Homemade Guacamole

I have an affinity for anything avocado, so naturally I am a huge Guacamole fan.  With that being said, I am not a big fan of onions, and I'm always striving to come up with the best onion free guacamole recipe.  Last night I concocted something amazing.  So amazing in fact, that it just had to be shared.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 Avocados (seeded and peeled)
Juice of 2 Limes (only use 1 if you don't love the hint of lime taste)
1/2 Red Bell Pepper (seeded and chopped)
8 Champagne Tomatoes (chopped, can substitute grape tomatoes)
1/2 Jalapeno (Seeded and Minced)
1 Clove Garlic (Minced)
1 tsp Himalayan Sea Salt
1-2 tsp Cumin Powder


Directions:
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Enjoy! 

Cinco de Mayo Recipes

Now that Easter is over it's time to look for the next great themed holiday to cook for....  At least that's how the thinking goes in my world.  So I have come across 4 recipes for things that I would like to make but never have in the past.  If you were looking for a more substantial meal you can check out my previous recipes.  I like Mexican food and cook a lot of the simpler recipes on an almost monthly basis so I wanted to branch out to drinks and desserts and a new dip for my chips :)  Enjoy!  And please add on any of your own!

Cucumber Lime Agua Fresca

I just love how fresh and weird and fun this sounds!


Check out the recipe here:
Cucumber Lime Agua Fresca





Tres Leche Cake

It's cake  and it has a glaze AND frosting...  How can you go wrong?

Check out the recipe here:
 Tres Leche Cake







 Horchata

This has to be one of my all-time favorite Mexican yummies!  I can't believe that I have never made it (must be because I don't have cheese cloth laying around haha)

Click here for the recipe:
Horchata






Chunky Mango Guacamole

I love guacamole and I love mangoes...  why not combine them?  Why have I never thought of this before?

Check out the recipe here:
Chunky Mango Guacamole

Chicken Quesadillas

I am always trying to do different things with chicken, because I feel like it can be one of the more boring meats and it's harder to eat leftover for me.  Flipping through recipe ideas I got a craving for quesadillas and remembered that I had a nifty quesadilla maker sitting on a shelf in my garage that was being severely under utilized.  *Don't get discouraged if you do not own a quesadilla maker, you can still make this recipe just fine in a pan on the stove.  This is a very quick and delicious recipe.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Chicken Breasts (Thinly Sliced)
Seasoning (Alpine Touch, Lime Pepper, Cumin Powder)
Pack of flour tortillas
Shredded Cheese
Toppings (Mix and match in whatever way you desire)
Red Pepper (Seeded & Sliced)
Green Onions (Chopped)
Avocado (Seeded, Peeled & Sliced)
Salsa
Sour Cream
Cilantro

Directions:
 Add the butter to a skillet and place the sliced chicken into the pan, add the seasoning  Cook until down all the way through.  Pre-heat the quesadilla maker (or the pan if you prefer).  Get a tortilla for the bottom of you quesadilla.  Sprinkle shredded cheese on the bottom and top with a couple pieces of the cooked chicken.  Add the accoutrements (peppers, green onions, avocado) and top with a final sprinkle of cheese.  Place on the quesadilla maker (or in the pan on med-high) and add a top tortilla to cover.  Cook for about 30-60 seconds to warm all the way through (if cooking in a pan flip after 30 seconds and cook for another 30, once you start to see melted cheese you should be good to go).  Remove and cut along the grooves made by the quesdilla maker (if using a pan just cut to preference).  Serve with salsa and Sour cream with cilantro on top.  Enjoy!

Add the chicken and seasoning to the butter in the pan

Cook thoroughly

Get out your bottom tortilla and add cheese and chicken

Add the peppers, green onions & avocado

Top with more cheese and place on the quesadilla maker)

Add the top tortilla

Cook for 30-60 minutes

Remove and cut along the grooves

Serve & Enjoy!

Steak Nachos

Steak nachos are easy to make, they are delicious, and they are always a favorite of mine.  I don't make them nearly enough!  I definitely recommend them to anyone who like nachos or steak, or cheese, or totrtilla chips.....  If you are of the vegetarian persuasion, you can enjoy some delicious steak nachos without the steak for an almost as enjoyable experience. 

Ingredients:
 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 package stew meat (pre cut steak)

Seasoning (Alpine Touch, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Crushed Red Pepper)
Tortilla Chips
Shredded Cheese
Salsa
Sour Cream
Green Onions (chopped)
Avocado (Peeled & chopped)
Tomatoes (Diced)
Cilantro (Diced)

Directions:
Pour the oil into a skillet and add in the steak and seasonings.  Cook until desired done-ness I like medium for my nachos, as medium rare can tend to make the chips a little soggy.  Arrange some tortilla chips on a plate, add the shredded cheese and then steak and more cheese and green onions.  Microwave until cheese is melted (I usually start with 35 seconds and go up from there).   Add the remaining ingredients.  Feel free to add or subtract any of your own toppings.  Serve & Enjoy!

Add the oil, steak and seasoning tot he skillet

Cook according to desired rate

Prepare your toppings

Add your ingredients best served warm

Microwave until cheese is melted

Add remaining toppings and enjoy

Carne Asada: The Winning Dish!

