Some Like It Tangy

I LOVE taco salad. And if there’s anybody that loves it more than me, it’s Mr. Spouse. I promise he asks for it EVERY single week. Well, I usually don’t comply with his requests because I don’t want to get tired of eating/cooking the same thing ALL the time, but I really do get a little excited when I put it in the plans. We usually eat our taco salad with corn, avocado, taco meat, crushed tortilla chips, and Italian dressing. Adam about FELL.OUT when we were first married and I suggested using Italian. He grew up eating taco salad with Ranch dressing instead of Italian & Dorito’s instead of tortilla chips. Not gonna lie…it’s pretty dang good that way, too! But when I whipped up this tangy version of the regular taco salad I serve, I knew that this would be making MANY more appearances on our taco salad nights! Now I won’t feel so guilty when I see this yummy dish on the menu ;)

TANGY FIESTA SALAD

Romaine lettuce

2 tomatoes, chopped

green onions, chopped

1 {10 oz.} bag of frozen corn, thawed

1 lb. ground beef

Taco seasoning {I used McCormick’s}

Tortilla chips, crushed {I used Santita’s}

Shredded Mexican cheese

Thousand Island dressing

Brown beef and drain. Return to pan and add {thawed} corn and taco seasoning. Mix well and cook until blended.

Chop romaine and place on a large plate. Y’all…this makes a SERIOUSLY large salad, so chop what you think you’ll eat :) I should’ve bought a pre-chopped bag of romaine, but the grocery store was out so I bought the whole bunch instead…and we used the whole thing! No wonder it was so dang LARGE! HA!

Remove corn & beef mix from heat and spread evenly over the romaine.

Top with tomatoes, green onion, and crushed tortilla chips. I think I might even add black beans to the mix next time!

The secret to this salad is the dressing. When I found this recipe, I had to call Mr. Spouse to ask him if Thousand Island was a good dressing. He was all, “Uh…yeah. Have you been living under a rock or what?” Yep…that’s where I’ve been. I’ve never had it before!

Dang if I didn’t seriously LOVE the dressing/salad combo! It was SO TANGY! And DElicious!!! I even went back for seconds…and I promise my servings were VERY generous. I had to switch to the sweatpants after I ate if that tells ya anything.

I absolutely love, love, LOVE this variation on our typical taco salad. I’m usually an iceberg lettuce kinda girl because it’s cheap, but I’m gonna have to splurge for the romaine from now on because it was so much tastier with everything else :) SUCH a tangy, tasty salad that’s sure to see the T.V. trays dinner table again SOON!!!

Now…tell me…how do you fix YOUR taco salad?

How Do You Tostada?!

This is one of my favorite, quick & easy meals. My mom used to make these all the time, so I grew up calling these “chalupas”. BUT…whenever I describe this meal to someone, they always correct me by saying “tostada”. Chalupa, tostada…tomato, to-mah-toe…whatever. These are DANG good! I know you can take the shortcut and buy the premade tostada shells, but seriously y’all...don’t cheat. They’re nowhere near as good and I promise they won’t be near as tasty. The fried tortilla is the secret to this quick little meal. I could eat these by the dozen, and when I was pregnant, I think I did ;)

CHALUPA TOSTADA

Corn tortillas

Vegetable Oil

Refried Beans

All the fixin’s {refried beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, etc.}

Heat a little vegetable oil {just enough to cover the bottom of your skillet} on med. high heat. Now, fry your corn tortillas, one at a time. Make sure you poke several holes in your tortilla first, otherwise it’ll blow up into a gigantic little tortilla pocket and that’s no bueno. Use tongs to turn the tortilla and cook on both sides until brown{ish} and crispy. Place cooked tortilla on a towel to absorb grease.

It should look like something in this ballpark…

Now top it with whatever your cute little heart desires. Personally, I like mine really plain and simple. Refried beans and cheese…and if I’m feelin’ a little fiesty, I’ll throw on some jalapenos for good measure :) You’ll wanna throw these under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese before you decide to add any extra toppings.

My mom likes to top hers with refried beans, onion, lettuce, and tomato. Mmmmm. They’re pretty dang good that way, too. Mr. Spouse HAS to have Cholula on his. In all honesty, he has to have Cholula on EVERYTHING. Blech. Sorry Cholula lovers…I’m NOT a fan.

It doesn’t matter which way you tostada because I’m sure it all tastes amazing…unless, of course, you top it with Cholula ;) Get creative with your fixin’s and eat up because I promise they go FAST! YUM.O.

