Habanero Beef Tacos

Ingredients

  • 2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes
  • 3 fresh poblano chile peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped (our poblanos looked kinda small so we used 5 poblanos that were each 4 – 4 ½ inches long)
  • ¾ cup 50% less sodium beef broth
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 1 to 2 fresh habanero chile peppers, seeded if desired* (we used 2 habaneros and kept the seeds and ribs)
  • 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 2 lb. boneless beef chuck pot roast, trimmed and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
  • 8 to 12 (6- to 8-inch each) flour tortillas
  • For toppings (optional): Red onion slivers, sliced radishes, pico de gallo, sour cream, crumbled queso fresco or Cotija cheese (we used Cotija cheese), and/or chopped fresh cilantro (we used everything except the sour cream and pico de gallo)

Directions

  1. Add the first 7 ingredients to a blender, putting the lid on the blender afterwards and blending them until smooth (we added some kosher salt to taste afterwards to bring out the flavors more).
  2. Take a 3 ½- to 4-quart slow cooker out and place the beef inside of it. Pour the pepper mixture over the meat, putting the lid on the slow cooker afterwards. Let the beef cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours (we cooked ours on HIGH).
  3. Take the meat out of the slow cooker using a slotted spoon. Once all the meat’s out of the slow cooker, skim the fat from the cooking liquid. Place the meat on tortillas (we shredded our meat some to make it more bite-size), drizzling the meat with cooking liquid afterwards. Place the toppings on afterwards and enjoy !

*Habaneros are spicy peppers so make sure to wear plastic or rubber gloves when handling them.

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We were excited to see how spicy these would turn out based off the title and the heat wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be ! We really didn’t get much heat from the beef but the sauce definitely had more heat to it and left your lips with a nice tingle on them and a warmth in your mouth. Sauce or no sauce, we thought the tacos were delicious though ! The red onion, radishes and cilantro brought a nice freshness to the taco. The red onion and radish slices brought a nice crunchy texture to the dish that would otherwise be lacking. The Cotija cheese brought a wonderful “funk” that also helped temper the heat from the taco as well. We hope this can be a new favorite taco recipe for y’all !

This recipe came from Better Homes & Gardens.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Better Homes & Gardens.

Take care everybody !

Crunchy Chicken-Peanut Chopped Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. deli-fried chicken tenders (about 6 large tenders), chopped (we went with the weight rather than the number of chicken tenders)
  • 3 cups shredded coleslaw mix (you can get that from a 10-oz. package of shredded coleslaw mix)
  • 2 cups shredded red cabbage (from 1 head cabbage)
  • ½ cup thinly sliced scallions (from 4 scallions) (we went with the ½ cup measurement)
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
  • ¾ cup dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped, divided
  • 5 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
  • 3 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce (we used reduced-sodium soy sauce)
  • 2 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar (we used unseasoned rice vinegar)
  • 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
  • Crushed red pepper, to taste (we used 1 Tbsp.)

Directions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, toss together the chopped chicken, coleslaw mix, cabbage, scallions, cilantro and ½ cup of chopped peanut.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the lime juice and peanut butter together until the mixture looks smooth. Slowly whisk (so the dressing doesn’t break) in the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, light brown sugar, and the crushed red pepper, continuing to whisk until creamy.
  3. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad mixture in the large bowl, tossing to ensure that all the components are coated in the dressing. Sprinkle the remaining peanuts over the top and enjoy !
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Oh my god we loved this salad ! The recipe lives up to its name with the amount of crunch you get from the cabbage and coleslaw mix and you get some additional texture from the chopped peanuts. The dressing is really what makes the dish so freaking delicious though. That tangy, spicy peanut butter flavor with just a hint of sweetness in the dressing just keeps you coming back for more ! You could dial down the amount of crushed red pepper if you don’t want it spicy but we loved how the amount we chose to use gave you a tingle on your lips without making your nose runny and the other flavors were still able to come through in the dish. The chicken does make this feel like a filling, complete meal but we don’t see why you couldn’t replace it with some kind of meat substitute and turn this into a vegan meal. Awesome bonus though, no cooking needed ! This is perfect for summer time when it’s 90+ degrees out (and that’s without the d*#n humidity figured in).

We got this recipe from Southern Living. We weren’t paid in any form to promote Southern Living.

Take care everybody !

Peanut-Noodle Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 large cucumber
  • ¾ cup lite soy sauce (we used reduced-sodium soy sauce)
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • ½ cup rice wine vinegar
  • ½ cup chunky peanut butter
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil (we used toasted sesame oil)
  • ½ to 1 tsp. dried crushed red pepper (we used 1 tsp.)
  • ½ tsp. salt (we used kosher salt)
  • 1 (16 oz.) pkg. soba noodles or angel hair pasta (we used soba noodles)
  • 1 (10 oz.) pkg. shredded carrots (we used julienned carrots*)
  • 6 green onions, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces

Directions

  1. Peel the cucumbers, cutting them in half lengthwise and throwing the seeds away afterwards. Cut each half into crescent-shaped slices.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the following ingredients together: soy sauce, coconut milk, rice wine vinegar, peanut butter, garlic, sesame oil, crushed red pepper and salt. Add the remaining ingredients into the bowl, tossing to ensure they’re fully coated in the dressing. Cover the bowl and let it chill in the fridge for 8 hours if you want to.