I have to admit that this must be one of the easiest dishes that I made based on your votes.   Not to say that it takes away from being tasty in any way.  Having never made Carne Asada before, I never realized just how quick and easy it was.  The longest time is spent in marinating the dish, and the rest goes by very quickly!  Thank you so very much for your participation and your votes in deciding what I would cook for this month!  As my readers, you are my motivation for keeping this up every single day!   If you have any recipe suggestions, please feel free to share them with me and I can add them in to my monthly vote! 

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs flank or round steak
Marinade:
2 Garlic Cloves (Minced)
1 tsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Alpine Touch (Salt & Pepper)
1 Large handful of cilantro (cut thinly, stems included)
2 Limes worth of Juice
2 Tbsp White Vinegar
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1 small Yellow Bell Pepper (Seeded & Chopped)

Corn or Flour Tortillas
1 Avocado (Peeled, cored & chopped)
Tomatoes
Salsa
Green Onions



Directions:
Combine all of above marinade ingredients and the steak in a large bowl and soak in the fridge for 1-4 hours. 
Preheat your grill (I just use my George Foreman Grill).  Remove the steak from the marinade. If you are cooking on a pan indoors, you may want to brush off excess marinade as the bits may burn and smoke on the hot pan.   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.

(Optional) 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.
Feel free to add whatever toppings you would like.  I listed which ingredients I added into it, but cook according to preference.  Serve & Enjoy!

Marinate the steak

Grill it to juicy perfection

Warm up your tortillas

Serve with toppings and enjoy!

 Here are the precious winners if you are interested in checking them out! 

February's Winner: Chicken Cordon Bleu

January's Winner: Sauteed Scallops

December's Winner: Pizza Pot Pies

November's Winner: Lasagna Stuffed Manicotti

October's Winner: Pumpkin Risotto

September's Winner: Burgundy Pork 

Steak Nachos

If you have been to my house for dinner enough times, you are bound to end up trying my signature steak nachos.  There is nothing complicated to it, but they are the most delicious of all the nachos that I make.  Something about steak and cheese and anything else that is just plain awesomeness!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb Stewing Steak
Seasoning (Montreal Steak Grill Mates and Cumin)
Chips (I used Hint of Lime)
Salsa
Sour Cream
Tomatoes (Chopped)
Green Onions (Chopped)
Black Olives (Sliced)
Avocado (Sliced)

Directions:
Add the oil to a skillet, and then add the steak and seasoning.  Cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes until cooked to desired temperature.  While cooking, prepare the other ingredients that need to be sliced or chopped (Tomatoes, Green Onions, Black Olives, and Avocado).  Arrange the amount of chips you want on a plate and add the cheese, steak and green onions.  Microwave for about 35 seconds or until cheese is melted.  Add the salsa, sour cream and remaining toppings.  Serve & Enjoy!   

Add the oil, steak & seasoning to the skillet

Prepare the toppings

Cook the steak to the desired temperature

Add chips, cheese, steak & green onions to the plate

Melt the cheese in the microwave

Add remaining toppings and enjoy

Restaurants that Ban Kids

Do you think that kids should be banned at restaurants?  In the latest news of a restaurant doing just that, they set a curfew on kids under the age of 8 years old.  After 7 pm you cannot have any kids under 8 at the restaurant.  This brings many questions to mind, such as if there is a child in the restaurant that arrived before 7 will they be forced to leave in the middle of their meal?  If they anticipate that the family with the child will not be able to finish their meal by 7 (as in showing up at 640 or 650) will they be refused service?  Why was 7 pm chosen as the curfew time.  This seems quite early to me.  Although my son is in bed by 8 I think that 8 pm would be a much better curfew time.  What about those families that are like most Americans and work until 5 pm, have a commute home of let's say a half an hour.  Have to pick up their kids and get ready to go have dinner now, it is close to 6 or 630 or even coming up on 7 pm.  They give up on the thought of having time to prepare dinner and decide to go out and have a nice family dinner together.  Now they are refused service due to a 7 pm curfew???  Luckily this is not a trend picking up at most restaurants, and is only in a couple of restaurants here and there. 

I CAN see the other side as well.  Not having had a child in my early 20s I did get annoyed at unruly children in restaurants (AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE MOVIE THEATER).  I do not think that it is all children that are unruly, some have bad days.  If your child is unruly just be courteous to others and get your food to go.  I have done this myself when my son has decided that he has had enough of a restaurant and it's time to go.  I refuse to be that person with the crying/screaming child.  I go with the 5 minute rule, if I cannot get my son to calm down with a walk to the bathroom or whatever method comes to mind at the time within 5 minutes it's time to go and not to ruin other people's meals.  I also will NOT take my son to the theater when I know that he can't sit still through a movie or be quiet through one either.

For the full story on the 7 pm curfew at the Houston restaurant La Fisheria go to La Fisheria Curfew

There is another restaurant in Virginia which is a Suishi restaurant and is only for people 18 and up,  Now as I assume that this is an alcohol serving establishment, this seems fine to me and I would welcome this for a night out without my son or in the days before motherhood. 

Suishi Bar bans people under 18

Any thoughts or comments?