to do this but you will have some of the tastiest pork you will ever want and be able to closely replicate that restaurant bbq taste that you already like. If you would like some ideas for rubs or seasoning ideas, comment and I will add some suggestions. Enjoy your time in the kitchen and remember that cooking isn't a chore, it's an adventure.