Add This To The List

If you’re looking for a recipe that’s anything BUT Mexican, you’ve come to the wrong place. Yes friends. Add this to the list of yet ANOTHER Mexican dish you need to whip up. SO flippin’ YUM!

LAYERED FIESTA TACO SALAD BAKE

1lb. ground beef

1 can spicy chili beans, undrained

1 can corn, drained

1 cup salsa {I used PACE}

1 pkg. Taco seasoning {I used McCormick’s}

2 cups crushed tortilla chips {I used Santita’s}

1/4 cup green onions, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 cup shredded cheese {I used colby & jack}

1 large avocado, peeled and cubed/sliced

Shredded lettuce

Coarsely crush two cups of tortilla chips and throw ‘em into a deep casserole dish.

Cook beef and drain. Return to large skillet and stir in beans, salsa, taco seasoning, and corn. Heat to boiling and stir often.

Remove meat mix from heat and layer over top of the tortilla chips.

Cut your veggies and start layering.

First add the tomatoes…

Cover with green onions…

And top it all off with a heaping load of cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly :)

Remove from oven and top with avocado, shredded lettuce, and any other fixin’s you’d like.

Now shove some tortilla chips alongside the edges of your baking dish to finish it off.

Serve and ENJOY…because I promise you will!!!

Creamy Greatness

It’s almost laughable now, but here’s yet ANOTHER Mexican inspired dish!! Of course, I can take no credit for this one. I found it on one of my favorite blogs. This took almost NO time to make, minus the time it took to spread the mix and roll the taquitos. We devoured these little bites of creamy greatness in a very embarrassing few short minutes. SO dang YUMMY!!!! Give ‘em a try and you’ll see just what I mean!

CREAMY CHICKEN TAQUITOS

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded {OR grilled fajita chicken strips if you’re in a hurry!}

1/3 cup {3 oz.} cream cheese

1/4 cup green salsa {salsa verde}

1 tbsp. lime juice

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3 tbsp. cilantro, chopped

2 tbsp. green onions, chopped

1 cup pepper jack cheese, grated

Cooking spray

Kosher salt

Tortillas, corn or flour {I used flour}

Heat oven to 400. Meanwhile, shred chicken and cheese. I couldn’t find grated pepper jack, so I used the brick and shredded it myself.

Mix together chicken, cream cheese, salsa verde, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion, powder, garlic powder, cilantro, green onions, and pepper jack cheese. Prior to mixing, you can heat your cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds to soften it up. Combine well.

Now, take your tortillas and spread about 2-3 tablespoons on the lower third of the tortilla. Make sure to keep the mixture about 1/2 inch from the edge.

Roll the tortilla and place on a baking sheet, seam side down. Spray tortillas with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt. Mmmmmmm….

Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown!

Serve with guacamole, pico, or whatever makes ya happy!!!!

Honestly folks…these were SOOO yummy! And pretty, too!! I LOVE me some taquitos and these are honestly too good to pass up. Hop on the taquito train as fast as you can!!!

I Can’t Get Away

My sweet friend, Jodi, recently said to me, “you guys really love Mexican food”. After all, the majority of recipes I share are definitely Mexican in nature. I had to laugh a little because, while I do like Mexican food, it’s not my favorite at all. It’s just the easiest, and sometimes cheapest, to make! And I feel like I can’t fail when it comes to Mexican food. I guess I do gravitate towards these types of recipes, so here’s yet ANOTHER one to share :) And seriously, it’s pretty dang amazing!!!

FIESTA RAVIOLI

1 pkg. frozen or refrigerated ravioli {I used Buitoni}

1 {10oz.} can enchilada sauce {I used Old El Paso}

1 {16oz.} jar salsa {I LOVE Joe T. Garcia’s, Medium!}

2 cups shredded Colby/Monterrey Jack cheese

Sliced black olives, optional

Now, when I say this is easy…and takes NO time…I couldn’t be more serious.

Cook ravioli according to package. A whopping 9 minutes is what it took for me! The original recipe called for frozen beef ravioli, but I couldn’t find any and I really love the Buitoni cheese ravioli the best. Mmmmmm…. These come two different package sizes and I’ve found that the large size is the BEST!!! Just enough for leftovers {for one} :)

While the ravioli is cooking, combine the enchilada sauce and the salsa in a skillet, stir well, and heat through. Now, I used the medium version of both sauces and it was SPICY for sure. If you wanna tone it down, grab the mild versions of both :) Personally, the spicier the better :)

Drain ravioli and return to pot. Pour in the salsa/sauce combo and toss to coat evenly. Add 2 cups of shredded monterrey/colby cheese and stir well.

