Sweet Pork Smothered Burritos

If you have not had the euphoric experience of eating Cafe Rio's Sweet Pork, I have only one thing to say to you; "Na-Na-Na-Na! Ha!"

It really is amazing. I can only imagine that it must be one of the very few reasons that people live in Utah. Lucky you, you don't have to move to the "Green Jello Capitol of the West" in order to share in this bliss. Thank you, World Wide Web! This pork is great for many reasons. First and foremost, it's delicious flavor. Second, it's versatility. It really can be used in so many dishes.Roll it up in a homemade tortilla, serve it on a bed of leafy greens, or between two toasty buns with melty cheese. I don't care how you eat it, just eat it!
I would love to be able to take credit for this ingenious recipe, but I can't. So, I won't. I will however give credit to my sister R, for sharing it with me though. Thanks!

Sweet Pork Smothered Burritos
Serves: 8-12

Ingredients:
4lb Boston Butt Pork
Rub pork with:
1 tbsp Chili Powder
1 tbsp Dry Mustard
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tbsp Salt
1/2 tbsp Pepper

Directions:
Put in slow cooker and cover pork with:
16 oz Coke
about 1 cup Brown sugar, adjust to taste
1/4 c Worcestershire Sauce, adjust to taste
1/4 Bottle BBQ sauce, adjust to taste
Cover and cook over low heat for about 6-8hrs. Shred with fork and serve burrito style.
For the enchilada sauce, use a small can of El Pato tomato sauce, and warm in a small saucepan. Stir in a 1/4 cup of cream cheese. Stir until melted.

Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese

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In case you were not aware I <3 Cilantro.
Cilantro + Hollis = Tru LV 4EVR!
Like, Yeah!
Do you think cilantro feels the same way?

Remember when peace signs and ying-yang signs were da bomb? Or when scribbling the name of your current "lover" on your notebook was the thing to do. Umm, how many notebooks did I go through in 7th grade?! That's not the point here. Moving on.
That has absolutely nothing to do with this recipe, except that I just displayed my mathematical love equation up there, and for the fact that this dish is loaded with cilantro. Cilantro just makes things better. Really. It's true! I cannot lie. Next time you are watching a sappy movie and just can't compose yourself and stop crying, run to the refrigerator and pull out some cilantro. Chop and eat. Or rub it into your 5 year old's knee and elbow scrape next time he falls off his bike. It's sure to do the trick.
Uhh... yeah. Not so much?
Well, this surely will!

Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
12 oz Pasta Shells (or whatever you have on hand)
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cooked and cubed, (or leftover shredded chicken, 2 cups)
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Flour
1 1/2 c Milk
1 c Shredded Mexican Style Cheese
3/4 c Shredded Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
1/3 c Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce ( gotta use Frank's!)
1/3 c Crushed BBQ Potato Chips ( or bread crumbs)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 Crumbled Gorgonzola or Blue Cheese
1/2 c Cilantro
Buffalo Sauce for drizzle

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook pasta according to directions.
While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, allow to melt then add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture becomes golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in grated cheeses and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in buffalo wing sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Grease a baking dish. Add pasta and chicken, then pour cheese sauce over and mix thoroughly until everything is coated. Sprinkle with chip crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven and top with gorgonzola and cilantro. Drizzle with buffalo wing sauce.

Steak Fajita Nachos

I have a little confession to make.
We are all friends here, right?
Good.
So it begins like this. While I was working out one morning, in my half awake attempt to duke it out with Jillian Michaels I could only think about 2 things. One being how badly I wanted to fling my dumbell at her face, and two what was on tap for dinner that evening. I ran through the list of meals I had previously planned for that week, but as usual, nothing struck me. I started to think about cheese. Melty, gooey cheese. Cheese turned into nachos. Nachos reared it's ugly head and turned into fajitas. Dang. Which one?! Let's go nachos. Nachos with fajita style toppings! And so it went, I plugged through my workout, all the while my brain was on nachos.
Are we still friends?
If you are anything like me, this story does not strike you as odd. Totally normal, right?
That's what I said.

PS. I probably gained like 4 pounds just thinking about this. Which really means my workout was all in vain. Yeah, that sounds about right.


Steak Fajita Nachos
Serves: 2 or more

Ingredients:
1 lb Flank Steak, cut into bite size pieces
Corn Tortilla Chips, 2 platefuls
1 1/2-2 c Shredded Mexi Style Cheese
1 15 oz can Black Beans
1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced fajita style
Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Sour Cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
On a grill or skillet, cook the steak to desired (wellness/doneness?) Remove from skillet.
Turn the heat to medium high, melt butter in skillet. Dump the peppers in the pan. Let sit for 1 min. Do not touch. After 1 min, toss to coat. Allow to get a bit charred. Remove from pan.
On 2 oven safe plates, arrange chips. Divide the cheese in 2 and sprinkle on chips. Place in the preheated oven, warming until cheese melts. Remove from oven.
Top the chips with black beans, peppers and steak. Place back inside the oven and allow to heat through.
Remove from oven top with guacamole, pico and sour cream. Share with friends! ( Or go hide in your walk in closet and eat fast!)

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

 

Stuffed Peppers always bring me back to weeknights on Salem Road. Everyone gathered around the picnic style kitchen table. Chaos. Dance classes. Homework. The whole deal. Sigh. I have probably only eaten Stuffed Peppers a handful of times, but how much cuter can it get? Am I right or am I right? Spicy rice stuffed inside a bell pepper, loaded with creamy melty cheese goodness. Now I admit, as a child I did not eat the actual pepper, I think the first time I ate the pepper was when I made it this go around. I would like to just say that I'm sure I didn't eat it to preserve it's cuteness, that's just the kind of girl I am. But who am I kidding, what kid likes bell peppers? Ew! But, I was sure missing out! Did you eat the pepper? Disclaimer: I would have preferred to use red bell peppers, but the grocery store was out for like ever!

