Foodie Friday -- Tacos

Originally, I had nothing for y'all since we were eating lefties and making quickie meals all week, such as taco meat and Wanchai Ferry Orange chicken. Package meals serve their purpose provided you add your own meat and veg. That way you have control over the quality and quantity of the added ingredients. Some of you might not have as large of a selection of spices that I do and McCormick has a few new products that provide you with the herbs and spices needed to make a particular dish. All you have to do is add the meat and veg.

Yes, you can simply buy a package of taco seasoning, but then you have to try different products to see which one works for you (I'm a fan of McCormick's HOT taco seasoning). Or you can make your own. I tend to double it and make 2 pounds of taco meat because it freezes well. Try to find 90% lean ground beef or less. I've never tried ground turkey, but with all the seasonings in it your family probably wouldn't know the difference unless you told them!

Taco Meat

1 lb. ground beef

1 Tbls. dried minced onion

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

3 Tbls. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

cayenne pepper

3/4 cup water

Brown ground beef, drain fat. Add onion and spices, stir to coat. Add water and bring to simmer. Cook mixture, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Adjust seasonings according to taste.

We tend to leave it a little on the wet side instead of cooking until dry.

All you need are crispy tacos or flour tortillas, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and salsa. Enjoy!

FOODIE FRIDAY--Garlic Beef Enchiladas

As much as I love this recipe, my daughter hates it. But too bad, so sad.  Okay, I do cave and give her a cheese enchilada instead of the meat.  I used to make enchiladas out of the entire batch, but found I didn’t like the way they reheated. The meat filling and sauce freeze quite nicely. Just thaw and reheat the meat in the microwave until warm. The sauce I warm up on the stove. If it has thickened up too much, just add a little beef broth to thin.

I have no idea where I got this recipe. It isn’t from Bon Appetit, but it is from a magazine. And I don’t usually buy any food magazines, EXCEPT Bon Appetit.  It says A TASTE OF HOME COLLECTOR’S EDITION. This recipe was a runner-up.  So if that makes sense and you KNOW where I picked this recipe up, I’ll add it to my notes.

FYI: the entire bulb of garlic is called a ‘head’, which breaks down into ‘cloves’. Cloves vary in size from monster (from the outside of the head) to small and thin (inner part of clove). Use your best judgment and your family’s garlic tolerance to guide you!

Though I don’t normally premeasure my spices when I cook, I would recommend do it for this recipe as everything happens quickly.

I also will make recipes EXACTLY as it is written for the first time. Then I’ll adjust the seasonings accordingly. I usually lean toward the heavier end of the spices listed.

Garlic Beef Enchiladas

FILLING

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 Tbls. flour

1 Tbls. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. rubbed sage

1 can (14 ½ ounces) stewed tomatoes (I don’t usually have this in my pantry. Diced tomatoes work just as well)

SAUCE:

4-6 garlic cloves, minced (2-3 for my family)(I also use a garlic press instead of mincing)

1/3 cup butter or margarine

½ cup flour

1 can (14 ½ ounces) beef broth

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

1 to 2 Tbls. chili powder

1 to 2 tsp. ground cumin

1 to 2 tsp. rubbed sage

½ tsp salt

10 flour tortillas (7-inches, soft taco size) microwave slightly to soften

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby-Jack cheese

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add flour and seasonings; mix well. Stir in tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, sauté garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes until bubbly. Stir in tomato sauce and seasonings; heat through. If sauce is lumpy, pull out your handy-dandy immersible blender (hand blender) and blend away.

Pour about 1 ½ cups sauce into an ungreased 13 x 9 baking dish. Spread about ¼ cup beef mixture down the center of each tortilla; top with 1-2 Tbls. cheese. Roll up tightly; place seam side down over sauce. Okay, the measurements are for ‘official’ purposes, just put the amount that feels right and allows you to roll the tortilla.

Cover and bake at 350 F degrees for 30-35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

FOODIE FRIDAY--Swedish Meatballs

My daughter requested that I post this Swedish Meatball recipe today.  This is another one of my mom’s recipes that I copied from her file, but have no idea where she got it.  I’m sure I could call her and ask, but I’m too lazy today.  If I had to hazard a guess, it came from an old Women’s Day magazine. UPDATE: I called my mom and she doesn’t remember either, but give the woman some slack because she picked up the recipe 40-50 years ago. 

And I have another sad thing to report.  Zwieback crackers, which used to be teething crackers Nabisco made, are no longer available.  But I found a zwieback recipe if you’re interested. And as they are twice baked cookies, a light cinnamon biscotti might work or Progresso panko bread crumbs.

Swedish Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef

½ lb. ground veal

½ lb. ground pork

¾ cup Zwieback crumbs, finely grated (or alternative)

1 cup light cream

1 cup water (or less—wait to add)

¼ cup minced onions

½ cup butter

1 Tbs. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

¼ tsp. nutmeg

2 egg yolks

Soak crumbs in cream. Stir in water and mix with meat. Fry onion lightly in 2 Tbs. of the butter. Add to the meat with the seasonings and egg yolks. Mix well. Shape into very small balls (1-inch). Fry in remaining butter over low heat. Shake pan occasionally.

Serve over bed of cooked egg noodles, surrounded by border of fried onions.

This recipe also makes an awesome meatloaf!  We usually cook 1/3 of the recipe as meatballs and the rest as a meatloaf.

350 degrees for 1-1 ½ hours

Enjoy this with a nice salad or green beans.
Bon Appetit!