VOILA!

I told you it was easy…and QUICK!!! Total time in the kitchen couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes!!! Now that’s the kinda recipe that has me comin’ back for seconds!!!

This is one of the BEST mexican pasta dishes I’ve ever had. Truly. Even Mr. Spouse raved about it. We opted out on the optional sliced black olives because we’re really not big fans. I’m really glad I couldn’t find the suggested beef ravioli because the combo of the cheesiness on the inside and the gooiness of the cheese on the outside was TO.DIE.FOR. OMG…a little fiesta in my mouth :)

I Stink At Making Crock Pot Meals!!!

I do!!!  I LOVE crock pot recipes, but I stink at preparing them!!!  I always forget to set out the ingredients before I leave for the gym in the morning.  Luckily, Mr. Spouse had a late night at work and I was able to get home in the afternoon and throw everything together for this meal before he got home!  This is SO easy peasy and AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!!  And it made my house smell so yummy!!  You gotta try it!

CROCK POT SALSA CHICKEN

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup salsa {I used Joe T. Garcia's}

1 pkg. taco seasoning {I used McCormick's}

1 cup sour cream

Place chicken, soup, and salsa in the crock pot.  Pour taco seasoning on top.

Cook on low for 6 hours, or if you're last minute like me, cook on high for 2-2 1/2 hours.  Pull the chicken out and shred and return to the crock pot.

Stir in sour cream and heat until ingredients are combined. 

Now, I screwed up.  Shocker.  I mixed the soup, salsa, taco seasoning, & sour cream together and then poured it over the chicken and let everything cook for a couple of hours.  I clearly wasn't paying attention.  Anyway, it was still AMAZING and yummy, but it wasn't creamy enough to serve over rice {the recipe said to serve with rice}.  I'm thinking it might have been creamier if I added the sour cream last?!  I don't know, but I'd screw up the recipe on purpose again because it turned out great!!!!

  Instead of rice, I wrapped up the chicken in tortillas and served these as soft tacos.  Mr. Spouse was IN.LOVE and said we DEFINITELY have to make this again, SOON!  SO, if you decide to whip this up for dinner and follow the recipe the right way, let me know how it turns out!!! 

Cream Cheese Greatness

I found this recipe a while back and printed it out with the intentions of making it that night.  Well, I guess I didn't get around to it and somewhere along the way I lost the recipe and couldn't remember where I even found the original!  I guess I must have used it as a bookmark when I was reading my latest issue of US magazine because that's where I found it a few weeks later!  HA!!!  I wish I knew who to give credit to for this recipe, but for the life of me I can't remember where I found it.  They said it would be good, but that was an understatement...these enchiladas are TO DIE FOR!!!!!!!!!!

TO-DIE-FOR CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

2-3 chicken breasts, shredded {OR rotisserie chicken}

1 {8 oz.} pkg. cream cheese

1 28 oz. can green enchilada sauce {I used Las Palmas}

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

2 cups cooked rice {I used boil in a bag because I can't cook rice to save my life!!!}

Tortillas {I used Mission flour tortillas, but homemade would be muy delicioso!}

1-2 cups shredded monterrey & colby cheese

Cook chicken and shred; boil rice.  Mix the shredded chicken, cream cheese, and 2 cups of the enchilada sauce together.  This mix makes A TON!!!!

Pour half a cup of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. 

Layer the rice & black beans to your taste…

 

and top with the chicken mixture in each tortilla.

Roll up each of the tortillas and place them in the baking dish seam side down. 

Top with 1 cup of the enchilada sauce…  

and 1-2 cups of shredded cheese.  The more, the merrier so we piled on the full two cups :)

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 375 for about 25 minutes.

Uncover the enchiladas, turn on the broiler, and broil for about 3-5 minutes uncovered...just long enough to brown the cheese.  Swoon.

Y'all...these are honest to goodness downright AMAZING!!!!  I could eat these every night and be happy as a clam!  SO good!!!  Like I said before, this mixture makes A LOT of enchiladas.  These would be GREAT to serve if you were having a dinner party or bringing dinner to someone.  If you do decide to make these for a dinner party, pick up an extra can of the enchilada sauce to spread on the baking pan & on top of the enchiladas with each batch you bake. 

RUN to your nearest grocery store and pick these ingredients up as soon as you can!!!