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 Red Bell Peppers

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1lb Ground Turkey

2 Chipolte Peppers in Adobo Sauce, diced

1 15oz can Diced Tomatoes

1 1/2 cups White Rice (I used Minute Rice)

1 cup Chicken Broth

1/2 cup Chopped Cilantro

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Ground Cumin, to taste

Chili Powder, to taste

Shredded Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the tops of the peppers off and remove the insides. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic for 3 min. Add the ground turkey and mix to break it up and combine. Let cook over medium heat until done. Season with salt and pepper. Drain grease.

Cook tomatoes and chipolte pepeprs in a large pan. Let come to a simmer. Add in the rice. Begin to pour in the chicken broth, start with about 1/2 cup. Cover with lid and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 min, or until rice has soaked up the liquid. You may need to add more broth.Add cilantro. Stir to combine.

Add the rice mixture to the meat and season with cumin and chili powder. Spoon mixture into the bell peppers. Top with Monterrey Cheese ( or whatever cheese you have on hand ). Bake at 375, until heated through. Turn the broiler on for the last minute or two to brown the cheese. Top with sour cream and cilantro.

 

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I'm sure you screens are being blasted with a million Mexican recipes today, so let me just say that I am happy to be your millionth and one! These enchiladas are so yummy. Don't be fooled by the list of ingredients, because they really are a cinch to make. Serve with some Mexican Rice and Beans, and of course a sombrero! Ole!?

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Serves:6

Ingredients:
2 Large Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded
 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth
3 tbsp Canola Oil, divided 2 and 1
12 Corn Tortillas
1 Onion, Diced
2 4 oz cans Green Chiles, chopped
1 Jalapeno, Seeded and Finely Diced
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
16 oz Sour Cream
1 1/2 cups Colby Jack Cheese, Shredded
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
Cumin, to taste
Cayenne Pepper, to taste
Cilantro for Garnish

Directions:
Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas for about 15- 20 seconds. Place tortillas on a paper towels lined plate to drain.
Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in separate skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 1 minute. Add cooked chicken, 1 can of the green chilies, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, when mixture begins to bubble, turn off and remove from heat.
In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and add in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the other can of chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add cheeses and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper.
To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you’d like, then bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro.
Serve with picante sauce, if desired.

Mexi Mac n Chz

Last Friday evening, at oh about 7:32pm I set out to make dinner. Dinner was inspired by HowSweetEats.com post for Mexican Macaroni and Cheese. You see, I had planned to make this for dinner based on the fact that I HAD all of the ingredients in the house already. And seeing as how it should not take too long to make, I waited until 7:32pm to start. Well, as I open my crisper, to my utter surprise and discontentment, I realized I did NOT have everything I thought I did. Don't you just hate that? Doesn't that just make you want to scream? No? Oh, well I was already having a bad day...and I waited until 7:32 to make dinner, leaving me totally unexcited to run out to the store. So, I didn't. I went on full speed ahead and made Mexi Mac n Chz.

Mexi Mac n Chz
Serves:6

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Macaroni noodles, cooked
1 1/2 to 2 cups Chicken Breast,  cooked and shredded
1 15oz can Ro-Tel
1/3 cup Red Onion, chopped
1/3 cup Sweet Red Peppers, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Cumin
Chili powder, to taste
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cups milk
1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
1- 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Breadcrumbs or tortilla chips for topping
Cilantro for garnish

Directions:
Cook the noodles according to package directions. If you have not already cooked and shredded the chicken, do so now please. (Boil chicken in water until done. Shred with fingers or two forks.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
While noodles boil, heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic. Saute about 4 min, or until fragrant. Add the Ro-Tel, stir and season with cumin, cayenne and chili powder. Add the chicken and cook for about 3 min and turn off heat. Add noodles when cooked.
Begin preparing the roux. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small sauce pan. When melted, whisk in the flour. When browned and paste like, add the milk and cheeses. Stir continuously until sauce has thickened, make careful not to burn. About 10 min. Pour sauce into the chicken/noodle mixture. Mix well.
Transfer into a medium sized baking dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs or crushed tortilla chips on top. Bake for 20 min or until golden brown and bubbly. Garnish with cilantro.

Fried Chicken Tacos

Tacos with fried chicken? Fried chicken and tacos? NO! Fried Tacos with Chicken! I lifted this idea from PW. And Man, was it good!  What got me about these tacos is the fact that you stuff the tortilla BEFORE you fry them! Then top them off with all your favorite toppings. Pair these with My Take On Chili's Salsa, and enjoy!

Fried Chicken Tacos
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces
1 4oz can of diced green chilies
Ground Cumin, to taste
Chili Powder, to taste
Ground Cayenne Pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
8 corn tortillas
Taco toppings: shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes,shredded lettuce, sour cream and hot sauce.

Directions:
Begin my heating a few tablespoons of canola oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken to the skillet. Spread the chicken out. Season and add the chilies.  Cook until chicken is done.
Meanwhile, heat a medium sized pot with a few inches of canola oil.
Take a tortilla and scoop the chicken mixture in. With tongs, gently hold the taco and dip into the oil. Gently hold the tortilla submerged in the oil until tortilla takes taco form. Let fry until golden brown on bottom and then flip.
Remove from oil using tongs. Tilt taco on it's side, shaking off all excess oil. Wrap in paper towel to soak up excess oil. Repeat with remaining tacos.
Gently open the taco and top with cheese. Allow to melt. Add sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes. Top with hot sauce or salsa. Serve immediately.