*The recipe called for shredded carrots but we wanted a little more crunch since we knew the noodles were going to be soft so we used julienned carrots instead.

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While you can eat this after it’s sat in the fridge for 8 hours, we enjoyed eating this right away ! The produce has a nice crunch to it which is a nice contrast to the tender noodles. You’d think you were in for an onion bomb with the size of the pieces but the flavor really gets tamed down by the cucumber and the tanginess of the dressing. We got very little heat from this so we added more crushed red pepper onto our portions. Overall, it’s an easy dish to make and great to enjoy on a hot summer day !

Recipe source unknown.

Take care everybody !

South Carolina Pulled Pork with Mustard Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

  • Pulled Pork
    • 1 bone-in pork shoulder (about 7 lbs.)
    • 1 tsp. salt (we used more than 1 tsp. of table salt*)
    • ½ tsp. pepper (we used more than ½ tsp. of freshly ground black pepper*)
    • Small hamburger buns (optional)
  • Mustard Barbecue Sauce
    • 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
    • ½ yellow onion, grated
    • 2 cloves garlic, grated
    • 1 cup yellow mustard (such as French’s) (we used French’s)
    • 1 tbsp. dry mustard
    • ¾ cup cider vinegar
    • ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
    • 1 tsp. Tabasco

Directions

  1. For the pulled pork: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Let the pork sit at room temp. for 30 minutes before seasoning it with the salt and pepper. Wrap the pork up tightly in aluminum foil and place it on a rimmed baking sheet that has a rack fitted on it (we lined the baking sheet with foil before placing the rack on). Stick the sheet in the oven and let the pork cook for 7 hours or until the pork reaches 200 degrees in the thickest part and can be easily pulled apart using a fork.
  2. For the mustard barbecue sauce: When there’s 20 minutes left on the cook time for the pork, take a saucepan out and add the butter to it, setting the heat to medium-low. Once the butter’s melted, toss in the onion and garlic, stirring frequently for 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients and let the sauce simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Once the pork’s cool enough for you to handle, remove the skin, bone and fat, throwing them away afterwards. Take the meat and shred it with a pair of forks. Place the pulled meat in a large mixing bowl, pouring the barbecue sauce over it afterwards, tossing to coat. Serve the pork on buns if you’re using them.

*We didn’t like how little the salt and pepper seemed on the pork so we added more. We didn’t measure how much more we used though, so season to taste !

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When we tried the sauce before pouring it over the pork, it had so much pucker power to it ! Something magical happened though after it was tossed with the pork, almost all the pucker power disappeared ! The sauce just took on a sweeter flavor to it, we couldn’t explain it. Can’t explain it, but we loved it !

We got this recipe from Family Circle.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote French’s, Tabasco, or Family Circle.

Take care everybody !

Mexican Corn Salad

Ingredients

  • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • ¼ cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ tsp. pepper (we used freshly ground black pepper)
  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil (we used extra-virgin olive oil)
  • 4 cups fresh corn kernels (from 6 ears, maybe less depending on the size of your ears of corn)
  • ½ cup chopped scallions (we sliced ours)
  • 1 pint multicolored cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup thinly sliced radishes
  • 1 ½ oz. crumbled Cotija cheese (1/3 cup)

Directions

  1. Take a small mixing bowl out and whisk together the cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper together in it. Slowly whisk the oil in until combined and your dressing is complete !
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the corn, scallions, tomatoes and radish slices. Take the dressing and gently stir it into the large bowl, making sure that the dressing coats the other salad components. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and you’re ready to eat !
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When it comes to how this tastes, I think mommy’s statement after taking her first bite best describes this: “F**k this is delicious !”. When you try the dressing before it’s mixed in, it seems like you’re going to have some serious pucker power in every bite of the salad but once it’s coating all the other components and especially after the Cotija cheese is sprinkled on, the flavor of the lime juice just becomes a nice pleasant bright note in this. We love Cotija so we crumbled up more than just 1/3 cup just so we could have cheese in every serving. The funky flavor of the Cotija cheese pairs perfectly with the flavor of the lime juice and cilantro that comes through in this dish. Another awesome thing about this recipe?  There’s ZERO cooking involved ! As hot as it can get here in the summer, any dish that doesn’t require heat is an awesome summer recipe!!!

We got this recipe from Cooking Light (we weren’t paid in any form to promote them).

Take care everybody !